1970s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 3)

[knives]

Too bad, Dom, you couldn't get more out of the Ashby. I find Chance to be one of the more absolutely relatable characters in all of cinema like a broken Ichi for empathy though I suspect that speaks more of me than of the character and the movie. The satire is lightweight, but I think of that as only one function of the movie and not the primary calling of it, especially for a figure like Sellers. The unknowability of one's self and how that breeds an acceptance for the surrounding world seems to me to be the real strength of the film and character. Though of course that might not function for everyone.

[bamwc2]

Niel Simon's response to Domino's criticisms

[knives]

That's almost bad enough to have been written by the actual thing.

[bamwc2]

That's almost bad enough to have been written by the actual thing.

Yeah, it's not one of their better articles, but the synchronicity compelled me to post the link. I'm also glad that I'm not the only one around here that finds Simon overrated. I've only seen one adaptation of his work (The Heartbreak Kid) that rises above the "okay at best" range (e.g. California Suite, Sweet Charity, The Goodbye Girl), and I suspect that most that success should be placed in the hands of Charles Grodin and Elaine May.

[zedz]

A Swedish Love Story (Roy Andersson, 1970): Rolf Sohlman and Ann-Sofie Kylin play Pär and Annika, young teenagers in love, in this remarkably sweet and entertaining film. There's actually very little in the way of story here: the two youths meet and fall in love amidst chaotic family struggles in both of their lives. The material with the adults never struck me as worth pursuing, but everything with the kids is pitch perfect. From the immature posturing that the two go through to look tough to the innocent adolescent sexual explorations that the couple engage in when her family foolishly lets him stay over while they're away on a business trip seem to perfectly capture experiences of early teen experiences. Yes, this is a lock for my list.

Glad to find another convert. Over several viewings, I've come to appreciate the adult content more and more. Owing to the focus of the teens, those largely offscreen conflicts are somewhat oblique and mysterious, but there's enough to reveal some quite shattering anxieties and insecurities, and I love how subtle shadings of class / status niggle away in the background (until they're detonated by alcohol). And I find Andersson's deadpan absurdism (in which the big climax of a grown-up conflict is more likely to be somebody making a fool of themselves than a tragic death) a lot more satisfying than what you'd probably get if those stories were front and centre in a more conventional film. The apparent pettiness and goofiness of that background conflict plays in exquisite counterpoint to the sweet, sensitive earnestness of the film's treatment of the central relationship, but in the final scenes of the film you also get that wonderful sense that you can also find in some of Alman's more freeform excursions that secondary and tertiary characters have all this time been going through experiences and narratives that are just as important and transformative for them as the one that the film happened to be focussed on.

EDIT: Actually, thinking back to when I first saw this film, it was actually the shift of focus to the parents' world in the final scenes that took me from "this is an incredibly great film (and I hope it doesn't blow it)" to "this is a major masterpiece" - I thought it was an extremely deft shift to open up the narrative like that, and I can't imagine many directors being able to pull that trick off.

[bamwc2]

Zedz, thanks for the help contextualizing some of the meaning that I missed on my initial viewing. Reading things your way definitely helps me to understand what the director was up to. The ending initially seemed rather anticlimactic to me, but I like your interpretation quite a bit. Also, I should have mentioned that I watched this on the excellent Artificial Eye disc. I can't speak for the other releases, but this one is great with a picture quality that pushes what DVD is capable of.

[domino harvey]

Day For Night (Francois Truffaut 1973) Why is it that when a filmmaking film portrays a movie within a movie, the made-up movie is always awful? Are the filmmakers really so afraid that viewers will wish they were watching the fake movie and not the real one? This thought thankfully helped preoccupy me during this fitfully entertaining loose series of indulgent wanks from Truffaut. I liked it better than any other Truffaut I've seen from this decade, but the phony baloney filmmaking bon mots are a little much, especially at two hours.

