# List of action films of the 1970s

This is chronological list of action films released in the 1970s. Often there may be considerable overlap particularly between action and other genres (including horror, comedy, and science fiction films); the list should attempt to document films which are more closely related to action, even if they bend genres.
| Title | Director | Cast | Country | Subgenre/notes |
| 1970 |||||
| Airport | George Seaton | Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, Jean Seberg | United States | |
| Alleycat Rock: Female Boss | Yasuharu Hasebe | Akiko Wada, Meiko Kaji, Kōji Wada | Japan | Action thriller |
| Brothers Five | Lo Wei | Cheng Pei-pei, Chin Han, Chang Yi | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Chinese Boxer | Jimmy Wang Yu | Jimmy Wang Yu, Lo Lieh, Wang Ping | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Cold Blade | Yuen Chor | | Hong Kong | |
| Cold Sweat | Terence Young | Charles Bronson, Liv Ullmann, Jill Ireland | France Italy | Action thriller |
| Cotton Comes to Harlem | Ossie Davis | Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart | United States | Action comedy |
| The Heroic Ones | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Chin Han, Ti Lung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| King Eagle | Chang Cheh | Ti Lung, Li Ching, Yuen Woo-ping | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Nam's Angels | Jack Starrett | William Smith, Bernie Hamilton, Huston Savage | United States | |
| A Taste of Cold Steel | Feng Yueh | Chang Yi, Essie Lin Chia, Chan Hung-lit, Ku Feng, Wu Ma, Sammo Hung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Vengeance | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Wandering Swordsman | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Lily Li, Wu Ma, Bolo Yeung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| 1971 |||||
| The Ammunition Hunters | Fung Chi Kong | Chen Chen | Hong Kong | |
| The Anonymous Heroes | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Ku Feng | Hong Kong | Action comedy |
| The Big Boss | Lo Wei | Bruce Lee, Maria Yi | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Blood of the Dragon | Kao Pao-shu | Jimmy Wang Yu, Lung Fei, Chiao Chiao | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Deadly Duo | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Ku Feng | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Diamonds Are Forever | Guy Hamilton | Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray | United Kingdom | |
| Dirty Harry | Don Siegel | Clint Eastwood, Andy Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni | United States | Action thriller |
| The Duel | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Wang Ping | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Duel of Fists | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The French Connection | William Friedkin | Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider | United States | Action thriller |
| Le Mans | Lee H. Katzin | Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen | United States | |
| The New One-Armed Swordsman | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Lee Ching | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Omega Man | Boris Sagal | Charlton Heston, Anthony Zerbe, Rosalind Cash | United States | Science fiction action |
| The Shadow Whip | Lo Wei | Cheng Pei-pei, Hua Yueh, Li Jen Ho | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Shaft | Gordon Parks | Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Gwen Mitchell | United States | |
| Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song | Melvin Van Peebles | Melvin Van Peebles, Simon Chuckster, Hubert Scales | United States | Action thriller |
| THX 1138 | George Lucas | Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Maggie McOmie | United States | Science fiction action |
| Vanishing Point | Richard C. Sarafian | Barry Newman, Cleavon Little, Dean Jagger, | United States | Action thriller |
