10. The Man Who Fell to Earth: A great low budget Sci-Fi staring the greatest human being of all time, David Bowie! What more could you want from a 70s movie than that? Bowie plays an alien visitor who is sent to Earth to try to find a way to send water back to his home planet, but he is corrupted by our culture and fails in his duty. The film uses some flashbacks showing his family dying of dehydration transposed with Bowie's life of excess to really drive home its message about humanity. Rip Torn is great as always as Bowie's financial partner and confidant. The Man who fell to Earth is a refreshing Sci-Fi in that it relies on plot instead of special effects. It also has some good music; I particularly liked the version of Hello Mary-Lou in the film. Below is a cool Japanese promotional poster for this film that I have hanging in my room.
9. The Godfather: Lots of people when they list their favorite movies place The Godfather and The Godfather part 2 together; I chose not to. While they might continue the same story from the book, they were filmed and released separately. In my opinion ranking them together is just a cop-out. I've seen a lot of articles where people also place The Godfather Part 2 before the original. While I like the flashback scenes with Bobby De Niro, I find the scenes in the 50s/60s with Michael Corleone to be underwhelming. The original is a classic in every sense of the word, containing great performances, great characters, amazing dialogue; it is infinitely re-watchable. I first rented this film in middle school after I heard someone on TV say that you "weren't a man unless you had seen the Godfather." Lol, stupid reason to see it, but I was no disappointed. The line from the film "it means Luca Braci swims with the fishes" helped inspire the infamous saying "He's with Gaines Adams now".
8. The Sting: Director George Roy Hill and Paul Newman made 3 films together and they all are absolute classics. Of those 3 my favorite is undoubtedly The Sting (The other 2 are Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid and Slapshot). The Sting is the film that won the best picture Oscar sandwiched between the 2 Godfather flicks in 1973. It tells the story of a small town grifter from the 30s, played by Robert Redford, seeking revenge against a mob boss, played by Robert Shaw. In order to get his revenge he seeks the help of a big time con man played by Paul Newman. The Sting from the title is their drawn out con to take money from the mob boss using a fake horse betting operation. The film is full of great performances all around, obviously the 3 big name actors are great, but I particularly like Ray Walston as conman JJ Singleton. He just seems exactly like how I would imagine a 30s grifter to be like; plus he has great facial hair. The score with Ragtime music by Scott Joplin, most notably The Entertainer, perfectly sets the tone for this nostalgic comedy. Truly one of the funnest films of all time, it is impossible to be unhappy watching this film. If you like The Sting then I would suggest you check out Papermoon, another well made comedy about grifters from the 1930s.
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest: Still have yet to read the book. Heard it is quite a bit different than the film but equally as good so I'm certainly excited to check it out. OFOtCN is the story of Randall "Mac" McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, who in an attempt to avoid further prison time pretends to be retarded in order to have an "easier" sentence in a mental hospital. While he thought the hospital would be more easy going, it turns out to be just as dictatorial as the prison. The hospital is run by the power hungry Nurse Ratchet who keeps the patients on strict routine and seems more concerned with ensuring no one gets out of line than with actually helping the patients. Mac clashes many times with Nurse Ratchet as he tries to inspire the patients to get motivated and see the world. Mac's struggle to win the patients more freedom tragically results in the suicide of a patient he was trying to help and ultimately the mental hospital giving him a lobotomy. Cuckoos Nest is brilliantly written and acted; it was at the time just the second movie to ever win the big 5 categories at the Oscars: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture. It is a great tale of the struggle against authoritarian rule. One of the best lasting legacies from the counter culture movement.
6. Halloween: While technically not the first slasher film of all time, arguments are made for Psycho, Peeping Tom and Black Christmas for that title, Halloween is undoubtedly the most influential slasher and the one that started the 80s slasher craze. Why is it the most famous? Because it is simply the best. It started many of the famous tropes of the genre, including a menacing masked killer, the killer refusing to die no matter how much bodily harm they sustain, and of course promiscuous teenagers getting killed. Halloween is surprisingly light on the gore but heavy on the scares. John Carpenter created one of the greatest horror villains in Michael Myers and launched Jamie Lee Curtis' career as the it scream queen of her era. The film has one of the greatest most iconic scores of all time. While the rest of the series is hit or miss, mostly miss, I would recommend the 4th and 5th for cheese and H20 because it is actually pretty decent. I love this film and watch it every Halloween, yes I know I'm lame.
