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Five Great Films Of The 1970s You Should See
From Gary Busey surfing, to a potty-mouth Paul Newman, here are five gems from the 1970s you may have missed.
Silent Running (1972) – A full 5 years before Star Wars this was quite a gentle SciFi film but quite ahead of it’s time. It could have been set in a remote mine or Arctic station as isolation and corporate orders were key themes. Douglas Trumbull had worked on the special effects for Kubrickon 2001: A Space Odyssey and this was his directorial debut. The Valley Forge ship on which it was set was named after a Civil War encampment and national park and was basically a floating botanical garden which cultivated plants for the replanting of earth following a long nuclear winter. The crew receive instructions to destroy the giant greenhouse “pods” and head home. Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) decides this is not for him and well, the rest is worth watching. There is a horrible Joan Baez soundtrack which I recommend you stick your fingers in your ears for. It’s got a great feel to it and I bet hippies loved it.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) – Sam Peckinpah’s bawdy tale of an uneducated prospector cum chancer called Cable Hogue, (an excellent Jason Robards), who is left to die by ex-partners only to find the only source of water on the long stagecoach route across the desert. What follows is an enchanting mix of comedy, kindness, romance, friendship, forgiveness and salmon pink “all-in-one” dirty underwear. There are plenty of high points in the film from when he feeds coach passengers Desert Surprise stew full of rattlesnakes and scorpions on nailed down plates to the final irony of the motor car ending his business and his life. The stand out scene is actually a song sung by Hogue and Hildy over scenes of relative domestic bliss and one suspects the two characters at their happiest together. There are a few songs in the film but Gerry Goldsmith’s Butterfly Morning is the stand out piece, you can imagine Joan Baez murdering it but Stevens has a lovely uncomplicated voice and it is a bit that always gets rewound in my house. I believe this is Peckinpah’s best film and one of his favourites by all accounts.
Imagine the Jonas brothers then imagine them having long hair, jam-jar specs and a liking for extreme violence.
Slap Shot (1977) – Paul Newman said that following the making of this film he was constantly being told off by his missus for his language. If you’ve seen the film you can probably appreciate why. It’s a tale of a steel town, minor league ice hockey team in the throes of a terrible run, morale is poor and although there is some talent, everyone is going through the motions. Two things then happen, the local steel mill announces its closure and the club sign three brothers from the Iron League. Imagine the Jonas brothers then imagine them having long hair, jam-jar specs and a liking for extreme violence and, gentlemen, I give you The Hansons. When they finally get the chance to play, they kick the shit out of everyone, the fans love it and results improve. I suppose you would describe it as a sports drama with plenty of laughs rather than a comedy but I think it’s a great example of the great blue collar stuff that came out of the US in the 70’s
Big Wednesday (1978) – This is a great coming of age, surfing / Vietnam film with cool stars, cooler music and the beautiful Patti D’Arbanville and Lee Purcell. Cat Stevens wrote a love song to Patti, “Lady D’Arbanville” incidentally. Three surfing gods, William Katt (Jack), Gary Busey (Leroy) and Jan Michael Vincent (Matt) go from care-free teenagers to soldiers / draft dodgers and parents in a 15 year span which also charts changes in music, fashion and surfing. The best “rites of passage” movie ever made and it made me want to move to California and become a surf bum but I was 15 and I wasn’t allowed. I did buy a Cal-look Beetle once though, it wasn’t the same. Neither was the surfing in Rothwell Beck.
The Duellists (1977) – Director Ridley Scott made the recent Robin Hood confusion-fest as well as G.I. Jane, but he also made The Duellists so he’s OK with me. Set in the Napoleonic wars two French officers of similar rank (rank is an important theme in the film) travel Europe with the French army and engage in a series of duels. They are separated by years, driven by an initial slight and distilled by fierce pride. If you can get beyond the fact Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel are supposed to be Frenchmen yet speak with AmDram Shakespearian English accents then you will love this. Keitel’s Feraud is the more aggressive and base, Carradine’s D’Hubert the gentleman soldier. The duels are realistic and brutal but the conclusion highlights how archaic the practice was. No one really wins.
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COMMENTS
Good recommendations. The Duellists has some superb photography and a great cast too.
Isn't it wonderful? The fierce pride they had and the defence of honour at all costs seems crazy in comparison to today. Keith Carradine appeared in three great films The Duelists, The Long Riders and Southern Comfort then drifted into TV movies, what a waste.
Great stuff, Simon - will dust off my copy of The Duellists this weekend. As for Keith Carradine, isn't he in Madonna's Material Girl video?
I think you might be right. He made a return to form as Bufallo Bill in Deadwood too.
seen them all - so what is your point
KWood. I don't have a point they are just recommendations.
ok fair enough
Any bloke out there that hasn't watched Slap Shot should have their gender membership revoked. Any bloke who hasn't watched Slap Shot in a double bill with Burt Reynolds' Mean Machine should receive a stern verbal warning.
