New Hollywood: Essential Films

The decade the directors took over the studios, 1967–1980: the essential New Hollywood films, ranked by our composite score across the world's canons.

New Hollywood was the American film movement that began when the studio system's collapse handed creative control to a generation of young, film-school-literate directors — conventionally dated from Bonnie and Clyde and The Graduate in 1967 to the failure of Heaven's Gate in 1980. Coppola, Scorsese, Altman, Ashby and their peers made morally ambiguous, European-inflected films inside the studios themselves, producing an unmatched run from The Godfather to Chinatown to Taxi Driver; the era's own children, Jaws and Star Wars, then invented the blockbuster economics that ended it.

The Godfather (1972) leads with a composite score of 9.75. Top 100 of 159 films in our library.

1
The Godfather1972 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States / Italy · crime, drama, thriller
9.75
Empire 500 (2008) #1 · Oscar Best Picture winner 1972 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #3
2
2001: A Space Odyssey1968 · Stanley Kubrick · United States / United Kingdom · adventure, mystery, sci-fi
7.43
Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #6 · AFI 100 (2007) #15
3
Apocalypse Now1979 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · war, action, drama
6.84
Palme d'Or winner 1979 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #18 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #19
4
Taxi Driver1976 · Martin Scorsese · United States · film-noir, drama, crime
6.25
Palme d'Or winner 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1976 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #12
5
Raging Bull1980 · Martin Scorsese · United States · biography, drama, action
5.71
AFI 100 (2007) #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22 · Siskel's annual top 10 1980 #1
6
Annie Hall1977 · Woody Allen · United States · comedy, romance, drama
5.55
Oscar Best Picture winner 1977 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1978 · Siskel's annual top 10 1977 #1
7
The Godfather Part II1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · drama, crime, thriller
5.37
Oscar Best Picture winner 1974 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #26 · Letterboxd Top 250 #8
8
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest1975 · Miloš Forman · United States · comedy, drama
4.63
Oscar Best Picture winner 1975 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1977 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1976 #2
9
Midnight Cowboy1969 · John Schlesinger · United States · drama
4.62
Oscar Best Picture winner 1969 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1970 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1969 #2
10
Chinatown1974 · Roman Polanski · United States · film-noir, mystery, thriller
4.33
Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1974 · AFI 100 (2007) #21
11
MASH1970 · Robert Altman · United States · comedy, drama, war
4.25
Palme d'Or winner 1970 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1970 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1970 #5
12
The Deer Hunter1978 · Michael Cimino · United States · war, drama
4.15
Oscar Best Picture winner 1978 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1979 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #211
13
Barry Lyndon1975 · Stanley Kubrick · United States / United Kingdom · drama, war, adventure
3.95
Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #12 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #45 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1975
14
The Graduate1967 · Mike Nichols · United States · comedy, drama, romance
3.92
BAFTA Best Film winner 1969 · AFI 100 (1998) #7 · AFI 100 (2007) #17
15
Bonnie and Clyde1967 · Arthur Penn · United States · drama, crime, biography
3.82
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1968 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1967 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1967
16
The Conversation1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · thriller, drama, mystery
3.76
Palme d'Or winner 1974 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1974
17
Rocky1976 · John G. Avildsen · United States · drama, action
3.65
Oscar Best Picture winner 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1977 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #57
18
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope1977 · George Lucas · United States · sci-fi, action, adventure
3.58
AFI 100 (2007) #13 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1977 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #225
19
Jaws1975 · Steven Spielberg · United States · thriller, horror, adventure
3.52
Empire 500 (2008) #5 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1975
20
The French Connection1971 · William Friedkin · United States · crime, action, thriller
3.44
Oscar Best Picture winner 1971 · AFI 100 (2007) #93 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1972 #10
21
Nashville1975 · Robert Altman · United States · comedy, drama, musical
3.41
Ebert's annual top 10 1975 #1 · Siskel's annual top 10 1975 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1975
22
Network1976 · Sidney Lumet · United States · comedy, drama, romance
3.39
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1977 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1976 · AFI 100 (2007) #64
23
The Last Picture Show1971 · Peter Bogdanovich · United States · drama
3.35
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1972 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1971 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1971
24
All That Jazz1979 · Bob Fosse · United States · musical, drama, biography
3.28
Palme d'Or winner 1980 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1980 #8
25
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid1969 · George Roy Hill · United States · comedy, drama, western
3.27
BAFTA Best Film winner 1971 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1969 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1970 #4
26
Kramer vs. Kramer1979 · Robert Benton · United States · drama
3.17
Oscar Best Picture winner 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1980 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1979 #1
27
A Clockwork Orange1971 · Stanley Kubrick · United Kingdom / United States · drama, crime, thriller
3.06
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1971 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1972 #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243
28
Cabaret1972 · Bob Fosse · United States · musical, drama
2.98
BAFTA Best Film winner 1973 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1972 · AFI 100 (2007) #63
29
Manhattan1979 · Woody Allen · United States · comedy, romance, drama
2.77
BAFTA Best Film winner 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1980 #5 · Sarris's annual top 10 1979 #2
30
A Woman Under the Influence1974 · John Cassavetes · United States · drama
2.65
Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #18 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #114 · Kehr's annual top 10 1975 #3
31
All the President's Men1976 · Alan J. Pakula · United States · crime, drama, thriller
2.60
Siskel's annual top 10 1976 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1976 · AFI 100 (2007) #77
32
Patton1970 · Franklin J. Schaffner · United States · biography, war, drama
2.47
Oscar Best Picture winner 1970 · AFI 100 (1998) #89 · National Film Registry (inducted 2003)
33
Days of Heaven1978 · Terrence Malick · United States · drama, romance
2.45
Kehr's annual top 10 1978 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #152 · Ebert's annual top 10 1978 #2
34
The Sting1973 · George Roy Hill · United States · crime, comedy, drama
2.37
Oscar Best Picture winner 1973 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1974 #4 · National Film Registry (inducted 2005)
35
Easy Rider1969 · Dennis Hopper · United States · drama, action
2.34
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1970 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #84 · AFI 100 (1998) #88
36
The Wild Bunch1969 · Sam Peckinpah · United States · crime, western
2.30
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #136 · AFI 100 (2007) #79 · AFI 100 (1998) #80
37
Five Easy Pieces1970 · Bob Rafelson · United States · drama
2.28
Ebert's annual top 10 1970 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1970 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1971 #8
38
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore1974 · Martin Scorsese · United States · romance, drama, comedy
2.19
BAFTA Best Film winner 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1975 #3 · Ebert's annual top 10 1975 #3
39
Gloria1980 · John Cassavetes · United States · crime, drama
2.12
Venice Golden Lion winner 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1981 #5 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1981 #10
40
Julia1977 · Fred Zinnemann · United States / United Kingdom · drama, biography
2.08
BAFTA Best Film winner 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1978 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1977
41
Dog Day Afternoon1975 · Sidney Lumet · United States · crime, action, drama
2.04
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1975 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1976 #5 · National Film Registry (inducted 2009)
42
American Graffiti1973 · George Lucas · United States · comedy, romance, drama
2.03
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1973 · AFI 100 (2007) #62 · AFI 100 (1998) #77
43
An Unmarried Woman1978 · Paul Mazursky · United States · comedy, drama
1.94
Ebert's annual top 10 1978 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1978 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1978
44
Being There1979 · Hal Ashby · United States · comedy, drama
1.91
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1981 #7 · National Film Registry (inducted 2015) · Ebert's annual top 10 1980 #4
45
The Exorcist1973 · William Friedkin · United States · horror, mystery, drama
1.87
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1973 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1974 #10 · Siskel's annual top 10 1973 #3
46
Badlands1973 · Terrence Malick · United States · drama, crime
1.87
San Sebastián Golden Shell winner 1974 · National Film Registry (inducted 1993) · Empire 500 (2008) #155
47
Close Encounters of the Third Kind1977 · Steven Spielberg · United States · sci-fi, adventure, drama
1.83
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1978 #4 · Empire 500 (2008) #59 · AFI 100 (1998) #64
48
McCabe & Mrs. Miller1971 · Robert Altman · United States · western, drama
1.71
Ebert's annual top 10 1971 #2 · Siskel's annual top 10 1971 #3 · National Film Registry (inducted 2010)
49
The Shining1980 · Stanley Kubrick · United Kingdom / United States · horror, drama, mystery
1.59
Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #88 · Empire 500 (2008) #52 · National Film Registry (inducted 2018)
50
Rosemary's Baby1968 · Roman Polanski · United States · horror, drama, thriller
1.40
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1969 #5 · Empire 500 (2008) #78 · National Film Registry (inducted 2014)
51
Eraserhead1977 · David Lynch · United States · horror, thriller, drama
1.33
Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52 · National Film Registry (inducted 2004) · Empire 500 (2008) #192
52
Mean Streets1973 · Martin Scorsese · United States · drama, crime, thriller
1.33
National Film Registry (inducted 1997) · Siskel's annual top 10 1974 #5 · Empire 500 (2008) #377
53
Harry and Tonto1974 · Paul Mazursky · United States · comedy, drama
1.32
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1975 #1 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Siskel's annual top 10 1974 #8
54
Little Big Man1970 · Arthur Penn · United States · comedy, drama, western
1.22
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1971 #3 · National Film Registry (inducted 2014) · Siskel's annual top 10 1971 #4
55
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson1976 · Robert Altman · United States · western, comedy
1.16
Berlin Golden Bear winner 1976 · Siskel's annual top 10 1976 #8
56
Lenny1974 · Bob Fosse · United States · biography, drama
1.15
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1974 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1975 #4 · Criterion Collection spine #1312
57
Halloween1978 · John Carpenter · United States · horror, drama, thriller
1.14
National Film Registry (inducted 2006) · Empire 500 (2008) #461 · Ebert's annual top 10 1978 #7
58
The Long Goodbye1973 · Robert Altman · United States · crime, film-noir, mystery
1.07
National Film Registry (inducted 2021) · Empire 500 (2008) #357 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
59
Night Moves1975 · Arthur Penn · United States · film-noir, mystery, thriller
1.07
Ebert's annual top 10 1975 #2 · Sarris's annual top 10 1975 #6 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
60
The Last Detail1973 · Hal Ashby · United States · drama, comedy
1.06
Siskel's annual top 10 1974 #2 · BAFTA Best Film nominee 1975 · Ebert's annual top 10 1974 #5
61
Melvin and Howard1980 · Jonathan Demme · United States · drama, comedy
1.06
Kehr's annual top 10 1981 #1 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Siskel's annual top 10 1981 #8
62
Faces1968 · John Cassavetes · United States · drama
1.03
National Film Registry (inducted 2011) · Ebert's annual top 10 1968 #4 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
63
Point Blank1967 · John Boorman · United States · crime, film-noir, drama
0.99
National Film Registry (inducted 2016) · Sarris's annual top 10 1967 #4 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
64
Woodstock1970 · Michael Wadleigh, Thelma Schoonmaker, Martin Scorsese · United States · documentary, musical
0.99
National Film Registry (inducted 1996) · Ebert's annual top 10 1970 #5 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
65
Deliverance1972 · John Boorman · United States · thriller, drama, adventure
0.95
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1972 · National Film Registry (inducted 2008) · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
66
The Goodbye Girl1977 · Herbert Ross · United States · comedy, romance, drama
0.95
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1978 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1977
67
Bound for Glory1976 · Hal Ashby · United States · biography, musical, drama
0.92
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1977 #9 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
68
Paper Moon1973 · Peter Bogdanovich · United States · comedy, drama
0.90
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1974 #5 · Letterboxd Top 250 #77 · Criterion Collection spine #1241
69
Dirty Harry1971 · Don Siegel · United States · thriller, crime, action
0.86
National Film Registry (inducted 2012) · Empire 500 (2008) #184 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
70
Animal House1978 · John Landis · United States · comedy
0.85
National Film Registry (inducted 2001) · Empire 500 (2008) #279 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
71
Night of the Living Dead1968 · George A. Romero · United States · horror, sci-fi, mystery
0.84
National Film Registry (inducted 1999) · Empire 500 (2008) #397 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
72
Straw Dogs1971 · Sam Peckinpah · United Kingdom / United States / Australia · drama
0.83
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1972 #5 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #182
73
The Producers1967 · Mel Brooks · United States · comedy, musical
0.82
