FILMS OF 1971
Michael Caine studies the film-noir rule book in Get Carter
Get Carter is a smart crime thriller which features
Michael Caine as a criminal who investigates his brother's death and gets
caught up in a complicated web of lies. It's a highly thought provoking and
intriguing film and I can see why the reputation of it has grown. I've never
had the heart to see the Sylvester Stallone remake.
Barbara Loden is Wanda
Low
budget film written by star Barbara Loden (with maybe some help from her
husband Eliza Kazan). The success of the plot of a divorced woman trying to find herself...in
nothing but bad ways is contingent on whether or not the audience cares about
Wanda. I think she establishes this connection and I kept wanting to tell Wanda
not to do this or that, but she just wouldn't listen! This is the kind of low budget personal film that was starting to come around more in the seventies
(though rarely about women, I concede) and continues in some Independent movies
today.
Here are thirty movies from 1971 that I have seen previously that didn't
have the stuff to quite make the 1001 movies list, I've tried to list next to
each movie where it was I first saw it as a personal memory test.
1. 200 motels-Where did I first see it? Midnight
Movie in the late 70's
A strange, trippy movie from what I remember, that had
Ringo Starr imitating Frank Zappa and Flo and Eddie trying to get laid and a featured a few obligatory nude scenes and some rather off-beat music from Frank Zappa. I think
I'd revisit the soundtrack before I revisited the movie at this point.
"Ringo" Zappa in 200 Motels
2. Abominable
Dr. Phibes-Where did I first see it? Late night television during the late
70's
Vincent Price would basically be in any movie regardless
of quality (See The Dr. Goldfoot and the
Bikini Machine franchise) but occasionally he would turn up in a pretty
good film including this horror/revenge flick.
3.Bananas-Where did I first see it? Midnight Movie during the late 70's
Certainly one of Woody' early funny ones and his first in
a series of some of the best comedies of the decade....I may have even seen
this one at the midnight movies more that once...
Woody in disguise in Bananas
4.Barefoot
Executive-Where did I first see it? Might
have been at the theater the year of release
as I saw most of these Disney comedies at the cinema during the early
70's. I'm sure I thought the plot featuring a chimpanzee as a network TV programmer was funny
then...you know, that's still kind of funny!
5.Billy Jack--Where did I first see it? Emory Cinema, 1974
Who was cooler in the early 70's than Billy Jack?
6. Bednobs
and Broomsticks-Where did I first
see it? Georgia Cinerama about the time of release.
I fondly remember this Disney film that really tried to
recapture the magic of Mary Poppins
and received a mixed critical reception. I did love the cartoon sequences at the time.
Probably shouldn't revisit and spoil my good memories.
7. Summer of '42-Where did I first see it? Network movie premiere mid 70's
Movie that my mom accidentally went to see at the theater
and was really offended by #1.
In Everyone's life there is a Summer of '42...
Well, that may be a bit of an overstatement,
but it works as a promo.
Well, that may be a bit of an overstatement,
but it works as a promo.
8. The Boy Friend-Where did
I first see it? VHS rental, late 80's
I went through a period when I first got my VCR of seeing
many of Ken Russell's films. This musical with Twiggy and Tommy Tune I can't
say was one of my favorites, but may warrant another look.
9.Fright-Where did I first see it? Seemed to be on Friday night at 11:30 all the time during the early 70's
Oh, the lovely Susan George...as a terrorized baby
sitter. I thought it was kind of creepily scary at the time.
Susan George screaming in Fright
As a point of reference-
Susan George screaming in Straw Dogs
As another point of reference-
Susan George screaming in Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
Susan George screaming in Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry
10.
Million Dollar Duck-Where did I
first see it? Probably at the theater shortly after release...
These early 70's Disney/Dean Jones/Kurt Rusell/Joe Flynn
movies are starting to run together in my memory...
11.Vanishing Point-Where did I first see it? Got the DVD about 10 years ago.
A lot of Road to Nowhere movies seemed to come out during the early 70's
including Two Lane Blacktop and Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, but Barry
Newman driving away from the law and from life for no reason is the nowhereiest
of them all.
On the road to oblivion, Barry Newman in Vanishing Point
12 A New Leaf-Where did I first see it? local TV during the 80's
Walter Matthau and Elaine May. Gotta be funny, right? I
think it was, anyway.
13. THX 1138- Where did I first see it? The Superstation...I think during the early 80's
A lot of people love George Lucas's Star Wars films a lot. A small number of people love George Lucas's
cerebral science fiction film THX 1138
a lot. It's just math as to which of these became a franchise.
Robert Duvall as THX 1138
14. A Gunfight-Where did I first see it? At my Aunt's
House during the late 70's
I remember this Western had Kirk Douglas challenging the
best gunslinger in the West (Johnny Cash) to a duel. I don't remember much
about the movie, I do remember Cash lamenting about the fact that he was the
best gunslinger there was and how it didn't make him better than anyone else,
it was just reality.
15. Pretty Maids All in a Row-Where did I first see it? Late night
HBO during the late 70's
Movie that my mom accidentally went to see at the theater
and was really offended by #2
Rock Hudson plays a football coach that seduces and kills
co-eds...Wait, was that the plot? I thought this was a comedy?
Angie Dickinson is too old for Rock Hudson
in Pretty Maids All in a Row
in Pretty Maids All in a Row
16.The Hospital -Where did I first see
it? -Found a VHS of it at the library ten or so years ago.
