Image credit: CKK, Warner Bros., MGM, Universal Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Filmways, Columbia Pictures, Chartoff-Winkler Productions, The Malpaso Company, Film Guarantors, Lorimar Productions
Are you up for experiencing the raw, unfiltered charm of 70s cinema through the lens of its most underrated buddy cop movies?
Beyond the well-known classics, here are some of the genre’s hidden gems that didn't quite make it into the limelight. Sure, the buddy cop genre wasn't as prolific in the 1970s as it became in later decades, especially the 1980s and 1990s – but still, there are some films worth revisiting (or perhaps being discovered for the very first time).
1. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) Rotten Tomatoes score: 96% A relentless gang lays siege to an isolated police precinct, where a mismatched group of officers and convicts must band together to fend off the brutal and unprovoked attack throughout a tense and deadly night.
2. Busting (1974) Rotten Tomatoes score: 17% Two unorthodox Los Angeles vice cops, determined to take down a suave and untouchable pimp and drug dealer, navigate through a murky world of corruption, deceit, and relentless danger.
3. Dirty Harry (1971) Rotten Tomatoes score: 89% Maverick San Francisco Detective Harry Callahan, notorious for his unconventional methods and tough demeanor, tracks a sadistic serial killer, challenging both the system's limitations and his own moral boundaries.
4. Freebie and the Bean (1974) Rotten Tomatoes score: 23% In this action-comedy, two recklessly destructive cops in San Francisco try to stay one step ahead of internal affairs while attempting to bust an organized crime kingpin.
5. Fuzz (1972) Rotten Tomatoes score: 16% Set in a fictionalized version of Boston, this comedy-drama follows a team of police detectives navigating through bureaucracy and absurdity to solve a series of interconnected crimes, including an arsonist and a serial killer targeting cops.
6. Hickey & Boggs (1972) Rotten Tomatoes score: 67% Two down-on-their-luck private detectives, navigating personal and professional failures, find themselves embroiled in a complex web of murder, conspiracy, and betrayal as they track a missing woman in Los Angeles.
7. Magnum Force (1973) Rotten Tomatoes score: 68% "Dirty Harry" Callahan uncovers a plot by a group of renegade cops acting as judge, jury, and executioner, compelling him to confront his own ethical boundaries and the meaning of justice.
8. McQ (1974) Rotten Tomatoes score: 40% In this gritty, action-packed film, a determined and unorthodox Seattle cop seeks revenge and justice as he investigates a friend's murder, uncovering police corruption and drug trafficking.
9. Shamus (1973) Rotten Tomatoes score: 25% A seedy, pool-playing private detective gets entangled in a complex web of intrigue involving murder, espionage, and theft, while navigating the gritty underbelly of New York City.
10. Smokey and the Bandit (1977) Rotten Tomatoes score: 72% In this high-speed comedy, a charismatic bootlegger and his truck-driving friend take on a wild cross-country challenge to deliver illegal beer, evading a relentless and bumbling sheriff in a frenetic pursuit.
11. The Choirboys (1977) Rotten Tomatoes score: 40% This dark comedy-drama delves into the chaotic lives of Los Angeles police officers who, burdened by the strains of their job, engage in wild and sometimes questionable antics during their night-time gatherings.
12. The Enforcer (1976) Rotten Tomatoes score: 71% The third in the "Dirty Harry" series, Clint Eastwood's iconic detective must tackle a terrorist group demanding ransom, while dealing with a new female partner and the challenges of bureaucracy.
13. The French Connection (1971) Rotten Tomatoes score: 96% A gritty, fast-paced thriller following two New York City detectives in their relentless pursuit of a wealthy French heroin smuggler, leading to a legendary car chase and a complex web of international intrigue.
14. The Gauntlet (1977) Rotten Tomatoes score: 75% A hard-nosed cop must escort a feisty witness from Las Vegas to Phoenix to testify against the mob, facing an onslaught of obstacles and attacks orchestrated to ensure they never reach their destination.
15. The Late Show (1977) Rotten Tomatoes score: 95% An aging private detective, in a quest to solve the murder of his partner, forms an unlikely alliance with an eccentric aspiring actress, leading them through a trail of deception, crime, and unexpected twists.
16. The Laughing Policeman (1974) Rotten Tomatoes score: 56% In this noir-style crime thriller, a stoic San Francisco detective, obsessed with solving a mass murder on a city bus, uncovers a complex plot of revenge and betrayal.
17. The New Centurions (1972) Rotten Tomatoes score: 63% Several newly graduated Los Angeles police officers face the realities of urban policing, dealing with a variety of intense situations: they encounter dangerous street gangs, participate in high-stress arrests and shootouts, and experience the tragic loss of fellow officers along the way.
18. The Super Cops (1974) Rotten Tomatoes score: 65% In this film, NYPD officers Greenberg and Hantz, through a series of bold and risky operations, take on a variety of criminal elements in Brooklyn, including busting drug rings, disrupting organized crime operations, and engaging in high-speed chases and shootouts, often using unorthodox tactics that set them apart from their fellow officers.
