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

[knives]

I suppose the general quality of '80s cinema might help in that regard, but probably for you the end result will be just a redeux of the horror list.

[Forrest Taft]

Last minute hopeless recommendation of a film I haven't seen mentioned in this thread and didn't make previous lists: Miyazaki's first film, The Castle of Cagliostro is eligible for this decade. It doesn't have the thematic depth of Miyazaki's later works, but it's an incredibly fun, charming film. I expect some fans of the original series might take issue with how makes the titular protagonist far nobler (and less pink) and downplays the usual sexualization of its female characters, but I think those are improvements, and they particularly well within the confines of the film.

Thought this one was from the 1980s, so I didn't include it. Actually, in the first post in this thread, under the "Forum Discussions of Filmmakers Active During the 1970s" heading, Swo linked to a Miyazaki discussion thread. I thought it was strange he did that, because I was certain Miazaki only did television in the 1970s, and Cagliostro came later. Should have imdb'd it...

Plenty of fun films among your 'nearly made its', although I'm disappointed that you didn't find room for Frenzy, which I've just delighted in again recently, to coincide with my purchase of the 'Van Der Valk' box-set.

I'm curious to see if it makes the list. Saw it again a few months ago, and it is a lot of fun, with Barry Foster's performance being perhaps the highlight of the entire movie. I've never heard of Van Der Valk though.

[swo17]

Thought this one was from the 1980s, so I didn't include it.

You're welcome to revise your list any time before the deadline.

[Yojimbo]

I'm just ready for the 80s list to start more than I'm curious about the results for this one (true of every list though!)

I'm just sorry that I've got to wait a few years for the next 50s list.....or even 30s and 40s
Never mind the 60s
I think I'll give the 90s a miss, though!

[Forrest Taft]

Thought this one was from the 1980s, so I didn't include it.

You're welcome to revise your list any time before the deadline.

Done! Too bad for Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, now at #51.

[Yojimbo]

I'm curious to see if it makes the list. Saw it again a few months ago, and it is a lot of fun, with Barry Foster's performance being perhaps the highlight of the entire movie. I've never heard of Van Der Valk though.

Barry Foster was great, although Vivien Merchant - and Jean Marsh in an even-smaller role - came damn close to stealing it, right from under his nose.
Hitch had a lotta fun with this one, even though a particularly graphic murder was somewhat hard to stomach.

Van Der Valk is a 70s British crime series set in Amsterdam, where he plays the title character.
I'd been looking to buy it for some time, but was waiting for the price to drop as the reviews weren't overwhelming, despite me sensing that I might like it.
I've watched the first 3 episodes and am liking it a lot - mainly for him and for the type of stories, which seem to me particularly of its time and place. And I usually much prefer US crime series (of the 70s, especially).

Production values are more akin to 50s US crime series though; which might be offputting to some.

[colinr0380]

I think I'll give the 90s a miss, though!

But Yojimbo, I'm counting on you to support my vote for One False Move!

EDIT: I made a comment about only being familiar with Van der Valk through an Eddie Izzard re-dub, but on checking it turns out it was an episode of Inspector Derrick, a 70s German TV show! (Of course the ultimate re-dubbing show was The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos!)

[Yojimbo]

Unfortunately I'm only familiar with Van der Valk through that one-off Eddie Izzard re-dub of an episode!

I think I'll give the 90s a miss, though!

But Yojimbo, I'm counting on you to support my vote for One False Move!

Oh yeah
Well, maybe I can think up of 49 more, col: there's 'Devil In A Blue Dress' also; and maybe one or 48 more!

[swo17]

Last minute ruling that probably doesn't affect anyone: One person has voted for Robert Beavers' Ruskin, which IMDb calls a '90s film, but for which there is a case to be made to call it a '70s film. (That's the kind of difference for which I would normally make an exception to overrule IMDb, though obviously it's rather late in the game for this.) I'm thinking that it doesn't really matter whether this is an orphan for the '70s list or an orphan for the '90s list (the film has less than five votes on IMDb, and is unavailable on home video or through back channels), so am willing to call it a '70s film for now. However, if anyone here would have voted for it had they known it was eligible as a '70s film, let me know.

[Yojimbo]

I think I'll give the 90s a miss, though!

But Yojimbo, I'm counting on you to support my vote for One False Move!

EDIT: I made a comment about only being familiar with Van der Valk through an Eddie Izzard re-dub, but on checking it turns out it was an episode of Inspector Derrick, a 70s German TV show! (Of course the ultimate re-dubbing show was The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos!)

I'm not familiar with the German series, col, but I've been loving the German Edgar Wallace krimis: although it's just a pity more of them haven't English subs.

I also think that Hitchcock might have become familiar with German 'krimis' - and Italian 'giallos' - prior to making 'Frenzy'

[Cold Bishop]

Certainly no one's going to squeeze in a viewing, but for those who've seen it and might overlook it, I'll give another plug for Pennies from Heaven, which is eligible.

[Yojimbo]

Certainly no one's going to squeeze in a viewing, but for those who've seen it and might overlook it, I'll give another plug for Pennies from Heaven, which is eligible.

I love Pennies from Heaven, both TV series and the Steve Martin film, but the film is 80s, and I don't include TV series/serials; even if the rules allow.

[swo17]

It's a TV miniseries and unambiguously eligible. If you like it more than some films that you voted for, then it's sort of silly to rule it out on a technicality.

