Best Movies of 1970 by Rank
31
1
Bernardo Bertolucci
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio
Drama
Italy / France / West Germany
Italian
127
2
Robert Altman
Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall
Comedy / War / Drama
USA
English
186
3
Bob Rafelson
Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush, Fannie Flagg, Sally Struthers
Drama / Music
USA
English
201
4
Luis Buñuel
Catherine Deneuve, Fernando Rey, Franco Nero, Lola Gaos, Antonio Casas
Drama
France / Italy / Spain
Spanish
274
5
Claude Chabrol
Stéphane Audran, Jean Yanne, Antonio Passalia, Pascal Ferone, Mario Beccara
Drama / Thriller / Horror
France / Italy
French
303
6
Franklin J. Schaffner
George C. Scott, Karl Malden
Drama / War / Epic / Biography
USA
English
431
7
Vittorio De Sica
Lino Capolicchio, Dominique Sanda
Drama / War
Italy / West Germany
Italian
469
8
Michael Wadleigh
Richie Havens, Joan Baez, Roger Daltrey
Documentary / Music
USA
English
621
9
Eric Rohmer
Jean-Claude Brialy, Aurora Cornu, Béatrice Romand, Laurence de Monaghan
Drama / Romance / Comedy
France
French
652
10
Arthur Penn
Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam, Richard Mulligan
Comedy / Drama / Western / Adventure / War / Epic
USA
English
704
11
Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg
James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg, Michèle Breton
Drama / Experimental / Cult
UK
English
774
12
Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts
Documentary / Music
USA
English
781
13
Bernardo Bertolucci
Giulio Brogi, Alida Valli, Pippo Campanini, Franco Giovanelli
Drama / Mystery
Italy
Italian
912
14
François Truffaut
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Hiroko Berghauer
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France / Italy
French
1101
15
Alejandro Jodorowsky
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, José Legarreta, Alfonso Arau
Western / Experimental / Cult
Mexico
Spanish
1115
16
François Truffaut
François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Cargol
Drama / Period Film / Biography
France
French
1179
17
Billy Wilder
Robert Stephens, Colin Blakely, Geneviève Page, Christopher Lee
Comedy / Drama / Mystery / Romance / Adventure / Thriller
UK
English
1213
18
Jerzy Skolimowski
John Moulder-Brown, Jane Asher, Peter Martin Urtel, Erika Wackernagel
Drama
Poland / UK / West Germany
English
1309
19
Michelangelo Antonioni
Mark Frechette, Daria Halprin, Paul Fix, G.D. Spradlin
Drama
USA
English
1454
20
George Seaton, Henry Hathaway
Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, Helen Hayes
Drama / Thriller / Action
USA
English
1585
21
Elio Petri, Lee Kresel
Gian Maria Volonté, Florinda Bolkan
Drama / Thriller / Crime
Italy
Italian
1591
22
Jean-Pierre Melville
Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, Yves Montand, Paul Crauchet
Crime / Thriller / Caper / Post-Noir / Detective
France / Italy
French
1603
23
Cy Howard
Beatrice Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1805
24
Dario Argento
Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Umberto Raho
Crime / Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Italy / West Germany
Italian
1864
25
Sam Peckinpah
Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin
Comedy / Western
USA
English
1903
26
Gilbert Cates
Melvyn Douglas, Gene Hackman, Dorothy Stickney, Estelle Parsons
Drama
USA
English
1927
27
David Lean
Robert Mitchum, Trevor Howard, Christopher Jones, John Mills
Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK
English
2015
28
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir, Jeanne Moreau, Dominique Labourier
Drama / Comedy
Italy / France
French
2097
29
Satyajit Ray
Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Samit Bhanja, Robi Ghosh
Drama
India
Bengali
2122
30
Irvin Kershner
George Segal, Eva Marie Saint, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2136
31
Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda
Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi
Action / War / Adventure / Drama / History / Epic
USA / Japan
English
2199
32
Mike Nichols
Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel
Comedy / War
USA
English
2214
33
Russ Meyer
Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett
Comedy / Music / Cult
USA
English
2214
33
Donald Shebib
Doug McGrath, Paul Bradley, Jayne Eastwood, Nicole Morin
Drama
Canada
English
2227
34
William Friedkin
Kenneth Nelson, Peter White, Leonard Frey, Cliff Gorman, Frederick Combs
Drama
USA
English
2299
36
Karel Kachyna
Jirina Bohdalová, Radoslav Brzobohatý, Gustav Opocenský
Drama / Thriller
Czechoslovakia
Czech
2309
37
Akira Kurosawa
Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura, Shinsuke Minami
Drama / Fantasy
Japan
Japanese
2330
38
Sidney Lumet, Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Ruby Dee, James Earl Jones
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2333
39
Costa-Gavras
Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Gabriele Ferzetti
Thriller / Drama
France / Italy
French
2341
40
Paul Morrissey
Joe Dallesandro, Holly Woodlawn, Geri Miller, Andrea Feldman, John Putnam
Drama / Experimental / Cult
USA
English
2402
41
Michael Apted
Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield
Documentary / Biography
UK
English
2435
42
John Cassavetes
Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes, Jenny Runacre, Jenny Lee Wright
Drama
USA
English
2447
43
Robert Aldrich
Michael Caine, Cliff Robertson, Ian Bannen, Harry Andrews, Ronald Fraser
Action / War / Drama / Adventure
USA
English
2467
44
Ephraim Kishon
Shaike Ophir, Zaharira Harifai, Avner Hizkiyahu
Comedy / Drama / Crime
Israel
Hebrew
2482
45
Jacques Deray
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Michel Bouquet, Catherine Rouvel
Crime / Drama / Gangster
France / Italy
French
2482
45
Blake Edwards
Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, Jeremy Kemp, Lance Percival
Musical / Drama / Spy / War / Romance
USA
English
2482
45
Ronald Neame
Albert Finney, Alec Guinness, Edith Evans, Kenneth More
Drama / Musical / Fantasy / Family
UK
English
2502
46
Robert Altman
Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, William Windom, Shelley Duvall
Comedy / Fantasy / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2511
47
Mel Brooks
Ron Moody, Frank Langella, Dom DeLuise, Andréas Voutsinas, Diana Coupland
Comedy / Crime
USA
English
2546
48
Robert Youngson
Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase, Jay Jackson
Comedy / Family
USA
English (Silent Scenes)
2546
48
Laurence Olivier, John Sichel
Jeanne Watts, Joan Plowright, Louise Purnell, Derek Jacobi, Sheila Reid
Drama / Period Film
UK
English
2556
49
Frank Perry
Richard Benjamin, Frank Langella, Carrie Snodgress
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2556
49
Christopher Miles
Joanna Shimkus, Franco Nero, Honor Blackman, Mark Burns
Drama / Romance
UK
English
2605
50
Ján Kadár
Zero Mostel, Harry Belafonte, Ida Kaminska, Milo O'Shea, Gloria Foster
Drama / Fantasy / Religion
USA
English
2605
50
Aram Avakian
Stacy Keach, Harris Yulin, Dorothy Tristan, James Earl Jones, Grayson Hall
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2605
50
Brian De Palma
Charles Durning, Robert De Niro, Allen Garfield, Abraham Goren, Lara Parker
Comedy
USA
English
2605
50
Hal Ashby
Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Pearl Bailey, Walter Brooke
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2605
50
Alan Cooke
Terence Stamp, Robert Vaughn, Nigel Davenport, Christian Roberts, Donal Donnelly
Sci-Fi / Drama / Thriller
UK
English
2605
50
Waris Hussein
Gene Wilder, Margot Kidder, Eileen Colgan, May Ollis, Seamus Forde, David Kelly
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Ireland
English
2605
50
Otto Preminger
Liza Minnelli, Ken Howard, Robert Moore, James Coco, Kay Thompson
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2605
50
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, Warren Oates, Burgess Meredith
Comedy / Western / Crime
