The year 1970 in film involved some significant events. __TOC__
Events January 9 – Larry Fine, the second member of The Three Stooges, suffers a massive stroke, effectively ending his career. February 11 – The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, premieres in New York City. The film's soundtrack album, including Badfinger's "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney), is released on Apple Records. March 12 – Film debut of Ornella Muti in La moglie più bella (The Most Beautiful Wife) 3 days after her 15th birthday.IMDB March 17 – The controversial film The Boys in the Band, directed by William Friedkin and based on Mart Crowley's hit off-Broadway play, opens in theaters. July – Stanley R. Jaffe appointed as president of Paramount Pictures, succeeding Charles Bludhorn who remained chairman and CEO. October 24 – Joan Crawford's final film, the low-budget horror picture Trog, opens in the US and UK. December 1 – Yousuf Khan Sher Bano is the first Pashto film to be released in Pakistan. December 14 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono film Up Your Legs Forever with 367 participants in New York City. The IMAX motion picture projection system premieres at the Fuji Pavilion, at Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. In Culver City, California, MGM begins selling off its studio back lot property and movie props.
Awards Category/Organization 28th Golden Globe AwardsFebruary 5, 1971 24th BAFTA AwardsMarch 4, 1971 43rd Academy AwardsApril 15, 1971 Drama Musical or Comedy Best Film Love Story M*A*S*H Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Patton Best Director Arthur HillerLove Story George Roy HillButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Franklin J. SchaffnerPatton Best Actor George C. ScottPatton Albert FinneyScrooge Robert RedfordButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidDownhill RacerTell Them Willie Boy Is Here George C. ScottPatton Best Actress Ali MacGrawLove Story Carrie SnodgressDiary of a Mad Housewife Katharine RossButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidTell Them Willie Boy Is Here Glenda JacksonWomen in Love Best Supporting Actor John MillsRyan's Daughter Colin WellandKes John MillsRyan's Daughter Best Supporting Actress Karen BlackFive Easy PiecesMaureen StapletonAirport Susannah YorkThey Shoot Horses, Don't They? Helen HayesAirport Best Screenplay, Adapted Erich SegalLove Story William GoldmanButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Ring Lardner Jr.M*A*S*H Best Screenplay, Original Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. NorthPatton Best Original Score Francis LaiLove Story N/A Francis LaiLove StoryThe BeatlesLet It Be Best Original Song "Whistling Away The Dark"Darling Lili N/A "For All We Know"Lovers and Other Strangers Best Foreign Language Film Rider on the Rain N/A Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion Best Documentary N/A N/A Sad Song of Yellow Skin Woodstock
Cannes Film Festival (Palme d'Or): M*A*S*H, directed by Robert Altman, United States
Highest-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1970 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
+ Highest-grossing films of 1970 Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals 1 Love Story Paramount $50,000,000 2Airport Universal $44,500,000 3M*A*S*H 20th Century Fox $30,000,000 4 Patton $27,000,000 5Woodstock Warner Bros. $16,400,000Top 20 Films of 1970 by Domestic Revenue 6 Little Big Man National General Pictures $15,000,000 7 Tora! Tora! Tora! 20th Century Fox/Toei $13,700,000 8 Ryan's Daughter MGM $13,400,000 9Catch-22 Paramount $12,300,000 10 The Owl and the Pussycat Columbia $11,500,000
1970 films By country/region List of American films of 1970 List of Argentine films of 1970 List of Australian films of 1970 List of Bangladeshi films of 1970 List of British films of 1970 List of Canadian films of 1970 List of French films of 1970 List of Hong Kong films of 1970 List of Indian films of 1970 List of Hindi films of 1970 List of Kannada films of 1970 List of Malayalam films of 1970 List of Marathi films of 1970 List of Tamil films of 1970 List of Telugu films of 1970 List of Japanese films of 1970 List of Mexican films of 1970 List of Pakistani films of 1970 List of South Korean films of 1970 List of Soviet films of 1970 List of Spanish films of 1970
By genre/medium List of action films of 1970 List of animated feature films of 1970 List of avant-garde films of 1970 List of comedy films of 1970 List of drama films of 1970 List of horror films of 1970 List of science fiction films of 1970 List of thriller films of 1970 List of western films of 1970
Births January 1 Julio Cesar Cedillo, Mexican actor Gabriel Jarret, American actor John Moore, Irish director and producer January 4 - Josh Stamberg, American actor January 7 - Doug E. Doug, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer and director January 17 - Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-American animator, director, producer, screenwriter, voice actor and storyboard artist January 19 Essie Davis, Australian actress and singer Kipp Marcus, American actor, screenwriter and producer January 20 Branka Katić, Serbian actress Skeet Ulrich, American actor January 21 - Ken Leung, American actor January 24 – Matthew Lillard, American actor, voice actor, director and producer January 27 - Todd Louiso, American actor and director January 29 – Heather Graham, American actress January 31 - Minnie Driver, English actress February 1 - C. Ernst Harth, Canadian character actor February 3 - Matt Winston, American actor February 8 - Stephanie Courtney, American actress and comedian February 14 - Simon Pegg, English actor February 16 - Scott Yaphe, Canadian actor and comedian February 17 Michael Hyatt, American actress Dominic Purcell, Australian actor February 18 - Susan Egan, American actress, voice actress, singer and dancer February 22 Nicole Oliver, Canadian actress Jeremy Shamos, American actor February 23 – Niecy Nash, American