Gritty, Natural, Realistic Movies of the 1970s

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matt72582's Avatar
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From all the ones I've checked out, they've all been really good and would love to find more. I know a few below are on YouTube, too.

-Fat City
-Minnie And Moskowitz
-The Visitors
-The Blue Motel
-Wanda

and "Les Chat" (The Cat) from France, featuring Jean Gabin and Simona Signoret


Some are very low-budget (maybe all), but it features some fine acting, script, and the general story... Some don't have much movement, some take place in one setting. By the mid-70s, it got stylized with "Taxi Driver" and seemed to have died down since in favor of blockbusters, instead of the more personal movie.


Does anyone have any favorites or recommendations?



Victim of The Night
The Friends Of Eddie Coyle?
Klute?
How 'bout Panic In Needle Park?
Not trying to be cute but have you seen The French Connection? Straw Dogs?

Am I on the right track here?



These are mine, have you seen any of them? I think at least some of them might be interesting.

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square 1979
Chilly Scenes of Winter 1979
Goin Down the Road 1970
The Great Santini 1979
Wise Blood 1979



Victim of The Night
What about Saturday Night Fever?
Midnight Cowboy might be too stylized but that's a damn great movie.



Some of these are early 80's and I'm not sure any are your type-

Out of the Blue
Joe
Scum
Pixote
Christiane F.
Insiang
Manila in the Claws of Light



Victim of The Night
Hardcore with George C. Scott is pretty damn gritty and it's also a movie that both Siskel and Ebert recommended.



Victim of The Night
I don't know if they'd be your thing or not, but when I think of "Natural, Realistic, 1970s" I tend to think of Robert Altman, specifically The Long Goodbye and McCabe & Mrs. Miller.



Five of my favorites...





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Yes. Yes indeed...
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I'm going to specifically avoid stuff that leans too much into genre fare:


Payday (1973)
California Split (1974)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Fox and his Friends (1975)
Mikey and Nickey (1976)
Stroszek (1977)



matt72582's Avatar
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I'm going to specifically avoid stuff that leans too much into genre fare:


Payday (1973)
California Split (1974)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Fox and his Friends (1975)
Mikey and Nickey (1976)
Stroszek (1977)

Great examples.. "Payday" is on YouTube in full, as is one of my favorite movies, "MIkey and Nicky".... "Stroszek" is a fine movie, too.





matt72582's Avatar
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If you don't like the 70s and want something made fairly recently, check out "Buffalo '66" - i because it's so great, very realistic, gritty, with very natural acting, and a damn good cast.



As far as "gritty" goes, how about Wake in Fright? Although I'm sure most people have already seen that. Same with Duel? Deliverance? Even more polished stuff like The Taking of Pelham 123 still have some "grit" to it, but I don't think I have anything super obscure to recommend in that vein.
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The Friends Of Eddie Coyle?
Klute?
How 'bout Panic In Needle Park?
Not trying to be cute but have you seen The French Connection? Straw Dogs?

Am I on the right track here?
You beat me to it with these.
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I don't know how I forgot my favorite movie ever -- "Harry and Tonto"I don't know how I forgot my favorite movie ever -- "Harry and Tonto"
Not sure what was so gritty and natural about Harry and Tonto