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Late 1960s – 1970s

New Hollywood

A generation of directors gains creative control and makes darker, more personal American films.

By the late 1960s the old studio system was weak and the young audience wanted something different. A new generation of film-school graduates, critics and actors, among them Coppola, Scorsese, Altman, Bogdanovich, Ashby and Friedkin, got studio money and unusual creative control. They made morally complicated, often downbeat films about Vietnam, crime, loneliness and distrust of authority: Bonnie and Clyde, Easy Rider, The Godfather, Taxi Driver. The period ended in the late 1970s when Jaws and Star Wars showed that blockbuster profits mattered more than artistic risk, and studios took back control.

Where
United States
When
1967 to about 1980
Key figures
Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Hal Ashby, William Friedkin, Arthur Penn, Terrence Malick
Landmark films
Bonnie and Clyde (1967), The Godfather (1972), Chinatown (1974), Taxi Driver (1976)
Legacy
A high point of American film as personal art, still the benchmark for directors' freedom

What to look for

  • Anti-heroes, ambiguous endings and distrust of authority
  • Gritty realism, location shooting and natural light
  • Influences from European art film and the French New Wave

Famous Directors

Francis Ford CoppolaUSAMartin ScorseseUSASteven SpielbergUSARobert AltmanUSAJohn CassavetesUSATerrence MalickUSASidney LumetUSAStanley KubrickUSA / UKWilliam FriedkinUSAArthur PennUSABrian De PalmaUSAHal AshbyUSAPeter BogdanovichUSASam PeckinpahUSAMichael CiminoUSADennis HopperUSABob RafelsonUSAGeorge LucasUSABob FosseUSAJohn SchlesingerUKMiloš FormanCzechoslovakia / USAOliver StoneUSAMike NicholsUSA (born in Germany)Barry LevinsonUSA
See all 30 directors
George Roy HillUSATed KotcheffCanadaJerry SchatzbergUSARichard PearceUSAAlan J. PakulaUSAFranklin J. SchaffnerUSA

