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

[Charles Castle]

Aguirre made my list - What an incredible movie. We bought the Herzog boxset ridiculously cheap a couple of years ago and marathoned his films, and we were blown away by how much we loved most of these films that all seemed like they might be quite a chore.

Is that the Shout set? I have two Herzog sets (Werner Herzog Collection and Herzog/Kinski collection) but they don't add up to as much content as that Shout set. Rats.

BFI set for me:

https://www.bfi.org.uk/blu-rays-dvds/werner-herzog-collection-blu-ray

They have pretty different line ups by the looks of it. I wish my set had My Best Fiend - I've long wanted to see that.

Oh right. That set is excellent. Lots of shorts, and I love Burden of Dreams.

[Johnny Unusual]

#36

35 Points, 3 Lists, #4 George 2.0

A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously.

Year 1973

What's it about?

Lee is a shaolin kung fu master who has just been asked by British intelligence to infiltrate a martial arts tournament held by the master criminal Han.  All he needs to do is gather some evidence against Han but things get personal when Lee learns his sister's killer is on the island.  Lee doesn't have a lot of friends, but he does gain allies in two other skilled fighters: Roper and Williams, two Vietnam vets.  The three soon find themselves in a very dangerous situation with some of the deadliest men on the planet.

What's it REALLY about?
It's easy to say that it is simply a great martial arts treat, there is also a book about the connection between the post-colonization era and the rise of Bruce Lee as a cultural phenomenon. I don't have access to it but it makes sense tonally: it starts tonally as a Bond movie but the fights feel big and melodramatic like most Kung Fu movies, as if it was trying to introduce a film genre to those who weren't familiar with it.

Legacy
Though I'm sure there were stories like this before, this popularized the "martial arts death tournament" genre that, I got to admit, I tend to be a sucker for.  There have also been repeated attempts to remake it with directors like Spike Lee (could go either way), Brett Ratner (ew, no), and most recently David Leitch (YES PLEASE!)

I also don't know if this is the movie that introduced the kung fu genre to western audiences but it sure as hell cemented it in the mind of the western psyche.

I love how this scene treats kung fu like a horror movie.

Trivia
Bruce Lee actually struck Jackie Chan in the face with one of his fighting sticks. He immediately apologized and insisted that Chan could work on all of his movies after that. Unfortunately, Lee died before he could keep his promise.

But could you imagine a film with both of them in their prime in lead roles?  Especially if they got to play off their differing fighting and tonal styles? That would be amazing!

Johnny's Thoughts
The story is no great shakes but this is all about the action and it is a delight.  Also, John Saxon as a kung fu master?  Weird.  Jim Kelly, however?  He's great.

[CJones]

Sweet  And you chose my favorite scene.

[Johnny Unusual]

#35

36 Points, 2 Lists, #7 Cole Stratton

Dreyfus once wrote from Devil's Island that he would see the most glorious birds. Many years later in Brittany, he realized they had only been sea gulls... For me, they will always be... glorious birds.

Year 1971

What's it about?

18 year old Harold Parker Chasen can't stop thinking about death.  He drives a hearse, attends funeral and his favourite hobby is staging eloborate fake suicides.  At one funeral, Harold meets Maude, a 79 year old woman who also attends funerals of strangers.  Maude, however, seems to be everything Harold isn't: she's elderly, bohemian and lives each day to its fullest.  Despite this or because of it, Harold is immediately drawn to her, possibly because she represents an alternative to the way his well meaning socialite mother tries to steer him onto a much more conventional life path.  But what next between them is quite unexpected... romance!

What's it REALLY about?
This one isn't subtle about it: its about a young character obsessed with death and feels a frustration with his life and an old woman who relishes life.  Harold is going through the sort of ennui and frustration that a lot of men his age go through and was likely particularly pronounced in the late 60s/early 70s (see also the Graduate) and Maude is a force saying that these feelings can be overcome with time, experience and a good attitude.

Legacy
Considered among the top tier coming-of-age movies, it also has a look and feel to it that seems to have influenced for directors like Wes Anderson.  Someone also tried to make a prequel with Richard Pryor as his Silver Streak character in Harold's place.  Weird.

And I feel like the end of Quadrophenia is something of an homage to this movie.

Trivia
Hal Ashby intended to film a scene of Harold and Maude making love, but Paramount dismissed this idea.  And that is a damned shame.

Johnny's Thoughts
There are a few moments that I feel are a little more explicitly 60s than the rest (such as Harold and Maude freaking out a square military man) but overall, much of this is very timeless.  Really great final scene, too.

[PsychoGoatee]

Gotta love Enter the Dragon. And I'm going to officially put Harold and Maude high on my to-watch list, officially.

[Cyrusso]

I watched Enter the Dragon many years ago and oddly enough I didn't like it all that much. Never saw Harold and Maude though.

