Favourite Films: 1970-1979 Edition

[gk_891]

The 70s might be my favourite decade of cinema. What are your favourites? My list in no particular order:

The Godfather
Cries and Whispers
The Tin Drum
The Conversation
Chinatown
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Carrie
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Taxi Driver
A Clockwork Orange
Dersu Uzala
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
American Graffiti
The Wicker Man
Days of Heaven
Autumn Sonata
The American Friend
The Harder They Come
The Omen
The Exorcist
Logan's Run
In the Realm of the Senses
The Holy Mountain
Manhattan
Seven Beauties
Love and Anarchy
Beware of a Holy Whore

 

[quartz]

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Saturday Night Fever
Paper Moon
Young Frankenstein
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Life of Brian
Fiddler on the Roof
Slap Shot
Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane
Phantom of the Paradise
Tommy

 

[gk_891]

Can't believe I forgot about The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I loved it and it's the only musical I can stomach.

 

[Artemis@BC]

The Sting.

 

[peibeck]

"Network" (which was considered satire in its day, and seems like reality now)
"Star Wars" (my childhood fave)
"All That Jazz"
"The Deer Hunter"
"Julia"
"The Rose" (specifically Bette Midler)
"What's Up Doc?" and "Foul Play" (love slapstick comedy)
"Annie Hall"
"The China Syndrome"
"Jaws"
"The Conversation"
"Cabaret"
"The Poseidon Adventure" (a guilty pleasure, my favorite disaster movie!)
"The Goodbye Girl"
"Norma Rae"
"The Muppet Movie"

 

[Artemis@BC]

Ok, freakin' out a bit at seeing some of these films in a 70s list. I would have sworn The Muppet Movie, Life of Brian, and Rocky Horror in particular were all 80s movies.

 

[gk_891]

Forgot to mention Sunday Bloody Sunday and The Go-Between.

 

[Cachoo]

Oh, now you've done it: Picked the decade when the awful studio system went somewhat kaput and creativity reigned supreme.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Ah, the 70's! just when we got out of USSR and could watch ALLLLLL the movies, and we did!....

From the list

- Love these…
Seven Beauties
Cries and Whispers
Autumn Sonata
Dersu Uzala
Love and Anarchy
A Clockwork Orange
The Wicker Man
The Harder They Come
In the Realm of the Senses
The American Friend


- Respect/Appreciate …
The Godfather
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Chinatown
Manhattan
American Graffiti
Taxi Driver


Not on the list…but love them too
White Sun of the Desert
Stalker
Waterloo
Solaris
Cousin Cousine
Padre Padrone
Jeanne Dielman
The Passenger
The Conformist
Man Who Fell to Earth
Bread and Chocolate
Sunflowers
Woyzeck
Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
Jacob the Liar
Allegro non Troppo
Marriage of Maria Braun
That Obscure Object of Desire
Casanova (F.F.)
Roma
Yuppi Du
Cabaret
Death in Venice
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Deer Hunter

 

[Vash01]

Star wars
Superman
A star is born
One flew over Cuckoo's nest
Cabaret
China Syndrome

Will think of more later.

 

[Buzz]

Shaft
Star Wars
Dirty Harry
Jaws
The Exorcist
M*A*S*H*
Tora! Tora! Tora!

 

[Xela M]

Can't believe I forgot about The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I loved it and it's the only musical I can stomach.

Omg you don't like "Cabaret"?! I thought both the film and the stage play (albeit different) were genius

 

[paskatefan]

Cabaret
Fiddler on the Roof
Young Frankenstein
Blazing Saddles

 

[gk_891]

Omg you don't like "Cabaret"?! I thought both the film and the stage play (albeit different) were genius

Yeah, Cabaret was good. The drama beyond the musical numbers was very engrossing but I didn't care for any of the actual musical numbers in themselves.

 

[Cachoo]

My faves from that wonderful decade:

All The President's Men
The Deer Hunter
Chinatown
Star Wars: A New Hope
Animal House
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
The Sting
The Exorcist
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Alien
Wings of Desire
A Little Romance
Young Frankenstein

 

[gk_891]

My faves from that wonderful decade:

All The President's Men
The Deer Hunter
Chinatown
Star Wars: A New Hope
Animal House
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
The Sting
The Exorcist
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Alien
Wings of Desire
A Little Romance
Young Frankenstein

Interesting list but isn't Wings of Desire from the 80s?

