House Clark

​Notes from awards committee:
1979 was another splendid year for big screen movie fans. Our nominations for Best Picture include classic comedies (10 & 1941), a stunning sci-fi horror (Alien) and the kingpin of Paranoid Cinema – The China Syndrome. In a year with steep competition, the House Clark Best Motion Picture award for 1979 goes to Apocalypse Now by Director Francis Ford Coppola. See below for a full review. 

Fun Surprises –
Apocalypse Now - the first hour (Act 1) is absolutely stunning, among the very best on celluloid, and there are just enough memorable moments in the rest to make this film one of FF Coppola’s most towering achievements. Act 2 is about the boat trip up the river to find Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), the renegade American officer. There’s a deliberate, too long, and clumsy effort to use the boat trip to cobble together a series of barely believable scenes to create an overarching narrative that the U.S. Army in Vietnam was a collection of bizarre, drug abused misfits. Act 3 transitions to a horror film and takes place in Kurtz’s base camp. The camp, deep in the jungle, is a visually striking and one of the most dreadful images in the history of film. AN has artistic style to burn.
 
10 - This movie was hot stuff when it came out in 1979: I am referring to both the movie, and actress, Bo Derek in her major movie role debut. Both Dudley Moore and Julie Andrews were already movie stars, but nobody had heard of Derek before this movie. She became an overnight sensation, posed for Playboy magazine and so on. She didn't need too many lines in the film to make an impact; she simply walked down the beach in her bathing suit. The camera loved Bo, and the number "10" suddenly had a new meaning in the pop lexicon. The story is about a guy suffering a mid-life crisis who proceeds to make a fool of himself over a girl half his age. There are some profound things to ponder in this film even though it never gets too serious. This is a career best role for Dudley... he's able to come across as a sympathetic, yet funny person. This film is also the sole, 100% good movie in Bo Derek’s career. An outstanding supporting cast gives this movie solid depth with never a dull scene.
 
Alien – is one of the greatest horror/suspense/Sci-fi movies ever made, and a genuine motion picture masterpiece by Ridley Scott. This movie brings it all together: a deep space adventure with a superb script, haunting music score and brilliant acting. The cast of B-list actors knocked this one out of the park. Back in 1979, Sigourney Weaver was virtually unknown, yet she achieved overnight stardom for her stunning performance as Ripley. A classic, unforgettable movie.
 
1941 - was unfairly compared to Steven Spielberg’s wildly popular preceding films (Jaws and Close Encounters), and condemned by many as a flop. Not true. I admit the film is too long, but 1941 contains 90 – 100 minutes of cinematic genius and classic comedy. Where else can you watch fight-dancing and a submarine battling a Ferris Wheel in the same movie? Consider this film as a time capsule of American history in the early days after Pearl Harbor when the war jitters, anti-Japan mood and media hysteria was in full swing, especially in California.  This underrated flick features some of the best SNL comedians in their prime, and backed up by veterans Warren Oates, Robert Stack and Slim Pickens.
 
China Syndrome - By sheer dumb luck, this film was released a mere twelve days before the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island (TMI) on March 28, 1979. In the movie, and in real life at TMI, a nuclear reactor core comes dangerously close to a meltdown and massive release of radioactivity. TMI remains the worst nuke accident in U.S. history, but has been overshadowed by Level 7 nuke disasters in Russia and Japan (Chernobyl in 1986 & Fukushima in 2011). Back to the film – it skillfully captures the zeitgeist of the 70’s activist era especially with Jane Fonda in the lead role. She turns in a great performance as TV reporter Kimberly Wells. She never looked better. Even if you are bored by the power plant operations and politics, this is a chance to watch a legendary actress in her eye-pleasing prime. The film has outstanding production  – seamlessly flowing back and forth from a nuclear plant control room to behind the scenes of a TV news station. A good thriller that is still relevant, decades later, because it asks the hard question: What exactly will happen when the fancy, high-tech machines malfunction?
 
In-Laws - Wacky fun with odd couple Peter Falk and Alan Arkin in this underrated comedy.  The movie is a good political satire. It spoofs the American spy business, and Latin American dictators. Falk carries the film as Vince Ricardo, an old school CIA operative. Arkin plays a paranoid dentist unwittingly trapped in the spy game. The plot is a cheerful muddle of pure nonsense, as a screwball comedy should be.
 
Mad Max – is a low budget, action – adventure set in a distinctly dark and violent future. This is the film that started the successful Mad Max movie franchise that continues today, and helped launch Mel Gibson’s star into orbit.     

Disappointments -
Kramer vs. Kramer – is a simple movie about the negative blowback of Feminism ending in divorce and single parenting with 105 looong minutes of talking. But surprise, surprise, the film was a successful Oscar winner and managed to break even at the box-office. Not too bad for a glorified Made-for-TV movie with minimal visual impact, but definitely does not reach anywhere near Best Picture quality. The day after the Oscars, the world forgot this movie ever existed.
 
Norma Rae – takes us on a slow trudge into the pro-Union propaganda of the 1970s with all the predictable friction between the owner class and the working class. Queue in the union organizer, in this case played by NYC Jew, Ron Leibman, and off we go. Sally Field was awarded a Best Actress Oscar and Hollywood did some cheerleading for working class Whites, a group that they actually despise in real life and consider them as “deplorable”.  The bitter truth is the textile industry did unionize in the Seventies and Eighties, and it died in the Nineties (recall NAFTA). All those jobs are now in Guatemala and Bangladesh. A modern DVD should include a trailer showing the effects of Globalization on the American textile workers. Norma Rae ended with a victory for the workers, but it was short-lived and somewhat hollow.   

​Notes from awards committee:
Hollywood premiered some ambitious films about the Vietnam War in 1978, and two of those films (Deer Hunter and Coming Home) swept the top Oscar awards. Those two films are discussed in detail below. Both films feature main characters with mostly bitter memories of Vietnam. The filmmakers avoid any attempt to consider the war in more geopolitical or historic terms. Since the war ended so recently (April 1975) perhaps that is a task for future movies to explore, as America and movie makers ponder what to think about the undeclared, unpopular, long and expensive war. Was the long trudge and high cost in blood and treasure actually worth it?  Neither Deer Hunter nor Coming Home begins to answer that key question. The HC Best Motion Picture for the year is also a Vietnam War film: Go Tell the Spartans. GTTS keeps the camera firmly fixed in Vietnam and does not bounce back and forth from the war to the American home front. See below for the full review.

Fun Surprises -
Go Tell the Spartans - When the French bailed out of Vietnam in 1954 they warned the American big shots not to go in. Of course, the war hawks did not listen. This good movie gives a clear eyed look at what happens when a modern, mechanized military stumbles into a brutal jungle war. War movies are so often full of shabby jingoistic claptrap it is a refreshing change to find a Hollywood war movie that has a strong dose of realism softened by some ironic humor, as well as, teaching a valuable history lesson. Let the Rambo and Chuck Norris brigade look elsewhere, but if you like real war movies about real people don't miss this one. GTTS is the best Vietnam War film about America’s early involvement in Vietnam, and also one of the most overlooked. This film was overshadowed by the pop cultural favorites about the war:  Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon and Deer Hunter. 
Burt Lancaster is outstanding here as Major Barker, but he was snubbed by the Academy. We are pleased to correct that mistake and award Mr. Lancaster the HC Best Actor award. Barker is a battle hardened, irritable, profane officer in charge of a small team of American Military advisors and a ragtag band of anti-communist Vietnamese troops. Their foe is the Viet Cong guerrillas who strike without warning and disappear into the jungle.   Parker is also beginning to have serious misgivings about America's involvement in the war. There is a particularly telling scene when Major Barker has to request more troops from the local South Vietnamese army commander, Col. Minh. In contrast to the tough, hard fighting Viet troops, Minh oozes with corruption and typifies the horrible military leadership class that doomed South Vietnam to ultimate defeat on April 30, 1975 when the army collapsed and Saigon fell to the commies. 
 
