Recommended 70s Films

    List created for Gav Mills in 2017. He wanted a list of good films from the 1970s with only a snippet of what they are about. No plot twists or synopsis, just teasers. So, here they are.

     Patton: “No one won a won by dying for their country, they won it by making some other bastard die for his!” – biopic of US’s biggest WW2 general, played by George C Scott, who won the Oscar and then refused it.

-          And Soon the Darkness: low budget horror, by Clemens who created The Avengers. Two girls on a cycling holiday in France, and things start to go… eerie. It’s psychological rather than supernatural, and a bit disturbing to say the least, but well done.

-          Airport – One of the films Airplane spoofs. Also Spot An Actor.

-          Bird with the Crystal Plumage – Dario Argento, so you get lots of gore, but some really lovely cinematography. 

-          Catch 22-  Really funny war satire. 

-          Man Who Haunted Himself – Roger Moore in car crash, comes to, and it seems everyone remembers him doing stuff during his coma, and his wife seems weird that he’s there, when he’s never left in the first place. Moore is brilliant, and it’s a “modern” ghost story.

-          Fiddler on the Roof: It’s a musical, about how the Jews were treated in 1900s Russia. Err, you know how they were treated? Yeah not many laughs here. Topol’s great though.

-          French Connection – Basically Gene hackman beating up crooks for 90 mins. Roy Scheider from Jaws, too.

-          10 Rillington Place – True story about one of the gravest misjustices in British justice history, with John Hurt playing the flawed but innocent and doomed young man. Richard Attenborough plays against type as the real life serial killer landlord, and is bloody good. Don’t worry, they caught the real guy in the end…. Err, after the innocent guy got hung.

-          Abominable Dr Phibes – Gory film with Vincent Price OTT

-          Duel – Speilbergs debut with the killer truck

-          Death in Venice – Dirk Bogarde plays a dying gay man in the closet – so basically himself.

-          Get Carter – Michael Caine goes down to Newcastle to find out who killed his brother, most of the gangsters are played by Doctor Who alumni (him from Remembrance of the Daleks, Harrison Chase from Seeds of Doom!)

-          Unman Wittering and Zigo – Forgotten horror film about a teacher who goes to this quiet boarding school, only to find the kids keep claiming they killed his predecessor.

-          Poseidon Adventure – Lots of A listers on a sinking boat, Gene Hackman is the priest trying to save them. 

-          Cabaret – Mandy loves this, burlesque dancers trying to struggle with their LGBTness in 1932 Germany, right as the Nazis are appearing everywhere. Based on a real life book by Christopher Isherwood. Liza Minnelli got the Oscar for it.

-          Asylum – British horror film with Bayldon, Cushing, Lom etc. Proves Britt Ekland can act.

-          Endless Night – Fairly faithful adaption of Agatha Christie’s last great novel…right up to the moment Britt Ekland suddenly takes off all her clothes.

-          Sleuth – Amazing film. Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, Caine invited to Oliviers house to “solve the perfect murder”. Just those two for most of the film. AMAZING.

-          Silent Running – SF with Bruce Dern and a bunch of robots.

-          Tales from the Crypt – British horror, peter Cushing.

-          Sting – Really long Paul Newman film, not bad though.

-          Papillon – Steve McQueen nearly dies doing all his own stunts as a prisoner on a  Caribbean island.

-          Don’t Look Now – Donald Sutherlands daughter dies, he goes to Venice, keeps seeing his dead child everywhere.

-          Day of the Jackal – The Jackal is going to kill the French president – can the police stop him? 

-          Final Programme – bonkers sf film I don’t quite understand. It’s a Michael Moorcock script.

-          Soylent Green – Charlton Hestons a tired cop in 2017, overpopulated new York, global warming food shortages. He’s investigating a murder.  Very accurate SF, actually.

-          Theatre of blood – amazing film with Vincent Price as an actor killing his critics. Diana Rigg is in this.

-          Wicker Man – well, duh.

-          Blazing saddle s- Mandy recommends it. Gene wilder.

-          Towering inferno – big budget disaster film, everyone's in it. Skyscraper goes on fire, Steve Mcqueen and Paul Newman have to join forces to save the day. 

-          Young Frankenstein – well, duh.

-          Earthquake – like Towering Inferno but with an earthquake instead.

-          And Then There Were None – ott and stupid remake of the Christie classic novel, Richard Attenboroughs good in it though.

-          Black Christmas – famous low budget horror about a sorority house and creepy phone calls – oh, and murders. Hehe the lead is Lois Lane from Superman I never knew that.

-          The conversation – classic gene hackman stuff.

-          F For Fake – Orson Welles docudrama about the history of forgeries. Fascinating. 

-          Murder on the Orient Express – big budget and fairly faithful, again everyones in it.

-          Jaws – duh

-          Dog day afternoon – bank heist goes wrong. 

-          Monty python and the holy grail

-          Man who would be king- sean connery and Michael caine trying to pretend to be a God to a village in Afghanistan. It goes well…

-          One of our dinosaurs is missing – Jon Pertwee

-          Rocky 

-          All the presidents men – how they took down Nixon

-          The omen – it’s the evil kid

-          Bugsy Malone – kids musical about gangsters

-          The Eagle Has Landed – Michael caine is the german forced to try and kill Churchill, with the help of the IRA, during WW2. Donad Sutherland is the IRA man, Jean Marsh is their look out at the local village. Germans v Nazis v British villagers, 1944. Larry Hagmans in it too. My favourite film.

-          Murder by death – bonkers (bit racist though)

-          Network – Peter Finch the news reader goes nuts, bosses go “good for profit”, put him on air as the modern day profit. All about news companies controlling the agenda for ratings. Amazing film.

-          Taxi Driver – you talkin to me?

-          Sorcerer – So Roy Scheider from Jaws is a hunted man so he goes to hide in the jungles of Colombia. And theres 3 other men and they all need to get a lorry full of supplies from one part of the jungle to the other. Only one of thems a hitman and none of them know which one. And there’s enemies throughout the jungle. I watched this by accident. Its amazing. Also, it got mauled by critics at the time, and is entirely forgotten.

-          Twilights last Gleaming – Burt Lancaster goes mad and takes over a nuke silo.

-          Wizards – this is the one I thought was sorcerer. It’s about wizards.

-          Force 10 from navarrone – Harrison ford leads a bunch of people in ww2 who crash land in Serbia. Jaws is in it as a villain.

-          Wild Geese – Richard harris and roger moore lead a crack squad to save a British educated African leader from a coup, only they’ve been betrated by the Brits.

-          Alien – duh

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