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


The pills
1972 · 1h 23m · AR
A moralist teacher arrives at a summer hotel with his daughter and his secretary.


Phantom of the Paradise
1974 · 1h 32m · US
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.


Camelamos naquerar
1976 · 17m · ES
Camelamos naquerar (We Want to Speak) is an adaptation of the theatre play of the same name which was born out of a collaboration between Romani poet and university professor José Heredia Maya and Romani flamenco dancer and choreographer Mario Maya; the latter also performs in the piece, along with other artists. The title in Caló, the language used by Gitanos, translates as ‘we want to speak’, a revolutionary message that illustrates the efforts to reclaim a place in Spanish history for the Roma people and denounce the institutional injustice suffered by the community. It takes as its starting point the Pragmatic decrees signed by the Catholic Monarchs at the end of the fifteenth century, which heralded the long persecution of the Roma people, and continues right up to the twentieth-century Francoist laws.


Olivia
1978 · 48m · US
This one hour special, aired May 17, 1978, features Olivia singing many of her hits with special guests Andy Gibb, ABBA, the Southern Californian Community Choir, and Gary Frank.
Only Olivia
Only Olivia
1977 · 45m
Olivia Newton-John stars in her first TV special to be shown in the UK, performing many of her hit songs including 'I Honestly Love You', 'Sam' and her newest release 'Making a Good Thing Better'; accompanied by the Nigel Lythgoe Dancers.


The Harder They Come
1972 · 1h 43m · JM
Ivanhoe Martin arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, looking for work and, after some initial struggles, lands a recording contract as a reggae singer. He records his first song, "The Harder They Come," but after a bitter dispute with a manipulative producer named Hilton, soon finds himself resorting to petty crime in order to pay the bills. He deals marijuana, kills some abusive cops and earns local folk hero status. Meanwhile, his record is topping the charts.


Cabaret
1972 · 2h 4m · DE
Inside the Kit Kat Club of 1931 Berlin, starry-eyed singer Sally Bowles and an impish emcee sound the clarion call to decadent fun, while outside a certain political party grows into a brutal force.
Prázdniny
Prázdniny
1978 · CZ
No overview available


Chulas Fronteras
1976 · 58m · US
A complex, insightful look at the Chicano experience as mirrored in the lives and music of the most acclaimed Norteño musicians of the Texas-Mexican border, including Flaco Jimenez and Lydia Mendoza. Video includes bonus feature, Del Mero Corazon.


Donkey Skin
1970 · 1h 30m · FR
A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise herself so she won't have to marry her father.


The Nutcracker
1977 · 1h 18m
The Nutcracker is Mikhail Baryshnikov's breathtaking and critically acclaimed Emmy-nominated production. This spectacular performance is danced by the magnificent team of Baryshnikov, one of the greatest classical dancers of the century, and Gelsey Kirkland, both showcased at the peak of their careers, with members of the American Ballet Theatre.


Nashville
1975 · 2h 40m · US
The intersecting stories of twenty-four characters—from country star to wannabe to reporter to waitress—and their connection through the music business in Nashville, Tennessee.


Holy Pafnucio
1977 · 1h 40m · MX
Controversial, sexy and surreal tale of a messenger, his journey and encounters with many historical events and people such as Auschwitz, the Ku Klux Klan, Frida Kahlo, Cortés and Emiliano Zapata (as a beautiful woman!)


Tápame contigo
1970 · 1h 50m · MX
Mauricio Garcés plays a composer who tries to seduce several women. The actor performs the song "Soy tan hermoso", which became a popular hit a t the time.


Cumbia
1973 · 1h 30m · CO
The story revolves around Evaristo who¸ accompanied by his drum¸ dreams of becoming a great figure and imposing his music on the whole world. Evaristo composes cumbias and more cumbias on his ranch and then in jail¸ where adverse situations take him. Meanwhile his delusions begin to come true¸ and without knowing it¸ his name and rhythm become famous.


Hair
1979 · 2h 1m · DE
Upon receiving his draft notice and leaving his family ranch in Oklahoma, Claude heads to New York and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on his way to boot camp.


Godspell
1973 · 1h 42m · US
In modern-day New York City, John the Baptist calls out to a group of young men and women to learn from the teachings of Jesus. Through song and dance, they relive Christ's crucifixion.


Tommy
1975 · 1h 51m · UK
After a series of traumatic childhood events, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult.


El Albañil
1975 · 1h 37m · MX
Construction worker falls in love with a handicapped woman who aspires to a career as a singer.


Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
1970 · 1h 49m · US
An all-girl rock band moves to Hollywood in the hope of achieving success, only to fall into a whirlpool of wickedness and decadence.


The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
1979 · 1h 38m · US
A collection of Warner Brothers short cartoon features, "starring" the likes of Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Wile E. Coyote. These animations are interspersed by Bugs Bunny reminiscing on past events and providing links between the individual animations which are otherwise unconnected. This 1979 feature-length compilation includes several of his best cartoons. Among the 11 shorts shown in their entirety are the classics "Robin Hood Daffy," "What's Opera, Doc?," "Bully for Bugs," and "Duck Amuck". The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Movie provides a showcase not only for Jones's razor-sharp timing, but for the work of his exceptional crew, which included designer Maurice Noble, writer Mike Maltese, composers Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn, and voice actor Mel Blanc.


New York, New York
1977 · 2h 43m · US
An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.


A Star Is Born
1976 · 2h 20m · US
Has-been singing idol John Norman Howard falls in love with young, up-and-coming songstress Esther Hoffman in Frank Pierson's version of the classic love story updated to the rock and roll era.


