BEST FILMS OF THE 1970'S

Great Movie Moments from the 1970's

Before George Lucas became known as the man who created the Star Wars universe, he made another classic film, "American Graffiti". Francis Ford Coppola helped finance less than one million dollars, to this still somewhat unknown Lucas and his movie, which ended up being one of the top grossing films to this date. Based on Lucas's memories of his own teen years in Modesto, California, the film pays tribute to the innocent era of the early 60's. A time of driving around in cars with the top down, picking up girls, eating hamburgers at the drive-in, and listening to the radio. The soundtrack contains all the classics of the early rock era, and the cast would soon be all quite well known; Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, Suzanne Sommers, Wolfman Jack and Harrison Ford. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 77.

Annie Hall (1977)

This wonderful and humorous movie is based on the real life romance of the director and star, Woody Allen and the female lead Diane (nicknamed Annie) Keaton (real last name Hall). Woody Allen plays his basic neurotic, Jewish, New Yorker who is having relationship troubles, psychologically, religiously and culturally. The film follows his on-again, off-again relationship with Keaton, the all American Midwest girl, told through flashbacks, monologues and short sequences. The film established Allen as a major director and Keaton started a fashion trend with her baggy pants, vest and hat. The movie is filled with classic lines and scenes, with my personal favorite being the couple's first date, standing on a roof deck giving small talk, with subtitles below telling the audience what they are really thinking. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 31.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Francis Ford Coppola's nightmarish look at the Vietnam war. Inspired by Joseph Conrad's book, "Heart of Darkness", the story follows Captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen) and his danger-filled journey to find a man named Kurtz. This mysterious man, played by Marlon Brando, is a highly decorated U.S. officer that the army believes has gone mad. He has hid himself deep in the jungle and is posing as an idol to a native Cambodian tribe. The photography by Vittorio Storaro is mesmerizing and contains a kaleidoscope of war horrors. The ending is a little too surreal, murky and confusing, but I guess that sums up the war as well. I must admit, I was never a huge fan of this film, but I understand its artistic merit. Robert Duvall's scene showing him leading an armored assault on a beach, with Wagner's music blaring in the background, is a haunting image of the thirst for war by some people. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 28 (Much too high).

Chinatown (1974)

This wonderful homage to the film noir of the 50's contains all the vintage elements. The film is set in Los Angeles during the 1930's. Jack Nicholson plays J.J. Gittes, a somewhat seedy private investigator who takes on a simple sounding case of infidelity. Faye Dunaway is the femme fatale who pulls Gittes into a complex mystery of false identities, investment schemes, controlling of the water supply and incest. Roman Polanski directs a moody picture from Robert Towne's wonderful script inspired by Chandler. Polanski also makes a cameo in the picture as a thug with a knife. The production design perfectly creates L.A. of the 30's and the tempo of the film accelerates as it pulls you deeper into the mystery. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 19.

The Clockwork Orange (1971)

This movie has haunted me for quite some time. The story is set in the not too distant future and centers around Alex and his gang of "Droogs" whose purpose in life is to cause "a bit of the old ultra violence". They search for innocent people that they can beat-up, torture, rape and kill. After a brutal assault, made even more terrifying with the joyful song "Signing in the Rain" being sung, Alex is captured by police and is sent to a reprogramming center. He is released after being brainwashed to decriminalize him. The question is, does this truly work? This is NOT for everyone's taste and was originally released with an X rating because of the violence. Most videos contain the R version, which is still shocking. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 46.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Spielberg's second major release proved to the world that "Jaws" wasn't a one hit wonder for this young director, who also wrote the story for this film. And unlike most directors, Spielberg did not let the amazing special effects take away from the story. Richard Dreyfuss stars as one of many people who begin having strange dreams and sighting of UFO's. He begins to accept the truth that we are not alone, even though he is surrounded by a family of non-believers. This obsession eventual leads him to Devil's Tower mountain where the first contact with space beings occur. The story also threw a twist on many of the conceptions set up by sci-fi movies of the past fifty years. Gone were the Martians trying to take over the earth. In fact, most of the humans in the film are far more threatening than the space aliens. Spielberg would continue this theme in the 80's with "ET". The last twenty minutes of the movie works like a silent film, with very little dialogue. The amazing visuals, sound (which won the film a special achievement Oscar) and music by John Williams speak more than any words could say. The arrival of the mother ship was eye popping on the large scale. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 64.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

The first film to try and deal with the Vietnam War was groundbreaking. Blasted at first for being over 3 hours long and containing graphic violence and racial stereotypes, the film ended up winning 5 Oscars including Best Picture. The story centers around 5 best friends from Pennsylvania who work together at the town steel plant in 1968. They hang out at the local bar drinking away their problems. One of the gang is getting married and it's the last time they will all be together since 3 of the guys are leaving in a few days for Vietnam. It cuts to them in a concentration camp as the men are made to play a terrifying game of Russian Roulette by their captors. The film shows events before during and after their war duty and depicts how this war affected everyone's lives. The cast was brilliant, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, Chuck Aspergen, and Meryl Streep. Wonderfully shows the friendships, heroics and horrors of man. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 79.

The Exorcist (1973)

One of the few Horror films to ever receive any form of critical recognition. William Peter Blatty adapted his own bestselling book about a 12 year old girl who is possessed by the devil. Two men of the cloth, a young priest (Jason Miller) and an elderly father (Max von Sydow) are called upon to do battle and rid the girl of the evil spirit. Director William Friedkin used cold, dark shots highlighted by graphic visual effects, which would set the standard for the horror genre. The slow transformation of the young Linda Blair, as the possessed girl, into a hideous monster was made even more horrific because of certain graphic scenes the director or story placed her in, including the language used and sexual situation.

The French Connection (1971)

This film centers around Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a New York City cop intent on breaking up an international drug ring. Gene Hackman was wonderful as Doyle and Roy Scheider played his partner. The depiction of street life and dialogue had an almost documentary feel to it, with many of the scenes shot on location. The scene that stands out is the chase. In fact, when people talk about chase sequences in motion pictures this is one of the first films people think about. Considered the best and or most famous chase sequences in the history of cinema People have tried to copy it, but never reach its intensity and suspense. Popeye is on the tail of a suspect who hops aboard an elevated train. Hackman follows underneath in a car with very little regard to anyone or anything in his way. The chase ends with one of the classic images from the movies. It's been awhile since I've seen this film and I remember being a little disappointed in the ending, but the chase alone is worth a viewing. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 70.

The Godfather (1972), The Godfather 2(1974)

The story is taken from Mario Puzo's popular novel that follows the lives of the Corleones, an Italian family involved with the criminal Mafia. The first film tells of the final years of "the Godfather", played by Marlon Brando, and his family who must begin to take over his father's criminal business. Al Pacino stars as the somewhat shy and timid, young son, who really wants nothing to do with the business, but eventual gets sucked into becoming the leader. The second film continues to follow Pacino as he turns the family crime business into a cold, sleek and modern day organization. The second also goes back into time to show the original Godfather, Brando's character now played by Robert DeNiro, as an ambitious, young immigrant in NYC and how he fell into the crime underworld. One element both films have is outstanding acting. You just can't find a better cast; besides for Brando, Pacino and DeNiro, they included James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton. Coppola also used amazing technical and storytelling skills to weave an epic tale over a two generational period of time. Considered an artistic masterpiece, but may be a little high on AFI's list of all-time movies at 3 & 32.

Jaws (1975)

The movie that put Steven Spielberg on the map. Adapted from the Peter Benchley novel and directed by Spielberg who was only 27 at the time. The story follows a giant, great white shark that is terrorizing a local resort beach during the height of the 4th of July tourist season. The town's sheriff, a shark expert and a local big sea fisherman, played wonderfully by Roy Schneider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, set out to try and kill the "monster". Spielberg had major technical difficulties with the mechanical shark (named Bruce) when filming began, which meant the shark wasn't seen until the last quarter of the film. If anything, this only heightens the suspense. John Williams won a well deserved Oscar for the now classic musical score. The film was the first summer mega-hit and started the summer blockbuster trend. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 48.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera that became a musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It highlights the political and interpersonal struggles of Judas and Jesus. The rock opera is based on St John's Gospel account of the last week of Jesus' life, beginning with the preparation for Jesus' and his followers' arrival in Jerusalem and ending with the Crucifixion. Twentieth-century attitudes and sensibilities as well as contemporary slang pervade the lyrics and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the political depiction of the events. A large part of the plot focuses on the character of Judas who is depicted as a tragic figure who is dissatisfied with what he views as Jesus' lack of planning and is also alarmed by the relatively recent claims of his divinity. He fears that Jesus will doom the Jewish people to destruction at the hands of the Romans.

MAS*H (1970)

I don't think this movie has held up very well over time. Partly because the inventive way Robert Altman directed this film has been copied many times over the last few decades, but mainly because the movie spawned a television series that ended up being better then the original source. But when M*A*S*H came out in its first release it was something quite new. The story follows a medical unit during the Korean War. It graphically showed bloody, war surgery for the first time (tame by present standards), and the crazy antics of the medics who used humor to deal with the horrors of war. Many of the scenes would have realistic dialogue because the actors were allowed to improvise their lines. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 58, but it shouldn't have made the list at all.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Believe it or not, I had never seen this film until I started making this list. After taking a quick glance through the films released in the 70's it was hard to pass up this movie. It was the first motion picture to win the top 5 Oscars (Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, & Screenplay). It took quite some time for this story to make it to the screen. After starring in the play for a short time, Kirk Douglas had bought the rights for this story and asked an unknown, Milos Forman, to direct. Unfortunately, legal problems stopped production for 13 years and Kirk Douglas finally decided to forget about producing and passed the project on to his son, Michael Douglas. Michael got the ball rolling again, and unknown to him, asked the same Milos Forman, now quite successful, to direct. After putting together a wonderful cast of actors the film was finally in production. The story centers around Randall McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, who gets himself placed in a mental ward on purpose to get out of work duty in prison. While at the hospital, he begins to awaken a spirit in the other patients. Unfortunately, this new attitude is frowned upon by the authority, lead by the cold and insensitive head nurse Ratched. This rebellion finally ends with tragic circumstances. Told with heartfelt drama and humor the film is a triumph of the human spirit. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 20.

Rocky (1976)

Every decade usually has one movie that people talk me into putting on the list. Here is the 70's film. I've never been a huge fan of Rocky and couldn't believe it won the Oscar for Best Picture. One of the problems is to judge the film by the 4 sequels that followed, each one growing progressively worse. The original film was a low-budget sleeper, written and starring an unknown named Sylvester Stallone. Stallone played A lowlife boxer from Philadelphia, named Rocky Balboa. Carl Weather's playing the world champion, who decides it would be a good marketing gimmick if he fights Balboa for the title. Burgess Meredith is the guff, old trainer Mickey whose task it is to get Rocky in shape. The sequence of Balboa running through the streets of Philly and jumping up the museum stairs, with the title theme bazzling in the background is very inspiring. Of course, Rocky falls in love along the way with the shy, timid woman. The film ends with the typical Hollywood uplifting battle between champion and underdog. Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 78.

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

It's hard to say that this movie is a great film. It isn't! But very few other motion pictures have affected the culture as much as this film did on its initial release. When you review this list of films, it's amazing how much the music is a key element with almost all of them. It could be the memorable theme song, the classical music used, atmosphere music or classic songs from a particular era. This film created a new sound for a generation and it was called Disco. The soundtrack alone is still one of the best selling albums of all time. John Travolta, a teen star from television became a cult sensation as Tony Manerno whose only meaning in life was found on the dance floor. Besides for starting the disco craze, the fashion of polyester leisure suits and black shirts could be seen for a few years.

Star Wars (1977)

The movie that made George Lucas a legend. Taking elements from mythology, western serials, and the Nazi empire and combining them with amazing, art production and special effects to create a landmark film. The story is a simple tale of good vs. evil. A young, space farmer becomes involved in a war between a rebel force and the evil empire. His companions include a pair of robots, a princess, a mercenary and a hairy ape-like man, and a wise old sage. It's hard for me not to look at this film from a personal perspective. This movie had such a huge impact on how I viewed my childhood and how I view the cinema. This was the first "big person" movie I remember seeing. I was in second grade and my parents had taken my brother and me to the theater only to find it sold-out. We purchased tickets for the next available show, which was about 4 hours later, an eternity for a 7 year old. When we finally sat down in the packed theater, the lights went low and then that short sentence appeared on the screen; "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." This huge musical chord of trumpets blast in my ears, and the giant, yellow words "Star Wars" appears from nowhere. My mom had to read the opening prologue as it moved across the screen. When the words were gone, the camera panned across the outer space sky (the first time a camera had panned through space) and this gigantic spaceship slowly began to cover the screen. I was hooked!!! For the next 8 years, I played, read, drew and slept Star Wars. In college, I discovered Joseph Campbell, a professor of world religions and myths, and the man Lucas had talked to when developing his story, and I fell in love with the film again. It appears on AFI's list of best films at ? and truly is one of the reasons movies are made! Appears on AFI's Best Movies of all time list at 15.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

An absolutely wonderful comedy from Mel Brooks. During this same year Brooks also brought us "Blazing Saddles", a satire on the western, but where that film's humor was crude, this was intelligent. Brooks choose to satire the old Universal Horror films, specifically "Frankenstein" and "The Bride of Frankenstein". The casting was perfect. Gene Wilder plays Frankenstein, a professor who finds the research notebooks of his great grandfather, the Dr. Frankenstein of the original films. With the help of his finance, Teri Garr and Igor played by Marty Feldman, he decides to continue the experiments. The result is similar to the original, with the monster, played by Peter Boyle, not quite what he is suppose to be. The film is even more special if you've seen both of the originals, but not necessary. The scenes with Gene Hackman, as the Blind Man and Madeline Kahn, as the Monster's Bride are perfect. Brooks shot the film in Black and White, and used many of the same sets, especially the laboratory, found at the Universal lot. Possibility the best satire ever.

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