5. Chinatown: As I have previously mentioned I am a big fan of Film Noir, something about private detectives, mystery and femme fatales is just so cool. Chinatown is a "neo-noir" staring Jack Nicholson and directed by Roman Polanski, in one of his last films in the states before fleeing the police. The film begins with a simple job of tailing a man which turns into an investigation into water rights and eventually murder during the corrupt beginnings of the metropolis of Los Angeles. Jack is obviously great as the hard boiled lead character JJ Gittes. Faye Dunaway plays a great femme fatale and famous director John Huston plays a sensational villain, truly evil. Chinatown has all the ingredients of the classic noirs of the 50s and also one of the greatest scripts of all time by Robert Towne. Truly a classic in the genre. Includes one of the most famous/greatest last lines in all of movie history. It's too bad that Polanski has such a troubled personal life. The man truly is one of the masters of world cinema.
4. Badlands: This film was a major influence on the Quinten Tarantino penned film True Romance, ranked 3rd on my favorite films of the 90s. Both stories involve a young couple on the run from the law and include a voice-over from the young female lead. True Romance even stole the score from Badlands; I prefer the original score as it is a bit more raw than the one in True Romance.
Terrance Malick films tend to be slow and focus more on scenery and existential ideas than dialogue and plot. So just a heads up for you ADD Transformers fan type, just because this movie is about some murderers on the lamb, it might not be too exciting in the traditional sense. But that's alright because this movie is wonderfully shot.The final scenes involving car chases through the badlands are gorgeous. Martin Sheen's character is also one of the most interesting in any film I have ever seen. Just a regular fuck up tired of taking shit who loses it, but eventually turns himself in and loves every second of the fame his killing spree has brought him. Finally, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, the below scene is the most perfectly beautiful scene ever made. The music, the voice-over and the scenery are so amazing.
3. 5 Easy Pieces: Yes another Jack Nicholson movie. The man truly owned this decade and 5 Easy Pieces is definitely my favorite performance of his. The story is about a man living the life he wants as opposed to the one society tried to choose for him. Jack plays a hard working hard living steel worker who is forced to confront his past when he learns his dad has suffered a stroke. The 5 easy pieces in the title are a reference to 5 piano pieces that Jack's character, a former child prodigy, plays during the film. Great scenes from Jack include the total lack of empathy he shows when toying with a woman's heart and subsequently mocker her after his emotional performance of Prelude, Op. 28, No. 4 by Chopin. The scene towards the end of the film where Jack confronts his speechless father and pours out the emotions he's felt towards him for years is also great. Finally, the best scene is of course when Jack tries to order a side of toast from a diner that doesn't have it on the menu, below. Classic. Fucking. Jack.
2. Being There: Peter Sellers plays Chance a mentally disadvantaged long time gardener for a rich old man. When the old man dies, the television obsessed Chance, he likes to watch, is forced out into the real world for the first time with no knowledge of anything besides what he has seen on tv. After a bit of confusion in the street Chance eventually find himself the guest of the rich and powerful Ben Rand who is dying from aplastic anemia. After everyone misinterprets his confused tales of gardening for genius political insight the mysterious Chance is hailed as the next great economic thinker, and possibly the next president. Being There is one of the funniest films I've ever seen and never fails to bring a smile to my face. With a similar plot to Forrest Gump, all I can say is that this is the film that gump wishes it would have been. The use of Eumir Deodato's jazz/funk hybrid with Strauss' Thus Spoke Zarathustra as Chance goes out in the real world for the first time is one of my favorite uses of music in any film, it just absolutely perfectly matches the tone of the film. It's too bad that Peter Sellers didn't win the Oscar for this film as he was brilliant as Chance. The tagline of the film comes from the last line and is a great summary of what you will see "Life is a State of Mind". I bought the Czech poster below for a friend, prolly the coolest purchase I've ever made.
