The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.
The top ten 1973 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
The highest-grossing 1973 films from countries outside of North America.
April 11 - Kim Jong-il publishes his film treatise On the Art of the Cinema.
May 1 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely; she will marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra in 1976.
July 20 - Martial arts legend Bruce Lee dies before Enter the Dragon is released on July 26.
November 21 - The sci-fi movie Westworld is the first feature film to use digital image processing.
December 25 - The Sting is released and goes on to become one of the top-grossing films of all time.
December 26 - The Exorcist reawakens the horror film genre and becomes one of the most popular and controversial films ever released.
Academy Awards:
Best Picture:
The Sting - Bill/Phillips-Hill, Zanuck/Brown, Universal
Best Director:
George Roy Hill -
The Sting
Best Actor:
Jack Lemmon -
Save the Tiger
Best Actress:
Glenda Jackson -
A Touch of Class
Best Supporting Actor:
John Houseman -
The Paper Chase
Best Supporting Actress:
Tatum O'Neal -
Paper Moon
Best Foreign Language Film:
Day for Night (
La Nuit américaine), directed by François Truffaut, France
Golden Globe Awards:
Drama:
Best Picture:
The Exorcist
Best Actor:
Al Pacino –
Serpico
Best Actress:
Marsha Mason –
Cinderella Liberty
Musical or comedy:
Best Picture:
American Graffiti
Best Actor:
George Segal –
A Touch of Class
Best Actress:
Glenda Jackson –
A Touch of Class
Other
Best Director:
William Friedkin –
The Exorcist
Best Foreign Language Film:
The Pedestrian (
Der Fußgänger), W. Germany
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, United Kingdom
Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, United States
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
Ashani Sanket (
Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray, India
U.S.A. unless stated
#
The 14, directed by David Hemmings, starring Jack Wild - (U.K.)
A
Abhimaan (Pride) - (India)
Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies, starring Cliff Robertson and Pamela Franklin
The Adventures of Rabbi Jacob (Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob) - (France)
All Nudity Shall Be Punished (Toda Nudez Será Castigada) - (Brazil)
The Alpha Caper, starring Henry Fonda and Leonard Nimoy
Alvin Purple - (Australia)
Amarcord, directed by Federico Fellini - (Italy)
American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Cindy Williams, Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, Harrison Ford
Ana and the Wolves (Ana y los lobos), starring Geraldine Chaplin - (Spain)
And Now the Screaming Starts!, starring Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Herbert Lom
Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), directed by Satyajit Ray - Golden Bear winner - (India)
B
The Baby, starring Anjanette Comer and Ruth Roman
Badlands, directed by Terrence Malick, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek
Bang the Drum Slowly, starring Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty
Bat Pussy, believed to have been made or released in 1973
Battle for the Planet of the Apes, starring Roddy McDowall, Claude Akins, Natalie Trundy, John Huston
Battles Without Honor and Humanity (ingi naki tatakai) - (Japan)
Baxter!, starring Patricia Neal and Britt Ekland - (U.K.)
Black Caesar, starring Fred Williamson
Black Holiday (La Villeggiatura), starring Adolfo Celi - (Italy)
Blood Brothers (Ci Ma), directed by Chang Cheh - (Hong Kong)
Blood in the Streets, a.k.a. Revolver, starring Oliver Reed - (Italy/France/West Germany)
Blood of the Dragon (Zhui ming qiang) - (Hong Kong)
Blue Blood, starring Oliver Reed, Fiona Lewis and Derek Jacobi- (U.K.)