 

[Cachoo]

Interesting list but isn't Wings of Desire from the 80s?

You are right. For some reason I always think of that and "Fanny and Alexander" as 70's films and they are not. It's like I have memories of seeing them at a certain age which was not possible because the films were not made at that time. I don't know.

 

[gk_891]

You are right. For some reason I always think of that and "Fanny and Alexander" as 70's films and they are not. It's like I have memories of seeing them at a certain age which was not possible because the films were not made at that time. I don't know.

Part of it may also be that Wim Wenders was fairly prolific during the 70s. By the time he made Wings of Desire, the whole New German Cinema era was already over.

 

[Johnny_Fever]

Just adding to the list:

Kramer vs Kramer
Apocalypse Now
The French Connection
Rocky
Death Wish

 

[Tinami Amori]

Part of it may also be that Wim Wenders was fairly prolific during the 70s. By the time he made Wings of Desire, the whole New German Cinema era was already over.

i am not sure "it" was over by the time 80's came.... Fassbinder, Szabo, Hofschneider... (i'll list some good 80's German movies in the 1980's topic).

 

[gk_891]

i am not sure "it" was over by the time 80's came.... Fassbinder, Szabo, Hofschneider... (i'll list some good 80's German movies in the 1980's topic).

I always thought that particular era of German cinema came to an end in the early 80s at around 82-83 or so.

 

[Tinami Amori]

I always thought that particular era of German cinema came to an end in the early 80s at around 82-83 or so.

.... as in "alte ist tot, glaube an den neuen" genre, yes, you are probably right.... but there were some DARN good ones after mid 1980's....

Run Lola Run
Europa Europa
Stalingrad
So Far, So Close
Unhold
Undergang (“decline”?)
Goodby, Lenin
No-place in Africa
White Ribbon
Elite for the Fuhrer
Lives of Others

But, yes, not as many, and not as influenced by Italian neo-realism or similar... But, heck! i can watch Run Lola Run 3-4 times a year...

 

[Japanfan]

Five Easy Pieces
Apocalypse Now
The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicolas Roeg)
Don't Look Now (Nicolas Roeg)
Days of Heaven (Terence Mallick, visually one of the most beautiful films of all time)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
The Sting

an. . .Serpico - the fact that the young Al Pacino was so seriously swoon-worthy is a good enough reason on its own for this film to make a 'best of' list

 

[gk_891]

.... as in "alte ist tot, glaube an den neuen" genre, yes, you are probably right.... but there were some DARN good ones after mid 1980's....

Run Lola Run
Europa Europa
Stalingrad
So Far, So Close
Unhold
Undergang (“decline”?)
Goodby, Lenin
No-place in Africa
White Ribbon
Elite for the Fuhrer
Lives of Others

But, yes, not as many, and not as influenced by Italian neo-realism or similar... But, heck! i can watch Run Lola Run 3-4 times a year...

I absolutely love that era of German cinema (70s to early 80s). There was so much creativity. I personally thought the crown jewel from that time was The Tin Drum. I almost like the New German Cinema as much as the German expressionist film era when you had directors like Murnau, Lang, and Pabst (the creativity from that period was just mind-boggling).

But yeah, Germany still produced some fairly good films after the New German Cinema era came to an end like the ones that you mentioned. I in particular loved The White Ribbon and Goodbye Lenin.

 

[olympic]

The 1970s was a time of pushing boundaries both in subject matter and technology. Many movies came w/ strong messages and challenged traditional thinking. It still happens today, but it was really shocking back then. Also, I think the term 'blockbuster' came about in the 1970s due to Star Wars in 1977.

Finally, the political stand by actors in the day wouldn't happen in today's world.

Favorites -

Patton - I have to say that I thought it was interesting that George C. Scott played such a revered American War Hero at the height of the Vietnam War, and Scott's political views were quite liberal, anti-war, IIRC.
The French Connection - Not really a big fan of the movie, but notable I think for being one of the 1st films to film an elaborate chase scene. Now quite commonplace.
Klute - I think Jane Fonda's performance as prostitute, Bree McDaniel is considered one of the best acting performances of all time. No one entertainment figure ever has / ever will generate the controversy that Jane Fonda did a couple of months after winning best actress by becoming 'Hanoi Jane'.
A Clockwork Orange - Quite groundbreaking at the time. Really disturbing imagery. Way ahead of its time in analyzing what the state has the power to do in curbing criminal behavior
The Godfather - One of the best films ever, but Sacheen Littlefeather's refusal to accept the award on Marlon Brando's behalf at the Oscars to expose the plight of Native Americans in this country was a big news story
The Exorcist - Also groundbreaking. Even in today's world, I actually think there would've been a call to remove some of the scenes. I saw this as an adult years later and couldn't sleep w/o praying!
Chinatown - Roman Polanski at his best as director. Mystery thriller w/ a theme of fatalism that always found a thread in his films: You can't ever win. Also broached the topic of incest. We also find out from Hollywood gossip that no one likes working w/ Faye Dunaway
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - The name Nurse Ratched became synonymous w/ sadist
Dog Day Afternoon - Al Pacino robbing a bank to get the funds for his partner to have sexual reassignment surgery. Ahead of its time because that would still be relevant today.
Rocky - The little guy w/ no resources could challenge for the top and make something of himself.
All The President's Men - Lesson in government corruption that no one seems to care about / take seriously anymore.
Network - There is a problem w/ the media and its interest in ratings over all else, sacrificing its integrity as a defender of democracy. Again, still very relevant today.
Taxi Driver - Robert DeNiro at arguably his best. It dealt w/ a really dirty side of NYC: Assassination, child prostitution (Jodie Foster was an amazing 12 yr. old actress). I wonder if that storyline would be created now, or if it would be considered too much?
Star Wars - My 1st PG movie as a 9 year old. LOL. My dad took me to the theater to see it for my birthday. Like most kids, I couldn't stop talking about it, playing w/ action figures and toys, trading Star Wars cards (anyone remember those?)
Julia - Fonda flick, but everyone got to see Meryl Streep for the very first time on celluloid in a smallish role! More interesting was Vanessa Redgrave's controversial Oscar speech after winning best supporting actress which elicited boos.
Coming Home - Along w/ The Deer Hunter, one of the 1st movies about the fallout from Vietnam. Fonda's 'I'm Sorry' to American society?
Norma Rae - Sally Field, formerly Gidget, the Flying Nun and Burt Reynold's muse in Smokey and the Bandit showed she could be a serious actress. Strong theme of unionizing should still elicit attention in today's world.
Kramer v. Kramer - Divorce flick that broached the issue - What if a mother abandons her child and the family. Traditionally, the mother is the nurturer and caretaker. Meryl Streep starts on the road to becoming a household name.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Also groundbreaking in that aliens don't necessarily have to be characterized as evil in a movie.

I never 'got' The Deer Hunter. Funny that Meryl Streep only took the role to be near John Cazale, her partner but got a Best Supporting Actress nod. Wow.

 

[gk_891]

I'd forgotten about Julia. It was a fine film. I especially liked Vanessa Redgrave's performance.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

Favorites:

Breaking Away
Time After Time
A Little Romance
Coming Home

Others I really like:

Same Time, Next Year
Nashville
The Turning Point
Butterflies are Free
Harry and Tonto
The Goodbye Girl
The Children of Sanchez
Rust Never Sleeps
An Unmarried Woman
Pretty Baby
Annie Hall
Manhattan
Bound for Glory
The Sugarland Express

Also count me in as another weekly regular for The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the late 1970s.

 

[Rob]

Most of my faves are mentioned but I will add "Being There."

 

[gk_891]

Most of my faves are mentioned but I will add "Being There."

Haven't seen that one yet. Will have to watch.

Another famous movie from the 70s I still haven't seen yet is Apocalypse Now.

One other movie from this decade that I saw many years ago but forgot about was A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. I thought it was fascinating.

 

[Rob]

Apocalypse Now is one of my favorite movies.

Being There is hilarious.