List of Crap #115: Top 50 Movies of the 70s Countdown!

[Johnny Unusual]

#19

53 Points, 5 Lists, #1 Cleat

The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, but powerful. So don't listen, remember that, do not listen.

Year 1973

What's it about?

Something is wrong with Regan McNeill.  Psychologist and doctors can't help her.  She needs an exorcist.  Father Karras is called into investigate and learns this to be the truth.  The church calls on the help of an experienced exorcist in the hopes of freeing her from the evil that has possessed Regan, with Karras acting as an assistant.  But Karras has been suffering from a crisis of faith following the death of his mother.  As the exorcism begins, the depths of the demon's depravity and cruelty as revealed.  And soon, Karras finds himself being the last hope for Regan and the only way to do that is to overcome his fear.

What's it REALLY about?
The nature of doubt.  Ironically, Karras can only find his faith in goodness after facing unspeakable evil and doing a beautiful act of goodness to save Regan.

Legacy
It cannot be overstated how big a deal this movie was.  It wasn't just a box office mega hit but it seemed to have an effect on the collective psyche of movie goers at the time.  Response to the film was visceral, with many audience members freaking out and fainting in the theater.  It is easy to laugh at it now, but audiences really hadn't seen anything like it before.  It was one of the very few best picture horror nominees, which helped the genre get a lot more critical acceptance and lead to both more intelligent horror films being released, as well as a bunch of cheapo possession movies.

Trivia
Due to death threats against Linda Blair from religious zealots who believed the film "glorified Satan", Warner Bros. had bodyguards protecting her for six months after the film's release.

Johnny's Thoughts
When I finally saw this movie, I feel it was oversold to me and I was disappointed.  I liked it a lot more the second time out, less for the scares and much more for Father Karras' journey.

[linszoid]

Most overrated movie ever

[Johnny Unusual]

#18

54 Points, 3 Lists, #3 Russoguru

I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies.

Year 1974

What's it about?

In 1958, Michael Corleone becomes a powerful mafia Don like his father after he is able to wipe out his enemies with a near simultaneous series of hits.  However, it isn't long before his position makes him a target once again.  Michael suspects Hyman Roth, a Jewish gangster and Michael's business partner but the situation becomes complicated when Michael learns that his brother Fredo may have betrayed him as well.

In the first few decades of the 20th century, Vito Andolini and his mother escape Sicily after his father is killed by a gangster.  Reinventing himself as Vito Corleone, he quickly rises to power through criminal activities and a bold power play.  Now with power and the fact that his father's killer doesn't know who he is, he returns to Sicily to face his father's killer once more.

What's it REALLY about?
Michael assumes that he needs to be merciless to survive like his father, but while his father could be merciless, Michael fails to do right by his people and his family.  Perhaps that is because while Vito showed genuine love to his son, the crimes Vito did must have had a more visceral affect on his mind and tainted that kindness.  Like the original, it also explores the fine line between corporate capitalism and a crime syndicate.

Legacy
The Godfather Part II initially split critics but it wasn't long before it was regarded as a classic, considered by many to be equal to or even better than the original and one of the greatest American films.

Trivia
Robert De Niro spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect in order to play Vito Corleone. Nearly all of the dialogue that his character speaks in the film was in Sicilian.

Johnny's Thoughts
Sadly, I still have yet to see this one.

[Cyrusso]

Wow Godfather part 2 only made it to number 18? Damn.

[F-Zero]

#19

53 Points, 5 Lists, #1 Cleat

The demon is a liar. He will lie to confuse us. But he will also mix lies with the truth to attack us. The attack is psychological, but powerful. So don't listen, remember that, do not listen.

Year 1973

What's it about?

Something is wrong with Regan McNeill.  Psychologist and doctors can't help her.  She needs an exorcist.  Father Karras is called into investigate and learns this to be the truth.  The church calls on the help of an experienced exorcist in the hopes of freeing her from the evil that has possessed Regan, with Karras acting as an assistant.  But Karras has been suffering from a crisis of faith following the death of his mother.  As the exorcism begins, the depths of the demon's depravity and cruelty as revealed.  And soon, Karras finds himself being the last hope for Regan and the only way to do that is to overcome his fear.

What's it REALLY about?
The nature of doubt.  Ironically, Karras can only find his faith in goodness after facing unspeakable evil and doing a beautiful act of goodness to save Regan.

Legacy
It cannot be overstated how big a deal this movie was.  It wasn't just a box office mega hit but it seemed to have an effect on the collective psyche of movie goers at the time.  Response to the film was visceral, with many audience members freaking out and fainting in the theater.  It is easy to laugh at it now, but audiences really hadn't seen anything like it before.  It was one of the very few best picture horror nominees, which helped the genre get a lot more critical acceptance and lead to both more intelligent horror films being released, as well as a bunch of cheapo possession movies.

