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Anyone agree that the 1970s were premium movie years?

I have a ton of favorites from that decade, but I'll start with a couple in a couple of categories:

So good they're great:
Godfather
The Conversation

So bad they're good:
Thank God it's Friday
The Initiation of Sarah.

And while we're at it, why were the seventies such a fertile time for movies? When did that begin? When did it end? Why did it end? And what could be done to foster a similar production period?

What do you think of these?
And what are your favorites?

I think the 70s were definitely the premium movie years for American cinema. I think that World Cinema had its apex in the 10 years from 1957 to 1967 (Throne of Blood, Wild Strawberries, 400 Blows, Breathless, Dolce Vita, L'Avventura, 8 1/2, Winter Light, Blow Up, etc.).

But American movies in the 70s - man, such great stuff. The movies you mention in the first category are phenomenal. Both Godfathers are like modern-day Shakespeare tragedies. The Conversation shows Coppola's amazing diversity in that era and is all-too forgotten in the middle of the two Godfathers. But it's one of my favourites. The ending is staggering.

Two that I would like to bring up that are definitely in my top 10 are A Woman Under the Influence and Nashville. Both made a very dramatic impression on me.

I haven't seen the two movies in the so bad they're good category. Does the heading suggest that you are recommending them?  :lol

I prefer Godfather 2 to the original. That might be my all-time favorite movie, in fact.

Scorsese was on fire with Mean Streets and Taxi Driver.

I think American Graffiti gets overshadowed by Star Wars but I prefer it, and either way its a masterpiece in its own right.

Al Pacino had some awesome non-Godfather hits with Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico

Saturday Night Fever has the unfair stigma of being a disco film and nothing more but its a great coming of age story.

Chinatown is another favorite. Probably the best neo-noir there is.

Rocky is good.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, although I think its a little slow in places.

Deer Hunter and Annie Hall are good, but slightly overrated imho

A Clockwork Orange is my fave Kubrick

The Sting is a very enjoyable movie

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and Young Frankenstein prove what an underrated talent Gene Wilder is

Monty Python and the Holy Grail; best comedy ever?

Exorcist is most people's pick for scariest movie ever made...

...tho personally, I would give that honor to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974.

If the 60s were the best decade for music, the 70s were the best for film.

It's amazing to this day that Marlon Brando had arguably his two finest performances (The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris) in the same year.

I would only recommend them if you enjoy a campy laugh. I don't think either meant to be campy, but they're camp classics to be enjoyed with friends, popcorn and drinks. TGIF features the debut of Donna Summer, a young Debra Winger and quite a few cameos. The Initiation of Sarah is an early horror movie with an awesome turn by Shelley Winters. Thanks for your response and that list of also great earlier movies.
You probably missed my edit with added questions for thought.

Amazing movies! Thanks! I agree about Saturday Night Fever. I can only watch it once a decade though because it's so heartbreaking.

Indeed. And when people were thinking his career was done!

We can also thank the 70s for bringing us either the scariest or blackest comic film of all time in Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom. Le Cercle Rouge is also a favorite. Amarcord, in my opinion, was Fellini's greatest. El Topo is a mindfuck. Solaris is my second favorite Tarkovsky film.

First - thanks for starting this thread. 70s cinema is one of my favourite things to talk about.


Good to know. Speaking of camp classics from the 70s, have you seen Joe? A movie that is thoroughly of its time and its heart is in the right place but it is so amazingly superficial that it's hard to take it seriously.


Good questions. I've seen a few documentaries on this era of film and they usually give a few helpful answers that I mostly agree with. I think that the films that emerged in the late 60s/70s were very much influenced by the kind of cinema that had been happening on the world stage in the previous 10-15 years and was becoming increasingly more popular amongst American audiences throughout the period.

Of course the cultural mindset had changed too - in no small part due to popular activism, hippie culture, drug culture, etc. It was a time of mass rebellion, of overturning stagnant cultural norms, etc. And when the studio system that had largely upheld these outdated values collapsed, those who were part of this counterculture became the new voice and translated the mindset of this rebellious culture into film.

I think though that this culture, though it still existed, became more fragmented throughout the 70s. And the biggest nail in the coffin was that the studio system had rebuilt itself by the end of the decade.

So I think that another major cultural shift would need to happen (and there have been inklings of it happening in the last 10 years) and those part of the counter-cultural movement would once again have to wrestle control away from those who control it now. Seems difficult!

^Thats definitely part of it. Also, look up "New Hollywood" in google or wikipedia. Basically, after Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, Studios were more willing to take a chance on young blood in the industry. People like Spielberg, De Palma, Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, etc. And these were the first generation of directors who grew up watching movies and literally studying the art of film production. So not only did they know how to make technically proficient movies, but they learned faster than most what rules they could break, so to speak. This era came to an end in 1980 because of a few high profile flops from these young hot shot directors, most notably Heaven's Gate, which was a huge bomb that sunk United Artists studio.

I've heard that Bonnie and Clyde was a turning point and, CSM, it's startling to hear it so plainly put but of course it's true, once it's pointed out, that the studio system rebuilt itself.
One thing stands out to me in the seventies that I think might be related to the counter culture is characterization. Previously, I think most movies relied on types as story-telling shortcuts. I think part of the changes of the sixties was a rejection of a lot of types and in the seventies we got a lot of atypical characters and a lot of character exploration. I think since then we've developed a new set of types and the thoughtfulness around character has receded.

Also, CSM, thanks for the Shakespeare reference in relation to the Godfathers. I can't stop thinking about it - shades of Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III, Lear, Henry V. Almost makes me wish I were still in school so I'd have someone to hand in a thesis to!

And Mujan, American Graffiti and Rocky never did it for me, but Willy Wonka upended children's movies, Monty Python upended everything, anything Al Pacino did in the 70s is gold to me, as well as Coppola and Scorcese.

I also love seventies Spielberg. 

Absolutely. Filmmaking is largely built on archetype characters and black/white morality again these days like it used to be. We dont have the Hayes Code, but now most studios push for that magic PG-13 rating to maximize profits. In the 60s and 70s, you had characters and plots that were a lot more ambiguous. Not that that wasnt the case sometimes before and since, but it was more common and more defining. Also, sequels werent built-in like they are now. Films back then told a complete, self-contained story. Now, more often than not, they leave a lot of loose ends and end on a cliffhanger because they expect to milk at least a trilogy if not a full blown franchise out of it. Drives me nuts. If you wanna know what I mean, compare original Star Wars and Force Awakens. One could end as is and tell a complete, satisfying story. The other could not, and to know basic plot elements like who are the first order and how did they get so powerful, who is this snoke and how did he convert kylo, how did that ugly orange lady get lukes lightsaber, how is rey so good with the force, etc, you have to be willing to pay another $30 bucks as they draw the new series out. I sing the praises of Empire which is a tad hypocritical I admit, but when that first came out people were extremely disappointed by that aspect of the movie. It wasnt until the videos when you could watch all 3 at once that people noticed how superior it was to its peers; at the time tho, people were pissed at the non-ending. Studios have changed and theyve conditioned audiences to expect less for the same buck. Now if you want to see a book adapted to film, youll have to pay twice or even thrice to see the whole thing, for example

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14993.0.html (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14993.0.html)

70's movies.

Really? I think AG is an underrated classic. In a sense purposefully dated, yet in another timeless. Rocky is very good but its not something I watch regularly. I enjoy it tho.

I actually dislike Jaws and Spielberg in general  :P I love the first Indiana Jones but thats about it from him. I just bring him up because I know most people do respect him and he was part of the New Hollywood crowd

Oops sorry. Should they be merged?

I appreciate AG but never grow to like anyone enough to care. Ironically, because now I'm going to say that I have a huge crush on seventies Richard Dreyfus, thus Jaws and Close Encounters. Though maybe it's just a Spielberg/Dreyfus combo that works for me because Goodbye Girl Dreyfus really annoys me. I think those two are the only seventies Spielberg movies I've seen. I'm fine with Raiders, it was fun. But he is a cheese fest.

He being Spielberg? Agreed.

The Parallax View. Creepy 70s paranoia at its finest.
The Sorcerer. William Friedkin's best film.
The Conversation. Already mentioned.
Jaws. A film I can watch over and over.
Dirt Harry. Portrays life on the streets in all it's 70s grimy glory.

Nope, just more classic 70's films mentioned in that thread that haven't come up here! Since making that list 2012 I have seen The French Connection - at least 6 times and it gets better each time. I have to revisit the Nicholas Ray avant garde film soon as well.

One great movie from '77 I just saw this year is First Love. TCM screened it as part of a series of films hosted by Ileana Douglas that spotlighted female directors through the decades, and featured quite a few lesser-known features directed by women, including Ida Lupino doing a pseudo-noir I never even knew existed. First Love was directed by Joan Darling, who also directed a lot of TV in the 70's and 80's and won an Emmy for directing the "Chuckles" episode of Mary Tyler Moore. It stars Susan Dey just a few years after the Partridge Family ended it's run, and William Katt who was in a lot of TV and film and a few years later starred in the series Greatest American Hero if anyone remembers that.

A real sleeper of a film, very well made, well written, and you actually care about and even associate with the characters. The scenery and the direction is top-notch, perfectly captures the region and Ivy-League college life in the Northeast. Beverly D'Angelo is terrific in a supporting role, and it also has a score by John Barry. Definitely check it out - Quite an accomplishment for a woman director to get a feature film at this time in Hollywood, it has a very unique perspective on college life and relationships and is pretty blunt and forceful at times too. Two thumbs up, worth seeking out.

I love the French Connection. My dad made me watch it when I was 10 or something and I was just, "ok.... ?" But later when I saw it again it became one of my favorites.
I really like your post on that thread about realism until 1976. I can definitely see that there was a sea-change there.
Btw- my Tower friend is off on a cruise. I'll keep you posted!

I'll definitely find that.  Sounds right up my alley.
I remember the theme song from Greatest American Hero.
William Katt reminds me of Dennis Christopher which reminds me of Breaking Away, a nice late 70's movie.
My mom is Ida Lupino's greatest living fan.

There was such a wealth of great film-making during this period.

Two favourites of mine that haven't been mentioned yet are Barry Lyndon and The Last Waltz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feEBEpDLTKI

I can't believe that I not only forgot about that thread but that I contributed similar things to that thread that I contributed to this one!

I saw it mentioned already, but its worth mentioning again

Jaws

My favorite movie of all time.  Great writing.  Great acting.  Great music score.  Brilliant directing.  Great pacing.  If a movie like this were made today, it would likely be a bloody / CGI mess. 

Blazing Saddles / Young Frankenstein - Mel Brooks at the top of his game

The Bad News Bears

The Longest Yard

John Carpenter's Halloween - IMO the far and away choice for best slasher movie of all time.  Especially since it actually had plot and suspense, and not one drop of blood. 

The Last Picture Show.  1971.

You have to be in a certain mood.  But then it is moving and magical and devastating.
Terrific performances...of course especially by Cloris Leachman (AA).

Yes! Two more greats! The Last Waltz really, to me, marked the end of an era.

And, KDS, Mel Brooks' films and the Longest Yard belong on any awesome 70's movies lists.

I tried to watch The Bad News Bears with my daughter, having remembered watching it when I was a kid, and boy have children's movies changed! Reality about adult problems is just not present in movies aimed at children anymore, huh?

Halloween - my brother and I were really little, early elementary school aged,  when that came out and my dad never paid attention to movie advertisements or their ratings. So one day he had some errands to run and just dropped us off at the theater to see what he figured from the title was a kids movie. Ha! I didn't sleep for years. We were both crying when we got out.  :P

D Cunningham, I fully agree about The Last Picture Show.

I'm so glad I started this thread. I've heard of some great-sounding movies I've never seen and am being reminded of many that it's time to rewatch.

Some great movies being named here:

Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein are definitely Mel Brooks at his best. The 70s were a great time for comedy as well.

Barry Lyndon is a fantastic work. It probably ranks 4th for my favourite Kubrick movies behind 2001, Paths of Glory, and Strangelove.

The Last Waltz is the concert film, in my opinion.

The Last Picture Show I can't really remember too well but I do remember being blown away by it at the time.

I'd also like to add to the discussion Five Easy Pieces and The Passenger (the latter one of my all time favourites and a frequently overlooked Nicholson movie from that era), and Malick's Badlands and, especially, Days of Heaven.

Emily, you're right.  Most movies in the 2000s that are family oriented don't focus on adult movies.  Even some of the Charlie Brown movies from the late 60s / 70s showed issues that adults face. 

Kids are being a little too sheltered in this day and age IMO. 

Since I already mentioned Peanuts....here's two Peanuts movies released in the 70s

Snoopy Come Home - Kind of a tearjerker for a Peanuts story, but a really well made cartoon movie

Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown - This was finally released on DVD last year.  A underrated Peanuts gem with the gang going to camp, learning about competition and how to deal with bullies along the way. 

I agree, regarding sheltered children. I forgot all about Snoopy Come Home and never heard of Race for Your Life, CB... My watch list is growing...

Race For Your Life, CB has kinda been forgotten since it was not available on home video for a long time, and hasn't aired on TV in a long time. 

With the Peanuts reboot, Race For Your Life and the excellent Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (1980) were finally given DVD releases in 2015.

Brody would be a young hunk with a troubled teenage emo daughter, Hooper would be a hawt women who has to prove herself to the guys and Quint would be a badass black guy.

Sounds like a Michael Bay remake to me. 

People in general are. Nowadays, anything offensive is considered unthinkable. Rather than try to reason with the other person, just call them a bigot and/or block them on facebook! It was definitely an eye opener for me when a white woman in her 30s blocked me and called me racist for saying BLM shouldnt be harassing students in a library.  :P Nobody wants to deal with reality anymore, when you can find a website or channel that shares 100% of your views and feeds your narrative of the world with their echo chamber. Its gonna have serious repercussions down the line.

And I hate the classic excuse "its for kids" when a kids movie or show sucks. Like, what does that really say about how we see our children? That theyre stupid and deserve badly made entertainment? Very awful way to think about things.

Mujan,

You hit the nail on the head.  I can't pinpoint when the PC Police were established, but it seems to have happened sometime in the early to mid 1990s.  Now, the world is full of EOPs (easily offended people). 

But I digress.  Back to movies.

My wife and I watched A Boy Named, Charlie Brown (1969) and Snoopy Come Home over the weekend.  I hadn't been either since I was a kid.  And, at 35, I found both of them to still hold up and be very entertaining. In today's climate, I'm a little tentative about seeing the new Peanuts movie, but I have heard good things. 

John Cassavetes did some good work in the 1970's. A couple of favorites include Husbands, A Woman Under The Influence, and The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie.

I know they're not exactly "works of art" a la the Coppola and Scorcese films, but I always enjoy watching Clint Eastwood in his Dirty Harry movies. And, speaking of Clint Eastwood, he directed another favorite of mine, a 1973 movie called Breezy, starring William Holden and a young Kay Lenz. 

Glad that Bubba Ho-Tep (on the earlier thread,  http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,14993.25.html ) mentioned "Harold and Maude"!

Loved that movie!

Thanks for bringing John Cassavetes to my attention. I've done some reading since I saw your post and it looks like I've got a big gap in my movie education. My list grows longer!
I like a Dirty Harry movie now and again too. I do an awful impersonation, but I enjoy doing it anyway.

And Sandy Baby, thanks for reminding me of Harold and Maude. Early Hal Ashby with a great cast and script.

Snoopy Come Home is the Make Way for Tomorrow of the 70s.

As it was, Hooper was a hawt guy who had to prove himself to the guys!

As I've mentioned, I did not keep up with Peanuts feature films (I didn't even know one existed and completely forgot about the other two) but, the Halloween and Christmas specials are sacrosanct to me and when I was about 6 I got a complete collection of the Peanuts comics and have had to replace them a few times because they get so worn. I have a very nice personal and signed response to a letter I wrote to Charles Schultz, a few monographs on Peanuts, etc.
So, big fan. My daughter really wanted to see the new movie; I was reluctant but took her and I loved it. It's very faithful and almost all of it is straight from the actual comics. Whoever wrote it knows the comics really well. I recommend it.

