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Don't Look Now
(Nicolas Roeg, 1973)
Gripping horror film that is extremely effective due to the atmosphere created by Roeg. Much like Walkabout, the film carries a mysterious eerie feeling throughout, creating by fantastic use and mixture of images and colours. Also similar to Walkabout is the constant theme of communication throughout the film, captured perfectly by the seemingly hopeless Donald Sutherland who constantly feels out of place and in trouble, as if everyone around him is an enemy, and he is being closed in on by his enviroment.
Sorcerer
(William Friedkin, 1977)
Whilst The Exorcist and The French Connection have always been regarded as two of the finest seventies films, and will surely have no trouble in making the Movie Forums list, had the site run the feature a few years ago, the outcome for this film would probably be different. Undergoing a mini revival of sorts with a Blu-ray transfer and re-screenings in certain places, it is easy to see why this is often described as a lost masterpiece, and why the director himself regards it as his greatest achievement.
Much like a Werner Herzog film (who I will dicsuss later in this post), in every frame you can feel the effort which has gone into creating the film. The film shows men battle against all odds to transport highly explosive nitroglycerin across over 200 miles of treacherous rainforest. There are many scenes that stand out in a film that captures both the beauty and bleakness of nature with the bridge scene being the most famous, and also like a Herzog film, Friedkin manages to capture the madness inflicted on humans in such a journey, perfectly captured by the determined Roy Schieder who 'leads' the men.
Carnal Knowledge
(Mike Nichols, 1971) -
Although essentially a drama about a man's sex life, the performance of Jack Nicholson transforms the film into a fascinating black comedy in which we watch a troubled man attempt to overcome his problems and become content with women in his life. One of the film's final scenes in which we see a video montage of different women that Jack's character has 'interacted' with over time is brilliant in summing up the despicable and disturbed man he is, in the dark comedic manner that we have seen throughout.
Whilst this film won't be for everyone, those who enjoy character studies that don't hold back when it comes to the problems of their protagonists (it is not surprise Cobpyth loves this so much). Essential to the film is both the script and the direction, the first contains numerous memorable dialogue that works fantastically in a film that heavily relies on the conversations its characters have. Then with direction, Nichols always seems in control of the camera and what he is filming, the camerawork allows us to get involved in the characters as it should in an emotional drama.
Fantastic Planet
(René Laloux)
Copied over from the Movie Club thread: What Swan says about almost every frame could be framed and admired is definitely true, I definitely disagree with Donnie in that I absolutely love the animation style and think it works fabulously. Definitely felt a Terry Gilliam vibe from it, but it's unique and refreshing in it's own way, it's obviously cheap and allows for a lot of freedom, producing some very memorable and bizarre creatures that kind of reminded me of Flanimals
In terms of plot and such everything's been covered, it's quite a simplistic story that allows for many analogies all involving the dangers of humanity and I do think that as such the lack of real character development and emotional story left me less connected than I could have been to make the film 'truly great'. At the start of the story with the Om escaping from his owner, I thought that might have later become important in a kind of Pocahontas style story, but instead the later half acts less personally and more as a metaphor, all the creatures appear pretty much the same and I didn't really feel any empathy or such towards anyone in particular.
Definitely a very good film, and I'm glad that I watched it. Fascinating to look at and interesting to analysis, but overall I don't think its complex or focused enough for me to become involved to the point where I fell in love.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
(Sam Peckinpah, 1970) -
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I feel similarly with this film as I did quite recently with Peckinpah's Major Dundee. That is, whilst overall I enjoyed the film, I could not help but feel that as a whole it was a bit disjointed and could have worked better if it had been more focussed and not more a collection of good scenes. In this film, it sometimes felt like I was watching two films. Perhaps I would have preferred it if the story was told in a more serious manner. Although there is nothing wrong with humour, and some of it genuinely made me smile as intended, I felt as the film went on it got increasingly over the top and ridiculous to the point of annoyance.
The China Syndrome
(James Bridges, 1979)
This is the type of thriller that I associate with television. I am not sure why but it is something I can imagine watching on the television whilst I was younger, it has that sort of thriller feel too it, big actors and issues in a very accessible production that makes for an easy watch. The story is certainly interesting and kept me gripped until the very end, with very good performances all round. Jack Lemmon, who I probably need to see more from, is particularly impressive in the key role that makes the film so effective. I can see why a lot of people would like it, but I do not think it is the type of film I would ever truly love like some others.
The Bad News Bears
(Michael Ritchie, 1976) -
Nowadays a kids team underdog story sounds quite cliché, so I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this film. It is certainly not something I can imagine being made for today's children, it's far more free and filled with a more fun and risky coming-of-age style humour. Walter Matthau is perfect in the lead role, and the film is constructed in a non-sentimental way that makes it more refreshing and delightful come the end.
