What, if anything, do you think is the unifying feature of most 70s film? I think some characteristics of 70s films include them being very slow moving and sentimental, or outright flippant (with regards to people dying, getting hurt), or gratituously violent. They tended to be a bit less cinematic (e.g. less emphasis on costumes.etc) than 60s films - indeed, I'd say 70s films were more SLOW MOVING in general than 60s films.

The 70s, imo, are the golden age for Cinema in the past 50 years, especially for Horror and Drama, and of course the birth of the 'Blockbuster' as we know it.

You had so many of the greatest directors coming out at this time (e.g. Spielberg, Scorcesse) and the fearlessness that so many of the studios gave them to do their projects. I mean, these studios were hungry for these young directors and their talent that they gave them complete free reign in their work.

Something that unfortunate has been receding so long now that most movies made today is complete crap. The topics of the 1970s films were more engaging: political unrest, sexual and female liberation, divorce, single parenting, race, economics, class, drugs, and the need to explore were showcased.

You should seek out the documentary series "Under the Influence" that goes into great detail this whole thread idea. I saw it on IFC. It's highly recommended.

yup, i'd say patient, leisurely pacing and explicitness (language, sex, violence) are both what defined the 70s cinematic style. on the one hand the MPAA rating system, ironically, made movies just generally grittier (right after the X rating came out a bunch of mainstream movies came out with X ratings! last tango, midnight cowboy, clockwork orange, and who could forget that timeless classic "the gore-gore girls"?) and on the other hand, the old studio system that had held sway since the golden age was falling away, with the big producers like cecil de mille etc. getting out of the game, but the conglomerate corporate system that exists today hadn't taken hold yet. so it was a nice in-between period and a lot of good directors got funding for good projects.

I like the aspect that ANYTHING could happen in 70's films.
Films didn't have to have a happy ending or the "good Guy wins" ....{French Connection...Taxi Driver...Night Moves....Chinatown...}
And the ending to DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY............WOW !!!!.....Race With the Devil.........
A lot of Films made during the 70's could NEVER be made today.Can You see Mandingo being made today ?...Three the Hard Way ?......No way !