1974 was an especially strong year in film. Many would call classics like Chinatown and Godfather 2 among the greatest films of that decade. The fact that those two were not at the top of my list says less about them about films, and more about the other greats that came out that year. Lacombe, Luciene by Louis Malle is one of the films that inspired my topic study this semester. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul works on a number of different cultural and even linguistic levels, plus it is simply a well told and produced story.

What was striking about this year were the films I left off my list. There were some good ones, such as Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Murder on the Orient Express, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Longest Yard, and many more.

1. Lacombe, Lucien
2. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
3. The Conversation
4. Godfather 2
5. Alice in the Cities
6. Lancelot du Lac
7. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
8. Chinatown
9. The Castle of Sand
10. Hearts and Minds
11. The Parallax View
12. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
13. Going Places
14. Harry and Tonto
15. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
16. The Phantom of Liberty
17. Black Christmas
18. The Gambler
19. A Woman Under the Influence
20. Lenny