10 Most Essential Movies of 1974, Ranked

The 1970s are often cited as the best decade for cinema. This era was a sweet spot for filmmakers: film technology had progressed considerably and the Hayes Code had melted away, while the formulaic storytelling and commercialized pressures of the 1980s had not yet taken hold. As a result, the '70s produced more classics than any other time period, across practically every genre.