Films of the 70s

I know Cruising is technically a film from 1980, but I included it because it has all the hallmarks of the films I love from the decade preceding it.

The Wiz was unquestionably the best film of that decade. Both Michael and Diana shine through their gritty portrayal of fictional characters from Oz.

JAWS!!! CLOSE RNCOUNTERS WITH THE THIRD GRADE! THE TOWERING INFERO!! EARTHQUAKE!! PATTON

This blog has been linked here before but I am always happy to promote it. This guy set out to review every movie released during the 70s, including some TV movies. Well worth your time!

When the magic of the movies was brutalized and buried. Small wonder it’s resurrection was the trash we’ve endured since.

Small Wonder was an excellent syndicated 80s TV series with Vicky,

Buried treasures:

Deep End 70 UK

Diary of a Mad Housewife 70 US

The Wild Child 70 France

Two-Land Blacktop 71 US

Vanishing Point 71 US

Slaughterhouse-Five 72 US

Payday 72 US

The Homecoming 73 UK

Rafferty and the Gold Dust Twins 75 US

Smile 75 US

From Noon Till Three 76 US

Eraserhead 77 US

Straight Time 78 US

"Smile" was my favorite movie in High School R7 - it perfectly captured my snide teen sensibility.

R7 I saw “straight time” recently and surprised I’d never been made to watch it before. It’s exactly the type of movie I love.

Also two great movies about movie making that I love from this era “beware of a holy whore” by fassbinder and “day for a night” by Truffaut.

plus Bonnie & Clyde, The Graduate, The Wild Bunch, Pink Flamingoes, Klute, Days of Heaven, The Last Picture show, Scenes from a Marriage...nothing like that now.

So many great filmmakers were doing their thing. Altman, Terence Malick, the foreign ones too like Truffaut and fassbinder.

The Honeymoon Killers 1970 'a more concentrated less cluttered, clearer vision than you are likely to have found in even the best conventional crime movies'-NYTimes 2-5-70

R11 those were 60s

I agree that Cruising seemed like a 70s movie; so did Missing. Did I mention Cinderella Liberty and American Graffitti? Sorry if someone mentioned upthread--consider it another vote for. On the other hand, I thought Ken Russell was the bane of the seventies.

R15 I can see that about “missing”. That was another great one. And all those fun Ken Russell films too.

I agree that the '70's was the decade that movies went down the cesspool, largely due to pretentious Baby Boomers and those who catered to their reactionary sensibilities. Most of these "masterpieces" are overacted faux-art that might have been more graphic in terms of violence and sex than what came before but far less artistic. Case in point - recently re-watched ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE and it was junk saturated in misandry and cliches of the single-mother-as-liberated-heroine. Blech.

With “Alice doesn’t live here anymore” I feel some of the things it covered have become cliche with time as other films have tried to replicate it “mermaids”… but Honestly I have a soft spot for that Film.

I was young during this period and was going to these movies and thinking what is this pretentious shit? So I then started going to revival houses to see good movies and clear my brain where I realized they were attempting to imitate foreign movies from the late 40s, 50s and 60s but doing it so incredibly badly. Even when Spielberg was imitating Curtiz or Lean he was making student movies with a studio budget.

[R18] Burstyn is the only thing that makes it watchable, although at 43 she seemed too old to be playing a 35 y/o woman starting over. The actor playing the son was out of his depth in a large, poorly written role, Alice's relationships with men were stilted and negative and the diner ensemble wasn't developed enough to lend warmth to the story. Scorsese has zero feel for comedy and many of the (presumably) improved scene between the mother and son characters were cringey and overlong. The Tucson locations were promising but Scorsese underutilized them and missed the opportunity to add a beautiful natural counterpoint to the story's kitchen sink aspects. I thought I liked it more than I did - until I saw it again.

THE GODFATHER films are horribly overacted in that overbearing New Yawk style that might be called "when Jews met Italians."

R19 which foreign movies were they imitating. I forgot to mention cassavetes whose films are a staple of the 70s too- particularly “husbands” and also one that he acted in but didn’t direct “Mikey and Nicky”

DeNiro and Pacino in particular were two coked-out hams. Cagney and Bogart could act circles around them.

Ken Russell's "Listomania" 1975 would this one sheet (movie poster) or ad campaign be approved today?

R24 love it!

[quote]THE GODFATHER films are horribly overacted in that overbearing New Yawk style that might be called "when Jews met Italians."

OK, you can go now.

It was also the era of the dog-faced leading lady. In addition to Burstyn, there was Streisand, Diane Keaton, Jill Clayburgh and, later, Streep - all plain or ugly women. A reverse-prejudice then set in so that when someone like Jessica Lange came along, they cynically assumed that she couldn't possibly be that beautiful and that talented at once - which is insane considering the actresses of the classic era - Garbo, Crawford, Taylor, Monroe, Leigh, etc..

The films of the 70s are the gauge by which I judge all the modern superhero dreck movies, which have no subtlety, no believable characterizations, no ordinary human presence. I watch Chinatown and rejoice. I watch Avengers: End Game and I just want to go pee and browse my mail. I will admit to loving the CGI in many of these movies--who doesn't like a cheap thrill? But the real thrill is in a like this: I'm her sister. I'm her mother. OR: Jake, it's Chinatown.

Eyes of Laura Mars.

These days a film like “eyes of Laura Mars” world be lauded I feel as a breath of fresh air and a return to storytelling.

Though it was released in 1969, The Bed Sitting Room is pure ‘70s. Another great film is Harold and Maude. And then there are all the art-house Italian films (early Wertmüller, Cavani, Bertolucci), some excellent Dario Argento, and some of Bergman’s best (Cries and Whispers, Scenes from a Marriage, and The Serpent’s Egg).

[quote]I know Cruising is technically a film from 1980, but I included it because it has all the hallmarks of the films I love from the decade preceding it

Cruising would have been filmed in the 70's, OP, as would one of my favourite films The Fog. Let's just say the 70's was a far kinder mistress to Adrienne Barbeau's hair style than the 80's were!

French: Day for Night, Small Change (J'ai faim, J'ai faim!), Cousin, Cousine. Those are the only ones I remember, but there were more.

R27 has forgotten Faye Dunaway, Julie Christie, Candice Bergen, Raquel Welch, Catherine Deneuve, Jacqueline Bisset, Katherine Ross, Jane Fonda, Ann-Margret, Bo Derek, Cybill Shepherd, Ali MacGraw, Isabelle Adjani . . .

Things were so much more understated in those films. Compare the closing scene in The Verdict (yes I know it was ‘82, but many early 80s movies were still “of the 70s) with any overblown courtroom scene in A Few Good Men. Blech

Well, R35 you may be right, but have you ever seen "And Justice for All' (79) with Al 'you're out of line!' Pacino. playing a lawyer like a carnival barker? Al was nominated for Best Actor for his showboating.

R38 yeah of course. I also saw Kevin Spacey’a imitation of Pacino in that scene (I forget the name of the movie) - which you would think would be an exaggeration of what Pacino did - but wasn’t.

It’s a generalization of course and I think (again, in general it stands). Especially when you compare films in similar genres from the 70s Vs other decades, etc.

Great films, gritty and interesting.

Wouldn’t most of these films be targets for SJWs if made these days? Most of the main characters in these films were deeply flawed, “politically incorrect” individuals. I don’t feel there’s a lot of room for nuance.

Easily my favorite decade of film making, I don't care if it's an unpopular take here. It really seems like the last time in which film makers didn't baby their audiences, and the audiences in turn desired complex and interesting movies.

R40 I think you are right. Most of these films appealed to an adult audience. Most of the programming I see on HBO Max has a target audience of tween/20 year olds. I don’t think I’ll be returning to the movies anytime soon either. I have stopped watching TV for the most part as well. Sucks.

I think if I were to be an actor in any era I would maybe pick the 70s. Forget about all this mundane gym going and special diets and No alcohol! I’d just want to act as a real human being!

I think Airport '75 is my favorite of all time. Linda Blair acts so damned fruity and fucking Helen Reddy won a Golden Globe Award for Best Newcomer for this movie.

The Gambler (1974) makes great use of Mahler's first symphony and contains one of my favorite bits of dialogue in movie history:

Billie: You're crazy!

Axel: But I'm blessed.

Saw The Gambler in a theater and it was damned difficult to understand what Lauren Hutton said most of the time

I agree, R35. If we can consider 1981 part of the decade, then Body Heat is a near perfect film. Watched it on TCM the other night and was amazed how it held my attention--I've seen it many times. Lawrence Kasdan was an uneven but really interesting director and I don't think he put a foot wrong in BH. Then the real 80s film era kicked in and there was a lot of crap--not to mention the godawful music and fashions.

Eating ass is fun!

Another vote for Harold and Maude. I rewatch that every 5 years and it still stands up.

I think most people today would be bored by films of the 70s. Unless they “see themselves—or it has lots of farting and fucking, non-stop action and minimal dialogue, it’s considered “boring”.

R49 I don’t know. I think if you made them watch “dog day afternoon”, or “taxi driver” they might appreciate it the era.

Funnily enough OP the 70s is one of my least favourite decades for films, of the ones you list only Chinatown appeals.

True—the more intense and super violent films would be appreciated. I know many young guys who watch Scarface and talk about it like it’s the pinnacle of cinema.

Airport’75!

Some of the bad films are interesting too.

I love 70s films that were shot in nyc but they also make me a little sad because the city was just so alive and fabulous back then.

Animal House

Black Christmas

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The China Syndrome

Nashville

R27 "It was also the era of the dog-faced leading lady (...) when someone like Jessica Lange came along, they cynically assumed that she couldn't possibly be that beautiful and that talented at once - which is insane considering the actresses of the classic era - Garbo, Crawford, Taylor, Monroe, Leigh, etc.. "

Except that little Joan Crawford was the original dog-faced leading lady. No straight man wanted to fuck her if not for decent money. Or did you think of Cindy Crawford? That would be the wrong area in time or profession.

R27 Ever hear of Bette Davis, Jane Wyman, Shirley Booth, Shelley Winters, Greer Garson, Olivia de Haviland, Anne Baxter, Geraldine Page, Judy Garland, Shirley MacLaine, Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne, Julie Andrews, Judy Holiday, Joanne Woodward . . .leading ladies from the 30s/ 40s/50s/60s who were not noted for their sex appeal, glamour or beauty or more contemporary Meryl Streep, Kathy Bates, Angelica Huston, Glenn Close, Emma Thompson, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Frances McDormand, Emma Stone?

Peak Woody Allen in the 70s too...Bananas, Sleeper, Love and Death, Play it Again Sam, Everything...Sex, Annie Hall, Interiors, Manhattan.....great stuff!

Alien

Apocalypse Now

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Five Easy Pieces

The Exorcist

The Omen

All the films OP mentioned. A truly fantastic decade of film.

The studio system had just imploded and it was a free for all until the 80's came along and studios started getting right back to their old tricks.

I truly think we're due for another studio system implosion within the next decade. Maybe then we can have a little diversity at movie theaters again. The great part about the 70's and parts of the 80's was that you'd look at the newspaper for movie showtimes and see arthouse dramas playing alongside superhero movies, slapstick comedies, slasher films, monster movies, and intelligent family films. It would be nice to see something like that again. There was a movie for everyone. These days, they make the mistake of trying to make every movie for everyone and it ends up pleasing no one.

Hope so R64.

Airport ‘75

The Concorde. . .Airport '79 Unmissable.

Charo, Alain Delon, Bibi Andersson, Jimmy 'JJ' Walker, Susan Blakely, Cicely Tyson, Robert Wagner, Sylvia 'Emmanuelle' Kristel, Martha Raye, John Davidson, Sybil Danning, Mercedes McCambridge, Avery Schreiber and, of course, George Kennedy. If you think that cast sounds incredible, wait till you see the movie before you suspend disbelief!

R67 that’s like a datalounge dream cast!

This is 1980 but never seen it. Any eldergays familiar? Poor DS. RIP

Polanski's The Tenant

Panic in Needle Park

Going Places (France 1974)

A very underrated movie but incredibly entertaining and the best presentation of New York in the 70s is The Taking of Pelham One Two Three starring Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw. It's a crackerjack heist film and gives you the full spectrum of New York citizens and attitudes. I watch it every time it comes on TV.

Oh, and dumbasses like R17 who complain about "misandry" in a movie are the kind of immature, insecure white men who never had a problem with all the misogyny and racism in American films but let just one movie come along that doesn't praise, indulge or pander to white men and they throw a tantrum.

Wise Blood 1979

R73 The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) R73 features Walter Matthau in a running 'joker' where he refers to a group of Asian men with a series of slurs thinking they don't understand English. The audience is cued to laugh as he refers to them as 'these monkeys.' it is and was in bad taste even if he does get a comeuppance in the end. And WTF do those scenes have to do with plot?

R75, no, the audience isn't cued to laugh when he calls them "these monkeys." The audience laughs at the embarrassed, ashamed look on Matthau's face when the Asian men turn out to speak and understand English as well as he does. There's a similar moment later when Matthau discovers that the commanding, intelligent police chief he's been speaking to on the phone the whole time is African-American. It just reveals the racial flaws that even fairly decent guys like Matthau's character have. It all contributes to creating a complex, fully realized vision of the people in New York City at that time. Pelham is a great New York movie.

R76 The audience in NY Times Square certainly laughed with Matthau as he's giving the men a tour ad not until later is the laugh on him.

And therefore what, r77?

R78 A series of derogatory terms were used for the purpose of cheap laughs which had nothing to do with the plot and it was offensive, I'm sure the remake didn't include that dialog.

That was then, r79. People actually talked that way. Now is now. You want to erase all of film history because "offensive"?

R80 Yes, of course. That was obviously my point!

R80 and people still talk that way!

Let's not forget the great disaster films of the 70s...Poseidon Adventure, Airport 1975, Towering Inferno, Earthquake!

The Towering Inferno is at nearly 3 hours a towering bore, Earthquake except for the special effects best appreciated in Sensurround is overloaded with subplots and flat characterizations and dialog and The Poseidon Adventure is fun.

A Woman Under the Influence

Tunnel Vision

The Legacy - Katherine Ross, Sam Elliott, Roger Daltrey

Liv was given so many chances here and weren't they all bombs?

As another poster upthread mentioned, the '70's was when Hollywood filmmakers attempted to incorporate European New Wave elements into their films to mostly clumsy results - the modes of production definitely informed the aesthetic and the American filmmakers were too "Hollywood" to get it. BREATHLESS could not have been made by Hollywood.

The 70's did however establish some new "givens" that are still with us today but they're hardly cause to celebrate, including: graphic violence that transformed the relationship between filmmaker and audience into one of sadist (filmmaker) and masochist (audience); simulated sex and nude scenes required of most actresses; rambling improv sequences that bloated scenes; potty mouth dialogue; poorly edited movies running to ridiculous length due to the fact that schmuck directors were now regarded as "auteurs"; widespread, casual misandry that equated to female characters always being in the right; the depiction of single mothers as universally virtuous; an insistence that all institutions were innately corrupt (save for academia, the media and Hollywood); the idealization of "ethnic" characters as being intrinsically virtuous; the depiction of children as knowing adults housed in underage bodies; the normalization of broken family structures; the vilification of rural people; the use of pop songs not written expressly for the film - and so on and so on and so on.

Godzilla vs. Megalon

[R89] The relentless vilification of Christianity while Judaism and Eastern religions were exalted; the normalization of drug culture; the transference of religious sentiments to outer space.

91 = Franklin Graham

Another Liv bomb...

I never miss a Liv Ullmann musical!

R94 Speaking of Liv Ullman musicals, don't miss Lost Horizon (1973) so bad it's bad. Its awfulness is somewhat fascinating and actually Liv doesn't come off too badly which is more than one can say for most of the others.

R89 hi Tucker Carlson, didn’t know you posted here!

Lost Horizon also had the distinction of ending the Bacharach-David partnership. I found the soundtrack in a pile of records someone was giving away, but I haven't had the heart to listen to it yet.

I thought that one didn't have to be mentioned, r94 as it was the obvious go-to. How about 40 Carats...it only made $2,100,000...

I don't think it's been mentioned yet: The Stepford Wives

R98 Thank you! I've been trying to remember the name of that movie for years!

Liv talking about Ingrid on Autumn Sonata

From the start you know you're not in for a pleasant experience.

I always loved The Chinaman Syndrome. Who knew it would become a viral reality in 2020 called COVID.

[quote] The Chinaman Syndrome.

LOL!

Queenie was a blonde...

The 70s are by far my favorite decade for movies. Hey, I even thought Funny Lady had its moments.

Gee how lucky can you, wee how lucky can you, wow how lucky can you get?,

There are just too many superhero movie sequels and live-action sequels of animated Disney movies to make, OP!

Another good one: Telefon with Charles Bronson

The first X-rated movie I saw...

The allegorical Dawn of the Dead

I'm surprised Ken Russell's "Women In Love" hasn't been discussed. One of my favorite all-time films and the one responsible for my falling eternally in love with the gorgeous Alan Bates. It was, in my opinion, the perfect movie.

R112 Alan Bates was Birkin, right? Who was Gerald?

R113, Oliver Reed

R106 it was a sequel - she was under contract!

Don't forget American Film Theatre...

What is The Chinaman Syndrome about?

R117 It's about an hour and 45 minutes.

70s/early 80s movies that take place in NYC are my fav: King of Comedy, Goodbye Girl, The Fan, Tootsie

That's Entertainment!

R79, so because one audience in one theater in Time's Square reacted that way (allegedly), that means ALL audiences everywher reacted that way and still react that way? Are you really that ignorant and intellectually myopic? What am I saying? Of course you are.

R89, you're yet another sniveling, insecure, whiney, right wing white guy complaining about imagined "misandry." What about all the overt misogyny taking place on camera and behind the camera during the 70s? Funny how you spoiled, spineless white men never want to talk about that. You've used her position to victimize people based on race and gender but have the f**king nerve to claim that you're the victim. You're just a contemptible, miserable excuse for a man and your white male panic at seeing the people you've demeaned stand up for themselves is pathetic. I'd tell you to man up but you wouldn't know how.

[R122] Insecure, dumb, batshit SJW idiot triggered by an informed opinion. You’re the one fulminating with hated, racism and victimhood. Just keep your greedy hands out of my wallet while claiming others have stolen from you. Stupid fuck.

Another AFT....

R114 Right, Oliver Reed, miscast as Gerald, the icy blond northerner.

R121 What are those scenes intended to be if not comic? Tragic? Social commentary? They are a running gag that clearly serve as comic relief as does their ultimate payoff. Myopia is nothing to your self important blindness and tone deafness.

R85 Gena Rowlands gave one of the great performances in that one. Cassavetes was incredibly lucky to have her, but even she couldn't save some of his weirder unconvincing self-indulgent crap.

Groupies (1970) Documentary on rock 'n' roll groupies

Straw Dogs (1972) Peckinpah's controversial film still packs a punch

The Landlord (1970) Comedy-drama dealing with race from director Hal Ashby and Spike Lee couldn't have done it better.

Farewell, Uncle Tom (1970) The ultimate film dealing with the slave trade from the makers of Mondo Cane. It makes Mandingo look like an episode of The Jeffersons.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) 'There's never been anything like it!' That was the advertising tag line and it's apt.

Tales from the Crypt (1972) The best of the Amicus anthology films

The Boys in the Band (1970) Definitive version of Mart Crowley's play with the original Broadway cast

All the President's Men 75

The Candidate 72

The Beguiled (1971) the best collaboration between star Clint Eastwood and director Don Seigel. Viva Geraldine Page and Elizabeth Hartman . Skip the remake

Another AFT....

Blood and Lace (1970) The sickest GP/PG film ever made.

Caged Heat (1974) Jonathan Demme's women in prison flick is along with Caged (1950) the best there is.

Caligula (1979) An X-rated orgy of sex and violence from producer Bob Penthouse Guccione with such respected across as Hellen Mirren, Peter O'Toole, John Gielgud and Malcolm McDowell

Bedknobs And Broomsticks

Doctors Wives (1970) Pure trash and camp heaven. It contains graphic scenes of surgery and Dyan Cannon's opening line "God I feel horny" Seeing is disbelieving.

Bergman's Face to Face (1976) with a truly harrowing performance by Liv Ulman as a psychiatrist who suffers a mental collapse. Liv deserved the Oscar that went to Miss Faye for Network.

It would kill ya to include a link, r142?

Gable & Lombard

Can't Stop the Music allegedly directed by Nancy Walker is a 1980 film, but it signaled (or caused) the end of the disco era and features the Village people and Bruce Jenner.

Airplane (1980) another end of the 70s movie that put a capper on the Airport movies

Little Murders (1971) Alan Arkin directed this time capsule-worthy film based on Jules Feiffer's off-Broadway play. 50 years later its portrait of a kill or be killed urban NY doesn't seem so exaggerated.

Play Misty For Me (1971) Eastwood's directorial debut made a decade before Fatal Attraction features an indelible performance by Jessica Walter as a fling who won't to be tossed aside.

The French Connection, ‘71.

The King of Marvin Gardens????? What a fucking DUD!

As far as the "dog faced" female leads, do you remember the male leads? ALL DOGS - Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Elliott Gould, Jack Nicholson. Alan Alda, Robert DeNiro, Donald Sutherland, Sylvester Stallone, John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfus, Michael Douglas, Bruce Dern, Gene Wilder, old fat Brando - not a Cary Grant OR Rock Hudson among them.

^You are OUT of your mind. Robert De Niro at 26 was fucking smoking! Are you kidding me with this nonsense?

He was greasy, R152.

[quote]potty mouth dialogue

Please tell me you're not a man.

R153 He's adorable in that photo. Where's the grease?

You dog. Get out of my bedroom!

I win, bitches!

The Hindenburg

Manson a 1973 Oscar-nominated documentary that features exclusive interviews with Manson family members not arrested in the two murder cases. Fascinating and an effective companion piece to the 1976 telefilm Helter Skelter.

R152 I never thought De Niro was smoking hot, but he cleaned up nicely in The Last Tycoon (1976).

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes (1971)

R151 Agreed The King of Marvin Gardens is a muddled and pointless. Louis Malle's Atlantic City (1980) is so much better.

Hi, Mom! (1970) early De Palma film is a freewheeling comedy with Robert De Niro and features a b/w segment that some found harrowing. "Rated X and little seen at the time, 'Hi, Mom!' holds up remarkably well"-Armond White FILM COMMENT

I agree with R151. De Niro when new was scrawny and unpleasant. Liked him in The Last Tycoon, though.

The king of Marvin gardens may not have been the best example to use but personally I still found it a good watch and it’s still better than most of the stuff that is made today. I love the way it is filmed and the shots of Atlantic city, the story is intriguing enough with Ellen burstyn slowly unravelling and I always find Bruce Dern interesting to watch.

As for the leading men being dogs, I am partial to young Robert de Niro in most of his films during the 70s and al Pacino too in Bobby Deerfield and the godfather.

R123, the only thing your opinion is informed with is the spoiled, immaturity of a pampered, entitled man-baby. Nobody cares about you or what's in your wallet and the people you've excluded and demeaned deserve EVERYTHING they've been denied, given what they've had to tolerate from bigoted, sexist morons like you. Quit your sniveling. You losers are the ones who are triggered by the sight of anyone who isn't a white man getting any attention. You've been catered to your whole life and all it has made you is a selfish, narcissistic weakling. Every movie you've ever seen growing up revolved around white men and catered to your ego and that's all you can handle. Anything contrary to it comes around and all the bitch comes out of you, just a lot of blubbering and self-pity. You're such fake tough guys. Why don't you go trash another government building with your lowlife, Q-idiot fellow trash, you coward?