Blume in Love, starring George Segal, Susan Anspach, Kris Kristofferson
Bobby, starring Rishi Kapoor - (India)
Il Boss, starring Henry Silva and Richard Conte - (Italy)
Breezy, directed by Clint Eastwood, starring William Holden and Kay Lenz
A Brief Vacation (Una breve vacanza), directed by Vittorio De Sica - (Italy)
Brother of the Wind
C
Cahill U.S. Marshal, starring John Wayne and George Kennedy
Can Dialectics Break Bricks? (La Dialectique Peut-Elle Casser Des Briques?) - (France)
The Candy Snatchers, starring Tiffany Bolling
Charley and the Angel, starring Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Kurt Russell
Charley Varrick, directed by Don Siegel, starring Walter Matthau, John Vernon, Joe Don Baker, Andy Robinson, Sheree North, Felicia Farr
Charlotte's Web, an animated film directed by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto, with the voices of Debbie Reynolds and Henry Gibson
Chino, directed by John Sturges, starring Charles Bronson
Cinderella Liberty, directed by Mark Rydell, starring James Caan and Marsha Mason
Class of '44, starring Gary Grimes
Cleopatra Jones, starring Tamara Dobson and Shelley Winters
Coffy, starring Pam Grier
Cops and Robbers, starring Joseph Bologna and Cliff Gorman
The Crazies, directed by George A. Romero
The Creeping Flesh, starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing - (U.K.)
D
Dark Places, starring Christopher Lee, Joan Collins, Jane Birkin - (U.K.)
Day for Night, directed by François Truffaut, starring Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Jean-Pierre Aumont - Academy Award and Bafta winner - (France)
The Day of the Dolphin, directed by Mike Nichols, starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Paul Sorvino
The Day of the Jackal, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Edward Fox, Michael Lonsdale, Delphine Seyrig - (U.K./France)
The Death of a Lumberjack (La Mort d'un bûcheron) - (Canada)
A Delicate Balance, starring Katharine Hepburn, Paul Scofield, Lee Remick, Kate Reid, Betsy Blair
The Devil in Miss Jones, adult film, directed by Gerard Damiano
Dillinger, starring Warren Oates, Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfuss, Geoffrey Lewis
A Doll's House, starring Claire Bloom and Anthony Hopkins - (U.K.)
The Don Is Dead, starring Anthony Quinn, Robert Forster, Al Lettieri, Ina Balin
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, starring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton
Don't Look Now, directed by Nicolas Roeg, starring Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland - (U.K./Italy)
E
The Earth Is a Sinful Song (Maa on syntinen laulu) - (Finland)
Electra Glide in Blue, starring Robert Blake
Emperor of the North Pole, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine
England Made Me, starring Peter Finch and Michael York - (U.K.)
Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly - (Hong Kong/U.S.A.)
Executive Action, starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan
The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin, starring Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow—winner of 5 Golden Globes and 2 Oscars
F
Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage) - (France/Czechoslovakia)
Fé, Esperanza y Caridad (Faith, Hope and Charity), starring Katy Jurado - (Mexico)
The Final Programme, starring Jon Finch, Jenny Runacre and Graham Crowden - (U.K.)
Five on the Black Hand Side, starring Godfrey Cambridge
The Friends of Eddie Coyle, directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Mitchum, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats, Alex Rocco, Peter Boyle
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (a.k.a. The Hideaways), starring Ingrid Bergman
G
Godspell, starring Victor Garber
Godzilla vs. Megalon, directed by Jun Fukuda - (Japan)
La Grande Bouffe (Blow-Out), starring Marcello Mastroianni, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Piccoli, Philippe Noiret - (France/Italy)
H
The Hare Census (Prebroyavane na Divite Zaytsi), directed by Eduard Zahariev, starring Itzhak Fintzi, Nikola Todev, Georgi Rusev - (Bulgaria)
The Harrad Experiment, starring Don Johnson, Tippi Hedren, James Whitmore
Heavy Traffic, an animated film by Ralph Bakshi
Hell Up in Harlem, starring Fred Williamson
High Plains Drifter, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Verna Bloom, Marianna Hill, Geoffrey Lewis
The Hireling, directed by Alan Bridges, starring Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles - Palme d'Or winner - (U.K.)
Hitler: The Last Ten Days, starring Alec Guinness - (U.K./Italy)
The Holy Mountain (La Montaña Sagrada), directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky - (Mexico/U.S.)
