Films101 - The Best Of 1971 (Ranked)
The Top rated Films of the Year 1971 according to any Film Lovers Site:http://www.films101.com
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- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsTimothy BottomsJeff BridgesCybill ShepherdIn 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsWarren BeattyJulie ChristieRene AuberjonoisA gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsLea MassariBenoît FerreuxDaniel GélinAs France is nearing the end of the first Indochina War, an open-minded teenage boy finds himself torn between a rebellious urge to discover love, and the ever-present, almost dominating affection of his beloved mother.
- DirectorDon SiegelClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodAndrew RobinsonHarry GuardinoWhen a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJenny AgutterDavid GulpililLuc RoegTwo city-bred siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the aid of an Aboriginal boy on his "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsJane FondaDonald SutherlandCharles CioffiA small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead: a connection with a New York prostitute.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsDirk BogardeRomolo ValliMark BurnsWhile recovering in Venice, sickly composer Gustav von Aschenbach becomes dangerously fixated with teenager Tadzio.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsJulie ChristieAlan BatesDominic GuardA tale of torrid and forbidden love between a couple in the English countryside.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudKika MarkhamStacey TendeterAt the beginning of the 20th century, middle-class young Frenchman Claude Roc meets young Englishwoman Ann Brown in Paris. They become friends and she invites him to spend holidays at the house where she lives with her mother and her sister Muriel, for whom she intends Claude. During these holidays, Claude, Ann, and Muriel become very close and he gradually falls in love with Muriel. But both families lay down a one-year-long separation with no contact before agreeing to the marriage. So Claude goes back to Paris and has many love affairs before sending Muriel a break-off letter.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsPeter FinchGlenda JacksonMurray HeadThe emotional intricacies of a polyamorous relationship between young artist Bob and his two lovers: a lonely male doctor and a frustrated female office worker.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsMichael CaineIan HendryBritt EklandWhen his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsDustin HoffmanSusan GeorgePeter VaughanA young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
- DirectorDusan MakavejevStarsMilena DravicIvica VidovicJagoda KaloperAn homage to the work of psychologist Wilhelm Reich, matched with a story about a Yugoslavian girl's affair with a Russian skater. Sexual repression, social systems and the orgone theory are explored.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsJames TaylorWarren OatesLaurie BirdWhile drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevrolet 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an enigmatic hitchhiker and the tall-tale-spinning driver of a GTO.
- DirectorBarbara LodenStarsBarbara LodenMichael HigginsDorothy ShupenesWanda, a lonely housewife, drifts through mining country until she meets a petty thief who takes her in.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsLynn CarlinBuck HenryGeorgia EngelWhile searching for their runaway teenage daughter, the parents rediscover the pleasures of life as they get acquainted with a self-help group for parents of vanished children.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsGeorge C. ScottDiana RiggBarnard HughesA hospital's chief-of-staff struggles to find meaning in his life during a spate of staff deaths.
- DirectorMelvin Van PeeblesStarsMelvin Van PeeblesHubert ScalesJohn DullaghanAfter saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnCharles CioffiA crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsRuth GordonBud CortVivian PicklesYoung, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
- DirectorMel StuartStarsGene WilderJack AlbertsonPeter OstrumA poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJon FinchFrancesca AnnisMartin ShawA ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
- DirectorJan TroellStarsMax von SydowLiv UllmannEddie AxbergSmåland, Sweden, mid-19th century. A farming family struggle with their rocky, unyielding land, and decide to embark on the arduous journey to new hope in America.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsVanessa RedgraveOliver ReedDudley SuttonIn 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.
- DirectorPeter BrookStarsPaul ScofieldIrene WorthCyril CusackKing Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, giving great importance to their protestations of love for him. When Cordelia refuses to idly flatter the old man, he banishes her and turns for support to his remaining daughters.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodJessica WalterDonna MillsThe life of a disc jockey is turned upside down after a romantic encounter with an obsessed fan.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsAl PacinoKitty WinnAlan VintFollows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City.
- DirectorElaine MayStarsWalter MatthauElaine MayJack WestonHenry Graham lives the life of a playboy. When his lawyer tells him one day that his lifestyle has consumed all his funds, he needs an idea to avoid climbing down the social ladder. So he intends to marry a rich woman and - murder her.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiMarcel FravalHonoré BostelMr. Hulot drives a recreational vehicle from Paris to Amsterdam in his usual comical, disastrous style.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsTopolNorma CraneLeonard FreyIn pre-revolutionary Russia, a Jewish peasant with traditional values contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his village.