Midnight Express
(Alan Parker, 197)
A massive disappointment for me as I was expecting to like this film quite a bit. I remember having watched an hour long episode on the story the film is based on, on the documentary series "Locked Up Abroad". That documentary episode was far more interesting and entertaining than this typical mainstream product that falls into the trap that many similar films do: villainous almost all the characters to exaggerate the brutality the protagonist suffers from, and included extreme scenes to also exaggerate the madness (the tongue scene). Even when approaching the film as more a work of fiction, I still became tired of the repetitive scenes that I was seeing, with the ending being the icing on the cake for me in determining my rating. Despite my criticisms I did enjoy the first half a bit, hence not a negative rating, but as I mentioned, I soon grew tired of what I was seeing once we were in the prison.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(Steven Spielberg, 1977) +
Growing up I recall watching many Spielberg films: the Indiana Jones series, Jurassic Park and E.T. are the ones I can remember the most, so I was surprised I had never seen this before considering its family like typical Spielberg approach. I pretty much got what I expected with the film, and I liked it a lot. Perhaps I am underrating it a tad, because I would probably say it is one of the most enjoyable Spielberg films I have seen. Aside from the basic storyline of aliens coming to Earth, there are lots of little details that make this film enjoyable. The casting of Francois Truffaut as Lacombe is a stroke of genius, and in the films second half when we see a couple on the run, venturing up a mountain to uncover what was going on, I could not help but think of Hitchcock and in particular North by Northwest.
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
(Elio Petri, 1970) -
A film I have been curious about for a while now due to its appearance in Mark's top 100+ films, and since then positive ratings from others who have seen it, so it made sense to finally see it as I prepared for the seventies countdown.
With a left wing director and lead actor, the direction and lead performance is extremely bombastic and extreme, perhaps much like the fascists themselves, in a great satirical fashion that makes the film so effective. Ennio Morricone's score is similar in its bombastic style, not like the soft, subtle sounds that whistle through the works of Sergio Leone. It is noticeably, quirky, and most importantly fun, like the film itself. The film is what it says on the tin, taking aim at fascism as effectively as you can imagine.
Night Moves
(Arthur Penn, 1975) +
One could easily imagine this being a double bill feature with The Long Goodbye, both focusing on private investigators who seem out of place and unaware of what is going on around them. Gene Hackman is terrific in the lead role as man who genuinely seems hopeless at stopping what is going on around him. By the end of the film you genuinely feel for his character.
Duel
(Steven Spielberg, 1971) -
A good film that definitely shows signs of whats to come with Spielberg in terms of direction, and in particular the suspense that he can create. A strong lead performance, and whilst Spielberg does his best with camerawork and such to keep suspense for an hour and a half, I feel the premise and running length prevent this film from every really becoming a 'great movie', but some people around here disagree and do love truly it.
Stroszek
(Werner Herzog, 1977)
Every now and then you watch a film that you just fall in love with, it touches your heart and leaves you with a smile on your face come the end. Its difficult to put down in words the experience you have had watching, but these films are a breath of fresh air, full of life and feeling human. I recently felt this way with Nasvhille, and I definitely feel this way for Stroszek.
There's something refreshing human about the lead performance of Bruno S., a man that always seems to be smiling and full of life despite the problems he faces. The plot, whilst bizarre, serves as a way to bring out the different characters and their personalities, they're all very peculiar but never seem too unrealistic. Herzog, who has done a lot of work with documentaries, shoots this film like one, and with the decision to use local actors, it feels like this is all very much a true story which only adds to the experience. On the poster for this film it reads "a ballad", and it is, a wonderful poem of life and its wonderful joys and despairs.
Nosferatu the Vampyre
(Werner Herzog, 1979) -
Honestly, this film was nothing like what I expected to be. I am not sure what I was, perhaps a more darker,a gothic black and white film with focus on shadows (maybe the film its based on will be more liked this), instead there is quite a lot of colour used, and a lot of the film takes place at day, moving across land, instead of happening in isolation such as a dark castle that I may have imagined.
The acting is extremely peculiar too, but I found it really enjoyable. If you digitally edited this film and turned the colour black and white, removed the spoken dialogue, and added in title cards, it would be just as effective as a silent film. There are a lot of scenes with little dialogue, and huge emphasises on movement, that is the slow exaggerated movements of the characters that you could imagine in a silent film, it is easy to see what Herzog is paying homage to here.
La Soufrière - Warten auf eine unausweichliche Katastrophe
(Werner Herzog, 1977)
A fascinating short documentary that sums up Werner Herzog's filmmaking approach. He travels to a Caribbean island with his film crew to capture what could have been the final days of the current town as the people would have known it, with the local volcano predicted to erupt at potentially any moment. Fascinating by the story of a local that refuses to leave, who insists on leaving his life in God's hands, we get interviews with him and two others. The island itself is like a ghost town, with the images captured by Herzog perfectly capturing both the beauty and bleakness of the world (see, this is what I said about Sorcerer!).
) Very touching simple and elegant film and the animation is awe inspiring in some parts (the whale action sequences are amazing and show how much effort was spent on this film). A must watch.