USA
English
2605
50
Joseph Strick
Rip Torn, James T. Callahan, Ellen Burstyn, David Baur, Laurence Lignères
Biography / Drama
USA
English
2649
51
Paul Williams
Jon Voight, Jennifer Salt, Seymour Cassel, Robert Duvall
Drama / War
USA
English
2658
52
Armando Robles-Godoy
Julio Aleman, Sandra Riva, Raul Martin, Fernando Hilbeck
Drama / Romance
Peru
Spanish
2688
53
Serge Danot
Christian Riehl, Paul Bisciglia, Nadine Legrand, Jean-Luc Tardieu
Animation / Family / Adventure
France
French
2689
54
Wolfgang Reitherman, Milt Kahl, John Lounsbery
Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Liz English, Gary Dubin, Dean Clark, Sterling Holloway
Animation / Adventure / Family / Musical / Fantasy
USA
English
2689
54
Ted Post
James Franciscus, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, Linda Harrison, Paul Richards
Sci-Fi / Action / Drama
USA
English
2689
54
Joseph Sargent
Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent, William Schallert, Leonid Rostoff
Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2689
54
Ossie Davis
Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace, Redd Foxx
Action / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2689
54
Martin Ritt
James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Lou Gilbert, Joel Fluellen, Chester Morris
Biography / Drama / Sports / Period Film
USA
English
2689
54
John G. Avildsen
Peter Boyle, Dennis Patrick, Audrey Caire, Susan Sarandon, K Callan
Drama
USA
English
2689
54
Brian G. Hutton
Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Connor, Donald Sutherland
War / Action / Comedy / Adventure / Caper
Yugoslavia / USA
English
2689
54
Elliot Silverstein
Richard Harris, Judith Anderson, Jean Gascon, Manu Tupou, Corinna Tsopei
Western / Adventure / Drama
USA
English
2689
54
Michael Sarne
Mae West, John Huston, Raquel Welch, Rex Reed, Farrah Fawcett, Roger C. Carmel
Comedy / Cult
USA
English
2689
54
Vincente Minnelli
Barbra Streisand, Yves Montand, Bob Newhart, Larry Blyden, Simon Oakland
Comedy / Fantasy / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2689
54
Herbert Ross
Barbra Streisand, George Segal, Robert Klein, Allen Garfield, Roz Kelly
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2689
54
Howard Hawks
John Wayne, Jorge Rivero, Jennifer O'Neill, Jack Elam, Christopher Mitchum
Adventure / Western / Romance / War
USA
English
2689
54
Bud Yorkin
Gene Wilder, Donald Sutherland, Hugh Griffith, Jack MacGowran, Billie Whitelaw
Comedy
USA
English
2689
54
Carl Reiner
George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Ron Leibman, Trish Van Devere, Barnard Hughes
Comedy
USA
English
2691
55
Douglas Hickox
Beryl Reid, Harry Andrews, Peter McEnery, Alan Webb
Comedy
UK / Austria
English
2694
56
Leonard Kastle, Donald Volkman
Shirley Stoler, Tony Lo Bianco, Mary Jane Higby, Doris Roberts
Crime / Thriller / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2697
57
Madeline Anderson
Ralph Abernathy, Leon Davis, Coretta Scott King
Documentary / History / Short
USA
English
2709
58
Maximilian Schell
John Moulder-Brown, Dominique Sanda, Maximilian Schell
Drama / Romance
West Germany / Switzerland / Hungary
German
2709
58
Raoul Coutard
Phi Lan, Huynh Cazenas, Le Quynh, Marcel Lan Phuong
Drama / War
France
French
2709
58
Jacques Boigelot
Lucien Raimbourg, Claire Wauthion, Arlette Schreiber
Drama
Belgium
French
2709
58
Stanislav Rostotsky
Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Valentina Vladimirova, Mikhail Dadyko
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2740
59
Caspar Wrede
Tom Courtenay, Espen Skjønberg, Alf Malland
Drama
UK / Norway
English
2740
59
Andrei Konchalovsky
Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Sergei Bondarchuk, Irina Kupchenko
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2756
60
Jerome Hill
Brigitte Bardot, Ernest Borgnine, Cyd Charisse, Jerome Hill
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2756
60
Frederick Wiseman
Eugene Friedman M.D., Stanley Friedman M.D., Robert Schwartz M.D.