actress, comedian and television host February 24 – Jonathan Ward, American retired actor February 25 - Heather Simms, American actress March 2 - Alexander Armstrong, English actor, comedian, television personality, television presenter and singer March 3 - Julie Bowen, American actress March 4 Sergio Basáñez, Mexican actor Will Keen, English actor Angela V. Shelton, American actress and comedian March 5 - Rimantė Valiukaitė, Lithuanian actress March 6 - Dan Põldroos, Estonian actor (d. 2007) March 7 - Rachel Weisz, English actress March 8 Meredith Scott Lynn, American actress, producer and director Jed Rees, Canadian actor March 13 - Tim Story, American filmmaker March 18 – Queen Latifah, American actress and rapper March 20 Linda Larkin, American actress and voice actress Michael Rapaport, American actor and comedian March 24 Lauren Bowles, American actress Lara Flynn Boyle, American actress and producer Robbie Gee, British actor Taizo Harada, Japanese actor and comedian March 31 - Damon Herriman, Australian actor April 4 - Barry Pepper, Canadian actor April 7 - Ivelin Giro, Cuban-American actress April 11 - Johnny Messner, American actor April 12 - Retta, American stand-up comedian and actress April 13 - Ricky Schroder, American actor April 15 - Flex Alexander, American actor and comedian April 21 Rob Riggle, American actor, comedian, and marine Nicole Sullivan, American actress, voice artist and comedian April 22 - Mireille Soria, American producer April 24 - Kiff VandenHeuvel, American actor and director April 25 Jonathan Brugh, New Zealand comedian, actor and musician Jason Lee, American actor, comedian, and professional skateboarder April 29 Paweł Deląg, Polish actor Uma Thurman, American actress May 1 - Dave Willis, American actor, writer, animator, producer, and voice actor May 2 Golda Rosheuvel, British actress and singer Matt Gerald, American actor and screenwriter May 3 - Bobby Cannavale, American actor May 4 - Will Arnett, Canadian actor May 6 - Tristán Ulloa, Spanish actor, writer and director May 9 - Helen Hill, American animator (d. 2007) May 10 - Dallas Roberts, American actor May 11 - Nicky Katt, American and Mexican actor (d. 2025) May 12 Samantha Mathis, American actress Larry Rickles, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2011) Nae Yūki, Japanese actress and singer May 13 - Catherine Lough Haggquist, Canadian actress and producer May 18 - Tina Fey, American comedian, screenwriter, producer, and actress May 19 - Jason Gray-Stanford, Canadian actor May 20 - Sally Phillips, English actress, television presenter and comedian May 21 - Seth Morris, American actor, comedian and writer May 22 Naomi Campbell, English model and actress Ayberk Pekcan, Turkish actor (d. 2022) May 23 - Nanette Burstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter May 25 Jamie Kennedy, American actor, screenwriter, stand-up comedian and television producer Octavia Spencer, American actress May 26 - John Hamburg, American writer and director May 27 - Joseph Fiennes, English actor May 28 - Glenn Quinn, Irish actor (d. 2002) June 1 - Paula Malcomson, North Irish actress June 4 - Izabella Scorupco, Polish-Swedish actress and singer June 8 - Seu Jorge, Brazilian musical artist, songwriter and actor June 15 Justin Fletcher, English comedian, children's television presenter Leah Remini, American actress, author and activist June 16 - Clifton Collins Jr., American actor June 17 - Will Forte, American actor and comedian June 22 Richard Yearwood, Canadian actor Michael Trucco, American actor June 24 - Andres Raag, Estonian actor June 26 Paul Thomas Anderson, American filmmaker Sean Hayes, American actor and comedian Matt Letscher, American actor and director Chris O'Donnell, American actor Nick Offerman, American actor, writer, comedian and producer June 28 Rio Hackford, American actor (d. 2022) Mike White, American writer, actor and producer June 30 - Brian Bloom, American actor and screenwriter July 2 - Scott Aukerman, American writer, actor, comedian, director and producer July 3 Audra McDonald, American actress and singer Benedict Wong, British actor July 4 - Lewis MacLeod, Scottish actor and voice actor July 11- Justin Chambers, American actor July 12 - Lee Byung-hun, South Korean actor July 13 - Sharon Horgan, Irish actress, writer, director, producer and comedian July 14 Catherine Curtin, American actress Mike McFarland, American voice actor Nina Siemaszko, American actress July 16 - Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thai film director July 17 - Gary Gulman, American stand-up comedian and actor July 21 - Alysia Reiner, American actress July 22 - Jonathan Zaccaï, Belgian actor, director and screenwriter July 23 - Charisma Carpenter, American actress July 24 - Velibor Topić, Bosnian-British actor July 27 Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Danish actor and producer Tamie Sheffield, American actress July 30 - Christopher Nolan, English-American film director, producer and writer August 1 - Jennifer Gareis, American actress August 2 - Kevin Smith, American filmmaker, actor and comedian August 3 - Thierry Neuvic, French actor August 4 - Ron Lester, American actor (d. 2016) August 6 - M. Night Shyamalan, American film director, writer, producer and actor August 9 - Thomas Lennon, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer and director August 10 - Francesco De Vito, Italian actor August 15 Anthony Anderson, American actor Maddie Corman, American actress August 16 Saif Ali Khan, Indian actor Kaili Närep, Estonian actress August 17 - Rupert Degas, British-Australian actor August 18 - Malcolm-Jamal Warner, American actor (d. 2025) August 18 - Scott Waugh, American director, producer and editor August 21 - Marc Evan Jackson, American comedian and actor August 23 Jay Mohr, American actor and comedian River Phoenix, American actor (d. 1993) August 25 - Claudia Schiffer, German model and actress August 26 - Melissa McCarthy, American actress, comedian and film producer August 29 - Alessandra Negrini, Brazilian actress