1976 Movies
OSCARS Won/Nominated
IMDB Top 250
IMDB Top 250
OSCARS
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actress |
Carrie
Dir: Brian DePalma Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die It isn't my favorite Stephen King novel, and DePalma often goes right over my head. I never bought into the acclaim that this film has...because the classic DePalma direction once again offers a visual style that is a bit too polished to feel real...and that is the case once again. It is also not as scary as one would want it to be. Sure...the allegory is there about a young woman's body changing (only in supernatural ways in this story)...but I actually don't think the performances are good enough to make me care. I always felt like I was missing something with this film...but upon revisiting it...I can't shake my apathy. C+ |
Futureworld
Dir: Richard T. Heffron Stars: Peter Fonda, Blythe Danner This isn't a great movie...but the 1970s Sci-Fi enthusiasm behind it is just infectious enough to get by. Peter Fonda is a pretty awful actor in it...but Blythe Danner is fun and the production design is just great. Watching the 1970s version of the "Near Future" , where a huge company runs a theme park for the rich where robots cater to their every need, while in different settings such as Space, Rennaisance, and fantastical spas is impossible to deny. The tropes are obvious and the action is ridiculous...but I could have watched hours and hours more in this world. B- |
OSCARS
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Logan's Run
Dir: Michael Anderson Stars: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Farah Fawcett, Peter Ustinov Again, a classic sci-fi romp that is simply not very good. The effects are pretty cool for the time, but the model city is obviously something that could have been set up in someone's garage. This story about a society that when you turn 30, you offer yourself up for renewal (not ever really clear). Some people try to run (where exactly?) and that is where Michael York's snadman comes in...he's there to stop runners. Until he becomes one. Its all pretty unclear, campy, and silly...but it IS very cool once we see the outside world. Remember when Miochael Bay made The Island and people called it a rip-off of Logan's Run? Well...that film was FAR superior. C+ |
OSCARS
Best Supporting Actor
|
Marathon Man
Dir: John Schlesinger Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider My first problem? The iconic "Is it Safe?" torture scene is disappointingly brief and tame. I was like...Is that it? My second problem? The first hour. It is a meandering, unfocused mixture of characters and scenes that don't allow the audience in on what is going on...and rely on them trusting that it will come together. It was tough. But the second act, even though I still don't know what Roy Scheider, William Devane, and Laurence Olivier's connection was, was riveting. Olivier is magnetic as Szell, Scheider is intense...it all climaxed in the best way...but I was expecting a lot more. B- |
OSCARS
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Network
Dir: Sidney Lumet Stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Back in 1976, Sidney Lumet's brilliant Network was seen as a piece of satire. It created a world where a news organization, owned by a corporation, exploited a sick, suicidal man to boost their own ratings. Nothing was important but the ratings. However, when you see what news is like today...Network is prophetic. The writing and acting in this film is sublime...and it deserves every award it received. If there is any drawback, it seems a BIT unfocused as to whose story it is trying to tell...and felt disjointed. Still...the film is exquisite. A- |
OSCARS
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Rocky
Dir: John G. Avildsen Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Carl Weathers 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Ugh...another Classic that I just don't get. Whenever Stallone tries to be serious...he loses me. I just think he is a TERRIBLE actor, and his iconic turn here doesn't convince me otherwise. He is an action star...and that is it. There have been better boxing movies, better Stallone movies, better Avildsen movies. I mean...Cinderella Man is kind of a version of this story...and I would watch that 1000 times out of 1000 before watching Rocky again. I don't mean that it is terrible...but I was never really on board. C+ |
Silent Movie
Dir: Mel Brooks Stars: Mel Brooks, Dom Deluise, Marty Feldman, Burt Reynolds, Liza Minelli, Anne Bancroft, Paul Newman, Marcel Marceau, Bernadette Peters There is no way this movie should work...and I don't think it could ever work again...but Mel Brooks caught lightning in a meta-bottle with this hilarious comedy. For Mel Brooks to make this film, he got his friends together and convinced Hollywood's biggest stars to participate...so the studios would agree to make it. The story? A director gets his friends together and convinced Hollywood's biggest stars to participate...so the studios would agree to make it. It is one of the most brilliant meta-ideas ever put to film...and the laughs are a plenty. The one spoken word in the film? A masterstroke!! B+ Bluray |
OSCARS
Best Picture
Best Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Original Score |
Taxi Driver
Dir: Martin Scorsese Stars: Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die IMDB #89 I can't help but feel disappointed after TAXI DRIVER. I am a huge admirer and lover of Martin Scorsese's movies, and I found yet another gem of his with my "1001 Movies" project by seeing Raging Bull, but this movie left so much to be desired. DeNiro's performace was more reserved than I expected, even during the violent climax, and Scorsese's direction was much less dynamic. I assume the story is about isolation and feeling alone in a massive, grotesque city and one man's attempt to make a connection, no matter how violent or extreme. But it never quite kicked into the gear I would have expected. That all being said...come on now...its DeNiro and Scorsese. Even their worst movie is better than most other good movies. C+ |