| The Water Margin | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Tetsurō Tamba | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| 1972 |||||
| The 14 Amazons | Gang Cheng | Lisa Lu, Ivy Ling Po, Chen Yen-yen | Hong Kong | |
| Angry Guest | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Ching Li | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Boxer From Shantung | Chang Cheh | David Chiang | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Delightful Forest | Chang Cheh | Ti Lung, Chiang Nan, Kong Ling | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 | Shunya Ito | Meiko Kaji, Kayoko Shiraishi, Fumio Watanabe | Japan | Action thriller |
| Fist of Fury | Lo Wei | Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Tien Feng, James Tien, Lo Wei | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Five Fingers of Death | Cheng Chang Ho | Lo Lieh, Chao Hsiung, Wang Ching-Feng | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Four Riders | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Fuzz | Richard A. Colla | Burt Reynolds, Raquel Welch, Yul Brynner | United States | Action comedy |
| The Getaway | Sam Peckinpah | Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson | United States | Action thriller |
| The Legend of Nigger Charley | Martin Goldman | Thomas Anderson, Don Pedro Colley, Jerry Gatlin | United States | |
| Man of Iron | Chang Cheh | Chen Kuan-tai, Ching Li, Wong Chung | Hong Kong | |
| One Armed Boxer | Jimmy Wang Yu | Jimmy Wang Yu, Jackie Chan | China | Martial arts film |
| The Outside Man | Jacques Deray | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, Roy Scheider | France Italy | Action thriller |
| The Poseidon Adventure | Ronald Neame, Irwin Allen | Gene Hackman | United States | |
| Shaft's Big Score | Gordon Parks | Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Drew Bundi Brown | United States | |
| Slaughter | Jack Starrett | Jim Brown, Rip Torn, Norman Alfe | United States | Action thriller |
| Way of the Dragon | Bruce Lee | Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Chuck Norris | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| 1973 |||||
| The Black Six | Matt Cimber | Gene Washington, Mercury Morris, Willie Lanier | United States | |
| The Blood Brothers | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Ching Li | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Charley Varrick | Don Siegel | Walter Matthau, Andy Robinson, Joe Don Baker, | United States | Action thriller |
| Cleopatra Jones | Jack Starrett | Tamara Dobson, Bernie Casey, Brenda Sykes | United States | |
| Coffy | Jack Hill | Pam Grier, Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui | United States | |
| The Crazies | George A. Romero | Edith Bell, Lane Carroll, Will Disney | United States | Action thriller |
| Detroit 9000 | Arthur Marks | Rudy Challenger, Scatman Crothers, Ella Edwards | United States | Action thriller |
| Electra Glide in Blue | James William Guercio | Robert Blake, Billy "Green" Bush, Mitchell Ryan | United States | |
| Enter the Dragon | Robert Clouse | Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly | United States | Martial arts film |
| The Flash Legs | Wu Ma | Tan Tao-liang, Lo Lieh, Ouyang Sha-fei | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Hell Up in Harlem | Larry Cohen, Janelle Cohen | Fred Williamson, Julius Harris, Gloria Hendry | United States | Action thriller |
| Hit! | Sidney J. Furie | Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Paul Hampton | United States | |
| Le Magnifique | Philippe de Broca | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacqueline Bisset, Vittorio Caprioli | France Italy | |
| Milano Rovente | Umberto Lenzi | Antonio Sabàto, Sr., Marisa Mell | Italy | Action thriller |
| Japan Sinks | Shiro Moritani, Ayumi Ishida, Keiju Kobayashi | Hiroshi Fujioka | Japan | |
| Live and Let Die | Guy Hamilton | Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour | United Kingdom | Action thriller |
| The Mackintosh Man | John Huston | Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda, James Mason | United Kingdom | Action thriller |
| Magnum Force | Ted Post | Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, David Soul | United States | Action thriller |
| The No Mercy Man | Daniel Vance | Steve Sandor, Rockne Tarkington, Sid Haig | United States | Action thriller |
| The Pirate | Chang Cheh | Ti Lung, David Chiang, Dean Shek | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Savage! | Cirio Santiago | Aura Aurea, Vic Diaz, Lada Edmund | Philippines | |
| Shaft in Africa | John Guillermin | Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay, Vonetta McGee | United States | Action thriller |
| Slaughter's Big Rip-Off | Gordon Douglas | Jim Brown, Ed McMahon | United States | Action thriller |
| The Spook Who Sat By the Door | Ivan Dixon | Lawrence Cook | United States | |
| The Stone Killer | Michael Winner | Charles Bronson, Martin Balsam, David Sheiner, Norman Fell, Ralph Waite, Paul Koslo, Stuart Margolin, Jack Colvin, John Ritter | United States | |
| That Man Bolt | Henry Levin, David Lowell Rich | Ken Kazama, Fred Williamson, Byron Webster | United States | Martial arts film |
| Westworld | Michael Crichton | Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin | United States | Science fiction action |
| White Lightning | Joseph Sargent | Burt Reynolds, Jennifer Billingsley, Ned Beatty | United States | Action thriller |
| 1974 |||||
| 99 and 44/100% Dead | John Frankenheimer | Richard Harris, Edmond O'Brien, Bradford Dillman | United States | |
| Airport 1975 | Jack Smight | Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy | United States | Disaster film |
| Bamboo Gods and Iron Men | Cesar Gallardo, Cirio Santiago | Shirley Washington | Philippines | Martial arts film |
| Black Belt Jones | Robert Clouse | Jim Kelly, Gloria Hendry, Scatman Crothers | United States | Martial arts film |
| The Black Godfather | John Evans | Don Chastain, Damu King | United States | |
| Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia | Sam Peckinpah | Warren Oates, Isela Vega, Robert Webber, Gig Young, Helmut Dantine, Emilio Fernández, Kris Kristofferson, Donnie Fritts | United States | Action thriller |
| Busting | Peter Hyams | Elliott Gould, Robert Blake, Allen Garfield | United States | |
| Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter | Brian Clemens | Horst Janson, John Carson, Shane Briant | United States | |
| Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry | John Hough | Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke | United States | |
| Earthquake | Mark Robson | Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy | United States | Disaster film |
| Emergency Squad | Stelvio Massi | Tomas Milian, Gastone Moschin, Raymond Lovelock | Italy | Action thriller |
| The Executioner | Teruo Ishii | Sonny Chiba, Makoto Satō, Yasuaki Kurata, Shozo Saijo | Japan | Martial arts film |
| Executioner 2: The Karate Inferno | Teruo Ishii | Sonny Chiba, Makoto Satō, Eiji Go | Japan | Action comedy, martial arts film |
| Five Shaolin Masters | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Freebie and the Bean | Richard Rush | James Caan, Alan Arkin, Loretta Swit, | United States | Action comedy |
| Gone in 60 Seconds | H.B. Halicki | Hal McClain, Markos Kotsikos, Jonathan E. Fricke | United States | Action thriller |
| Heroes Two | Chang Cheh | Alexander Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan-tai | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Juggernaut | Richard Lester | Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings | United Kingdom | Action thriller |
| The Man with the Golden Gun | Guy Hamilton | Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland | United Kingdom | Action thriller |
| Mr. Majestyk | Richard Fleischer | Charles Bronson, Al Lettieri, Linda Cristal | United States | Action thriller |
| Policewomen | Lee Frost | Jeanie Bell, Wes Bishop, Sondra Currie | United States | |
| The Savage Five | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-tai | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Sister Street Fighter | Kazuhiko Yamaguchi | Sue Shiomi, Sonny Chiba | Japan | |
| Stone | Sandy Harbutt | Ken Shorter, Sandy Harbutt | Australia | |
