Its been 40 years since the 1970’s ended. Its a decade that film goers refer to as ‘the golden period’ of film making. It spawned directors like Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Martin Scorsese. Iconic actors also emerged, legends like Al Pacino, Merryl Streep, Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton became household names, flying the method acting flag that Marlon Brando perfected more that 20 years before them. What we remember about that decade is that movies looked different, alot different. They were grittier, uncompromising and refused to take a backward step, the boundaries that had been built by the Hollywood machine slowly torn down by a new wave of adventerous film makers destined to make their mark. Even the over the top action flicks of the late 80’s and 90’s pale in comparison to the stark, confronting violence that was brought to the screen in the 70’s.
Movies like Salo, The Exorcist, Susperia and Apocalypse Now, rich with realistic and brutal imagery, were driven not by style but by consequence. Generational classics including Taxi Driver and Death Wish proved that social unrest could be portrayed in such a way that even pop culture couldnt escape its attatchment. I often wonder where cinema would be now if the 1970’s hadnt happened. The decade, for all its excess, still churned out its fair share of quintessential subtle masterpeices. Roman Polanski hit the jackpot with Chinatown, a revered film that even his peers have a difficuilt time finding fault with. Stanley Kubrick directed Barry Lyndon, a mesmerising period peice that is impeccably stunning, putting many movies made today to shame due to its sheer elegance. Even Jaws for all its nerve exercised restraint.
Woody Allen shown us how the mind of a women dictated the life of a man. One film that defines the generation more than most is The Godfather. Coppola’s depiction of a powerful mafia family in New York not only holds the mantle as one of the greatest films of all time, but demonstrated a turning point in the history of American cinema. Coppola for the most part was way out of his depth, he had been hired before the novel of the same name had gained worldwide acclaim and populariity. As studio heads gathered to administer last rights to their new director, Francis dug his heels in, determined to make the project a sucess. The Godfather changed the way audiences felt. Few movies before it explored its characters in such vivid and convincing detail, an unrecognizable Marlon Brando delivering a performance unparallel and at the same time unrivalled, only to deny the Oscar he more than rightfully deserved.
Directors like Coppola embraced the immense challenge of movie making. The films that were forged in those 10 years have created an amazing landscape of movies that have tested more than time. While it would be almost impossible to highlight every amazing entry of that era, many films flew under the radar and have reared their heads years later, the eagerness of youth keen to experience the hidden gems that are now considered cult classics. Will another decade topple the bohemeth that was the 1970’s? Only time will be the true judge.
The Film Guardian 