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.
The decade saw the beginning of the Star Wars franchise as well as introducing movie lovers to some very influential filmmakers, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese in particular.
But there were a handful of actors who found huge success in the seventies and we take a look at them.
Clint Eastwood: the seventies brought another iconic character for the actor as he reunited with filmmaker Don Siegel to bring Harry Callaghan to the big screen.
When Dirty Harry was released Callahan became the first of a new kind of movie cop: a borderline vigilante who doesn't hesitate when crossing professional and ethical boundaries in pursuit of his own vision of justice, an idea that would be copied over and over in the years to come.
With Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool Callaghan became the actor's most famous role.
A comedy role was next for the actor at the end of the seventies as he teamed up with an orangutan in Every Which Way But Loose which, despite being panned by the critics, was one of the biggest grossing movies of 1978.
Despite being at the height of his acting fame it was 1971 that Eastwood made his directorial debut with Play Misty For Me in which he also starred as David Garver, a radio do who becomes the target of Evelyn Draper, an obsessed female fan.
Throughout the seventies he redefined himself as a director as he worked on High Plains Drifter, Breezy, The Eiger Sanction, The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Gauntlet.
Diane Keaton: had her first major movie role in this decade in the form of Kay Adams-Corleone in The Godfather and from this point on her career just soared.
She established herself as a comic actress in the early years with movies such as Sleeper (1973) and Love and Death (1975), both of which were with Woody Allen.
However it was 1977 that really cemented her in Hollywood when she starred in Allen's Annie Hall.
It was a critical hit an the awards flooded in for Keaton as she picked up her first Best Actress Oscar, she also went on to win the Bafta and Golden Globe.
She ended the decade with another Allen directed movie, Manhattan for which she was nominated for a Bafta.
Al Pacino: is best known for The Godfather this decade but it was his performance in The Panic in Needle Park that caught the attention of filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola in 1971.
Michael Corleone remains Pacino's most famous part and for his performance he was nominated for an Oscar and his career was seriously on the rise.
The academy couldn't get enough of the young actor as he was nominated for Best Actor in 1973 for Serpico, again the year later for The Godfather Part II and in 1975 for Dog Day Afternoon.
Serpico was directed by Sidney Lumet and was based on the true story of New York City policeman Frank Serpico. Serpico eventually went undercover to expose the corruption of his fellow officers.
Despite missing out on the Oscar he did pick up a Golden Globe for his work. Pacino rounded off the seventies with yet another Oscar nod for ...And Justice for All.
It's hard to believe he didn't win a single Academy Award for this string of great, and in most cases now iconic, work.
Julie Christie: already had an Oscar to her name when the seventies arrived and in this decade there was a change of direction for the actress as she chose to star in much smaller movies.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller was first up in 1971 and was a Western starring Warren Beatty, directed by Robert Altman.
She took on the role of brothel madame and for her performance had another Oscar nomination. She followed this with roles in Don't Look Now, for which she was nominated for a Bafta, and Shampoo, which earnt her a Golden Globe nomination.
John Travolta: kicked off his acting career this decade in TV before his first major movie role came in horror film Carrie, based on the novel by Stephen King.
Saturday Night Fever was a change of pace for Travolta in 1977 having just completed horror movie Carrie but it proved to be the film that launched his career.
Today, over thirty years after it's release, Tony Manero remains one of cinema's most classic characters and the white suit and club dance routines will live forever.
For his performance he bagged a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination, John Travolta was finally here.
Another iconic role followed in the form of Danny Zuko from musical Grease just a year after A Saturday Night Fever.
Although Travolta was already famous his role in Grease raised him to a superstar as he and Olivia Newton John sizzled on the big screen.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Al Pacino Clint Eastwood