The best films of the 1970s:

     1.  Nosferatu, the Vampyre is the work of a visual master, Werner Herzog.  The visual tricks he employs to delve into the mystery and allure of the vampire are nothing less than the work of a magician.  The cinematography is spellbinding and the locations are haunting and have a certain voodoo.  Anyone who drinks in all the visuals will understand the accomplishment made here.  Archetypal images from the first Nosferatu in 1922 are recreated here brilliantly.

     2.  Apocalypse Now is Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece -- an allegory on the Vietnam War and a bold, brilliant work of art.  The Redux version is not necessary because the original leaves the burial of one of the soldiers shrouded in mystery and does without the Playboy bunny scene and the French plantation sequence with the opium pipe dream (both are effective but hinder the Redux version).  The Technicolor dye transfer prints shown in theaters in 2001 were astonishing to look at and absolutely resonated the gorgeous cinematography by Vittorio Storaro.  I saw the film multiple times that year and the symbolism and abstract poetry of the final act is a triumph of the imagination. 

     The picture is based on the Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness, which is taught in senior advanced placement English classes in high school, and is an exploration of the dual nature of the soul, between the dark and the light -- and as a commander who briefs Captain Willard says, "light does not always triumph, sometimes the dark gets the better of our nature."

     3.  The Godfather has many nuanced layers and numerous characters populating the saga of a mafioso who doesn't deal in drugs and at one point offers a person an offer he couldn't refuse.

     4.  Taxi Driver is a film exploring the pathos and the pursuit of acceptance of a Vietnam vet who is a taxicab driver in New York.  Martin Scorsese's filmmaking is masterful and will be studied in film classes for a long time.

     5.  McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a pungent western and (spoiler warning) the final images of a man dying in the snow and his partner drifting off into an opium reverie are haunting.

     6.  The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin with a screenplay by William Peter Blatty based on his novel, is about the struggle to save a young girl's soul from demonic possession.  Much subliminal imagery and spooky stuff goes on and the film is infamous.  Released on Christmas Day in 1973, the film caused a stir and will continue to disturb audiences for years to come.

     7.  Aguirre, the Wrath of God ends with a shot of a boat overrun with monkeys and the image is insanely creative and intriguing.

     8.  Chloe in the Afternoon is one of Eric Rohmer's morality tales.  This elegant, turbulent French film is about the choice to be faithful.

     9.  Cries & Whispers is Ingmar Bergman's chamber drama about a woman with cancer whose sisters help her through her final days.  The film's use of bold fades to red is poetic.

     10.  Star Wars is a space opera of towering grandeur.

Tags: Film Decade '70s

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