The Cheap Detective - Not since the 1963 It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World had so many funny people gathered together for one film. Even mostly serious actors like Fernando Lamas, Louise Fletcher and Ann-Margaret seem to be having a ball just hamming it up. Peter Falk has a field day as Lou Peckinpaugh spoofing three of Humphrey Bogart’s most famous and beloved characters: Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon (1941); Rick Blaine from Casablanca (1942) and Philip Marlowe from The Big Sleep (1946). My favorite character, aside from Falk, is Eileen Brennan as Betty DeBoop doing an outstanding spoof of Lauren Bacall’s lounge singer, Marie “Slim” Browning from To Have and Have Not (1944). Set in 1940 San Francisco, with a delightful jumble of detectives, dames, Nazis, documents and a treasure hunt, you can't describe any kind of plot. The whole thing is so much wonderful nonsense. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
 
The First Great Train Robbery - is a clever heist flick based on the true story of an infamous crime, circa 1855, in which a gang of thieves stole the payroll of the entire British Army during the Crimean War. The cash shipment of £12,000 (equal to USD$1,281,550 today) in gold coins and ingots was the crime of the century. The trio of lead actors are excellent; Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down. The plot is straightforward with wonderfully detailed Victorian setting of London and Merry Old England.
 
Animal House – is low brow humor to the tune of “Shama-lama-ding-dong”. What’s not to like?
 
Death on the Nile –is a first-class whodunit with an outstanding cast. Hop aboard the luxury steamer Karnak for mystery, suspense and murder most foul. Lois Childes is an underrated actress, and she is positively juicy looking in this flick as heiress, Linnet Ridgeway, on her honeymoon cruise up the Nile River. A troupe of unsavory, suspicious characters also sails on the Karnak, and almost everyone on the riverboat has reason to hate Linnet. Avoid the terrible 2022 remake; this vastly superior version has Peter Ustinov in the role of Hercule Poirot, and a support cast to die for.  
 
Wild Geese - is an instructional movie regarding a cost effective approach to foreign policy. Watch WG to learn how a team of well-armed, veteran mercenaries, with brass San Antones, is all you need for a healthy regime change in the corrupt, backward parts of the globe. Instead America has the dumb and wasteful neocon gang that spent $4 trillion and 20 years to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.  
 
Halloween - Who would have thought this indie, B-movie made for $300k by a group of 20-year-old kids, would be the surprise box office super hit of the decade, and become an all-time classic horror film? Yet with only a token advertising budget, the film relied on word-of-mouth for success, and suddenly box office receipts went thru the roof. The plot is simple and effective – the personification of pure evil. The minimal cast is excellent – we have Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut playing an innocent, yet surprisingly resilient teenager; and Don Pleasence at his most eerie. The story is perfectly paced and restrained – there is no blood and gore; just a steady building of tension and fear to the sound of a creepy, haunting music score.
 
The Last Waltz - is widely acclaimed as the greatest rock & roll concert movie ever made. Martin Scorsese was a big fan of The Band, and he personally directed this film about their final concert in San Francisco on Thanksgiving, 1976. Levon Helm on drums and Robbie Robertson on electric guitar, performing the group’s big hits makes this film enjoyable, and the cherry on top is guest appearances by Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Eric Clapton,  Joni Mitchell, and other R&R luminaries. This film only improves with age. 
 
Foul Play – is Goldie Hawn's career best film. She plays the not so dumb blonde, and never looked better. In fact she looks like a genius when paired with the bumbling Chevy Chase, in his movie debut - post SNL. This flick captures the 1970s mood and tastes; from Goldie’s yellow VW bug, Barry Manilow tunes, and goofy swinger Dudley Moore.
 
Hooper - is a pleasant diversion about legendary stuntman, Hooper, that never takes itself too seriously. Just before things start to get a little too serious or sentimental, someone jumps off a tall building or drives into a violent car crash. Overall, the film has a nice pace. The gags are occasionally hilarious, and the stunts are outstanding--I believe this film holds the record for longest rocket car jump. And Hooper (Burt Reynolds) can deliver brilliant lines like; "If you don't try to do any stunts, I won't try to do any acting."

Disappointments -
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - Few spooky flicks have a more talented cast – see Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum in their younger days, Brooke Adams is lovely, Leonard Nimoy nails the role of the know-it-all doctor, and Veronica Cartwright, with eyes bouncing like ping-pong balls, is the best hysterical scream-queen in the movie business. They are all excellent. That said I am not a big fan of this film. The premise is weak – innocent looking plants invading earth does not rank very high on the fear-factor scale. After an interesting first half, the movie fades and dies a slow painful death like azaleas in a Texas drought.
 
Convoy – is Sam Peckinpaugh’s ode to truck drivers and the big rigs. Kris Kristofferson is believable as the “Rubber Duck”, our truck driving hero, with Ali McGraw along for the ride. The movie thunders along at a good pace and entertains until the truckers pull over for the night. Did someone forget to write some funny, witty dialogue for the truck stop camp out?    
 
The Eyes of Laura Mars – stars Faye Dunaway as a fashion photographer who suffers from horrible nightmares about her friends and colleagues being murdered. The film veers chaotically between high fashion photo shoots and horror. Favorite scene: fashion model Lulu haplessly trying to explain to the press why violence is important in fashion photos. This movie is so bad; it is good. 
 
The Deer Hunter – is an endless movie about an endless war. By the time the film finally stumbled to the ending, I did not feel I had learned much about Vietnam, nor the men who fought there. The filmmakers did convey the fact that infantry fighting in the Far East has a beastliness all its own, but the American Marines and British veterans of WW2 already understood that in the bloody, hyper-violent 1940s.   
 
Coming Home – is a messy Love Triangle movie that just happens to coincide with the Vietnam War. Jane Fonda is the big star of the show as Sally Hyde, the wife of Marine Corp officer (Bruce Dern) who is sent to do his job in Vietnam. While he's away, Sally tries to make herself useful by volunteering in a local veterans' hospital, where she encounters an old school friend, Luke (Jon Voight). Luke was seriously wounded in Nam and paralyzed from the waist down. Luke also has psycho problems – most likely PTSD. In the most unlikely and too-quick-change, Luke transforms into Prince Charming and flips the movie into a cliché-ridden Love Triangle story. As expected with Jane Fonda in the lead role, the film has a strong anti-war vibe with a preachy script. The film also throws some shade on the VA hospitals before stumbling toward a giant plot hole ending that left most viewers shaking their head in disbelief. This movie was vastly overrated and quickly forgotten the day after the awards ceremony.
 

​Notes from awards committee:
1977 was a remarkable year for movie fans with several truly great American movies for our viewing pleasure. Our top motion picture is Star Wars; a landmark film, directed and written by George Lucas, which created the most enduring and elaborate imaginary worlds in the history of cinema. This is where it all began - Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and talking robots in a galaxy far, far away. The great box office success of Star Wars established a film franchise and paved the way for space opera blockbusters with tons of merchandise and a huge cadre of loyal fans. To this day, the film, which was years later subtitled A New Hope and given an episode number, is important in pop culture and set the standard for later Star Wars sequels and prequels.

Fun Surprises -
The Goodbye Girl – stars Richard Dreyfuss as struggling actor, Elliot Garfield, who is handed his first big break – a starring role in a trendy Off-Broadway Theater. The play within the film is a daring new production of a famous Shakespearian story, Richard III. The rehearsal scenes with the nutcase director are hilarious, and worth the price of admission. Dreyfuss & Marsha Mason generate as much chemistry as I have ever seen on the big screen, and the little girl, Quinn Cummings, adds a family touch that is missing from most rom com flicks . Thankfully, it's a rom com film that guys can enjoy - unpredictable and no annoying scenes.  
 
Annie Hall – is often regarded as Woody Allen's best movie, a ranking I do not agree, but freely admit AH is Woody’s most decorated film by the Hollywood illuminati. Diane Keaton capped off her amazing 1970s lucky streak with a Best Actress award for playing Annie Hall. Keaton makes her character funny and quirky and every bit as crazy as Sally Bowles, but with more charisma. The romance in the film is confused and wobbly and the humor often forced and flat. But the movie slips into gear and gets funny when the couple visits Annie’s WASPy family in the mid-West. Allen plays it straight and is a classic fish-out-of-water and hits his acting zenith, with Keaton as his muse.
 
