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

[PsychoGoatee]

Big fan of Spy and Rocky Horror, good flicks. To think maybe Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman wouldn't have made Bat Out of Hell, or maybe it would've turned out differently, since they worked on it around that time. Rock and roll history right there.

[Edward J Grug III]

I've never seen Spy Who Loved me or Rocky Horror.

I think the time for me to enjoy Rocky Horror has probably passed (and I like almost zero musicals).

I've recently started watching Bond films from the start as I've seen almost none of them.

[Johnny Unusual]

#37

35 Points, 2 Lists, #6 Psycho Goatee

Tony, the only way you're gonna survive is to do what you think is right, not what they keep trying to jam you into. You let them do that and you're gonna be nothing but miserable.

Year 1977

What's it about?

By day, Tony Manero is a paint store clerk and lives with his parents.  His life isn't where he wanted it to be.  But when the weekend hits, things change.  He goes out, hits the clubs with his friends and becomes a dance machine.  He's talented, he's popular with women and he feels like somebody.  With a big competition coming up, he and his new partner begin to train for the big night and slowly fall in love.  However, after the dance competition ends, Tony sees things change in ways that he doesn't suspect.

What's it REALLY about?
Roger Ebert again:

Although "Saturday Night Fever'' appealed to him [Gene Siskel] primarily on an emotional level, Siskel spoke about it in terms of its themes, and there are two central ones. First, the desire of all young people to escape from a life sentence of boring work and attain their version of the beckoning towers of Manhattan. Second, the difficulty that some men have in relating to women as comrades and friends and not simply sex facilitators.

Legacy
Tony Monero's famous dance comes first and foremost.  So much so that it is easy to forget that there is a music behind the iconography.  An often dark movie, in fact, even in the final act.  I haven't seen it but I hear from a lot of critics that this isn't just a campy joke, but a drama that takes joy in Tony's dancing and recognizes the darker side of Tony's life.

Trivia
When they shot the first bridge scene, director John Badham kept secret from Donna Pescow the fact that when the guys "fell off" the bridge, they actually landed on a platform a few feet below. Badham and the other actors did not tell her about the platform because they wanted a genuine look of horror and anger on Annette's face when Tony, Double J. and Joey appeared to fall off. Therefore, Donna's reaction to them falling, and her facial expressions turning from horror and shock to outright anger, were real, and her next line, "You fuckers!", was not scripted.

Johnny's Thoughts
I haven't seen this one, but it seems like I should.

[PsychoGoatee]

I've never seen Spy Who Loved me or Rocky Horror.

I think the time for me to enjoy Rocky Horror has probably passed (and I like almost zero musicals).

I've recently started watching Bond films from the start as I've seen almost none of them.

Is one of them Little Shop of Horrors? If you like that, I think Rocky is a good possibility. Also, could sidestep this question and just watch the underrated masterpiece Shock Treatment (1981), the follow-up to Rocky Horror.


Saturday Night Fever is just a textbook great film. The excellent soundtrack is icing on the cake, gotta love a Fifth of Beethoven. A fun bit of trivia is Lloyd Kaufman (The Troma/Toxic Avenger indie legend) worked on this, and also Rocky (the Stallone one).

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Rock Horror got bumped off my list, it was only on my big list for nostalgia, saw it a few times in Philly at the Theater Of The Living Arts back in the mid 80s.  Ahh the late night picture show, then walk around south street and get a cheese steak.  It's been so long I can't remember if we used to go to Pat's or Geno's....

[Cyrusso]

I saw Saturday night fever for the first time a couple years ago. What I can tell you is that I didn't enjoy it, like at all. I mean the soundtrack is great, but it felt to me like a very empty and joyless experience. 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'd rather, much rather watch Grease again.

[Charles Castle]

I've never heard of Days of Heaven or Aguire. Charles I'd really like to check out your list.

I think I am supposed to wait until all of the entries are posted before sharing my list, but it's the usual suspects of pretentious wannabe cineastes like myself. Film professors when I was in school were obviously in love with 70's film and passed that on to me with an entire host of films I might not have seen for years to come or at all. I can't imagine life without Klaus Kinski.

That Aguirre trailer isn't all that hot, but it is much, much better than the Days of Heaven trailer which is a total atrocity that doesn't come close to conveying what the film is like to watch.

[Cyrusso]

Ah Klaus Kinski. According to Watch Mojo he's a difficult actor to work with.

[George-2.0]

I hate to piss on anyone's parade, but I never liked Saturday Night Fever (sorry fans, no disrespect to you) and disco was a big yuk. So it was like, "Why am I spending time with these dickweeds and this irritating music?"

Now watch, I'll probably be haunted by the ghost of Gene Siskel tonight (he adored the film)

[Cyrusso]

I hate to piss on anyone's parade, but I never liked Saturday Night Fever (sorry fans, no disrespect to you) and disco was a big yuk. So it was like, "Why am I spending time with these dickweeds and this irritating music?"

Now watch, I'll probably be haunted by the ghost of Gene Siskel tonight (he adored the film)

Did you see what I said about the movie? I didn't like SNF either. On the other hand I loved the music.

[PsychoGoatee]

Russoguru do you enjoy mixing metal with your disco? If so, Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to The Bee-Gees and Beyond are one of the finest band around. I've seen them numerous times, even on a boat.

[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.

[Cyrusso]

Russoguru do you enjoy mixing metal with your disco? If so, Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to The Bee-Gees and Beyond are one of the finest band around. I've seen them numerous times, even on a boat.

Interesting. I'll check that out sometime. Thanks for the rec PG. 

[Edward J Grug III]

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.

[Edward J Grug III]

I've never seen Spy Who Loved me or Rocky Horror.

I think the time for me to enjoy Rocky Horror has probably passed (and I like almost zero musicals).

I've recently started watching Bond films from the start as I've seen almost none of them.

Is one of them Little Shop of Horrors?

Unfortunately, no, I was never a LSoH fan. I do think I aught to give it a rewatch because it was probably 15 years ago I last saw it, but it never worked for me.