The MoFo Top 100 of the 1970s: Countdown

I can now say there's at least 3 of my choices on here: MASH, Willy Wonka, and Rocky Horror. Don't remember where the list, though...

Well...thanks. I went as Columbia if that helps you not picture it better.

I think I just need to go and cry now. How could I have forgotten this. Richard Pryor's humour was so much part of my life in the early 80's so maybe I just relate it to those years instead of realising it was actually 1979, and we had the LP and tapes not the film. Oh well, sorry Rich and sorry Mark, I think we've had conversations about him before.

Tarkovsky had one film on my list, but it wasn't The Mirror, since I've yet to see it.



I'm very anti-social and I try to avoid gatherings of people whenever possible, so the idea of watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show in a theater full of raucous idiots throwing crap at the screen and shouting unfunny retorts in a failed attempt to be clever sounds like something to be avoided at all costs. I watched The Rocky Horror Picture from the comfort of my living room and yet I still had a blast. There seems to be a lot of so-bad-it's-good sentiment toward the movie, even among its fans, but I genuinely think The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a good movie. It's an intentional send-up of all the old schlocky sci-fi/horror movies of yesteryear. The movie is in on its own joke and completely self-aware. Campiness doesn't have to be a bad thing, as so many people nowadays seem to think.

Unlike most musicals, I found all of the songs in The Rocky Horror Picture Show to be fun, catchy and enjoyable. For days afterward, I caught myself singing aloud the lyrics to "Sweet Transvestite," which resulted in a few bizarre looks from anyone within hearing distance. The movie itself is a non-stop burst of creativity and manic energy. Its portrayal of sexuality is brave and enlightening. Its championing of the unconventional is to be applauded. Cultural phenomenon aside, the movie is a hilarious, bizarre, balls-to-the-wall, one-of-a-kind motion picture experience, regardless of whether you watch the movie by yourself or with a hundred people.

When people think of best performances, the discussion is seemingly exclusive to super serious, highly dramatic roles. Apparently tears of sorrow are weighted heavier than tears of laughter, which is why comedic performances rarely get their due. But Tim Curry throws himself into his character with a level of zeal that is rarely seen. In many ways, his transformative performance, with its sheer level of energy and bravado, reminds me of Johnny Depp's Academy Award-nominated turn as Jack Sparrow (before the weariness of the sequels). Curry's performance as the strutting, pouting, corset-wearing, "sweet Transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania" made me question my sexuality a little bit. (Luckily I had Susan Sarandon's ample cleavage to steer me back in the right direction.) But Curry, as Dr. Frank N. Furter, possesses the same level of swagger, presence, energy and sexual confidence as the Bowies and Jaggers and other great rock stars of the world. It is an all-time iconic performance.

I came close to putting The Rocky Horror Picture on my list, but there are still too many films from the decade that I think are far superior. In terms of sheer enjoyment and fun, however, The Rocky Horror Picture Show ranks with the best of them.

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Sounds like my life.

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San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

Isn't that why places like this exist.

For hermits like us?

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

First!


That is all.

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And that brings the Hoffman total to five, at this point: Kramer vs. Kramer (44), Little Big Man (61), Marathon Man (73), All the President’s Men (75), and Straw Dogs (83).

Kramer vs. Kramer is our second Best Picture winner to make the countdown, joining The Sting.


If you go back to the previous pair, you'll see that Kramer vs. Kramer and The Mirror both amassed 183 points, but Kramer was on three more total lists, putting it one spot higher on the countdown.

Kramer vs. Kramer was on sixteen lists, with four top ten votes: one ninth place and three fifth place. Robert Altman's Nashville, the director's second appearance on the countdown following MASH, was on thirteen lists, six of them in the top ten: a ninth place, a seventh, a fifth, two third place votes, and one first place selection.


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Altman's Nashville, which I rate as his masterpiece among masterpieces, was third on my own list, giving me nine total, so far.