What's Up Doc

The Way We Were

Saturday Night Fever

R126, read this slowly and I'll explain it to you. Those scenes when Matthau mistakenly thinks the Asian men don't speak English or when he is flummoxed to realize that the police chief he has been conversing with so effectively is African American or the scene at the end when he mistakenly refers to the undercover cop with long hair as "Miss" are all designed to show how unhip Matthau's character is; the objects of his comments are not what you're laughing at; it's Matthau's cluelessness, his rapidly growing obsolete thinking in a changing society. The movie itself is NOT racist at all since the Asian men are not themselves portrayed disrespectfully but as intelligent businessmen, and there are numerous non-stereotypical African-American characters in the movie like the police chief and the uniformed cop who goes down into the subway to provide visual commentary on the hostage situation or the Black woman who works in the subway office alongside a bunch of white men. My favorite moment in the movie is when they introduce a Black man who at first looks like your stereotypical "street hustler" until later on we find out that there's more to him than that -- he's also a Vietnam Veteran. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is an excellent portrayal of the regular people in New York of all races as opposed to the grotesqueries you see in, say, Taxi Driver (not to criticize Taxi Driver which is a masterpiece). Pelham, within the context of the early 70s was very progressive in its racial attitudes. You're just fixating on one moment and misinterpreting it.

R151 Young Pacino and De Niro were both incredibly fuckable (perhaps my dream three way is them circa The Godfather Part Two), what are you on? Do you not like short guys? I fancied Donald Sutherland in some movies (Don't Look Now, Klute) because of his vibe moreso than his looks. I think Gould was hot as well, specifically in The Long Goodbye. Yum. The dudes were more ethnic, for sure, but they weren't all dogs! Hoffman is repulsive though, I'll give you that one.

He's very endearing in Stanley & Iris, r160.

[R166] Demented SJW cunt. Go burn a Wendy's, dipshit.

[R166] You don't know who you're talking to or what you're talking about, dumb cunt. You don't have an intelligent grasp of art, film, culture or history - all you have is your quiver of lame insults and your SJW self-righteousness.

R112 WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU???? WOMEN IN LOVE WAS MADE IN THE 60'S !!!!!

^I'd like to see both you and your antagonist put in a burlap sack together and thrown overboard.

I'm not r112, r173, but there's 1980 films being mentioned so why not 1969?

I know I saw Women in Love in 1970 because of where I was living then, and according to IMDB, it was indeed released in the US in March of that year.

I NEW ALAN VERY WELL AND I AM NOT GOING TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS

K

"Sweet Kill " with a FABULOUS Tab Hunter

CINDERELLA LIBERTY

PAPER MOON

DEATH ON THE NILE

THE HAUNTING OF JULIA AKA FULL CIRCLE

FOLLOW ME

ROLLERBALL

HARRY AND WALTER GO TO NEW YORK

FREEBIE AND THE BEAN

R168 Gotcha! Now you can go back to you favorite hobby: picking dingleberries.

R182 The Haunting of Julia aka Full Circle is a tedious, uneventful horror film that takes forever to get nowhere and in that respect is right up there with 1972s Night of Dark Shadows. Farrow's 1971 film See No Evil (1971) is far better even if it isn't outstanding.

The Baby (1972) Wonderfully perverse with Ruth Roman going full Joan Crawford as the mother with a mentally challenged fully grown adult male in diapers. And I bet you won't see the twist ending coming.

You'll Like My Mother (1972) One of Duke's few starring roles in feature films is an atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Die! Die! My Darling, Rosemary's Baby, Dead of Night and Misery. Duke is good as the lady in peril and Rosemary Murphy scores as the villainous mother-in-law . Good B movie.

r188...

Sisters (1972) De Palma's nightmarish reworking of Hitchcock's Rear Window and Psycho complete with a score by Bernard Hermann. De Palma makes effective use of the split and the film is a lot more fun than the overrated Dressed to Kill!

R176 Jackson won the Oscar in 1971 for Women in Love. It was released in the US in 1970.

There's only one thing wrong with the Davis baby...

2 low budget, independent horror films by Curtis Harrington What's the Matter with Helen (1971) and The Killing Kind (1973)

Suspiria (1977) Surrealistic horror from maestro Dario Argento who's style clearly influenced De Palma.

Chatterbox

American Hot Wax 1978 with Fran Drescher and Jay Leno

The Eiger Sanction

Okay, it's a bit homophobic, but George Kennedy has some great lines.

R187 I happen to LOVE that tedious, uneventful film. It's delicate, it's atmospheric, Mia is wonderful in it, and if you had children you would understand.

Walking Tall 1973 Rabble rousing sleeper that Rolling Stone Magazine hailed as the 'Best American Movie of the Year'

Paul Bartel's Private Parts (1972)

Watching Pacino dance almost turned me straight.

CARNAL KNOWLEDGE

The Sentinel (1977) truly sick horror film from a major studio: Universal

Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1971) Miss Faye as a fashion model with psychological problems. Faye is quite good.

R205 it IS one of my favorite movies.

R199 Understand what?

The End (1978), with Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Joanne Woodward, Kristy McNichol, Norman Fell, and Dom DeLuise. Just saw it for the first time. 1970s gem (and hard to find).

Night Moves - Gene Hackman, Melanie Griffin (very young) - from 1975

Will be shown on TCM Friday 7/23 if you haven't seen it.

R206 Puzzle of a Downfall Child is a must for Fayshionistas! Costume and hairstyle changes to rival Mommie Dearest.

I always thought Faye looked a bit chinese, is it just me ?

R211 No. It's the cheekbones.

the eyes too

how do you call white folks who have chinese eyes again ?

The Haunting of Julia (1976) has nothing on Don't Look Now (1973) which it is reminiscent of. Peter Hanson's blog 'Every '70s Movie tags Julia as 'lame' and Richard Winters on his blog Scopophilia gives it a 2/10 and says that it's no surprise why the studio left this one on the shelf for 5 years. The film's running time feels like 5 years. It should have been left on the shelf.

again I like it and I find it superior to DON'T LOOK NOW which makes no sense at all, and is just porn in disguise

are the the old jewish Mia hater frau who 's harassing me on all threads again ?

^ wandered in from The Ladies' Home Journal

"oooh littke shiska got fingered boooohoooo big deal, why was the world not so concerned when my mother died in Birkenau and was made into a lamp shade ?" is that you ?

LIPSTICK

R215 let me give you PORTIERE DI NOTTE then

The Haunting of Julia has been approved by the FDA as a safe, non-habit forming sleep aid.

R209 Thanks. It's an Arthur Penn movie that I've never seen and that somehow slipped under the radar.

you hate this movie with such a passion, interesting, I'll watch

Can we please get back on topic? How about some recommendations for OP...

for R222 (sorry about your mum in birkenau)

R224 It's on YouTube. Don't say I didn't warn you.

R224 Unless you have children, it's advised that you skip it.

I'm a man and I have children you dumbass

SOME MEN HERE HAVE CHILDREN YES !

Stay Hungry (1976), with Jeff Bridges, Sally Field, and Arnold Schwarzeneggar. Very, very 1970s!

Get ready for...Stockard!

I have kids and I still like pole, will I burn in hell, stupid yankees ? And I LOVE full circle aka the haunting of Julia

SloppyHo is deranged. Don't set him off, guys.

R234 my sexuality is just not defined by women. Not controlled by women, not censored by women. Feminists believe they've won ? they haven't. I've gaslit my wife so hard CHARLES BOYER would give me an award. There an obscure aussie film called Lantana who has it all. The frau inspector asks the suspect" does you wife know you're gay ? I suppose it depends on how good you are at deceiving her?" to which he replies "or how good she is at deceiving HERSELF". I am not going to be shamed or controlled by fucking babykillers. I'm a free man

R229 No one said you didn't have children. What are you trying to prove? Why so angry? Besides everyone has heard of artificial insemination.

^ or adoption.

R235 = Exhibit A of derangement

The Adventurers (1970) At 3 hours it feels like a mini-series, but along with The Other Side of Midnight (1977) it's an example glossy 70s trash at its best.

The Out of Towners (1970) Written directly for the screen by Neil Simon it's funny and lively and the action is non stop. NY makes a great antagonist.

Young Frankenstein (1974) Mel Brooks disciplined film. A minor classic.

The Other Side of Midnight was rather fun glossy trash, r239.

R236 I'm angry because of all the assholes who trash movies some posters like. What's the point ? They're not superior are they ? if anything , they're stupid; Who cares what critics say, if a movie resonates with you ? especially coming from fraus, who have nothing to do on this board, that's rich

Joe (1970) Made when the generation gap was at it's widest. Controversial and provocative film directed by John 'Rocky' Avildsen. Peter Boyle in the role that put him on the map and should have netted him an Oscar nomination and a young Susan Sarandon

R243 You're just plain angry bitch face it. Kids will do that to you!

R238 typical feminist "argument" = you're deranged . You will care, believe you me, when the collective madness and brainwashing will stop (= sooner than you think=), and you'll realise abortion IS murder

R245 you're a freak , but you knew that

The Boyfriend

Now that these cunts choke on their vomit, back to the 70's movies please

R249 Don't preach, teach. No one is stopping you from posting about a movie. You don't need anyone's permission. Ignore what bothers you.

R243 R246 R247 R249

Lead by your fine example.

The Apple (1980) Has that 70s disco feel right up there with Can't Stop the Music and Xanadu.

Let's see..Oh YES

Oh, yes don't forget Cronenberg's The Brood (1979) the title refers to children who the manifestation of parental rage How topical.

Isabelle was so intense

Adele H is one my faves. Because of that film, I went to Halifax (Nova Scotia) to see the filming locations. I have seen all of Truffaut's films and I like them all (some more than others, of course).

really R256 ? wow, that' dedication. For R250, my special gift to you sweetheart

In The Brood the red-hooded children seem to be an homage to the red-hooded dwarf figure in Roeg's Don't Look Now. The film is a metaphor for how parents with issues pass them on to their unfortunate brood creating monstrous freaks.

Deathdream (1972) aka Dead of Night Bob Clark's reworking of the classic short story 'The Monkey's Paw'. A mother wishes her son who was killed in Vietnam back with disastrous results.

Homebodies (1974) A determined group of seniors fight back with everything they have to stop developers from tearing down their longtime home. Part black comedy, part horror film.

Taking Off (1971) Milos Forman's first American film and very funny.

It's me, r260...

r60...

^r260

Due to a cetsil wind, Dystor has vectored us into a 360-torson of slow traffic. Now, we'll maintain this Borden hold until we get a fortamagnics clearance from Malnix. ~ Dean Martin, Airport 1970

le petit prince

Marjoe (1972), Oscar winner for Best Documentary, about actor Marjoe Gortner who was a child (evangelical) preacher. In the documentary, he's all grown up and reveals that his evangelical past was a total crock. Watch it on Tubi, for free!

Trick Baby (1972) Directed by Larry Yust director of Homebodies. 2 con men, one white the other black use race to pull off a series of cons.

Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976)

that was my introduction to Ellen Greene and Lois Smith, r269.

R270, and Christopher Walken!

[quote]Best film about NYC in the 1970s

Next Stop, Greenwich Village was about New York in the 1950s, r269.

R272, LOL. Oops. I meant that it is the best 1970s film that portrays NYC.

And Jeff Goldblum, r271.

I think there are now more old movies than a person can watch in a lifetime.

R270 Huggy Bear and Shelly Winters--what more could you ask for?

Another AFT...

THE GO-BETWEEN is the perfect film for me . Perfect everything. Script, direction, photography, score, sound , costumes ,sets, and most of all acting, from Alan , Julie, Maggie, Eddie, everyone

Surely this has been mentioned...

Yes, R278, and it is NOT a '60s film. You FINALLY got it right.

Oh DO shut up

NASTY HABITS

R177 'I new Alan very well' Oh, dear!

BLUEBEARD

The Blue Bird

Bluebeard (1972) feels like a more opulent Hammer film and watchable if one can get over the 70s misogynistic tone since virtually none of the wives is likable and they incarnate the 7 Deadly Sins. Welch is embarrassingly bad , but Heatherton who has the largest female is likable and looks great. Directed by Hollywood vet Edward Dmytryk who directed Heatherton in 1964s Where Love Has Gone.

^ largest female role

R279 Never saw Mame (1974), but it looks dreadful and Bruce Davison! WTF! It premiered at Radio City Musical Hall and seemed to die a quiet death.

R186 You really are stupid. Haven't you figured it out yet? That's what I've been doing this whole time -- AND YOU'RE THE DINGLEBERRY.

Was their ever a film version of Follies?

Beyond The Valley of The Chinaman Syndrome was memorable.

Warriors, Come out to play

"The Stunt Man" with Peter O'Toole, Barbara Hershey and Steve Railsback was filmed in 1978, though not released until 1980.

Hey R17!! Lighten the fuck up Mary, with your pretentious, highfalutin, Boomer-bashing bullshit. It must be thrilling to know you, sour puss. Just shut it. Go watch your endless and insufferable “Fast and Furious” sequels.

The Academy Award winning "Thank God It's Friday" from 1978

Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971

I just rewatched “the boy friend” and was so impressed by the busby Berkeley style numbers. The film overall is so funny and charming and well performed. I’m really so into Ken Russell films, they’re so wicked and irreverent.

Ordinary People came out 1980, so technically it's not a 70s movie, but it sure feels like one.

I remember seeing it on Dutch TV some years later and it was one of the most devastating movies I had seen then and since.

Redford directed another movie in 1998 called Milagro, the Beanfield War, which inexplicably to me never got the acolades it deserved. Great ensemble cast, great performances!

Places of the Heart is another one, came out in 1998.

Most of these films are objectively terrible without nostalgic reference points to redeem them. I don’t know what happened to the technical side of processing film stock during the era but so many of these films have an ugly, dingy look, as if the world were dipped in grease and covered in a layer a dust.

THE GO-BETWEEN is a timeless masterpiece IMO

You bet your ass, r295!

Klute , the only movie in which Fonda jr is tolerable (she plays a manipulative, sex addicted whore = herself)

Performance with Mick Jagger, James Fox and Anita Pallenberg directed by Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg. Completed in 1968, but not released till 1970.

Roeg's Walkabout (1971), Don't Look Now (1973) and The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)

The Bad News Bears (1976) Foul mouthed and politically incorrect comedy that like another 70s film starring Walter Matthau, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) probably couldn't be made today. Directed by Michael Ritchie responsible for The Candidate (1972) and Smile (1975).

I forgot about “performance” I watched it again recently and loved it more the second time. It’s one of those films one can watch again and again because there’s always something new to get from it.

R305 Watch another film starring James Fox 1963s The Servant. Fox's role is similar to that in Performance. He plays a patrician who suffers degradation through his relationship with his man servant. The Servant was directed by Joseph Losey with a screenplay by Harold Pinter both of whom teamed up for 1971s The Go-Between.

He was also in “king rat” where he develops a sort of man crush on a handsome charismatic George segal. He liked these subservient roles it seems.

"Matilda" 1978 yes this real, the least realistic animal costume in movie history, and one of the movies that helped kill Radio City Music Hall

Benji (1974) and For the Love of Benji (1977).

Providence

I just noticed the credits at the end of r310. Oh dear.

I wanted to watch a movie it will be providence with elaine stricht. Elaine was one of the great dramatic actresses of her generation ,alas, she was always eclipsed by the more famous Elaine Stritch

R308 Made me think of the controversial Australian film Wake in Fright (1971) aka Outback which contained footage of an actual kangaroo hunt

'I saw it when it premiered at Cannes in 1971, and it left me speechless' -Martin Scorsese

She was *no* Ellen Burstryn, r312.

I expect providence to be a huge bore, butI'll give it a try

R314 TELL ME THE MOVIE CREDITS ARE NOT LIKE THAT

SloppyHo is a big bore!

WELL XCUSE ME dirk bogarde = snoozefest champion

SHE'S MY SISTER AND MY DAUGHTER!!!

IT WAS AN ABORTION, MICHAEL!!!

Messiah of Evil (1973) aka Dead People. low budget horror written and directed by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz who wrote American Graffiti. Creepy.

The Wicker Man (1973). Love it and I've been to the filming locations in Scotland.

Shivers (1974)

Carrie (1976)

Ice Castles (1978)

Superman (1977)

Deep Throat (1971)

TOMMY

R322 Hahaha, Deep Throat.

"To fuck is fine, but a blowjob's divine."

“To know death, Otto, you have to fuck life in the gall bladder!”

325 replies and no mention of ME ?

R304, Both of those Matthau movies have been remade today with Billy Bob Thornton and Denzel Washington respectively.

Rolling Thunder starring William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones as a couple of returning Vietnam Vets who have to pick up their guns and go to war down in Mexico when Devane's wife and son get murdered right after he comes home. It's a damn good lean mean crime story.

