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


Grease
1978 · 1h 50m
country: United States
Australian good girl Sandy and greaser Danny fell in love over the summer. But when they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance despite their eccentric friends?


In the Realm of the Senses
1976 · 1h 42m
country: Japan
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.


Younger Sister
1974 · 1h 32m
country: Japan
Akio's sister, Neri has separated from her boyfriend. They lived in Kamakura. She moves in with her brother. Her ex-boyfriend's sister, Eiko comes to see Neri. She wonders if the separation occurred due to her because the three of them used to live together. Eiko's brother has disappeared in the meantime.


Annie Hall
1977 · 1h 33m
country: United States
New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.


That Malicious Age
1975 · 1h 30m
country: Italy
Gardener Napoleone takes a job in a southern-Italian villa and quickly finds himself embroiled in a menage-a-trois with Paola and her mother, which soon leads to sex, death and mayhem.


Nest of Vipers
1978 · 1h 45m
country: Italy
A background of rising fascism in Venice in 1930s. A music-student, Matthias, mixes with the town's bourgeoisie and falls in love with a mature teacher, Carla, the mother of his friend Renato, and then with his young colleague, Elena.


Black Maid
1976 · 1h 39m
country: Italy
Major Galeazzo, Chancellor Enea, the goalkeeper Placido, journalist Antenor and others living in a building of the city. All are drawn to the morbid fascination of Mariolina, exuberant waitress Venetian. But soon Aminta, maid of color, dispossess irreparably.


Erotic Sex Games
1977 · 1h 25m
country: France
A nurse who married a wealthy industrialist, feels very attracted to the son of her husband with whom she will maintain a love relationship.


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


The Way We Were
1973 · 1h 58m
country: United States
Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their obvious differences, attempt to make their love for each other work.


Emmanuelle 3
1977 · 1h 40m
country: France
Emmanuelle and her architect husband continue their amoral lifestyle in the Seychelles. But when a casual dilliance between her and a film director starts to turn serious her husband shows very traditional signs of jealousy.


Wild Lover
1977 · 1h 19m
country: Turkey
A wild girl who was raised by bears is found by humans when she rescues an injured man. She is brought to the city against her will, and is put in a stage show. She is discovered and saved by her family, and tries to find a way to take revenge on the people who imprisoned her.


Emmanuelle
1974 · 1h 35m
country: France
An employee at the French Embassy in Bangkok invites his wife to join him – and enjoy the benefits of their open marriage.


Fiddler on the Roof
1971 · 3h 1m
country: United States
In a pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish milkman struggles with the challenges of a changing world as his daughters fall in love and antisemitism grows.


Days of Heaven
1978 · 1h 34m
country: United States
In 1916, a Chicago steel worker accidentally kills his supervisor and flees to the Texas panhandle with his girlfriend and little sister to work harvesting wheat in the fields of a stoic farmer.


A Real Young Girl
1976 · 1h 34m
country: France
Reluctantly, a sulky adolescent returns to her parents' house for yet another boring summer vacation, dabbling in desire and the art of desirability, eventually mixing reality with vision, caged fantasies with the fierce female sexuality.


Immoral Tales
1974 · 2h 5m
country: France
Four erotic tales from various historical eras. The first, 'The Tide', is set in the present day, and concerns a student and his young female cousin stranded on the beach by the tide, secluded from prying eyes. 'Therese Philosophe' is set in the nineteenth century, and concerns a girl being locked in her bedroom, where she contemplates the erotic potential of the objects contained within it. 'Erzsebet Bathory' is a portrait of the sixteenth-century countess who allegedly bathed in the blood of virgins, while 'Lucrezia Borgia' concerns an incestuous fifteenth-century orgy involving Lucrezia, her brother, and her father the Pope.


The Last Picture Show
1971 · 1h 59m
country: United States
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.


The Great Gatsby
1974 · 2h 24m
country: United States
Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, the nouveau riche Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy.


The Three Musketeers
1973 · 1h 47m
country: Spain
In 17th century France, young D'Artagnan wants to join the King's Musketeers, but instead befriends three legendary musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—and together, they become embroiled in the political intrigue surrounding King Louis XIII and his adversaries, particularly the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.


Bilitis
1977 · 1h 35m
country: France
A coming of age story centering on the exploits of a teenage girl during summer vacation.


Manhattan
1979 · 1h 36m
country: United States
Manhattan explores how the life of a middle-aged television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.


