TOP TEN FAVORITE 1970's MOVIES.

[Harry Lime]

Wow, your bitter! Yes, they were mostly borrowed ideas, but they were strung together so effectively, thats what made it great. Coppola once said of Lucas something to the effect of,

"He has few notions about creating great film or great art. Consequently he comes closer than most."

High praise from someone you have all previously mentioned as creating 3 of the best films of the 70's.

Hitchcock said, "You have to design your films just as Shakespeare did his plays-for an audience." Lucas designed SW to be a fun escape film to be enjoyed by people of all ages. Since its release, there have been snobbish blowhards like yourself who have tried to blow it off as fluff, all to no avail. Annie Hall stole the best picture Oscar from SW in 77, but I dont see any Annie Hall fan clubs, magazines, toys, tatoos, conventions, books, ect., 30 years later. The initial impact of that 1st SW is still being felt today, like it or not.



I'm curious what you consider to be 'film'.



Oh, you mean boring films! Like what Hitchcock would have called, "Pictures of people talking." The cardinal rule of cinema: Whatever is being said instead of being shown is lost upon the viewer. Star Wars didnt "dumb down" the American audience. 'Jaws' was actually the 1st big blockbuster of postmodern age, so why not blame Spielberg? Hollywood alone is responsible for "dumbing down" modern cinema by following in the wake of filmmakers like Lucas and Spielberg, and churning out crap meant to reproduce the big $$$$ of films like SW and 'Jaws'

And as for fans of SW or Indy being dorks? That seems like your hang-up, HarryLime. The same could be said of most of the people here, who play dress-up trying to emulate the Bogart/Grant/Gable look of the 30's-40's.

My hang up with Star wars is people like you. Look how seriously you take it and how much time and space you've wasted blowing about it just today. You've scarcely been able to think about anything else your shorts are so in a bunch. This is all time you could have been in your parent's basement playing with your Ewoks, R2D2, C3PO, Han and Luke action figures. This is all excusable if your 12 years old but otherwise...move on. May the Force force you stop thinking and writing about Star Wars.

Harry Lime

 

[MudInYerEye]

Hah ha ha. That is true, too true. None of us can comfortably pick just ten.

Now, if I try to name ten excellent, or even my ten favourite, films of the last ten (or even fifteen years) I have too few, not too many to choose from. I think films of the 70s were better because the audience was better. Films were made for intelligent, mostly educated grown-ups, but now films seeem to be made for audiences of semiliterate massive head trauma sufferers and hyperactive children.* I guess the smart audience has moved off to television for shows like The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Shield, DaVinci's City Hall and Law & Order.

Afterthought: *God, that sounds snobby.

Couldn't agree more, Jake. The Lowest Common Denominator rules the roost these days. Behold...the Great American Blockhead!

 

[Doctor Strange]

StraightRazor, I have no desire to argue with you about Star Wars. I was in the first generation of Star Wars fans, one of the folks who made it a mega-success back in 1977. I've seen all the films, and own all of them except the newest one... I'm just disappointed that the new films are actually pitched at a lower intelligence level than the originals were. I had hoped that Lucas might have grown, and might have had a more mature and real story to tell, but that didn't happen.

And yeah, I know that Jaws was the first summer blockbuster. But it wasn't calculated as such, it was accidental. More to the point, Spielberg didn't just follow it up with more of the same, but has grown enormously as a director. Sure, he's had his share of dumb popcorn flicks and outright failures, but he's also made some undeniably great films in the last dozen years. George Lucas hasn't.

And I loved Annie Hall back then, and I love it now. It's actually about recognizable people with recognizable problems, not ripped-off mythology where everything is solved with a light saber. Though it may seem hard to recognize now, Annie Hall was a brave and unique movie in its day, and its Oscar wins were deserved. Star Wars was a popular success, but nobody took it seriously - which I think was highly appropriate.

Hey, put Star Wars on your list if you want it there. There's no denying that it was an important film... There's plenty of room for all kinds of movies, and all kinds of fans.

 

[Quigley Brown]

And as for fans of SW or Indy being dorks? That seems like your hang-up, HarryLime. The same could be said of most of the people here, who play dress-up trying to emulate the Bogart/Grant/Gable look of the 30's-40's.

Frankly StraightRazor, I don't give a damn...and I thought this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

[jake_fink]

Quigley,

Don't forget:

*triple take*

 

[GraveRobberGreg]

My hang up with Star wars is people like you. Look how seriously you take it and how much time and space you've wasted blowing about it just today. You've scarcely been able to think about anything else your shorts are so in a bunch. This is all time you could have been in your parent's basement playing with your Ewoks, R2D2, C3PO, Han and Luke action figures. This is all excusable if your 12 years old but otherwise...move on. May the Force force you stop thinking and writing about Star Wars.

