It kind of seems as though thrillers in the 70s were designed to be brutal but also make a person think, which could be why the 90s turned out the way they did since filmmakers were returning to the formula that had worked once before. Obviously the special effects got better in later years but laying the groundwork for the storytelling belongs to the earlier years without a doubt since so much of what’s come before has served as a basis for what we have now. Those films that people think are new and original are in fact products of the thrillers that came before them, as those that have been around long enough could attest to given that they were able to see the originals and were terrified first and foremost when the thrills were genuinely new and hadn’t yet been unleashed on an unsuspecting populace.
Here are some of the best thrillers from the 70s.
5. Chinatown
Ever notice how Private Investigators seem to let themselves be led around by the nose in movies like these? Maybe that’s not the best analogy considering that Nicholson almost loses a nostril but it does seem as though he’s so ready and willing to believe the lies he’s being fed that he goes off and gets himself involved in a huge and very controversial mess that eventually ends up with him losing control of the case and his better judgment as he tries and tries to sort things out only to figure out that he never had control in the first place. And when the final credits roll you can’t help but feel that he should have stayed away from it, but then of course we wouldn’t have had a movie.
4. Straw Dogs
This is a great example of just how far a person can be pushed until they finally snap and start fighting back in a way that they’re not accustomed to but find that they’re very capable of. Even a pacifist, or anyone that simply doesn’t like confrontations, will rise to the occasion when things get that bad. There aren’t many people in this world that will just lie down and die when the moment presents itself as the human need for self-preservation is often great enough that many people will try whatever they can to survive and others will become increasingly violent if they find the need.
3. Taxi Driver
Travis doesn’t start out as a psychopath but he picks up speed and keeps going as the film rolls along. At first he’s kind of a disillusioned man that simply doesn’t know where he fits in when it comes to his place in the city. But the more he sees of it, the more he grows to dislike it, and the more he feels that it’s necessary to cleanse the city somehow of the filth and decay that he sees on a nightly basis. Unfortunately the path he takes is somewhat disturbing since he doesn’t really see a problem with the lifestyle he adopts and the ideals he takes to heart. Eventually he just becomes a very scary individual.
2. The French Connection
Popeye Doyle is perhaps one of the worst cops that’s ever been put on film in terms of how far he’ll go to get what he needs. He doesn’t exactly break the law but he does everything he can to make sure that the bad guys know that he’ll do whatever is in his power and, when certain people aren’t looking, a little extra to make their lives miserable. This is the kind of guy you don’t cross because he’ll make certain to keep you in his sights for as long as it takes and will find new and inventive ways for taking you down so long as he doesn’t get caught doing anything that might be deemed as illegal.
1. Jaws
Filmmakers do tend to demonize certain parts of nature at times but for the sake of entertainment they do a good job a lot of the time. Sharks are dangerous creatures and it’s true that their attacks can leave a person scarred for life or worse, and it’s also true that sharks have attacked humans in the past. But a shark actively hunting humans is what made this film so appealing and unfortunately led to a massive amount of sharks being killed not too long after this movie. While it was a masterpiece that still lives on today as one of the greatest shark movies it’s also something that needs to be tempered by facts.
Quite honestly thrillers in the 70s were very brutal and it’s actually a good thing since the entertainment value was increased with each scream and each difficult situation the characters had to go through. People love to be scared, thrilled, and otherwise knocked off their metaphorical perch now and again.
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