A Bridge Too Far – is a classic WW2 men-at-war big budget drama that portrays Operation Market-Garden, a gallant, but failed and bloody Allied attempt in September 1944 to end WWII quickly. This movie is accurate, unbiased history and contains some of the most realistic WW2 battle scenes ever filmed. Unlike most WWII films, it covered the battle from all the major perspectives: in this case five - British, American, German, Polish and Dutch; and stars one of the greatest ensemble casts (all male) ever assembled.
 
Saturday Night Fever – has one of the best opening scenes in modern movies. In the first five minutes, the story is framed; the mood is captured and the lead character, Tony, played by John Travolta is introduced. All done without a single line of pertinent dialogue, the panning camera establishes sense of place, in New York City, and the disco anthem Staying Alive blasts on the soundtrack. Tony was born dancing and walks in perfect time with the beat. His snappy clothes and cool dude swagger suggest he's a big shot, but this big shot is a paint store delivery boy with modest skills (except for his graceful dance steps.) Will Tony be able to make his way to the stage to perform the climatic, competitive Disco Dance and win the girl? I wouldn’t dream of revealing the answer.   
 
Cross of Iron – hurls the viewer into the blood bath that was the WW2 Eastern front of the 1940s. The movie is from the German perspective and takes place after the epic Battle of Stalingrad when the war turned in favour of the Soviets. Outmanned and outgunned and in constant retreat, James Coburn is exceptional in the role as Steiner, a battle hardened German soldier on the front lines. This is Coburn’s finest performance in a career that spanned over four decades. He is well supported by James Mason and Maximillian Schell.  With Director Sam Peckinpah behind the camera, the well-made battle scenes capture the look and feel of real danger.
 
Smokey and the Bandit – is a low budget, Southern- fried, car chase film that killed at the box office mainly due to the 70’s Citizen's Band (CB) radio craze. The tissue-thin plot has good ole boys Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and Cletus (Jerry Reed) using CB radios to duck and dodge Smokey (the police) while running a load of beer cross-country on a tight deadline. Along the way, Sally Field thumbs a ride into Burt’s Firebird for the thrill ride of her life. This movie is a classic for Popcorn Friday Night.
 
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - In most science-fiction UFO films, aliens are sinister space invaders, and we instantly start running or shooting when they show up on Earth. But in Close Encounters the aliens are intelligent, benevolent creatures in magnificent flying saucers. The basic story is scanty: Richard Dreyfuss (Roy) catches sight of a spacecraft and is implanted with a vision. Roy spends the rest of the movie “looking for answers.” When the mother ship UFO descends to Earth it is a magnificent sight, and sound, on the big screen. They arrive like Gods floating down from the heavens. This is something only movies can do, and Spielberg delivers some spell binding set pieces and camera angles. Now if only Spielberg can find Bigfoot and catch him on film, it would make an excellent companion piece to Close Encounters.
​

Disappointments -
Julia – is one of those ‘intelligent’ and ‘sensitive’ faux-biopics catering mainly to the female audience. The film contains some of Hollywood’s most beloved anti-Nazi tropes useful for faking ‘respectable’ and ‘enlightened’ art. Julia is also known for the film debut of Meryl Streep in a small role. The movie grinds, ever so slowly, to the predictable ending.
 
The Turning Point – is a too talky movie about modern women having First World problems. These poor (upper-middle class) girls have so many options, they don’t know what to think or do. Should she dance ballet or raise a family? And once she does have a kid, she tortures herself with “What if” questions endlessly. On the positive side, there are some graceful dance scenes with real-life pro ballet dancers. TTP is one of two films in Oscar history (The Color Purple being the other) that was nominated for 11 Oscars, but didn't win a single award. Would they have had been more successful if they used Lap Dancing instead of Ballet for a dramatic backdrop?
 
Looking for Mr. Goodbar - made a big splash when it was released in 1977 and even had the distinction of displacing Star Wars’ at the top of the box office (ending 15 week run). The film is a cultural landmark for its unflinching focus on the human wrecking ball of the 1960s sexual revolution and the rise of feminism. The seeds of which were starting to bear fruit, but the emerging picture was not a pretty one. Single school teacher, Theresa (Diane Keaton) decides to embark on a lifestyle of casual sex with strange men she meets while bar-hopping. Given this movie is about random sex, don’t think you are going to see Diane Keaton taking a money shot in her face. In fact the film is not at all sexy or erotic. It trudges dutifully to Theresa’s violent doom.   

​Notes from awards committee:
Without a doubt, 1976 fielded some tough competition for Best Motion Picture. Rocky is a classic sports-underdog tale, but Network wins the HC Best Picture award in a split decision.  The psychological unraveling of TV anchorman, Howard Beale, is unforgettable cinema. The wickedness of the cast, and the tight, hard hitting script more than made up for the minor flaws. Network directed by Sidney Lumet scores a rare triple HC award, and wins Best Motion Picture in a photo finish.   

​Fun Surprises -
Rocky – written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, is a classic boxing movie about the (much loved) underdog fighting for respect and honor with his fists and plenty of heart. Battling to the brutal and bloody ending was exhausting, but it stumbles toward the feel good finish line with Stallone screaming, “Adrian!” over and over. And Apollo Creed says, “There ain’t gonna be no rematch.” But we all knew that was a lie. The cast of B-list actors delivered amazing performances and earned it best picture by the Academy. Many more Rocky Balboa flicks were to follow, but watch the original. It is clearly the best.
 
Bad News Bears - There's not an ounce of sentimentality in this flick about a team of foul-mouthed misfit kids and their hard drinking manager, and that's what makes it great. One by one, this film takes aim at three sacred institutions: sappy sports flicks, sugary sweet kids' movies and the hell of Little League -- and the result is a down-and-dirty delight. This is Walter Matthau’s career best movie. Avoid the botched 2005 remake and watch the original.
 
Silver Streak - This is the first of four films starring the comedy duo of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, and in retrospect, their best effort. I first saw this movie in 1976, and still enjoy it. It simply nails all the genres it aimed at, especially comedy. The final, climatic train wreck scene has to be seen to be believed. The movie plays with one of Hitchcock's favorite themes; an ordinary Joe (Gene Wilder) stumbles into an unexpected and dangerous situation. But the film's masterstroke is the addition of Pryor as a petty thief. Although this film restrains his usual vulgar language, he instantly adds a cool energy and a perfect counterbalance to Wilder. This is a classic train flick that would not be made today.
 
Midway – is a military history film about the WW2 American naval victory off Midway Island about six months after the shocking and devastating Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The movie was made 30 years after WWII, so it doesn't have a jingoistic feel to it. It has more of a matter of fact feel to it, more a docudrama than propaganda. The movie is different from most war movies because it clearly shows how Grand battles are won and lost. There is some individual heroism by ordinary sailors and airmen shown, but the focus is on the American and Japanese high command, in this case admirals make decisions and take risks usually based on sketchy information. They put everything on line. We see how the outcome of a battle can hinged on risky decisions or sometimes on indecision. We see how commanders have to sweat out their decisions as History hangs on the balance. This battle, after all, is considered the turning point of the War in the Pacific. If viewers give it the appropriate attention, they will see that this movie plays like a giant chess match. The outcome determined by gutsy moves and bad decisions, sometimes indecision. The movie boasts an impressive cast which include, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Charlton Heston and they all do fine jobs. 
 
Taxi Driver – is a fictional portrait of Travis Bickle, an alienated loner in an urban hellscape. Travis drives a taxi on the night shift in NYC and meets a couple of memorable female characters: Betsy, the unattainable blonde goddess played by Cybill Shepard, and Iris, a 12 year old prostitute played by Jodie Foster (she was actually 14 but did look 12 in the film). Iris works for Harvey Keitel, the only white pimp in Harlem. Travis tries his hand at courting Betsy, but it is a disaster waiting to happen; Betsy being haut bourgeois and Travis being a low prole makes for some of the only funny scenes in this film. The movie trudges through the psychological breakdown of Travis and drags during subplots before we finally get to the dramatic showdown where Travis unexpectantly goes from a Zero to a Hero dispensing vigilante justice, a favorite theme of the 1970s. TD is not a bad movie, but I saw it once and never wanted to watch again. The movie is miles away from the “masterpiece” zone as claimed by so many Cineastes/ Scorsese fan boys.
Footnote for Taxi Driver: Five years later in 1981 at the DC Hilton Hotel, a psychopathic loser named John Hinckley took six shots and wounded four men, including President Reagan. Hinckley believed the mass shooting would impress Jodie Foster, with whom he had developed a romantic obsession after seeing her in Taxi Driver as Iris. The clueless Hinckley was not aware that Jodie is a lesbian.