| The Stranger and the Gunfighter | Antonio Margheriti | Lee Van Cleef, Lo Lieh, Julian Ugarte | Italy Spain France Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Street Fighter | Shigehiro Ozawa | Sonny Chiba, Gerald Yamada, Tony Cetera | Japan | Martial arts film |
| Street Law | Enzo G. Castellari | Franco Nero | Italy | Action thriller |
| The Super Cops | Gordon Parks | Ron Leibman, David Selby, Sheila Frazier | United States | |
| The Taking of Pelham One Two Three | Joseph Sargent | Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam | United States | Action thriller |
| TNT Jackson | Cirio Santiago | Jeanie Bell, Stan Shaw, Pat Anderson | Philippines | Action thriller |
| The Towering Inferno | Irwin Allen, John Guillermin | Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, | United States | |
| Truck Turner | Jonathan Kaplan | Isaac Hayes, Yaphet Kotto | United States | Action thriller |
| 1975 |||||
| All Men Are Brothers | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Bolo Yeung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Black Gestapo | Lee Frost | Rod Perry, Charles P. Robinson, Phil Hoover | United States | Action thriller |
| Boss Nigger | Jack Arnold | Fred Williamson, William Smith, Elizabeth Saxon | United States | Action thriller |
| Brannigan | Douglas Hickox | John Wayne, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson | United Kingdom | Action thriller |
| Breakout | Tom Gries | Charles Bronson, Robert Duvall | United States | Action thriller |
| Bucktown | Arthur Marks | Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Thalmus Rasulala | United States | |
| The Candy Tangerine Man | Matt Climber | John Daniels, Eli Haines, Tom Hankason | United States | Blaxploitation |
| Champion of Death | Kazuhiko Yamaguchi | Sonny Chiba | Japan | Martial arts film |
| Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold | Chuck Bail | Tamara Dobson, Magali Noël, Janet Agren | Hong Kong United States | |
| Cover Girl Models | Cirio Santiago | Pat Anderson, Lindsay Bloom, Rhonda Leigh Hopkins | United States Philippines | |
| Death Race 2000 | Paul Bartel | David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, Sylvester Stallone | United States | Science fiction action |
| Disciples of Shaolin | Chang Cheh | Alexander Fu Sheng, Kuan-Chun Chi, Ming Li Chen | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Dolemite | D'Urville Martin | D'Urville Martin, Rudy Ray Moore, Lady Reed | United States | Action comedy |
| The Eiger Sanction | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood, George Kennedy | United States | Action thriller |
| Fear Over the City | Henri Verneuil | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Denner, Adalberto Maria Merli | France Italy | Action thriller |
| French Connection II | John Frankenheimer | Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Bernard Fresson, Philippe Léotard, Ed Lauter, Charles Millot, Jean-Pierre Castaldi, Cathleen Nesbitt | United States | Action thriller |
| Hard Times | Walter Hill | Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Jill Ireland | United States | |
| The Killing Machine | Noribumi Suzuki | Sonny Chiba | Japan | |
| L'Agression [fr] | Gérard Pirès | Jean-Louis Trintignant, Catherine Deneuve, Claude Brasseur | France Italy | Action thriller |
| The Man from Hong Kong | Brian Trenchard-Smith | Jimmy Wang Yu, George Lazenby, Ros Spiers | Australia Hong Kong | |
| Race with the Devil | Jack Starrett | Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit | United States | |
| The Return of the Street Fighter | Shigehiro Ozawa | Sonny Chiba | Japan | |
| Rollerball | Norman Jewison | James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams | United States | Science fiction action |
| Sheba, Baby | William Girdler | Pam Grier, Austin Stoker | United States | |
| The Super Inframan | Hua-Shan | Li Hsiu-hsien, Wang Hsieh, Lin Wen-wei | Hong Kong Japan | Martial arts film |
| Syndicate Sadists | Umberto Lenzi | Tomas Milian, Joseph Cotten, Maria Fiore | Italy | |
