If you had to pick one...

1964 - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Y'know, I'm not even sure what films came out in 1970. Stanley Kubrick didn't release any films then. Francis Ford Coppola didn't release any films then. Woody Allen didn't release any films then. No major biblical epics came out then. David Lean released Ryan's Daughter then, but it was one of his lesser efforts. The year "1970" just doesn't bring any titles to mind, the way that "1972" brings The Godfather to mind or "1968" brings 2001: A Space Odyssey to mind, etc. And when I look at Wikipedia's list, I see only a few titles that I have actually seen, and none that I'm crazy about.

I looked up "1953" on Imdb. a lot of bad movies that year. I was going to go with Uzbek National Dancers, but I soldiered on through 2600+ titles.

Billy Wilder made Stalag 17. Fritz Lang The Big Heat (I'm a big Glenn Ford man, but this one is a bit of a potboiler). The Bandwagon is a wonderful sendup of hoitie toidie aesthetics gone bonkers and it has Oscar Levant and Nanette Fabere' as thinly disguised Adolph Green and Betty Comden.

But I was born in the year of Kiss Me Kate. It must be seen in 3D. It's about the only 3D film of the time deserving of being watched, let alone as intended. Bob Fosse gets first screentime for his choreography during "From This Moment On" (a great song in its own right). "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" and a reprise from Mob thugs Keenan Wynn and James Whitmore. And Howard Keel singing the most beautiful music ever asked of him by Hollywood. Yup. That's it.

Born in 1970 too. I'm leaning towards Albert Finney's Scrooge, since it's perrenial in this household. We also own Love Story and MASH on DVD, but neither of those get near-enough airplay.

Couldn't there have been a 007 in 70?

The African Queen !!!

I have some great ones to choose from in 1955 -- Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, Bad Day at Black Rock, Diabolique, Marty, and The Seven Year Itch. But I'll go with The Night of the Hunter, and Robert Mitchum in one of his greatest/creepiest roles.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

1970 was a great year! Come on! I mean you have Airport and Love Story. Of course you could always go with Mash or Patton.

The Numbers has films listed by year of release but only shows US box office.

I was born in 1974 which was a good year for movies. However, it's an easy choice for me. My favorite film from 1974 is Chinatown.

My birth year gives me some tough choices as it was a pretty great year. Gandhi won Best Picture at the Oscars. Genre fans had The Thing, Star Trek II, Poltergeist, The Dark Crystal, and Conan The Barbarian. Then there's the film that was released the day before I was born: E.T. I love that movie, but my absolute favourite from 1982: Blade Runner.

1967 - The Graduate

Others from 1970...

Five Easy Pieces

Gimme Shelter

Woodstock

Little Big Man

Nick Alexander wrote:
: Couldn't there have been a 007 in 70?

Nope. Between 1964's Goldfinger and 2002's Die Another Day, the only other Bond film to be released in an even-numbered year was 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun. In any case, the year of my birth fell right in the middle of a time of flux for the franchise -- one year after Lazenby starred in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, one year before Connery returned for a paycheque in 1971's Diamonds Are Forever, and three years before the Moore era began with 1973's Live and Let Die.

rjkolb wrote:
: Of course you could always go with Mash or Patton.

Those are the only two 1970 films that anyone has mentioned so far in this thread that I have actually seen -- and I'm not a huge fan of either. I saw M*A*S*H in university, about 20 years ago, but haven't seen it since; and I only saw Patton for the first time on DVD a few months ago.

Alright, Peter, I'll let you lie about your age. But only by one year in either direction.

well according to IMDB and wikipedia, the graduate was released in 1968. that year's list includes night of the living dead (the top grossing movie that year), funny girl, the odd couple, rosemary's baby, lion in winter, 2001, planet of the apes, chitty chitty bang bang and barbarella! but if i had to pick a fave, i guess i'll have to go with planet of the apes.

Okay, so I was born in 1972, and I know that means I should say The Godfather, or maybe (on the more shlocky end) The Poseidon Adventure. But I don't really like any of the 1972 films I've seen.

Notable 1972 films:
The Godfather
The Poseidon Adventure
Deliverance
Deep Throat
Cabaret
Fritz the Cat
The Candidate

Notable actors/actresses born in 1972:
Jennifer Garner - woo hoo!
Rebecca Gayheart - she's got such great eyes!
Ben Affleck - was carved from a block of wood in 1972
Gwyneth Paltrow
Jude Law - yeah, baby!

Over Barbarella?????

1970: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

OR

The Ballad of Cable Hogue

1978 is a really tough year:

Deer Hunter
Days of Heaven
Coming Home
Eraserhead
Halloween
Dawn of the Dead
The Last Waltz
Tree of Wooden Clogs
Autumn Sonata
Gates of Heaven
Bad News Bears go to Japan
Stroszek (played in US in 78)

I think I will go with Stroszek.

1975: Struggling to chose between "The French Connection II" and "Jaws".

Well, its not really that much of a struggle...

"Jaws"

Ummm... my question was rhetorical.

Anyway, there are a number of films from that year I have not seen: Patton, Tora Tora Tora, etc. I tried watching Five Easy Pieces earlier this year, but couldn't get past the first fifteen minutes. Frankly, world events were far more interesting, especially since Apollo 13 was going on--for real.

Nick

The advantages of being old(er) - 1959: Some Like it Hot, Ben Hur, North by Northwest

to be honest, i really wanted to say barbarella but then i saw it while babysitting late at night at a home with (gasp!) cable -- and we all know what kinds of movies were showing on cable in the early 80s: it seemed they were either "naughty" movies or horror flicks. anyway, my response to it at that age makes me reticent to make it my fave since i haven't seen it since then. i'm not sure if i want to, what with the orgasmatron and all...think i could talk the wife into watching it?

You think you can pretend to be a blind angel?

1980:

The Shining or Empire Strikes Back

1975 - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dog Day Afternoon, and Jaws were also candidates, but young Danny DeVito was the tipping point for me.)

I miss my favorite 70's film by one year!! (The Conversation -1974)

1957 - Twelve Angry Men