Home Sweet Home (La fête à Jules) - (Belgium)
The Homecoming, directed by Peter Hall, starring Cyril Cusack, Ian Holm, Vivien Merchant - (U.K.)
Hot Winds (Garm Hava), directed by M. S. Sathyu - (India)
The Hourglass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod klepsydrą), directed by Wojciech Has - (Poland)
The House in Nightmare Park, directed by Peter Skyes, starring Frankie Howerd and Ray Milland - (U.K.)
The House on Chelouche Street (Ha-Bayit Berechov Chelouche) - (Israel)
Hugo the Hippo (Hugó, a víziló) - (Hungary)
I
The Iceman Cometh, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan
Idaho Transfer, directed by Peter Fonda
Indian Summer, directed by Milen Nikolov, starring Georgi Partsalev, Leda Taseva, Tatyana Lolova - (Bulgaria)
Interval, starring Merle Oberon
L' Invitation (The Invitation), directed by Claude Goretta - Academy Award for Best Foreign Film - (France/Switzerland)
Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (Ivan Vasilyevich menyayet professiyu) - (U.S.S.R.)
J
Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Norman Jewison, starring Ted Neeley and Yvonne Elliman, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Jeremy, starring Robby Benson and Glynnis O'Connor
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, featuring voices of James Franciscus and Juliet Mills
K
Kanashimi no Belladonna (Belladonna of Sadness), Anime feature film - (Japan)
Kid Blue, starring Dennis Hopper and Warren Oates
L
Lady Ice, starring Donald Sutherland and Jennifer O'Neill
Lady Snowblood (Shurayukihime) - (Japan)
The Last American Hero, starring Jeff Bridges
The Last Detail, directed by Hal Ashby, starring Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid, Otis Young
The Last of Sheila, written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins, starring Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon, James Mason, James Coburn, Richard Benjamin, Joan Hackett, Ian McShane
The Laughing Policeman, starring Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett, Jr., Joanna Cassidy, Cathy Lee Crosby
The Legend of Hell House, starring Pamela Franklin and Gayle Hunnicutt
The Legend of Paul and Paula (Die Legende von Paul und Paula) - (East Germany)
Le Magnifique, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jacqueline Bisset - (France)
Little Tiger of Canton (Guang dong xiao lao hu), starring Jackie Chan - (Hong Kong)
Live and Let Die, starring Roger Moore (as James Bond), with Jane Seymour and Yaphet Kotto - (U.K.)
Lolly-Madonna XXX, starring Rod Steiger, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges
The Long Goodbye, directed by Robert Altman, starring Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson, Jim Bouton
Lost Horizon, starring Peter Finch, John Gielgud, Liv Ullmann, George Kennedy, Olivia Hussey
Love and Anarchy (d'amore e d'anarchia), directed by Lina Wertmüller - (Italy)
Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing, directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Timothy Bottoms and Maggie Smith
Luther, a biopic of Martin Luther, starring Stacy Keach - (U.K./U.S.A./Canada)
M
The Mackintosh Man, starring Paul Newman - (U.K./U.S.A.)
Magnum Force, directed by Ted Post, starring Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, David Soul, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich
Malizia (Malicious) - (Italy)
Manson, a documentary film about Charles Manson
Massacre in Rome (Rappresaglia), directed by George Pan Cosmatos, starring Richard Burton and Marcello Mastroianni - (Italy)
Maurie, directed by Daniel Mann, starring Bo Svenson and Bernie Casey
Mean Streets, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro
The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la Putain) - (France)
My Dear Brother starring Tarık Akan, Halit Akçatepe and Kahraman Kıral - (Turkey)
My Name is Nobody (Il mio nome è Nessuno), starring Terence Hill and Henry Fonda - (Italy)
N
The Neptune Factor, starring Ben Gazzara, Yvette Mimieux, Ernest Borgnine
The No Mercy Man, starring Sid Haig and Ron Thompson
Night Flight from Moscow, starring Yul Brynner, Henry Fonda, Dirk Bogarde - (France/Italy/Germany)
Night Watch, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey - (U.K.)
