100 Greatest Movies of the 70's: 41. All the President's Men

Ah the 70's, the greatest decade of cinema in my opinion.

100. Tommy

Tommy's father, Royal Air Force Group Captain Walker (Robert Powell), is away fighting in World War II. His airplane is shot down before Tommy is born. His mother, Nora Walker, receives the news while at work in a munitions factory filling bombs with ball bearings. Mrs. Walker then gives birth to a baby boy, Tommy. She believes her husband is dead for nearly six years. She meets Frank Hobbs (known as uncle Frank) at a holiday camp and starts a relationship with him.

However, Walker had survived the crash and returns home one night. Tommy follows him to the bedroom where Walker sees Mrs. Walker and Hobbs in each other's arms. He then sees Hobbs kill Walker by smashing a lamp on his head. (In the original album version, however, Walker confronts his wife and kills the lover.) Tommy is then told that he "didn't hear it, didn't see it" and "won't say nothing to no-one". As a result, Tommy goes into shock and ultimately becomes non-responsive, leading people to believe that he is deaf, dumb, and blind.

The film jumps ahead ten years, and Tommy, now a young man, is being taken by his mother and stepfather on various attempts to cure him, including a religious cult (centered on Marilyn Monroe from The Seven Year Itch and led by Eric Clapton as The Preacher) and the Acid Queen (Tina Turner), a prostitute dealing in LSD who sends Tommy on a wild trip that ultimately fails to awaken him. Meanwhile, his parents are somewhat negligent of Tommy, and leave him in the hands of his sadistic cousin Kevin (Paul Nicholas), who beats him, and his uncle Ernie (Keith Moon), who molests him.

Tommy's only stimulus seems to come from a long mirror that he stands and stares into. Led alone into a junkyard at night by a vision of himself, Tommy comes into contact with a device that will change his life forever. A pinball machine among the scattered scrap metal junk yard allows Tommy to rise to national prominence and fame. Tommy's pinball prowess and defeat of the local champ (Elton John) transforms him into a folk hero.

Nora and Frank take Tommy to a medical specialist (Jack Nicholson), who confirms that Tommy's problems are psychosomatic. Filled with guilt and anger, Tommy's mother throws him into the mirror he stares into, shattering it. The violent act wakes Tommy into normality once more. He uses his new awareness to try to bring enlightenment to people. He starts giving speeches and enlightening people by canvassing. Tommy's stepfather exploits him to make money, and eventually Tommy becomes a worldwide religious icon.

Tommy sets up a holiday camp of his own, one that caters to his cult; but the mob soon rebels against his strict rules and fervor. They burn down the camp, killing Tommy's mother and stepfather in the process. Tommy is left alone, but with a greater sense of self-awareness as he faces a new dawn.

 

The first "rock opera" is a bit of a strange movie. I didn't think it worked at all, but hey, your YMMV.

 

I've never seen the whole movie, but there are sequences that work, most notably Clapton's bit.

 

Well, okay, the Acid Queen bit works.

 

I was going to post about the scenes/songs in Tommy that have some merit, do work pretty well(Pinball Wizard, Amazing Journey, Acid Queen, etc.) but instead I thought I'd mention a scene which is forever engraved in my memory: Jack Nicholson singing a Who song using the Rex Harrison style of performing when one cannot sing.

Nicholson hustles Ann Margret

Question: is this as bad as William Shatner singing Elton John's Rocket Man?

I wonder how much Jack () was paid for this, or did he do it for nothing to get within striking distance of Ann Margret?

 

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Nothing... nothing is as bad as William Shatner singing Elton John's Rocket Man.

 

99. A Bridge Too Far

Introduction and planning
The film begins with a montage of actual archival film footage and narrated by a Dutch woman, Kate Ter Horst (Liv Ullmann), describing the state of affairs five years into the war. D-Day had come and gone and the Allies are bogged down by overextended supply lines. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had to decide between U.S. General George S. Patton and British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, each of whom had competing plans for ending the war quickly, and being the first to get to Berlin. Under political pressure, Eisenhower chose Montgomery's Operation Market Garden. In September, 1944, the Allies are advancing but have paused in Belgium, near Lommel.

A Dutch family, part of the Dutch resistance underground, observes the German withdrawal toward Germany and awaits the impending arrival of Allied forces. Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt (Wolfgang Preiss) arrives in the Netherlands and discovers he has few resources in men or equipment and morale is very poor. The underground resistance leader (Siem Vroom), along with his 13-year old son (Erik van 't Wout), keep careful notes of German troops evacuating throughout Arnhem, information he will later pass on to the Dutch resistance.

