Star Wars
Ok so the forties had the cinema icons, the fifties brought some real classics of cinema, and the sixties brought more experimental movies but the seventies was also a great decade for film as it brought us the birth of the blockbuster.
Not to mention a couple of classic of it's own, some of the most successful film franchises in cinema history and a great directing/acting partnership.
Of course that partnership is Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro and Taxi Driver was their 1976 release, the seventies really was the decade for the gritty drama with the likes of Clockwork Orange and The French Connection also finding success and controversy.
The role of Travis Bickle still remains one of De Niro's most powerful performances and Bickle is one of the greatest film anti-heroes.
Bickle was an honourably discharged Marine and Vietnam war veteran now working in New York as a nighttime taxi driver.
Bickle is repulsed by the decay that sees on the streets of the city around him. And although he does attempt to assassinate a political candidate his act of saving Iris, a child prostitute does redeem his character.
Despite the gritty taking the gongs at the Oscars it was the big budget blockbusters that were cleaning up at the Oscars.
And it was Steven Spielberg's Jaws that kicked it all of in 1975 based on Peter Benchley's best-selling novel.
The film follows police chief Brody as he tries to protect beach goers from a great white shark. The film spawned several sequels, with actor Roy Schneider only returning for Jaws 2.
It went on to be one of the biggest grossing films of the decade and is an important movie in the history of movie distribution and marketing as it was the first to have a wide release.
it became the first film in history to break through the $100 million mark, impressive for a picture made on a budget of a mere $9 million.
But this success opened the blockbuster floodgates and up next came one of the greatest film franchises of all time, yes I'm talking about Star Wars.
1977 brought the release of A New Hope which propelled Mark Harnill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher to superstardom, as well as cult status.
The film follows Luke Skywalker who finds himself thrust into the role of a hero when he discover the pans to the Death Star in a droid named R2-D2 that also contains a distress message from Princess Leia for Obi Wan Kenobi.
Helmed by George Lucas the film used breakthrough special effects and, like Jaws before it, enjoyed massive success upon release and was recognised by the Academy.
A New Hope remains one of the most financially successful movies of all time breaking house records when released.
There may have been all this success but the decade belonged to The Godfather which won the Best Oscar award in 1972 and then repeated the feat in 1974 with The Godfather Part II becoming the first film series to win two Best Picture Oscars.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw