Post by idioticbunny on Jul 11, 2020 1:50:31 GMT
Strange how I used to put so much emphasis on '74 and '75 as two incredible consecutive years of cinema when '76 might have been the secret success story. It's not that I didn't also think it was an incredible year, but just in the shadow of the successes of '74 and '75. Funny now I'm catching up and found '75 to be one of the weakest of the decade. Still think '74 is superior, but there is so much to love here in '76.
Firstly, All the President's Men has had the craziest turnaround for me throughout the years. First time I watched it and enjoyed it, but found it to by-the-numbers and just a nicely-told journalism story. As the years have gone on though, and especially now that I've taken a deeper dive into Pakula's other works, I finally see how every small detail of the film is brilliantly put together. There's not a single wasted moment and even the bit players in the cast bring their A-game (like Valerie Curtin in her tiny *maybe* one-minute performance that helps to build up the tension). Not to mention, I consider it to be Gordon Willis' crowning achievement (from what I've seen anyway). I just love every bit of the film and as soon as it's over, I want to watch it all over again. Few films have that impact on me, especially one where not only do I know the whole story, but it's a real and well-known part of history too. So how it manages to grip me time and time again is insane.
That being said, the biggest surprise here might be like a four-way tie between Obsession, The Tenant, Jeanne Dielman, and Salo. And to get that many pleasant surprises in one year is pretty damn amazing. For starters, Obsession shouldn't have been a surprise being I loved De Palma's previous Hitchcock riff Sisters and this one was no different. And I might be biased as it's totally ripping off Vertigo, which is my favorite Hitch and in my top 3 of all-time, but I still felt like it brought its own style and unique spin to it. Plus that airport finale is maybe one of the most well-directed scenes of the decade, perhaps ever. Fucking loved it. As for The Tenant, maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise, but I went in wanting to hate it because it was made right after Polanski fled the country and the fact that he chose that story and designated himself as the lead actor felt like he was making a statement excusing his actions, but can't quite put my finger on what. However, putting that aside, it was impeccably made and yet another great, eerie inclusion in his "Apartment trilogy". Jeannie Dielman was maybe just surprising because I went in expecting to have to fight my way through those 3 and a half hours considering it's a film told in long static shots of a woman doing everyday household activities, but the way Akerman directs and Seyrig acts it just made it such a weirdly gripping watch. And lastly Salo was mostly surprising just because I had long held off watching it due to its disturbing nature. When I was younger I used to strive to watch stuff that disturbed me because I suppose I was a bit more numb to violence/gore in film then, but weirdly as I've gotten older I've become much more sensitive to it. Salo was most definitely a rough, rough watch, but Pasolini's direction was absolutely brilliant. Crazy to think how everyone on set said they had such a fun time and had no idea that it would wind up being the type of film it ended up becoming because for me, it was so harrowing to watch.
Biggest disappointment, though, I would say was Murder by Death. Being such a huge fan of Clue and whodunit comedies like it, I was hoping this might be a nice companion piece of sorts for it. But instead it was filled with far too much misogyny, racism, homophobia, and of course "yellowface" for me to truly enjoy it. That's not to say there weren't moments of brilliance throughout, in particular Peter Falk's incredible performance (I could have watched ten more hours of him impersonating Bogart) and how ballsy and silly it got especially toward the end, but each enjoyable moment was quickly thwarted by Sellers' awful performance and/or another racist/sexist joke. Didn't hate the film, but certainly would have fared a lot better without those unnecessary elements.
All in all, a surprisingly great year. Yeah, my top 3 were re-watches that I always enjoyed before, but the fact that my previous #1 Carrie managed to drop 5 spots lower (and may drop further despite loving it) says a lot about the breadth of greatness that my top 10 has compared to other years this decade. Also, quite easily the greatest Lead Actress line-up I've had in years. On top of that, it was sad to say goodbye to both Alfred Hitchcock and especially Bernard Herrmann. At least one of them truly went out with a bang with Herrmann giving two of his absolute finest scores ever. Such a shame we couldn't see what other kinds of styles he could have come up with after that first go at jazz-inspired with Taxi Driver. Oh well, at least we were blessed enough with these last two. Anyway, here are the line-ups:
Best Picture:
01. All the President's Men.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. Network.
04. Obsession.
05. The Tenant.
06. Carrie.
07. The Front.
08. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
09. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.
10. Marathon Man.
-----------------
11. Mikey and Nicky.
12. Silent Movie.
13. Alice, Sweet Alice.
14. Face to Face.
15. Rocky.
16. The Omen.
17. Assault on Precinct 13.
18. King Kong.
19. Murder by Death.
20. Silver Streak.
21. The Bad News Bears.
22. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
23. Grey Gardens.
24. Family Plot.
25. In the Realm of the Senses.
26. The Man Who Fell to Earth.
27. A Star Is Born.
Best Director:
01. Martin Scorsese - Taxi Driver.
02. Alan J. Pakula - All the President's Men.
03. Chantal Akerman - Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
04. Brian De Palma - Obsession.
05. Sidney Lumet - Network.
06. Roman Pedolanski - The Tenant.
07. Pier Paolo Pasolini - Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.
Best Actor:
01. Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver.
02. John Cassavetes - Mikey and Nicky.
03. Ben Gazzara - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
04. Peter Falk - Mikey and Nicky.
05. Robert Redford - All the President's Men.
06. William Holden - Network.
07. Cliff Robertson - Obsession.
Best Actress:
01. Faye Dunaway - Network.
02. Liv Ullmann - Face to Face.
03. Sissy Spacek - Carrie.
04. Eiko Matsuda - In the Realm of the Senses.
05. Delphine Seyrig - Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
06. Geneviève Bujold - Obsession.
07. Barbara Harris - Family Plot.
Best Supporting Actor:
01. Peter Finch - Network.
02. Roy Scheider - Marathon Man.
03. Laurence Olivier - Marathon Man.
04. Ned Beatty - Network.
05. Peter Falk - Murder by Death.
06. William Devane - Family Plot.
07. Zero Mostel - The Front.
Best Supporting Actress:
01. Talia Shire - Rocky.
02. Beatrice Straight - Network.
03. Mildred Clinton - Alice, Sweet Alice.
04. Piper Laurie - Carrie.
05. Candy Clark - The Man Who Fell to Earth.
06. Linda Miller - Alice, Sweet Alice.
07. Anne Bancroft - Silent Movie.
Best Original Screenplay:
01. Network.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. The Front.
04. Mikey and Nicky.
05. Silent Movie.
06. Obsession.
07. Face to Face.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
01. All the President's Men.
02. The Tenant.
03. Marathon Man.
04. Carrie.
05. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.
06. King Kong.
07. Family Plot.
Best Ensemble:
01. Network.
02. All the President's Men.
03. Marathon Man.
04. Murder by Death.
05. Alice, Sweet Alice.
06. The Tenant.
07. Mikey and Nicky.
Best Editing:
01. All the President's Men.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. Network.
Best Cinematography:
01. All the President's Men.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. Obsession.
Best Art Direction:
01. All the President's Men.
02. King Kong.
03. Murder by Death.
Best Costume Design:
01. In the Realm of the Senses.
02. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
03. Murder by Death.
Best Makeup:
01. The Man Who Fell to Earth.
02. King Kong.
03. Rocky.
Best Visual Effects:
01. King Kong.
02. Silver Streak.
03. Carrie.
Best Sound Design:
01. King Kong.
02. Obsession.
03. All the President's Men.
Best Original Score:
01. Bernard Herrmann - Taxi Driver.
02. Bernard Herrmann - Obsession.
03. Philippe Sarde - The Tenant.
Best Original Song:
01. "Gonna Fly Now" - Rocky.
02. "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You (Could Love Someone Like Me)" - Carrie.
03. "Rainy Fields of Frost and Magic" - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
Best Choreography:
01. Rocky.
02. Silent Movie.
03. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
As for '77, so far it feels like a really stacked year (not with a ton of acclaimed movies, but with a lot of popular ones that I've yet to see - for instance, Saturday Night Fever, Smokey and the Bandit, etc.). So definitely gonna need some assistance in narrowing my list down, so feel free to recommend some of your favorites for the year
So far I've seen (and/or plan to re-watch): Annie Hall, Star Wars, Slap Shot, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Hausu, Eraserhead, The Hills Have Eyes, Suspiria, and The Spy Who Loved Me.
