6 Best Oscar Best Actor Winners of the 1970s

By Vlad Zakh · June 20, 2026

The 1970s Best Actor winners were raw and unflinching. Jon Voight won for Coming Home, Richard Dreyfuss for The Goodbye Girl, Peter Finch for Network and Art Carney for Harry and Tonto. Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger and George C. Scott in Patton round out the six.

Coming Home (1978)

TMDB ★ 6.8

A woman volunteering at a veterans hospital falls for a paralysed soldier while her husband serves in Vietnam.

Directed by Hal Ashby · 2h 07m · Rated R

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Goodbye Girl (1977)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A struggling actor sublets an apartment already occupied by a single mother and her precocious daughter.

Directed by Herbert Ross · 1h 51m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Network (1976)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 90% Metacritic 83

A failing network turns its unravelling anchor's on-air breakdown into a ratings sensation.

Directed by Sidney Lumet · 2h 02m · Rated R

Won 4 Oscars20 wins & 27 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Harry and Tonto (1974)

TMDB ★ 7.0

An elderly widower and his beloved cat make a cross-country journey after being evicted from their New York home.

Directed by Paul Mazursky · 1h 55m · Rated R

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Save the Tiger (1973)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A disillusioned garment manufacturer contemplates arson and moral compromise to save his failing business.

Directed by John G. Avildsen · 1h 40m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Patton (1970)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A brilliant, egomaniacal general's Second World War career is shaped as much by his flaws as his tactical genius.

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner · 2h 52m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Philo · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Oscar Best Actor Winners of the 1970s

Coming Home (1978)

The Goodbye Girl (1977)

Network (1976)

Harry and Tonto (1974)

Save the Tiger (1973)

Patton (1970)

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