Director of the Decade - the 1970s

Last week was the closest race in the history of this major award. Spielberg narrowly beat out John Hughes to win Director of the 80s. This week there is a clear winner. While he only made 4 films, all are timeless classics still loved by viewers and scholars. Even if you have seen all four movies they deserve another watch. If not, they are great films that you might have missed!

First, the runners-up. The 1970s were a great time for filmmaking. The older model of studios controlling everything had been overturned and new voices, looks and styles were on screens throughout the world. Anyone with an asterisk won the Best Director Oscar during the 70s. Here are some of the great directors of the 1970s:

John Schlessinger - ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘Marathon Man’, ‘Day of the Locusts’

Steven Spielberg - ‘Duel’, ‘Jaws’, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’

Mel Brooks - ‘Blazing Saddles’, ‘Young Frankenstein’, ‘High Anxiety’

William Friedkin* - ‘French Connection’, ‘Exorcist’, ‘Sorcerer’

Lina Wertmuller - ‘Swept Away’, ‘Seven Beauties’, ‘Love and Anarchy’

Akira Kurosawa - ‘Dodes’ka-den’, ‘Dersu Uzala’

John Waters - ‘Pink Flamingos’, ‘Multiple Maniacs’, ‘Female Trouble’

Norman Jewison - ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘Rollerball’

George Romero - ‘Dawn of the Dead’, ‘The Crazies’, ‘Martin’

Woody Allen* - ‘Annie Hall’, ‘Manhattan’, ‘Bananas’

Franklin Schaffner* - ‘Patton’, ‘Papillon’, ‘The Boys from Brazil’

The first runner-up is:

Sidney Lumet* - Lumet had an amazing run in the 1970s. From a simple caper film like ‘The Anderson Tapes’ with Sean Connery in 1971 to ‘The Wiz’ in 1978, he showed a great scope of talent throughout genres.

His biggest films of the 1970s include the powerful ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ and ‘Serpico’ with Al Pacino and ‘Network’ for which he won the Oscar. He would have won this award except for the work of one person.

The award for Best Director of the 1970s goes to: