The 40 most popular 1970s italian movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Caligula
1979 · 2h 36m · IT
After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravity.


Playing with Love
1977 · 1h 34m · IT
Laura and Fabrizio have been meeting every summer in the forest by her parent's summer home. Fabrizio is a solitary boy with only his dog for company; Laura a sweet but unconfident child. This summer new aspects enter into their story as both are growing up. Laura is falling in love with Fabrizio, while he displays a new sexual awareness of her masked by his malice. Things develop further when they meet Sylvia who, unlike the innocent Laura, is confident and assertive. Fabrizio develops a fascination with her, eventually bribing Laura to fetch her to the forest to join them in play.


Suspiria
1977 · 1h 39m · IT
An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.


Last Tango in Paris
1972 · 2h 9m · FR
A recently widowed American begins an anonymous sexual relationship with a young Parisian woman.


Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
1976 · 1h 57m · IT
Four corrupted fascist libertines round up 9 teenage boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of sadistic physical, mental and sexual torture.


Malicious
1973 · 1h 33m · IT
A widower and two of his sons become infatuated by their beautiful housekeeper, and all three set out to seduce her using their own unique methods.


Little Lips
1978 · 1h 26m · ES
A writer returns home to his estate after service in World War I. He has developed a very bad case of depression due to a war wound concerning his genitalia. He contemplates suicide, but recovers after becoming interested in his caretaker's 12 year-old war orphan niece, who now lives in the manor.


Trinity Is Still My Name
1971 · 1h 58m · IT
The two brothers Trinity and Bambino are exchanged by two federal agents and take advantage of the situation to steal a huge booty hidden in a monastery by a gang of outlaws.


Duck, You Sucker
1971 · 2h 37m · IT
At the beginning of the 1913 Mexican Revolution, greedy bandit Juan Miranda and idealist John H. Mallory, an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank. When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners -- who are freed by the blast -- Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will.


They Call Me Trinity
1970 · 1h 55m · IT
The simple story has the pair coming to the rescue of peace-loving Mormons when land-hungry Major Harriman sends his bullies to harass them into giving up their fertile valley. Trinity and Bambino manage to save the Mormons and send the bad guys packing with slapstick humor instead of excessive violence, saving the day.


Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
1970 · 1h 51m · IT
Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him from circumventing the law and the social order it protects.


The Gypsy
1975 · 1h 43m · FR
Two thieves, Hugo Sennart and Yan Kuq, wanted by the same police inspector, cross paths by chance.


My Name Is Nobody
1973 · 1h 57m · FR
Jack Beauregard, an aging gunman of the Old West, only wants to retire in peace and move to Europe, but a young gunfighter known as "Nobody" who idolizes Beauregard wants him to go out in a blaze of glory. So, he arranges for Jack to face the 150-man gang known as The Wild Bunch and earn his place in history.


Godzilla
1977 · 1h 36m · JP
A re-edited Italian-language dubbed version of the original Godzilla, using as a basis the U.S. version, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), plus WWII newsreel footage and clips from other science fiction films. The re-edited film was then colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70" consisting of applying various colored gels to the black and white footage. The film's opening and ending also features new music composed by musicians Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vince Tempera (under the pseudonym Magnetic System).


We All Loved Each Other So Much
1974 · 2h 5m · IT
Three partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.


Treasure Island
1972 · 1h 34m · UK
Young Jim Hawkins finds himself serving with pirate captain Long John Silver in search of a buccaneer's treasure, in this short adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale.


Don't Look Now
1973 · 1h 50m · IT
While grieving a terrible loss, a married couple meet two mysterious sisters, one of whom gives them a message sent from the afterlife.


Even Angels Eat Beans
1973 · 1h 58m · FR
Two mismatched buddies are mistaken for mob enforcers in Depression-era America.


Appassionata
1974 · 1h 36m · IT
Two teenage friends conspire to find out how much their youthful sensuality can disrupt one of their households, headed by a dentist and his mentally-ill wife.


Deep Red
1975 · 2h 7m · IT
An English pianist living in Rome witnesses the brutal murder of his psychic neighbor. With the help of a tenacious young reporter, he tries to discover the killer using very unconventional methods. The two are soon drawn into a shocking web of dementia and violence.


L'immoralità
1978 · 1h 49m · IT
Federico is a child-killer running from the law. Wounded, he is taken in by an 11 year old girl named Simona. Their strange love affair is interrupted by Simona's depressed, oversexed mother Vera, who concocts a plan with Federico to kill her wheelchair-bound, reclusive husband. Simona does not take kindly to this new relationship between Federico and Vera.


Crime Busters
1977 · 1h 55m · IT
An attempted robbery turns to be an unexpected recruitment when two unemployed men mistakenly break into a police office instead of a store.


Orca
1977 · 1h 32m · IT
After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist, and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.


The Night Porter
1974 · 1h 58m · IT
A concentration camp survivor discovers her former torturer and lover working as a porter at a hotel in postwar Vienna. When the couple attempt to re-create their sadomasochistic relationship, his former SS comrades begin to stalk them.


Black Journal
1977 · 1h 52m · IT
A mother so insanely overprotective of her grown son decides to make a deal with death by offering alternate victims plucked from among her fellow tenants in a 1938 Italian apartment building.


The Last Train
1973 · 1h 35m · FR
Two people, a Frenchman and a Jewish German woman, meet on a train while escaping the German army entering France.


Salon Kitty
1976 · 2h 10m · DE
In Nazi Germany, Kitty runs a brothel where the soldiers come to 'relax'. Recording devices have been installed by a power-hungry official who plans to use the information to blackmail and usurp Hitler. One of the girls discovers the ploy and, with the madam's help, takes on the dangerous task of exposing the conspiracy.


Killer Fish
1979 · 1h 40m · BR
Jewel thieves attempt to recover treasure from piranha infested waters. Mistrust and betrayals happen amongst the gang in the quest for gold.


Zombie Flesh Eaters
1979 · 1h 31m · IT
After an abandoned boat sails into New York harbor with a zombie aboard, a reporter teams up with the daughter of the boat's missing captain to investigate the island where he was last seen conducting research—the site of an alleged zombie outbreak.


The Canterbury Tales
1972 · 1h 51m · FR
Glimpses of Chaucer penning his famous work are sprinkled through this re-enactment of several of his stories.


The Conformist
1971 · 1h 48m · DE
A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.


Red Sun
1971 · 1h 54m · FR
In 1870, Japanese ambassador Sakaguchi and his entourage travel by train to Washington to deliver a valuable sword to the President of the United States, a gift from the Emperor of Japan. On board the same train are two robbers, Link and Gauche, ready to make their move…


La Grande Bouffe
1973 · 2h 10m · FR
Four friends gather at a villa with the intention of eating themselves to death.


The Conspiracy
1973 · 1h 52m · ES
Paris 1960. DeGaulle determines to end a bitter war in Algeria by granting its independence. Millions oppose him, including a group of DeGaulle's disenchanted Arm Officers. In a desperate attempt to save the colony for France, they plan a daring jailbreak of their imprisoned leader. A network of snitches inform a tenacious detective leading to an explosive three-way cat-and-mouse game among the rebels, the Gaullist politicos and the police.


Amarcord
1973 · 2h 3m · IT
In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.


What the Peeper Saw
1972 · 1h 29m · IT
A wealthy author's second wife begins to suspect that her 12-year old stepson may have murdered his mother, who mysteriously died in a bathtub accident.


1900
1976 · 5h 17m · FR
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.


Oh, Serafina!
1976 · 1h 36m · IT
Augusto Valle is a successful young industrialist who weds Palmira, the girl working in his factory, and the two have a child despite the infant's uncertain legitimacy. Scheming to control her husband's fortune, Palmira has affairs with both the mayor and the judge to have Augusto committed to a mental institution. While there, he falls in love with Serafina Vitali, a young woman who was also put away.


The Decameron
1971 · 1h 51m · FR
A young Sicilian is swindled twice, but ends up rich; a man poses as a deaf-mute in a convent of curious nuns; a woman must hide her lover when her husband comes home early; a scoundrel fools a priest on his deathbed; three brothers take revenge on their sister's lover; a young girl sleeps on the roof to meet her boyfriend at night; a group of painters wait for inspiration; a crafty priest attempts to seduce his friend's wife; and two friends make a pact to find out what happens after death.


The Couples
1970 · 2h 1m · IT
Three episodes. Episode 1 - The Refrigerator (Monicelli). A married couple of two poor emigrant workers spend almost all their money to buy a refrigerator (a must in the '70s). The purchase is too expensive for their family balance sheet. To earn some money they decide to go for prostitution. The wife is not so unhappy to the perspective. Episode 2 - The Room (Sordi). To celebrate ten years of marriage a couple decides to spend a quick holiday in top luxury hotels in Sardinia. But the fashion luxury VIP world is too hard to enter; they soon will end in prison. Episode 3 - The Lion (De Sica). Two adulterous, Antonio and Giulia, are blocked by a lion, staying on the exit in the place they met. They both have to come back home, but couldn't move because of the lion’s presence. The critical situation soon drives them to their limit, revealing their real essence.
The 1970s are widely considered American cinema's strongest decade, when the studio system's collapse handed a generation of young directors unusual freedom. It ended with Jaws and Star Wars inventing the modern blockbuster.
Italian cinema runs from the neorealists working in bombed-out postwar streets to Fellini's spectacle, the Spaghetti Western, and the lurid giallo thrillers that shaped modern horror. Few national cinemas have exported this many distinct genres.