11. Chinatown (1974)
Roman Polanski's classic film noir solidified Jack Nicholson's status as a Hollywood star and Polanski as one of the heroes of New Hollywood before he fled to Europe after pleading guilty to rape. Robert Towne's infinitely interesting and perplexing screenplay remains celebrated as one of the finest of all time as the pacing is perfect and the plot unravels meticulously. All of the 70's greats are on top form in Chinatown - Nicholson, Dunaway and John Huston all put in great performances - and Polanski has never come close to topping his noir masterpiece. The film is as cynical about humanity as its lead private detective - twisting at each opportunity, never allowing you to trust the characters, but yet you believe completely in Nicholson's Jake Gittes. It takes great skill to make a movie this intense and wary so seductive as the quotable dialogue and a trio of fascinating performances lure you in. To this day, I contend that John Huston steals the show as the water baron. A flawless, seminal film of the 70's that looks and feels as if it were made in the 40's - it may be a timeless classic, but it feels as if it belongs in film noir's golden age - not a bad thing.
10. Jaws (1975)
Jaws led the way for the start of blockbuster cinema - a new form of movie that was big on budget and audience-thrills. These movies have more crossover appeal with merchandising deals, endless sequels and gigantic marketing campaigns. Was this a good thing for cinema? That's a different debate for a different time, but Jaws changed the way studios thought about movies and the studio bosses began imagining movies as more than movies. The studios wanted a genuine phenomenon that would appeal to everybody from children to granddads - Jaws was the first movie to offer that. Jaws thrills you, it makes you laugh, it makes you care; its cheeriness never getting in the way of the scares and vice versa. Despite the gore and threat, Jaws somehow got away with a PG rating to ensure it had the maximum appeal as it stormed to overtake The Godfather as the highest-grossing movie of all time. Spielberg has always known how to tell a story and with Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan he desperately tried to top the thriller, but he never has and never will.
9. Star Wars (1977)
George Lucas' iconic space opera is one of the most popular films ever made, as movie fans of all ages flocked to see Star Wars and have continued to do so in the thirty years since. It was expansive and dazzling, opening the world to a new type of movie, breaking the record for the highest-grossing film, set just two years prior with Jaws. Lucas revolutionised special effects as he continued to do so throughout his career. Star Wars looked like nothing ever made before - taking the sci-fi genre in an entirely new direction. Star Wars made James Cameron want to make movies, it influenced countless others such as Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, Ridley Scott and Kevin Smith. With Jaws, it turned movies into a bigger spectacle with an increased focus on the younger market. The film sounded like no other as Lucas revolutionised sound, making the bombastic noise of the film reverberate around the cinema - it was loud, but in a good way. Harrison Ford became a superstar with the success of the film as he went on to play Indiana Jones and become a screen icon. Lucas' ambitious vision opened our eyes to a new type of film and he seduces us into the masterpiece and movies have never been the same.