- DirectorReginald MillsStarsFrederick AshtonAlexander GrantJulie WoodBeatrix Potter's most beloved characters spring to life in this live-action classic.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenLouise LasserCarlos MontalbánWhen a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsJack NicholsonCandice BergenArt GarfunkelChronicling the lifelong sexual development of two men who meet and become friends in college.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsSeymour CasselVal AveryA museum curator falls in love with a crazy parking attendant.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryJill St. JohnCharles GrayA diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsWarren BeattyGoldie HawnGert FröbeA bank security expert plots with a call girl to rob three safety deposit boxes containing $1.5 million in cash belonging to three very different criminals from a high-tech security bank in Hamburg, Germany.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsTwiggyChristopher GableMax AdrianWhen the leading lady of a low-budget musical revue sprains her ankle, the assistant stage manager is forced to understudy and perform in her place, becoming a star and finding love in the process.
- DirectorKen LoachStarsSandy RatcliffBill DeanGrace CaveA family is shattered over the daughter's forced abortion. As she rebels against her family and their traditional, authoritarian, typical-of-the-time norms, she is hospitalized and otherwise mistreated.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsJennifer O'NeillGary GrimesJerry HouserDuring his summer vacation on Nantucket Island in 1942, a youth eagerly awaiting his first sexual encounter finds himself developing an innocent love for a young woman awaiting news on her soldier husband's fate in WWII.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsDonald PleasenceGary BondChips RaffertyAfter a bad gambling bet, a schoolteacher is marooned in a town full of crazy, drunk, violent men who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsWilliam HoldenRyan O'NealKarl MaldenTired of cow-punching for a living, two Montana cowboys rob a bank and flee but their employer's sons chase after them.
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsRiccardo BilliGigi RederTino ScottiA ragout of real memories and mockumentary, as Fellini explores a childhood obsession: circus clowns.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsIsabelle WeingartenGuillaume des ForêtsJean-Maurice MonnoyerJacques, a young man with artistic aspirations, spends four nights wandering Paris with a young woman, whom he rescued from suicide.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsWalter MatthauMaureen StapletonBarbara HarrisThree vignettes, each set in room 719 of New York's Plaza Hotel, make up this comedy.
- DirectorWalerian BorowczykStarsMichel SimonGeorges WilsonJacques PerrinBlanche is the young, pure, beautiful wife of the Master of the castle, in a secluded land. Every man is in love with her, including the King and his servant Bartolomeo, visiting the Master.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsKenzô KawarasakiAtsuko KakuAtsuo NakamuraUpon receiving a shocking telegram from his cousin, a man recounts his early life, as a member of a broad family full of dark secrets that slowly reveal themselves through the clan ceremonies.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsMichael JaystonJanet SuzmanRoderic NobleTsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.
- DirectorPeter WatkinsStarsPatrick BolandKent ForemanCarmen Argenziano"Punishment Park" is a pseudo-documentary purporting to be a film crews's news coverage of the team of soldiers escorting a group of hippies, draft dodgers, and anti-establishment types across the desert in a type of capture the flag game. The soldiers vow not to interfere with the rebels' progress and merely shepherd them along to their destination. At that point, having obtained their goal, they will be released. The film crew's coverage is meant to insure that the military's intentions are honorable. As the representatives of the 60's counter-culture get nearer to passing this arbitrary test, the soldiers become increasingly hostile, attempting to force the hippies out of their pacifist behavior. A lot of this film appears improvised and in several scenes real tempers seem to flare as some of the "acting" got overaggressive. This is a interesting exercise in situational ethics. The cinéma vérité style, hand-held camera, and ambiguous demands of the director - would the actors be able to maintain their roles given the hazing they were taking - pushed some to the brink. The cast's emotions are clearly on the surface. Unfortunately this film has gone completely underground and is next to impossible to find. It would offer a captivating document of the distrust that existed between soldiers willfully serving in the military and those persons who opposed the war peacefully.
- DirectorClaude JutraStarsJacques GagnonLyne ChampagneJean DuceppeSet in cold rural Quebec at Christmas time, we follow the coming of age of a young boy and the life of his family which owns the town's general store and undertaking business.
- DirectorFloyd MutruxStarsClifton Tip FredellKit RyderBilly GrayA "straight" couple dabbles in drugs and become heroin addicts.
- DirectorClaude SautetStarsDanielle DurouAlain BelartMichel PiccoliA detective decides to go undercover and set up a group of robbers, but he may be getting too caught up in the task at hand.
- DirectorPaul BogartGordon DouglasStarsJames GarnerLouis Gossett Jr.Susan ClarkIn 1857, con man Quincy Drew and his black friend Jason O'Rourke swindle slave owners into buying Jason, who's a free man, and later share the profits when Jason escapes captivity.
