Spider-walking, head-spinning, floating - The Exorcist 1973

The Scariest Movie Of All Time

One of my favorite scenes in any movie ever is the famous "spider-walk" scene from The Exorcist. This was not in the original release. Director Friedkin cut the very brief scene for technical reasons (you could see the wires holding up contortionist Linda R. Hager). It was restored for re-release with the help of cgi (author and screenwriter William Peter Blatty really wanted it in).

The physical transformation of Regan (Linda Blair) from a cute chubby-cheeked girl to a head-spinning projectile-puking monster was done very well. She changes slowly over the course of the movie, rather than all at once, so you were never prepared for whatever creepy terrors would come next...

spider-walk

head-spin

floating

Fists of Fury (aka The Big Boss) - Bruce Lee kicks some ass,1971

Fantastic karate & kung-fu action film from the great Bruce Lee. Lee plays a young man who leaves his home town, promising his mother that he will no longer get into fights. We know that won't last long, and by the end of the movie he has maimed and killed many foes (all villains who had it coming of course). The sound effects are wonderfully over-the-top. The dubbed version (which I watched) adds to the insanity. Not as great as Enter the Dragon, but an excellent precursor to that masterpiece.

When the shirt comes off you know it's about to get serious.

       

Busting (1974)

Pretty decent cop flick with Elliott Gould and Robert Blake. Director Peter Hyams first movie. It's rather dark and gritty, with some humor supplied by the two stars. Plot-wise it's pretty standard fair. There's a lot of crime and corruption in L.A. and vice cops Keneely and Farrel decide to do something about it. There's some shooting, good chase scenes, strippers and more, everything you'd expect in a 1970s cop movie. But overall it's pretty downbeat and cynical. Very nice camera work with a lot of long takes and interesting angles. Good supporting cast, especially Allen Garfield as crime boss Carl Rizzo. And Elliott Gould wears a funny hat.

Elliott Gould with mustache and hat, having a brew.

Death Race 2000 (1975)

Car racing mayhem from 1975. Often hilarious (intentionally so) campy cult science fiction classic set in (obviously) the year 2000. It's all for television ratings as five racing teams try to run down citizens for points on the "Transcontinental Road Race". David Carradine, in his first post-Kung Fu role plays "Frankenstein", a supposedly disfigured two-time winner of the  race. The lovely Simone Griffeth plays his navigator. Sylvester Stallone, in a pre-Rocky role, plays his chief rival Machine Gun Jo Viterbo. There are also several attractive ladies who don't mind taking their tops off now and then (it's the 70s after all). While there is a good bit of violent death, the special effects are such that it never gets too disturbing (the blood just doesn't look like blood). Produced by B-movie master Roger Corman and directed by Paul Bartel (who also takes a humorous turn as Frankenstein's doctor). Nice cinematography by Tak Fujimoto. Overall a great little movie (it's fairly short), and one of my all-time faves.

It's the future!

David Carradine and Simone Griffeth.

There were a couple of sequels (or prequels as the case may), imaginatively title Death Race and Death Race 2, made in 2008 and 2010. They were both set in (and confined to) the notorious prison Terminal Island and were pretty much the same movie. The first one with Jason Statham and Joan Allen is the better of the two. The second (which is actually the prequel to the 2008, both being confusingly the prequel to the 1975 movie which was set in 2000) shows how the Frankenstein character comes to be. Up-to-date with much more realistic gory special effects, and grittier, with rap music and such, they are fun enough but lack charm and have very little to do with the original Death Race 2000. 

King Kong (1976) - beauty and the beard

This movie had a lot of hype preceding its release in 1976, and it did well at the box office. I remember seeing it in the theater and enjoying it. The critics haven't been to kind to it though and Peter Jackson's more recent special-effects-laden version no doubt garners more praise. This one's admittedly a cheese-fest, but I think there's lot to like here. Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange are both otstanding, although I doubt either one of them would point to this movie as a great moment in their careers. The story is similar but not the same as the classic original and best King Kong from 1933. It's given a contemporary 1970s setting, and they're looking for oil rather than planning a movie (remember, there was a gas shortage). So some evil oil dudes (led by Charles Grodin) set sail for a strange island which they think will pour forth a lot of the black gold. This absence of a movie-making plot leads to a very contrived scene when they find the unfortunately named starlet Dwan (Jessica Lange) adrift in a raft. I guess they couldn't think of a better way to get her on board the boat. After that it pretty much goes as you'd expect. Scantily clad girl meets giant ape, giant ape falls for girl. A bad ending for the big ape.