Documentary
USA
English
2775
61
Ralph Nelson
Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, Donald Pleasence, John Anderson, Jorge Rivero
Western
USA
English
2783
62
Paul Mazursky
Donald Sutherland, Ellen Burstyn, Meg Mazursky, Glenna Sargent, Viola Spolin
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2783
62
William A. Fraker
Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance, Mitch Ryan, Jim Davis, G.D. Spradlin
Western
USA
English
2789
63
Paul Almond
Geneviève Bujold, Donald Sutherland, Monique Leyrac
Drama / Romance
Canada
English
2789
63
André Cayatte
Annie Girardot, Bruno Pradal, François Simon
Drama / Romance
Italy / France
French
2789
63
Moshé Mizrahi
Claude Rich, Henia Suchar-Ziv, Christian Blech
Drama
Israel / France
Hebrew
2789
63
Keith Larsen, Koji Senno, Nobuaki Shirai
Dale Robertson, Yûjirô Ishihara, Frank Sinatra Jr.
Drama / Biography / War
Japan
English
2792
64
David Lynch
Richard White, Dorothy McGinnis, Virginia Maitland, Robert Chadwick
Short / Animation / Experimental
USA
English
2792
64
Pere Portabella
Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom, Soledad Miranda, Jack Taylor
Documentary / Horror
Spain
English
2800
65
Stuart Hagmann
Bruce Davison, Kim Darby, Bud Cort, Murray MacLeod
Drama / Romance / Comedy
USA
English
2801
66
Robert Clouse
Rod Taylor, Suzy Kendall, Theodore Bikel, Jane Russell, James Booth, Anna Capri
Mystery / Drama / Action / Crime / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2801
66
David Greene
Eli Wallach, Julie Harris, Deborah Winters, Stephen McHattie, Hal Holbrook
Drama
USA
English
2807
67
unknown
Frank Sinatra, Gladys Knight, Ann-Margret, Robert Klein, Raul Julia, Beverly Sills
Comedy / Family / Music
USA
English
2858
69
Freddie Francis
Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Bernard Kay, Kim Braden, David Griffin
Sci-Fi / Horror
UK
English
2860
70
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Karl Scheydt, Elga Sorbas, Jan George, Hark Bohm, Marius Aicher
Drama / Crime / Gangster
West Germany
German
2860
70
Groupe Dziga Vertov, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Gérard Martin
Gian Maria Volonté, Anne Wiazemsky, Paolo Pozzesi
Drama
France / Italy / West Germany
French
2860
70
Manoj Kumar
Ashok Kumar, Saira Banu, Manoj Kumar, Pran, Bharti, Nirupa Roy
Drama / Musical / Romance
India
Hindi
NR
-
Martin Ritt
Sean Connery, Richard Harris, Samantha Eggar, Frank Finlay, Anthony Zerbe
Drama / History / Detective
USA
English
NR
-
Arthur Hiller
Jack Lemmon, Sandy Dennis, Sandy Baron, Anne Meara, Robert Nichols
Comedy
USA
English
NR
-
Don Siegel
Shirley MacLaine, Clint Eastwood, Manuel Fábregas, Alberto Morin
Comedy / War / Western
USA / Mexico
English
