Movie of the 70's

11 July 2008

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The forties and fifities may have been a time of cinema icons and classic cinema and the sixties a time of cult pictures and musicals but the seventies brought a new kind of cinema experience... the blockbuster.

Despite the collapse of the studio system and the beginning of the decade opening with a financial slump cinema soon picked up as a stream of quality movies flooded onto the bog screen.

Some of the most financially successful movies of the decade were war movies such as Patton, about World War II, and M*A*S*H, about the Korean War. However the most successful movie in this genre came in 1979 in form of Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam drama Apocalypse Now.

It was 1975 when Jaws was released the big budget movie was born, it cost $9 million to make and went on to gross $260 million in America alone.

The massive success of the film spawned a sequel which also did well at the box office. But all this paled in comparison when the science fiction franchise Star Wars hit cinemas in 1977.

Helmed by George Lucas the film used breakthrough special effects and, like Jaws before it, enjoyed massive success upon release and was recognised by the Academy.

While the blockbuster was making a name of itself at the box office the gritty crime drama was also doing well with audiences as movies like A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver and The French Connection were all released either creating a storm of controversy or winning over the critics ensuring their success, the latter won Best Picture at the 1972 Oscars.

Also enjoying a resurgence amongst cinema goers was the horror flick that was revitalised after the massive success and controversy of 1973's The Exorcist which was directed by William Friedkin.

The decade gave birth to some of the most famous cult movies and characters in this genre including Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Omen and Last House on the Left.

While there was major success in Hollywood the British movie industry was not to be out-done.

In 1971 Sean Connery returned to the role of 007 for the sixth time for Diamonds are Forever but Roger Moore took over the lead role of the successful franchise in 1973 in Live and Let Die.

Michael Caine was one of the biggest British stars of the decade with hits such as Get Carter, Sleuth and The Man Who Would Be King which secured him as a leading man and caught the attention of Hollywood.

Both Al Pacino and Robert De Niro made a name for themselves during the seventies with career defining roles in The Godfather and Taxi Driver respectfully, with Taxi Driver also making a name of director Martin Scorsese and began the successful Scorsese/De Niro partnership.

Jodi Foster kicked off her career with her role as Iris, an underage prostitute, in Taxi Driver, that earnt her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination at the age of fourteen.

Another actress that also made a name for herself during this period was Diane Keaton who received critical acclaim for her role in Woody Allen's Annie Hall, which won her a Best Actress Oscar.

Top Movies of the Decade

1. Apocalypse Now

The film was loosely based on Heart Of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and followed Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), a special agent sent into Cambodia to assassinate an errant American colonel (Marlon Brando).

Upon release the film was met by mixed reviews but it went on to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars however it did win the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or and is now considered a classic.

2. Jaws

Jaws saw the birth of the blockbuster in 1975 and went on to be one of the biggest grossing films of the decade.

Based on Peter Benchley's novel the film follows police chief Brody as he tries to protect beach goers from a great white shark. The film spawned several sequels, with actor Roy Schneider only returning for Jaws 2.

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