Top 100 rated films

  1. The Godfather 1972 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.2
  2. 12 Angry Men 1957 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 9.0
  3. The Godfather Part II 1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 9.0
  4. Schindler's List 1993 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 9.0
  5. Goodfellas 1990 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.7
  6. Saving Private Ryan 1998 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.6
  7. Star Wars 1977 · George Lucas · IMDb 8.6
  8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 8.6
  9. The Departed 2006 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.5
  10. Paths of Glory 1957 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.4
  11. The Shining 1980 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.4
  12. Apocalypse Now 1979 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 8.4
  13. Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.4
  14. Amadeus 1984 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 8.4
  15. 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.3
  16. Scarface (1983) 1983 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 8.3
  17. A Clockwork Orange 1971 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.2
  18. Full Metal Jacket 1987 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.2
  19. Taxi Driver 1976 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.2
  20. Casino 1995 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.2
  21. Jurassic Park 1993 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.2
  22. The Sting 1973 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.2
  23. Barry Lyndon 1975 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 8.1
  24. The Exorcist 1973 · William Friedkin · IMDb 8.1
  25. The Miracle Worker 1962 · Arthur Penn · IMDb 8.1
  26. Fail Safe 1964 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 8.1
  27. Raging Bull 1980 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 8.1
  28. Jaws 1975 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.1
  29. Catch Me If You Can 2002 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 8.1
  30. Paper Moon 1973 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.1
  31. The Deer Hunter 1978 · Michael Cimino · IMDb 8.1
  32. A Woman Under the Influence 1974 · John Cassavetes · IMDb 8.0
  33. Dog Day Afternoon 1975 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 8.0
  34. Network 1976 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 8.0
  35. The Last Picture Show 1971 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 8.0
  36. Platoon 1986 · Oliver Stone · IMDb 8.0
  37. JFK 1991 · Oliver Stone · IMDb 8.0
  38. The Graduate 1967 · Mike Nichols · IMDb 8.0
  39. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 1966 · Mike Nichols · IMDb 8.0
  40. Rain Man 1988 · Barry Levinson · IMDb 8.0
  41. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969 · George Roy Hill · IMDb 8.0
  42. Planet of the Apes 1968 · Franklin J. Schaffner · IMDb 8.0
  43. Papillon 1973 · Franklin J. Schaffner · IMDb 8.0
  44. The Killing 1956 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 7.9
  45. Spartacus 1960 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 7.9
  46. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.9
  47. Carlito's Way 1993 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 7.9
  48. Being There 1979 · Hal Ashby · IMDb 7.9
  49. The Wild Bunch 1969 · Sam Peckinpah · IMDb 7.9
  50. All the President's Men 1976 · Alan J. Pakula · IMDb 7.9
  51. Patton 1970 · Franklin J. Schaffner · IMDb 7.9
  52. Opening Night 1977 · John Cassavetes · IMDb 7.8
  53. The Hill 1965 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 7.8
  54. The King of Comedy 1982 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.8
  55. The Irishman 2019 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.8
  56. The Untouchables 1987 · Brian De Palma · IMDb 7.8
  57. Harold and Maude 1971 · Hal Ashby · IMDb 7.8
  58. Cabaret 1972 · Bob Fosse · IMDb 7.8
  59. All That Jazz 1979 · Bob Fosse · IMDb 7.8
  60. Midnight Cowboy 1969 · John Schlesinger · IMDb 7.8
  61. Sorcerer 1977 · William Friedkin · IMDb 7.7
  62. Bonnie and Clyde 1967 · Arthur Penn · IMDb 7.7
  63. Serpico 1973 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 7.7
  64. The Verdict 1982 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 7.7
  65. The Conversation 1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 7.7
  66. The Color Purple 1985 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.7
  67. Empire of the Sun 1987 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.7
  68. 3 Women 1977 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.7
  69. Badlands 1973 · Terrence Malick · IMDb 7.7
  70. Days of Heaven 1978 · Terrence Malick · IMDb 7.7
  71. First Blood 1982 · Ted Kotcheff · IMDb 7.7
  72. Love Streams 1984 · John Cassavetes · IMDb 7.6
  73. The French Connection 1971 · William Friedkin · IMDb 7.6
  74. The Pawnbroker 1964 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 7.6
  75. Running on Empty 1988 · Sidney Lumet · IMDb 7.6
  76. After Hours 1985 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.6
  77. Duel 1971 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.6
  78. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.6
  79. Bridge of Spies 2015 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.6
  80. Nashville 1975 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.6
  81. McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.6
  82. Short Cuts 1993 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.6
  83. The Thin Red Line 1998 · Terrence Malick · IMDb 7.6
  84. What's Up, Doc? 1972 · Peter Bogdanovich · IMDb 7.6
  85. The Best Man 1964 · Franklin J. Schaffner · IMDb 7.6
  86. Lolita 1962 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 7.5
  87. Eyes Wide Shut 1999 · Stanley Kubrick · IMDb 7.5
  88. Little Big Man 1970 · Arthur Penn · IMDb 7.5
  89. The Last Temptation of Christ 1988 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.5
  90. Gangs of New York 2002 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.5
  91. The Aviator 2004 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.5
  92. Hugo 2011 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.5
  93. Killers of the Flower Moon 2023 · Martin Scorsese · IMDb 7.5
  94. The Godfather Part III 1990 · Francis Ford Coppola · IMDb 7.5
  95. Munich 2005 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.5
  96. The Fabelmans 2022 · Steven Spielberg · IMDb 7.5
  97. The Long Goodbye 1973 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.5
  98. The Player 1992 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.5
  99. The Last Detail 1973 · Hal Ashby · IMDb 7.5
  100. Lenny 1974 · Bob Fosse · IMDb 7.5