Emperor of the North (Robert Aldrich 1973) I love Kiss Me Deadly, but so many of Aldrich's other efforts leave me cold, as he rarely displays the same manic energy of that film. Chalk this one up in the For column, though, as against all odds a Depression-era flick about a pair of hoboes facing off against a villainous railway man is one of the most entertaining films of the decade. Nothing about 'bos Lee Marvin and Keith Carradine sticking it to Ernest Borgnine by attempting to board and stay aboard a moving train sounds like it could possibly be a good idea, but here's an example of the freewheeling checkbooks of the studios in this decade going toward an insanely esoteric idea and the investment paying off completely. A lock for my list.

Fat City (John Huston 1972) This is a good example of the kind of 70s American film I've about had my fill of, though I know it has its fans. There is only so many plot-lite portraits of listless men at a personal and professional crossroads I can handle from this decade, and I'm sorry Stacey Keach but you and your fellow actors failed to cut it. I did like Susan Tyrrell's patient black boyfriend and his late interaction with Keach, but that's about all that made an impression on me.

the Frisco Kid (Robert Aldrich 1979) Two weeks to the deadline and I spend two hours on a comedy western? What the fuck is wrong with me!? Thankfully, despite it being directed with maximum boredom by Aldrich, this soft-hearted tale of Gene Wilder's Polish rabbi making his way from Philadelphia to San Francisco with the help of Harrison Ford's begrudgingly kind bank robber was on the higher end of what is possibly the worst subgenre in all of cinema. Most of the credit for the film's meager successes can be traced back to Wilder's gentle performance, and while the film is way too long (and the clumsy editing hints at an even longer original cut), I've sat through worse. That's the equivalent of a four star review for a comedy western, though!

the Grapes of Death (Jean Rollin 1978) Disappointing zombie (?) film where tainted wine makes its victims exude banana pudding from open wounds. I hate when that happens. Another symptom appears to be disrobing female victims after you've already killed them, which is especially tasteless. None of the moody atmospherics or pacing of Fascination are on display here, and the ending is uselessly defeatist. Now I'm a little more weary of the large Rollin stockpile I still possess…

Grease (Randal Kleiser 1978) Well, I thought I'd seen this as a kid, but watching it now it's clear I probably only saw it in bits and pieces on TV over the years. The biggest draw here is, thankfully, the great collection of songs, and there are enough memorable songs to trick the memory into thinking the whole musical is better than it actually is-- though unfortunately only "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" and "Beauty School Dropout" make some attempt to comment on or embody the time period depicted (I mean, the movie opens with a disco song for obvious cast-related reasons-- it's catchy and all, but c'mon). Unfortunately, whenever no one's singing, there's little to enjoy-- all of the T-Birds are a cacophonous din of annoyance, the Pink Ladies don't fair much better, and the musical numbers are rarely staged with imagination. Also, there's at least 45 minutes of this movie involving an interminable dance contest that I suspect only exist so that viewers could make out with their date for a while and not miss anything. I've seen plenty of good musicals that didn't leave me with half as many hummable, get-out-of-my-head-already songs as this movie. But of course they also offered something I couldn't just get from listening to the soundtrack album…

Three Days of the Condor (Sydney Pollack 1975) Well, I always thought I liked 70s conspiracy thrillers, but this is another dud on my end. The point here is, I'm sure, the unknowable situation Robert Redford finds himself in, but what is revealed is not particularly engrossing. The film's biggest, most glaring flaw is the Faye Dunaway romance, which rings so false that it's hard to take what's already a ridiculous film any more seriously.

Torso / I corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (Sergio Martino 1973) A masked killer stalks young women for ninety-odd minutes. Hmm, sounds familiar… This is on the higher end of similar offerings, I guess, and it's well-made, particularly the almost wordless last act, but I had trouble recalling who the "surprise" killer was after he was revealed. And his silly motivation was typical misogynist-y claptrap that only served as a justifying springboard for the murderer undressing many of his victims. I've seen too many of these kind of films at this point to get worked up one way or another, though.

[bamwc2]

Domino, sorry to hear that you didn't like The Grapes of Death. I gave it a very marginal recommendation last week, but I could have easily gone the other way. I'm generally not a fan of Rollin's, but if you have The Iron Rose in your stack, then I'd definitely recommend giving it a spin before the voting is over. Also, I couldn't agree with you more about Emperor of the North. I had low expectations going in, but was won over very quickly by the three leads.

