Movie stars found themselves with more compelling roles to play throughout the 1970s as the end of the musical’s reign forced major Hollywood studios to invest in smaller, darker, edgier movies to sustain themselves. This led to the “New Hollywood” movement, pioneered by such legendary filmmakers as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and Hal Ashby.
In films of this era, the lead character didn’t necessarily have to be likable as long as they were interesting, and “interesting” beats “likable” any day. Travis Bickle and Michael Corleone are far less likable than the average character played by Dwayne Johnson, but they’re undeniably better characters.
Faye Dunaway As Evelyn Mulwray In Chinatown
There are very few characters in film history with an arc as tragic as that of Evelyn Mulwray in Chinatown, arguably the greatest film noir ever made (or, certainly, the greatest neo-noir ever made).
From the air of mystery surrounding her character to her tangible chemistry with Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway gives a fantastic performance in the role.
Malcolm McDowell As Alex DeLarge In A Clockwork Orange
Providing the inspiration for Heath Ledger’s Joker, Malcolm McDowell tormented audiences with the definitive portrait of a psychopath when he played teenage delinquent Alex DeLarge in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.
With no limit to the depraved, deplorable acts he’ll perform on his unsuspecting victims, Alex is even if he is an inhuman monster.
Louise Fletcher As Nurse Ratched In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Lists of the greatest villains in cinema history are often topped by mass-murdering maniacs like Darth Vader or the Joker, but a villain doesn’t have to be an omnipotent alien warlord to terrify audiences. Louise Fletcher gave cinema one of its most hatable antagonists when she played the evil Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Encapsulating the idea of oppressive authority, Nurse Ratched is an integral part of Cuckoo’s Nest’s legacy as the pinnacle of the anti-establishment tone of post-Watergate American cinema.
Sylvester Stallone As Rocky Balboa In Rocky
Due to his high quotient of bad movies, Sylvester Stallone has been labeled a bad actor, but movies like First Blood, Cop Land, and of course, the original 1976 Rocky have proven the opposite to be true.
In Rocky, Stallone brings a virtually unparalleled level of ion to his performance, capturing an authentic working-class grit and grappling with real, universal insecurities.
Jane Fonda As Bree Daniels In Klute
In response to the Watergate scandal, Alan J. Pakula made a trilogy of three impeccable paranoid thrillers — All the President’s Men, The Parallax View, and Klute — that captured the contemporary political climate. The latter is the least overt in its connection to politics. Jane Fonda plays Bree, a high-end prostitute who assists a detective, played by Donald Sutherland, in a missing persons case.
The movie is named after the detective, but it’s Bree who steals the show. Fonda gave the performance of a lifetime in the movie, wholeheartedly throwing herself into the role.
Marlon Brando As Don Vito Corleone In The Godfather
It’s tough to pinpoint Marlon Brando’s most iconic performance — from On the Waterfront to Apocalypse Now, he gave so many incredible ones — but one that could be a contender is his portrayal of aging mafia boss Vito Corleone in The Godfather.
Al Pacino is the star of the movie, but Brando does so much with so little in the ing role of Vito. He commands the screen whenever he appears.
Jack Nicholson As Randle McMurphy In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Jack Nicholson gave a lot of fantastic performances in a lot of masterpieces throughout the ‘70s, from playing Jake Gittes in Chinatown to Buddusky in The Last Detail, but arguably his finest performance of the decade was in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Opposite Louise Fletcher’s ominous portrayal of Nurse Ratched, Nicholson played Randle McMurphy, the soundest-minded mental patient under her tyrannical rule, and the only one fearless enough to stand up to her, no matter the cost.
Peter Finch As Howard Beale In Network
“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Peter Finch became the first actor to win a posthumous Academy Award for his poignant, eye-opening turn as suicidal anchorman Howard Beale in Sidney Lumet’s satirical masterpiece, Network.
Paddy Chayefsky provided the words, but Finch took those words and used the power of acting to convert them into a powerful, near-prophetic truth.
Robert De Niro As Travis Bickle In Taxi Driver
The inclination to go out and kill people might not be universally relatable, but Robert De Niro still manages to make deranged vigilante Travis Bickle feel like a relatable character in Taxi Driver by focusing on his isolation and feelings of being an outsider, which everyone can relate to. De Niro’s captivating performance, both in on-screen body language and in omniscient voiceover narration, really brings Travis to life.
From the curious ambiguous ending, De Niro in Taxi Driver is a masterclass in screen acting.
Al Pacino As Michael Corleone In The Godfather Part II
Al Pacino masterfully played Michael Corleone’s descent from optimistic, educated ex-soldier with a bright future to ruthless crime lord in the first Godfather movie. But, against all odds, he managed to top himself in the sequel, The Godfather Part II.
As Michael takes over his father’s longstanding position as don of the Corleone crime family, Pacino brings a startling reality to the tough decisions he’s forced to make.