I remember hearing about this movie years ago
which was about a big city hospital starring George C. Scott and won an Oscar
for Paddy Chayefsky. It seems to not be on anyone's radar anymore, but is
a solid and well written film.
17. Escape From the Planet of the Apes- Where did I first see it? Network TV premiere I'm guessing 1973 or 74.
Probably the best of The Planet rhe the Apes sequels.
Zira and Cornelius wind up in the early 70's with zookeeper Ricardo Montalban
to change history...or at least keep the ape line going.
Zira and Cornelius discuss time travel issues with Ricardo Montalban
in Escape from the Planet of the Apes
in Escape from the Planet of the Apes
18. The Beguiled-Where did I first see it? Late night TV
during the 80's
Dark Clint Eastwood/Don Siegel story of an injured Civil
War soldier that gets trapped in a young ladies boarding school. This could be
good for Clint good and bad and indeed is both. I haven't seen the recent
remake.
19. Diamonds Are Forever- Where did I first see it? I believe during the early 80's on TV.
Diamonds Are Forever but not so Bonds
20. Macbeth-Where did I first see it? I used our Interlibrary loan department to get every
version of Macbeth I could get a hold of. I think this was 2006.
This is a good adaptation of the bard and has some
interesting twists, especially for the final shot.
21. A Fistful of Dynamite-Where did I first see it? Another Interlibrary loan as I was trying to catch up on some missing Sergio Leone movies.
This "Western" set during the Mexican
Revolution isn't held in as high regard as Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, but I think
it's almost as good. I could definitely picture Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach
in the James Coburn and Rod Steiger roles here. I also prefer the alternate
title of Duck, You Sucker!, a phrase
Coburn comically utters during a crucial moment in the film.
James Coburn tries to reason with Rod Steiger
in A Fistful of Dyn...I mean Duck, You Sucker!
in A Fistful of Dyn...I mean Duck, You Sucker!
22. Night of Dark Shadows-Where did I first see it? Late night TV I think during
my Dark Shadow phase.
Not the best moment of the Dark Shadows franchise. I may
have largely tuned out this one.
23.Willard-Where did I first see it? Network TV mid 70's
Revenge story of a crazy young man and the mayhem he
causes with his pet rats.
"Say hello to my little friends."
Bruce Davidson terrorizes his boss Ernest Borgnie
with his pet rats in Willard
Bruce Davidson terrorizes his boss Ernest Borgnie
with his pet rats in Willard
24. Evel Knievel-Where did I first see it? Another network TV viewing.
If I had a choice between seeing George Hamilton as Evel Knievel or seeing Evel play himself
in the admittedly laughable Viva Knievel!, I'm pretty sure I'd opt for Viva Knievel!.
25. King Lear-Where did I first see it? Our library had this DVD. I watched it sometime before I started this blog.
Seeing
King Lear done in Russian with the "smaller in size than you would picture the
lead" Juri Jarvet in the title role works much, much better than I thought it
would. Directed by Grigori Kozintsev.
Howl!!! Juri Jarvet in Grigori Kozintsev's King Lear
26. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant-Where did I first see it? Those wonderful afternoon movies in the 70's on Atlanta's
ABC affiliate.
There are some that actually prefer the similarly themed The Thing with Two Heads over The
Incredible Two-Headed Transplant! No way! ITHT is way better!
The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant or...
The Thing with Two Heads...You decide
27.The Andromeda Strain- Where did I first see it? Just
watched from Netflix DVD service
Michael Crichton's first book to be adapted onto screen
is a pretty good cerebral science thriller about a mutated germ outbreak from outer space. You
do have to deal with the fact that there aren't any fuzzy monsters or dinosaurs
and the biggest star in the picture is Arthur Hill.
28.Panic in Needle Park- Where did I first see it? Just watched from Netflix DVD service
Jerry Schatzberg's tough, urban drama about heroin
addicts is probably best remembered today as an early starring role for Al
Pacino. It also is a good representation of the 70's bringing forth a new type
of film for American cinema. Leading lady Kitty Winn went on to do The
Exorcist. Al Pacino went on to become Al Pacino.
"Wincino" in Panic in Needle Park
29. The Omega Man- Where did I first see it? Just
watched from Netflix DVD service
The Omega Man is one of three theatrical versions
of Richard Matheson's book, I
Am Legend. I'm a little
partial to The Omega Man over the other versions, even though the special effects may seem a little cheesy by modern standards. I do
like the way the film keeps up with the zombie apocalypse storyline that was
probably way ahead of its time thematically. It was also a favorite of Heston's
personal favorites. If you want to learn more about Heston, you might want to
check out Marc Elliot's Charlton Heston: The Last Icon. And of course, read
anything by Richard Matheson if you get the chance.
30.Fiddler on the Roof- Where did I first see it? Our library had the DVD, so I decided
to finally watch it last year.
This is a favorite of mine on the stage, having seen a
couple of live versions over the years I liked very much. I think an aversion to
my not watching the movie sooner because it starred Topol and not Zero Mostel. But
I gave it a change, liked it very much and thought Topol was a good Teyve.
Director Norman Jewison adds a lot of cinematic flourishes to emphasize the
fact that this is a movie and not just the filmed stage play! And Sunrise, Sunset got me all Verklempt.
L'chaim! Fiddler on the Roof
That's it for 1972...Hoping Saucy feminists
that even men like make a comeback really soon!
that even men like make a comeback really soon!
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