Disappointments -
All the Presidents Men - How could a bungled burglary at an unknown place named Watergate derail an American presidency? We know now that it was the FBI's number two man, and J Edger Hoover loyalist, W Mark Felt (aka Deep Throat) who betrayed Nixon to feed WP reporters, Woodward and Bernstein, critical tips and inside information that led the trail to Nixon’s White House. Redford and Hoffman were at their best during the 1970's, and do a believable job of depicting news hounds Woodward and Bernstein, even if they do embrace the fake version of presenting the gallant reporter in the difficult task of discovering “the Truth”. The movie is very overrated and much of the praise this film received is for the confused, “noble” message about “the President is not above the law” when in fact Mr. Nixon never once claimed he was. Strictly speaking from its intrinsic cinematic quality, the film is mediocre at best, but highly effective as biased political propaganda. 

​Notes from awards committee:
Prior to 1975, Steven Spielberg had directed four mildly successful films; however, his fifth film, Jaws, made him a household name. This movie, a modernized version of the legendary Moby Dick, was the box office king of 1975. Jaws had a relatively low budget and the constant breaking down of the mechanical shark forced Spielberg to keep it off camera for the majority of the movie. This led to the unbearable tension for which the movie is still famous and for the final scenes, when we see the shark in all its terrible glory. Word spread quickly about the terrifying new movie, and Jaws was soon crowned the Classic Summer Blockbuster, and is the HC Best Motion Picture of the year and the Best Director award for Spielberg. It is a package deal. 

​Fun Surprises -
Monty Python and the Holy Grail – is a low budget masterpiece that pokes fun at the King Arthur myths, and is the funniest of the several Monty Python films. Make no mistake, the comedy is not sophisticated; it is beyond silly, with clowning off the lunatic scale, but then again, that is the real beauty of the film. An impressive barrage of hilarious sketches, and one of the most quoted movies of all time with a dedicated cult following. Top ten reasons to watch: the scientific witch trial, holy hand grenade, coconuts, air mail, Trojan rabbit, none shall pass bridge, the naughty nuns, Robin’s minstrels, the wedding speech, and white male actors who are not LGBTQ.
 
The Man Who Would Be King - I first saw this flick in the 70’s and have liked it ever since. Simply a great adventure story, even if it is pure fiction. This is not a B movie; its credentials in terms of actors, script, direction, photography are impeccable. The great buddy chemistry between English soldiers Danny and Peachy (Sean Connery and Michael Caine) is what makes this flick so bloody entertaining. Their relationship is comic, without being clownish, and embraces the essence of courage and gallantry.  The overall result is one the most memorable screen partnerships ever. The movie moves along at a brisk pace, and camera work and visuals create a beautiful, epic scope to the story. This film succeeds on many levels – it is pure entertainment. Pauline Kael wrote in her review, “Huston shares with Kipling a reveling in the unexpected twists of behavior of other [non-White] cultures, and he doesn’t convert the story into something humanistic. The ignorant natives are cruel and barbaric; if they’re given a chance, they don’t choose fair play. And Huston leaves it at that—he doesn’t pussyfoot around, trying to make them lovable. Huston has a fondness for the idiosyncrasies of the natives, and he doesn’t hate the heroes who go out to exploit them.” And that’s why this film would never be made today.
 
Barry Lyndon - is an epic tale of fate, luck, courage, war, love and death. With ace director Stanley Kubrick behind the camera, it is not surprising that the visual impact of this film is strong - sweeping vistas of authentic European battle scenes with red-coated soldiers drawn up in formation and charging into the teeth of enemy fire, and indoor scenes of elegance with wigged nobility feasting or playing cards, bathed in soft candlelight. It transported this viewer into 18th century Europe like no other film before or since. For movie fans this is a work of art, and for fans of costume drama period pieces this is the zenith of the genre. If you enjoy classical music, the soundtrack is an extra bonus. Not to be overlooked is the fine performances by the leads, Ryan O’Neil and Marisa Berenson.
 
Dog Day Afternoon – is one of the best New York City movies with good acting all around.
 
The Rocky Horror Picture Show - is the world’s preeminent midnight movie, and not just for fans of glitter-rock-transvestite musicals. It’s playing somewhere this weekend in an American city near you where you’re sure to find an excitable audience dressed up in lingerie and maid outfits and ready to pop out of their seats to sing and dance and have a party in the theater aisles. No other movie has a reputation like this. It’s more famous as a phenomenon than it is as a film. Writing about it without mentioning its audience is like writing about the Arctic without mentioning ice. Also the music is fun – Let’s Do the Time Warp Again! 

Disappointments -
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - The Academy was charmed with this film and showered it with a grand slam of four major awards. The movie was hailed as a passionate plea for the rights and dignity of mental patients, and hammered into the public consciousness the message that our mental hospitals were doing more harm than good. The film was in tune with the anti-psychiatry crusaders and counter-culture gurus of the 1960s and 70s who questioned many of the practices, conditions, or even the existence of mental hospitals. The social engineers responded with mental patient liberation.  While this was a feel good topic for the liberals, the long term consequences have been very, very ugly for the USA. Fast forward a few decades and now we see that our police departments are wardens for the many thousands seriously crazy people left homeless and destitute. On an even darker note, a 2024 study by Statista research (using data from 1982 – Sept 2024) found that 98 out of 151 (65%) mass killings were committed by shooters with serious mental health problems. Search a few minutes on Google, and it is easy to find studies with the conclusion that up to 87.5% of the mass shooters are suffering from major psychiatric illness (2023 study by MDs Cerfolio and Glick), and were either medically mistreated or not treated by a doctor at all. Beware of the intense gaslighting of this topic, many psych docs try hard to minimize the links between mass shooting and mental illness. Their cautionary message is that stigmatizing the mentally ill results in lack of medical treatment. The psych docs often fail to mention it is in their own economic self-interest to dismiss the link between mass shootings and mental illness.    
 
Wind and the Lion - Arab bandits swarm over the walls of a stately mansion in Tangier. A staid British gentleman calmly rises and pulls a .455 Mark I Webley pistol from his coat pocket. He drops three intruders before being killed. This griping action scene opens a movie that is loosely based on a true event in Morocco, circa 1904. The movie pretends to portray real history, but – so sorry, it does not. In real life, Ion Perdicaris, a wealthy Greek-American, was kidnapped by Raisuli, the last Barbary pirate, and held for ransom. Perdicaris was assumed to be an American, but in fact he had renounced American citizenship in 1862 to become a Greek citizen. Teddy Roosevelt slyly hushes up the fact that Perdicaris is only a Greek carpetbagger, and uses the crisis to rally political support during the Republican convention. He dispatches the Atlantic Fleet to Tangier, and declares “Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead”. TR’s popularity skyrockets. In this movie version, Perdicaris apparently had a sex change operation (Candace Bergen becomes the kidnap victim), and is 100% American. So here we have the typical Hollywood romance subplot. Bergen is the type of plucky trollop who can ride around in the desert for days without getting her elaborate hair-do messed up. Needless to say, she swoons for the Raisuli, played by Sean Connery. So here lies the problem with this flick – a shoehorned romance subplot that makes no sense. In the end the pretty lady doesn't matter. And at no time is Sean anyone but a Scotsman wearing robes, waving a scimitar, and enjoying some overacting. The strength of the movie is the fine performances of the American trio - President Teddy Roosevelt (Brian Keith), Marine Captain Jerome (Steve Kanaly), and statesman John Jay (John Huston). Brian Keith delivers an altogether captivating career best effort as TR, in one of the cinema's great performances. He carries the film and makes the movie worth watching. The most interesting fact of this story is that the truth about Perdicaris remained unknown to the public until 1933. That no one gave away the secret for almost thirty years is the most astonishing detail about this tempest in a foreign teakettle.
 
Farewell, My Lovely - Robert Mitchum is well past his “Use by date” in this Private detective story written by the master, Raymond Chandler. Charlotte Rampling is delicious as Velma, and saves the film from mediocrity. The best film version of the book was done years earlier with Dick Powell as an impressive and true-to-book Marlowe.
 
