10 Most Essential Movies of 1972, Ranked

The 1970s was a formative and substantial decade for movies. The '70s saw the rise to prominence of some of the most influential filmmakers of all time, including Steven Spielbergand Martin Scorsese. Indie horror exploded onto the scene with genre-defining efforts such as Halloween and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Jaws essentially birthed the very concept of a blockbuster in 1975, changing the film landscape as a whole.