Harry Lime

Harry I was going to jump in here and put in my two cents about the way that you are conducting yourself on this forum but my mother always told me that if you cant find anything nice to stay then not to say anything at all.
So i'm keeping my mouth shut

 

[StraightRazor]

My hang up with Star wars is people like you. Look how seriously you take it and how much time and space you've wasted blowing about it just today. You've scarcely been able to think about anything else your shorts are so in a bunch. This is all time you could have been in your parent's basement playing with your Ewoks, R2D2, C3PO, Han and Luke action figures. This is all excusable if your 12 years old but otherwise...move on. May the Force force you stop thinking and writing about Star Wars.

Harry Lime

Actually, I dont think about SW anymore than most people do. But, I wont stand for anyone blowing it off and not respecting the status it has achieved in our popular culture.

This is all time you could have been in your parent's basement playing with your Ewoks, R2D2, C3PO, Han and Luke action figures.

I have plenty of time to devote to any number of subjects, and I do. This is a place for discussion, is it not? I'm discussing, that's all. I could discuss cinematography, writing, or direction all day. Let's talk about Kurosawa, Eisenstein, Kubrick, or Hitchcock if you like. I, (unlike you it seems), am not a snob. I will watch anything once.

You made a crass generalization about me for daring to admit that I like a popular movie. Shame on me! Let me make a few crass generalizations about you, you snob. Let me guess, you dont consider rap to be 'real' music, you probably always consider 'the book' to be much better than 'the film', you wouldnt sink so low as to laugh at a sitcom, you look down on minorities for not dressing like old white men, and you probably turn your nose up at any food prepared in less than 10 minutes. Hows that?

I didnt intend for this thread to turn out like this. I only asked how someone could not like a film that untill now, I thought was universally loved. HarryLime started this by categorizing anyone who does'nt enjoy the same 'highbrow' films he enjoys, as "dorks".

And as for fans of SW or Indy being dorks? That seems like your hang-up, HarryLime. The same could be said of most of the people here, who play dress-up trying to emulate the Bogart/Grant/Gable look of the 30's-40's.

And I am sorry if anyone else here took this ^ the wrong way. I was only making a point, and I lump myself into that crowd. I like the 'vintage look' as much as anyone else here. But It's just a hobby of sorts for me, one of many. I dont use it to make myself feel superior to the rest of the country. And I hope you do'nt either.

 

[jake_fink]

Oh boy. I feel like this is all my fault, I mentioned the dreaded S word along with the dreaded W word and it was I spiked the Kool Aid, and now here we are.

StraightRazer,

You are allowed to like Star Wars, it doesn't matter what anyone else has to say about it, you can still like what you like. So stop being so defensive. Ruffling feathers is Harry's specialty. I don't think he's meant anything personal by it in the past and I don't think he does now. His jibes are the posters equivalent of a nose grab and a nyuk nyuk nyuk (I think, and Harry correct me if I'm wrong); heck, I nearly ended my last post with, "Don't bend your wookie." It means nothing, or at least not much.

Your strike back rolleyes: ) is, however, scattershot, to say the least. Characterizing Harry and, by extension, those who share his opinion on this topic as racists is kind of bonkers. Did you happen to notice that a long time ago and very far away when faces weren't hidden by rubber or metal they were all lilly white? I mean, seriously, man, those dressing-minorities-up-as-old-white-men and rap-music-hating comments are way out there.

Like I said, if you like Star Wars, hooray for you. But if your only positive comments about it are, It's popular, I thought it was universally loved, and it has had a tremendous cultural impact, then we are not talking about film, we are talking about sociology (and maybe, I think, psychopathology).

Nothing and no-one is universally loved, not Star Wars, not George W. Bush, not the Mona Lisa. Yes it was popular and it had a huge cultural impact, but is that good? I think the impact it had was terrible, part of a trend, not the cause of it, but terrible nonetheless. I see it as a retreat from the difficult, the nuanced, the shaded, the grown up, all in favour of a simple fairy tale where the princess is feisty and the bad guy wears black. In terms of film it represents the elevation of the B-movie and the death (long and wheezy) of the serious, challenging film. The movie itself, I'd say, is ham-handed, clunky, badly written and absolutely horribly acted. As well, it steals from other sources with abandon, but doesn't credit them and doesn't develop on them. If thinking all of that makes me a snob, well then, I'm a snob. But if you like it, or anything else, just because it's popular, then maybe there's a word for you too... I'll let you come up with one yourself, because, believe it or not, I'm not being rude (Please walk through this door and see the egress!:icon_smil I jest.).

Anyway, I'll have you know that one can make a perfectly exquisite omelette aux fines herbes in well under ten minutes.

And now, let's try to get back to talking about all the great movies that came out of this one fabulous decade (for movies, not so much for hairstyles).

Check out some of the other movie sthat came out in '77:

Close Encounters
Semi Tough
Looking for Mr Goodbar
New York New York
The Sorceror
and my pick for best of that year (after the already mentioned Annie Hall)

da da-da

Eraserhead

 

[shamus]

Since everyone is only listing American films,

I thought I'd add a few good Italian Films from the 1970's.

