I really don't know where to begin.
The 1970s are easily the pinnacle of cinema in my opinion. Not only did we still have some truly great films from International filmmakers like we did in the 50s/60s but some of the best films to ever come out of the Hollywood/American Indie arena came from this decade.
A lot of discussion has been given to that of the New Hollywood group of directors and I do feel that a lot of the praise is well warranted. Such filmmakers as Peter Bogdonavich, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and Hal Ashby made a huge splash within this decade while other director who had been working for a while managed to sustain our push their boundaries like Ingmar Bergman and Stanley Kubrick.
I am going to be cheating for this post. There are just too many films I want to mention in some way so my final post will contain thirty...yes 30... Honorable Mentions along with the standard top 10. Even with the Honorable Mentions, I feel like I am missing several other films but I have to limit myself and prevent from his post becoming a list that seems to be neverending.
Prior to posting this, I swapped out multiple films from my top 10 and Honorable Mentions list. I am sure if I delayed this post further that it would've changed yet again so I suppose this is a snap shot of how I feel about the 70s at this exact moment.
And thus it was:
A Whopping THIRTY Honorable Mentions:
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
Women in Love (1970)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Cabaret (1972)
Cries & Whispers (1972)
Solaris (1972)
Sounder (1972)
Amarcord (1973)
Badlands (1973)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Celine & Julie Go Boating (1974)
Chinatown (1974)
The Conversation (1974)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Grey Gardens (1975)
Jaws (1975)
Mirror (1975)
Nashville (1975)
Network (1976)
Eraserhead (1977)
Opening Night (1977)
Autumn Sonata (1978)
The Meetings of Anna (1978)
An Unmarried Woman (1978)
All That Jazz (1979)
Alien (1979)
Being There (1979)
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
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#10 - Day for Night (1973)
Directed by Francois Truffaut
I was little hasty to say that Francois Truffaut never made a film that quite hit the heights of his debut effort The 400 Blows.
He did do some very good films like 1960's Shoot the Piano Player, 1962's Jules & Jim or 1980's The Last Metro but I think the other film from his repertoire that was a rousing success and a true masterwork was Day for Night.
Named after the filming technique in which editors would underexpose film to make daytime scenes look more like they were filmed at night, Day for Night is set during the filming of another movie called Je Vous Presente Pamela (I Want You to Meet Pamela) which stars an aging actor named Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Aumont), former diva Severine (Valentina Cortese, in a performance for which she was robbed of an Oscar), heartthrob Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Leaud, who played Antoine in The 400 Blows and its sequels), and Julie (Jacqueline Bissett). The director of the film, Ferrand, is played by Truffaut himself.
A lot of attention has been brought to the film by Julie as she recently suffered a mental breakdown and was getting a lot of flack for her marriage to a much older doctor...and then the melodramatic nature of the film they are making seems to permeate into their own lives as affairs and betrayals seem to take over their lives.
When it comes to movies about the making of movies, Day for Night is easily one of the finest; up there with 8 1/2.
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#9 - A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Based on Anthony Burrough's novel, A Clockwork Orange was a far more successful attempt by Kubrick to adapt a rather volatile and adult novel into a film after his 1962 adaptation of Lolita ended up being a very well done but docile treatment of Nabokov's work.
Set in the futuristic world of...1995, we meet the Droogs. Led by Alex (Malcolm McDowell), the Droogs pillage all over London and its suburbs by committing "ultra-violence": beating up random people, raping women, and theft.
Alex is an immensely charismatic character whose primary loves seem to be, aside from "ultra-violence", being a classical music buff and having affairs with women. He is an early example of a true anti-hero on screen but I am not sure we can really call him any form of a hero. The remarkable thing is that despite how horrible he is, you can't help but be intrigued by the character and how he views the world.
Eventually, the Droogs get caught and Alex gets chosen to undergo an experimental psychological rehabilitation process called the Ludovico Technique in order to potentially reenter society...but instead, the results lead him to questioning everything and perhaps end up having no effect at all.
A Clockwork Orange was only one of two X rated films to get nominated for Best Picture (along with Midnight Cowboy which actually won the award), and it wasn't without controversy upon its release. Even major critics like Pauline Kael made sure to write pretty scathing reviews to bring it down, but instead, the film managed to be a prime example of how much the tides were changing for film and what could be presented onscreen.
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#8 - Apocalypse Now (1979)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
I feel like I have to single out Apocalypse Now if only for the fact that Francis Ford Coppola truly poured his heart and soul into it and the results led to one of the biggest and best directed films ever created.
I didn't truly respond to this film when I first saw it, but like most great movies, it stays with you and you can't help but want to revisit and re-examine it.
You hear those horror stories about big epic films that seem to go overbudget and drive everyone crazy that is involved with the production but for every Heaven's Gate, there is an Apocalypse Now.
Despite many suspecting the shoot to take 5-6 months, the film actually took nearly a year and a half to film and led then 36 year old star Martin Sheen to have both a mental breakdown and a near fatal heart attack. On top of that, expensive sets were destroyed due to severe weather and when legendary actor showed up for his role as the diabolical Col. Kurtz, he came in overweight and completely unprepared.
That isn't even the tip of the iceberg:
-A man was hired to provide fake corpses for various scenes only for it to be discovered that they were real human corpses and he was arrested as being a grave robber.
-The film's budget ballooned $15 million over its original budget causing the studio UA to take out a Life Insurance policy on Coppola, whom also offered his house and car and profits made from the first two Godfather films as collateral.
-Coppola also turned to his friend George Lucas, fresh off of his massive success on Star Wars and begged him for some money.
However, the final product was something of a miracle. Thanks to a magnificent team of editors under Coppola's supervision: Richard Marks, Walter Murch, Gerald Greenberg, and Lisa Fruchtman; they were able to take thousands of feet of film and shape it into a film that actually flowed.
The film was shown in an unfinished form at the Cannes Film Festival and managed to win the prestigious Palme D'or much to the chagrin of many in the audience.
As it stands, despite the fact that Coppola made a couple of films I found to be better as a whole (stay tuned for those), Apocalypse Now ended up being his finest directorial achievement. The famous Ride of the Valkyries sequence is easily one of the greatest directed sequences ever captured on film.
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#7 - Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Directed by Chantal Ackerman
It took far too long but it is now time to discuss a film that was written and directed by a woman.
The great Belgian filmmaker Chantal Ackerman has received something of a resurgence in film circles as of late and deservedly so. After passing away in 2015, a lot of her films got a significant push thanks to the Criterion Collection and I couldn't have been more pleased as I felt that one film of hers specifically was one of the best examples of how a movie about what could be taken as "nothing" was actually about far more.
Jeanne Dielman is about a widowed housewife who follows a routine that never really varies day to day:
She cleans house, she tends to her older teenaged son, she prepares meals, and she entertains gentlemen callers...and it is presented in such a matter of fact way that it felt so ballsy.
However, as the film progresses, we watch Jeanne (whose name we only hear being read aloud in a letter) slowly disintegrate due to rote routines and we aren't sure how she will eventually respond to everything around her.
Jeanne Dielman is a masterpiece and a true landmark for feminist cinema...and I wish that more people would discover Ackerman's work.
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#6 - 3 Women (1977)
Directed by Robert Altman
Robert Altman is one of those directors where I often acknowledge his talent and the quality of his films...but I am often never overly passionate about them. In the 70s, he had several that fell into this category for me like M*A*S*H, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, and perhaps one of the defining examples of a strong ensemble film: Nashville.
However, the one film of his that I've always loved and still think is his most underrated work is 3 Women, a rather abstract and trippy film that Altman got inspired to make after seeing Ingmar Bergman's Persona (which you may recall seeing as a selection on my 60s list).
We first meet Pinky (Sissy Spacek), a timid and awkward young girl who takes an instant obsession with Mildred (Shelley Duvall) and despite their differences, they become friends and roommates.
From there, we watch them interact with the owners/neighbors of their apartment complex: Edgar, a former Hollywood stunt double and his pregnant wife Willie who rarely speaks and spends most of her time painting.
3 Women is definitely a worthy companion to a movie like Persona and would also act as another sister film to David Lynch's Mulholland Drive. It tests the audience on what is reality and what may be a dream...and through it all, we get to watch two really great actresses shine in these dynamic roles.
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#5 - Annie Hall (1977)
Directed by Woody Allen
I get that Woody Allen is a polarizing and something of a pariah currently...but I am going to set aside the controversies at the moment and discuss the fact that beginning in 1973 with Sleeper up through 1989's Crimes & Misdemeanors, Allen made several films that were quite wonderful. His scripts could be witty and smart but he eventually found a way to add solid drama and pathos to them.
Annie Hall was considered the moment that Allen grew up following his more slapstick comedies that preceded it. Using Diane Keaton in top form, we get to watch Allen's Alvy Singer meet her as the titular Annie Hall and soon a very intriguing relationship forms between the two of them.
As a script, I marvel at what Allen achieved with this. Some of the lines are hilariously funny without being quippy. He finds a way to make the humor without resorting to jokes and punchlines but rather having it all come from characters and their interactions.
When I first saw the film as a teenager, I didn't understand it and I found it kind of "meh". However, it was another film that I revisited and ended up developing a strong love for.
I can understand why many people view this as the definitive Woody Allen movie.
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#4 - Days of Heaven (1978)
Directed by Terrence Malick
The reclusive and mysterious Terrence Malick gave us two films in the 70s that were simply sublime: the gritty crime thriller Badlands and the lush and passionate Days of Heaven...and then he didn't direct again for 20 years.
Days of Heaven is one of the most beautiful looking films ever made and that beauty is the backdrop for a story of tragic betrayal.
Bill and Abby (Richard Gere & Brooke Adams) are two lovers who travel to Texas after Bill accidentally kills his boss and hope to flee from any kind of comeuppance. They are also joined by Bill's younger sister Linda which gives him the idea that maybe he and Abby should also pose as siblings in order to keep suspicions down.
Once in Texas, they take a job working the fields of a man we only know as The Farmer (Sam Shepard) but when they realize that The Farmer has taken a liking to Abby and that he only has a year left to leave, Bill encourages Abby to marry him so that they can inherit his land and fortune.
So yes...as you can probably imagine...things do not go as planned for ole Billy Boy.
Malick is such a fascinating filmmaker and not just due to his mysterious nature. This is a man who has always had a deep passion for the philosophical possibilities in film and as a Rhodes Scholar, he did extensive studies on the likes of Kierkegaard, Heidegger, and Wittgenstein.
This rather complex nature has led some to deem his films as incredibly pretentious such as his 2011 effort The Tree of Life (which, while I can understand that belief, I personally thought the film was fantastic), but in the end, you can see the passion for the stories he tells and for my money, Days of Heaven will probably always remain his masterpiece.
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#3 - Taxi Driver (1976)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Never has a film truly captured the dirty and grimy feel that was NYC in the 1970s quite like Taxi Driver.
The script by Paul Schrader is a fascinating character study of a man who is both unhinged and weirdly heroic all at once...and then you throw in the legendary Actor/Director of DeNiro/Scorsese to further cement this film as an icon of New Hollywood Cinema.
DeNiro plays Travis Bickle, a taxi driver (...go figure...) who is a former Vietnam vet who suffers from insomnia, has a horrible diet, and seems to have an obsession with wanting to wipe the "scum" off the streets of New York.
He lacks any kind of social grace, but that doesn't stop him from trying to pursue a woman who has been semi-stalking named Betsy (Cybill Shepard), a worker on the Presidential campaign of Charles Palantine. As expected, Bickle screws it up and takes it as about as well you would expect...but Bickle soon fixates on trying to be a hero when he discovers a teenage girl named Iris (Jodie Foster) who is working as a prostitute for a sketchy pimp (Harvey Keitel).
Some have criticized Scorsese's films as lacking a certain amount of substance or any kind of deep meaning...but I think Taxi Driver remains the one film of his extensive filmography that always manages to stay with me in a deeper way than any of his other work.
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#2 - Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
And we have finally reached the third of my three favorite Bergman films (following Wild Strawberries and Persona): Scenes from a Marriage.
First off, Scenes from a Marriage began life as a Swedish miniseries that aired over 6 nights on Swedish television in 1973 before it got cut down long enough to be shown in American theatrical release.
That theatrical release is pretty strong in its own right, but I revisited the original miniseries again during the quarantine (thank you Criterion Collection) and I still found myself as enraptured as ever by watching this couple's relationship flounder over a decade.
This was a time when divorce was heavily frowned upon and basically viewed as sinful act so while the idea of a film/miniseries about divorce might sound dull or uninteresting in today's society, it was more or less revolutionary in 1973.
It caused a sensation in Sweden in 1973 and actually led to the divorce rates to skyrocket as couples learned how to address their grievances and not just accept that things may never improve in their marriages. Happiness and well-being took precedent over keeping up appearances for once.
Bergman casting his former girlfriend and frequent muse Liv Ullman along with the sterling Erland Josephson as the couple gives us one of the best duos in film history.
Josephson's Johan is a rather prickly character but he still manages to add a layer of humanity to him rather than make him an all out villain.
Ullman's Marianne is a revelation. This could very well be the best work of Ullman's career and that is saying a lot. She has to be one of the greatest actresses to have ever lived and a lot of that is due to those expressive eyes.
It isn't as a happy watch but Bergman's touch made me care and surprisingly eager to watch these two despite the fact their lives are more or less falling apart.
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#1 - The Godfather (1972)/The Godfather Part II (1974)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
I know! I know! Not only is this a typical selection of sorts but I am also cheating by combining two films here. However, I do feel both of these films are so strong and I agree with Coppola that the two of them together are what make a compelling story...and Part III can go suck a lemon.
Choosing the first two Godfather movies for my #1 slot is actually something that I feel conflicted about but also kind of surprises me despite how unoriginal the choice may be.
For years, I always considered these films to be very well made but kind of boring and overrated. I tried watching them on multiple occasions and never "got it"...which is definitely similar to how I responded to Apocalypse Now.
However, during my quarantine, I gave them both a rewatch and it was kind of remarkable how much it felt like I was finally seeing them for the first time and as if I finally saw the light.
Perhaps they aren't films I will watch several times (though I do intend to rewatch them again) and yes, maybe they have moments where they lull...but they stick with you. I found myself thinking about each film for days and weeks after and marveled at how Coppola took such a pulpy novel and turned it into one of the best scripted stories in cinema history.
The movie is an icon...and I would suggest that if you were like me and you didn't respond to them in as positive a light the first time you watched them, I would give both a second chance.
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IN CONCLUSION:
As you can see, I had a difficult time narrowing this list down...and in order to free up a top 10 slot, I combined two films together.
I simply cannot express how much I love the 70s as a decade for film. I feel like in so many ways that this was when Hollywood "grew up"...but even the foreign films that came out in this decade managed to find ways to push the envelope even though they had already been doing so for decades.
The sad truth though is that we've yet to have a decade quite like the 70s again...and it would be followed by the somewhat erratic 1980s.
I will explain more in that post as to why I find that decade erratic but for now, I am just going to bask in the glow of the 70s...the often gritty and dark glow, but I tend to be drawn to that. I will also question if I chose the right films because I am currently sitting in my office at work and that quandary is far more fun than the idea of being here ;-)
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