The tense thriller Deadly Weapons

R327 With the racial epithets removed.

The truly great era of films was the late '30's-50's.

Woodstock (1970) a late 60s time capsule.

The Lickerish Quartet (1970) and Score (1973) Adult cinema pioneer Radley Metzger's X-rated 'art house erotica' As Henry Paris, Metzger made XXX films such as the opening of Misty Beethoven (1976)

Another AFT...

Very surprising, R326, I was going to mention that earlier but figured someone must have noted it upthread. Also for Cabaret and Something for Everyone...

Over 300 replies can only mean some repeats, r335. The Little Prince has been mentioned, but this just popped up.

A Touch of Class (1973). Good scenes of early 1970s London. Second Oscar for Glenda Jackson. George Segal and Paul Sorvino are also in the film.

Another AFT...

Starting Over (1979), with Burt Reynolds, Candice Bergen, Jill Clayburgh, and Charles Durning.

Miss Susan Anspach from Cinderella Liberty.

Miss Susan Anspach in Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.

She is in neither.

Fox and His Friends (1976)

Another AFT...

Mandingo (1974} with Susan George. Ken Norton, James Mason, Brenda Sykes and Perry King. More shocking than 12 Years a Slave.

Pete's Dragon (1977)

Oh I love The Bad News Bears, R304! So wicked and funny!

Whoever suggested 40 Carats up the thread, thank you! I watched it after you mentioned it and really enjoyed it. Edward Albert Jr. is handsome and charming in it, and Liv--well, a Norse goddess really. And Nancy Walker doing the Nancy Walker thing perfectly. I don't think I'd seen it since the 70s, when it rang my little gay teen bell.

How can you forget ME, r348?

The tawdry Good Luck Ms. Wyckoff

R348, you're welcome, glad you liked it. Liv's Lost Horizon is also on Tubi, another one of my favorite good/bad 1970s films.

I agree with the above; "The Milagro Beanfield War" is a good film that came and went too quickly. It also reminded me of the great "Salt of the Earth" (1954) that was banned or blacklisted.

I tried to find the one with laughter from the audience, but I don't think this is the one.

Has no one mentioned Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971)? Controversial, critically acclaimed and groundbreaking film in it's day, originally rated X and featuring an exuberant performance from Malcolm McDowell who should have been nominated for the Oscar.

R349 Yes, Binnie Barnes was great as the snobbish mother!

R353 That's Sally Kellerman with Olivia Hussey.

Amityville

the last house on the left

possession

the Texas chainsaw massacre

the exorcist

One of the great movies of the world IMO : Nikhita Mikhalkov's UN UNFINISHED PIECE FOR MECHANICAL PIANO.

No mention of For Pete’s Sake? Barbra has her moments, Michael Sarrazin is gorgeous and Molly Picon is hilarious as a Queens madam named Mrs. Cherry.

THE CANDIDATE , with Natalie Wood's last appearance as the radiant star we all loved, not has-been-by-association-Mrs -Wagner

PLAY IT AS IT LAYS with TUESDAY

Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978)

R150, The French Connection is one of the best films of the era. Gene Hackman a scary antihero: he’s a cop because he’s a ruthless, racist asshole who enjoys abusing power. (He’s even into S&M). One of the reasons the famous car chase sequence is so effective is that we know he thinks nothing of risking other people’s lives. Every time I see this film I’m amazed that a major studio made it.

Another AFT...

The Last Detail ( 1973 Hal Ashby) released the same year as Cinderella Liberty which was also based on a novel by Darryl Ponicsan, The Last Detail garnered Oscar nominations for Jack Nicholson, Randy Quaid and screenwriter Robert Towne.

I love Sisters (1972), with Margot Kidder and Jennifer Salt (Eunice on "Soap"). I even went to the filming location (the apartment building) on Staten Island (NYC, duh).

McQueen/Ibsen

House of Dark Shadows (1970 Dan Curtis) Hammer-style horror film based on the hit show. Infinitely better than 1971s Night of Dark Shadows which is deadly dull and stars Kate Jackson and the unappealing David Selby.

No mention of Trog (1970) featuring a 66-year old Joan in her final feature film acting opposite a man in a troglodyte costume!

R224 Try Robert Wise's Audrey Rose (1977) instead. Marsha Mason, Anthony Hopkins and John Beck in a tale of reincarnation.

Lover's and Other Strangers (1970) Funny film featuring a pre-nose job Diane Keaton, Bea Arthur, Cloris Leachman, Gig Young, Richard Castellano, Anne Meara and her real-life children Amy and Ben Stiller make an appearance.

1971s Bunny O'Hare an extremely odd vehicle for Bette Davis. She and Ernest Borgnine rob banks dressed up as hippies!

THE TROJAN WOMEN

Is There Sex after Death? 1971 A sex-comedy spoof with Buck Henry.

Speaking of, r374...

The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971) Amusing gangster spoof with a young Robert De Niro and the remarkable Jo Van Fleet whose films include I'll Cry Tomorrow, Cool Hand Luke, East of Eden and I Love You. Alice B. Tolkas

The Stoolie (1972) Starring the late Jackie Mason in a film by John G Avildsen director of Joe (70). Save the Tiger (73) and Rocky (75)

The Hospital (1971) and Hardcore (1977) both featuring powerful performances from George C Scott

Jenny (1970) with Alan Alda and Marlo Thomas who filmed this on a hiatus from TVs That Girl in what she hoped would be a breakout role for her as the unmarried pregnant titular character. Jenny and 1977s Thieves explain why she never had a film career.

The 70s created the subgenre Blaxploitation:

Cotton Comes to Harlem, Superfly, Truck Turner, Blacula, Blackenstein, The Mack, Cleopatra Jones, Foxy Brown, Dolemite, Hammer, Slaughter, Trouble Man, Coffy, Sheba Baby, Friday Foster, That Man Bolt, Black Mama, White Mama, Willie Dynamite, TNT Jackson, Black Shampoo, Lady Cocoa, J.D.'s Revenge and Mario Van Peeble's controversial X-rated by an all white jury Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)

2 similarly themed musicals from 1973 Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. Each contained a hit song but failed to find an audience.

I'm partial to They Might Be Giants, r378.

R380, you didn't mention my favorite, the obscure thriller Together Brothers from 1974, which is the first film I know of showing two black men as gay lovers.

Also Bucktown and Black Eye are good in that genre.

The Cassandra Crossing

Drive-ins were still popular in the 70s particularly in the South as were urban grindhouses and they were supplied with plenty of product:

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, Race with the Devil, Thumb Tripping, Honky, Drive-In, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Tourist Trap, Corvette Summer, Eaten Alive, Don't Look in the Basement, The Gore Gore Girls, The Brotherhood of Satan, The Silent Scream, The Swarm, Three on a Meathook, The Mechanic, Poor Pretty Eddie, Ruby, Phase IV, Damnation Alley, Alice Sweet Alice, Almost Summer, The Amsterdam Kill, Angel Unchained, Cherry ,Harry and Raquel, Chrome and Hot Leather, The Daring Doberman's, Death Race 2000, the Devil's Rain, Eat My Dust!, Empire of the Ants, The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington, The Hills Have Eyes, I Drink Your Blood, I Spit on Your Grave, Jackson County Jail, The Lady in Red, Open Season, Enter the Dragon, Prime Cut, the reincarnation of Peter Proud, Macon County Line, Ode to Billy Joel, The Seven Minutes, Sssssss, The Stud, Summertree, Supervixens, Switchblade Sisters, The Thing with Two Heads, The Toolbox Murders, When a Stranger Calls, White Line Fever, The Young Nurses . . .

^ Ode to Billy Joe, not 'Joel"

You've got a few of them in there, R387, but almost all of the Jan-Michael Vincent and Charles Bronson movies fit that category.

I saw Don't Look in the Basement at the drive-in.

Man vs machine in Collossus: The Forbin Project (1970) and Demon Seed (1977) computers take control.

The Devil's Playground (1976) and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) 2 extraordinary films from Australia directed by Fred Schepisi who also helmed Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark, Russia House and Six Degrees of Separation.

De Palma's The Fury (1978) A more satisfying psychic thriller than The Eyes of Laura Mars it features some spectacular set pieces

Do you know where you're going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you know?