Trivia
Due to death threats against Linda Blair from religious zealots who believed the film "glorified Satan", Warner Bros. had bodyguards protecting her for six months after the film's release.

One of the most fascinating books I've ever read was about the real-life case upon which the Exorcist was based https://www.amazon.co.uk/Possessed-Story-Exorcism-Thomas-Allen/dp/0595132642

Not only had it hair-raising eyewitness accounts of the possessed boy "Ronald Doe" but also a lot-of-behind the curtain politics, power, and personalities of the church. I dare to say that even if the subject matter weren't your particular cup of tea the writing yet transcends.

[F-Zero]

Wow Godfather part 2 only made it to number 18? Damn.

I've got a feeling this LOC is not going to be a big popularity contest if you know what I mean.

[Cyrusso]

Maybe but right now I'm pretty sure I know what movie is going to be #1.

[F-Zero]

#20

53 Points, 3 Lists, #1 Psycho Goatee

Lupin! Don't you dare die before I get to arrest you!

Oh man, I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki, and this did not occur to me at all    And I ran the Animated Movies LoC  That's embarrassing.

Fun Fact: This is a thing that exists...

Yeah, somebody thought it would be a good idea to make a Laserdisc game out of footage from Castle of Cagliostro. It wasn't 

I saw that video game.  It was pretty cool for back then.

[F-Zero]

Maybe but right now I'm pretty sure I know what movie is going to be #1.

Well, in the meantime we're going to have something in the foreground to give it some scale.

[Edward J Grug III]

Wow Godfather part 2 only made it to number 18? Damn.

I thought I had ranked it low at only 15 (I've only seen it once, quite awhile ago and thought it was great, but haven't given it a second look yet). Surprised I am only of only 3 people to rank it.

Also, I have never seen The Exorcist, nor do I care to.

[PsychoGoatee]

Love the Godfather, and part 2, great great movies. It came up recently that a couple of my friends haven't seen these too, I gotta fix that. Epic epic movies.

[Edward J Grug III]

Maybe but right now I'm pretty sure I know what movie is going to be #1.

I can think of two strong contenders. If a lot of people put the one I am thinking you think it is as 1, but the other one as 2, there might be an upset...

[Johnny Unusual]

#17

54 Points, 5 Lists, #7 George 2.0

Now you know why they call me "Dirty Harry". I get every dirty job that comes along.

Year 1971

What's it about?

Harry Callahan isn't your average cop.  He's got a killer instinct, in more ways than one, and is willing to do anything to uphold the law, which ironically, can include breaking the rules.  When there's a job no one else can or will do, Harry does it.  And now Harry has a doozy of a case: in addition to breaking in a new partner, he's on the trail of the Scorpio killer, a murderer who has evaded the police.  Both men are clever and unrelenting and the only possible ending involves one of them in a body bag.

What's it REALLY about?
Like many action movies of this nature, it's a bit of a conservative wish-fulfillment fantasy that someone can go out there and clean the criminals off the street, unbeholden to a system that seems to favor the criminals over the victims.  It may not be a view I agree with, but it is compelling cinema.

Legacy
I don't know if Dirty Harry was the first "renegade cop" movie, but it was the one that made it an extremely popular genre over the next few decages.

Trivia
After Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel came on board the project, they hired writer Dean Riesner to work on the script. In his first rewrite, the bank robbery scene ends with Harry not pointing the gun at the robber, but placing it against his own temple. He pulls the trigger, laughs and then walks away. Eastwood and Siegel both felt this was too extreme, even for Harry Callahan.

Johnny's Thoughts
I have not seen this one, but I did see Magnum Force and the Gauntlet, which isn't a Dirty Harry movie but is very much in that ballpark.

[PsychoGoatee]

Two out of thee ain't bad is a great Meat Loaf song, but part 1 is definitely the best by far. Such a badass movie. It's like his western persona was unleashed on the streets of the 1970s, only perhaps even meaner. Really sharp script, just a timeless movie. At least, it really impressed me when I rented it some decades later.

(for that Meat Loaf joke to work I guess The Gauntlet would have to be a Dirty Harry movie, but Meat Loaf joke is my only move here folks)

[George-2.0]

Phew, It was a bit of a dry spell but I'm finally back on the list with Dirty Harry... which with Jesus Christ Superstar and my #1 (which still hasn't popped up) are the 3 movies I watched the most in the 70s (and beyond). In fact I logged in a Dirty viewing a year ago... https://letterboxd.com/captainquint/film/dirty-harry/

* I can't speak for others, but Godfather II was never going to make my top 25... or top 50 for that matter. It's a decent movie but I can think of at least a dozen I like better from that year alone.  Still, that it made only 3 lists is a little surprising.

* I didn't vote for, but enjoyed Animal House and the Miyazaki film.