| White Line Fever | Jonathan Kaplan | Jan-Michael Vincent, Kay Lenz, Slim Pickens, Sam Laws, L.Q. Jones, Don Porter, R.G. Armstrong, Leigh French, Dick Miller, Martin Kove | Canada United States | |
| Wildcat Women | Stephen Gibson | Joey Ginza, Yolanda Love | United States | |
| 1976 |||||
| 7-Man Army | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-Tai | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | John Carpenter | Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer | United States | Action thriller |
| The Big Racket | Enzo G. Castellari | Fabio Testi, Vincent Gardenia, Renzo Palmer | Italy | |
| Black Samurai | Al Adamson | D'Urville Martin, Marilyn Joi, Jim Kelly | United States | Martial arts film |
| Black Shampoo | Greydon Clark | John R. Daniels, Tanya Boyd, Joe Ortiz | United States | Action thriller |
| Black Sister's Revenge | Jamaa Fanaka | Jerri Hayes, Ernest Williams II, Charles D. Brooks III | United States | |
| Boxer Rebellion | Chang Cheh | Li Hua Li, Sheng Fu, Ka-Yan Leung | Hong Kong Taiwan | Martial arts Film |
| Brotherhood of Death | Bill Berry | Roy Jefferson, Mike Thomas, Haskell V. Anderson | United States | Action thriller |
| Bruce Lee Fights Back from the Grave | Lee Doo-yong | Bruce Lee | South Korea | Martial arts film |
| Cannonball | Paul Bartel | David Carradine, Bill McKinney, Veronica Hamel | Hong Kong United States | |
| Colt 38 Special Squad | Massimo Dallamano, Luciano Ercoli | Marcel Bozzuffi, Carole Andre, Ivan Rassimov | Italy | Action thriller |
| Deathcheaters | Brian Trenchard-Smith | John Hargreaves, Grant Page, Margaret Gerard | Australia | |
| Ebony, Ivory, and Jade | Cirio Santiago | Dick Adair, Max Alvarado, Sylvia Anderson | Philippines | |
| The Enforcer | James Fargo | Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, Harry Guardino | United States | Action thriller |
| Gator | Burt Reynolds | Burt Reynolds, Jack Weston, Lauren Hutton | United States | Action thriller |
| Hand of Death | John Woo | Dorian Tan, James Tien, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Hot Potato | Oscar Williams | Jim Kelly, George Memmoli, Geoffrey Binney | United States | Martial arts film |
| The Human Tornado | Cliff Roquemore | Rudy Ray Moore, Lady Reed, Jimmy Lynch | United States | Action comedy, martial arts film |
| Killer Clans | Chor Yuen | Chen Ping, Ku Feng, Lo Lieh | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Logan's Run | Michael Anderson | Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Roscoe Lee Browne | United States | Science fiction action |
| Master of the Flying Guillotine | Jimmy Wang Yu | Jimmy Wang Yu, Kam Kong, Lung Kun Yee | Hong Kong | Martial arts films |
| The New Shaolin Boxers | Chang Cheh | Alexander Fu Sheng, Jenny Tseng, Hsia Hui Wu | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Next Man | Richard C. Sarafian | Sean Connery, Adolfo Celi | United States | Action thriller |
| The Shaolin Avengers | Chang Cheh | Alexander Fu Sheng, Kuan-Chun Chi, Yen Tsan Tang | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Shaolin Temple | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Shaolin Wooden Men | Chan Jeung Wa | Jackie Chan, Chin Long, Kong Kim | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Strange Shadows in an Empty Room | Alberto De Martino | Stuart Whitman, Carole Laure, Martin Landau | Italy Canada | |
| Web of Death | Yuen Chor | Hua Yueh, Lieh Lo, Li Ching | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| 1977 |||||
| Airport '77 | Jerry Jameson | Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Brenda Vaccaro | United States | Action thriller |
| Bare Knuckles | Don Edmonds | Robert Viharo, Sherry Jackson, Michael Heit | United States | Martial arts film |
| The Brave Archer | Chang Cheh | Alexander Fu Sheng, Ku Feng, Philip Kwok, Ti Lung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Breaker! Breaker! | Donald Hulette | Chuck Norris, George Murdock, Terry O'Connor, | United States | |
| Black Sunday | John Frankenheimer | Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller | United States | Action thriller |