Coffey

"Blacula" a totally entertaining movie with vampires, gay decorators, gorgeous Denise Nicholas, groovy singers with skin tight pants, and some genuinely creepy scenes.

R395 was she on the TV show Room 222?

Oooh, The Town That Dreaded Sundown is on tonight.

R397 TV Guide-'Despite the intriguing premise . . .the film is incredibly dull' That sums it up perfectly. Dawn Wells is in it which may be the most interesting thing about it.

The phantom killer is a pair of unidentified (male?) feet

I tried, r399, I really tried. It's so...so...bad.

R400 Like The Night of Dark Shadows (1971) and The Haunting of Julia (1977). The Town That Dreaded Sundown is pointless and dull. They're about as exciting as watching a freight train go by and at least a train moves forward with purpose.

[quote] "Blacula"...was she on the TV show Room 222?

Yes.

[quote]The Town That Dreaded Sundown is pointless and dull.

Ahhh yeah no. Maybe you watched the remake, but the original was a huge hit for a small independent film, and it was a hit because it wasn't dull.

R402 Dull is how I would describe the uneventful 1976 version. It has the feel of a made 4 TV film. and was from the same people who scored a hit with The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)

Peter Hanson EVERY 70S MOVIE- 'Enjoy the poster and skip the movie, otherwise you'll say goodbye to 86 minutes tat could have been spent more constructively' AMEN!

The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams was the 8th highest grossing film of 1974 out grossing Chinatown, Death Wish, and Murder on the Orient Express. Many films of dubious quality aimed at rural audiences were BO successes.

Based on songs: Ode to Billy Joe (1976) and Harper Valley PTA (1978)

[quote]The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams was the 8th highest grossing film of 1974 out grossing Chinatown, Death Wish, and Murder on the Orient Express. Many films of dubious quality aimed at rural audiences were BO successes.

People loved Grizzly Adams. Haggerty went on to a sequel, a TV show and two TV movies, not bad for a low budget independent movie of dubious quality.

r405, don't forget 1981's...

1970's I Walk the Line with an October Gregory Peck and an April Tuesday Weld.

Coup de Foudre aka Entre Nous, Diane Kurys film starring the fabulous Isabelle Huppert as a bored housewife falling into a relationship with a ultra chic, gorgeous lady played by Miou Miou. I can’t believe it’s not on The Criterion Channel or can be rented on Amazon Prime.

The shitty La Grande Bouffe

La Grande Bouffe is on Tubi (free). Entre Nous was on the Criterion Channel a year ago, for a few months. It was also on TCM about a year and a half ago. I've had it on VHS for the past 20+ years.

Oh, R409, Entre Nous is not a 70s film. It was released in 1983. It lost the Foreign Language Film Oscar to Fanny and Alexander (Sweden).

Shitty movie, r411.

Tristana (1970). Filmed in Toledo, Spain. Beautiful Franco Nero and beautiful Catherine Deneuve. I went to Toledo because of this film.

Bugsy Malone (1976)

The Ritz (1976)

Did someone mention A Woman Under the Influence (1974)? You know it's good since that pretentious fuck John Simon hated it. To me, Cassavetes is often full of baloney but Gena Rowlands elevates this to genius territory.

I did, r417. Far upthread.

Phantom Of The Paradise (1974)

^Mother is too dropsical to scroll through a list with 400+ entries.

Black and White in Color (1976). Won the Oscar for Foreign Language Film. I love this film and own the (now out of print) DVD. Filmed in northern Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). I went to the filming location 10 years ago. Awesome!

You asked, I answered.

^Most dutiful

And movies that were all about a song 'You Light Up My Life' (1977)

The Disappearance of Aimee

*

I know it's a TV movie, but it featured two true movie stars. And it's the only '70s movie I was an extra in.

Richard Lester's Juggernaut' (1974) A disaster movie as well as a thriller involving a luxury liner threatened by a terrorist who says he planted a bomb somewhere on the ship.

Jules Dassin's A Dream of Passion 1978

Melina Mercouri is an actress playing Medea who arranges a meeting with an American woman (Burstyn) who is serving a prison term for killing her own children.

A Dream of Passion

The PBS series All Chinamen Great and Small was like a movie

Details, please, R425-did you see Bette and Faye come to blows?

70s TV movies

My Sweet Charlie (1970) Patty Duke, Al Freeman Jr

Brian's Song (1971) James Caan, Billy Dee Williams

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) Kim Darby, Jim Hutton

Could someone explain why there are so many traumatic movies about pregnancy and babies from this era?

^ well, the 60s and the 70s

No blows that we saw, r430. Bette basically details our (the extras) experience at r425. I think Bette's main complaint (rightfully so), was Faye breaking the cardinal rule of not making the camera wait. There wasn't anything close to 5,000 extras, but we were all crammed together in sweltering heat for hours. It was all worth it though, to hear Bette sing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" in pincurls. She didn't have to do that...but she did.

R432 Pre Roe vs Wade and abortion was illegal and unmarried pregnant women/mothers were stigmatized. Already mentioned 2 films from 1970: My Sweet Charlie and Jenny. Our Time (1974) and To Find a Man (1972) both starring Pamela Sue Martin were about teens seeking an abortion.

R406 Many films and TV shows of dubious quality are successful at the Box Office

1970-Love Story # 1 Airport #2 /1971- Billy Jack #1 Diamonds Are Forever #3 /1972 Deep Throat #4 /1973 The Way We Were #5 /1974 The Trial of Billy Jack # 3 / 1975 The Other Side of the Mountain #8 /1976 In Search of Noah's Ark #5/ UGH!

Toys Are Not For Children (`1972) 70s grindhouse

I have just watched the 1974 film "Hustle" with Burt Reynolds and I spotted Steve Tracy who played Nellie Olsen's husband in "Little House On The Prairie" and unfortunately died of AIDS in 1986. He plays a police secretary with a Mikey Mouse T-Shirt on. He is always mentioned on here on "actors who died of AIDS" threads.

Speaking of Burt I just watched Starting Over (1979) on Paramount +. I remember enjoying it back then and it holds up really well. Written by James L. Brooks and directed by Alan Pakula. Burt’s excellent. Wonderful supporting cast (Frances Sternhagen, Charles Durning, Mary Kay Place, Austin Pendleton) and Candice Bergen as the ex wife is hilarious. Jill Clayburgh is very charming although the snot in her climactic outdoor-in-the-freezing-cold is still alarming.

Let's not go there, R439.

R440, are you referring to Bree Daniel (Jane Fonda’s character in Klute) or Bree Daniels, a porn actress?

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (TV movie, 1976). John Travolta, Robert Reed, Glynnis O'Connor.

R441, I was referring to the climactic scene in Klute when Fonda's nose runs as she's listening to the murder being committed. Many reference sources (including IMDb, Wikipedia and most film reviews) refer to the character as Bree Daniels, and Fonda herself even gets it wrong in Klute's closing scene when she answers the phone "Bree Daniels". I'd never heard of the porn star, but I'm presuming she/her agent got it wrong as well in an homage to Klute.

Freaky Friday (1976)

You know, you can use the Find feature on your browser to search a thread for a keyword.

No mention of Nicolas Roeg's THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976) with David Bowie, Candy Clark, Rio Torn. SciFi 70s style. Very trippy.

^ Rip not Rio Torn

Eraserhead

the 70s was Karen Black's decade

Nashville, The Day of the Locust, Airport 75, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Family Plot, Burnt Offerings, Portnoy's Complaint, Born to Win, Drive, He Said, Cisco Pike and TVs Trilogy of Terror

Margot Kidder was another one whose success seemed limited to the 70s: Sisters, Black Christmas, Superman, The Amityville Horror, and then...not much.

R449 I love Karen black in “day of the locust” I used to Use her line: “match me” when asking for a light.

Any fans of the Warhol films “trash” and “heat”? Joe dallesandro was also an icon for me of the 70s. I intend to watch “blood for Dracula” and “flesh for Frankenstein” this weekend

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1977), with Jodie Foster, Alexis Smith, Martin Sheen, and Scott Jacoby

Definitely Dallesandro in the early 70s along with Jan-Michael Vincent and Michael York,, R452. I saw a double bill of Trash and Bad in Venice back then and felt a little grimy afterwards.