There's more to it than that however, and for me at least, the most mesmerizing aspect of the movie was Jeff Bridges' facial hair. There's a lot of it and whenever it was on screen I couldn't take my eyes off it. Jeff Bridges plays Jack Prescott, a liberal-type scientist who wants to study Kong. He also falls for the girl, giving Jessica Lange two hairy beasts to contend with.

They Call Me Mister Tibbs (1970) - murder meets interior design, and comes up short

A decent cop movie with Sidney Poitier playing it cool. A good supporting cast with Martin Landau, Barbara McNair, Anthony Zerbe, and a hairy-headed Ed Asner. Directed well by Gordon Douglas, and music by Quincy Jones is always good. Script is unremarkable though, and the murder story could have been used in any number of cop television shows from that era. There's a good car chase, a long foot chase, and a couple of fist fights. We also see Tibbs with his family on several occasions, mainly working out a relationship with his young and unmindful son. The movie never really catches fire, and the ending kind of fizzles. The most fun for me was taking in the early 70s interior design. Browns and drab greens dominate, with a splash of orange thrown in to brighten things up. And some cool lamps.

Time After Time (1979) - a science fiction romantic comedy with serial killer

"IMAGINE! A scientific genius named H.G. Wells stalks a criminal genius named Jack the Ripper across time itself in the most ingenious thriller of our time." The poster pretty much says it all. Throw in some light romance and comedy and you pretty much have it. Seriously though this movie is quite fun, and exciting too. Directed by Nicholas Meyer and starring Malcolm McDowell as H.G. Wells and David Warner as Jack the Ripper. Mary Steenburgen, providing the romantic interest, plays Amy Robbins, a liberated 70s gal.

Basically, it's London in 1893, H.G. has just built a time machine, but has yet to try it out. Before he can, Jack steals it to escape the coppers, lands in 1979 San Francisco and quickly gets up to his old bad ways. H.G. realizes what has happened and tracks him down (the time machine automatically returns home to whoever has a certain key). Amy helps him in his endeavors.

Much of the fun here is Wells' befuddlement at all of the strange things 1979 has to offer. The future is certainly not the utopia he had imagined. Along the way he meets Amy and strikes up a mutual interest. McDowell is cast perfectly for this and you feel for him and his predicament.  This was one of Steenburgen's first major rolls and she's very likeable as well. Warner does a terrific job as the Ripper - he's mean and arrogant and finds that 1979 suits him just fine. A great musical score, by long-time film composer Miklos Rozsa, adds a nice ambience and enhances the action. This was Nicholas Meyer's first directorial effort and he succeeds winningly. He had previously written the excellent "Seven Percent Solution", and subsequently would direct "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".

Pretty Baby (1978) - Malle, Nykvist and Shields bring Storyville to life

I remember when this first came out and all the stir centered around 12-year-old Brooke Shields playing a child prostitute named Violet. This was Shields first major movie role, after having had early success as a child model. Her acting is in fact quite excellent, outshining her costar Keith Carradine (who seems rather wooden at times), and at a level with the other adults in the film, notably Susan Sarandon who plays her mother Hattie.

The story, set in New Orleans' Storyville in 1917, just before the end of legal prostitution, centers around Violet's becoming a prostitute and her relationship with photographer Ernest J. Bellocq (played by Carradine and based on a real life character). Despite the dark subject matter, there are moments of lightness, especially in reagrds to Violet's relationships with the older prostitutes, and there are many colorful secondary characters. Louis Malle directs expertly and there many arresting scenes. Especially chilling and central to the entire movie is the scene where Violet's virginity is auctioned off to a bunch of  disgusting old men. Her subsequent deflowering is off screen and there is a shot of two little girls listening outside the room. Disturbing, creepy, and absolutely brilliant.

The best thing about this movie though, besides Brooke Shields' fine performance and Louis Malle's directing, is the exquisite cinematography of Sven Nykvist. Too much can't be said of the talent of Nykvist, who has an impressive body of work. He collaborated with Ingmar Bergman throughout the 1960s and continued that partnership in the 70s and 80s, winning an Oscar for "Fanny and Alexander" in 1982. His work for Louis Malle is no less impressive, giving New Orleans' Storyville district a distinct glow, yet with a feeling of gritty reality. It made the film a joy to watch, despite the sometimes ugly subject matter. Now I want to see all of those Bergman movies.

Silent Running (1972) - out in space, a plea for beauty

I don't remember if I saw this film when it was originally released, or years later, but I remember really enjoying it the first time I saw it. It is an outstanding directorial debut for Douglas Trumbull, who worked on both 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain as a special effects wizard.  The story itself doesn't make a lot of sense from a practical standpoint. In the future there are these enclosed domes out in space (near Saturn). They're actually giant greenhouses holding the last of earth's flora. Earth is apparently just hunky dory, with no unemployment, and a temperate 75 degrees everywhere. But there's no more forests, so they sent the last plant life into space. On the surface it's an eco science-fiction story from the early 1970's, when there was much worry about pollution and its devastating effect on our planet.

Below the surface it's much more interesting. Bruce Dern plays Freeman Lowell, one of the astronauts charged with the safekeeping of the domes. Far more than the other three crew members on board, Lowell takes the forests to heart and believes the mission to be of the utmost import. He even makes some passionate speeches about beauty and nonconformity, to the deaf ears of his crew mates. When word comes down that the domes are to be nuked and the crew is to return (for "commercial" reasons), Lowell doesn't take it too well. The story gets going as Lowell starts to unravel and makes some unfortunate decisions. Ultimately he is left alone with the forest and a few robots (referred to as drones). Dern's performance is excellent of course, and the drones almost steal the show.  Huey and Dewey (as Lowell has named them) become his new crew mates and he is able to relate much better to them than he was to the human crew. Loneliness and regret starts to eat at Lowell however and Dern does a great job of being a little crazy and still sympathetic.

It can get boring out in space, alone, with regret, and some robots.

The special effects are excellent all around, with great models, exceeding most anything else from that era. The interiors were shot aboard the decommissioned aircraft carrier "Valley Forge", the same name given to the spaceship, with lots of cool lights and buttons. The drones were manned by multiple-amputee actors and to me are the most outstanding aspect of this film. The soundtrack is also very good, composed by Peter Schickele (of P.D.Q. Bach fame), there's a song sung by Joan Baez, which does seem a bit corny, but I like Joan so that's fine by me.

Interior shot of the "Valley Forge"

The Candidate (1972)

Robert Redford stars as Bill McKay, an idealistic young lawyer who is talked into running for the U.S. senate. As the campaign wears on he slowly becomes a politician, having to compromise his integrity in order to win. Not a surprising tale but told very well. The über handsome Redford plays the part note-perfect and despite his slide into the quagmire of politics I'd still vote for Bill McKay at the end of the movie. There are many humorous moments, but they are wryly done and not overly obvious. Peter Boyle plays the campaign manager and is outstanding as always. Directed by Michael Ritchie (Bad News Bears, Semi-Tough).

I saw a bunch of Robert Redford movies in the 1970s. He was a huge star and seemed to be in a new movie every few months. In fact he made 12 movies during that decade and 3 of them were in 1972. I probably saw this one several years later, the subject matter not being enticing to a 12 year old. The other two from '72, "The Hot Rock" and "Jeremiah Johnson" (can't wait to watch that one again) would have been more my speed and I do remember seeing both of those in the theater when they came out.

As far as political films go this one has aged well and I think it's one of the better ones out there. It is quite cynical and you can't help but think that nearly 40 years later politics has not changed at all (and has probably gotten a lot worse).

At Earth's Core (1976)

The poster is better than the movie.

I missed this one when it came out in 1976 and I don't remember hearing about it. It's super cheesy with hilarious special effects and pretty bad acting. This was long before the omnipresent use of cgi of course, so you have to give them credit for going all out with the monster costumes. Based on an Edgar Rice Burroughs story and directed by Kevin Connor, it stars Doug McClure and Peter Cushing as scientists who accidentally drill through the earth's crust in their Iron Mole and end up in an enormous cavern filled with bizarre prehistoric creatures. The Mole was pretty cool and looked kind of steampunkish.

The Iron Mole getting ready to launch.

The sets are actually pretty nice and there are some totally awesome giant mushrooms. The scientists soon get captured by pig-snouted minions who are telepathically controlled by evil reptile-birds. They have enslaved humans and McClure and Cushing will eventually have to fight them to free the slaves and themselves. There are plenty of action scenes as McClure must battle many strange underground beasts as well as jealous slaves. And there's lots of fire too as they are after all "At the Earth's Core". And last but not least there is a very attractive slave princess played by Caroline Munro, who is easily the best thing about this movie (besides the mushrooms).

Awesome mushrooms.

Doug McClure shows off his biceps to Caroline Munro.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Absolutely one of my favorite movies of the 1970s. I saw this when it first came out in 1974. I thought it was terribly exciting then and I still find it quite gripping.  Directed by Joseph Sargent with the great cast of Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam and Hector Elizondo. Filled with gritty tension and smart dialogue, I think this is one the best crime dramas of all time. Robert Shaw leads a group of mustachioed men who hijack a New York City subway train and hold the passengers hostage. The facial hair is a disguise and they all go by a color for a name (Mr. Blue, Mr. Green etc. Tarantino paid homage to that in Reservoir Dogs).  Walter Matthau is on the other side as the head of security negotiating with the hijackers. You do get a little humor on that side, especially with some of the supporting actors like Lee Wallace as The Mayor. It's all serious business in the subway train however as Shaw and Elizondo are especially uncompromising and menacing. The pacing is perfect with scenes going back and forth between the bad guys and the good guys. The soundtrack, composed and conducted by David Shire, is also excellent.

 

I saw the 2009 remake of this not too long ago and it was predictably bad. Tony Scott's over-the-top directing and John Tavolta's over-the-top acting pretty much kill the story. Everything is turned up to eleven and all the subtle menace is lost. As for the cast, the rest of the bad guys were pretty unremarkable. The good guys were better, with Denzel Washington, John Turturro and James Gandolfini all quite likeable. I saw this just a few months ago and I don't remember much else. It just didn't make an impression on me. Overall another pointless remake not worth watching except to compare to the original to see how much better that one was.

The Andromeda Strain (1971) - alien microorganism meets minimalist design

   Classic science fiction thriller directed by Robert Wise and based on the novel by Michael Crichton (which I've not read). The first time I saw this I found it quite frightening and tension filled. I've seen it a few times since the 1970s (once every 10 years or so) and it gets a little less frightening each time. There are still some rather chilling moments though. My favorite scene is when they are scanning the satellite for the source of the contamination. I still find it wonderfully spooky, but in a nice subtle way.

   Starring Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson and Kate Reid, who are all fine.  It's a slow moving film, with lots of detail concerning the underground facility. What I was particularly drawn to this most recent of viewings was the design of the facility. The sets are really nice and use a minimum of bells and whistles. In fact it's downright spare, at times reminding me of minimalist art.

Levels are color coded.

On the way to be decontaminated. Compare the minimal design to that below.

Installation by minimalist artist John McCracken

   Overall a cool looking movie with some chilling scenes, decent acting, and excellent direction and set design. I'll probably watch it again in another 10 years. Good stuff.

The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974)

I remember seeing both of these movies in the theaters upon their original release. I would have been in my early teens and I thought they were quite exciting and very funny. Re-watching them again over 35 years later I'm happy to say that my original impression hasn't changed significantly. The cast is quite good, with Michael York, Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway, Charlton Heston (in a cameo) and Richard Chamberlain. Shot in Spain and directed by Richard Lester. Set designs and costumes are excellent.

Michael York (D'Artagnan) comforts Raquel Welch (Constance)

Originally shot as one movie, thee producers decided to break it into two movies when they saw how much film they had (resulting in a lawsuit). The first movie has more of a comic feel to it. Lots of pratfalls and silly goings-on. Can be rather tiresome, although when I was a much younger I thought it hilarious. It becomes more serious as the plot unfolds. The second movie has more weight to it and the funny business is less, making it the stronger of the two movies.

Note should also be made of the brawling swordplay, which is choreographed wonderfully. Faye Dunaway is also especially delicious as the evil Milady de Winter. Oliver Reed is at his most likeable. Altogether a superior movie version of the Dumas novel (which I confess I've never read and only have other movie versions to compare this to), I found it quite enjoyable and rewarding to watch again.