# List of avant-garde films of the 1970s

This is a list of avant-garde and experimental films released in the 1970s.
| Title | Director | Cast | Nation | Notes |
| 1970 |||||
| The American Soldier | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Karl Scheydt, Elga Sorbas, Jan George | West Germany | |
| The Animals of Eden and After | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Berlin Horse | Malcolm Le Grice | | United Kingdom | Soundtrack by Brian Eno |
| Diminished Frame | Robert Beavers | | United States | 24 mins, B&W and Color |
| L'Eden et après | Alain Robbe-Grillet | Catherine Jourdan, Richard Leduc, Lorraine Rainer, Pierre Zimmer | France Czechoslovakia | |
| Even Dwarfs Started Small | Werner Herzog | Helmut Döring | West Germany | |
| Fog Line | Larry Gottheim | | United States | |
| Gods of the Plague | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Hanna Schygulla, Margarethe von Trotta, Harry Baer | West Germany | |
| I Don't Know | Penelope Spheeris | | United States | |
| It is Not the Homosexual Who is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives | Rosa von Praunheim | | West Germany | |
| The Machine of Eden | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Out 1 | Jacques Rivette | Hermine Karagheuz, Michèle Moretti, Karen Puig | France | TV series |
| Palinode | Robert Beavers | | United States | 21 mins, Color |
| Performance | Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg | James Fox, Mick Jagger, Anita Pallenberg | United Kingdom | |
| Remedial Reading Comprehension | Owen Land | | United States | |
| Scenes from Under Childhood, Section Four | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Scenes from Under Childhood cycle |
| Serene Velocity | Ernie Gehr | | United States | |
| Sexual Meditation No. 1: Motel | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sexual Meditations cycle |
| Thomas Bernhard: Three Days | Ferry Radax | Thomas Bernhard | Austria | |
| El Topo | Alejandro Jodorowsky | Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, Maria Lorenzio, David Silva | Mexico | |
| Trash | Paul Morrissey | Joe Dallesandro, Jane Forth, Holly Woodlawn | United States | |
| Unfolding | Coni Beeson | | United States | |
| Valerie and Her Week of Wonders | Jaromil Jireš | Helena Anýžová, Karel Engel, Jaroslava Schallerová, | Czechoslovakia | |
| Vladimir et Rosa | Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin | Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin, Anne Wiazemsky | France | |
| The Weir-Falcon Saga | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Zorns Lemma | Hollis Frampton | | United States | |
| 1971 |||||
| The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Pittsburgh Trilogy" |
| Angels' | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Beware of a Holy Whore | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Lou Castel, Eddie Constantine, Hanna Schygulla | West Germany | |
| Carriage Trade | Warren Sonbert | | United States | |
| Critical Mass | Hollis Frampton | Barbara DiBenedetto, Frank Albetta | United States | Part of Hapax Legomena cycle |
| Deus Ex | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Pittsburgh Trilogy" |
| DIrty | Stephen Dwoskin | | United Kingdom | |
| Door | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Dresden Dynamo | Lis Rhodes | | United Kingdom | |
| Eyes | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Pittsburgh Trilogy" |
| Football as Never Before | Helmuth Costand | George Best | United Kingdom West Germany | |
| Fox Fire Child Watch | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Hand Grenade | Gill Eatherley | | United Kingdom | Soundtrack by Neu! |
| I'm Too Sad to Tell You | Bas Jan Ader | | United States | |
| A Journey to Avebury | Derek Jarman | | United Kingdom | |
| Meditation | Jordan Belson | | United States | Abstract, color |
| N. a pris les dés (N. Took the Dice) | Alain Robbe-Grillet | Catherine Jourdan, Richard Leduc, Pierre Zimmer | France | |
| (nostalgia) | Hollis Frampton | Michael Snow | United States | Part of Hapax Legomena cycle |
| The Peaceable Kingdom | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Poem | B. S. Johnson | William Hoyland | United Kingdom | |
| Punishment Park | Peter Watkins | Paul Alelyanes, Carmen Argenziano, Stan Armsted, Harold Beaulieu, Jim Bohan | United States | |
| La Région Centrale | Michael Snow | | Canada | |
| Sexual Meditation: Room with View | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sexual Meditations cycle |
| Still Light | Robert Beavers | | United States | 25 mins, Color |
| Travelling Matte | Hollis Frampton | | United States | Part of Hapax Legomena cycle |
| The Trip to Door | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Viva la Muerte | Fernando Arrabal | Mahdi Chaouch, Núria Espert, Anouk Ferjac | France Tunisia | |
| Western History | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism | Dušan Makavejev | Milena Dravić, Jagoda Kaloper, Ivica Vidović | Yugoslavia | |
| 1972 |||||
| Chakra | Jordan Belson | | United States | Abstract, color |
| La Cicatrice Interieure | Philippe Garrel | Nico, Pierre Clémenti, Philippe Garrel | France | |
| Clocktime Trailer | Stuart Pound | | United Kingdom | |
| The Death of Maria Malibran | Werner Schroeter | Ingrid Caven, Candy Darling, Christine Kaufman, Magdalena Montezuma | West Germany | |
| The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie | Luis Buñuel | Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Stéphane Audran | France Italy Spain | |
| Dreamwood | James Broughton | | United States | |
| Dyn Amo | Stephen Dwoskin | | United Kingdom | |
| Ecstasy of the Angels | Kōji Wakamatsu | Michio Akiyama, Masao Adachi, Rie Yokoyama | Japan | |
| Eye Myth Educational | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| From the Notebook of... | Robert Beavers | | United States | 48 mins, Color |
| Garden of Luxor | Derek Jarman | | United Kingdom | |
| Hats Off to Hollywood | Penelope Spheeris | | United States | |
| Hotel Monterrey | Chantal Akerman | | Belgium | |
| Letter to Jane | Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin | | France | |
| Ordinary Matter | Hollis Frampton | | United States | Part of Hapax Legomena cycle |
| The Painting | Robert Beavers | | United States | 12 mins, Color |
| Poetic Justice | Hollis Frampton | | United States | Part of Hapax Legomena cycle |
| Portraits | Barbara Meter | | Netherlands | |
| The Presence | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Process | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Red Psalm | Miklós Jancsó | Lajos Balázsovits, Bertalan Solti, Janos Koltai | Hungary | |
| Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania | Jonas Mekas | | Soviet Union United States | |
| Remote Control | Hollis Frampton | | United States | Part of Hapax Legomena cycle |
| Requiem für einen Jungraulichen Koenig | Hans-Jürgen Syberberg | Peter Kern | West Germany | |
| The Riddle of Lumen | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Sexual Meditation: Faun's Room, Yale | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sexual Meditations cycle |
| Sexual Meditation: Hotel | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sexual Meditations cycle |
| Sexual Meditation: Office Suite | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sexual Meditations cycle |
| Sexual Meditation: Open Field | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sexual Meditations cycle |
| The Shores of Phos: A Fable | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Special Effects | Hollis Frampton | | United States | Part of Hapax Legomena cycle |
| Threshold | Malcolm Le Grice | | United Kingdom | |
| The Wold Shadow | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| 1973 |||||
| Can Dialectics Break Bricks? | René Viénet | | France | |
| The Embassy | Chris Marker | | France | |
| F for Fake | Orson Welles | Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, Joseph Cotten | France Iran | |
| Fat Man on a Beach | Michael Bakewell | B. S. Johnson | United Kingdom | TV film |
| Ganja & Hess | Bill Gunn | Duane Jones, Marlene Clark, Leonard Jackson | United States | |
| Gift | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| H is for House | Peter Greenaway | | United Kingdom | |
| The Holy Mountain | Alejandro Jodorowsky | Alejandro Jodorowsky, Richard Rutowski, Jose Flores | Mexico United States | |
| I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse | Fernando Arrabal | Emmanuelle Riva, George Shannon | France | |
| Iluminacja | Krzysztof Zanussi | Edward Zebrowski, Marcin Latallo, Włodzimierz Zonn | Poland | |
| Immoral Tales | Walerian Borowczyk | Lise Danvers, Paloma Picasso, Charlotte Alexandra | France Hungary Italy | |
| Mann & Frau & Animal | Valie Export | | Austria | |
| Occasional Work of a Female Slave | Alexander Kluge | Alexandra Kluge | West Germany | |
| Reel Time | Annabel Nicolson | | United Kingdom | Expanded cinema |
| ... Remote ... Remote | Valie Export | | Austria | |
| The Second Coming of Suzanne | Michael Barry | Sondra Locke, Jared Martin, Paul Sand, Gene Barry | United States | |
| Sincerity I | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sincerity cycle |
