There are hundreds and thousands of movies lined up when you wish to watch a good movie to pass a good time. But the iconic movies that stand out are very few. And especially, when it comes to the best movies from the New Hollywood Era, there are only a number of options left.

At FAYVO, our priority is to keep you entertained and full of worthy options to try anytime you feel bored. For today, we are focused on the vintage suggestions, i.e., the new Hollywood era.

 

What is The New Hollywood Era?

New Hollywood was basically s a film movement that took place in the United States from around 1967-to 1976. It was against regular filmmaking, and it was led by a group of film students with a passion for picture-making and cinematography. The idea was to challenge the stationary status quo. The time is also known as the Hollywood New Wave.

 

Spanning roughly fifteen years from the 1960s to the 1980s, the movement radically changed the film industry. After that, many directors brought an independent and radical perspective to mainstream filmmaking.

 

So, here we are with the best of those iconic times. Let's see which are the five best movies of the New Hollywood Era.

 

The Godfather (1972)

This movie is not only one of the best movies of the New Hollywood Era, but it is the greatest of all time. The Godfather has won many awards, including three Oscars. According to Time magazine and the American Film Institute, the movie has made its mark on many best-film lists.

 

 

The movie has shown us the blooming times of the Watergate and Vietnam. The movie has the perfect characters. Try to imagine another generation's actors doing it any better than Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Marlon Brando. From the screenplay to the direction, The Godfather is one of its kind.

 

Five Easy Pieces (1970)

Another important and early film of Hollywood's New Wave is the Five Easy Pieces. It was the first movie that had Jack Nicholson. He is worth mentioning here because he was a pivotal actor in the movement. Five Easy Pieces is about the story of Bobby Dupea (Nicholson), who is a frustrated blue-collar oil-rig worker. He lives with his waitress girlfriend (Karen Black.) He barely gets something done and behaves very irrational. Being generally bored, out of mind, and unsatisfied, he goes to see his sister, who tells him that their father is dying.

 

 

Nicholson's weird character created a bond with the audience in the early seventies as it exemplified the air of discontent. Not directly, but in the hidden terms, the movie highlighted the cultural differences eating away the American society. It was a huge success back then and got nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor. The title, Easy Five Pieces, refers to five classical piano pieces which are played throughout the movie.

 

The French Connection (1971)

The movie is adapted and fictionalized by a non-fiction book about drug trafficking named 'The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy.' The book is originally written by Robin Moore that turns out to be a blockbuster movie of the New Hollywood Era.

 

 

It is a complete action-packed thriller starring Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider. These two are seen as detectives in the movie trying to crack down on the drug trafficking from Europe into the United States. During their mission, they happen to find a French druglord, Charnier (Fernando Rey). They have to catch him at any cost.

The movie features the most famous car chase scene in the history of film with a spectacular chase through the streets of New York. The French Connection raised the standards for real action movies and has been loved by thousands of people since then. The film was also primarily shot on location in New York, which highly added more to the grimy tone of the movie. Additionally, The French Connection was nominated for eight Oscars and won five of them.

 

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

 

 

Before the release of this movie, Hollywood's depiction of space aliens usually involved lizard-like costumes with visible zipper lines, but after the Close Encounters of the Third Kind, everybody took the space genre really seriously. The movie got popularity and love right when it hit the big screens. In no time, it was declared the greatest science fiction movie ever made. The movie was nominated for nine Oscars and helped Dreyfuss become one of the decade's biggest stars.

 

Deep Red (1975)

Released at the height of Giallo cinema – known as a mystery/thriller genre in Italy, the movie has been deemed one of the style's most definitive entries. It is a horror movie that also falls into the category of 'creepy.' 

 

 

The film is about a musician who begins to investigate a series of murders committed by a perpetrator wearing leather gloves. He is slowly unfolding the mystery, and the climax comes when he meets the real killer. The New Yorker has undoubtedly called the film "over the top" while admiring the way it shaped the genre. It set a standard for many modern-day horror films.