STREAMING PROGRAM INFORMATION

• This program is part of our Smithsonian Associates Streaming series.
• Platform: Zoom
• Online registration is required.
• If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.

Most film scholars will tell you that the 1970s were the greatest decade of film. The legend typically revolves around the mavericks of “New Hollywood,” directors who used their unprecedented power and skill to helm some of the most iconic films of the last half-century, such as The Godfather, Jaws, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, and Apocalypse Now.

But this handful of filmmakers represent an incomplete snapshot of the era. Look beyond the “movie brats”—Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas—to find a decade of dazzling variety. Washington City Paper film critic Noah Gittell examines the films of the 1970s that have been left out of the narrative.

Hear about the mainstream successes of Hal Ashby, Alan J. Pakula, and Michael Ritchie; blazing female talents like Barbara Loden and Elaine May; experimental masters John Cassavetes and David Lynch; pioneers of the German New Wave Rainier Werner Fassbinder and Werner Herzog; and blaxploitation directors Gordon Parks and Melvin van Peebles. Gittell also dives in to how these iconic directors influenced the best young filmmakers working today.

Grab your popcorn and box candy and settle in for a journey through one of the greatest eras of film.

View Noah Gittell's recommended list of 1970s films.

Patron Information

• Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
• Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
• View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.