The 10 Best Period Dramas Set In The 1970s (According to IMDb)

When people hear period dramas, they generally think about movies based in the early 1900s and earlier. But as the ’70s ended more than 40 years ago and the decade had such a distinct style, movies set in those years are very much period dramas.

It isn’t just the style that makes a movie a period drama, it’s also the events that happen in the movies too. These movies set in the ’70s tend to be based on political events and social events of the time or even depictions of the adult movie industry. Between LGBTQ+ biopics and coming-of-age teen dramas, few other films have showcased the decade of disco in a more fascinating way.

10 American Hustle (2013) – 7.2

It’s obvious that director David O’Russell is a huge Martin Scorsese fan. Not only did he direct The Fighter, which has many parallels to Raging Bull, but the gangster drama American Hustle is one big homage to movies like Taxi Driver and Goodfellas.

However, one major difference between the 2013 movie and the ones it’s so influenced by is that it soaks up the ’70s fashion and aesthetic like a sponge. The movie follows two con artists who have no other choice but to become pawns in a much larger game of the FBI’s. And though the covert operation is the movie’s premise, the soap-opera drama between the characters and the quiffs and updos take equal billing.

9 Milk (2008) – 7.5

Besides the archival footage that shows the police raiding gay bars in the 1950s and ’60s, Milk is set entirely in the late 70s. The title doesn’t give much away, but it is about Harvey Milk, a politician and gay rights activist who was elected to public office in San Francisco.

It follows the politician from the beginning of his career to his assassination and all of the Shakespearean-like tragedy that happens in his life in between. San Francisco is the location for many ’70s-based movies, and that could be because the city was the epicenter for many big cultural and political movements over several decades, from the civil rights movement to literature and rock music.

8 Dazed & Confused (1993) – 7.6

Dazed and Confused was the blueprint for director Richard Linklater’s whole career, as most of his movies feature coming-of-age narratives and everyday people going about their normal lives. Though it was a 1990s box office bomb, most feel that Dazed and Confused remains the director’s best movie, and that’s partly thanks to how dedicated it is to representing teenagers’ lifestyles in the ’70s.

As the characters were so fascinating and entertaining, it would have been great to have seen a sequel set in the ’80s. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but the filmmaker did direct the ’80s-based coming-of-age movie, Everybody Wants Some, which, as Linklater told The Hollywood Reporter, is a “spiritual sequel” to the 1993 movie.

7 Argo (2012) – 7.7

Younger audience members might not have been aware of the real-life story behind the movie before the release of Argo, as the events are just so surreal. The film is about a group of CIA agents who pretend to shoot a science fiction movie in 1979 in order to rescue some U.S. diplomats from Tehran during the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Being a political drama, the ’70s throwbacks are all seen here, from the burgundy suits to the interior office design. Though the 2012 movie was the Best Picture winner of 2013 at the Academy Awards, it’s shocking that it wasn’t even nominated for Best Costume Design.

6 Donnie Brasco (1997) – 7.7

Many fans feel that Donnie Brasco doesn’t get enough recognition. The movie is a gangster drama based on the real-life story of Donnie Brasco, an undercover FBI agent who brought down the Bonanno crime family in the ’70s.

What the movie does so well is depict the stress and constant anxiety of the situations undercovers are put in. The Departed did this nine years later, but the 1997 movie was one of its kind for a long time.

5 Zodiac (2007) – 7.7

Very little of Zodiac shows the glitz and glamor of the ’70s but it instead depicts the usually brightly lit and colorful San Francisco as a morbid, rainy, and gloomy place to live. The movie begins in 1969, with the first victims of the Zodiac Killer.

The movie then spans almost the entirety of the ’70s, as detectives, news journalists, and even cartoonists become obsessed with trying to catch the serial killer. It’s a thrilling fly-on-the-wall look of the investigation, and this, along with a ’70s aesthetic that isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, is why Zodiac is a 2007 movie that’s now considered a classic.

4 Boogie Nights (1997) – 7.9

Though he had directed the gripping crime drama Hard Eight just the year before, it was Boogie Nights that established director Paul Thomas Anderson’s style. The movie is based in the ’70s, which is also the setting for two other of the director’s movies.

The movie plays heavily on the stereotypes and cliches of the decade of disco, as it’s full of flares, big haircuts, and one of the main characters is literally called “Rollergirl” because she never takes off her roller skates. And although Boogie Nights would look different if it was recast today, it’s the powerful performances from the likes of Burt Reynolds and Philip Seymour Hoffman that make it one of the greatest dramas of the 1990s.

3 Almost Famous (2000) – 7.9

Almost Famous is one of the best musical dramas set in the ’70s, as it follows a 15-year-old aspiring rock journalist go on tour with the fictional rock band, Stillwater. Stillwater is an amalgam of a few ’70s bands that director Cameron Crowe actually toured with, such as Led Zeppelin and Eagles. This makes the movie unique in its portrayal of the decade, as it’s overly theatrical but also extremely accurate.

The 2000 movie is the best of many things: it’s one of the best road trip movies, features one of the best fictional bands, and is, of course, one of the best period dramas set in the ’70s.

2 Casino (1995) – 8.2

Acting as somewhat of a companion piece to Goodfellas, the Scorsese-directed epic is another years-spanning crime drama set in the 1970s. Unlike Goodfellas, which hardly plays on the 70s setting, Casino is doused in glamor, from the big hair to the flamboyant suits.

The in-your-face ’70s vibe in the movie could have something to do with the fact that it’s set in Las Vegas, where everything is loud and eye-catching, whether it’s the bright lights or the wallpaper. It’s the only time Scorsese has fully thrown himself into a period piece by embracing the cheesiness, but the movie somehow still comes off as effortless and tasteful.

1 Goodfellas (1990) – 8.7

Goodfellas is great for tons of different reasons, as it’s full of surprisingly funny scenes in a gangster movie, and it’s epic in scope. Like many Martin Scorsese-directed movies, it spans decades, but the bulk of the movie takes place in the ’70s.

Unlike the other period movies set in the ’70s, Goodfellas isn’t over the top in the way that it depicts the decade, and is instead fairly subtle. It may have something to do with the fact that the movie’s release isn’t so far removed from the decade. The movie was released in 1990, so the cliches and stereotypes of flares and disco hadn’t become so established by that point.