- DirectorDalton TrumboStarsTimothy BottomsKathy FieldsMarsha HuntDuring World War I, a patriotic young American is rendered blind, deaf, limbless, and mute by a horrific artillery shell attack. Trapped in what's left of his body, he desperately looks for a way to end his life.
- DirectorKamal AmrohiStarsAshok KumarMeena KumariRaaj KumarIn Lucknow at the turn of the century, a dancer and courtesan believes that her pure soul and body will enable her to find true love and honor.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsJulie AdamsDaniel AdesRichmond L. AguilarAfter a film production wraps in Peru, an American wrangler decides to stay behind to witness the ways that filmmaking affects the locals.
- DirectorRobert FuestStarsVincent PriceJoseph CottenVirginia NorthDoctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.
- DirectorIan MacNaughtonStarsJohn CleeseMichael PalinGraham ChapmanAn anthology of the best sketches from the first and second seasons of Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969).
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsSean ConneryDyan CannonMartin BalsamAfter ten years in prison to protect a mafia family, Duke Anderson is released and he cashes in a debt of honor with the mob to bankroll a caper.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJames OlsonArthur HillDavid WayneTop scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.
- DirectorRobert StevensonWard KimballStarsAngela LansburyDavid TomlinsonRoddy McDowallAn apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.
- DirectorTom LaughlinStarsTom LaughlinDelores TaylorClark HowatEx-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert "freedom school" for runaway.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsBill MumyBarry RobinsMiles ChapinA group of social misfits at a summer camp for boys run away to save penned-in buffaloes from a rifle club's slaughter.
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsCharlton HestonAnthony ZerbeRosalind CashDr Robert Neville has developed an experimental vaccine which makes him the only immune survivor of a biological catastrophe. A gang of homicidal mutants blame science for their condition and attempt to kill him.
- DirectorBurt KennedyStarsJames GarnerSuzanne PleshetteJack ElamA con artist arrives in a mining town controlled by two competing companies. Both companies think he's a famous gunfighter and try to hire him to drive the other out of town.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsRichard AttenboroughJudy GeesonJohn HurtWhat happened to the women at 10 Rillington Place? The story of British serial killer John Christie, who committed most or all of his crimes in the titular terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving Timothy Evans.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsBruce DavisonElsa LanchesterSondra LockeA social misfit uses his only friends, his pet rats, to exact revenge on his tormentors.
- DirectorJacques RivetteSuzanne SchiffmanStarsMichèle MorettiHermine KaragheuzKaren PuigFollowing the May 1968 civil unrest in France, a deaf-mute and a con artist simultaneously stumble upon the remnants of a secret society.
- DirectorMichael SnowOne of most influential films in avant-garde cinema, this experimental film by Michael Snow was shot over a period of 24 hours using a robotic arm, and consists entirely of preprogrammed movements. Snow programmed all the robotic movements so that they never moved the same way twice, so there are differences in every motion of the camera.
- DirectorJim KleinJulia ReichertStarsJessica JonesFocuses on the socialization of American females. It tells the story of six women and girls. The first film to emerge from the modern women's movement in the early 1970s.
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsBarry NewmanCleavon LittleCharlotte RamplingDuring the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.
- DirectorElio PetriStarsGian Maria VolontèMariangela MelatoGino PerniceA conscientious factory worker becomes embroiled in political activism after accidentally cutting off his finger while working a machine.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsAnne RaittSarah StephensonEric AllanMoments from the uncompromisingly bleak existence of a secretary, her intellectually disabled sister, aloof and uneasy teacher boyfriend, bizarre neighbor and irritating workmate.
- DirectorNorman LearStarsDick Van DykePippa ScottTom PostonHoping for positive publicity, a tobacco company offers $25 million to any American town that quits smoking for 30 days. Amidst a media frenzy, Eagle Rock, Iowa accepts the challenge while the company's PR man tries to sabotage the effort.
- DirectorAlan ArkinStarsElliott GouldMarcia RoddVincent GardeniaPitch black comedy about a young nihilistic New Yorker coping with pervasive urban violence, obscene phone calls, rusty water pipes, electrical blackouts, paranoia and ethnic-racial conflict during a typical summer of the 1970s.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsDyan CannonJames CocoJennifer O'NeillWhile awaiting the outcome of her husband's surgery, Julie Messinger discovers he has been having affairs.
- DirectorRichard HarrisUri ZoharStarsRichard HarrisRomy SchneiderKim BurfieldEitan is yesterday's football star waiting for a tomorrow. He is a man who has nothing left but guts consulting the prospects of having to find a new profession and having to face a loving woman who doesn't understand his problems.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsSean BuryAnicée AlvinaRonald LewisA rich English boy meets an orphaned French girl and as they become friends, create a world that is far away from the adult world we live in.