[Johnny Unusual]

#34

36 Points, 3 Lists, #8 Edward J Grug III

So what resolution should we make for the new year? Resolve to let God know that you have the guts and the will to do it alone. Resolve to fight for yourselves, and for others, for those you love. And that part of God within you will be fighting with you all the way.

Year 1972

What's it about?

Ocean liner the SS Poseidon is heading for Athens when the ship is capsized by a tsunami.  With the situation looking grim, a contingent of the passengers decide to try to climb up to the bottom of the ship in order to look for an escape.  These people include Reverend Frank Scott, whose philosophy is God helps those who help themselves, Mike Rogo, a police detecitve, Lindo Rogo, his former prostitute wife, Manny and Belle Rosen, who are visiting Israel to meet their grandson, and Nonnie Parry, the ship's singer.  Together, the party must gather strength from each other and help each other through a seemingly impossible gauntlet to overcome the odds and survive.

What's it REALLY about?
Like a lot of disaster movies, its about how people need each other to survive and what it means to help yourself and help others.  It's also about peoples worlds being literally and metaphorically turned upside down and how they deal with that to survive.  Also, there's probably some religious stuff in here, as unlike a lot of other disaster movies, there are no signs of higher authority figures coming to the rescue and the characters are forced to help themselves and each other.

Legacy
The second major success of the very 70s genre of big budget/all star cast disaster movies following Airport, The Poseidon Adventure seemed to have good critical buzz but also many of the critics were sheepish about admitting their fondness for it, feeling much of the film was cornballish but had a great cast and production.  And the film did very well.  To put things in perspective, MAD Magazine's highest selling issue is credited to having a parody of the movie (the Poopsidedown Adventure) in it.

It also has a very big gay fanbase.

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/07/fashion/sundaystyles/07poseidon.html?pagewanted=print

Trivia
Shot in sequence, taking advantage of the fact that the principals became dirtier and more tattered and suffered injuries - some real and some artificial - as they progressed.

Johnny's Thoughts
As disaster movies go of this era, this is definitely the funnest and it doesn't hurt to have Hackman as the lead.  A lot of the movies forget to give weight to each death but this one doesn't, as campy as the movie may seem, each of the core cast matter and it is a tragedy when one is lost.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Finally one I had on my list.  I saw this as a kid on the big screen (back when screens were bigger than they are now).  Think the last time I watched it was in the 90s.  Really have to watch it again sometime on my new TV. 

[Cyrusso]

Poseidon Adventure also made my list. I quite enjoyed it when I first watched it a few years back.

[George-2.0]

Enter the Dragon is my favorite Lee film because I do think it's a bit more complex than his other pictures. He wasn't just a relative or friend, in town for a visit who then has to protect them from thugs. I like the Bond angle, the Bond-style villain.  I like the spirituality that's blended in the film (which was originally cut in the US versions, but is now restored) and that it wasn't just about Bruce - both Saxon (who I liked here) and Kelly are given some back story. So there's a little more to it than the other films (though Fist of Fury does have some historical, political subtext). You get all that AND the great battles, with Bruce looking lean and fierce, marked by those scars (what iconic imagery). Plus we hear his real voice and his real howls (he's not dubbed)

Edit - oh and the poster is awesome. I need to get a print of that. Anyone remember those DC comic movie variants? Grayson's was a take-off on Dragon (with Batman as Han)...



Harold and Maude - I was the other vote giver. Loved that movie. And after seeing it, I so wanted a Jaguar-Hearse.

I didn't vote for Poseidon but I really liked it when it came out (saw it in the theater with family). That was a big buzz movie back in the day. Everyone was talking about it. The FX, the story and characters.

So all of these are good 70s representatives IMHO.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

I was just thinking as far as 70s movies go, if you split The Poseidon Adventure into 2 parts, before the disaster really hits and after they begin their journey though the ship, you could easily tell the first part was made in the 70s, not so easily for the second part.

[CJones]

I almost had The Poseidon Adventure on my list. It's definitely one of the better disaster movies. But I ended up with 30 entries, so I had to cut TPA. I'm happy to see it still made the list 

This was also the first movie I ever saw Leslie Nielsen in in a non-comedic role.

[Edward J Grug III]

Goddamn I love The Poseidon Adventure!

I have seen it a few times, and certainly within the last year. Glad to see it on the list.

[Cyrusso]

You know the makers of Speed 2 might actually claim that their film was inspired by Poseidon Adventure, but only in the sense that it was a disaster movie.

[ScottotD]

It also doesn't help that John Travolta's character is a total asshole and I absolutely despise him. I'm sure that's probably how the movie meant to portray him, but when I come out of a movie absolutely despising the protagonist then something for me is horribly, horribly wrong.

I find most protagonists in 70s and 80s movies were assholes, especially when viewed with 2019 eyes