| The Society of the Spectacle | Guy Debord | | France | |
| Stolen Apples for Karen Blixen | Derek Jarman | | United Kingdom | |
| Television Delivers People | Richard Serra | | United States | |
| Themroc | Claude Faraldo | Michel Piccoli, Béatrice Romand, Jeanne Herviale | France Italy | |
| Work Done | Robert Beavers | | United States | 22 mins, Color |
| World on a Wire | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Klaus Löwitsch, Barbara Valentin | West Germany | |
| Year of the Woman | Sandra Hochman | | United States | |
| 1974 |||||
| Aquarien | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Céline and Julie Go Boating | Jacques Rivette | Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier | France | |
| Clancy | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Dominion | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Dyketactics | Barbara Hammer | | United States | |
| Edvard Munch | Peter Watkins | Gro Frås, Geir Westby | Norway Sweden | |
| Les Filles de Kamare | René Viénet | | France | |
| Flight | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| He Was Born, He Suffered, He Died | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Hymn to Her | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Phantom of Liberty | Luis Buñuel | Jean-Claude Brialy, Monica Vitti, Paul Frankeur | France Italy | |
| Ruskin | Robert Beavers | | United States | 45 mins, Color and B&W |
| Skein | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Sol | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Space Is the Place | John Coney | Sun Ra, Erika Leder, Barbara Deloney | United States | |
| Star Garden | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Stars Are Beautiful | Stan Brakhage | Jane Brakhage, Stan Brakhage, Myrrena Brakhage | United States | |
| Suite (212) | Nam June Paik | | United States | |
| Sweet Movie | Dušan Makavejev | Carole Laure, John Vernon, Anna Prucnal | France | |
| The Text of Light | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| They Do Not Exist | Mustafa Abu Ali | | Palestine | |
| Vase de Noces | Thierry Zéno | Dominique Garny | Belgium | |
| The Wait | Uzi Peres | | Israel | |
| 1975 |||||
| Bataille de Waterloo | Marcel Broodthaers | | Belgium | |
| Black Moon | Louis Malle | Cathryn Harrison, Therese Giehse, Alexandra Stewart | France | |
| Circling | Peter Donebauer | | United Kingdom | |
| Condition of Illusion | Peter Gidal | | United Kingdom | |
| Evrydiki BA 2O37 | Nikos Nikolaidis | Vera Tschechowa, John Moore, Niki Triantafillidi | Greece West Germany | |
| India Song | Marguerite Duras | | France | |
| Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles | Chantal Akerman | Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze | Belgium France | |
| Light Music | Lis Rhodes | | United Kingdom | |
| The Mirror | Andrei Tarkovsky | Margarita Terekhova, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko | Soviet Union | |
| Nightcleaners, Part 1 | Berwick Street Collective | | United Kingdom | |
| Number Two | Jean-Luc Godard | Sandrine Battistella, Pierre Oudrey | France | |
| Refutation of All the Judgements on Guy Debord's Film 'The Society of the Spectacle' | Guy Debord | | France | Situationist film |
| Semiotics of the Kitchen | Martha Rosler | | United States | |
| Short Films 1975 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Sincerity II | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sincerity cycle |
| The Tree of Guernica | Fernando Arrabal | Cosimo Cinieri, Ron Faber, Mariangela Melato | France Italy | |
| Untitled No. 9 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Untitled No. 10 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| 1976 |||||
| A Malgam A | Iván Zulueta | | Spain | |
| Absence | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Silent. |
| Airs | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Comment ça va? | Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Miéville | Anne-Marie Miéville | France | |
| Crossroads | Bruce Conner | | United States | |
| Desert | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Dream, NYC, The Return, The Flower | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Girl Chewing Gum | John Smith | | United Kingdom | |
| Heart of Glass | Werner Herzog | Clemens Scheitz, Sonja Skiba, Volker Prechtel | West Germany | |
| Highs | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 | Alain Tanner | Jean-Luc Bideau, Myriam Boyer, Myriam Mézières [fr] | France Switzerland | |
| Leo es pardo | Iván Zulueta | | Spain | |
| Migration, for Jack Nelson | Bill Viola | | United States | |
