THE CONVERSATION (1974)

The 70's Rivers,Day 4

The Conversation (1974)
That small, personal film about a wiretapper that exemplified the kind of film that seemed so fresh during the decade.

The Coppola River, Part III
Not as deep as the first parts of the Coppola river, yet it ran just as strong in its on way. But alas, such a river as this just couldn’t run so freely forever.

THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)

The 70's Rivers, Day 3

The Godfather, Part II (1974)
I often wondered why other filmmakers never used the device of parallel stories in different time periods tied cohesively and relating back to the original film…and as I ask the question I realize that I don’t think it could ever be done as well as it is in The Godfather, Part II. Is it superior to the first one? Let’s just say, both would be in my top five, but I still can’t figure out which would come first.

The Coppola River, Part III
The second part of the Coppola River proved to be just as mighty as the first. It was a truly a sight to behold. But how long could it last?

THE GODFATHER (1972)

The 70's River, Day 2

The Godfather (1972)
No film has ever influenced this moviegoer’s life like Coppola’s epic saga of The Corleone family. A lot of praise has been heaped on its director and actors, but it’s the great storytelling that rules the day. Easily in my top ten of favorite films.

The Coppola River, Part II
The beginning of the Coppola river, a waterway that ran deep and mighty and controlled the flow of other rivers of the 70’s for years to come.

APOCALYPSE, NOW (1979), HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE (1991)

I just finished reading Peter Biskind’s book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and watching the Hollywood documentary, A Decade Under the Influence. It made me nostalgic to revisit he American films of the 70’s that I grew up with. Ah…the films I grew up with. When Hollywood finally began to show the courage and made the kind of films that Europeans had been making for years. When a personal film like Five Easy Pieces could actually be a hit! Those were the days…The American movie Renaissance. But they weren’t all masterpieces, were they? I admit to being a huge fan of cheesy disaster movies during this era. But for every Towering Inferno or Love Story, there was a Lenny or The Deer Hunter or The Godfather or Midnight Express. Perhaps I’m romanticizing it a bit. As I said, they weren’t all masterpieces.

No film typifies the 70’s more to me than Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam epic Apocalypse, Now. There is so much in it that is brilliant (the great bombing sequences, Colonel Jessup’s scenes, the entry into the Kurtz compound) and some in it that is overdone (the crew’s massacre of civilians making them totally unsympathetic from that point on!). But I’ll tell you what-don’t miss it! People died and went crazy in the making of it (See the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse). All you-the viewer have to do is watch it! You aren’t in any real danger!

The story deals with Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) being sent on a mission down the Dugong River with his crew during the Vietnam War to assassinate the rogue Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). I had never seen the Redux version that I just finished watching which included a twenty minute or so scene with a group of Frenchmen that was completely removed from the films original release. This made Apocalypse, Now not only an interesting revisitation but a partially new experience as well.

During the scenes where Willard’s crew was going down the river, I had a thought…a daydream. These films from the 70’s were from a time long ago now and viewing them again, I feel as if I too am going down a river, albeit a less dangerous and metaphorical one. A river of dreams. A river of hope. A river of disappointment. But I feel the need to go down this river all month. What will I find at the end? I don’t know, but I certainly want to go down the 70’s rivers and soak in all its components. But am I an assassin? I guess I’ll find out.