Top 10 of the Decade: The 1970's

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1. Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)
2. The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie (Buñuel, 1972)
3. Solaris (Tarkovsky, 1972)
4. Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979)
5. Annie Hall (Allen, 1977)
6. Mean Streets (Scorsese, 1973)
7. The Passenger (Antonioni, 1975)
8. Nashville (Altman, 1975)
9. F for Fake (Welles, 1975)
10. Amarcord (Fellini, 1974)
 
1. Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979)
2. Céline and Julie Go Boating (Rivette, 1974)
3. Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)
4. The Conformist (Bertolucci, 1970)
5. The Holy Mountain (Jodorowski, 1973)
6. Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1976)
7. Annie Hall (Allen, 1977)
8. Cabaret (Fosse, 1972)
9. Little Murders (Arkin, 1971)
10. O Lucky Man! (Anderson, 1973)

This is obviously the strongest decade for American film, even moreso than the 40's because of the abundance of new, unique voices. I really need to sit down and give a rewatch to Tarkovsky's Stalker, which I bought not too long ago, because I have a feeling it would crack the bottom here.

Bertolucci and Rivette would probably make dual appearances each on my true Top 10 for this decade.

What I realized with making these lists is that I'm feeling less obliged to only recognize titles I've long admired which should be on there, and have been leaning more towards things I have seen more recently that have had a large impact. Since lists like these are never set in stone, I think it's important to allow yourself to express where you are at the moment. Certain films I've seen countless times and will likely never leave the list. But there are others (like Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller, for example) which I haven't seen in a while and can step aside for the moment to make room for these new pleasures.
 
1. The Passenger (Antonioni, 75)
2. Days of Heaven (Malick, 78)
3. Barry Lyndon (Kubrick, 75)
4. Stalker (Tarkovsky, 79)
5. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Akerman, 75)
6. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes, 76)
7. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Altman, 71)
8. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Fassbinder, 72)
9. Aguirre, Wrath of God (Herzog, 72)
10. Le Cercle Rouge (Melville, 70)

Bunuel, Coppola and Woody just missed the cut, painfully.
 
1. The Godfather (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
2. Jaws (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1975)
3. Annie Hall (dir. Woody Allen, 1977)
4. Alien (dir. Ridley Scott, 1979)
5. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (dir. George Lucas, 1977)
6. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (dir. Milos Forman, 1975)
7. Rocky (dir. John G. Avildsen, 1976)
8. Willie Wonky And The Chocolate Factory (dir. Mel Stuart, 1971)
9. Eraserhead (dir. David Lynch, 1976)
10. Chinatown (dir. Roman Polanski, 1974)

Ask me in a couple months and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Sting and The Deer Hunter will probably be in there. This is another list that I feel far too uninformed to make.
 
What I realized with making these lists is that I'm feeling less obliged to only recognize titles I've long admired which should be on there, and have been leaning more towards things I have seen more recently that have had a large impact. Since lists like these are never set in stone, I think it's important to allow yourself to express where you are at the moment. Certain films I've seen countless times and will likely never leave the list. But there are others (like Altman's McCabe & Mrs. Miller, for example) which I haven't seen in a while and can step aside for the moment to make room for these new pleasures.

Nice Fosse placement. All That Jazz is top 20 for me likely.

And I agree whole-heartedly with the above sentiment, though my lists have all had a number of long set-in-stone personal favorites, tastes are in constant shift, especially this past year for me, and I love being able to recognize new works I'm currently exploring, which will become more prominent in the next few threads, personally. Which is also why I think it's a good idea for us to to these threads at least annually if not more frequently.
 
I wish I had room for Buñuel, though I'm not sure if it would have been The Phantom of Liberty or Bourgeoisie. The Passenger was close, as was Amarcord. I have a lot of catching up to do with Fassbinder.

I recently bought a very cheap R1 Herzog/Kinski boxed set, so it will be nice to rewatch some stuff I haven't seen in ages, and to finish what i haven't at all.

Surprised that All That Jazz wasn't higher for you.
 
I'll bite.

1. Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)
2. The discreet charm of the bourgeoisie (Buñuel, 1972)
3. Solaris (Tarkovsky, 1972)
4. Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979)
5. Annie Hall (Allen, 1977)
6. Mean Streets (Scorsese, 1973)
7. The Passenger (Antonioni, 1975)
8. Nashville (Altman, 1975)
9. F for Fake (Welles, 1975)
10. Amarcord (Fellini, 1974)


You're number 2 and 4 were probably the next two on my list after I had to cut it. Astounding works.

Additionally I really had a difficult time choosing between three or four Altman films that decade, any of which deserve a spot on the list.
 
I also like that idea. These lists should be somewhat fluid, and I think that adds some more unexpected titles that others may not have seen.

There is so much good stuff on these lists that I'm preparing a "to watch" list for the coming weeks.

Damn, I forgot about Aguirre.
 
Additionally I really had a difficult time choosing between three or four Altman films that decade, any of which deserve a spot on the list.


Yeah, while I was leaning towards McCabe, I easily could have put California Split, which has a better script and acting but isn't in the same league visually. And of course there's Nashville and M*A*S*H.
 
I wish I had room for Buñuel, though I'm not sure if it would have been The Phantom of Liberty or Bourgeoisie. The Passenger was close, as was Amarcord. I have a lot of catching up to do with Fassbinder.

I recently bought a very cheap R1 Herzog/Kinski boxed set, so it will be nice to rewatch some stuff I haven't seen in ages, and to finish what i haven't at all.

Surprised that All That Jazz wasn't higher for you.

The Cassavetes, Akerman and Melville are all somewhat recent watches for me, so if I'd made my list 6 or 8 months ago, Fosse almost certainly would have made it. Same for Apocalypse Now, which is my #11.

Petra von Kant is easily the most impressive Fassbinder film of the half dozen or so that I've seen. Simply awe-inspiring.
 
Speaking of Fassbinder, have you seen The Marriage of Maria Braun? I'm actually going to see a play based on the film in a few weeks, so I need to get to that soon.
 
Yeah, while I was leaning towards McCabe, I easily could have put California Split, which has a better script and acting but isn't in the same league visually. And of course there's Nashville and M*A*S*H.

I'm not especially high on Split or M*A*S*H honestly, though they're both still great. I was really juggling between McCabe, 3 Women, Nashville and The Long Goodbye, all of which I feel best represent Altman at his various strengths.
 
Petra von Kant is easily the most impressive Fassbinder film of the half dozen or so that I've seen. Simply awe-inspiring.


What else have you seen? I have someone's Berlin Alexanderplatz but I've only been through the first episode. I also have a used copy of In A Year With 13 Moons that I haven't seen yet.

Pretty curious about the BRD trilogy, and also Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.
 
From now on my list are going to be painfully mainstream, and I just don't care.

1.) A New Hope ('77, Lucas)
2.) Harold and Maude ('71, Ashby)
3.) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest ('75, Forman)
4.) Jaws ('75, Spielberg)
5.) Halloween ('78, Carpenter)
6.) Rocky Horror Picture Show ('75, Sharman)
7.) The Godfather ('72, Coppola)
8.) Monty Python and the Holy Grail ('75, Gilliam/Jones)
9.) The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ('77, Lounsbery/Reitherman) [Requisite Disney pick, huge decision picking between it and Robin Hood.]
10.) Mad Max ('79, Miller)

I haven't seen Mad Max in a long time, so I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt, but there were plenty of movies that missed out on the #10 spot to take its place.
 
Speaking of Fassbinder, have you seen The Marriage of Maria Braun? I'm actually going to see a play based on the film in a few weeks, so I need to get to that soon.

Yes, it's excellent, and one of the most bitingly comic film's I've seen.
 
What else have you seen? I have someone's Berlin Alexanderplatz but I've only been through the first episode. I also have a used copy of In A Year With 13 Moons that I haven't seen yet.

Pretty curious about the BRD trilogy, and also Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.

Oh let's see. I believe Petra, the BRD films, Ali, 13 Moons, and the Merchant of Four Seasons. Looking forward to getting into B.A. sometime soonish.
 
