1971 Movies, Best to Worst
by J_Frank_Parnell | created - 25 Mar 2023 | updated - 2 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Harold and Maude (1971)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 81,869
10/10*
2. Duel (1971 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Action, Thriller
A business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell
Votes: 78,431
10/10*
3. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke
Votes: 881,579 | Gross: $6.21M
10/10*
4. The French Connection (1971)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Votes: 135,749 | Gross: $15.63M
10/10
5. Wake in Fright (1971)
R | 109 min | Drama, Thriller
After a bad gambling bet, a schoolteacher is marooned in a town full of crazy, drunk, violent men who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay
Votes: 13,970 | Gross: $0.05M
10/10*
6. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
G | 100 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.
Director: Mel Stuart | Stars: Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum, Roy Kinnear
Votes: 227,456 | Gross: $4.00M
10/10
7. Dirty Harry (1971)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
Directors: Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Votes: 168,348 | Gross: $35.90M
10/10*
8. Walkabout (1971)
GP | 100 min | Adventure, Drama
Two city-bred siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the aid of an Aboriginal boy on his "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Jenny Agutter, David Gulpilil, Luc Roeg, John Meillon
Votes: 27,353 | Gross: $0.02M
10/10*
9. Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
R | 102 min | Drama
While drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevrolet 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an enigmatic hitchhiker and the tall-tale-spinning driver of a GTO.
Director: Monte Hellman | Stars: James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson
Votes: 13,424
10/10*
10. Get Carter (1971)
R | 112 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland, John Osborne
Votes: 36,794 | Gross: $0.39M
9/10
11. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
G | 181 min | Drama, Family, Musical
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a Jewish peasant with traditional values contends with marrying off three of his daughters with modern romantic ideals while growing anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his village.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon
Votes: 47,889 | Gross: $80.50M
9/10*
12. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
R | 120 min | Drama, Western
A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane
Votes: 27,662 | Gross: $8.20M
9/10
13. Vanishing Point (1971)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
During the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.
Director: Richard C. Sarafian | Stars: Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Charlotte Rampling, Dean Jagger
Votes: 30,542
9/10*
14. The Devils (1971)
R | 111 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 17th-century France, Father Urbain Grandier's protection of the city of Loudun from the corrupt Cardinal Richelieu is undermined by a sexually repressed nun's accusation of witchcraft.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Vanessa Redgrave, Oliver Reed, Dudley Sutton, Max Adrian
Votes: 18,677 | Gross: $1.13M
9/10
15. The Omega Man (1971)
PG | 98 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Dr Robert Neville has developed an experimental vaccine which makes him the only immune survivor of a biological catastrophe. A gang of homicidal mutants blame science for their condition and attempt to kill him.
Director: Boris Sagal | Stars: Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash, Paul Koslo
Votes: 34,078 | Gross: $8.72M
9/10*
16. Punishment Park (1971)
R | 91 min | Drama, Thriller
"Punishment Park" is a pseudo-documentary purporting to be a film crews's news coverage of the team of soldiers escorting a group of hippies, draft dodgers, and anti-establishment types ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Watkins | Stars: Patrick Boland, Kent Foreman, Carmen Argenziano, Luke Johnson
Votes: 7,634
9/10*
17. Monty Python's and Now for Something Completely Different (1971)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
An anthology of the best sketches from the first and second seasons of Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969).
Director: Ian MacNaughton | Stars: John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam
Votes: 31,509
9/10
18. Duck, You Sucker! (1971)
PG | 138 min | Drama, War, Western
A low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti
Votes: 37,519 | Gross: $0.70M
8/10
19. Straw Dogs (1971)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
Votes: 64,523
8/10*
20. The Last Picture Show (1971)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson
Votes: 52,408 | Gross: $29.13M
8/10
21. The Big Boss (1971)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man sworn to an oath of non-violence works with his cousins in an ice factory where they mysteriously begin to disappear.
Directors: Wei Lo, Chia-Hsiang Wu | Stars: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien, Marilyn Bautista
Votes: 29,481 | Gross: $0.04M
8/10
22. Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
R | 111 min | Drama, War
During World War I, a patriotic young American is rendered blind, deaf, limbless, and mute by a horrific artillery shell attack. Trapped in what's left of his body, he desperately looks for a way to end his life.
Director: Dalton Trumbo | Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields, Marsha Hunt, Jason Robards
Votes: 18,358 | Gross: $0.55M
7/10
23. On Any Sunday (1971)
G | 96 min | Documentary, Sport
Documentary on motorcycle racing featuring stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen, a racer in his own right.
Director: Bruce Brown | Stars: Steve McQueen, Dave Aldana, Mark Brelsford, Bruce Brown
Votes: 1,545
7/10
24. The Beguiled (1971)
R | 105 min | Drama, Thriller, War
While recuperating in a Confederate girls' boarding school, a Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page, Elizabeth Hartman, Jo Ann Harris
Votes: 19,220
6/10
25. Bananas (1971)
PG-13 | 82 min | Comedy
When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, Carlos Montalbán, Nati Abascal
Votes: 37,823 | Gross: $11.80M
6/10
26. Trinity Is Still My Name (1971)
G | 117 min | Comedy, Western
Bambino tries to teach his brother Trinity how to become an outlaw, but the two wind up saving a pioneer family and breaking up an arms ring instead.
Director: Enzo Barboni | Stars: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Yanti Somer, Enzo Tarascio
Votes: 17,417
5/10
27. Play Misty for Me (1971)
R | 102 min | Drama, Thriller
The life of a disc jockey is turned upside down after a romantic encounter with an obsessed fan.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Jessica Walter, Donna Mills, John Larch
Votes: 31,930 | Gross: $11.80M
5/10*
28. The Moon and the Sledgehammer (1971)
65 min | Documentary
Mr. Page and his two sons and two daughters live a primitive life in the woods in southern England with traction engines.
