Sunday, July 20, 2014

Least Favorite Movies of the 70's




Probably not going to gain many snob points with this list.


11. The Hobbit
1977
D: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin, Jr.
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It has a very distinctive art style, but it could have been much better.  Those obnoxious songs certainly didn’t help.






 


10. A Clockwork Orange
1971
D: Stanley Kubrick
**********
I would consider this a masterpiece, but I can’t get past the gratuitous and utterly overdone raunchiness.  Many things in this movie look like they’re lewd just for the sake of being lewd, and that time-elapsed three-way scene looks like something out of a Happy Madison movie.
 





9. The Lord of the Rings
1978
D: Ralph Bakshi
**********
Some good animation, but it isn’t too well-executed.  It’s much shorter and less detailed than the Peter Jackson version, but it seems longer because it’s not as a watchable.






1978
D: Richard Donner
***********
Another good movie ruined by a terrible ending.








7. Fritz the Cat
1972
D: Ralph Bakshi
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As a fan of animation and anthropomorphism, I think this movie had so much potential to be a smart and mature entry in an underappreciated subgenre.  It had a lot of strengths, but it was ruined by its unrelenting and unnecessary raunchiness, which is made even worse because it involves cartoon animals.  I think Marzgurl hit the nail on the head when she said this movie has nudity just for the sake of having nudity.

 


6. Nashville
1975
D: Robert Altman
**********
Being from Nashville, I would like to have at least one fun movie about my hometown.  Instead we get this, Percy Jackson and Trash Humpers.  It’s one of those dry comedies like Lost in Translation and Bottle Rocket that are so dry they apparently forgot to put jokes in it.  The only part of it I found funny was the scene in which a pretentious reporter is in a field of idling school buses and she can’t decide if she wants to make a positive or negative metaphor based on their yellow color.  I also liked a scene which prominently displayed St. Henry’s Church (my grade school alma mater).  Oddly enough, the movie doesn’t seem particularly flattering toward the town; it focuses on petty rivalries, political corruption and an assassination.  One character even makes the ultimate insult by musing about how he’d like to go back to Detroit. 
 
5. Jaws 2
1978
D: Jeannot Szwarc
**********
It was made by the same director as Supergirl, which is surprising because it’s so much more competent than that movie, but not so surprising because they were both very boring movies.  The final takedown of the shark was pretty cool, though.





 

4. Annie Hall
1977
D: Woody Allen
**********
The first five or ten minutes are hilarious, but it quickly devolves into dull romcom dreck.  It’s largely credited with influencing the romantic comedy formula, which is reason enough to hate it.  I don’t care if anyone would think me a lowbrow fanboy for saying this movie stole the Oscar from Star Wars, but that’s what it did.  It stole the Oscar from Star Wars.
 




3. Dawn of the Dead
1978
D: George A. Romero
**********
I’m probably a contrarian when it comes to zombie movies.  I have some respect for Night of the Living Dead for its originality and influence, but it’s not my thing.  I’ve never found the subgenre particularly appealing, and the only serious example of it I like is 28 Days Later.  I didn’t understand why people treat this as a seminal horror movie when I find the serious aspects underwhelming.  There are so many moments of seemingly intentional camp in it.  I also dislike the Zack Snyder remake, although I imagine I would hate it even more if I liked the original.  I haven’t seen Day of the Dead, though, so I may modify my opinion.




2. Moonraker
1979
D: Lewis Gilbert
**********
A pathetic attempt by the Moore-era Bond to cash in on the success of Star Wars.  When I first saw it, I thought it was hilariously bad.  However, a more recent viewing simply made it seem dull and mediocre.






1. The Star Wars Holiday Special
1978
D: Steve Binder, David Acomba
**********
Aside from Nelvana’s animated sequence and maybe the Bea Arthur sketch, this is one of the most unwatchable and bafflingly bad movies I have ever seen.  I don’t blame Lucas for wanting to forget this.  The prequels, though flawed, cannot possibly be compared to this garbage. 





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