| Chinatown Kid | Chang Cheh | Alexander Fu Sheng, Philip Kwok, Lo Mang | Hong Kong | Martial arts Film |
| Chinese Connection 2 | | Bruce Li, Lo Lieh | Hong Kong | |
| The Clones of Bruce Lee | Joseph Kong | Bruce Lai, Dragon Lee | South Korea Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Doberman Cop | Kinji Fukasaku | Sonny Chiba, Janet Hatta, Hiroki Matsukata | Japan | Action thriller, Martial arts film |
| Double Nickels | Jack Vacek | Jack Vacek, Ed Abrams, Patrice Schubert | United States | Action thriller |
| The Gauntlet | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, | United States | Action thriller |
| Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon | Yukio Noda | Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Jerry Ito | Japan | Action thriller, Martial arts film |
| Grand Theft Auto | Ron Howard | Ron Howard, Nancy Morgan, Marion Ross | United States | Action comedy |
| The Heroin Busters | Enzo G. Castellari | Fabio Testi, David Hemmings, Joshua Sinclair | Italy | Action thriller |
| High Rolling in a Hot Corvette | Igor Auzins | Joseph Bottoms, Grigor Taylor, Judy Davis | Australia | Action comedy |
| Karate Bear Fighter | Kazuhiko Yamaguchi | Sonny Chiba | Japan | Martial arts film |
| Karate for Life | Kazuhiko Yamaguchi | Sonny Chiba | Japan | Martial arts film |
| L'Animal | Claude Zidi | Jean-Paul Belmondo, Raquel Welch, Charles Gérard | France | Action comedy |
| The Naval Commandos | Chang Cheh | David Chiang, Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng, Philip Kwok, Lu Feng, Chiang Sheng | Hong Kong Taiwan | |
| Operation Thunderbolt | Menahem Golan | Yehoram Gaon, Gila Almagor, Assi Dayan | Israel | Action thriller |
| Return of the Chinese Boxer | Jimmy Wang Yu | Jimmy Wang Yu, Fei Lung, Emily Y. Chang | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Rollercoaster | James Goldstone | George Segal, Richard Widmark, Timothy Bottoms | United States | Action thriller |
| Rolling Thunder | John Flynn | Tommy Lee Jones, William Devane, Linda Haynes | United States | Action thriller |
| Smokey and the Bandit | Hal Needham | Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed | United States | Action comedy |
| The Spy Who Loved Me | Lewis Gilbert | Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens | United Kingdom | Action thriller |
| Star Wars | George Lucas | Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Harrison Ford | United States | Science fiction action |
| Telefon | Don Siegel | Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, Donald Pleasence | United States | Action thriller |
| To Kill with Intrigue | Lo Wei | Jackie Chan, Hsu Feng | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| 1978 |||||
| 7 Grandmasters | Joseph Kuo | Jack Long, Li Yi Min | Hong Kong | |
| The 36th Chamber of Shaolin | Lau Kar-Leung | Gordon Lau, John Cheung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| The Brave Archer 2 | Chang Cheh | Alexander Fu Sheng, Ku Feng, Philip Kwok | Hong Kong | Martial arts Film |
| Crippled Avengers | Chang Cheh | Kuo Chui, Lu Feng, Lo Mang | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Deathsport | Allan Arkush, Henry Suso | David Carradine, Claudia Jennings, Richard Lynch | United States | Science fiction action |
| Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog | | Sammo Hung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Drunken Master | Yuen Woo Ping | Jackie Chan | Hong Kong | Martial arts film, action comedy |
| Enter the Fat Dragon | Sammo Hung | Sammo Hung, Billy Chan | Hong Kong | Martial arts film, action comedy |
| Every Which Way but Loose | James Fargo | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis | United States | |
| Five Deadly Venoms | Chang Cheh | Philip Kwok, Lo Mang, Ku Feng | Hong Kong | Martial arts Film |
| Game of Death | Robert Clouse | Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Dean Jagger | Hong Kong United States | Action thriller, martial arts film |
| Good Guys Wear Black | Ted Post | Chuck Norris, Anne Archer, James Franciscus | United States | Action thriller |
