The 1970s were a decade of cinematic innovation and cultural upheaval, marked by a wave of paranoid, racy, and unflinching movies that sent a shock through Hollywood. Netflix, while not the go-to platform for classic cinema, does offer a selection of these films, providing a jumping-off point for exploring the era's cinematic trends. Here's a look at some of the best '70s movies streaming on Netflix, each offering a unique perspective on the decade's cultural and cinematic landscape.
Airport
Explanation: A disaster movie template, "Airport" is an all-star cast affair, tracking a frantic night at a fictional Midwestern airport during a blizzard. It's a soap-opera melodrama braided with action-movie tension, featuring Burt Lancaster as an embattled airport manager and Dean Martin, Jean Seberg, and Jacqueline Bisset in supporting roles.
Interpretation: "Airport" is a genre artifact, a film that believes in the stakes of its own mechanics and delivers them with an impressive sense of workmanlike, practical moviemaking. It's a compelling watch, even if its dated facets of storytelling and tension come off as old-fashioned.
Commentary: In my opinion, "Airport" is a classic of its kind, a film that spawned three awful sequels and a subgenre of disaster movies. It's a testament to the power of its storytelling and the charisma of its cast, even if its melodrama is so broad that it's easy to see why it was ripe for parody.
Slap Shot
Explanation: "Slap Shot" is a sports comedy set in a fictional Western Pennsylvania mill town, focusing on a beleaguered hockey team and the aging player-coach who resorts to brutal on-ice tactics to save the franchise. It's written by Nancy Dowd, loosely based on her brother's experiences playing minor league hockey.
Interpretation: "Slap Shot" is a sharper movie than its reputation as a hockey comedy may suggest, with a poignant sense of realism that recognizes the more true-to-life circumstances of living outside the sport. It's a crowd-pleasing film that takes the typical sports dramedy plotting and gives it a sense of realism.
Commentary: Personally, I think "Slap Shot" is a hidden gem, a film that holds onto the thread of melancholy in a way that sets it apart from its peers. It's a testament to the power of sports movies to capture the human condition, even in the face of despair and struggle.
National Lampoon's Animal House
Explanation: "Animal House" is a cult-favorite feature film, the first foray into feature filmmaking by humor and satire magazine National Lampoon. It's a college-set movie about a troublemaking fraternity house and the friction they run into with their prestigious peers and the domineering faculty.
Interpretation: "Animal House" is a string-together selection of skits and jokes masquerading as a movie, but it's a genuinely funny ensemble that captures the enduring notion of a futile effort to mature when becoming an adult. It's a film that speaks to a rowdy generation of young people who had grown up in a completely different America from that of their elders.
Commentary: In my opinion, "Animal House" is a classic party comedy, a film that broke out despite Warner Bros.' insistence that the premise could never make for a successful movie. It's a testament to the power of humor and satire to capture the spirit of an era, even if some of the comedy doesn't play in 2026 as it did nearly 50 years ago.
Smokey and the Bandit
Explanation: "Smokey and the Bandit" is a summer blockbuster from 1977, starring Burt Reynolds as a good-natured Southern outlaw who accepts a bet to transport a truckload of Coors beer from Texarkana to Atlanta in 28 hours. It's a film that combines practical stunts with charisma and movie-star appeal.
Interpretation: "Smokey and the Bandit" is a pure entertainment film, a summer hangout movie that succeeds on the back of Reynolds' and Fields' charisma, as well as some truly thrilling driving stunts. It's a testament to the power of a well-crafted story to entertain audiences.
Commentary: Personally, I think "Smokey and the Bandit" is a classic summer movie, a film that spawned a series of disappointing sequels and TV movies. It's a testament to the power of a well-crafted story to endure, even if the sequels didn't live up to the original.
Rocky
Explanation: "Rocky" is a sports character drama about a club fighter from Philadelphia who gets the chance to face a heavyweight champion in the ring. It's a film that celebrates tenacity, hard work, and ambition, reflecting contemporary hardships and the pursuit of the American Dream.
Interpretation: "Rocky" is a crowd-pleasing film that delivers a satisfying ending, even if it's not the easy one. It's a testament to the power of a well-crafted story to capture the human condition, even in the face of struggle and adversity.
Commentary: In my opinion, "Rocky" is a classic sports movie, a film that won Best Picture at the 1977 Academy Awards against the competition of "All The President's Men," "Network," and "Taxi Driver." It's a testament to the power of a well-crafted story to endure, even if it's not the most realistic portrayal of the human condition.
Rocky II
Explanation: "Rocky II" is a sequel to "Rocky," focusing on a rematch between the champ Apollo Creed and Rocky, with the former looking to restore his unconquerable reputation and the latter still looking to prove himself after losing the climactic fight in "Rocky."
Interpretation: "Rocky II" is a well-crafted sequel, with care put into the continuation of Balboa's emotional trajectory after his personal deliverance at the end of the first film. It's a testament to the power of a well-crafted story to endure, even if it's not as textured as the original.
Commentary: Personally, I think "Rocky II" is a perfectly entertaining sequel, with solid formal chops that make it sufficiently watchable. It's a testament to the power of a well-crafted story to endure, even if it's not as great as the original.
High Plains Drifter
Explanation: "High Plains Drifter" is a Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, featuring a stoic, nameless stranger who rides into town and gets involved in an existing conflict that he influences to his liking. It's a meaner film than any of the Leone movies, with Eastwood playing the Devil incarnate.
Interpretation: "High Plains Drifter" is a troubling veracity of life in an earlier time in our country, which wasn't defined by valiant heroism but by an apathy toward such moral blustering in a time when survival and goodness were nothing close to hand-in-hand. It's a film that delivers a spiritual judgment and revenge, manifested as a ghostly figure that takes ownership of the settlement and its people.
Commentary: In my opinion, "High Plains Drifter" is a great film, a testament to Eastwood's bravery in using his movie-star power to deliver a troubling veracity of life in an earlier time. It's a film that speaks to the power of cinema to capture the human condition, even in the face of darkness and despair.
American Graffiti
Explanation: "American Graffiti" is a low-budget ensemble piece set over the course of a single summer night in 1962 Modesto, California, as a group of teenagers hovers on the edge of adulthood. It's a film that captures the blissed-out wave of early '60s California youth culture.
Interpretation: "American Graffiti" is a coming-of-age movie, a film that captures the elegiac quality of a lost cultural naiveté. It's a testament to the power of cinema to capture the spirit of an era, even if it's a decade removed by the time it hit theaters.
Commentary: Personally, I think "American Graffiti" is one of the great coming-of-age movies, a film that speaks to the power of cinema to capture the human condition, even in the face of change and uncertainty.