3. Nashville (#43)
8. Little Big Man (#61)
10. The Man Who Would Be King (#81)
13. Breaking Away (#95)
17. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (#94)
19. MASH (#78)
20. Don’t Look Now (#72)
22. Le Cercle Rouge (#60)
24. The Spirit of the Beehive (#62)

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Kramer vs Kramer is a very good film that was in contention for my list, but ultimately didn't make it. Two top notch performances from Streep and Hoffman. The best thing about the movie for me was the chemistry between Hoffman and the kid who played his son. The emotion shown from Hoffman when his kid cuts his face, or even the simple scenes of them making French Toast together; was an amazing build up to the court case.

So far i've only seen Gosford Park from Altman, which i loved. I must admit though, that i'm a little nervous over Nashville because i despise most musicals. I'll get around to it at some point though.

Kramer vs. Kramer is a good film, but nothing special and I'm not sure how it won Best Picture. Two very good performances and given the subject matter I would have hoped to have loved it, but I just thought it was good. -

Nashville is definitely a masterpiece. It was 3rd on my list. There has been quite a lot of discussion about it on this site, and I have already wrote quite a bit about it.

A fantastic look at human beings, a tale of what it is to be famous, about people who believe they are successful and are trying to cling on, or simply want to get there in the first place. It's long, but never slow or boring, as the characters carefully come together for a superb and hard hitting finale. The other complaint seems to be about the music, which I also don't understand considering Altman is supposed to be parodying country music, and the lyrics used are genius in what they convey.

Another pefect quote to sum up the film, this time from Roger Ebert:

I was going to post the video of "I'm Easy" but Holden beat me to it. A beautiful song that I could listen to over and over again outside of the film, and one which works perfectly with its great irony within it.

Well, it's not a Musical, in the strict sense. A Musical implies that characters break out into song that is part of the narrative, expressing emotion and even dialogue, and either move the plot along or serve as a glimpse at a character's interior thoughts, but in the convention of the form usually none of the other characters can see or hear what is happening. Taken from the Broadway form, which is ultimately derived from Opera. Nashville is a multi-character drama set in Tennessee where many of the characters are involved in the music business. Any musical numbers that take place are on stages or in recording studios, not as dreams or asides, but as the action that is happening in that reality: musical people doing their job. Ray and Walk the Line and Bird are not Musicals, they are movies about musicians. Chicago and West Side Story and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers are Musicals.

But whatevs.

Great minds think alike.



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Kramer vs. Kramer is good. I'm not a Nashville fan though.

Nashville just arrived in Netflix yesterday and I'm dying to see it. Altman is just the master.

Now to see if 3 Women makes the list... I doubt it will be higher than Nasvhille though.

That scene is my favorite in the entire film, with three different women in the audience (Cristina Raines, Geraldine Chaplin, Shelley Duvall) initially thinking he is singing it to them, but slowly realizing that, in fact, he is singing it to a fourth (Lily Tomlin), who is his conquest for the night.

"I'm Easy", which was written by Keith Carradine (all of the songs are originals, and many were written by the people who sing them), won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Yep, my favourite scene too. This is why I don't understand most of the complaints about the song, the lyrics are carefully constructed to take aim at certain aspects of the community and all seem to contain a certain dose of irony and/or satire, every line makes me smile. When the film starts with Haven Hamilton attempting to sing "200 years", I just knew that I was going to love the film.

I haven't seen either. As much as I like Streep and Hoffman, I can't say I really have too much interest in Kramer Vs. Kramer, as good as I imagine it is. Nashville on the other hand, is a film I really should have seen by now. It's the only one of Altman's major films I'm yet to see.

I wonder if the Altman film I voted for will make the cut? At this point, I'm doubtful.

I think the complaints about the music were around the time of the film's release in 1975, and came from the actual Nashville community itself. Not getting the satire part at all and wondering why a big Hollywood production would come to town and not even bother to use "real" Country music.

But that was then. Everyone is hip now, Daddy-o.