[swo17]

I'm generally not a fan of Rollin's, but if you have The Iron Rose in your stack, then I'd definitely recommend giving it a spin before the voting is over.

I was just about to say the same thing.

[domino harvey]

If anyone's trying to track down some rare titles for this or any other viewing project, let this be an oblique reference to a week-long free el at That Site Which Shall Not Be Named...

[matrixschmatrix]

Autumn Sonata

I'm not sure if I should mark this for spoilers? It seems silly in this context.

For a good stretch of this movie, I thought I didn't like it- it's obviously gorgeously shot and beautifully acted and exquisitely made in every other respect, as one would assume for a late period Bergman movie, but it throughout Ullmann's monologue to her mother, it felt as though the movie was on her side, backing every accusation against her mother and allowing everything Ullmann said to stand. Ullmann's character wonders several times if she's really an adult, and that seemed more than anything to be an expression of childishness; she still seems to view her mother as a titanic figure, superhuman, who has control over the emotional lives of everyone around her, plans everything she does, and ultimately creates physical disability through her neglect. Though more nuanced, it feels somewhat like all those 90s movies like Hook where a working parent is therefore a neglectful parent, one who should feel shame for being away from their children (and their children's baseball games!) Ullmann is drunk with self-pity and willing to blame everything that she sees as being wrong with herself on her mother, first on her mother's half-assed underparenting, and then on her mother's half-assed overparenting- and though Bergman tries to explain herself, Ullmann persists in being unable to see her as a flawed human, subject to the same fears and weaknesses that she is. And accusing Bergman of creating Lena Nyman's illness through her neglect seems like the ultimate in angry teenager logic- if she had only been the mother Ullmann imagines, nothing ever would have been bad.

I think the letter at the end is meant to represent Ullmann overcoming this, acquiring the grace to forgive her mother for being what she is, though presaging it with Bergman reverting to her prior mannerisms seems to undercut that reading. If so, it's almost film as talk therapy- Ullmann manages to work through her demons, and having stated them aloud, she is no longer subject to them. But Nyman's character still leaves a bad taste in my mouth, as her presence and the terror of her illness seem to be used as a metaphor for emotional sickness, which both cheap and ableist in kind of a gross way. I'm not sure that this isn't still a great movie- though I think that about most Bergman I see without generally having much affection for many of them- but I'm going to watch the Cowie commentary and see if maybe I'm reading this wrong because the movie made me miserable and it's 2:45 in the morning.

(I am always impressed at movies that wouldn't pass a reverse version of the Bechdel test- I'm almost positive that there isn't a single word passed between two male characters in the entire movie.)

[Gregory]

3 Women would fail that test as well.

[swo17]

This is your official reminder that lists are due two weeks from today. While you're preparing your lists, it might be a good idea to read back through the rules summarized in the first post of this thread. In particular, make note of the specific cases mentioned in the "eligibility" section to make sure you don't forget to include something that you might, for example, believe belongs to another decade. You might also want to scan through this list of about 350 prominent '70s films, or scan back through the thread at all the titles listed in bold to remind yourself of some of what's out there. And finally, everyone is strongly encouraged to check out the films in the spotlight section, if you haven't already.

You can PM me your lists at any time, and if you decide you want to revise them later, that's fine, up until the deadline.

[domino harvey]

You might also want to scan through this list of about 350 prominent '70s films

Interesting that I've seen 73/100 from our last two 70s lists (though not the same 73 films on each list), but only 137/346 from the TSFDT list... of course, I've seen thousands of films not on either list too, but a good indicator of how much there always is to see!

[knives]

Yeah, I'm getting rather sedate on the list right now (last two seen were The Driller Killer and Mother, Jugs, and Speed) but I could easily name off the top of my head fifty films I really should see before this is out, but probably won't have the time for like Toback's Fingers.

[TMDaines]

You might also want to scan through this list of about 350 prominent '70s films

Interesting that I've seen 73/100 from our last two 70s lists (though not the same 73 films on each list), but only 137/346 from the TSFDT list... of course, I've seen thousands of films not on either list too, but a good indicator of how much there always is to see!