National Film Registry (inducted 1996) · Ebert's annual top 10 1968 #6 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
74
Fiddler on the Roof1971 · Norman Jewison · United States · comedy, drama, musical
0.81
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1971 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1971 #6
75
Coming Home1978 · Hal Ashby · United States · drama, war, romance
0.78
Oscar Best Picture nominee 1978 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Siskel's annual top 10 1978 #7
76
The Rain People1969 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · drama
0.75
San Sebastián Golden Shell winner 1969
77
Harold and Maude1971 · Hal Ashby · United States · comedy, romance, drama
0.75
Empire 500 (2008) #65 · National Film Registry (inducted 1997) · Criterion Collection spine #608
78
The Last Waltz1978 · Martin Scorsese · United States · documentary
0.73
National Film Registry (inducted 2019) · Empire 500 (2008) #344 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
79
Blazing Saddles1974 · Mel Brooks · United States · comedy, western
0.72
National Film Registry (inducted 2006) · Empire 500 (2008) #115 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
80
Saturday Night Fever1977 · John Badham · United States · drama
0.72
National Film Registry (inducted 2010) · Siskel's annual top 10 1977 #5 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
81
Medium Cool1969 · Haskell Wexler · United States · documentary, drama
0.70
Ebert's annual top 10 1969 #2 · National Film Registry (inducted 2003) · Criterion Collection spine #658
82
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid1973 · Sam Peckinpah · United States · western, biography
0.69
Hoberman's annual top 10 1989 #2 · Empire 500 (2008) #126 · Criterion Collection spine #1224
83
In Cold Blood1967 · Richard Brooks · United States · drama, documentary, crime
0.69
National Film Registry (inducted 2008) · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #781
84
Airplane!1980 · Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker · United States · comedy, romance
0.68
National Film Registry (inducted 2010) · Empire 500 (2008) #368 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
85
Young Frankenstein1974 · Mel Brooks · United States · horror, comedy, sci-fi
0.66
National Film Registry (inducted 2003) · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Sarris's annual top 10 1974 #8
86
3 Women1977 · Robert Altman · United States · drama
0.66
Sarris's annual top 10 1977 #3 · Criterion Collection spine #230 · Roger Ebert's Great Movies
87
Sorcerer1977 · William Friedkin · United States / Mexico · thriller, action
0.62
Letterboxd Top 250 #205 · Criterion Collection spine #1267 · Ebert's annual top 10 1977 #9
88
Two-Lane Blacktop1971 · Monte Hellman · United States · drama, action
0.61
National Film Registry (inducted 2012) · Criterion Collection spine #414 · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies
89
The Outlaw Josey Wales1976 · Clint Eastwood · United States · western
0.59
National Film Registry (inducted 1996) · Empire 500 (2008) #219 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies
90
Shampoo1975 · Hal Ashby · United States · comedy, romance, drama
0.59
Sarris's annual top 10 1975 #4 · Empire 500 (2008) #146 · Criterion Collection spine #947
91
Dressed to Kill1980 · Brian De Palma · United States · film-noir, horror, thriller
0.58
NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #770 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1980 #10
92
Carrie1976 · Brian De Palma · United States · horror, thriller, drama
0.57
Empire 500 (2008) #86 · National Film Registry (inducted 2022) · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies
93
Interiors1978 · Woody Allen · United States · romance, drama
0.56
Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1979 #5 · Ebert's annual top 10 1978 #6
94
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song1971 · Melvin Van Peebles · United States · comedy, action, thriller
0.55
National Film Registry (inducted 2020) · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Criterion Collection spine #1095
95
Blue Collar1978 · Paul Schrader · United States · drama, crime, mystery
0.53
Siskel's annual top 10 1978 #4 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Kehr's annual top 10 1978 #9
96
Dont Look Back1967 · D. A. Pennebaker · United States · documentary
0.53
National Film Registry (inducted 1998) · Criterion Collection spine #786 · Sarris's annual top 10 1998 #null
97
Grease1978 · Randal Kleiser · United Kingdom / United States · comedy, romance, musical
0.52
National Film Registry (inducted 2020) · Empire 500 (2008) #333 · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies
98
Planet of the Apes1968 · Franklin J. Schaffner · United States · sci-fi
0.51
National Film Registry (inducted 2001) · Empire 500 (2008) #350 · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies
99
Bullitt1968 · Peter Yates · United States · crime, thriller, action
0.50
National Film Registry (inducted 2007) · NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Edgar Wright's 1,000 favorite movies
100
Carnal Knowledge1971 · Mike Nichols · United States · comedy, drama
0.50
NYT Best 1,000 Movies · Ebert's annual top 10 1971 #7 · Criterion Collection spine #1270

