The 1970s was a watershed decade for the motion picture industry. Never before, nor since, have movies been made in the incomparable manner they were from 1970 to 1979. Here are seven films that made their indelible marks during the ‘70s.
Brewster McCloud (1970)
Robert at his most “Altman-y”
Robert Altman delighted in the skewering of all things authoritative, pompous, or staid. Never is this particular predilection more prominent than in the completely unhinged and unfathomable Boy Becomes Bird farce, Brewster McCloud.
I’m not even gonna try to break it down, guys. I couldn’t possibly do it justice.
And the ending. Oh, this glorious Altmanesque ending. You, like me, will be hard-pressed to recall any cinematic conclusion more zany, chaotic, deliciously dark, or bizarro. It’s Bob at his best.
The People Next Door (1970)
This is your Brain on Drugs
A teenage “good girl” decides drugs (lots of them, all the time) are the best way to cope with an unsatisfactory family life.
Until her brain breaks after being introduced to STP. With damage so severe that she must be institutionalized. Indefinitely. At 16.
Any questions?
Duel (1971)
A first glimpse at Greatness
Steven Spielberg’s debut feature film as a director is a tense made for TV back thriller, but thoroughly of theatre quality.
Duel tells the chilling tale of an unhinged Truck Driver (whose face we never see) weaponizing his tanker rig to do in traveling salesman Dennis Weaver, who is desperately driving to beat a deadline (pun intended) in his beater sedan. A terrifying game of Cat & Mouse plays out viciously on remote stretches of sun-baked roads and barren desert.
This classic suspense story serves as the first in a long line of movies where Spielberg does what he does like no one else. That is, masterfully transforming mundane circumstances into unforgettable and emotional cinematic experiences.
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971)
Horror of It’s Time
Have you ever been curious about what defines quintessential horror from the early 1970s? Watch the ’71 low-budget trip flick Let’s Scare Jessica to Death and won’t wonder any longer.
Sparse funding does not a feeble film make in this case. The acting is okay, with Zohra Lampert as the troubled title character faring the best. Her embodiment of a fragile former mental patient petrified that she’s losing it all over again is both challenging and poignant.
There are a lot of paths this super weird story appears to be leading us down at various points in the movie. The way it all ends up may leave you joining me in asking this clarifying question regarding the ominous title, “Are we talkin’ corpse or killer?”
No, that’s not a spoiler.
The Exorcist (1973)
Horror that Holds Up
Here’s the thing with The Exorcist for me: the script, performances, production quality, and storytelling are so thoroughly first-rate that the film exposes so many other “horror stories” as little more than wannabes. William Peter Blatty’s screenplay (based on his original novel), chronicling the commandeering of a child’s soul by abject evil, is at once jarringly disturbing as well as genuinely thought-provoking.
Director William Friedkin gradually, purposefully ratchets up the shock and terror with each successive scene. And as he does, you’re increasingly convinced that what you’re watching on screen could actually happen. Maybe that’s why I waited almost 40 years to finally see it.
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
Rom-Com at its most Resplendent
Neil Simon’s The Goodbye Girl probably would not have stood much of a chance without the richly deserved Academy Award performance of Richard Dreyfuss. His frenetic and charming portrayal of the eccentric actor Elliot Garfield is one of the true treasures in motion picture history. He simply steals the show.
Still, kudos to Marsha Mason as his romantic foil and (initially) reluctant roommate, and Quinn Cummings as her precocious young daughter. Both do an excellent job keeping pace with Dreyfuss’s radiantly dazzling work.
Witnessing Dreyfuss turn the esteemed Shakespearean stage role of Richard The Third into “England’s first, badly dressed, interior decorator” is but one of many moments of inspired hilarity in The Goodbye Girl that’s bound to render you helpless with laughter.
I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
And even that’s too damn good for ya!
This is one of those movies that many of us had been aware of, and one which we felt we had to see at some point in our lives. Especially if you were coming of age when it was released in the late ’70s.
Well, I’ve now seen I Spit on Your Grave. I can’t say I’m glad I saw it. I can tell you that it was a profoundly raw experience. The no-name actors, seemingly pastoral country setting, and complete absence of music other than that produced to elevate the horror depicted make it unsettling. The filmmakers claim that their sickening story is based on actual events.
This is practically the only film star Camille Keaton ever did. With what she was put through in …Spit, even though it’s all pretense, one can hardly blame her for not wanting to stay in the movie business.
Ultimately this is a tale of vengeance. Keaton’s character is abused as if she wasn’t even an animate creature. I Spit on Your Grave drives home the “no evil deed goes unpunished” dictum in a disturbingly affecting manner unlike no other film had done before it.
Or, perhaps ever since.
-John Smistad
Photo: Getty Images
Duel is a fantastic film.
“Hmmm. This kid Spielberg may just have a future in this biz.” 😁
Cubby Broccoli reportedly said “We’ll see how the kid does with the fish picture.”
As I recall he did “okay” with that one, right? ;]
Nice to see some love for Brewster McCloud, one of my favorite movies. So totally different from anything. First saw it at the drive in back then. Finally found the hard to find DVD a few years ago. Very spacey. Fire one (or two) up and watch this one. A classic.
Righteous, Richard!
The fact that this mind expanding escapade emanated from my ol’ “Space City” stomping grounds seals the deal for this flick freak. 😎
An interesting enough list, however, it doesn’t do much to make the article’s case. Prefacing these movies by asserting that “never before, nor since, have movies been made in the incomparable manner they were from 1970 to 1979” implies that these movies could only have been made in that decade, but there’s little to nothing said about any of them to support that premise. Plus, with three horror movies – four if you count Duel – it isn’t even a particularly representative list of noteworthy movies from the decade, ignoring among other things the decade’s rich vein of post-Watergate conspiracy films.
“All The President’s Men” is one of my favorites. Ever.
There are “a few” more than seven flicks from the sensational seventies, our friend. Stay tuned…
Above all, abundant thanks for reading. And, moreover, for reading thoughtfully.
Brewster McCloud is one of my favorite movies of all time (though I admit I was stoned most of that time period.). Kellerman’s “Louise” is brilliant, and who didn’t love her souped up Gremlin with the BRD SHT license plates. Shelley Duvall was a hot freak in the role of “Suzanne”. who screws, saves (in a stolen Road Runner) and ultimately turns on poor Brewster. It’s totally dated, of course, but that’s part of the charm.
Thanks for reading TvProf…Smokin’! ;}
Hey TvProf, in Brewster McCloud member Stacey Keach as the mean old bastard in the wheelchair? I had a real good friend that looked almost identical to that except he was a super nice guy and we just laughed and laughed about that, R.I.P Lance. I always think of him when I watch Brewster.
I love the 70’s and being English, am biased towards the many weird and wonderful films the UK produced during that decade. Just to mention a few; the hardnosed “Brit gangster” offerings of “Villain” & “Get Carter,” the absolutely bonkers sci-fi romp “Zardoz”, and maybe my favourite, the surreal odyssey of Malcolm McDowell in “O Lucky Man.” Check ’em out for some mind warping entertainment!