The Night Strangler, TV movie starring Darren McGavin
The Nutcracker (Schelkunchik) - (U.S.S.R.)
O
Oklahoma Crude, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Faye Dunaway and George C. Scott
O Lucky Man!, directed by Lindsay Anderson, starring Malcolm McDowell, Ralph Richardson, Rachel Roberts - (U.K.)
The Olsen Gang Goes Crazy (Olsen-banden går amok) - (Denmark)
P
The Paper Chase, starring Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman
Paper Moon, directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn
Paperback Hero, starring Keir Dullea and Elizabeth Ashley - (Canada)
Papillon, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, with music by Dylan
The Pedestrian (Der Fußgänger), directed by Maximilian Schell, starring Peggy Ashcroft - Golden Globe for best foreign film - (West Germany/Switzerland/Israel)
Property Is No Longer a Theft (La proprietà non è più un furto), starring Ugo Tognazzi - (Italy)
The Pyx, starring Christopher Plummer and Karen Black- (Canada)
R
El Retorno de Walpurgis (a.k.a. The Curse of the Devil) - (Spain/Mexico)
Robin Hood, animated film with voices of Roger Miller, Phil Harris, Andy Devine, Peter Ustinov, Terry-Thomas
S
Save the Tiger, directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Jack Lemmon
Scarecrow, directed by Jerry Schatzberg, starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino - Palme d'Or winner
Scenes from a Marriage (Scener ur ett äktenskap), directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson - (Sweden)
Scorpio, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Paul Scofield, Gayle Hunnicutt
Scream Blacula Scream, starring William H. Marshall and Pam Grier
Serpico, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Al Pacino
The Seven Madmen (Los siete locos), directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson - (Argentina)
The Seven-Ups, starring Roy Scheider
Shamus, starring Burt Reynolds, Dyan Cannon, John P. Ryan
Showdown, starring Dean Martin and Rock Hudson
Sinbad and the Caliph of Baghdad
Sisters, directed by Brian De Palma
Slaughter's Big Rip-Off, starring Jim Brown, Brock Peters, Ed McMahon
Sleeper, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton
Slither, starring James Caan, Sally Kellerman, Peter Boyle
The Society of the Spectacle (La Société du Spectacle) - (France)
Son of Zorro
Soul Hustler, directed by Bert Topper, starring Fabian Forte, Nai Bonet, Tony Russel, Casey Kasem
Soylent Green, directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Edward G. Robinson
The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena) - (Spain)
Stateline Motel, starring Eli Wallach, Ursula Andress, Fabio Testi, Eli Wallach - Canada/Italy
Steelyard Blues, starring Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda
Steptoe and Son Ride Again, starred Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H. Corbett - (U.K.)
The Sting, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Ray Walston - winner of 7 Academy Awards
The Stone Killer, starring Charles Bronson
Superdad, starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell
Sweet Kill, starring Tab Hunter
T
The Tenderness of Wolves (Die Zärtlichkeit der Wölfe) - (West Germany)
Theatre of Blood, starring Vincent Price
That´ll Be the Day, starring David Essex, Rosemary Leach, Ringo Starr - (U.K.)
Themroc, starring Michel Piccoli - (France)
There's No Smoke Without Fire (Il n'y a pas de fumée sans feu), starring Annie Girardot - (France)
The Thief Who Came to Dinner, starring Ryan O'Neal, Jacqueline Bisset, Warren Oates
The Three-Day Reign (Samil cheonha) - (South Korea)
The Three Musketeers, directed by Richard Lester, starring Michael York, Oliver Reed, Richard Chamberlain, Raquel Welch - (U.K./U.S.)
Three Nuts for Cinderella (Tři oříšky pro Popelku) - (Czechoslovakia/East Germany)
A Touch of Class, starring George Segal and Glenda Jackson - (U.K.)