Operation Market Garden envisions 35,000 men being flown 300 miles from air bases in England and being dropped as much as 64 miles behind enemy lines in the Netherlands. The largest airborne assault ever attempted, with Browning (Dirk Bogarde) says that "We're going to lay a carpet, as it were, of airborne troops, over which 30th Corps can pass,"[3] and confidently suggests that "We shall seize the bridges - it's all a question of bridges - with thunderclap surprise, and hold them until they can be secured."[4] by Allied mechanised units, the 20,000 vehicles led by XXX Corps. Arnhem's bridge crosses the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) River, the last major river between the Allies and the German heartland, and seizure of the bridge will allow vast Allied armies to turn east into Germany.

The plan is to begin in seven days time, with XXX Corps reaching Arnhem two days after the drop. The 101st Airborne Division, under Major General Maxwell D. Taylor (Paul Maxwell), is responsible for the road and bridges from the north side of Eindhoven to the south side of the Meuse River at Grave. The 82nd Airborne Division, under Brigadier General James M. Gavin (Ryan O'Neal) is responsible for the bridge crossing the Maas, and from the north side of the Maas to the north side of the Waal River bridge, just north of Nijmegen. The British 1st Airborne, under Major-General Robert E. Urquhart (Sean Connery) is to land northwest of Oosterbeek, and take and hold the north side of the Lower Rhine River to the bridge at Arnhem. Polish Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski (Gene Hackman) will lead the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade to secure the south side of the Lower Rhine and make contact with Lieutenant-Colonel John Dutton Frost (Anthony Hopkins), and Second Battalion, who is to work his way east along the banks of the river. XXX Corps, lead by Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks (Edward Fox), and spearheaded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Ormsby Evelyn Vandeleur (Michael Caine) on point, are to cross the Maas-Schelde Canal on the north side of Lommel and push up the road, as quickly as possible, to Arnhem. Hooking up, and linking, with the U.S. 101st, U.S. 82nd, and finally British 1st, at the Lower Rhine River bridge.

Field Marshal von Rundstedt and Field Marshal Walter Model (Walter Kohut) agree that American General Patton will be chosen to invade the Netherlands. SS-Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich's (Maximilian Schell) II SS Panzer Corps (includes 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer divisions) is due for a rest, off the front lines. Rundstedt suggest they be pulled back to Arnhem and Model agrees.

Polish Major General Sosabowski remains silent during the Market Garden command briefing, after which he voices his deep doubts that the plan can work. His is one of two dissident voices that are shuttled

 

I haven't seen this one. Though "The Longest Day" is shown frequently, this companion piece isn't, because, I suspect, they show the Allies ******* up.

 

A Bridge Too Far is the biggest, fattest, mega budget, mega cast, over the top war film ever made.
Based on Cornelius Ryan's book of the same name (he was also the author of The Longest Day),
this lumbering behemoth was mostly filmed on location, and even includes an airdrop of over a thousand
extras hurtling out of the cargo doors of just about every Dakota aircraft left in the world at the time.

Wow!

Fantastic cinematography, wonderfully choreographed battle scenes: unfortunately, it seems, IMO, to drag.

 

Remember watching this film as a kid and loved it although it puzzled me because I'd never seen the Germans 'win' before.
Great film, especially love Michael Caine as the the Colonel of the Irish Guards ("Oh christ not us again!"), Edward Fox gives a great speech as General Horrocks love the scene where Robert Redford leads his paratroopers across the river, one of whom is actually Cliff from Cheers (he also turns up as a soldier in Superman)

Don't be too down on Monty, Market Garden was a gamble and had it worked the war would have been over by Christmas, it was a gamble worth taking

 

I really loved A Bridge Too Far when I caught it on DVD. It's got a great cast and it really captures the feeling of a situation slowly spiralling out of control. Anthony Hopkins is great, in particular. And it's all for that ending, where the leads sort of try to sum up how exactly they screwed up so badly. And it's finally utterly nihilistic when the title gets tossed off: "I always said we tried to go a bridge too far." Chilling moment; all that carnage, just one little mistake. Great film, brutal and it is really fantastic to see an operation just go utterly off the rails. And for me, it doesn't drag a hair.

 

The historians blame this one on General Browning, but Montgomery is the real culprit.

 

In this film, Producer Joseph E. Levine was perfecting the "all star cast" brings in exhibitor advance payments strategy. I think he was in profit before filming began.

William Goldman has some interesting things to say about this film in his book on screenwriting, Adventures in the Screen Trade.

My take is that it's a good film BUT...

A Bridge Too Far,
A Movie Too Long.

 

98. Enter the Dragon

Lee is a Shaolin martial artist from Hong Kong who possesses great philosophical insight into martial arts as well as physical prowess. He receives an invitation to a martial arts competition on an island organised by the mysterious Han. Lee learns from his Sifu (master) that Han was also once a Shaolin student, but had been expelled from their order for abusing their code of conduct.

A man named Braithwaite from British Intelligence approaches Lee and asks for his help in an undercover mission. Han is suspected to be involved in drug trafficking and prostitution. However, since part of Han's island is beyond international jurisdiction, they are unable to conduct any formal investigations. Han runs a martial arts school on his island to recruit talents to serve him and tests a secret drug formula on his servant girls, as well as holding his tournament every three years. Lee is the ideal candidate for the mission as his fighting skills are valuable since Han disallows firearms on the island. Before leaving, Lee learns from his father that Han's henchman O'Hara had caused the death of his elder sister, Su Lin, years ago.

Lee arrives on Han's island and receives a warm reception. Joining him are other competitors - Roper, a white American playboy-gambler on the run from the mob; Williams, a black American activist on the run from the law after fighting two racist white policemen in Los Angeles. Roper and Williams defeat their respective opponents in the competition held the following morning. That night, Lee begins searching the island for evidence and finds a secret entrance to an underground base. He runs into Han's guards but manages to take them down before they could identify him. He is seen by Williams, who is taking a stroll. However, Williams is seen by a guard and reported to Han.

The next day, Han warns the competitors about wandering out of their rooms at night. He punishes his guards for failure in their duties and the guards meet their horrible ends at the hands of the sadistic Bolo, Han's chief bodyguard. Moments later, Lee is called to his first match and his opponent turns out to be O'Hara. Lee defeats O'Hara and is forced to kill him after the hood attempts to attack him using broken glass bottles. Announcing that O'Hara's dishonourable attack has caused him to lose face very badly, Han calls it a day. Later, however, Han summons Williams and accuses him of attacking the guards the previous night. Although Williams indignantly denies this, Han kills him after a brief fight.

Han takes Roper on a tour of his underground base and invites him to be his representative for his Heroin smuggling operations in the United States. When questioned, Han shows Roper the mutilated corpse of Williams, hinting that Roper will face the same fate if he refuses to cooperate. The same night, Lee breaks into the underground base and gathers sufficient evidence to warrant Han's arrest, but sets off the alarm unknowingly while using the radio transmitter to contact Braithwaite. He fights with several of Han's guards during his escape but is eventually lured into a trap and captured.

The next morning, Han asks Roper to fight Lee as a test of his loyalty. Roper refuses and Han sends him to fight Bolo instead. When Roper emerges victorious, the infuriated Han orders his men to kill both Lee and Roper. Despite being helplessly outnumbered, Lee and Roper manage to hold off the enemy until the captives in Han's underground prison break free and join their side to even the odds. Amidst the chaos, Han attempts to sneak away, only to have Lee follow him. Lee tells Han, "You have offended my family and you have offended the Shaolin Temple." After a spectacular fight in a room full of mirrors, Han is defeated by Lee and impaled on his own spear. When Lee returns to Roper, he sees that most of Han's men have been defeated and rounded up. They exchange thumbs-up just as military choppers arrive in response to the distress call.

 

You understand why Lee became an icon when you watch this movie. His ferocity and charisma is incredible.

 

I haven't actually seen it. On to the ze list it goes!

 

Essentially this is a James Bond rip off that works because of Lee. He's just too cool & you can't take your eyes off of him when he's on screen. This film launched him to superstardom. He never did get to see the result of his hard work because he died 3 weeks before the premiere. His early death made him an icon forever associated with martial arts. After this film there was a huge wave of martial arts films and Bruce Lee clones but no one had his moves nor charisma.

 

It isn't just Lee that makes this film great - it is a fantastic piece of 70's kitsch, where the cheesy dialogue and wooden acting (from some players - most especially the Aussie champion) actually come together to create something better than the sum of its parts. Bruce Lee is very charismatic in the central role, but Jim Kelly is also very watchable, while John Saxon gives a very solid performance - the best actor of the three heroes, though the least charismatic. I like the music, too.