The Conformist
Decamaron
Swept Away
Fellinis Roma
Zabrinskie Point

 

[Quigley Brown]

Since everyone is only listing American films,

I thought I'd add a few good Italian Films from the 1970's.

The Conformist
Decamaron
Swept Away
Fellinis Roma
Zabrinskie Point

Yes, yes...forgot about Zabriskie Point. They will not release that on DVD for some reason.

 

[StraightRazor]

Characterizing Harry and, by extension, those who share his opinion on this topic as racists is kind of bonkers.

Yes, that was rather "bonkers" wasnt it? It's "out there" to place un-called for stereotypes onto people for liking a certain kind of film, isnt it? Like calling someone a 12 year old who lives in his parents basement for liking a certain type of movie, huh? The only "action figures" in my house belong to my 2 year old daughter. And my parents are both dead, by the way.

This has nothing to do with SW, actually. It has to do with some people here and their holier-than-thou attitudes. I would be kicking up the same fuss say, if someone in here accused Norman Rockwell of not being a 'real' artist . (At one time a common misconception). If you dont like a movie, fine. Some things are just not your cup of tea. But dont try to prove that it is trash based only on your opinion.

 

[MudInYerEye]

Since everyone is only listing American films,

Check my lists again. You'll find at least a few non-American films.
Here's some more:
GET CARTER
THE GARDEN OF THE FITZI-CONTINIS
THE ENIGMA OF KASPER HAUSER
THE WICKER MAN
SOLARIS
THE MUSIC LOVERS
IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES
DAY OF THE JACKAL
TESS
VERITES ET MENSONGES

 

[Zach R.]

This is all time you could have been in your parent's basement playing with your Ewoks, R2D2, C3PO, Han and Luke action figures. This is all excusable if your 12 years old but otherwise...move on. May the Force force you stop thinking and writing about Star Wars.

Comments like this don't help matters much now do they?

I consider myself the largest Star Wars fan on this board, and I do tend to take some of it a bit seriously, but its in the same spirit that some people analyze every single frame that Bogart wears his trench coat in Casablanca trying to emulate "the look."

All of you would be hypocrits if you didn't say you emulated the way people act and dress in movies of the '40s to some degree, but all of a sudden someone brings up Star Wars and they are "dorks" and "the lowest denominator"? I don't want to get into an argument, I'm just trying to make sense of it all. And no, I don't own any SW "costumes."

These are movies for goodness sake, there for our entertainment and enjoyment(and, if you so desire, good-natured imitation).

 

[Zach R.]

Anyway, here is MY list, not the list that AFI wants me to watch.

1. STAR WARS
2. The Godfather
3. All the President's Men
4. Return of the Pink Panther(one of my favorite PS movies)
5. The Man Who Would be King(I swiped this from your list Feraud, I can't believe I forgot about this classic)
6. Chinatown
7. Aguirre, Wrath of God(which I only watched for the first time last week, much better than I expected)
8. Jaws
9. Dirty Harry
10. TIE between Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles

 

[Brad Bowers]

I guess I'm at a loss. I cannot come up with ten films from the 1970s I really like. I've seen most of the films that folks have mentioned, and most I don't care to see again. I have yet to understand the attraction of the Godfather or Saturday Night Fever. I suppose I'm just part of the great unwashed. Maybe those arty films are over my head.

Brad

 

[Zach R.]

The first Godfather is fantastic in my opinion. However, I feel II is a bit over-rated.

Saturday Night Fever...I feel...how should we say...less strongly about.

 

[jake_fink]

Hollywood had its finest moment in the 1970s, but, yes, there were great films being made everywhere. So what was it about that decade?

Almost everything Lina Wertmuller made was fantastic. She did concentration camp comendy decades before Roberto Begnini with Seven Beauties, and Madonna notwithstanding, Swept Away is a compelling piece of polemic.

The Conformist is one of the all time great movies, I think. It's assasination scene was the inspiration for the guys in long coats and hats in Millers Crossing. If you haven't seeen it, or only seen the panned & scanned version there is a restored version around now, maybe even on dvd (or soon).

Finally, also, (probably not finally, until I can get back into work), Zabriske Point is unfairly maligned, but I also love The Passenger, also recently restored.

 

[StraightRazor]

Well said ZachR, I'm glad I'm not totally alone on this one.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

70's Foreign Films

Death in Venice
Cries and Whispers
Autumn Sonata
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Day of the Jackal
Garden of the Finzi-Contini's
Tess
Aguire, Wrath of God
Day for Night
Man Who Fell to Earth

Also, some other excellent films in the 70's: The Exorcist, The Deer Hunter, Last Tango in Paris, Prince of the City, Serpico.

karol

 

[Lincsong]

Tora Tora Tora
Patton
Godfather I & II
Blazing Saddles
Poiseden Adventure
American Graffitti
MacArthur
Midway
Young Frankenstein
Dirty Harry
:arated: