Film is now more diverse and has more variety than ever before.
Bullshit. Let's take 5 year perspective. I will list great films between 1970-75. After reading that list any can try to make comparable list of movies from 2011-2016 and compare. At least for me it's absolutely clear that period between 1970-1975 was better both in quality and diversity. And not to mention the fact that there used to be middle budget films that still had sizeable studio resources but could take risks. There are still very creative indie films, but they usually have to operate with much smaller budgets than in 60s or 70s. And that's one of the reasons why cinema is in decline. Blockbuster has killed mid-budget cinema.
Tristana (1970)
The Conformist (Il Conformista) (1970)
The Butcher (Le Boucher) (1970)
El Topo (1970)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Deep End (1970)
The Spider's Stratagem (La Strategia del Ragno) (1970)
The Ear (Ucho) (1970)
Little Big Man (1970)
Patton (1970)
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (L'uccello Dalle Piume de Cristallo) (1970)
MAS*H (1970)
Zabriskie Point (1970)
Performance (1970)
Woodstock (1970)
Gimme Shelter (1970)
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini) (1970)
Dirty Harry (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
The Sorrow and the Pity (La Chagrin et la Pitié) (1971)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
The Devils (1971)
The Hired Hand (1971)
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (W.R.: Misterije Organizma) (1971)
Walkabout (1971)
Klute (1971)
Harold and Maude (1971)
The French Connection (1971)
Red Psalm (Még Kér a Nép) (1972)
Get Carter (1971)
Shaft (1971)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Wanda (1971)
Murmur of the Heart (Le Souffle au Coeur) (1971)
Straw Dogs (1971)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
Wake in Fright (1971)
Deliverance (1972)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes) (1972)
Cabaret (1972)
Solaris (Solyaris) (1972)
Cries and Whispers (Viskingar och Rop) (1972)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie) (1972)
The Godfather (1972)
Last Tango in Paris (Ultimo Tango a Parigi) (1972)
The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (Die Bitteren Tränen der Petra Von Kant) (1972)
Fat City (1972)
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
Frenzy (1972)
Pink Flamingoes (1972)
Sleuth (1972)
Superfly (1972)
The Sting (1973)
The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la Putain) (1973)
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Badlands (1973)
American Graffiti (1973)
Papillon (1973)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Serpico (1973)
Don't Look Now (1973)
Day for Night (La Nuit Américaine) (1973)
Mean Streets (1973)
Sleeper (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
F for Fake (Vérités et Mensonges) (1973)
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit) (1973)
The Spirit of the Beehive (El Espíritu de la Colmena) (1973)
The Harder They Come (1973)
Fantastic Planet (La Planéte Sauvage) (1973)
Amarcord (1973)
The Towering Inferno (1974)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Dersu Uzala (1975)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
The Conversation (1974)
The Mirror (Zerkalo) (1974)
Chinatown (1974)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating (Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau) (1974)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Angst Essen Seele Auf) (1974)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
The Travelling Players (O Thiassos) (1975)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Wall (Deewaar) (1975)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Manila in the Claws of Brightness (Maynila: sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag) (1975)
Fox and his Friends (Faustrecht der Freiheit) (1975)
Nashville (1975)
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Salò o le Centoventi Giornate di Sodoma) (1975)
Cria! (Cría Cuervos) (1975)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
India Song (1975)
Jaws (1975)