Category: 1970s

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Cries and Whispers (1972)

While Harriet Andersson painfully dies of uterine cancer, her sisters Liv Ullmann and Ingrid Thulin and servant Kari Sylwan keep watch, struggling to care for her while dealing with their own issues. I’m sure much of the film went over my head as it is quite stylized and the perspective quickly changes between the four women, but the performances reflect lives of pain and loneliness. Unforgettably the rooms these women embody are dramatically and oppressively covered in red while they themselves drift around in white dresses.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best Cinematography

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced; Best Costume Design

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Agatha (1979)

In 1926, writer Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days and it remains a mystery what actually happened during that time. This film imagines a history where she has followed her husband’s lover to a spa in Harrogate. Vanessa Redgrave portrays Christie appealingly, but the film turns out somewhat as a lackluster mystery. This isn’t helped by the inclusion of American reporter Dustin Hoffman who is offered as an uninteresting love interest.

Oscar Nomination: Best Costume Design

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Amarcord (1973)

It is hard to not immediately compare this to The Hand of God as they are both Italian films featuring a teenager as he comes of age surrounded by a cast of eccentric characters. It’s obvious this influenced that other film. While I’m still rather done with films centered on white, teenaged boys, especially when they all seem to feature adults sexually taking advantage of children, this one exceeds the others as it allows the focus to move away from the boys and let the other characters have time to shine. Set in a Northern Italian seaside village during the 1930s Mussolini era, it offers a real sense of time and place while also having just enough surreal, dreaminess to invoke a feeling of nostalgic memory.

Oscar Win: Best Foreign Language Film

Oscar Nominations: Best Director; Best Writing, Original Screenplay

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56 Up (2012)

While I recently watched both 49 Up and 56 Up, this is my review for the majority of the series. For 56 years, director Michael Apted revisited a group of Britons every seven years to establish the changes that individuals undergo in life. While Apted only worked with the director of the first installment, that one began with the idea that you could see the adult person simply by looking at that person at the age of seven. I have no idea how really true that is (I personally think there are some hints in comparing the progress as they age), but it is truly a gift that this group allowed the world a glimpse into their lives and the wisdom they have to share in being compelled to reflect on the turns their lives take every seven years. It’s very personal to try to compare myself at various ages, particularly when watching the episodes most close to my current age, and feeling how universal some milestones are.

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The Onion Field (1979)

Based on real events, Los Angeles police detectives John Savage and Ted Danson are held hostage and taken to a Bakersfield onion field by criminals James Woods and Franklyn Seales. Danson is shot and killed while his partner barely escapes. The criminals are punished for their crimes, but Savage is also held responsible for somehow not doing enough during that night. James Woods is his usual sleazy self and it’s interesting to see Danson in his first film role, looking the same as in his Cheers days. The story is a frustrating one as those around him turn on Savage, ignoring the very real PTSD he suffers in the aftermath.   Crime

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Five Easy Pieces (1970)

With his best friend in jail and his girlfriend pregnant, educated drifter Jack Nicholson returns to his family home on a Washington island after learning from his sister that his estranged father has suffered a stroke. Unable to find himself despite all his drifting, the oppressive family atmosphere proves difficult for Jack. It’s a film very much of its era, which unsurprisingly features a strong performance by Nicholson. By setting the majority of the film around his extended family, there’s no reason given for why he became the man he is, but it is obvious he has no idea why as well.  Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced

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The Bolero (1973)/God Sleeps in Rwanda (2005)

The first half of The Bolero is a behind the scenes look on the Los Angeles Symphonic Orchestra’s preparations before performing Ravel’s famous work. The second half is an actual performance. I didn’t get much out of the preparation part, but the performance is quite fun. I love seeing the 1970s fashions, but also the presentation and framing of the performance is quite nifty and memorable.  Music

God Sleeps in Rwanda follows the experiences of five women whose lives were irrevocably changed by the 1994 genocide. The stories presented are powerful and the strength and the courage of these women to rebuild their lives after the atrocities they faced is immeasurable. Unfortunately the production quality and depth of the stories is somewhat lacking for such a powerful subject matter.

Oscar Win: Best Short Subject, Live Action Films (The Bolero)

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Short Subjects (God Sleeps in Rwanda)

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California Split (1974)

I hadn’t intended to work through Robert Altman’s filmography, but somehow this is my third film of his in two days. Elliott Gould is a Los Angeles magazine writer and gambler whose addiction is hastened after a chance meeting with more experienced gambler George Segal. Through highs and lows, the determination of the duo for a big score never sways. The two men have good chemistry together and are natural in their individual roles. While the pair ends up in Reno, it’s otherwise interesting experiencing how gambling looks and feels in locales not famous for the activity.

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Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson (1976)

In this revisionist Western, Paul Newman’s Wild Bill Hickok looks to boost the appeal of his Wild West show by adding Frank Kaquitts’s Chief Sitting Bull as a guest star. Bill gets more than he bargained for as the Chief is neither an imposing, hulking figure nor an untamed savage for him to battle against, at least not physically, and has his own agenda with regards to joining the show. This is pretty much the film’s only gimmick and it’s a bit long for it. I always love seeing Newman, but in this instance, I would have loved to see more of Sitting Bull’s experience instead of the white people’s reactions to his actions.  Western

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The Molly Maguires (1970)

In the 1870s, undercover Pinkerton agent Richard Harris arrives in a Pennsylvania mining town to infiltrate the Molly Maguires, a group of Irish miners, led by Sean Connery, explosively protesting the actions of oppressive mine owners. It’s a solid film, portraying one example of an important part of labor history. Connery and Harris are appealing leads and have great chemistry as sometime allies and sometime foes.

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

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