The MoFo Top 100 of the 1970s: Countdown

Blazing Saddles at #33? Hmmm...thought it would've been higher.

Finally... we're getting to the good stuff!

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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory #15

A childhood favourite of mine that has an energetic performance from the one and only Gene Wilder. It's great to see those bratty kids be eliminated one by one and never seeing them again...unlike the Burton remake. This version has more sinister undertones and I love it.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show #8

I LOVE this film. I can sing every song there is and even went to a midnight screening, dressed up and dancing. I can even imagine what people were thinking when they saw this film back in '75. I try to watch it at least once a year.

Kramer VS Kramer #5

What a heart wrenching film. Hoffman delivers a vulnerable performance while Streep is ice cold. Perfect casting. Made my fiancee watch it the other day and she was in tears before the ending. I feel like this film could have been based on actual events, that's how realistic it felt to me.

Dawn of the Dead #12

The best zombie film ever made, Romero scored with this one. Great make-up effects, characters you care for and a great commentary on society.

Blazing Saddles #21

Hilarious Mel Brooks comedy that pushes the boundaries, even by todays standards. Another stellar performance from Gene Wilder.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

I put Dirty Harry at #25, it barely made my list. It is possibly my favorite Clint Eastwood movie though.

I had Blazing Saddles at #10
glad to see Dirty Harry make it

I only saw parts of Blazing Saddles, but I didn't find what I saw very funny.

Wow, very pleased to see Dirty Harry do so well. I was wondering if it would show up at this point. It was on my list. Also my dad's favorite movie.

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Come on, late night bar post. I wanna see which two are next.

I never chipped in with my thoughts on the last four entries, so here we go:

Dirty Harry is a great movie, one of the best of its kind, with one of the most iconic quotes in cinema history. A few months ago, Dirty Harry would've made my list with ease, but it just barely missed the cut. I still love it, though.

I re-watched Carrie prior to making my list. I hadn't seen it in 10+ years, and I didn't like it anywhere near as much as I did when I saw it as a teenager. It probably didn't help that I watched the crappy remake a few months ago. People praise Piper Laurie's performance, but she's my biggest problem with the movie, since her character is so ridiculously cartoonish and over the top. Sissy Spacek is great in it, though, and the prom sequence is iconic for a reason. Good movie, but definitely overrated.

I watched Dawn of the Dead for the first time a few months ago. I liked it, didn't love it. To me, Night of the Living Dead is by far the best in the series. Dawn doesn't have the same level of claustrophobic tension or scares, but it boasts some impressive gore effects and I admire its satirical edge, since that's something lacking from most horror films.

I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've never seen Blazing Saddles.

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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

The French Connection is our fourth Best Picture Oscar winner, joining The Deer Hunter (38), Kramer vs. Kramer (44), and The Sting (57). And lookie here: Network and The French Connection were another numerical tie, at exactly 250 points each! But Friedkin's police procedural was on two more overall ballots, twenty-three to twenty-one, giving it the edge on our countdown. Sidney Lumet's second entry on the list had six top ten votes: a tenth, a sixth, a third, and somehow three of you mindmelded and had it as your second overall pick. The French Connection also had six top ten votes: a sixth, two seventh, two ninth, and a tenth.

Neither were on my list but both are great films that I would give at least. Network has a great biting script and some fantastic performances by all round that make it extremely effective in its message on media. The French Connection is just a really fun chase movie, love the characters of Popeye and Frog One, the chase scenes are great, everything is done right, I loved the second one as well which won't make it now unfortunately.

Two movies I have needed to rewatch for a long time. But, I like both a lot.

Both were on my list, both needed to show up soon, both did show up soon.

Network is a brilliant satire of mainstream news media, and how a "shtick" can be exploited by the corporates.
The French Connection is a lot more tense than people give it credit for. I still think the guy who lives across the street from me looks and acts like Popeye Doyle.

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Because he is constantly asking you cryptic questions like, "Did you ever pick your feet in Poughkeepsie?"

Two great movies, and both of them are on my list. I watch The French Connection every year.

3. Life of Brian (#41)
5. Manhattan (#52)
6. The Outlaw Josey Wales (#49)
7. The Jerk (#54)
8. The Omen (#99)
11. Dirty Harry (#34)
14. The French Connection (#31)
22. Network (#32)
24. Being There (#98)
25. Little Big Man (#61)

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

I couldn't quite make room for either on my list, so I was happy to see them both land on the top half of the group list, even without my help. Network is a wonderful watch, and Paddy Chayefsky was incredibly prescient seeing where the intersection of news and international conglomerates beholden to stockholders and dividends more than truth or journalism was careening. What may have played as over-the-top in 1976 mostly looks rather tame compared to today's reality.

I like The French Connection, but given my love for Gene Hackman and crime thrillers, I've never cared for the movie as much as I want to. I prefer Night Moves, Scarecrow, and Superman for 70's Hackman movies.

I've always thought Netwok was excellent; not quite a personal favorite, so I didn't vote for it.

The French Connection was eleventh on my list, fantastic film, which now brings the total number of films to appear on this list that were on my own to seven. Network was not on my list, it's an excellent film though.