19 Movies from the ’70s & ’80s That Are Hard to Find These Days

We tend to take for granted how easily available movies are nowadays. Granted, we often need to pay for different streaming services in order to have access to what we want, but at least we know what we need to do. Back in the day, gaining access to a movie wasn’t so simple.

This means that, unless a given film was digitized or made readily available for the modern market, classic movies from the 70s and 80s are quite hard to come by. These are just some of the most elusive films from that era.

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The Heartbreak Kid, 1972

Strangely enough, the rights to this classic comedy currently belong to pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb. Because a drug company holds the keys, the movie remains largely unavailable to watch on any modern streaming platform.

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The Last of Sheila, 1973

This clever murder mystery is frustratingly absent from all the usual subscription streaming services. If you actually want to watch it today, you have to track down a digital rental or a manufactured on demand DVD copy.

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The Devils, 1971

Ken Russell directed Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave in this intense historical drama about witchcraft trials. Due to its highly controversial religious depictions and graphic mature themes, studios and local authorities heavily censored or outright banned it.

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A Woman Under the Influence, 1974

Major studios completely refused to finance or distribute this 1974 classic. Director John Cassavetes was forced to self distribute the picture, which unfortunately kept it out of mainstream commercial pipelines and makes it trickier to stream today.

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I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1978

This film marked the directorial debut of Robert Zemeckis, with Steven Spielberg as executive producer. A huge portion of their budget went straight toward securing the licensing rights for original Beatles audio recordings, which is what keeps it out of streaming services today.

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Over the Edge, 1979

Actor Matt Dillon made his screen debut in this suburban teen rebellion drama directed by Jonathan Kaplan. Distributor Orion Pictures heavily limited its theatrical release because they feared the movie would incite teenage riots in local theaters.

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Dawn of the Dead (Theatrical Cut), 1978

George A. Romero directed this landmark zombie film produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. Because Rubinstein tightly controls the domestic rights, finding legitimate digital streams or physical copies in the US is still incredibly difficult today.

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Ishtar, 1987

Elaine May wrote and directed Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty as two inept songwriters in North Africa. Massive budget overruns and severe clashes with studio executives left the comedy completely unavailable on US home video for years.

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The Keep, 1983

Michael Mann directed this supernatural World War II thriller featuring an electronic score by Tangerine Dream. Paramount slashed his 210 minute cut down to 96 minutes, and tricky soundtrack licensing complexities kept it off digital platforms entirely.

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Nothing Lasts Forever, 1984

Writer Tom Schiller directed this wild sci-fi comedy starring Zach Galligan, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd. MGM inexplicably shelved the project just before its September 1984 theatrical premiere, leaving it totally unreleased on commercial home media formats.

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Little Murders, 1971

Alan Arkin made his feature directorial debut with this dark comedy adapted from a stage play by Jules The comedy is entirely absent from mainstream streaming platforms, so fans need to pay a hefty price for the out of print DVDs.

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Get Crazy, 1983

Allan Arkush directed this chaotic New Year Eve concert comedy starring Lou Reed and Malcolm McDowell. The movie remained unavailable on video for decades after original sound elements and negatives went missing during various corporate studio acquisitions.

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Light of Day, 1987

Paul Schrader directed this blue-collar family drama starring Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett as rock musician siblings. Complicated pop and rock music licensing issues have completely stalled this movie, keeping it from ever receiving an official Region 1 DVD or Blu-ray release.

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Greased Lightning, 1977

Michael Schultz directed Richard Pryor as Wendell Scott, NASCAR’s first African-American premier driver. It received minimal physical media reissues over the years and remains mostly absent from any major subscription streaming platforms.

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Streets of Fire, 1984

Walter Hill directed this neon-lit rock fable starring Michael Pare, Diane Lane, and Willem Dafoe. Watching it today relies on finding expensive physical collector releases from niche distributors, since it flopped hard when it was released and no attempts were made to preserve it.

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Heaven’s Gate, 1980

Michael Cimino directed this sprawling epic Western starring Kris Kristofferson and Christopher Walken. The production suffered from such massive budget overruns and disastrous box office returns that it actually precipitated the financial collapse of distributor United Artists.

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One From the Heart, 1981

Francis Ford Coppola directed this romantic musical featuring elaborate soundstage sets of Las Vegas and music by Tom Waits. Severe financial losses from the project forced Coppola’s own production company into years of heavy debt and bankruptcy.

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At Long Last Love, 1975

Peter Bogdanovich directed Burt Reynolds and Cybill Shepherd in a musical featuring eighteen Cole Porter songs recorded live on set. Devastating reviews and catastrophic box office returns caused the studio to keep it unreleased on home video.

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Sorcerer, 1977

William Friedkin directed this tense suspense thriller starring Roy Scheider. The movie languished for years until Friedkin finally sued Universal and Paramount in 2012 to untangle the messy ownership disputes that had prevented proper home video releases.

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