So, should I be replacing Stroszek with Aguirre in my Netflix queue? I want a starting point, and I'm just not sure where to go. I figured if the former was good enough for Ian Curtis, it's good enough for me.
 
Yes, it's excellent, and one of the most bitingly comic film's I've seen.

Good to know, thanks. I need to explore more of Fassbinder, maybe I'll get the BRD trilogy in the next Criterion sale.
 
I'd say Aguirre is pretty quintessential.

I also liked Fitzcarraldo a lot.

Haven't seen Stoszek but it's not one of the more-talked about titles.
 
Good to know, thanks. I need to explore more of Fassbinder, maybe I'll get the BRD trilogy in the next Criterion sale.

You could probably buy Dalton's copy.

I don't think he ever watched it; he was pretty pissed off when he realized that he read it wrong and it wasn't the "B&D trilogy".
 
1. Apocalypse Now (Coppola, '79)
2. Alien (Scott, '79)
3. Star Wars (Lucas, '77)
4. A Clockwork Orange (Kubrick, '71)
5. Jaws (Spielberg, '75)
6. Taxi Driver (Scorsese, '76)
7. Frenzy (Hitchcock, '72)
8. The Poseidon Adventure (Neame, '72)
9. The Towering Inferno (Guillermin, '74)
10. The Cassandra Crossing (Cosmatos '76)

The bottom three I stuggled with because they are comfort movies that I grew up with and can still watch and have a great time with to this day, even though they aren't great and are in that whole disaster movie mold. Love them, though.
 
1. Star Wars - Lucas - 77
2. The Spy Who Loved Me - Gilbert - 77
3. Live and Let Die - Hamilton - 73
4. The Godfather - Coppola - 72
5. The Sting - GRH - 73
6. Annie Hall - Allen - 77
7. Jaws - Spielberg - 75
8. Robin Hood - Reitherman - 73
9. Alien - Scott - 79
10. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls - Meyer - 70
11. Blazing Saddles - Brooks - 74

And a bonus selection, because it's in season:

Halloween - Carpenter - 78

My list wins.
 
1. The Godfather – Coppola
2. A Clockwork Orange – Kubrick
3. Star Wars – Lucas
4. Jaws – Spielberg
5. The Exorcist – Friedkin
6. Network – Lumet
7. Chinatown – Polanski
8. Annie Hall – Allen
9. The Deer Hunter - Cimino
10. Nashville – Altman

As usual lots of great stuff left out.
 
1. Taxi Driver (dir. Martin Scorsese, 1976)
2. Apocalypse Now (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
3. Days of Heaven (dir. Terrence Malick, 1978)
4. Jaws (dir. Steven Spielberg, 1975)
5. Annie Hall (dir. Woody Allen, 1977)
6. F for Fake (dir. Orson Welles, 1974)
7. Barry Lyndon (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
8. Chinatown (dir. Roman Polanski, 1974)
9. The Exorcist (dir. William Friedkin, 1973)
10. All That Jazz (dir. Bob Fosse, 1979)

Hooray for my New Hollywood bias!
 
Welles was essentially a European by that point. I'd say the same about Kubrick but the man was living in his own bubble. Polanski is Polish, and Scorsese & Coppola, while helping to define this period in American film, certainly bear traces of their cinematic/cultural heritage (pretty sure both are first or second generation American).
 
9 Americans though, and a Polish-directed Hollywood genre film. But it was a joke, and you're certainly right on all accounts.
 
1. Star Wars - Lucas - 77
2. The Spy Who Loved Me - Gilbert - 77
3. Live and Let Die - Hamilton - 73
4. The Godfather - Coppola - 72
5. The Sting - GRH - 73
6. Annie Hall - Allen - 77
7. Jaws - Spielberg - 75
8. Robin Hood - Reitherman - 73
9. Alien - Scott - 79
10. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls - Meyer - 70
11. Blazing Saddles - Brooks - 74

And a bonus selection, because it's in season:

Halloween - Carpenter - 78

My list wins.

Good list. Good choices. :up:

I agree, it probably does win.
 
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