Big sets,big trousers (70s)

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Product:	70s
Date:	13/12/00 (34 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The last great decade

Disadvantages: Bad shirts

The 70s……….
Star Wars…Yes I know I keep going on about it but it’s the best! Spielbergs space opera will probably never be beaten as a cinema experience. But as with most of his films it nearly didnt happen as it turned out because the director wanted to cast Richard Dreyfuss as Han Solo after working with him in Jaws.Martin Scorcese a friend of Lucas new Ford was the right man for Solo and as Harrison was a jobbing actor and carpenter at the time in the mid 70s he invited Harrison to fix his grand office door whilst meeting with Lucas.After a chat he was invited to audition. Legend has it that the two up for the part shared a drink or two in a Beverly Hills motel with Dreyfuss and a prototype R2D2 being hurled out the window into the pool as Ford get fed up with the obnoxious up start.
Great films usually become after adversity, as is the case with Staw Wars, truly magnificent.
2) One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest…. Jack Nicholsons Oscar winning performance as a petty crook interned in a nut house to get off from along prison sentence and the subsequent one-man rebellion against his strict regime and matron.
You can’t help but get behind our Jack as he and his inmates begin to kick back against the regressive rules and regimentation. Nicholson acts his socks off as he did all the way through the 70s to put in a star performance with unforgettable moments. Great movie.
3) Jaws..Spielberg is back with his first blockbuster after the creditable Duel.The filming for this was a night mare as it went horrendously over budget as the mechanical shark corroded with salt .At one point a real Great White shark being bated jumped out at Roy Schnider nearly toppling into the water of which he has an intense phobia to in real life.
The unforgettable music really sets the movie off with one of the scariest openings ever to a movie. Chief Brodie (Schnieder) as the head policeman at the resort of Amnity Island has to k
eep the tourist coming while the beast is out there.
The performance he gives is quite clever, as he’s not a macho type ready to head out with a machine gun but a caring father who’s scared stiff of the shark and his responsibility. When a child dies the action hots up as the hunt begins.
Great lines from Robert Shaw like”Your going to need a bigger boat”as the shark rears up and those moment s that remove you from your chair and skin as you watch the flick on the big screen make this the most memorable sea horror ever on celluloid.
4) Rocky…Stallone grunts and groans his way onto the bigscreen in this boxing classic off local boy makes good with a world title shot against brash Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) .
But much to Creeds discomfort the local bum begins to shape up and the fight is on for real.
Amazingly Stallone has an IQ of 143 and he almost had to produced and directed the film himself with little or no money from the studio.
The boxing scenes are as dramatic as can be and a lot of the punches apparently landed on the actors during filming given it even more authenticity which was sadly lost in the sequel. The setting is moody to grim and the love interest grows with sophistication through the later quintet of films.
Not only is it a dreamers film but it’s the American dream personified as Rocky Balboa achieves his dignity by staying on his feet at the end of round twelve. A classic sports flick.
5) The China Syndrome…Jack Lemon is his usual nervy self as the operations manager at a dodgy decrepit Neuclar Power station that’s in need of some serious repair. The bosses’ wont let him shut it down as the financial loss will be too much so he battles to get the truth out. Cleverly set just after the three mile incident in America the film induces series paranoia through out building nicely to the climax.
Jayne Fonda almost steals the show as a gritty TV reporter coaxing
the truth from Lemon to the networks as on hand as it all goes pair shape during the first series vibration which eventually leads to a hostage situation so Lemon can stop the generator being turned on. Gripping stuff with the two leads in top form.
6) The Godfather…. Marlon Brando at his supreme eye popping, gravel voiced, wheezing best as he leads The Corleone family through the trials and tribulations of turbulent Mafia times.
Part of the most critically acclaimed trilogy ever with all three movies picking up Oscars.
Anyone who’s anyone in the Italian American acting fraternity turns in a cameo as the bodies pile up and the pasta is consumed in Smokey rooms and restaurants. The mood orchestral music adds to the sumptuous experience and if this doesn’t entertain you as cinema experience then nothing will.
7) Airport 75…Nothing gripped the seventies more than this series of airline crash movies which kicked of with Airport and progressed to the ghastly Concorde one wear it sunk to the bottom of the sea.
As a kid in the cinema this stuff was high drama and really exciting as the 747 slowly falls apart when in collision with a light aircraft near the cockpit. Can the injured pilots keep the giant in the sky. Can the snow bound runway be cleared in time…. Dramatic airborne adventure that bought about the Airplane classic comedy movies.
8) Dark Star…A fascinating sci-fi film about a deep space vehicle and crew who blow up collapsing stars to create energy with “intelligent “ smart bombs. On this mission the bomb questions his mission parameters and refuse to leave the ship and creates a show down as it questions its masters and its very own existence resulting in an intriguing stand off in the deepest of dark space. A highly intricate and intelligent film that received little or no acclaim at the time. If it’s on BBC2 late at night tape it, as it’s a classic.
9Deliverance..Famous
for its memorable scene in the woods with the pig grunting country boys getting frisky with Burt Reynolds and his boating buddies out for the weekend for a soft of rafting and all together different sort of male bonding they weren’t looking for.
The Forrest and mountain panoramas are stunning as the frantic hunters fight to stay alive in the back woods of America.Burt Reynolds never did a better film and every time you see it you get the creeps. The haunting forests really add to the atmosphere and you stay with the chase on the edge of your seat as the nerves are slowly shredded. Their coming……
10) The French Connection…Unforgettable chase scenes and shoot outs dominate this fast paced action packed thriller as detective Gene Hackaman chases down his man.
It’s atmospheric, gritty, violent, and uncompromising all the way through to its Oscar nomination. The car chases through the tight streets and underpasses where done for real and adhock sometimes during filming to get the right feel. Amazingly no one was killed or injured with the Star and director in the said car. Awesome stuff.

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