From the first two iterations, I had seen around 60 odd when I submitted my 60s ballot. I'll be probably be around only 40 for this 70s submission. Being away from the forum for a while and it being a busy half year in general has caught up.

[swo17]

I've been working from that TSPDT list this whole time and have seen pretty much all of them by now. Anything I've found particularly noteworthy I've brought up here. (In fact, that list was how I discovered my two spotlight titles.) The list isn't nearly as daunting if you just focus on those titles that you've never heard of before.

[TMDaines]

I worked through the TSPDT and S&S lists for the 60s project but I haven't done it this time. I've more used Criticker, the previous iterations here and my own areas of interest (Germany, Italy and Eastern Europe) for inspiration this time.

[bamwc2]

Jeez, I need to get a life. I've seen 253 of the films on that list, including two of them this very morning! I'm trying to get all of my last minute viewing done in the next few days and planned to watch Shûji Terayama's Grass Labyrinth next. I've already seen it in the Private Collection omnibus, but am interested in seeing the longer version. IMDB has it listed as 50 minutes, but the only versions that I can find are all 40 minutes. Can anyone clear this up?

[knives]

IMDB is often wrong is the most likely answer. Obviously reading up from a few different sources will likely clear this up better than I am, but it is entirely likely this 40 minute cut is the full thing and that they got their 50 minute thing from either someone with a foggy memory or who used a television showing as basis.

[thirtyframesasecond]

2 weeks - gosh, still lots to see. Going to have to be very strict with what to see now!

[domino harvey]

Or you could be like me and, realizing there's so much yet to see, abandon the task completely and just watch a couple Sandra Dee movies from the wrong decade instead

[life_boy]

My viewing for this project was starting to wane a little too, but it was bolstered by a couple of essential recent viewings:

The Merchant of Four Seasons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1971)
I admit I have not committed myself to become fully acquainted with Fassbinder's work from this decade, but of the three I have seen from the 70's, this one resonated the most deeply. It is a strange film, built around two main characters that aren't particularly likeable and ending with such a supremely odd tone it is nearly a shock to the system when the film fades to black. The film opens with a beautifully compact prologue that immediately establishes Hans' relationship with his mother. Her scorn is not hidden (as it will be in later scenes), allowing us to know what the default of that relationship is before the next encounters with her, which are all tainted by the circumstances of the moment and the surroundings of other family. Here she is simply ice cold, as her son comes home from serving in the foreign legion and is immediately chastised for convincing a friend of the family to join him. "It's always the same," she says. "The good die young and people like you come back." Strangely, that scene is also Hans at his most human, most sympathetic until deep into the film (post-heart attack). He is so child-like with his jacket, backpack and colorful unbuttoned shirt. Cut to--years later (though we don't know it yet). Fassbinder gives us one shot that summarizes the film to a nearly comical tee: Hans' face in uncomfortably tight close-up as he slowly spins around calling out, trying to sell fruit. Next is a spinning POV of the alley before settling on Irmgard in an unflattering pose, with her skirt hiked up as she fixes her pantyhose. In that tiny gesture Irmgard is linked to prostitution, a thought I had forgotten by the time her trajectory catches up to that reality.

In some ways, this is cinema in miniature. Raw, stripped down yet not emotive in the conventional sense (or even in the unconventionally overabundant way of Cassavetes). The design is evident upon close examination but feels very accidental in the moment-to-moment of the film. There is real emotion in this film, but it is almost theoretical in some cases, not allowed to be immersive in the way a Hollywood film would create character sympathy. It is such an economical approach that is both beautiful and beguiling because of what is left out of frame.