A Woman Under the Influence
1974 · 2h 35m
country: United States
Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.


Carnal Knowledge
1971 · 1h 38m
country: United States
Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.


Badlands
1973 · 1h 34m
country: United States
An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.


Harold and Maude
1971 · 1h 32m
country: United States
A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.


Laure
1976 · 1h 35m
country: France
At an institute in Manila, researchers and eco-tourists trade stories about the Mara tribe, who live on a remote island and have an annual festival of rebirth in which some of the tribe forget who they are and begin again. Laure is the daughter of the institute's director; she's a free spirit who has captured the fancy of Nicola, a European photographer. After a courtship in which the voyeuristic Nick indulges Laure's exhibitionism and sexual freedom, they set off for Mara land with Gualtier, an anthropologist, and his philosophical lover, Myrte. As they approach the Mara on the night of rebirth, who of the group will actually join the tribe to begin life anew?


Cabaret
1972 · 2h 4m
country: Germany
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.


The Panic in Needle Park
1971 · 1h 50m
country: United States
A stark portrayal of life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in Needle Park in New York City. Played against this setting is a low-key love story between Bobby, a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen, a homeless girl who finds in her relationship with Bobby the stability she craves.


That Obscure Object of Desire
1977 · 1h 43m
country: France
After dumping a bucket of water on a beautiful young woman from the window of a train car, wealthy Frenchman Mathieu, regales his fellow passengers with the story of the dysfunctional relationship between himself and the young woman in question, a fiery 19-year-old flamenco dancer named Conchita. What follows is a tale of cruelty, depravity and lies -- the very building blocks of love.


Melancoly Baby
1979 · 1h 36m
country: France
Olga is married to Laurent, who is devoted to his career and often leaves Olga at home alone when he travels away for work. Whilst she is rich and wants for nothing, she is terribly bored with life. When Laurent is working away she meets up with his colleague Pierre and through him meets Claude, who is unemployed and fed up of his situation. Can Olga and Claude help each other to get their lives back on track?


The Night Porter
1974 · 1h 58m
country: Italy
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.


Silver Streak
1976 · 1h 54m
country: United States
A somewhat daffy book editor on a rail trip from Los Angeles to Chicago thinks that he sees a murdered man thrown from the train. When he can find no one who will believe him, he starts doing some investigating of his own. But all that accomplishes is to get the killer after him.


Emmanuelle: The Joys of a Woman
1975 · 1h 31m
country: France
Emmanuelle returns to her husband in Hong Kong and proceeds to have several extramarital affairs -- with his knowledge, of course. Her husband's lover and American guest are both very puzzled by their openness.


Black Emanuelle
1975 · 1h 36m
country: Italy
Internationally-renowned photographer Mae Jordan, professionally known as 'Emanuelle', is hired by a wealthy British expat to go to Nairobi to shoot the ruins and wildlife. While there, she explores sexual situations with her hosts and their friends.


New York, New York
1977 · 2h 43m
country: United States
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.


Love Story
1970 · 1h 40m
country: United States
Harvard Law student Oliver Barrett IV and music student Jennifer Cavilleri share a chemistry they cannot deny - and a love they cannot ignore. Despite their opposite backgrounds, the young couple put their hearts on the line for each other. When they marry, Oliver's wealthy father threatens to disown him. Jenny tries to reconcile the Barrett men, but to no avail.


Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
1977 · 1h 45m
country: United States
Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, is racing in the Monte Carlo Rally. But thieves have hidden a cache of stolen diamonds in Herbie's gas tank, and are now trying to get them back.


A Star Is Born
1976 · 2h 20m
country: United States
Drunken, has-been rock star John Norman Howard falls in love with unknown singer Esther Hoffman after seeing her perform at a club. He lets her sing a few songs at one of his shows and she becomes the talk of the music industry. Esther's star begins to rise, while John's continues to fall. She tries desperately to get John to sober up and focus on his music, but it may be too late to save him.


The Beast
1975 · 1h 38m
country: France
The head of a failing French family thinks that fate has smiled down on him when the daughter of a wealthy man agrees to be married to his son. The daughter and her aunt then travel out to the French countryside to meet with the family, unaware that a mysterious 'beast' is stalking the vicinity.
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.
Romance is the genre most shaped by its era's ideas about intimacy, which makes watching across decades a genuine education. It spans the screwball comedies, the sweeping melodramas, and the modern indie two-hander.