Die Fledermaus
1972 · 2h 18m · AT
Witty, fun, intoxicating film of Johann Strauss II's popular operetta, based on a stage production from Vienna State Opera; this is a showcase for the entire cast, but most especially Eberhard Wächter as the insufferably boorish Gabriel Eisenstein, and Gundula Janowitz as his long-suffering wife. Open the champagne, have yourself some torte, and enjoy this delectable comedy from Vienna.


Ringo
1978 · 49m · US
Ringo Starr, bored and disillusioned with fame, meets a doppelgänger in Hollywood named Ognir Rrats who sells maps to the stars' homes and lives with an abusive, thieving father. Longing for a more average lifestyle, Ringo invites Ognir into the studio and suggests the two trade places for a few hours.


¡Arriba juventud!
1971 · 1h 25m · AR
Two singers with bad luck succeed in a music festival in Jujuy.


El extraño del pelo largo
1970 · 1h 27m · AR
Argentinian movie about the 1968's beat band "La Joven Guardia" and their effort to get success in hard sociopolitical times.


The Derelict
1978 · 1h 23m · TR
A classic tale of forbidden romance, class distinction, and perseverance in the face of relentless hardship. Ferdi (Ferdi Tayfur) is a poor farmhand living in a small village who falls in love with İpek (Canan Perver), the daughter of the wealthy local landowner, Abbas Agha. Despite the deep feelings the two share, the vast difference in their social status makes their union impossible in the eyes of İpek's father. Hoping to keep them apart, Abbas Agha moves his family to Istanbul. Unwilling to give up on his love, Ferdi follows them to the city and takes up a humble job working in the landowner's stables, enduring severe humiliation and harsh treatment just to remain near İpek. When circumstances eventually force Ferdi out, he embarks on an arduous journey as he attempts to rebuild his life and rise above his impoverished roots and navigate deception, social prejudice, and cruel twists of fate that threaten to tear the lovers apart forever.


Rainbow Bridge
1972 · 1h 48m · US
A documentary about various singers, musicians, artists, astrologers, etc., who attended a "New Age" gathering in Maui, Hawaii.


Préstamela esta noche
1978 · 1h 40m · PA
Manolo is the trusted servant of a famous tenor, Riccardi, an international opera singer. Although his life is overshadowed by the fame of his master, one day his luck changes. In a short time, two unusual events occur: he falls in love and an eccentric inventor offers him the deal of a lifetime...


Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas
1977 · 1h · US
Bing Crosby and his family spend Christmas at the estate of a distant relative in England.


Ballet Adagio
1972 · 10m · CA
A slow-motion study by Norman McLaren of the pas-de-deux adagio, one of the most exacting and difficult dances of classical ballet. A ballet originally choreographed by the Russian ballet master Asaf Messerer is performed for this film by the internationally known Canadian pair, David and Anna Marie Holmes, to the music of Albinoni’s Adagio. A film to heighten the aesthetic appreciation of classical ballet and to afford observation of the technique and mechanics of the adagio movements.


Os Mutantes
1970 · 7m · BR
A mutant prank improvised by Arnaldo Baptista, Sérgio Dias, and Rita Lee. Os Mutantes on a unique day in the streets of São Paulo.


Nocturna
1979 · 1h 25m · US
Hard times have fallen on the Transylvanian House of Dracula. To help pay the taxes, Castle Dracula has been converted into the Hotel Transylvania. Dracula himself is aging and toothless, being cared for by his granddaughter Nocturna. When Nocturna books a disco group to play The Claret Room and winds up falling in love with one of the backup guitarists, a mortal named Jimmy, she notices that she is able to see her reflection when she dances, so she decides to follow Jimmy to New York in search of mortality.
Paixão de um Homem
Paixão de um Homem
1972 · BR
No overview available


Cygne II
1976 · 10m · FR
Constructed like an animated painting in a single fixed shot where light, voice, music and movements interfere.


El caserío
1972 · ES
No overview available


The Last Waltz
1978 · 1h 57m · US
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and other rock legends.


Düşman
1973 · TR
The film tells the story of Murat and Helga, Turkish agents fighting against German spies during World War II. Helga's father, Alex, is a German spy who hates Turkey. Helga, who was born and raised in Turkey, does not share her father's views. After Alex's death, Murat, acting on orders from Turkish intelligence, is tasked with enlisting Helga to uncover the Germans' plans regarding Turkey. Helga is to marry Hans, who has taken Alex's place, thereby enabling her to learn the Germans' plans. The love between Helga and Murat will complicate this mission.


The Songs of the Sea
1971 · 1h 24m · RO
"One pure peaceful sky, one bright southern sun, one warm Black sea and deep true friendship of burning hearts connect the Soviet and Romanian youth..." A musical ensemble of Romanian students dreams of being selected for a competition in Sochi, Russia. They hear rumors that a Russian ship with a festival talent scout will be arriving in the port of Constanta. The band sets up for a performance at the harbor, in hopes of attracting the scout’s attention immediately upon arrival. A case of mistaken identity leads to a series of complications involving a suitcase, two small-time gangsters, a blonde tourist, and the band’s drummer. This attempt at a plot conforms of course to the conventions of romantic musical comedies, resulting in a film full of song and dance. With memorable song titles like “Yes, I am an umbrella” and “Let’s play my guitar”, this Romanian-Soviet co-production is as silly as it is irresistible.
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.
Music films cover concert documentaries, biopics, and musicals — anything where performance drives the picture. The genre lives or dies on whether the filmmaking can match the energy of the sound.