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Best Romance Movies

of the 1970s

The 20 highest-rated romance movies released between 1970 and 1979, ranked by IMDb score.

1

Scenes from a Marriage(1974)

8.3 IMDb

Johan and Marianne are married and seem to have it all. Their happiness, however, is a façade for a troubled relationship, which becomes even rockier when Johan admits that he's having an affair. Befo

2

Office Romance(1977)

8.2 IMDb

Anatoly Novoseltsev is a mousy single father and office stumblebum working at a statistics bureau in Moscow. In the hopes of being promoted, he is coaxed into charming his disagreeable and seemingly u

3

A Special Day(1977)

8.1 IMDb100% RT

Two neighbours — a persecuted journalist and a resigned housewife — forge a strong bond on the day of Adolf Hitler's historic 1938 visit to Rome.

4

Barry Lyndon(1975)

8.1 IMDb78% RT89 Meta

An Irish rogue uses his cunning and wit to work his way up the social classes of 18th century England, transforming himself from the humble Redmond Barry into the noble Barry Lyndon.

5

A Woman Under the Influence(1974)

8 IMDb86% RT88 Meta

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 extrem

6

The Last Picture Show(1971)

8 IMDb98% RT93 Meta

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 nea

7

Fiddler on the Roof(1971)

8 IMDb81% RT67 Meta

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.

8

Annie Hall(1977)

7.9 IMDb97% RT92 Meta

New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditsy Annie Hall.

9

Manhattan(1979)

7.8 IMDb93% RT83 Meta

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.

10

That Obscure Object of Desire(1977)

7.8 IMDb97% RT84 Meta

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 bet

11

Cabaret(1972)

7.8 IMDb92% RT80 Meta

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.

12

Harold and Maude(1971)

7.8 IMDb86% RT62 Meta

A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.

13

Days of Heaven(1978)

7.7 IMDb94% RT94 Meta

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.

14

Badlands(1974)

7.7 IMDb97% RT94 Meta

An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town and her older greaser boyfriend embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota badlands.

15

What's Up, Doc?(1972)

7.7 IMDb88% RT73 Meta

The accidental mix-up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.

16

Three Wishes for Cinderella(1973)

7.6 IMDb

Popelka, a resourceful and independent young girl, is a servant in her stepmother's house and confides in her closest friend the owl. When she comes across three magical acorns, she's granted a single

17

Love in the Afternoon(1972)

7.6 IMDb87% RT

Frederic leads a bourgeois life; he is a partner in a small Paris office and is happily married to Helene, a teacher expecting her second child. In the afternoons, Frederic daydreams about other women

18

Swept Away(1974)

7.5 IMDb62% RT68 Meta

A spoiled rich woman and a brutish Communist deckhand become stranded alone on a desert island after venturing away from their cruise.

19

The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant(1972)

7.5 IMDb85% RT73 Meta

Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer -- arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She mistreats Marlene (her secretary, maid, and co-designer). Enter Karin, a 23-year-old beauty who wants to b

20

Claire's Knee(1970)

7.5 IMDb96% RT

On the eve of his wedding, on holiday on the Lake Annecy shore, a career diplomat visits an old acquaintance, perhaps a former girlfriend. Through her he meets an intense teenager, Laura, and then lus

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