| Rembrandt, Etc., and Jane | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Short Films 1976 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Tragoedia | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Trio | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Wienfilm 1896-1976 | Ernst Schmidt Jr. | | Austria | |
| Window | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| 1977 |||||
| Le Camion (The Lorry) | Marguerite Duras | Gérard Depardieu, Marguerite Duras | France | |
| The Domain of the Moment | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Eraserhead | David Lynch | Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates | United States | |
| The Governor | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| A Grin Without a Cat | Chris Marker | | France | |
| Hitler: A Film from Germany | Hans-Jürgen Syberberg | Heinz Schubert | West Germany | |
| House | Nobuhiko Obayashi | Kimiko Ikegami | Japan | |
| I, an Actress | George Kuchar | George Kuchar, Barbara Lapsley | United States | |
| Music of the Spheres | Jordan Belson | | United States | Abstract, color. A revised version was edited in 2002. |
| Reflecting Pool | Bill Viola | | United States | |
| Riddles of the Sphinx | Laura Mulvey, Peter Wollen | Merdelle Jordine, Dinah Stabb, Riannon Tise | United Kingdom | |
| Sentimental Journey | Anne Rees-Mogg | | United Kingdom | |
| Soldiers and Other Cosmic Objects | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Thames Barrier | William Raban | | United Kingdom | |
| Sotiors (Alone) | Robert Beavers | | United States | Sotiros trilogy, 12 mins |
| Sotiros Responds | Robert Beavers | | United States | Sotiros trilogy, 25 mins |
| That Obscure Object of Desire | Luis Buñuel | Carole Bouquet, Ángela Molina, Fernando Rey | France Spain | |
| Unsichtbare Gegner (Invisible Adversaries) | Valie Export | Susanne Widl, Peter Weibel, Josef Plavec | Austria | |
| 1978 |||||
| Bird | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Burial Path | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Centre | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Césarée | Marguerite Duras | | France | |
| Duplicity | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Duplicity cycle |
| Duplicity II | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Duplicity cycle |
| Forza Bastia! | Jacques Tati, Sophie Tatischeff | | France | |
| Hand Exercises | Uzi Peres | | Israel | |
| Jubilee | Derek Jarman | Jenny Runacre, Jordan, Nell Campbell | United Kingdom | |
| Light Reading | Lis Rhodes | | United Kingdom | |
| Nightmare Series | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Often During the Day | Joanna Davis | | United Kingdom | |
| Purity, and After | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Sincerity III | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sincerity cycle |
| Sluice | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Sotiros in the Elements | Robert Beavers | | United States | Sotiros trilogy, 8 mins |
| Thot-Fal'N | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Visions of a City | Lawrence P. Jordan | | United States | |
| A Walk Through H: Reincarnation of an Ornithologist | Peter Greenaway | | United Kingdom | |
| 1979 |||||
| @ | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Allegoria | Stéphane Marti | | France | |
| Cartoon Le Mousse | Chick Strand | | United States | |
| The Cartoon Theatre of Dr. Gaz | Jeff Keen | | United Kingdom | |
| Creation | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Ear to the Ground | David Van Tieghem | | United States | |
| Fever Dream | Chick Strand | | United States | |
| Orchestra Rehearsal | Federico Fellini | Balduin Baas, Elisabeth Labi, Ronaldo Bonacchi | France Italy West Germany | |
| Race d'Ep (The Homosexual Century) | Guy Hocquenghem, Lionel Soukaz | | France | TV film |
| Radio/On | Chris Petit | David Beames | United Kingdom | |
| Roman Numeral: I | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Roman Numeral: II | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Roman Numeral: III | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Sincerity IV | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sincerity cycle |
| Stalker | Andrei Tarkovsky | Alexander Kaidanovsky, Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko | Soviet Union | |
| Tale of Tales | Yuri Norstein | | Soviet Union | |
| Tally Brown, New York | Rosa von Praunheim | Tally Brown | West Germany United States | |
| Thriller | Sally Potter | | United Kingdom | |
| The Wretches Are Still Singing | Nikos Nikolaidis | Alkis Panagiotidis, Konstantinos Tzoumas, Rita Bensousan | Greece | |