The 1970s were pivotal years for the motion picture industry. Never before, nor since, have movies been made in the manner they were from 1970 through 1979.
Following up on our recent piece, here are seven more films that made their indelible marks during the ‘70s.
Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
Carrie Snodgress was completely kickin’ it as a top-tier actress some fifty years ago. Then she hooked up with mercurial musician Neil Young, immersing herself in his raucous rock and roll royalty for most of the Seventies.
To hell with Hollywood, babe. Young’s gain was the silver screen’s loss.
Snodgress garnered a well-earned Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her mesmeric role as Tina Balser, the trampled-upon woman in the 1970 domestic dramedy Diary of a Mad Housewife. Caught between two demeaning men, her jerk of a husband and a-hole of a lover, Tina flounders through her life in search of both purpose and self-worth.
This frenetic finale furnishes no definitive answers regarding where Tina’s future may be headed. The harrowing sense is that it is fated to be more of the same.
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Robert Redford is an unknown soldier, circa the mid-1800s, who becomes a western American mountain man in legendary Director Sydney Pollack’s 1972 classic Jeremiah Johnson.
In due course, Redford transforms into one of the screen’s most prolific hand-to-hand combat dynamos. We watch as one by one, he disposes of a relentless onslaught of Crow nation braves bringing malicious intent. But that’s not really the story here.
Ultimately this is a fable of family. Of three members, drawn inexorably together by escapist isolationism, unspeakable tragedy, and submission born of tradition. Then savagely ripped apart. And finally, with ruthless, relentless purpose of both heart and mind, ferociously avenged.
In the end, we have come to understand with resounding resonance this: That blood, whether it be innate or cultivated, runs thick. Thicker even than the water of the bitter cold rivers running through the magnificent mountains furnishing the backdrop of this most unconventional Old West saga.
Save The Tiger (1973)
Have you ever wondered what perfection looks like? Watch Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger. You will wonder no more.
Lemmon captured a richly deserved Best Actor Oscar for his stunning portrayal of a beleaguered businessman and World War II vet swallowed whole by PTSD and existential crisis.
Save some time for flawless, folks; see Save the Tiger.
Deathdream (1974)
Yeah, it’s really dated. But the message that war is a hell many men never emerge from rings loud and clear in the horror drama Deathdream (aka Dead of Night).
Though never mentioned by name, this takedown of the Vietnam War by maverick filmmaker Bob Clark (the raunch-fest Porky’s and, oddly, the sweet holiday classic A Christmas Story) sadly continues to resonate.
Clark’s young soldier makes a supernatural return home as a zombie, escaping the tortured memories of barbaric battle by injecting stolen blood instead of heroin. The haunting subtext that far too many of our combat troops come back stateside as “the living undead” will linger with you long after the chilling ending.
Foul Play (1978)
Goldie Hawn at her most radiantly adorable. Chevy Chase at the peak of his smarmy silliness. Put them together in a kooky crime thriller involving a preposterous plot to assassinate The Pope, and you have a rollicking rom-com. Foul Play is just so damn hard not to fall for.
The late great comic actor Dudley Moore has a hilarious, albeit creeped-out, cameo with Hawn. The title song “Ready To Take a Chance Again”, played over a gorgeous aerial shot of a classic car driving along the northern California coast at twilight, is Barry Manilow at his pop crooner best. And the sight and sound of Chase answering the telephone “Yel-low” is just one example of a usually innocuous moment unusually infused with funny.
Straight Time (1978)
Are some men born to be criminals? Is it in their DNA? A destiny to which they are inexorably fated? However, the notion is not utterly preposterous.
Are some women helpless in their attraction to these guys? To always see the good. To believe that they will change. That they will be the one to save this wayward soul from a life lived on the run. Again, it seems that there is ample evidence to support this premise, as well.
Screen legend Dustin Hoffman and Theresa Russell as ex-con Max and working drone Jenny provide a perfect example of this desperately dysfunctional dynamic in the dramatic crime thriller “Straight Time”. You root like hell for this pair of society’s fringe dwellers to cash in the chips always weighing them down and make a go of it together. When all along you know this is about as far from a fairy tale romance as it gets.
After publicly humiliating a power-drunk prick of a parole officer on an L.A. freeway, it’s not looking too good for a rosy future for these two unlikely lovebirds.
Soon Max is savaged by his true nature, pent-up rage unleashed and unbridled, a career criminal succumbing to a primordial purpose. Hoffman gives us a fury-fueled spirit possessed in these scenes. There is a chilling look of demons seldom dormant in Max’s eyes as he rants and ravages, stealing whatever he wants. From whomever he chooses. As much as he can gather in the frenzied seconds before that inevitable intrusion of law enforcement. Consequences ever be damned.
Take. Or be taken. These are the only options Max has ever known. Or ever will. Either choice, offering precious little time to “go straight.”
Fast Break (1979)
Released at a time when not quite so many of us were so timid and touchy, the 1979 rags to riches college basketball comedy Fast Break ain’t afraid to affront.
It pokes fun, while not being predicated upon puncturing souls. And it has a damn fine time doing it.
Race, ethnicity, sexual persuasion. They’re all fair game here. Nobody is pandered to. Nor placated. And everybody is in on the jokes. Giving and taking in equal measure. All the while never hating on, nor harassing with hostility, anyone in particular.
-John Smistad
Photo: Fair use image from Diary of a Mad Housewife
Bravo, John!! This is a stellar list. Just rewatched DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE, a movie darn near as good as the book.
As ever, thanks, Ellen. Writing is so dang fun. Ain’t it though, friend. :]
Man, these film clips bring back memories of my youth. I saw Save The Tiger at the age of 13 in a theater (because I was bored and nothing else was showing that looked interesting that day). I was way too young to understand it. I wasn’t a clueless kid though; a few years earlier I’d seen 2001: A Space Odyssey and grasped the whole concept.
I’m also reminded of how often I had crushes on the leading ladies in the 70’s. No physical enhancements aside from a little eye shadow. It was all about the acting, which felt so real.
Supremely stated, David. Thanks for reading, sir!
Interesting article. Just watched Foul Play last night and it’s as funny as it was when I saw it in the theater all those years ago. Loved the 70s music score and hairdos. Diary of a Mad Housewife has finally been available again and I re-watched it recently. It’s a shame that Carrie Snodgrass didn’t continue making films. She was such a good actress. I’m a Redford fan, but stubbornly resisted seeing Jeremiah Johnson until last year because I don’t much care for the mountain man look. I now understand why it’s his favorite of his films. I saw Save the Tiger at a sneak preview and remember it as very powerful emotionally. Haven’t seen the other films but will look for them.
Wonderful observations here, Gina. Thanks so much for reading!
Save the Tiger is one of my all-time favorites. I have the DVD and pull it out occasionally to savor over and over. In the film, Jack Lemmon’s character Harry Stoner came ashore at Anzio and convalesced on the Isle of Capri, and he’s still there sometimes thirty years later. I’m a Vietnam War vet and can relate to those flashbacks. This is a great recommendation respecting those with PTSD or those trying to keep a struggling business afloat. Another great film on war PTSD, though not from the 70’s, is The War at Home, from Emilio Estevez. See these two together, they’re classics.
Thank you very much for reading and for your thoughtful comments, David. And, so much more importantly, thank you for serving, sir.
Make that Doug. Sorry about that. Sentiment remains the same and heartfelt.