Nice list. Mine would probably have a lot of overlap.

Oh yes
Mad Max
. That really put George Miller on the filmdoms map, especially after the sequel.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

This message has been deleted.

Thanks!
“Call a SPADE, a SPADE; and a TRANNY, a TRANNY, or an IT!!!”.
"THAT'S SOME BAD
SHIT
,
HARRY
!".

Some good choices. Robert Wise though for
The Hindenburg
, I would consider more old school director. He wasn't a fresh new wave face on the 70's scene.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

1969 =
DOWNhill Racer
.
1970 =
COLOSSUS
:
The Forbin PROJECT
.
Also =
NO BLADE of Grass
.
1971 =
The Andromeda STRAIN
.
Also =
THX 1138
.
1972 =
NIGHT of the LEPUS
.
Also =
JEREMIAH Johnson
.
1973 =
SOYlent Green
.
Also =
The STING
.
1974 =
The CONVERSATION
.
Also =
LOST in the Stars
.
1975 =
JAWS
.
Also =
The HINDENBURG
.
1976 =
LOGAN
'
s Run
.
Also =
Silver STREAK
.
1977 =
The CAR
.
Also =
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS of the THIRD KIND
.
1978 =
LaserBLAST
.
Also =
HALLOWEEN
.
1979 =
PARTS
:
The Clonus HORROR
.
Also =
The VISITOR
.
1980 =
The LONG Riders
.
Also =
The Gods MUST Be CRAZY
.
“Call a SPADE, a SPADE; and a TRANNY, a TRANNY, or an IT!!!”.
"THAT'S SOME BAD
SHIT
,
HARRY
!".

Norman! What did you put in my tea?

Nice feets. I want them pressed on my face
Stinky flip-flop feet

This one is one that tends to fly under the radar and is one I often forget to mention. It would in fact rate in my top 20 "high-concept" films, or top 20 dramas from the 70's:
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

I've seen four movies on your list ("Suspiria", "Phantom of the Paradise", "A Clockwork Orange" and "Alien") and I like them all.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!"

Good Calls! I like
Westworld
but often forget about it.
Sorcerer never really appealed to me and haven't seen
Wise Blood
or
Punishment Park
.
The Man Who Fell To Earth
I have to be in the mood to watch, but it is really an exceptional sci-fi film and very grounded and earthy like its title.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

Hell YES. I love 70s movies. Such an odd decade for films.
My list, comprised of films I feel didn't quite reach the status of 'Apocalypse Now,' 'Jaws,' 'The Excorcist,' 'Rocky,' or 'The Godfather':
Suspiria

• 1977 - Dario Argento
  Phantom of the Paradise
• 1974 - Brian De Palma
  A Clockwork Orange
• 1971 - Kubrick
  Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• 1977 - Spielberg
  Westworld
• 1973 - Michael Crichton
  Alien
• 1979 - Ridley Scott
  Wise Blood
• 1979 - John Huston
  Punishment Park
• 1971 - Peter Watkins
  Sorcerer
• 1977 - William Friedkin
  The Man Who Fell to Earth
• 1976 - Nicolas Roeg
  Hark! Harold the angel sings.

Thank you.
I thought about excluding them, but didn't because by the 70s, they weren't "old school" and adapted well, while most others couldn't, including the actors, but it was pretty cool to see Robert Mitchum in something like "Friends of Eddie Coyle". Frank Capra would be a great example of a director who was great, but couldn't adapt. I couldn't even finish his last movie.
Have you seen "Wise Blood"? It's not very 1970s, but I liked it on my 2nd viewing. Kubrick seemed to have changed by 2001, but before, I would definitely agree he was pretty old-school. Even Lumet's stuff in retrospect might not seem special, but his debut, "12 Angry Men" was pretty different.
https://www.patreon.com/LoyalOpposition

Good list.
Huston, Kubrick and Lumet were around the block though by the 70's.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

Harry And Tonto (Mazursky)
Nashville (Altman)
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Forman)
A Woman Under The Influence (Cassavetes)
Network (Lumet)
Harold And Maude (Ashby)
Fat City (Huston)
Mikey And Nicky (May)
A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick)
The Conversation (Coppola)
https://www.patreon.com/LoyalOpposition

THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK (1971) director: Jerry Schatzberg

What you're describing as top tier, Hollywood refers to as "high-concept". Essentially, studio controlled, with high production values and a bankable cast.
Yes! However, I did include a low-budget horror film with
Carrie
, yet that is stylish with a now iconic director.
If you could make 10 based on the "high-concept" context, what would they all be? I am interested in hearing others perhaps add what I couldn't include, or films I haven't seen.
I had the notion to put
Taxi Driver

• '76, but I feel
  Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
  doesn't get the Scorsese recognition it deserves and I personally prefer it over TD. It is also not typical Scorsese that many are used too.
  Norman! What did you put in my tea?

What you're describing as top tier, Hollywood refers to as "high-concept". Essentially, studio controlled, with high production values and a bankable cast.
Good list. I'd add Chinatown and Apocalypse Now, and swap Jaws for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Although Jaws is the more popular movie, CEotTK is the more groundbreaking and influencial of Spielberg's 70s stuff.
Check my block list because you're probably on it.

That final scene! One of the greatest endings ever!

He did more for those men on his ward, than that so-called professional nurse and psychiatrists ever did.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

I love MacMurphy. Jack Nicholson was born to play that role. I love the way he fills out a pair of faded blue jeans. And his spirit is irresistible.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!"

She is a hateful sow and represents the worst of what many controlling women can end up like. Working for the corrupt establishment who wouldn't see a thing wrong with her and condescendingly look down on the patients.
Mac said it in a nutshell from his own spot on organic psychological analysis of her, that she likes a rigged game and she was a k<>t! Erudite and pompous ass superior doc wouldn't have liked that, even though it was true.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?

In the book, MacMurphy rips her starched white nurse's uniform down the front, exposing her big tits. That was also satisfying.
I know I said gang bang, but what I meant was rape. Ordinarily, I would say that rape is an unspeakable violation, but in the case of this horrible, castrating bitch, I say she deserves nothing less than rape.
"My life is over. I might as well dance with Johnny Slash!"

Seeing her getting choked was highly satisfying. To be honest, they should have gang banged her.
I couldn't even imagine any of those guys even wanting to go there. That would have been desperate and they were all pretty much demure. How she wanted them.
Norman! What did you put in my tea?