1. A Clockwork Orange: I have written about my fondness for this film on this blog before. It holds a special place in my heart as it was the movie that really got me interested in film and film culture. After I had seen Stanley Kubrick's 1971 masterpiece I knew that there was something more to the medium than just boring mindless action flicks. I know it is a sin to say, but I actually preferred the film to the book version. That's nothing against the book, it's great, the film is simply that fucking good! The story concerns Alex, the teenage leader of a gang in dystopic future London. During a night of "ultra violence" Alex is double crossed by his droogs, gang mates, and is subsequently arrested and charged with murder. While in prison Alex is given the option of being a patient in a new experiment called the Ludoviko Technique in order to end his sentence early. The technique involves Alex watching violent acts while subsequently having a poison/medicine dropped into his eye to make him nauseous. The purpose of this technique is to condition Alex to find his previously violent activities to be grotesque in order to make him an acceptable citizen. The end of the film examines the disastrous results the technique has on his life. The film is an examination of the power of the state and Free Will. It, rightly, takes a very critical point of view of the state/politicians. A Clockwork Orange is famous for its use of slang, the great gang costumes, Beethoven!, and of course the violence. The film was so violent and controversial that director Kubrick withdrew the film form British cinemas after it sparked copycat attacks. If you can stomach the violence then I strongly suggest you check out the film as I definitely believe it to be the best film from the 70s. Below is the famous first scene which introduces the main character Alex and the world which he lives.
Other Great Films:
Harold and Maude: I watched Harold and Maude at a similar time as a Clockwork Orange and it also greatly sparked my interest in film. One of the strangest love stories ever put on film about a dark kid who likes to fake suicides and an octogenarian holocaust survivor who loves life. Can't beat the soundtrack by Cat Stevens!
Play it Again Sam: While Annie Hall may have won a best picture Oscar, I think my pick for the funniest Woody Allen film would be Play it Again Sam. I know I know he didn't direct it, but he did write and star in it. A line from this film has always inspired me, "True, you're not too tall and kind of ugly, but - what the hell, I'm short enough and ugly enough to succeed on my own."
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage: The first great Giallo film from the master of the genre Dario Argento. Also check out Deep Red.
Get Carter: Yes surprisingly the Michael Caine original is better than the Sylvester Stallone remake, who would have thought. A classic gritty British crime drama.
Duck You Sucker: The forgotten western from Sergio Leone. While not as well known as the Dollars Trilogy or Once Upon a Time in the West, Duck you Sucker, also known as Fistfull of Dynamite, is equally as epic and well made. The man simply mastered the genre.
Straw Dogs: Probably my favorite film by Sam Peckinpah. Like Get Carter this is a very gritty, very violent, very well made film. Who knew Dustin Hoffman could play a badass? Also check out Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia by SP.
The Last Picture Show: Great coming of age story set in 1950s Texas. The only soundtrack in the movie comes from actual radios in the movie world and the only songs are by Hank Williams Sr. Apparently my dad took a date to this movie in high school and she was very weirded out that he knew every song and sung along to them.
Overrated films of the 70's:
Star Wars: A New Hope - While it is the best in the series, I would argue that it is very far from deserving of its reputation as one of the best blockbusters of all time. It is a kids movie, grow up people.
Rocky: Rocky 3 and Rocky 4 are awesome cheesy action classics, the original Rocky... not so much. The movie simply takes itself way too seriously, which is strange as the lead actor can barely speak intelligible English.
Erasurehead: I LOVE David Lynch, he has a film in my top 3 films from the 80s, 90s and Aughts, however I have never been a huge fan of his first film. I've given it several chances but idk maybe it just isn't for me. Worth checking out tho!
Kramer v Kramer: With the combination of Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep I had very high expectations for this film. Needless to say it did not meet those expectations as I found it incredibly formulaic and dull. Wow dads can be parents too, who knew? Always hard to remember for Jeopardy! that Hoffman actually won an Oscar for this snooze fest.
Young Frankenstein: While by no means a bad film, I simply don't think it compares to the other comedy Mel Brooks released in 1974, Blazing Saddles.
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