Hooper may have felt he had to prove himself to Quint who outright didn't respect his educated background, but Hooper was mildly condescending to Brody for his lack of understanding about sharks. Once on the Orca both he and Quint treated Brody like he was little help, so it was Brody who had to prove himself. I still think the Brody/Quint/Hooper character dynamic is the greatest cinematic achievement from a writer/actor point of view.

I'd agree with that.  Three completely different men having to get together to achieve one goal. 

I was partially kidding, just because it was a good setup. I agree with you.

In the book, Hooper was a hawt college guy who has an affair with Mrs. Brody.  Personally, I'm glad they left that subplot out of the movie. 

I didn't remember that! I think they very gently hint that there's at least an interest or connection between them in the movie. The only two people I've written fan letters to were Charles Schultz and Peter Benchley. Both when I was 10 or so and both very kindly wrote actual letters back.
I was a weird Jaws watcher. I was totally on the side of the shark. It's his habitat and he's just doing his shark thing!

Oh yeah, if they'd left that part in the book, it would've easily received an R rating. 

Speaking of Schultz, my wife and I may go see Peanuts next weekend if it's still playing.  Unfortunately, we won't be able to this weekend. 

Was it PG at the time??? Did PG-13 exist?

PG-13 didn't exist until around 1985.  So, Jaws narrowly avoided an R, and got a PG.  Although if digital remastering had existed in 1975 (ie. the opening scene with Chrissie skinny dipping), the movie would've received an R. 

Speilberg had a lot to do with the creation of the PG-13 rating.  Gremlins (which he produced) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom were thought to be too gruesome for PG, but not enough to warrant an R. Thus, PG-13 was created. 

Are we all forgetting about Animal House?

Not sure how I forgot that one. 

Good catch.  One of the great comedies of all time.

I liked reading this thread even tho I didn't watch 95% of stuff mentioned. & frankly, don't intend to watch any of these movies. The ones you watched that I watched:

Jaws (now this is film me & my "old" folks used to see in VHS. I was 5 or so. We would order lots of horror movies & I liked them all. But I digress. It's a great movie, my favorite was Quint. I hated the ending where shark ate him. Better the 4-eyed guy be dead. Jaws with Dennis Quaid was also great)
Harold & Maude (boring & unrealistic. No way a youngin' can fall for granny. There are similar couples but it's for money. Besides, I never been Cat Stevens fan)
The Exorcist (it was more hilarious than scary. I am 50/50 about it)
Eraserhead (cool sound fx. Gotta say, that's what made the film for me. Without it, it's just a one guy story)
Two-Lane Blacktop (well, duh. BBs fan & all. otherwise, I wouldn't watch. Didn't help that Dennis & James T. can't act)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre (good. prefer another Tobe Hooper slasher - Eaten Alive (1976))

That's it. I have yet to see Star Wars -all eps, believe it or not. want to American Graffiti - looking at the trailer, I think I could like it.

I am an 80s movies fan. Police Academy 3, Back to the Future 2, Beverly Hills Cop, My Left Foot, horrors, Jim Jarmusch films (Permanent Vacation, Down by Law, Stranger Than Paradise, Coffee & Cigarettes), Christmas stuff.

Trivia note about Jaws:

In the novel, the four eyed guy you're referring too - Hooper - does die.  And, he was supposed to die in the movie too. 

They filmed a portion of the underwater cage scene with a small cage, a little person, and a real great white shark.  After the little person was removed from the cage, the real shark got tangled in the cage while the cameras were rolling.  The footage was so good, that they decided to use it.  But, since the cage was empty when the shark was thrashing around, they changed the story so that Hooper escapes the cage and hides as Brody kills the shark. 

Getting Straight

The Heartbreak Kid

Mash

Yes, you said it b4. The guy just annoyed me with his pseudo-intellectual attitude. Arguing with captain in his own boat, let alone smb. more experienced in shark hunting business. Quint's death was big mistake.

The Heartbreak Kid - I KNEW you were a romantic  :lol

The Great Gatsby

Serpico