Best Movies of 1974

The highest-rated films from 1974 according to MovieMagicScore. Rankings based purely on what viewers actually think.

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The Godfather Part II

1974 · 13,926 ratings

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

8.6

Chinatown

1974 · 4,065 ratings

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.

7.9

Young Frankenstein

1974 · 3,275 ratings

A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.

7.9

We All Loved Each Other So Much

1974 · 649 ratings

Three partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.

8.3

Scenes from a Marriage

1974 · 385 ratings

Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Before long, the spouses separate and move towards finalizing their divorce, but they make attempts at reconciling. Even as they pursue other relationships, Johan and Marianne realize that they have a significant bond, but also many issues that hinder that connection.

8.1

The Conversation

1974 · 1,919 ratings

A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.

7.5

A Woman Under the Influence

1974 · 532 ratings

Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.

7.8

Badlands

1974 · 1,274 ratings

An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.

7.5

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

1974 · 435 ratings

Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.

7.7

#10

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

1974 · 3,684 ratings

Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.

7.3

#11

Watch Out, We're Mad

1974 · 847 ratings

After a tied 1st place in a local stunt race, two drivers start a contest to decide who of them will own the prize, a dune buggy. But when a mobster destroys the car, they are determined to get it back.

7.4

#12

Phantom of the Paradise

1974 · 713 ratings

Singer-songwriter Winslow Leach seeks revenge on the nefarious music producer Swan, who steals both Winslow's music and his favorite singer for the grand opening of Swan's new rock palace, the Paradise.

7.5

#13

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

1974 · 583 ratings

In New York, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

7.5

#14

Alice in the Cities

1974 · 322 ratings

German journalist Philip Winter has a case of writer’s block when trying to write an article about the United States. He decides to return to Germany, and while trying to book a flight, encounters a German woman and her nine year old daughter Alice doing the same. The three become friends (almost out of necessity) and while the mother asks Winter to mind Alice temporarily, it quickly becomes apparent that Alice will be his responsibility for longer than he expected.

7.7

#15

Blazing Saddles

1974 · 1,981 ratings

A town—where everyone seems to be named Johnson—stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his henchmen to make life in the town unbearable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west.

7.2

#16

Murder on the Orient Express

1974 · 1,506 ratings

In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.

7.1

#17

Swept Away

1974 · 333 ratings

A spoiled rich woman and a brutish Communist deckhand become stranded alone on a desert island after venturing away from their cruise.

7.4

#18

The Phantom of Liberty

1974 · 314 ratings

This Surrealist film, with a title referencing the Communist Manifesto, strings together short incidents based on the life of director Luis Buñuel. Presented as chance encounters, these loosely related, intersecting situations, all without a consistent protagonist, reach from the 19th century to the 1970s. Touching briefly on subjects such as execution, pedophilia, incest, and sex, the film features an array of characters, including a sick father and incompetent police officers.

7.4

#19

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser

1974 · 353 ratings

The film follows Kaspar Hauser, who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.

7.4

#20

The Front Page

1974 · 368 ratings

A journalist suffering from burn-out wants to finally say goodbye to his office – but his boss doesn’t like the idea one bit.

7.3

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About 1974 Movies

These are the best-rated movies released in 1974 according to MovieMagicScore. Our ranking system aggregates genuine viewer ratings to give you an honest picture of what audiences actually think about these films.

From blockbusters to indie gems, discover what made 1974 memorable in cinema based on the collective opinion of movie lovers worldwide.

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