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

[Darth Geek]

Popeye would have been a lot more tolerable if it hadn't been such an insufferably bad musical. It feels like they just told the cast they'd be singing that day when they arrived on set.

Literal nonsense.

The demoes and rehearsal tapes are even readily available online.

I didn't say that was actually how they made it, I just said that's how it feels in the movie. And if that's what it sounds like after a lot of practice.... yeesh, this was unsalvageable.

[Edward J Grug III]

Popeye would have been a lot more tolerable if it hadn't been such an insufferably bad musical. It feels like they just told the cast they'd be singing that day when they arrived on set.

Literal nonsense.

The demoes and rehearsal tapes are even readily available online.

I didn't say that was actually how they made it, I just said that's how it feels in the movie. And if that's what it sounds like after a lot of practice.... yeesh, this was unsalvageable.

These intricately composed musical numbers sound unrehearsed is a good take.

[Johnny Unusual]

#24

48 Points, 4 Lists, #12 Cleat and Russoguru

It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen.

Year 1971

What's it about?

Alex Delarge is a violent criminal having a good time with his other friends.  Getting in fights, brutalizing people, stealing, listening to Beethoven.  Anything for kicks.  However, his friends are discontent and though Alex asserts his authority on them, they stab him in the back after a particularly violent crime and Alex is sent to jail.  Alex hopes to be rehabilitated... well, most so he doesn't have to be in jail anymore, and willing subjects himself to an experimental rehabilitation method.  It seems to work and Alex is eventually released... but in his much more passive state, some old friends and one old victim is eager to take advantage.

What's it REALLY about?

Free will and morality.  When Alex wants to be "redeemed", he really just wants to be free and is willing to subject himself to torture to do so.  The torture itself doesn't work at making Alex feel empathy or penitent and know how to work towards self improvement, it's a blunt mind control instrument that cripples his mind so he can't be a criminal.

The original book and the movie itself is a satire of "aversion therapy" and its carrot and stick approach.  It is implied that the technique in the movie will also be used against dissidents, controlling behaviour that they decide to be criminal.

Legacy
The film was largely acclaimed, though did receive criticism, not only for its violence and but for, in the words of Pauline Kael, dehumanizing the victims and highlighting the sufferings of Alex.  The violence certainly is what got it banned in Britain for quite a long time (1973-1999).  It became the topic for a lot of discussion on the effects of violence on viewers, especially it was one of the films released in a 5 year period where relaxation of control of violence resulted in a lot of very violent mainstream films.

Trivia
Stanley Kubrick's first cut (before hiring several assistant editors) ran almost four hours.

Johnny's Thoughts
It's been a while since I've seen it but I remember finding it really compelling.  Malcolm McDowell is fantastic in the lead role.

[Pak-Man]

I think it's biggest problem was that you had to wait until the end of the film for Popeye to finally act like Popeye, as if it was a long drawn out origin story.

That right there exactly lines up with how I felt about it when I was like- 4. I need to see it again in my adult life.

[Cyrusso]

Clockwork Orange is a great film but it's a very hard watch for me. When it comes to Kubrick I'd much rather watch 2001 or Barry Lyndon.

[Johnny Unusual]

#23

49 Points, 3 Lists, #3 Edward J Grug III

You'll simply never understand the true nature of sacrifice.

Year 1973

What's it about?

Police Sergeant Neil Howie has left for the island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl named Rowan Morrison.  But Howie, a devout Christian, is aghast to discover that the island is a commune for worshipers of old Celtic gods.  But much stranger is the fact that the people of the island keep denying the existence of Rowan, including Rowan's own mother, despite traces of her.  As Sgt. Howie investigate, signs point to the possibility that Rowan will be used in a human sacrifice to save the islands failing crops during the May Day celebration.  Howie plans to stop it, but he has no idea what waits for him...

What's it REALLY about?

A war of beliefs, religious fervor and the hypocrisy that can be found in religious communities.  The main character is kind of a jerk to the other characters, assuming the superiority of his religion despite the fact that, at least on the surface, the island seems pretty genial.  When we learn the plot's true nature, we find that though the conspirators have supplied a "plot" for Howie to follow, but they sure put their finger on the scale to force things to be true.  Neither has a superior religion, but despite how obnoxious and self-righteous Howie is, he certainly appears as someone as far less hypocritical about his beliefs.

Legacy
Cinemafantastique described it as the "Citizen Kane of horror movies" and while that, coming from someone who ranks it among his favourites, feels a bit much, it is still regarded as one of the more inspired and unique horror films of all time.  It is considered among the best of the short-lived genre of "folk horror" (though it lived on in films like the recent The Witch).  The film had a terrible remake and a sort-of sequel that's also supposed to be pretty bad.  It's also a huge inspiration for the film Hot Fuzz, so if you like that one, check out The Wicker Man.

Trivia
This movie was inspired by an engraving called "The Wicker Image" in Britannia Antiqua Illustrata by Aylett Sammes in 1676. Some people have doubted the historical existence of The Wicker Man, suggesting that it came from Roman propaganda by people such as Julius Caesar. There is, however, undeniable evidence that the Druids and the Celts practiced human sacrifice.

Johnny's Thoughts
The Wicker Man is an all-time favourite for me.  Christopher Lee gives a wonderful performance as Summerisle and while it is never "scary" to me, there is a sense of looming dread throughout the film as you wait for the other shoe to drop.

[goflyblind]

[MartyS (Gromit)]

 We watched A Clockwork Orange in the psychology class I took.  There are many levels of conditioning evident in the film, not just what they did as a treatment for Alex.

[PsychoGoatee]

Wicker Man is cool stuff. And Malcolm McDowell is great in everything, always fun to see even in B-movies.

[Johnny Unusual]

Actually, the apples.

[Edward J Grug III]

I fell asleep watching A Clockwork Orange in the theatre the one time I saw it, so I don't really have a full opinion on it, but what I saw didn't do much for me.

The Wicker Man on the other hand is a real favourite. On paper the movie sounds like a terrible film that would end up on Rifftrax or something, but it's absolutely perfect.

[Johnny Unusual]

#22

52 Points, 4 Lists, #7 Darth Geek

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

Year 1978

What's it about?

In 1962, two freshmen decide that they need to join a fraternity.  After finding themselves out of place in the preppie Omega Theta Pi, the two kids find themselves at Delta Tau Chi, a slovenly and mischievous bunch who love wild parties.  But Delta's laissez-faire attitude and lack of respect cause the ire of the Omega preppies and the stuff-shirt Dean Wormer and they do what they can to kick Delta out of college.  But, while Delta might not have good grades, athletic ability, money, power, a leg to stand on.... Uh-oh...

What's it REALLY about?

It's a sort of silly nostalgia piece about those good old days about an idealized version of college.

Legacy
Animal House was one of the most copied movies of all time and kicked off the raunchy college comedy genre, as well as a ton of movies about shlubby underdogs going up against snooty upperclass jerks.

Trivia
DeWayne Jessie's performance as "Otis Day" was so successful, that he legally changed his name to Otis Day and subsequently toured and recorded with "Otis Day and the Knights".

Johnny's Thoughts
Animal House never spoke to me that much as it did a lot of people, but John Belushi found the perfect role for himself in Bluto.

[Edward J Grug III]

There is something about Animal House that just misses me. Like, there isn't a laugh in the whole film as far as I'm concerned.

[Cyrusso]

I on the other hand think there is so much to love about Animal House. I just noticed something when I watched it recently. Towards the end when Barbara Sue Jansen has her dress accidentally ripped off, why doesn't she just put it back on? I mean it was still sitting there on the float and she just runs the hell away screaming in her... unmentionables.

[The Lurker]

It managed to spawn a network sitcom for some reason.