Tom Sawyer, starring Johnny Whitaker and Jodie Foster
Touki Bouki (Journey of the Hyena) - (Senegal)
The Train Robbers, starring John Wayne and Ann-Margret
Tsugaru Folk Song (Tsugaru Jongarabushi) - (Japan)
Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit), directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Rutger Hauer - (Netherlands)
Two Men in Town (Deux hommes dans la ville), starring Jean Gabin and Alain Delon - (France)
Two People, directed by Robert Wise, starring Peter Fonda and Lindsay Wagner
U
Ultimul cartuş (The Last Bullet) - (Romania)
V
The Vault of Horror, starring Glynis Johns, Terry-Thomas, Curd Jürgens - (U.K.)
Voices, starring David Hemmings and Gayle Hunnicutt - (U.K.)
W
Walking Tall, starring Joe Don Baker
The Way We Were, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford
We Want the Colonels (Vogliamo i colonnelli), starring Ugo Tognazzi - (Italy)
Wedding in Blood (Les Noces rouges), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Stéphane Audran and Michel Piccoli - (France)
Westworld, directed by Michael Crichton, starring Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin
White Lightning, starring Burt Reynolds
Wicked, Wicked, starring David Bailey, Edd Byrnes, Tiffany Bolling
The Wicker Man, directed by Robin Hardy, starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento - (U.K.)
The World's Greatest Athlete, starring Jan-Michael Vincent and John Amos
Z
Zanjeer (Shackles) - (India)
Ziddi(Action)- (Pakistan)
U.S.A. unless stated
February 1973
7 February
Last Tango in Paris
14 February
The World's Greatest Athlete
March 1973
1 March
Charlotte's Web
16 March
The Crazies
17 March
Godzilla vs. Megalon (Japan)
23 March
Charley and the Angel
April 1973
19 April
Soylent Green
May 1973
9 May
Paper Moon
June 1973
20 June
One Little Indian
27 June
Live and Let Die
July 1973
Sssssss
August 1973
11 August
American Graffiti
October 1973
The Wicker Man
16 October
Don't Look Now
19 October
The Way We Were
November 1973
8 November
Robin Hood
21 November
Westworld
December 1973
14 December
Superdad
16 December
Papillon
25 December
The Sting
Magnum Force
26 December
The Exorcist
January 31 - Portia de Rossi, Australian-Canadian actress
February 12 - Tara Strong, Canadian-American voice actor
March 18 - Luci Christian, American voice actress
March 20 - Jane March, English actress and model
April 10 - Guillaume Canet, French actor
April 14 - Adrien Brody, American actor
April 22 - Christopher Sabat, American voice actor
April 30 - Antonino Isordia, Mexican director
May 5 - Tina Yothers, American actress
May 10 - Tora Sudiro, Indonesian actor
June 15 - Neil Patrick Harris, American actor
June 16 - Eddie Cibrian, American actor
June 21 - Juliette Lewis, American actress
July 26 - Kate Beckinsale, English actress
August 6 - Vera Farmiga, American actress
August 8 - Jessica Calvello, American voice actress
August 22 - Kristen Wiig, American actress and comedian
August 24 - Dave Chappelle, American actor
September 12 - Paul Walker, American actor and producer (died 2013)
September 14 - Andrew Lincoln, American actor
September 26 - Julienne Davis, American actress and model
October 3
Neve Campbell, Canadian actress
Richard Ian Cox, Welsh-Canadian voice actor
October 26 - Seth MacFarlane, American actor, voice actor, animator, screenwriter, comedian, television producer, director and singer
November 1 - Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress
November 26 - Peter Facinelli, American actor
November 27 - Sharlto Copley, South African actor
December 14 - Jan Uuspõld, Estonian actor
John Candy - Class of '44
Emilio Estevez - Badlands
Bernadette Peters - Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies
Victor Garber - Godspell