I suppose the most sympathetic character in the movie is the daughter, who has a habit of walking into rooms at wrong times, witnessing both her father's violent rage and her mother's (as far as the narrative tells us) one-time act of prostitution. Later, when Harry steps into their lives, he becomes the de facto father figure as Hans' depression renders him useless. Fassbinder avoids any sort of moralizing or psychologizing; this isn't an examination of the actions and intentions of people, it seems more a realization of the certain unknowability of humans. We don't know why Hans is so overcome by despair as the film wears on. We could guess it has some relation to his upbringing, but Fassbinder won't give us the scene where Hans bemoans his mother's emotional distance and cloying aggression. We are given brief flashbacks that fill in parts of Hans' backstory, but these don't so much clarify things as they do expand the emotional range of the visible story. Hans' brutal beating during his time in the foreign legion doesn't explain his behavior, but it does make his return to his mother (in the prologue) that much more heart-breaking in retrospect. Perhaps Hans was never going to be happy, no matter what happened.

It is very strange the way Fassbinder in moments embraces melodrama, like the scene where Hans is drinking and his wife is searching for him and eventually comes into the bar. At other moments, he eschews melodrama, giving us no real time or way to grieve for Hans' death, even going so far as to have the next best man (perhaps better man, honestly) step in and replace him as husband, father and financial provider. There is that terrible inevitability of Hans' death, with those close-ups on each person as he drinks to their honor, one by one. And then the tears streaming down Irm Hermann's face, like an agnostic pieta, as everyone at that table is absolutely powerless to stop him and have resolved themselves simply to be there with him and to watch him die.

I definitely don't have time to take the full plunge into Fassbinder for this round of 70's voting, but I feel I have some frame of reference for beginning to understand what he is up to in the rest of his films and now some motivation to start exploring.

At Long Last Love (Peter Bogdanovich, 1975)
This is one's for you, Domino.
Admittedly, I had prejudices going in about Burt and Cybill headlining a musical, but then, after everyone introduced themselves with a song, I fell for it. Big time. Bogdanovich both loves and understands the genre he's riffing on enough to genuinely reinvent that form, if only for one film. This is so carefully crafted, so perfectly structured, so lovingly imagined. The "black and white in color" a total anomaly in movie stylistics, the sort of thing that is a little too committed but must be in order to work. Once you get those patches of green grass or champaign bottles or whatever, it just pops. I loved every moment, every frame of this film.

The ending, such a lovely Bogdanovichian twist of Old Hollywood segueing ever so subtly into New. I just wanted to hug him for making this. I know I can come back to this movie and see rich inner-workings, seeing the form as comment as form or whatever. But to just take it as an entertainment....I was highly entertained. Even with the pristine craftsmanship, it is not so perfect that life is extinguished. My personal favorite moment being "Friendship" ending in a round of growing laughter from everyone in the backseat. Burt's whole-hearted guffaw is just golden. That moment would be completely lost if the singing wasn't filmed with direct sound recording. Not only did Bogdanovich get that moment, he put it on screen. This is the sort of thing that makes me love the movies: what they can be and what they can do. I love that Bogs went for it, even if he lost his luster after this bombed. I can't stand him in interviews because he is pretty pompous, but man, for that tiny window, he made at least 3 absolute masterpieces.

I have only seen the "Director's Definitive Edition" but it is so perfect that to remove or trim any of these scenes could lead to an unraveling of the film's charming affects. Now that it is properly on blu-ray, I hope this builds a huge following. It deserves it. At long last, love... indeed.

[matrixschmatrix]

Does anyone know where I could find a full version of The Touch of Satan? It doesn't seem to be on the site which dare not speak its name...

[domino harvey]

I have only seen the "Director's Definitive Edition" but it is so perfect that to remove or trim any of these scenes could lead to an unraveling of the film's charming affects. Now that it is properly on blu-ray, I hope this builds a huge following. It deserves it. At long last, love... indeed.

Wonderful write-up on At Long Last Love! It's so nice to see an unqualified rave for a film I too find charming and wonderful beyond words. It's in my Top 5 for the decade and hopefully you'll be placing it in a lofty spot as well. I've seen several versions at differing lengths of this and yes, the one we've got now is the best by far, though do yourself a favor and enjoy the only musical number existent in the earlier version but missing this round (I honestly think it didn't make it because it just wasn't in the composite version the Fox editor made that was making the rounds and Bogdanovich just forgot about it): "It Ain't Etiquette!"