| High-Ballin' | Peter Carter | Peter Fonda, Jerry Reed, Helen Shaver | Canada United States | |
| Hooper | Hal Needham | Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jan-Michael Vincent | United States | Action comedy |
| The Inglorious Bastards | Enzo G. Castellari | Bo Svenson, Fred Williamson, Peter Hooten | Italy | Action thriller |
| Invincible Shaolin | Chang Cheh | Kuo Chui, Lo Mang, Lu Feng | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Shogun's Samurai | Kinji Fukasaku | Sonny Chiba, Kinnosuke Nakamura, Etsuko Shihomi | Japan | Jidaigeki, martial arts film |
| Snake in the Eagle's Shadow | Yuen Woo Ping | Simon Yuen, Hwang Jang Lee, Jackie Chan | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin | Chen Chi Hwa | Jackie Chan, Nora Miao | Hong Kong | |
| Soul of the Sword | Shan Hua | Ti Lung, Chen Chi Lin, Feng Ku | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Stunt Rock | Brian Trenchard-Smith | Margaret Gerard, Grant Page, Sorcery | Australia | Action thriller |
| Superman | Richard Donner | Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve | United States | Superhero film |
| Warriors Two | Sammo Hung | Liang Chia-Je, Sammo Hung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| 1979 |||||
| 1941 | Steven Spielberg | Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi | United States | Action comedy |
| Angels Revenge | Greydon Clark | Sylvia Anderson | United States | |
| Beyond the Poseidon Adventure | Irwin Allen | Michael Caine, Karl Malden, Sally Field | United States | |
| City on Fire | Alvin Rakoff | Barry Newman, Susan Clark, Shelley Winters | Canada | |
| Concorde Affaire '79 | Ruggero Deodato | Joseph Cotten, Mimsy Farmer, James Franciscus | Italy | Action thriller |
| The Concorde ... Airport '79 | David Lowell Rich | Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner | United States | Action thriller |
| Dance of the Drunk Mantis | Yuen Woo Ping | Simon Yuen | Hong Kong | Action comedy, martial arts film |
| Day of the Assassin | Brian Trenchard-Smith, Carlos Vasallo | Chuck Connors | Mexico | |
| Disco Godfather | Rudy Ray Moore, J. Robert Wagone | Rudy Ray Moore, Carol Speed, Julius J. Carry III | United States | Martial arts film |
| Dragon Fist | Lo Wei | Jackie Chan, Nora Miao, James Tien | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Escape from Alcatraz | Don Siegel | Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Patrick McGoohan | United States | |
| A Force of One | Paul Aaron | Chuck Norris, Jennifer O'Neill, Clu Gulager | United States | Action thriller, martial arts film |
| Kid with the Golden Arm | Chang Cheh | Kuo Chui, Chiang Sheng, Lo Mang | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Kung-Fu Commandos | Hsin Yi Chang | Yu-ching Chang, Ching Cheng, Tien-Chi Cheng | Taiwan | Martial arts film |
| Last Hurrah for Chivalry | John Woo | Damian Lau | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Mad Max | George Miller | Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne | Australia | Science fiction action |
| Mad Monkey Kung Fu | Lau Kar-leung | Hsiao Ho, Lo Lieh, Kara Wai | Hong Kong | Martial arts Film |
| Magnificent Butcher | Yuen Woo Ping | Sammo Hung | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Magnificent Ruffians | Chang Cheh | Philip Kwok, Chiang Sheng, Lo Mang | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Moonraker | Lewis Gilbert | Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale | United Kingdom France | |
| Shaolin Daredevils | Chang Cheh | Philip Kwok, Lu Feng, Lo Mang, Chiang Sheng | Hong Kong | Martial arts film |
| Shaolin Rescuers | Chang Cheh | Lo Mang, Chiang Sheng, Kuo Chui | Hong Kong | |
| The Street Fighter's Last Revenge | Shigehiro Ozawa | Sonny Chiba, Bruce Li, Sue Shiomi | Japan | |
| Supersonic Man | Juan Piquer Simón | Antonio Cantafora, Cameron Mitchell, Diana Polakov | Spain | Superhero film |
| Ten Tigers from Kwangtung | Chang Cheh | Ti Lung, Alexander Fu Sheng, Dick Wei | Hong Kong | |
| The Warriors | Walter Hill | Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly | United States | Action thriller |