Sometimes, perspective is key when it comes to making cinematic masterpieces. When it comes to period pieces that take place during the '70s, few filmmakers have a better perspective on what that decade looked and felt like quite as well as directors in the '90s. Seasoned veterans behind the camera lived through the craziest times of the '70s, while younger '90s directors recall vividly what growing up in the '70s was like.
While it is true that some of the best '70s-era movies have come out in more recent years, the best movies that reflect the era happened to come out in the '90s.
10 Goodfellas - The '70s Rocked, the '80s Sucked
Goodfellas takes a look back at Henry Hill's endeavors into becoming a gangster that stretched out across 35 years, starting with a brief flashback of his childhood in 1955, ending with his current civilian life in 1990, and the large bulk of everything in between takes place throughout the '70s.
Throughout the '70s, Hill found his biggest successes as a gangster, even whilst narrowly escaping the Law. However, when the movie enters 1980, he's high on cocaine and paranoid out of his mind, quickly leading to his ultimate downfall and arrest that same year. The moral of the story? The '80s sucked.
9 Boogie Nights - A Reminder That The '80s Still Sucked
Released seven years after Goodfellas, Boogie Nights takes an even clearer stance in suggesting that everything sucked in the 1980s. Taking place in the heart of the adult entertainment industry at its peak, everything is peaches and cream for its central characters as they indulge in nonstop parties.
However, things take a dark turn during a New Year's Eve party on the final day of 1979. It is there that one of these central characters massacres his wife, her lover, and then himself as soon as the clock strikes midnight. From then, the entire industry and many of the characters' friendships reach a downward spiral. Clearly, everything about the '80s sucked.
8 Casino - A Bigger Exploration Of The '70s For Scorsese
While only a portion of Goodfellas—albeit a large portion—takes place during the '70s, Martin Scorsese's directorial follow-up, Casino, manages to take place entirely in the 1970s. Reuniting with Goodfellas' stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and even writer Nicholas Pileggi, Scorsese paints a portrait of what happened during a time period where the mafia ran the casinos.
While audiences expected the story to be tight, the direction great, and performances from De Niro and Pesci to be just as great, they were especially blown away and happily surprised by Sharon Stone's show-stealing performance, which earned her a Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination.
7 54 - The Best & Worst Of Disco
Anyone who has seen the movie Saturday Night Fever without actually living through the '70s might make the mistake of thinking that the era was nothing but sunshine, rainbows, dancing, and glitter underneath platform shoes. 54, which doubles as a biography about the history of Studio 54, takes a look at the much seedier side of disco.
Much of that seediness comes from Mike Myers' surprisingly understated performance as Studio 54 co-founder Steve Rubell, who in the movie is portrayed as a repugnant sex addict who abuses his power by coercing young busboys. The 2008 director's cut is even better by including provocative footage that '90s test audiences responded more prudishly towards.
6 Detroit Rock City - An Ode To Rock 'N' Roll
While a lot of the previously mentioned movies on this list showcase gangsters, movie stars, and disco enthusiasts living a borderline rock 'n' roll lifestyle, Detroit Rock City takes a look at actual rockers. Specifically, a group of teens led by Terminator 2's Edward Furlong who all take part in a Kiss tribute band before embarking on a journey to finally see their idols in person for a 1978 concert in Detroit.
The movie itself serves as a love letter to Kiss, as well as the passionate and fanatic music culture as a whole. Particularly the culture as seen through the lens of Detroit, which has been known for being one of the best cities to embrace genres like rock 'n' roll.
5 Apollo 13 - Makes The Most Out Of Its Runtime
The botched and aborted Apollo 13 mission of 1970 hardly seems like a blip in the history books compared to the other significant and often dazzling moments in the history of NASA. From the outside looking in, it certainly does not seem like there is enough material to warrant the movie's nearly three-hour-long runtime.
However, director Ron Howard makes the most out of this 140-minute runtime by focusing less on the technical details of the mission and more on the passion, dedication, and heartbreak surrounding the people involved that was prevalent before, during, and after the mission commenced.
4 The Virgin Suicides - Sofia Coppola Redeems Herself
Speaking of heartbreak, melancholy is present throughout the 1999 drama, The Virgin Suicides. Adapted from the Jeffrey Eugenides novel of the same name, The Virgin Suicides follows five teenage girls all put under strict living conditions by their parents in the late 1970s, which do more harm than good to their deteriorating mental states.
Critics were skeptical of Sofia Coppola's talent behind the camera as the movie was released nine years after her acting performance was universally panned in The Godfather Part III, but she quickly proved those critics wrong by producing a breathtaking, mature directorial debut that paved the way for her Oscar-winning career.
3 The Godfather Part III - A Good Movie In The Shadow Of Great Movies
The Godfather Part III takes place in 1979 and compared to its Best Picture-winning predecessors, it tends to get forgotten or easily criticized. Taking the bold choice of trying to follow up two of the greatest movies of all time, Part III simply gets a bad rep.
Yes, some things are worth criticizing—like Sofia Coppola's performance or Robert Duvall not returning to reprise his role—but just because it doesn't stand tall among the greatest movies of all time doesn't change the fact that it is still, at its heart, a very good movie. Not only does it offer a definitive, fitting end to the Michael Corleone story, but it offers two great performances from Andy Garcia and especially Al Pacino.
2 Breaking The Waves - An Exploration Of Faith
Although the time period is not entirely relevant to the plot, Breaking the Waves nonetheless takes place in early 1970s-era Scotland. The movie is far more concerned with religion and the idea that faith works in mysterious ways. When Bess' husband, Jan, lands in the hospital, he urges her to sleep with other people to strengthen their relationship while he's bed-ridden.
Unsurprisingly, she's furious at the suggestion and declines. Suddenly, his condition worsens. When she finally does as he wishes, even when it puts her in dangerous situations, his health gets better. A premise that on paper looks wholly bizarre instead manages to be incredibly heartwrenching, thanks in large part to a tremendous, Oscar-nominated performance from Emily Watson.
1 Dazed & Confused - Quintessential '70s & A Quintessential Coming Of Age Story
It is very likely that when most readers think about '90s movies set in the '70s, they think of Dazed and Confused. This movie is often considered the best of its genre when it comes to both coming of age tales and movies set in the '70s.
Coming out in 1993, this served as the first big break for many young actors in its cast who went on to become Hollywood superstars and, in some cases, Oscar winners, including Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck, and Renee Zellweger.