Firstly, All the President's Men has had the craziest turnaround for me throughout the years. First time I watched it and enjoyed it, but found it to by-the-numbers and just a nicely-told journalism story. As the years have gone on though, and especially now that I've taken a deeper dive into Pakula's other works, I finally see how every small detail of the film is brilliantly put together. There's not a single wasted moment and even the bit players in the cast bring their A-game (like Valerie Curtin in her tiny *maybe* one-minute performance that helps to build up the tension). Not to mention, I consider it to be Gordon Willis' crowning achievement (from what I've seen anyway). I just love every bit of the film and as soon as it's over, I want to watch it all over again. Few films have that impact on me, especially one where not only do I know the whole story, but it's a real and well-known part of history too. So how it manages to grip me time and time again is insane.
That being said, the biggest surprise here might be like a four-way tie between Obsession, The Tenant, Jeanne Dielman, and Salo. And to get that many pleasant surprises in one year is pretty damn amazing. For starters, Obsession shouldn't have been a surprise being I loved De Palma's previous Hitchcock riff Sisters and this one was no different. And I might be biased as it's totally ripping off Vertigo, which is my favorite Hitch and in my top 3 of all-time, but I still felt like it brought its own style and unique spin to it. Plus that airport finale is maybe one of the most well-directed scenes of the decade, perhaps ever. Fucking loved it. As for The Tenant, maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise, but I went in wanting to hate it because it was made right after Polanski fled the country and the fact that he chose that story and designated himself as the lead actor felt like he was making a statement excusing his actions, but can't quite put my finger on what. However, putting that aside, it was impeccably made and yet another great, eerie inclusion in his "Apartment trilogy". Jeannie Dielman was maybe just surprising because I went in expecting to have to fight my way through those 3 and a half hours considering it's a film told in long static shots of a woman doing everyday household activities, but the way Akerman directs and Seyrig acts it just made it such a weirdly gripping watch. And lastly Salo was mostly surprising just because I had long held off watching it due to its disturbing nature. When I was younger I used to strive to watch stuff that disturbed me because I suppose I was a bit more numb to violence/gore in film then, but weirdly as I've gotten older I've become much more sensitive to it. Salo was most definitely a rough, rough watch, but Pasolini's direction was absolutely brilliant. Crazy to think how everyone on set said they had such a fun time and had no idea that it would wind up being the type of film it ended up becoming because for me, it was so harrowing to watch.
Biggest disappointment, though, I would say was Murder by Death. Being such a huge fan of Clue and whodunit comedies like it, I was hoping this might be a nice companion piece of sorts for it. But instead it was filled with far too much misogyny, racism, homophobia, and of course "yellowface" for me to truly enjoy it. That's not to say there weren't moments of brilliance throughout, in particular Peter Falk's incredible performance (I could have watched ten more hours of him impersonating Bogart) and how ballsy and silly it got especially toward the end, but each enjoyable moment was quickly thwarted by Sellers' awful performance and/or another racist/sexist joke. Didn't hate the film, but certainly would have fared a lot better without those unnecessary elements.
All in all, a surprisingly great year. Yeah, my top 3 were re-watches that I always enjoyed before, but the fact that my previous #1 Carrie managed to drop 5 spots lower (and may drop further despite loving it) says a lot about the breadth of greatness that my top 10 has compared to other years this decade. Also, quite easily the greatest Lead Actress line-up I've had in years. On top of that, it was sad to say goodbye to both Alfred Hitchcock and especially Bernard Herrmann. At least one of them truly went out with a bang with Herrmann giving two of his absolute finest scores ever. Such a shame we couldn't see what other kinds of styles he could have come up with after that first go at jazz-inspired with Taxi Driver. Oh well, at least we were blessed enough with these last two. Anyway, here are the line-ups:
Best Picture:
01. All the President's Men.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. Network.
04. Obsession.
05. The Tenant.
06. Carrie.
07. The Front.
08. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
09. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.
10. Marathon Man.
-----------------
11. Mikey and Nicky.
12. Silent Movie.
13. Alice, Sweet Alice.
14. Face to Face.
15. Rocky.
16. The Omen.
17. Assault on Precinct 13.
18. King Kong.
19. Murder by Death.
20. Silver Streak.
21. The Bad News Bears.
22. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
23. Grey Gardens.
24. Family Plot.
25. In the Realm of the Senses.
26. The Man Who Fell to Earth.
27. A Star Is Born.
Best Director:
01. Martin Scorsese - Taxi Driver.
02. Alan J. Pakula - All the President's Men.
03. Chantal Akerman - Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
04. Brian De Palma - Obsession.
05. Sidney Lumet - Network.
06. Roman Pedolanski - The Tenant.
07. Pier Paolo Pasolini - Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.
Best Actor:
01. Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver.
02. John Cassavetes - Mikey and Nicky.
03. Ben Gazzara - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
04. Peter Falk - Mikey and Nicky.
05. Robert Redford - All the President's Men.
06. William Holden - Network.
07. Cliff Robertson - Obsession.
Best Actress:
01. Faye Dunaway - Network.
02. Liv Ullmann - Face to Face.
03. Sissy Spacek - Carrie.
04. Eiko Matsuda - In the Realm of the Senses.
05. Delphine Seyrig - Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
06. Geneviève Bujold - Obsession.
07. Barbara Harris - Family Plot.
Best Supporting Actor:
01. Peter Finch - Network.
02. Roy Scheider - Marathon Man.
03. Laurence Olivier - Marathon Man.
04. Ned Beatty - Network.
05. Peter Falk - Murder by Death.
06. William Devane - Family Plot.
07. Zero Mostel - The Front.
Best Supporting Actress:
01. Talia Shire - Rocky.
02. Beatrice Straight - Network.
03. Mildred Clinton - Alice, Sweet Alice.
04. Piper Laurie - Carrie.
05. Candy Clark - The Man Who Fell to Earth.
06. Linda Miller - Alice, Sweet Alice.
07. Anne Bancroft - Silent Movie.
Best Original Screenplay:
01. Network.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. The Front.
04. Mikey and Nicky.
05. Silent Movie.
06. Obsession.
07. Face to Face.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
01. All the President's Men.
02. The Tenant.
03. Marathon Man.
04. Carrie.
05. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom.
06. King Kong.
07. Family Plot.
Best Ensemble:
01. Network.
02. All the President's Men.
03. Marathon Man.
04. Murder by Death.
05. Alice, Sweet Alice.
06. The Tenant.
07. Mikey and Nicky.
Best Editing:
01. All the President's Men.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. Network.
Best Cinematography:
01. All the President's Men.
02. Taxi Driver.
03. Obsession.
Best Art Direction:
01. All the President's Men.
02. King Kong.
03. Murder by Death.
Best Costume Design:
01. In the Realm of the Senses.
02. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
03. Murder by Death.
Best Makeup:
01. The Man Who Fell to Earth.
02. King Kong.
03. Rocky.
Best Visual Effects:
01. King Kong.
02. Silver Streak.
03. Carrie.
Best Sound Design:
01. King Kong.
02. Obsession.
03. All the President's Men.
Best Original Score:
01. Bernard Herrmann - Taxi Driver.
02. Bernard Herrmann - Obsession.
03. Philippe Sarde - The Tenant.
Best Original Song:
01. "Gonna Fly Now" - Rocky.
02. "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You (Could Love Someone Like Me)" - Carrie.
03. "Rainy Fields of Frost and Magic" - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.
Best Choreography:
01. Rocky.
02. Silent Movie.
03. Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles.
As for '77, so far it feels like a really stacked year (not with a ton of acclaimed movies, but with a lot of popular ones that I've yet to see - for instance, Saturday Night Fever, Smokey and the Bandit, etc.). So definitely gonna need some assistance in narrowing my list down, so feel free to recommend some of your favorites for the year
So far I've seen (and/or plan to re-watch): Annie Hall, Star Wars, Slap Shot, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Hausu, Eraserhead, The Hills Have Eyes, Suspiria, and The Spy Who Loved Me.
though I still have Sorcerer, Equus, and A Special Day on my list to see.