Sophisticated it isn't, but it is a fantastic action movie.

 

97. Midnight Express

On October 6, 1970, after a stay in Istanbul, a US citizen named Billy Hayes is arrested by Turkish police, on high alert due to fear of terrorist attacks, as he is about to fly out of the country with his girlfriend. After being found with several bricks of hashish taped to his body ? about two kilograms in total ? he is arrested. After a while, a shadowy American arrives. He translates for Billy. The police ask where Billy bought the hash. Billy tells them that he bought it from a cab driver and offers to help the police track him down in exchange for his release. He goes with the police to a local market and points the cab driver out but while the police go to arrest the cabbie, Billy makes a run for it. He gets cornered in a building and is recaptured by the mysterious American. Billy is sentenced to four years and two months' imprisonment on the charge of drug possession. He is sent to Sagmalcilar prison (closed in 2008) to serve out his sentence. In the remand centre, he meets and befriends other Western prisoners. In 1974, after a prosecution appeal (who originally wished to have Hayes found guilty of smuggling and not possession), his original sentence is overturned by the Turkish High Court in Ankara and he is ordered to serve a 30-year term for his crime. His stay becomes a living hell: terrifying and unbearable scenes of physical and mental torture follow one another, where bribery, violence and insanity rule the prison.

In 1975, Susan comes to see Billy and is devastated at what the guards have done to him. After being committed to the prison's insane asylum, Billy again tries to escape, this time by attempting to bribe the head guard, who then takes him to the sanitarium, intending to rape him. Billy ends up killing the guard. He then puts on an officer's uniform and manages his escape by walking out of the front door. From the epilogue, it is explained that on the night of October 4, 1975 he successfully crossed the border to Greece, and arrived home three weeks later.

 

I'd like to echo Django and Soitscometothis's comments on this excellent film. Even though it's low-budget, I actually think it's superior to a couple of the Roger Moore Bond films, though I enjoy those on their own terms. Robert Clouse had the challenge of directing the headstrong Lee, who was already a Hong Kong superstar and guiding him to do a higher level of a big American studio film. They pulled it off too. I think the Warner Brothers executives were absolutely stunned when this film did major box office business world-wide. They didn't realize they'd captured lightning in a bottle.

Enter the Dragon is a great 70s action film alongside the French Connection and the Warriors.

 

"Midnight Express" is a pretty famous film, but unfortunately, I haven't seen it.

 

Zaz, that's TWO in a row! Enter the Dragon AND Midnight Express?

Parts of Midnight Express are some of the most difficult experiences I've ever had as a movie goer. It's tough sledding through certain sections. Brutal. I think the controversy helped sell an awful lot of movie tickets though.

 

Actually I think it is Lee that makes the film. Any other star would have failed miserably. Director Robert Clouse would go on to prove that time & time again with his films after "Enter the Dragon". He was never able to repeat the success & I think that was due to Lee. What people forget, or perhaps didn't know, is that before Lee ever studied martial arts he was a successful child actor. He knew how to act & understood the filmmaking process. His "Game of Death" was partially restored & is a hell of a lot better than the travesty that Clouse ended up making. It shows Lee was growing as a filmmaker and that he had a lot left to give. In "Enter the Dragon" he got Sammo Hung to film the opening fight to start the film off with an action scene as opposed to a talking scene that was scripted. Yes Lee was headstrong but as far as knowing actions films he was far better at it then Clouse. I dare you to watch any of Clouse's other films & see if you can get all the way through one without laughing at how bad it is.

Clouse was lucky enough to get a young Jackie Chan for the film "The Big Brawl". Just like Lee, Clouse knew little about what made Chan's films work. However Jackie was nowhere as defiant as Bruce & listened to the director resulting in one of his worst films. Chan would return to Hong Kong to film the amazing "Project A" as a demonstration of just how badly he was wasted under Clouse.

 

I don't know, I think Robert Clouse had a remarkable 23 film career considering he was completely deaf. That's an accomplishment I have a lot of respect for. Talk about overcoming a handicap.

I don't know of any other director that's ever done that.

I'm certainly aware Lee was a child actor.

 

I know! *Sheds tears of shame*

At least I'm not like that dude who kept claiming he was a movie critic; you know, the one who had never seen "The Godfather", because you know, it was beneath him, unlike the Malaysian leftist flicks he was always quoting. *yeawn*