- DirectorJack LemmonStarsWalter MatthauDeborah WintersFelicia FarrWanting to avoid settling in a nursing home, Joseph Kotcher, a retired salesman, is obliged to leave his son's family. He embarks on a road trip during which he strikes up a friendship with a pregnant teenager and begins to understand the true meaning of life as he helps the girl give birth to her child.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsMalcolm McDowellNanette NewmanGeorgia BrownBruce Pritchard is paralyzed in a soccer game, rejected by his family, and placed in a nursing home. Angry and depressed, he finds hope with a nurse. Can Bruce find a life outside the home?
- DirectorCharles JarrottStarsVanessa RedgraveGlenda JacksonPatrick McGoohanDuring the sixteenth century, the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots engages in over two decades of religious and political conflict with her cousin, the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I of England, amidst political intrigue in her native land.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsLotte EisnerWolfgang BüttnerManfred EigendorfFootage shot in and around the Sahara Desert, accompanied only by a spoken creation myth and the songs of Leonard Cohen.
- DirectorNelson Pereira dos SantosStarsArduíno ColassantiAna Maria MagalhãesEduardo Imbassahy FilhoIn 1594 in Brazil, the Tupinambás Indians are friends of the French and their enemies are the Tupiniquins, friends of the Portuguese. A Frenchman (Arduíno Colassanti) is captured by the Tupinambás and, in spite of his trial to convince them that he is French, they believe he is Portuguese. The Frenchman becomes their slave, and maritally lives with Seboipepe (Ana Maria Magalhães). *Contains Spoilers* Later, he uses powder in the cannons that the Portuguese left behind to defeat the Tupiniquins in a battle. In order to celebrate the victory, the Indians decide to eat him.
- DirectorShinsuke OgawaThis important film compiles "Magino Story" footage taken by Ogawa for a period of more than ten years after he moved to Magino village.
- DirectorBo WiderbergStarsThommy BerggrenAnja SchmidtKelvin MalaveAbout the life and death of the legendary Swedish/American agitator Joe Hill.
- DirectorFrank PerryStarsStacy KeachFaye DunawayHarris YulinDoc Holliday, the cold-blooded sharp-shooter, reunites with his old friend, Marshall Wyatt Earp, to take down the Clanton gang in the dusty town of Tombstone, in Arizona.
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsCeliaMarina NinchiMichel BouquetCharles Masson, an advertising executive, is having an affair with Laura, the wife of his best friend, the architect François Tellier. Charles strangles Laura when one of their S&M games goes too far. Dazed, Charles walks out of the borrowed apartment in Paris and soon bumps into François in a nearby bistro. They drive back together to Versailles, where they have beautiful neighboring houses designed by François. The owner of the apartment had seen Laura and Charles together two months earlier, but she does not tell the police on the advice of François. Even though the police do not seem to have any clues to the crime, Charles has a difficult time coping with the situation, and trying to live a normal life with his two children and loving wife Hélène.
- DirectorRobert B. BeanStarsRenée TaylorJoseph BolognaPaul SorvinoAn eccentric woman meets an equally odd man at a group therapy session and they begin a relationship.
- DirectorGiuliano MontaldoStarsGian Maria VolontèRiccardo CucciollaCyril CusackIn 1920s Boston, Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are scrutinized for their anarchist beliefs while on trial for robbery and murder.
- DirectorDario ArgentoStarsJames FranciscusKarl MaldenCatherine SpaakTwo journalists try to solve a series of murders connected to a pharmaceutical company's secret experiments, becoming targets of the killer themselves.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRod SteigerJames CoburnRomolo ValliA low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsKim DarbyScott WilsonTony MusanteSet in the Depression, a gang of half-witted small-time hoods led by Slim Grissom kidnap heiress Barbara Blandish and Slim proceeds to fall in love with her. Remake of the British film No Orchids for Miss Blandish (1948).
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsFini StraubingerM. BaaskeElsa FehrerThrough examining Fini Straubinger, an old woman who has been deaf and blind since adolescence, and her work on behalf of other deaf and blind people, this film shows how the deaf and blind struggle to understand and accept a world from which they are almost wholly isolated.
- DirectorJohn D. HancockStarsZohra LampertBarton HeymanKevin O'ConnorA recently institutionalized woman has bizarre experiences after moving into a supposedly haunted country farmhouse and fears she may be losing her sanity once again.
- DirectorLaslo BenedekStarsMax von SydowTrevor HowardLiv UllmannIn a Scandinavian insane asylum, murderer Salem sneaks out at night to exact his revenge on those who he deems responsible for his predicament.