Another last minute ruling: IMDb calls Life on Earth a series as opposed to a miniseries, but it seems like the exact same case as The Ascent of Man, which I previously called eligible as a miniseries. Furthermore, Life on Earth has already been ruled eligible as a miniseries for the documentaries list, so it's also eligible here. If that causes anyone to want to revise their list, let me know.

[domino harvey]

I think you should allow standing rulings based on what was previously stated for all of these-- it's too late for anyone to really do anything about it

[Yojimbo]

It's a TV miniseries and unambiguously eligible. If you like it more than some films that you voted for, then it's sort of silly to rule it out on a technicality.

Another last minute ruling: IMDb calls Life on Earth a series as opposed to a miniseries, but it seems like the exact same case as The Ascent of Man, which I previously called eligible as a miniseries. Furthermore, Life on Earth has already been ruled eligible as a miniseries for the documentaries list, so it's also eligible here. If that causes anyone to want to revise their list, let me know.

No. I'm fine with my 50, thanks!

[swo17]

I think you should allow standing rulings based on what was previously stated for all of these-- it's too late for anyone to really do anything about it

This is probably the most sensible solution to avoid future headaches. For the two rulings I've already mentioned, it would be easier at this point to just leave them alone, but from now on, if a film you want to vote for does not meet the standing rules and you don't bring it up for an exception to be made at least a week in advance of the deadline, I'm not going to count it.

[Lemmy Caution]

The Great Santini!

My favorite under-the-radar 70's film.

[Gropius]

This is probably the most sensible solution to avoid future headaches. For the two rulings I've already mentioned, it would be easier at this point to just leave them alone, but from now on, if a film you want to vote for does not meet the standing rules and you don't bring it up for an exception to be made at least a week in advance of the deadline, I'm not going to count it.

Apologies to any other lurking Robert Beavers enthusiasts if my unwitting deviation from IMDB prescriptivism has disrupted your plans to save him from the orphanage in two decades' time – not that he really deserves it, having endeavoured to build up an unattainable mystique around his own films and those of Gregory Markopoulos.

[Lowry_Sam]

For me the 1970s was really the decade that Hollywood shined. The Hollywood studio machine really became challenged, first from the distribution of films from around the world in the US, then by independent film makers.... There were the unlikely successes in the 60s (The Graduate,TGBU, Bonnie & Clyde), but Hollywood didn't really seem to let loose & gamble on many "risky" projects until the 70s. The 70s really represents the nice balance between artistic vision & commercial success that Hollywood could achieve. Of course, the election of Ronald Reagan (and Maggie) would ruin all that and reign in an era in which profit trumps everything. So it was easy for me to draw up a list of 50 titles from memory that I would be comfortable with, then edit as I got to explore more obscure titles & overlooked recommendations from others. However in the past few months, I didn't get much of a chance to track down & explore many of the excellent suggestions. Despite that, I'm still content with my original list, the handful of titles that I bumped, could just as easily be bumped back on if I were to do a more thorough revisiting of all the films...a testament to the quality of films the decade generated.

Some of those regretfully bumped out of my top 50:

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Badlands
The Godfather part II
God's Of The Plague
Autumn Sonata
Harlan County USA
All That Jazz
Cabaret
Le Boucher
Out 1
The Tree Of Wooden Clogs
Halloween
Dawn Of The Dead
Pink Flamingos
Camera Buff
Murmur Of The Heart
The Obscure Object Of Desire
Under The Flag Of The Rising Sun
The Dear Hunter
The Tenant
The Tin Drum
A Clockwork Orange

Didn't get a chance to see:
At Long Last Love
Bill Douglas Trilogy
We All Loved Each Other So Much
Don't Look Now
Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion
Real Life

...and I'm noticing now that somehow The Garden Of The Fitz-Continis and Scenes From A Marriage somehow disappeared from my top 50. There's also probably a few others that got deleted while trying to rearrange the top 50 to accommodate more titles, that I'm not immediately noticing.....

The 1970s is probably the easiest decade to come up with 50 titles, but the most difficult one to settle on what should fill #s 11 - 50.

[swo17]

A couple people who submitted lists yesterday inadvertently voted for the same film twice, so I'm just waiting to hear back from them about list revisions before posting the results.

As for the list itself, I keep forgetting how much things change during the last day when the number of lists submitted essentially doubles. Plenty of films that were placing in the 20s and 30s Saturday night received no further votes and are now barely hanging on at the bottom of the list. And of course, plenty of interesting, leftfield picks that were in the 40s and 50s have now dropped off the list entirely. Some of the films that replaced them are also pretty intriguing picks. Others, inevitably, are the same old films that you always hear about. As usual, there are lots of great recommendations among the also-rans and orphans.

[domino harvey]

Would it be possible to get the 80 thread rolling while we're waiting?

[swo17]

Only because you asked nicely.

[swo17]

Just waiting on one more person to get back to me about the error in their list. (Hopefully soon? I sent them a PM almost 24 hours ago.) Unless anyone can think of a rational explanation for how Lancelot du lac can be both the 23rd and the 36th best film of the decade.

[Shrew]

They obviously got Lancelot du lac and Monty Python and the Holy Grail mixed up. I say arbitrarily decide which position was meant to be the Python based of how sick you got of hearing it quoted in high school.

[matrixschmatrix]

Do you want to put a time limit on how long you'll wait, swo? I mean, for all we know, you could never hear back.