Director: Philip Trevelyan
Votes: 145
5/10
29. Shaft (1971)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Director: Gordon Parks | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John
Votes: 21,036 | Gross: $16.69M
4/10
30. The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)
G | 90 min | Documentary, Drama
A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.
Directors: Walon Green, Ed Spiegel | Stars: Lawrence Pressman, Conlan Carter, Ian McShane, Suzanne Pleshette
Votes: 962 | Gross: $0.04M
31. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Horror
Doctor, scientist, organist, and biblical scholar Anton Phibes seeks revenge on the nine doctors he considers responsible for the death of his wife.
Director: Robert Fuest | Stars: Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Virginia North, Terry-Thomas
Votes: 16,683 | Gross: $0.55M
3/10
32. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
G | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.
Directors: Robert Stevenson, Ward Kimball | Stars: Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe
Votes: 40,735 | Gross: $18.53M
3/10*
33. The Andromeda Strain (1971)
G | 131 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Top scientists work feverishly in a secret, state-of-the-art laboratory to discover what killed the citizens of a small town and how the deadly contagion can be stopped.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: James Olson, Arthur Hill, David Wayne, Kate Reid
Votes: 40,454 | Gross: $3.42M
3/10
34. Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
PG | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood
Votes: 114,181 | Gross: $43.82M
3/10
35. THX 1138 (1971)
R | 86 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley, Maggie McOmie
Votes: 54,633 | Gross: $2.44M
3/10
36. The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
PG | 110 min | Drama
Follows the lives of heroin addicts who frequent "Needle Park" in New York City.
Director: Jerry Schatzberg | Stars: Al Pacino, Kitty Winn, Alan Vint, Richard Bright
Votes: 20,224
3/10
37. The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A chronicle of Fred Hampton's revolutionary leadership of the Illinois Black Panther Party, followed by an investigation into his assassination at the hands of the Chicago Police Department.
Director: Howard Alk | Stars: Skip Andrew, Edward Carmody, James Davis, Rennie Davis
Votes: 555
38. A Taste of Evil (1971 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 73 min | Horror, Thriller
On her way home from a stay at a mental institution after a traumatic rape, a woman realizes that someone is deliberately trying to drive her insane.
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Barbara Parkins, Roddy McDowall, William Windom
Votes: 744
3/10
39. The Bus Is Coming (1971)
GP | 109 min | Drama
A young black soldier returns home to Los Angeles from combat in Vietnam to find out that his brother had been killed by a gang of racist cops. Angered, he joins a black nationalist group to take his revenge.
Director: Wendell Franklin | Stars: Mike B. Sims, Lonnie Bradford, Stephanie Faulkner, Burl Bullock
Votes: 82
3/10
40. The Point (1971 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 74 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A father reads his son a bedtime story about young Oblio, who is banished from the fantastical kingdom of pointed heads and things for having no point.
Director: Fred Wolf | Stars: Ringo Starr, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Frees, Lennie Weinrib
Votes: 3,069
2/10
41. Bury Me an Angel (1971)
R | 89 min | Action, Drama
Tautly directed biker film, told from the woman's point of view. The heroine sets out on the road to avenge her brother's murder, toting a shotgun and meaning business.
Director: Barbara Peeters | Stars: Dixie Peabody, Terry Mace, Clyde Ventura, Joanne Moore Jordan
Votes: 321
2/10
42. The Hard Ride (1971)
GP | 93 min | Action, Drama
Phil agrees to look after his dying Vietnam vet buddy by taking care of his motorcycle only to run into some trouble with both the law and other bikers.
Director: Burt Topper | Stars: Robert Fuller, Sherry Bain, Tony Russel, William Bonner
Votes: 364
2/10
43. Werewolves on Wheels (1971)
R | 80 min | Horror
A biker gang and its leader fall prey to a satan worshipper and his cult.
Director: Michel Levesque | Stars: Steve Oliver, Donna Anderson, Gene Shane, Billy Gray
Votes: 1,566
2/10
44. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.
Director: Melvin Van Peebles | Stars: Melvin Van Peebles, Hubert Scales, John Dullaghan, Simon Chuckster
Votes: 5,868 | Gross: $15.18M
1/10
45. Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
G | 98 min | Action, Sci-Fi
The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a U.S. spacecraft. They become the toast of society, but one man believes them to be a threat to the human race.
Director: Don Taylor | Stars: Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Bradford Dillman, Natalie Trundy
Votes: 39,255 | Gross: $12.30M
1/10
46. The Peace Killers (1971)
R | 88 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Siblings Kristy and Jeffrey are buying supplies at a remote desert gas station when some members of a biker gang come cruising in. The bikers recognize Kristy, who used to be the main ... See full summary »
Director: Douglas Schwartz | Stars: Clint Ritchie, Jess Walton, Paul Prokop, Michael Ontkean
Votes: 389
1/10
47. Angels Hard as They Come (1971)
R | 85 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Sex, violence, and bikers on an action filled ride, in this film produced and co-written by Jonathan Demme.
Director: Joe Viola | Stars: Scott Glenn, Charles Dierkop, James Iglehart, Gilda Texter
Votes: 522
1/10
48. Angels' Wild Women (1971)
R | 85 min | Action
Rowdy biker women get more than they bargained for after joining a commune.
Director: Al Adamson | Stars: Ross Hagen, Kent Taylor, Preston Pierce, Regina Carrol
Votes: 483
1/10
49. Bonjour Balwyn (1971)
70 min | Comedy
Director: Nigel Buesst | Stars: John Duigan, Peter Cummins, John Romeril, Patricia Condon
Votes: 14
1/10
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