Three Days of the Condor - A cold, rainy day in New York City...in a small, unimportant CIA research office, mild mannered Joe Turner (Robert Redford), makes the lunch run to the local deli. Fate has dealt him a lucky break; while he goes out the rear door and takes short cuts through back alleys ...death arrives at the front door – a van full of killers enter and murder every person in the building; then vanish. Turner returns with a bag of sandwiches to witness his worst nightmare... With this powerful opening scene, the stage is set for an entertaining suspense film. The tension never lets up as Turner discovers he can trust no one, and barely survives multiple assassination attempts. This  
movie about the dangers of powerful, lawless federal agencies is just as relevant today as it was in 1975. Maybe more so today. With tension level set on high, the film fumbles into a giant plot hole; a random kidnapping device is used to introduce an attractive female companion (Faye Dunaway) for some romance with Joe to spice up the movie. This was done in most clumsy way possible and is chauvinist beyond belief. 

​Notes from awards committee:
The year 1974 was a good year for Hollywood with many excellent movies. The best motion picture of the year is Chinatown. The acting is as good as it gets and film is filled with many bravura touches and ranks as a true masterpiece. This was the movie that cemented Jack Nicholson as a Hollywood superstar, John Huston played the unforgettable Noah Cross, Director Roman Polanski has a famous cameo scene with a knife, but Faye Dunaway steals the picture with an intense, haunting performance as the alluring, wealthy fem fatale with plenty of secrets. The storyline is complex, mysterious yet simple to follow; it is dark and seedy without relying on vulgarity. The production is outstanding - with a sense of time and place that evokes the '30's Los Angeles in striking detail- every building, the cars (lovely rare automobiles), hairstyle and apparel, Chinatown revives an era that exists, for the most part, in the fading memory of people's minds. The tight script hurdles the story forward faster than Faye behind the wheel of her Packard convertible. The story has plenty of film noir reoccurring themes: the rich but dysfunctional family, hidden blood relationships, and of course, jealousy and greed leading to murder most foul. To say any more would spoil the film. I have watched this film about ten times and I am still unspeakably moved by the ending. It still stings. 

Fun Surprises -
The Great Gatsby - is based on a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that was published in 1925. TGG is often called the Greatest American Novel, but rather than debate that claim I’ll provide the simplest synopsis I can: Set in New York, the film plunges us into the American Roaring 1920’s of the rich and powerful. Jay Gatsby, a very rich man with a secret past, pursues a former love. Robert Redford plays Jay Gatsby and he embodies every characteristic written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This 1974 version Directed by Jack Clayton, as far as I’m concerned, is the only acceptable version to watch. The Director does an excellent job of Showing, not Telling, this tragic love story.
 
Odessa File - delivers in the suspense department; setting up a nicely paranoid atmosphere, with the Nazi threat always present in 1963 Germany. The movie is based on true events and WWII history details, but uses artistic license liberally to enhance the story. A superb scene not to miss – the Reunion Party of the Waffen SS Siegfried Division in a Hamburg beer hall is worth the price of admission. Still reveling in nostalgia for the Nazi glory days, their old leader gives the boys a rousing speech. You can almost smell the beer and sauerkraut on the old general’s breath as he breaks into a rant that Hitler would have approved. This is one of Jon Voight's career best performances, and the supporting cast is effective, especially Maximillian Schell at his cigarette waving, evil villain, dramatic best. Also see talented beauty Mary Tamm, as Voight's girlfriend, Sigi, in her excellent motion picture debut.
 
Death Wish – made a big splash in 1974 with movie fans and was in perfect tune with the rising disgust with violent crime. The hero of the movie is Charles Bronson who is driven to vigilante justice after his family is brutally attacked and the law fails to provide protection or justice. The film is quite fascist and pro-2A, and of course hated by Hollywood gun grabbers.
 
The Conversation – is a low-key, underrated mystery-thriller, written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, about Harry Caul, a brilliant, introverted surveillance expert. Harry is the kind of skilled craftsman who can put a bomb in a pocket pager. But he is mostly building bugs (secret listening devices). This unique techno-driven movie is proven prescient for the 2020s anxiety about privacy invasion in the internet age. Gene Hackman (as Harry) gives one of his finest performances and is well supported by John Cazale, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Teri Garr, Robert Duvall and the underrated Allen Garfield as Harry’s business rival. This is Peak Coppola during his incredible lucky streak in the 1970s. He truly had the golden touch until he didn’t. 

Like the original Godfather film, The Godfather Part II was a major commercial and critical success for Francis Ford Coppola. It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won six. It is the first sequel to win Best Picture. It is regularly featured in lists of the greatest movies ever made. That said, the film has several weaknesses with the tangled, messy plot and the three-hour, twenty minute run time is too long. I mark this film for the point I was hit with Mafioso Fatigue. GF2 is a well-crafted film with plenty of talent, but does not ring in as Best Picture.   

Notes from awards committee:
Did Writer/Director George Lucas and producer, Francis Ford Coppola, really know what they had with American Graffiti? The script seemed funny enough; the cool cars and period rock music was enticing--but did they really know these young, mostly unknown actors would magically bring these characters to life? It seems almost a fluke, shot in 29 days and on a tight budget, but American Graffiti is a classic film that captured lightning in a bottle. It is perhaps pure nostalgia, mixing humor, sadness and craziness, hope and reflection, in bursts of mild excitement. Like a page out of my high school year book, this movie jumps back into the early 60's, before the Vietnam War. The age of innocence in America was coming to an end. This is the last party of the summer before the pleasant dream ends.

​Fun Surprises -
Live and Let Die – is a favorite James Bond film of the Roger Moore era. 007 saves the lovely Solitaire (Jane Seymour) from Afro-Caribbean monsters and brings hell fire to their criminal narco enterprise.
 
Day of the Jackal - switches POV between a profession assassin and the lawmen trying to stop him. No fancy FX – instead we get a good, fast-moving story based on a true story of an attempted military coup against Charles de Gaulle, president of France. Most Americans are probably not familiar with French history, so a few facts will help you understand this film. In early 1962 de Gaulle granted independence to Algeria – ending the eight-year Algerian War. It was a controversial decision that incurred the wrath of the militarists Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) which then vowed to assassinate him. In August 1962 de Gaulle and his wife narrowly escaped death in a fusillade of gunfire in the roadside ambush, the most serious of six overall attempts the OAS would make in real life. The Jackal character is pure fiction, but the OAS threat was quite real. Although the outcome is a matter of history, this film still keeps the viewer tense and wondering how it will all end right up to the last moment.
 
Day for Night –is a movie about moviemaking, one of my very favorite movie sub-genres. And few surpass this one for its humanity, warmth and genuine feel of affection for the players. The film follows Director Truffaut, in effect playing himself, as he makes a somewhat banal little romance movie called "Meet Pamela" with stars Jacqueline Bisset, Jean Pierre Aumont, and Valentina Cortese. It conveys the chaos of filmmaking process in front of the camera and behind the scenes. The production manager's wife, who insists on being on the shoot, adds plenty of humor as she watches with shocked disapproval as the cast and crew exchange bed partners. And this is peak Jacqueline Bisset – she is stunning in this film.
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Coffy - is a by-the-numbers revenge-action story, with a not so typical hero: a young, black woman. Pam Grier plays the lead role, Coffy, and makes this movie engaging despite a few flaws in the low budget production. Coffy risks the dark side of Harlem and meets pimps and drug dealers in search for answers about her young sister’s sudden death. This movie is a sweet combination of sex and violence and black culture – 70’s style.  
 
Paper Moon - is a con man movie that ages like a fine wine. The father-daughter chemistry is never better, and the Midwest depression era setting adds a nice touch of 1930’s Americana. Child star Tatum O'Neal in her rookie performance, knocked this one out of the park, and Madeline Kahn has a career best role as Trixie Delight. The scene with Trixie trying to cajole the little girl to get in the back seat of the car is priceless. Kahn’s range as an actress is proven in this movie where she added humor to scene after scene, and was also able to draw a certain compassion for her character, in spite of Trixie’s immoral lifestyle.
 
Theater of Blood - is Vincent Price's finest screen moment, and co-star Diana Rigg’s favorite film role, as his supportive daughter. It is also one of the most literate horror films ever made. Few actors possess the theatrical flourish of Vincent Price, and he was perfectly cast as Edward Lionheart, a veteran stage actor often dismissed or underrated by the critics. Lionheart can handle only so much negative press before he flips his lid, and goes on a killing spree. Price is so talented at playing a mad man, it is uncanny. He REALLY silenced his critics once and for all. And where did they find these “theater critics”? I have never seen a more self-important, unlikeable bunch of snobs gathered in one movie. It is an example of true casting genius. Seeing them brutally dispatched one by one in a medley of appropriate Shakespearean circumstances was a joy to watch. Both Price and Rigg were truly great thespians of the English stage, and some of their soliloquies are wonderfully delivered; especially Diana’s heroic death scene. This is not a ha-ha comedy, but I was amused by the Lionheart’s very creative and funny disguises.
 
Westworld – is one of the first films to examine the risks and consequences of a misfire of (normally reliable) advanced technology. In Westworld, life-sized androids, or robots with A.I., are programmed to entertain paying guests to realize their fantasies about living in the American Wild West. All is fun and games until the android town sheriff (Yul Brynner) malfunctions and starts killing the tourists. As one film critic wrote, “Brynner has no more humanity or sense of justice than a multicycle washing machine.” Richard Benjamin does a good job as the unlikely hero fleeing for his life. From that point on the pace never slows down and it becomes an exciting cat-and-mouse chase with Brynner hunting Benjamin. 

Disappointments -
Magnum Force – is a sequel to the original 1971 Dirty Harry smash hit, but lacks the sting of the subversive 1971 classic. Once again, Clint Eastwood is detective Harry Callahan, and once more the storyline examines the controversial topic of vigilante justice. But Eastwood had a case of the vapors from the negative Dirty Harry reviews by a gang of liberal, east coast/ west coast movie critics. Eastwood’s box office success gave him script approval for the sequel and he thought it might be somehow “fascist” of Harry to repeat another vigilante shooting. So in the new script, Harry delivers a manly and noble speech on the dangers of vigilante justice (although why this should suddenly worry him is not clear.)
 
The Sting – is about a criminal fraternity of loyal, intelligent, very likeable crooks capable of concocting an elaborate hoax. WAIT A MINUTE. Where did they find this gang, Harvard Business School? I just cannot buy this ridiculous story, and it is not as much fun as some people describe. The story is too predictable, the pace is very pokey, and the comedy label is all wrong. I can't name a single funny scene or line. Newman and Redford try to recapture the buddy (criminal) chemistry that they had in Butch Cassidy (1969), but the magic is not there. Not even close. The ending is never in doubt, so we are left with a good music score and costumes. BTW – the music score is almost all Scott Joplin tunes, popular about 30 years before the period depicted in the movie
 
The Exorcist – delivers a wicked, non-stop emotional beating to the viewer. I have a thick hide, but not that tough. Beware, you have been warned. The film is often on favorite lists by fans of horror and supernatural/occult theme films. 

Notes from awards committee:
Not one of the Academy’s Best Picture nominations made our top five movie list for 1971. We liked the overrated French Connection, but it paled in comparison to another morally ambiguous police thriller, Dirty Harry starring Clint Eastwood. Dirty Harry presented a sympathetic view of 2A and vigilante justice and was panned by a Glee Club of liberal film critics and snubbed by the Academy. We correct this mistake by awarding Clint Eastwood the HC Best Actor award. The HC Best Motion Picture of the year is the historical drama Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary Stuart has long been a controversial and romanticized historical figure. She is one of those historical figures whose reality simply outstrips normal dramatic convention: queen of two realms and a pretender of a third; twice widowed before the age of 25; mother of the future King of England & Ireland; defeated in a bloody battle, forced to abdicate and surrender to her rival, Queen Elizabeth; conspiring in captivity, and finally executed. No fiction writer would dare invent her. See below for a more detailed film review. 

Dirty Harry – is a classic detective thriller and a true blockbuster of the 1970s. This film captures the essence of gritty '70s film style (edgy vigilante-style justice, anti-establishment theme, and strong language). Clint Eastwood delivers one of his finest performances as San Francisco detective Dirty Harry Callahan (see the movie to discover how he got his nickname). Eastwood zoomed from star to superstardom due to this film.  Harry had the right amount of cocky toughness, and firm sense of justice to make the character realistic and likable. When Harry pulls his .44 Magnum pistol he instantly becomes everyman’s noble avenger against hard core criminals. Pistol sales went thru the roof because of this movie. Any shooter fool enough to purchase a .44 Magnum pistol found out the hard way that the caliber is great for close range elephant hunting but is punishing to the wallet and hand for the casual, weekend target shooter.

Play Misty for Me - is a cool thriller with an insane stalker lady, Evelyn played by Jessica Walter, at least sixteen years ahead of Fatal Attraction. Sometimes an actress is so good in a role that it's impossible to see them as anyone else later in their career; such is the case with Jessica Walter, who nails this part of the psychotic woman--and seems to embody instability itself – the eyes, the voice and the angry rants! The DVD transfer of this vintage flick is as good as it gets. I was astonished at the beautiful picture on a modern TV. The film captures the scenic coastline around Carmel and Monterey in Northern California. Clint Eastwood proved in his directorial debut that he has a great eye for panorama camera work. Watch this one when you want something that is the direct opposite of a chick flick. PMFM is also a fine reminder of early 1970’s California, a wonderful place before the hordes of homeless and illegals invaded.

Mary, Queen of Scots - Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson were two of Britain's leading actresses in the 1970s, and here they give strong performances as two opposing queens. The movie covers some fascinating history and when it comes to historical accuracy; its heart is in the right place. The most glaring error is that the star Vanessa Redgrave (aged 35 in 1971) is too mature for the youthful Mary, who was only 18 when she returned to Scotland from France in 1561 after her husband, King of France died suddenly (she was only 16 when she married him and became queen-consort of France). A tremendous opportunity was missed by the filmmakers for not finding a teenage, six foot, red-headed, and fair-skinned beauty to play Mary Stuart. 
 
Back to the movie – following the death of her first husband, Mary returned to Scotland in 1561 to find a tense religious and political climate. As shown in the film, her half-brother, the bastard son of James V of Scotland, was running the show in Scotland and planned for Mary to be a powerless queen, with him in full control of the Scot government. The Scots are a very difficult race to rule even during the best of times but the 1500s was filled with religious strife and too many over ambitious lords and barons. Being a Queen Regnant in the 1500s was a particularly difficult task, as this was a period when many believed that women, even those of royal blood, should not exercise any form of political power. Wide spread, strong loyalty to Queen Mary, a devoted Catholic, was lacking, and she could never count upon the Scot Protestants. Rebellion struck, Mary’s weak army was defeated and she was forced to abdicate her Scottish crown. In one of the dramatic highlights of the film, Mary flees Scotland to England and meets Queen Elizabeth – in private and on horseback in the heavily wooded borderlands. Something is to be said for strict historical accuracy but in this case, the added (probably fictional) meeting enhanced the film and gave the two talented actresses a stage to command at a key hinge point in the storyline.  Elizabeth had little sympathy for Mary, who she considered a threat to her crown. Mary is confined to one of Elizabeth’s castles – safely away from Scotland and also London.
 
In reality, Mary’s imprisonment spanned almost two decades. In the film, however, the screenwriters and Director Charles Jarrott condensed the time frame into a much snappier version of events. Elizabeth’s court advisors keep a close eye on Mary and uncover evidence of treachery. Mary has been corresponding using a secret cypher with Catholic royals on various plots to kill Elizabeth. The penalty for treason in Medieval England was death. Thanks to the amended timeline, the story keeps moving along to a second meeting between the two queens, followed by Mary’s heroic execution scene in the finale. Mary was 44 when the axe fell. The year was 1587, and in Spain, the Catholic monarch Philip 2, was enraged to hear that a fellow Catholic royal was beheaded. He vowed revenge against Elizabeth for the execution of Mary Stuart. In 1588 Philip launched the Spanish Armada and his invasion of England. But that is another essay.

