Defining a decade with a movie: 1970s

[reveal]

Star Wars or Jaws...though, technically, neither really 'defines' the 70s, they sure defined movies.

I disagree. I think both define the 70's culture very well. Up until the point both were released, Hollywood viewed people outside of certain areas like LA or NY in very condecending ways. "Why would they watch a movie about a shark" or "No one wants to see a Wookie."

But after they were released, Hollywood took notice and realized that, in most cases, they were wrong. With that, Hollywood allowed other directors to make movies that normally would not have been made. These subsequent movies helped people define themselves and their own culture. Saturday Night Fever for example.

I think both Jaws and Star Wars helped to define the 70's not by their own content, necessarily, but by the movies that they helped bring along that DID define the 70's more specifically.

 

[devilbat]

Most Male Canadians have a special place in their heart for Slap Shot. It gets my vote.

 

[Mark]

The Godfather (1972)

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

Mark, you might think I'd agree with you based on my .sig, but I'd go with Annie Hall (1977) as the quintessential 70's movie.


(For the record, Godfather's my favorite of ALL TIME, but it doesn't feel especially 70's to me.)

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Mark, you might think I'd agree with you based on my .sig, but I'd go with Annie Hall (1977) as the quintessential 70's movie.


(For the record, Godfather's my favorite of ALL TIME, but it doesn't feel especially 70's to me.)

Pfft! Annie Hall is the root of all evil!

[/bitter Star Wars junkie]

 

[Zoatebix]

I guess we're talking about '70s USA?

I'm tempted to go pessimistic - dog day afternoon, taxi driver, clockwork orange... though I think that even with such great competition Network might actually be the it film for the 70s. Of course, I wasn't there, so I don't really know.

 

[Mark]

Mark, you might think I'd agree with you based on my .sig, but I'd go with Annie Hall (1977) as the quintessential 70's movie.


(For the record, Godfather's my favorite of ALL TIME, but it doesn't feel especially 70's to me.)

If you're going that route, I'd suggest a more appropriate movie of that type be Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). Woody Allen makes good films but I think they define him more than the times. (Incidentally, my favorite WA movie will always be Take the Money and Run (1969).)

 

[BOZ]

it's hard to pick a single move from the 70s that was the best. nobody has mentioned Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Apocalypse Now, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Young Frankenstein, or Close Encounters of the Third Kind to name just a few.

 

[Qlippoth]

I'd go with Dog Day Afternoon or Taxi Driver.

 

[Hellefire]

Star Wars, or maybe the X-rated Alice in Wonderland

Jaws, Deer Hunter and Godfather all in the top 10 too.

Aaron