The window: 1967 to 1980

Our page runs the standard periodization — Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and The Graduate (1967) at one end, the ruinous failure of Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate in 1980 at the other. Those thirteen years are when the studios, gutted by television and by the 1948 Paramount antitrust ruling that stripped them of their theater chains, gambled on a generation of young, film-school-trained directors and handed them creative control. The trigger was demographic as much as legal: by the mid-1970s most ticket buyers were under thirty, and the majors no longer knew how to reach them. The "Movie Brats" — Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, Spielberg, De Palma — did.

What the directors won

Brief window, huge dividend. Francis Ford Coppola turned a pulp crime novel into national tragedy across the two Godfather pictures; Martin Scorsese put the raw nervous system of the American city on screen; Robert Altman dissolved the well-made plot into overlapping human noise. Around them worked Arthur Penn, Mike Nichols and Hal Ashby — directors who imported the moral ambiguity and loose, European-influenced form of the New Waves into films the majors financed and released. For roughly a decade the most commercially ambitious American cinema and its most artistically serious cinema were the same films, which had rarely been true before and has rarely been true since. The era then engineered its own ending: Jaws (1975) and Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), made by its youngest members, proved a saturation-marketed blockbuster could out-earn any auteur's confession, and the money chased the spectacle back inside the studio walls.

How to read our list

The order here is our composite score across the canons — not chronology, not box office — so the two films that opened the movement place midfield rather than first. Bonnie and Clyde, the starting gun, sits at #67; The Graduate at #64. The summit is The Godfather (1972) at #1, the number-one film in our entire library, trailed by Apocalypse Now (1979) at #5 and Taxi Driver (1976) at #7. The blockbusters that killed the era still trail the auteur peaks by canon weight — Star Wars at #85, Jaws at #92 — a reminder that ticket sales and critical durability are different currencies. Membership is unusually well-attested here: New Hollywood carries the richest Wikidata movement coverage of any page on this site, so films enter chiefly through explicit per-film claims — which is why Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974) and Miloš Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) appear though neither director anchors the core auteur set — clipped to the 1967–1980 window, then re-ranked by score.