Klute – is a sleek and sexy neo-film noir set in the dark side of Gotham City. It is a tough, honest movie, but never needlessly violent. It is almost an art house type flick.  The heart of the movie is a moving, troubling love story, and a showcase for one of cinema's most gripping performances, that of Jane Fonda as aspiring actress and high class hooker, Bree Daniel. The film is also a time capsule of hippie attitudes, styles, and New York City with fantastic camera angles that surprise and please. The musical score is perfect: soft and jazzy for the love scenes; haunting and menacing for the horror. Jane Fonda's award winning performance is reason enough to see the movie. You can't take your eyes off her. She is fascinating. Bree Daniels played by Jane Fonda is a controversial main character. She is a short gig actress who is chronically short of cash and always one phone call away from whoring. Decades before the #Metoo scandals in Hollywood, Klute takes on the hot topic of transactional sex.   
 
McCabe and Mrs. Miller – is a revisionist Western by Director Robert Altman set in a Northwest mining boom town. The heart of the town is a saloon with an endless poker game in the hazy candle light and the soft tunes of the lovely, fragile score in the background. This cloudy, snow-covered movie is a deceptively simple frontier story that follows John McCabe (Warren Beatty), a gambler, businessman and alleged gunfighter – a fact he never confirms or denies. Clad in a bearskin coat and wearing a bowler hat and beard, McCabe is unique among western protagonists of old. Sure, he wears a gun, but we know he is not the killer type. In fact our likeable anti-hero is a pimp, dandy, and a coward. But he gets lucky in the boom town where the center of social life is a saloon and a whorehouse. To say more would spoil the movie, but if you are looking for something different from the predictable, romanticized westerns, here is an alternative western that’s realistic, and chilled to the bone.  

Hospital - presents everyone’s worst nightmare. People go into the hospital for a minor illness and end up dead, or in a coma. The Head Nurse shrugs and mutters, “These things happen.” Later someone asks the Head Nurse, “Where do you train your staff, Dachau?” This is a subtle, low key comedy without big laughs and jokes, but is rather a comedy of errors woven together with the absurd irony of an avenging angel, in the form of a crazy man, killing the hospital staff responsible for the medical mishaps. George C. Scott is great as the Chief Surgeon struggling with his personal demons and his hospital, both on the verge of a major breakdown. George can roar with the best them, and he is great in this movie as he rips into his uncaring, burned out staff. He was nominated for Best Actor, but having won and refused to accept the previous year's Oscar for Patton, Scott wasn't about to get a second chance.

Shaft – is a low budget, film noir featuring a little known black man (Richard Roundtree) in the lead role. With the exception of Sidney Poitier, black actors did not play leading roles in Hollywood. The financial success of Shaft changed the Hollywood business model. The rest is history, as they say. And yes, this flick is campy and dated, but that adds to the retro fun. Still, I think it's a better film than most critics give it credit. Also has an Oscar winning original song by Isaac Hayes. Set in seedy, dreary downtown Harlem, New York, the movie is a seventies time capsule.
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They Might Be Giants - is that extremely rare rom-com film with so many funny, entertaining and touching scenes. The cast is excellent; even the minor characters are well done.  The central performance by George C. Scott is outstanding. He has a flair for comedy, and perfectly portrays Justin Playfair, a respected judge who suffered a mental breakdown and thinks he is Sherlock Holmes. Justin, in his own fantasy world, brings Sherlock Holmes alive better than the troupe of “serious” actors I have seen before or since. Justin’s doctor, Mildred Watson (Joanne Woodward), tries to help him. Together they bravely go in search of arch-enemy Moriarty, and in their own sweet, goofy way find love instead. TMBG is perfect for fans of quirky, underrated movies. 

Disappointments -
A Clockwork Orange – is violence-porn and porn-porn combined with a middle-brow, moralistic “message” about the dangers of sacrificing Free Will in pursuit of social order. A Clockwork Orange is obscene in the literal sense of the word, and is not fit for polite company. I have never re-watched it; once back in the 70s was enough. A highly overrated movie.  
 
French Connection - won five Oscars and was much ballyhooed by the mainstream film critics. The question is why? The story about a New York City heroin-smuggling case is an OK cop flick, but it lacks real suspense or excitement and drags in Act 2. The big chase scene was hot stuff in 1971, but would barely garner special mention today. Gene Hackman plays the lead role of NYPD Detective “Popeye” Doyle, and his iconic image of Popeye wearing a cheap suit and pork pie hat is the lasting image of the movie. FC is not a bad movie, it just does not hold up to the lasting impact of Dirty Harry.  

Murphy’s War – is a graphic anti-war movie that begins with what most normal people would consider a War Crime. A German U-boat torpedoes and sinks an allied cargo ship then proceeds to machine gun the surviving sailors. Seaman Murphy played by Peter O’Toole is the lone survivor. O’Toole puts on a master class in acting as he plays Murphy suffering from a severe case of PTSD – post traumatic stress disorder. Murphy risks life and limb in a mad obsession to go after the German U-boat.

​Notes from awards committee:
1972 is one of those very rare years when the HC Awards align with the Academy’s top awards. The rooster in the hen house was, without doubt, The Godfather - Here we have a view of organized crime from the executive suite. The film captures the look, mood, and feel of the late 1940’s, and this adds to success of the movie as an outstanding period piece. It should be mentioned that the camera does not look away during some very brutal and bloody scenes. I can understand why some people think the film is too violent. But it fits the storyline and America’s often violent history.
 
Marlon Brando boycotted the academy ceremony, and refused the Best Actor award. He sent Sacheen Littlefeather to bitch about mistreatment of American Indians. Sacheen was later exposed as a Pretendian, a fake Indian. She was born Marie Louise Cruz in Salinas, Calif.  

​The World at Large

• Feb 17 - Nixon makes historic visit to Communist China and meets with Mao.
• Sept 5 – Arab terrorists attack Olympic Village in Munich, Germany. 11 Israeli athletes killed.
• Dec – US B-52 bombers hammer North Vietnam in attempt to force communist regime to the peace talks in Paris.
• Atari introduces the first arcade video game, Pong.

Apollo 17 triumphantly concludes the last manned moon landing.

Deliverance – This is Burt Reynolds finest hour, as he leads three city boys on a white water canoe trip that goes terribly awry. Spectacular river scenery blends with unspeakable nastiness. This is the original survivalist horror flick. Burt Reynolds is superb as Lewis, the tough outdoors man who sees the dangers that lurk in the hills just a bit more clearly than most. And equally offsetting the evil ruffians is the beautiful scenery of a true American Wild & Scenic river valley. The true star of the movie is the Chattooga River, flowing sometimes gently then erupting into thundering, violent rapids - the Narrows, Drew’s Rock, and the wicked class V, Bull Sluice. Warning. The movie contains about six minutes of savage and sadistic sexual assault that is unfit for decent folks. Keep remote handy and Fast Forward as required.

Poseidon Adventure – Take a cruise this year in your living room lazy boy and watch this 70s flick that helped jump start the disaster film genre. Yes, it is decades old, but still entertaining. Also has a good ensemble cast, and cool special effects - the scene when the cruise ship is hit by a tsunami and capsizes is spectacular. The film asks an ageless, fundamental question: if faced with a desperate situation would you fight to survive, or like the masses, do nothing and expect to be rescued? See this movie and watch who is doomed, and who lives. Hint: the movie stars have a much better chance of survival than the extras. The film is spot on following the Formula. I love it.
 
Ulzana’s Raid - This western about an Apache uprising is one of those rare movies with a simple, straightforward plot with few diversions. I was most surprised by the portrayal of the Apaches. The Apache war party is violent, ruthless, and cruel--however the movie doesn't make them monsters. They're just the adversary. At one point the army scout (Burt Lancaster) says, "Hating the Apache is like hating the desert because there isn't any water in it." That line sums up the movie - two small groups of men from vastly different cultures using their stamina, wiles, and skills in a fight to the finish. The movie contains violence and some rather gruesome scenes, but the body count is low compared to modern action flicks. This movie, along with the Professionals, convinced me that Burt Lancaster was one of very best actors of the Western genre. He is convincing and enjoyable to watch as the veteran warrior who knows the ropes of Indian fighting.