Ah but David L, you know that and I know that therefore it is our solemn duty to inform and educate.
Don Vito Corleone?
MDF, I would have assumed everyone will have seen The Godfather mate.
Simon, if you're doing an 80s list make sure you stick The Draughtsman's Contract in.
lets go the whole hog with our arty farty hats on and suggest Drowning by Numbers - or suggest man size films like Commando
Dear Simon- yes the Seventies really was a golden age of cinema.Films made by people with real stories to tell and the ability to tell them with eloquence. Have to mention All the President's Men for starters.
@Simon - Keith Carradine did slope off into TV films but was superb as Wild Bill Hickock in Deadwood.
1970's is by far my favourite era of film. So many leading men were at the top of their game the competition was fierce. The above list is not a "best of the 70's" list as there are loads of great films just some personal favourite that may have slipped under the radar of younger Saboteurs. Mmm, 80's, it will be tough because there was a lot of big noisy shit in that decade but by Jove I might give it a crack.
Slap Shot, what a film dont forget MASH though and the Cuckoos Nest
Two additional 70s Keith Carradine films of note are Robert Altman's Nashville and Alan Rudolph's Welcome To LA. Rudolph also directed Keith in two terrific films during the 80s, The Moderns and Choose Me.
Arty farty it may be K Wood, but it's still a great film. Pleased to hear that, Simon. Let's see what rabbits you can pull out of a particularly shitty top hat.
Slap Shot: Love the brothers arguing over absolutely anything - including Scaletrix.
Jimmy C, I'm thinking about it mate but it's tough. It was all Brat Pack, John Hughes and sweaty vested heroics.
Shaun, Alan Rudolph directed Carradine in THREE terrific films in the 80s. Don't be forgetting Trouble In Mind, even if Carradine is completely blown off the screen in that film by Divine, not to mention his own hair.
hmm - did not see John Candy in Jean de Florette - though there were some sweaty vests
Think Australia, Simon - they made some cracking films in the 80s.
The Duellists was on telly the other day.It was shit.
If you're a Keith Carradine fan then hopefully you've caught his masterfully sublime portrayal of Special Agent Lundy in Dexter. His performance in Alan Rudolph's "The Moderns" was enjoyable as well. One minor correction: he played Wild Bill Hickock in Deadwood, not Buffalo Bill.
The squeeze 1977 - stacy keach, david hemmings, stephen boyd and freddie starr! classic script by leon griffiths and direction by micheal apted.
The 70s was my favourite decade for movies. Let's see: Anything with Warren Oates, ie Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, Badlands, Two Lane Blacktop. Elliott Gould was cool in The Long Goodbye and Capricorn One. Robert Mitchum kicked Jap ass in The Yakuza. I could go on and on. Films like this simply could not be created these days.
I've never seen the Godfather because everyone has been banging on about it for years that it is sure to be a massive letdown. I haven't got the time for overhyped films
'Unman, Wittering, and Zigo', anyone?
"DARK STAR"
Absolutely Ian great call
Great choices. If I had to go solely for American 70s films I'd say All The President's Men, The Long Goodbye, The Conversation, Chinatown and then a toss up between Dog Day Afternoon and The Taking Of Pelham 123. British would be Get Carter, The Devils, O Lucky Man, 10 Rillington Place and Don't Look Now
Seen all of them except Big Wednesday - thanks for that! And definitely do an 80s one - I'm with Jimmy C on the Draughtsman's Contract. Oh, and if you do a 90s one how about John Sayles' Lone Star?
What about the best Western ever made, The Culpepper Cattle Company.
I'd also like to recommend Monte Walsh (Lee Marvin and Jack Palance), The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (Billy Wilder), The Outfit (Robert Duvall), Ulzana's Raid (Burt Lancaster/Robert Aldrich) and The American Friend (Dennis Hopper/Wim Wenders).
'80s is a bit shit. How about: Babylon, The Year My Voice Broke, Melvin and Howard, Coup de Torchon (Clean Slate) & Gloria. Maybe Broadway Danny Rose, Man With Two Brains or Tampopo if you need some comedy.
Note re. Ballad of Cable Hogue soundtrack. Jerry Goldsmith didn't actually write "Butterfly Mornin's" but worked his score around it. It was composed by a bar singer Goldsmith had recently met, Richard Gillis. Gillis composed and sang the 3 other vocal tracks used in the film. Jason Robards and Stella Stevens own vocals are on "Butterfly Mornin's" and Hope Sandoval (ex-Mazzy Star) recorded a beautiful version for her first solo album, produced by My Bloody Valentine's Colm Ó Cíosóig. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldSW_zbiutY
how I wish I was PAULB, having never seen the godfather, I know what he has to look forward two, one of the greatest films ever made, even after all this time.
I think I will spend the weekend watching some of these great old films, nice piece by the way
I would strike from the "close friends" list any man who hadn't seen at least 3 of the films on that list.
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