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Trash Talk discussions have led me conclude you Philistines need someone to provide the touchpoints necessary for a decent understanding in motion picture entertainments. I'm handpicking 10 films per time period--I might not limit myself to decades or anything, but contiguous time periods. These are films I like. Expect it to be short on musicals, which I loathe.
A chorus of angels sounds, the clouds part, and a gritty turd of realism plops in your lap. Welcome to the 1970s. The finest era of American filmmaking. The 60s scratched at the scab, but the 70s see cinema ripped open. Conventions are tossed. New genres are developed. Its an artistic revolution.
Some folks reading this are going to lose their shit because I don't have their favorites on here. Please add them to the comments. Even without commentary--we don't need a thesis. Just stick yours one there so folks have the options.
The Godfather and The Godfather Part II -- Epic tale of crime in America. From immigrant beginnings and petty thefts to vertically integrated rackets and murder. You can roll from one right into the other, even though the narrative in Part II goes back and forth in time. Sometimes shot a little too dark--this comes up a lot in the 1970s as DPs move away from klieg lights for every scene. Here, and elsewhere though, this brings some more reality to a staged scene, especially in period pieces of the era.
The French Connection -- Invents the modern cop drama. Followed quickly by Dirty Harry and a zillion others. Gene Hackman's Popeye Doyle is the prototype dirty-cop-that-gets-results. Also, he's not very attractive, and it doesn't matter. Actors that can act start to win the best roles, compared to those that are just gleaming beauties. The car chase is iconic.
Aguirre, the Wrath of God -- Ho. Ly. Shit. Werner Herzog comes blasting out of fucking nowhere. Klaus Kinski is probably actually insane as he portays an insane conquistador on a doomed mission to El Dorado. It's Treasure of the Sierra Madre channeled through Conrad and West German nihilism. I was looking for films that presaged this one and there's not a lot to work with. It springs forth fully formed like Athena onto the screen.
Chinatown -- A movie that looks back on Hollywood (at times, literally) and sees that it's not a golden color, but a jaundiced one. Polanski's anti-hero Jake Gittes basically spends the whole movie two steps behind with a foot in his ass. A post-modern noir classic.
Taxi Driver -- Scorsese was well regarded for Mean Streets, but this film exploded in everyone's consciousness. A paean to NYC in all its awfulness. Amazing on so many levels. The score is outrageous, De Niro is at his peak. This movie would never survive the modern age of pre-screenings and targeted marketing.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul -- Fassbinder's melodrama that touches on race, age, love, acceptance, betrayal and forgiveness. The story is intense, and a lot happens, but it all feels real--like something your aunt experienced and you've gotten whispers about at Thanksgiving. It's a Hollywood plot brought into the real world and it works. This was shot in two weeks.
Jaws -- The term "blockbuster" was coined for this one. Spielburg directs, John Williams scores, tons of tie-in merchandise, based on a hot bestseller--this is the recipe forever onwards for studios to make a fuck ton of money.
The Conversation -- Paranoia ruled the day in the 1970s, a function of Watergate, the Warren Commission, and the Pentagon Papers. This is the best filmic expression of the sentiment in what was a crowded field. Gene Hackman gets to revisit one of his greatest performances some 25 years later in Enemy of the State. Gives a sense of how much changed between 1974 and 1998. Not good changes.
The Sting -- As though the golden age of Hollywood fights back for relevance. A studio picture with gorgeous "good guys" and goofy "bad guys." Smartly directed by George Roy Hill, it swept the Academy Awards against The Exorcist and American Graffiti.
Dawn of the Dead -- The landmark horror/gore movie. The zombie apocalypse is fully realized and the audience is kept guessing about who, if anyone will make it out. Outrageous special effects by Tom Savini are combined with neon fake blood to keep you laughing and cringing simultaneously.
I am throwing out an Honorable Mention for Deep Throat. A pornographic shitpile, really. Terrible acting, worse direction, and the writing is comically bad. But it's a pornographic film, and it was seen by millions. More than I Am Curious Yellow or Les Amants, it started a conversation in America about what adults should or should not be allowed to do. I don't recommend seeing this film (it's terrible), as much as learning about it from Inside Deep Throat or a book on the topic.
See the 1960s list here.
See the 1980s list here.