Why the fuck is An Unmarried Woman not even rentable on Amazon Prime or iTunes?

Larry Cohen's GOD TOLD ME TO (1976) a series of random murders in NYC by people who say 'God told me to' when asked why.

The best political thrillers of the 70s are Day of the Jackel, The Odessa File, Three Days of the Condor, and Marathon Man, in that order. They are still entertaining and I watch them every few years. Unlike the cgi messes they put out now, the films--all with good directors--had character development/motivation, atmosphere, twisting plots that keep you interested, and terrific performances. I wish they'd made more!

R457 I love the political thrillers of that era too. Also “all the presidents men” and “the parallax view” and “the China syndrome” . I never saw “the Odessa file” but you’ve just reminded me to add it to my list.

I don’t think “Summer of ‘42” and “Big Wednesday” have been mentioned yet, each evokes nostalgic memories and are very moving Summer themed films. And the stunning documentary “endless summer” too. These are not gritty like the majority of the films mentioned. They’re more in the style of “breaking away”

My mistake “endless summer” was 1965

3 Nostalgia tinged coming-of-age dramas Red Sky at Morning (1971) with Richard Thomas, Catherine Burns, Claire Bloom and Desi Arnaz Jr. and Buster and Billie (1974) with Jan-Michael Vincent, Joan Goodfellow and Pamela Sue Martin and Baby Blue Marine (1976) with J-M Vincent, Glynnis O'Connor and Richard Gere.

Ahh, Buster and Billie, the one with the first ever frontal nude shot of a male in a studio released film.

Has The Boys from Brazil been mentioned yet? It’s streaming on Peacock. Hilarious shot of Steve Guttenberg blinking after his character was stabbed to death.

Jan-Michael Vincent must've shown more skin in the 70s than any other mainstream boxoffice star, even if most of his stuff was B grade. Here he is in Going Home, which also featured him in a reveraling shower scene. Robert Mitchum played his father and also had some shirtless scenes.

Uhhh, that’s Sylvia Miles, not Sally Kirkland. WTF?

R464, or Sally Kellerman?

Sally Kirkland played J-M Vincent's mother who is murdered by his father (Mitchum) at the beginning of the film. I think it is Sylvia Miles in that photo, but I believe that scene was cut from the film because Sylvia isn't listed in the credits on IMDB.

Mystery solved: "The film marked the feature-film directorial debut for television producer Herbert B. Leonard. Leonard and Robert Mitchum complained about the final editing of the film by then MGM president and chief executive officer James T. Aubrey, Jr., who did not give the film an opening campaign or any non-public previews. GOING HOME, which was originally rated R, was recut by Aubrey to gain a GP rating before its release (see posters below). Aubrey cut twenty-one minutes from the film, including the role of actress Sylvia Miles, as a housewife involved with Jimmy Graham; several minutes from a rape scene; and one scene involving nudity."

Roger Ebert who gave the film 2/4 stars in his review mentioned the feeling that there are scenes missing and Pauline Kael called the opening scene 'bloody powerful'. The six year old son sees his mother coming down the stairs with her throat slit. To bad that the film was mutilated.

Jan-Michael had quite a good start in the 70s with these types of film roles. “Going home” is the kind of role that would get him some indie cred these days. I read one review complaining that he couldn’t even hiccup convincingly, I thought that was a bit harsh. Having seen him in “going home” and “big Wednesday” it does seem he could have had a bigger movie career during the 70s but something worked against him it seems. Wonder how he got along with some of his co-stars.

He shared a few scenes with Rock Hudson in “the undefeated” and seems to have been the blond straight looking type rock would have gone for, so I wonder how things were between them behind the scenes.

He also co-started twice with Robert Mitchum so I wonder if they had a friendly relationship too.

[quote] he could have had a bigger movie career during the 70s but something worked against him it seems

Alcohol.

He was pretty much his character in “big Wednesday” then.

David Lean's Ryan's Daughter (1970) Under-appreciated and certainly over long, but it's watchable which is more than I can say for Lean's Dr. Zhivago (1965) And Robert Mitchum is convincing in a change-of-pace role and Sarah Miles is very good in the title role.

Movies were magic because (and few remember how it was) you had to go see then in a theatre and experience them or risk NEVER seeing them again except maybe in a chopped ABC 'TV version (ABC even cut the homosexual confession out of :"Cabaret", truly weird even then). Maybe a re-release after an Oscar but rare. I remember a double bill from Paramount of "Save the Tiger" and "Paper Moon" after the Oscars and it was great.

Home video ruined that first, of course.

Then again for any frequent moviegoer there were certain movies that seemed to land on every double or triple bill. I must have seen Murder by Death ten times in '76 because it was sandwiched between two other movies I wanted to see, or because it was on the double bill and my friends with me hadn't seen it yet.

NY Mayor John Lindsay made efforts to attract film production to NY. His efforts were successful though perhaps not flattering to the NYC of the early 70s.

KLUTE, BORN TO WIN, WHERE'S POPPA?, SERPICO, THE ANDERSON TAPES, THE LANDLORD, HI, MOM! DOG DAY AFTERNOON, THE OUT OF TOWNERS, CRY UNCLE, JOE, LITTLE MURDERS, SHAFT, COTTON COMES TO HRLEM, ACROOS 110TH STREET, THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT, THE PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK, MEAN STREETS, DEATH WISH, THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE, THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE, TAXI DRIVER . . .

Next Stop Greenwich Village was also shot in NYC. And Network.

"The Owl and the Pussycat " TCM 8/10 2:00PM minus Babs boobs or her telling the hoodlums to "fuck off". Uttering one "fuck" got you an automatic "R" rating in those days.

R475, you also left out The Seven-Ups. Quintessential NYC 1970s film.

Has anyone mentioned the notorious Snuff (1975) which was said to show an actually killing on film.

^actual

Seems to me that these days we are celebrating a lot of mediocrity. The films just don’t compare in terms of story and all the rest. I think if just one of the films mentioned in the thread was released today, it would be deemed some sort of masterpiece compared to the films released today.

What, no love here for "Willard" (1971)? One of the most memorable movies of my youth.

That looks HORRIBLE, R482

[quote]Why the fuck is An Unmarried Woman not even rentable on Amazon Prime or iTunes?

So you'll buy the Criterion edition?

"Ben, the two of us need look no more..."

(Oscar nominated Best Song from "Willard" sequel. As a "Ben", I had to deal with it all my life).

R485, I wish my first name had a song...like "Amanda" (Boston), "Sara" (Starship), "Joanna" (Kool and the Gang), "Dirty Diana" (MJ), "Jack and Diane" (JCM), and "Carrie" (Europe).

R484, it’s not STREAMING on The Criterion Channel. Pay attention.

R481 Wokeness, remakes, sequels and big budget comic movies either didn't exist or were fewer. Successful audience films like Blazing Saddles, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three and the Bad News Bears couldn't be made today without much of the dialog and many of the scenes changed. Film makers and studios took greater risks and everything wasn't made for nonstop action that could easily be understood and therefore sold throughout the world.

The Possession of Joel Delaney 1972

Gritty New York, Shirley Maclaine in fur hats and young Perry King.

I was born in 1971 and in high school I started watching a lot of 70s films, but I think I was too young to really appreciate most of them. I’ve been watching or rewatching a lot of them in the last couple of years, and it is really my favorite era of film. I recently watched Dog Day Afternoon and it was terrific. Prime keeps recommending Eyes of Laura Mars to me, so I guess I’ll watch it.

In high school I rented Buster & Billie, not sure why, and about fell out of my chair over the unexpected full frontal of Jan Michael Vincent. I had a lot of fun with that tape.

Sextette (1978)

R235 but not free of anger

[quote] CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH THE THIRD GRADE

aka The Bryan Singer Story

1970s The Christine Jorgensen directed by Irving Rapper (Now, Voyager) Sincere, but a howler.

(^.^) The film is on YouTube Fair quality

Alan Arkin directed a film adaptation of Jules Feiffer's Little Murders (1971) considering the current state of New York City it seems prescient

[Quote] You want to erase all of film history because "offensive"?

said nothing about wanting to erase history. Overreact much?

Alan Arkin directed a film version of Jules Feiffer's Little Murders in 1971. It seems so prescient today.