14. The Godfather (1972)
What can be said about The Godfather that hasn't been said before? It does everything and features everything. It raised the bar for movies and is frequently seen as one of the greatest movies of all time. It's a superpower of world cinema and even Stanley Kubrick thought it was a masterpiece. It looks at the Mafia from the inside - closely examining family, loyalty and corruption - and as a result gangster movies were made in a different way. The gangster genre is an old and popular one but Coppola's intimate examination of the Corleone family on such a large scale was evolutionary. Coppola creates a film of great emotional and psychological depth as you sympathise with characters you have no right to - the characters in the film are human beings rather than stereotypes. Everything about the film has gone on to become iconic - the image of the Don in his chair, Marlon Brando's performance, Al Pacino, the climatic baptism scene and the death of Sonny to name just a few things. The Godfather became a staple in pop culture and many moments in the film have been parodied by everyone from Saturday Night Live to The Simpsons. The Godfather paints the Corleone family as a Royal family - with the large houses, sharp suits and lavish luxuries all on show - which is a large contrasts to many of the prior gangster movies which focussed on the lower, more dirty end of crime. It's been 41 years since it was first released and numerous restorations later, it is still loved by millions of all ages and in my opinion, the only film to top it is its sequel.
13. Mean Streets (1973)
Scorsese's breakout film shocked and swaggered its way around New York as it illuminated with the thrill of rock n' roll pulsating from the speakers in the form of The Rolling Stones. Mean Streets was a new type of cool. Scorsese pioneered the use of contemporary music in movies, showing that the Stones could go head to head with any classical score. The film and its use of music no doubt influenced the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Cameron Crowe with this technique, but nobody stitches pop music together with movies quite like Scorsese. It's a deeply personal film that propelled Scorsese and star, Robert De Niro to the big league. It was a daring, original picture filled with heartbreak, violence and humour, it signalled that the voice of Scorsese was going to be heard for generations. The electrifying intensity of the movie is what stays with you so long as the flawless performances of De Niro and Keitel show a director orchestrating at the top of his game. Scorsese's energetic direction powers the film to iconic status as he breaks new ground in cinema, identifying himself as the greatest director of the decade in the process. Like the best movies that explore people who live what some people may consider an amoral life, it is non-judgemental - never creating prejudice against the characters. Mean Streets is a powerful, personal, gritty tale of sin and ranks amongst American cinema's very best.
12. Enter the Dragon (1973)
Sometimes wrongly referred to as "poor man's James Bond movie", Enter the Dragon is the movie that brought martial-arts into the popular consciousness of the west and the legendary enigma of Bruce Lee into the hearts and minds of millions of teenage wannabe's. It's the perfect vehicle to show off the brilliance of Lee's martial-arts ability as he kicks, punches and chops his way through 98 minutes of beautifully choreographed and electrifying action. Enter the Dragon was not just a brainless action flick, it, as Lee intended showed off Chinese culture to the world. Jackie Chan also appears very briefly only to get his neck snapped by a devastating Lee. Although Lee tragically died just a few days before its release, the film has gone to receive enduring popularity, and not just with martial arts film fans either. Lee's final screen appearance was doused in kinetic energy as it made famous a genre that has long disappeared from mainstream American cinema and the biggest regret about the film is that it was Lee's last as his lightning moves were imitated by young boys worldwide. Enter the Dragon kick-started the martial arts craze in the 70's and ensures that the Dragon's legacy lives on.