It's a big year for 1970s NYC, particularly because it's the 40th anniversary of 1977 and the grim summer it wrought, with the blackout and the Son of Sam murders. The decade as a whole was a tough one for New Yorkers, who saw a decline in the quality of life, a rise in violent crimes, the spread of crack and heroin, widespread corruption in the NYPD, a financial crisis, urban decay, and the perseverance of disco. Even the President of the United States turned his back, denying federal funds to save the city from bankruptcy and resulting in one of the most famous headlines in history: "Ford to City: Drop Dead."

That Daily News headline is now the title of a film festival coming to Film Forum:
“FORD TO CITY: DROP DEAD - NEW YORK IN THE 70," which will run for 23 days, and screen 44 films from the decade. The Film Forum has just shared the first trailer with Gothamist, noting that "the decline of the city would inspire homegrown filmmakers like Sidney Lumet, John Cassavetes, Martin Scorsese, Jerry Schatzberg, along with transplants William Friedkin, Miloš Forman, John Schlesinger, Gordon Parks Jr., Hal Ashby and Chantal Akerman to create a body of films of gritty intensity that perfectly captured the mood of this chapter in NYC history."


Trailer by John Zhao

The festival runs from July 5th through July 27th, and you can find the lineup below, with more info on their website.

JULY 5 WED
MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969, John Schlesinger) 35mm
Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight
12:30, 4:40, 9:15

TAKING OFF (1971, Miloš Forman) 35mm
Buck Henry
2:45, 7:00

JULY 6 THU
NEWS FROM HOME (1976, Chantal Akerman) DCP
12:30, 6:00, 10:10

GLORIA (1980, John Cassavetes) DCP restoration
Gena Rowlands
2:45, 7:45

JULY 7 FRI
THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK (1971, Jerry Schatzberg) DCP restoration
Al Pacino, Kitty Winn
12:30, 2:40, 4:50, 7:00*
* 7:00 screening followed by Q&A with director Jerry Schatzberg

SERPICO (1973, Sidney Lumet) 35mm
Al Pacino, Tony Roberts
9:40

JULY 8 SAT
THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971, William Friedkin) DCP
Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider
12:30, 2:40, 7:15

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974, Joseph Sargent) 35mm
Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Jerry Stiller
4:45*
* Introduced by Bruce Goldstein

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (1977, Joseph Sargent) 35mm
John Travolta
9:45

JULY 9 SUN
KLUTE (1971, Alan J. Pakula) 35mm
Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland
12:30, 5:10

DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975, Sidney Lumet) DCP
Al Pacino, John Cazale
2:45, 7:25

JULY 10 MON - DOUBLE FEATURE
WHERE’S POPPA? (1970, Carl Reiner) 35mm
George Segal, Ruth Gordon
12:30, 4:00, 7:30

BORN TO WIN (1971, Ivan Passer) 35mm
George Segal, Karen Black, Robert De Niro
2:10, 5:40, 9:15

JULY 11 TUE - DOUBLE FEATURE
GODSPELL (1973, David Greene) 35mm
Victor Garber, David Haskell
3:05, 7:40

THE WIZ (1978, Sidney Lumet) 35mm
Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor
12:30, 5:10, 9:45

JULY 12 WED - DOUBLE FEATURE
A NEW LEAF (1971, Elaine May) 35mm
Walter Matthau, Elaine May
12:30, 4:30, 8:30

SUCH GOOD FRIENDS (1971, Otto Preminger) DCP
Dyan Cannon
Screenplay by Elaine May (using a pseudonym)
2:30, 6:30

JULY 13 THU
DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975, Sidney Lumet) DCP
12:30

KLUTE (1971, Alan J. Pakula) 35mm
2:55

CRUISING (1980, William Friedkin) DCP
Al Pacino
5:10, 9:45

SERPICO (1973, Sidney Lumet) 35mm
7:15

JULY 14 FRI - DOUBLE FEATURE
SHAFT (1971, Gordon Parks) 35mm
Richard Roundtree
12:30, 4:25, 8:20

SUPER FLY (1972, Gordon Parks, Jr.) 35mm
Ron O’Neal
2:30, 6:25, 10:20

JULY 15 SAT
TAXI DRIVER (1976, Martin Scorsese) 35mm
Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Jodie Foster
12:30, 5:05, 9:35

MEAN STREETS (1973, Martin Scorsese) 35mm
Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro
2:45, 7:20
Plus Les Rues de Mean Streets (2010, Bruce Goldstein)

JULY 16 SUN
NETWORK (1976, Sidney Lumet) 35mm print courtesy Harvard Film Archive
Peter Finch, William Holden, Faye Dunaway
1:00

HUSBANDS (1970, John Cassavetes) DCP restoration
Peter Falk, Ben Gazzara, Cassavetes
3:20

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974, Joseph Sargent) 35mm
6:20

MEAN STREETS (1973, Martin Scorsese) 35mm
8:25
Plus Les Rues de Mean Streets (2010, Bruce Goldstein)

JULY 17 MON - DOUBLE FEATURE
THE HOT ROCK (1972, Peter Yates) 35mm studio archive print
Robert Redford, George Segal
12:30, 4:30, 8:30

THE ANDERSON TAPES (1971, Sidney Lumet) 35mm
Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Christopher Walken
2:30, 6:30

JULY 18 TUE - DOUBLE FEATURE
INTERIORS (1978, Woody Allen) 35mm
Diane Keaton, Mary Beth Hurt, Geraldine Page
12:30, 4:30, 8:30

DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE (1970, Frank Perry) 35mm
Carrie Snodgress, Richard Benjamin, Frank Langella
2:25, 6:25

JULY 19 WED - DOUBLE FEATURE
THE HOSPITAL (1971, Arthur Hiller) 35mm
George C. Scott, Diana Rigg
12:30, 4:20, 8:20

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (1971, Anthony Harvey) 35mm
George C. Scott, Joanne Woodward
2:35, 6:30

JULY 20 THU - DOUBLE FEATURE
THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR (1975, Sydney Pollack) DCP
Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Max von Sydow
2:35, 7:55

EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978, Irvin Kershner) 35mm
Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones
12:30, 5:50, 10:10

JULY 21 FRI
ALL THAT JAZZ (1979, Bob Fosse) DCP
Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange
12:30, 2:55, 7:35

THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE (1974, Joseph Sargent) 35mm
5:30, 10:00

JULY 22 SAT
MARATHON MAN (1976, John Schlesinger) 35mm
Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider
12:30, 5:20


MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969, John Schlesinger) 35mm
3:00, 7:45, 10:00

JULY 23 SUN
MANHATTAN (1979, Woody Allen) 35mm
Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway
2:45, 6:45

THE LANDLORD (1970, Hal Ashby) 35mm
Beau Bridges, Pearl Bailey, Lou Gossett Jr., Diana Sands
12:30, 4:30, 8:30

JULY 24 MON - DOUBLE FEATURE
AN UNMARRIED WOMAN (1978, Paul Mazursky) 35mm studio archive print
Jill Clayburgh
12:30, 4:50, 9:15

LOVING (1970, Irvin Kershner) 35mm
George Segal, Eva Marie Saint
3:00, 7:15

JULY 25 TUE - DOUBLE FEATURE
ACROSS 110TH STREET (1972, Barry Shear) 35mm
Tony Franciosa, Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto
12:30, 4:20, 8:10

COPS AND ROBBERS (1973, Aram Avakian) 35mm
Cliff Gorman, Joseph Bologna
2:30, 6:20, 10:10

JULY 26 WED - DOUBLE FEATURE
DEATH WISH (1974, Michael Winner) Original IB Technicolor 35mm print
Charles Bronson
12:30, 4:30, 9:15

DRESSED TO KILL (1980, Brian De Palma) 35mm
Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine
2:25, 7:00

JULY 27 THU - DOUBLE FEATURE
THE WARRIORS (1979, Walter Hill) 35mm
Michael Beck, James Remar
12:30, 4:20, 8:10

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981, John Carpenter) DCP
Donald Pleasance, Kurt Russell
2:20, 6:10, 10:00