Category: 1970s

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…And Justice for All (1979)

A horrifyingly cynical view of the criminal justice system, Al Pacino is a criminal defense lawyer fighting to hold on to his personal ethics and sanity while entrenched in a corrupt system. He has to deal with incompetent lawyers, unstable lawyers, unstable judges, and corrupt judges. The film is somewhat episodic in portraying this bevy of characters, but Pacino brings it all together and delivers, particularly with the infamous line: “You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They’re out of order!”

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

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Theatre of Blood (1973)

Vincent Price is again an aging actor murdering people and it’s just as fabulous as the previous times. Here he’s a Shakespearean actor out to get the critics who denied him the accolades he feels he deserves. The gimmick this time is that he uses the plays of Shakespeare to inspire each killing. The production quality here is a bit better than say the likes of the Dr. Phibes series and Price delivers yet another high caliber performance with costumes and monologues galore. Diana Rigg also gives a lovely performance as Price’s adult daughter.   Horror

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The Amityville Horror (1979)

Even as someone who isn’t much of a horror fan, I had hoped this would be a bit scarier than it is. After newlyweds James Brolin and Margot Kidder move with her young children into a home where a mass murder had occurred a year earlier, unexplainable things begin to happen. Disembodied voices are heard, people start feeling strangely, doors and windows act as if on their own will. One positive from the film is that they did a great job casting the kids; the three of them look like siblings. The score has the nice repetitive eerie quality that is necessary for the tension to build. The house has a menacing look to it, particularly with the two upper windows light up like glowing eyes. The fact that it is based on an actual story also adds to the scare factor, but it remains just somewhat creepy than an actual scare fest.   Horror  Supernatural

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Score

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The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)/Dr. Phibes Returns (1972)

Though my love for Vincent Price could have me writing many more entries on his behalf, it didn’t seem necessary to have separate entries for this somewhat ridiculous but still awesome film series. Price’s brilliant, mute, and presumed dead Dr. Phibes first is set on avenging the death of his wife by murdering those he feels were responsible, finding inspiration in the ten plagues of Egypt. Unfortunately for Joseph Cotten, he is at the top of Phibes’s list. In the second film, Dr. Phibes travels to Egypt in search of the one thing that can resurrect his dead wife. Unfortunately for Dr. Phibes, there are others on the same quest. The deaths in both films are wonderfully and memorably over the top. The visuals are fantastic, particularly in Phibes’s lair and the Egyptian temple. In both films, Phibes is partnered with the mysterious Vulvania (though I prefer the actress in the first film over the second) and an orchestra of clockwork musicians. In an admirable note to continuity, they are pursued by the same pair of detectives.   Horror

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Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

Wikipedia mentions that Werner Herzog wanted Klaus Kinski for the role of the title character after remembering his ‘terrifying and deranged antics’ during the three months he roomed with Herzog’s family. That statement truly sets up the expectations for this film about a crazed conquistador who stages a coup to lead a doomed mission searching for the treasures of El Dorado. There’s not much to say beyond that. The film is never boring and ever other character is overshadowed by Kinski’s madman.

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The Go-Between (1971)

The story here reminds me a lot of Atonement, where a child is exposed to adult love affairs in ways they can’t comprehend. Dominic Guard is a young boy staying with a more wealthy schoolmate’s family for the summer. After his mate comes down with measles, he finds companionship with his mate’s older sister who uses him as the deliverer of secret love letters to a neighboring farmer. Class differences are strictly adhered to here, where Guard’s character is openly mocked for his poorer wardrobe and it is unheard that an aristocrat could marry a simple farmer. While the Victorian countryside is a beautiful setting, everything is drawn out longer than necessary to tell the story.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

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Serpico (1973)

It’s important to know about the life of Frank Serpico in this time where once again police corruption is on people’s minds. Al Pacino is Serpico, a man who always wanted to be a cop but was greatly disappointed to find that the entire NYPD system is overwhelmingly corrupt. Yet he somehow manages to not compromise the values he was led to believe encompassed ‘to protect and serve’. The story is quick and told concisely, with time measured in the growth of Serpico’s adorable sheepdog. Dressed in a killer wardrobe, Pacino is resplendent in portraying Frank’s idealism and also his anxiety having always to be on guard around those he should best be able to count on.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

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Comes a Horseman (1978)

Jane Fonda is a single woman doing all she can to keep her family’s ranch despite the land hungry machinations of Jason Robards. She’s helped on her fool’s errand by Richard Farnsworth and James Caan. Fonda looks appropriately unglamorous and gritty as a woman more or less on her own on the frontier, but the whole affair is a bit dull and uninvolving. The film is supposedly set toward the end of World War II, but other than the vehicles and a mention of post-war declining beef prices, there is nothing that makes this distinctly of that era over any other in the history of the American West.   Western

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Supporting Role

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Fritz the Cat (1972)

It seemed important to watch this seminal work of adult animation, but I think a lot of what was being attempted flew over my head. There is a lot of criticism of left wing ideas of the late 60s, some of which are relevant today but a lot that doesn’t have a parallel. It’s not surprising that, particularly at the time, many people don’t know what to make of the explicit animated sex and drug use. The story itself follows Fritz through various misadventures, all told in rough, but brightly colored classic animation.

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Fat City (1972)

True 70s gritty realism here, Stacy Keach is a washed up boxer in Stockton, California who encounters young Jeff Bridges at a local Y and encourages him to take up the gloves. The film follows these two over a period of time as their boxing careers, and love lives, take opposite trajectories. Stockton is shown as a grim, depressing locale where the only jobs available are farm labor and the only entertainment is the local bar. In his early 30s, Keach somehow is as beat down as the city where he lives, whereas the only a handful of years younger Bridges is his exact opposite. Thus ends my unplanned mini Jeff Bridges marathon.   Sports

Oscar nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role

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