Super Fly - impacted black culture, ornamentation and dress styles. Young blacks, who could afford it, modified their cars to resemble the hero’s Cadillac Eldorado in the movie, with massive chrome grills and headlight lenses the size of manhole covers. In 1973 Chicago and Detroit blacks looked clownish wearing pimp suits and capes in garish colors, platform shoes, long fur coats and feathered Super Fly hats. Curtis Mayfield’s movie score was wildly popular, and I watched in astonishment as my cousin’s high school dance team (all White girls) danced an energetic routine to the Super Fly theme song. 

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Disappointments -
Cabaret - is hailed for celebrating German Weimar Republic decadence, as well as propaganda against the rising Nazi Party. But this film fails as entertainment due to unlikeable characters, and presents utter foolishness with the ridiculous acts at the Kit Kat Club Cabaret. It also fails as anti-Nazi propaganda, in fact, Cabaret often makes the case for rejecting the decadence of the Weimar and considering National Socialism as the better alternative in the 1930s. When the movie premiered in the 1970s, the people, of course, do not embrace or condone National Socialism due to the well-known history of aggressive militarism, harsh eugenics and concentration camps. The mainstream narrative of WW2 being the “Good War” to crush evil has been drilled into all Westerners minds. But once the movie is over, they can at least understand why millions of Germans voted NS in the 1930s. The main character of Cabaret is Sally Bowles, one of the wackiest female characters in movie history, played by Liza Minnelli. Film expert, Trevor Lynch wrote, “Let’s just say that if Sally Bowles is meant to be a mediocre singer with a potato face and potato physique, such that her aspirations to be a great actress are a pathetic delusion, then Minnelli nails the part.” And it is not fair to project the flaws of the movie character onto the actress herself. While the viewer can size up Sally as a phony hedonist with the morals of an alley cat, and dislike her; then you have to agree that Minnelli did her acting job very well.  

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Notes from awards committee:
1970 was a banner year for military history film fans. Kelly’s Heroes and Catch 22 was WW2 history-lite, and Patton was a somewhat strange and fanciful historical portrayal, and Tora! received high praised for WW2 historical accuracy; it was Waterloo that captured the prize for HC Best Motion Picture of the year. The film is a masterful recreation of the most famed European battle, and depicts battle scenes that are visually stunning and stand out, as they should, in a military history film. The film version of Waterloo is surprisingly accurate to the actual events of 1815 when Napoleon returned to France from exile and reclaims the French throne. The high drama of 1815 makes for a great story to tell, and the story is translated extremely well to film by Director/writer Sergei Bondarchuk. The costumes and sets are very well done, and you almost think you stepped out of a time machine to 1815 when you see them. The film captures the spectacle of two huge armies clashing in battle, and got the highlights correct: the roar of Napoleon’s grand artillery battery, the charge of the Greys, Ney’s cavalry streaming around the battered British squares (this sequence has no equal in cinema), the magnificent ranks of the Old Guard advancing up the hill and being met by Wellington’s infantry. The principals are excellent, Christopher Plummer is a convincing Duke of Wellington and Rod Steiger is Napoleon with the quick, abrupt manner, the restless energy and the sudden passion described by countless biographers. The final scene is a ghastly depiction of war and is an honest one. Wellington famously was very reluctant to talk about the epic battle, but he did remark, “It was a pounding match, and a damned near-run thing, the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.”

Two Mules for Sister Sara - There is a lot to like about this movie:  The rugged setting of the Mexican desert, a musical score by the legend, Ennio Morricone; two Hollywood icons, MacLaine and Eastwood, while still in their prime, and putting it all together is veteran director Don Siegel who would direct Clint the following year in the 1971 blockbuster hit, Dirty Harry. Siegel had a talent for action scenes, and in this film, the final shootout does not disappoint. My favorite part of the movie is Shirley MacLaine. Lately, she’s been typecast as a sassy, old crow with gruff one-liners, but in this 1970 performance, she plays a damsel in distress and a nun. She is charming and sexy even when dressed in a nun frock. Clint is by turns chivalrous and tough, and unlike the Spaghetti Western trilogy, has a chance to display his romantic and dry-wit-comedy talents. He has terrific screen chemistry with Shirley, and they make the best movie couple of the year. Shirley scores her first House Clark Best Actress award.  

Little Big Man - Dustin Hoffman plays Jack Crabb, the only white survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn (aka Custer’s Last Stand). Jack looks back on a fractured life as a pioneer, Indian prisoner, gunslinger, drunkard, mule skinner, army scout and Cheyenne warrior. This often comical episodic film skillfully blends together an entertaining, fanciful portrait of the American Wild West. Also LBM is one of the most quotable movies of all time. While it makes for poor factual history, it is never boring.

Tora! Tora! Tora! - The title of the movie was the code for a successful attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, and was transmitted by the commander of the first wave of Japanese warplanes on December 7, 1941. A rare war movie which sticks to true history and tells it like it was, from both the American and Japanese sides. There's a little bit of bias towards the winners, but that's only to be expected. And the film does not suffer unduly because of it. Indeed the film batters the American military complacency and errors that helped make the Japanese surprise attack a success. Highest praise has to go to the stuntmen in the spectacular battle scenes. It was later revealed some of the stunts went out of control, and the actors were really running for their lives. Frankly it looks all the better for it; you cannot beat a bit of real action and danger for spicing up a movie.

Kelly’s Heroes - This exciting World War 2 caper film is pure fiction but very entertaining. I have re-watched this film a dozen times. A great ensemble cast with Eastwood, Sutherland, Don Rickles and Telly Sevalas, and Harry Dean Stanton create a group of likable, somewhat anachronistic WW2 GI's who set out to steal a fortune in Nazi gold - miles behind German lines. The film has comedy, tragedy, and plenty of action. Is it a realistic version of WW2? You have got to be joking.

Patton - If you enjoy character studies and WWII history, this is one of Hollywood’s better efforts. George C. Scott delivers a strong performance with plenty of swagger and bravado. The famed opening scene depicts Patton delivering a 6-minute speech (or pep talk) before a huge American flag to an unseen group of American conscript troops. The film is not without major flaws – Patton is portrayed as a wild-eyed believer in reincarnation with fantasies of fighting in ancient Rome. Wait a minute. I have read Patton’s WW2 war diaries and those assertions are a Hollywood fairy tale, and make Patton’s movie character a bit crazy. He was not crazy, but rather supremely self-confident warrior. George C. Scott gives his best ever performance in Patton. He won the Best Actor Oscar for his turn as the title character, but refused to attend ceremony or accept the gold statuette. I suppose he had his reasons.

Catch 22 - A cast of unheralded, talented comedy clowns are showcased in this WWII farce about an American B25 bomber squadron based in Italy. When I first saw Catch-22 back in 1970, I had little understanding of the senseless killing during the last few months of WWII in Europe. The film ridicules the almost messianic belief in mass aerial bombing even as the military value of the targets steadily diminished in 1945. The Allies knew the war was won, and no airman or infantryman wanted to have the distinction of being the last man killed in the war. The dark humor captures the craziness of war in a way - I think - no other anti-war movie does. This film often gets compared to *M*A*S*H*, which also debuted in 1970, and in retrospect I think that Catch-22 is the superior motion picture.
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Woodstock – a cultural milestone and a musical farewell to the madness of hippies. Film critic, Pris Factor writes, “Whatever one thinks of Woodstock the happening, WOODSTOCK the film is fascinating and informative on many levels, as Rock concert film, social documentary, generational mythmaking(and myth-busting), and political propaganda.”   

Disappointments -

M*A*S*H - set in Korea circa 1951, resonated with the American public weary of the endless Vietnam War. The film was very popular and spawned a hit TV series by the same name. Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould began their lucky streak of hit movies during the 70s by playing MASH doctors, Hawkeye and Trapper John. The two misfits play cruel practical jokes to torment primarily two fellow officers; the humorless Major Burns (Robert Duvall) and the delightfully charming Major "Hot Lips" Hoolihan (Sally Kellerman). The humor is dark, mean spirited and mostly not funny. Military comedies an awkward, tricky genre that sometimes hits a wrong, jarring note, as happens often in MASH.

Five Easy Pieces - The biggest problem with this movie is that nothing interesting happens in this study of a callow, rebellious youth. The cast is loaded with talent, but even they could not make a diamond out of this lump of coal. FEP is a very overrated and boring movie.
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Love Story – is a made for TV melodrama if there ever was one.