The Usual Choices
Cabaret (Bob Fosse)
Deliverance (John Boorman)
The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
The Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci)
Sounder (Martin Ritt)
But how about...
Across 110th Street (Barry Shear)
Sitting comfortably inbetween The French Connection and Superfly, this gritty good cop / bad cop movie wants to be both a kill-'em-all crime flick and a message film about race relations. With all the major action scenes arriving courtesy of machine gun and the racism being delivered via the usual rude words and threats, this film is hardly aiming for subtlety. However, it admittedly pumps along at a rate of knots with the brutality appropriately never softened...life on the backstreets in New York slum areas probably hasn't changed much from this even 40 years on. And the racism certainly hasn't. Confronting, exciting and a cut or two above the usual 70's blaxploitation stuff.
...and what about...
Slaughterhouse-Five (George Roy Hill)
No, I haven't read the book. Those who have, tend to dump on this celluloid version...me, I was reasonably impressed. Clearly a member of the "Unfilmable Books Made Into Films Anyway" Club (like Lolita, The Naked Lunch and Watchmen), this is a thoughtful, well-crafted and, in its way, faithful interpretation of Kurt Vonnegut's surreal + all-too-real novel...I can say this because that was Kurt's opinion about the adaptation. Once you get used to the film's herky-jerky rhythm and peculiar blend of dry humour and dry-eyed reportage of small-scale wrongdoing and large-scale horror, it becomes a moving depiction of one man's time...an autobiography full of exaggeration, omissions, disappointment and dreams.
...not to mention...
Fat City (John Huston)
There's no way around this...Fat City is a film about losers. Everybody is either on the way down or already there; they either don't know it or don't care. Set in the world of lower-league boxing where, like nicotine or crystal meth addicts, the fighters accept that they are wrecking their health but keep at it anyway. And yet, the film is never entirely depressing: you do grow to like these people, despite their stupidities and self-lies. Stacy Keach is the hasbeen boxer who wants just one more chance; Jeff Bridges is the young up&comer who gradually realises what is in store for him; and Susan Tyrrell is the hopeless drunk who has taken one emotional punch too many. I love the way Huston has us eavesdrop on the conversations, each person trying to out-dream the other. A character study in the best sense...we learn about people we would've already judged and dismissed.
...and one personal unmentionable...
The Cowboys (Mark Rydell)
Very slickly filmed for a Western (the dust seems to float up in clouds like face powder and everyone looks overly clean), but the prettiness is there to camouflage a sinister truth: this film is an analogy for the Hitler Youth. Just hang in there with me... John Wayne is the father figure who takes on impressionable boys to instruct them in the violent ways of Real Men... killing as the climax of conflict, killing for vengeance, killing to demonstrate superiority, killing based on the morality instilled by dear old Dad. And not just a quick kill either... suffering too... because some lowlifes deserve to be tortured before they die, isn't that right children? Yep, future stormtroopers all, led by an aging Mr Chips determined to be replicated many times over... the Master's race. I hope ISIS doesn't get hold of a copy.
My Top 10 Films of 1972
 |
| "Please Sir...I really do need to be excused..." |
#02 A+ Cabaret (Fosse)
#03 A Tomorrow (Anthony)
#04 A- Play It Again, Sam (Ross)
#05 A- Fat City (Huston)
#06 A- Deliverance (Boorman)
#07 A- Sounder (Ritt)
#08 A- Slaughterhouse-Five (Hill)
#09 A- Across 110th Street (Shear)
#10 B+ The Heartbreak Kid (May)
Overflow: More A-/B+ Films
#11 B+ The Candidate (Ritchie)
#12 B+ Bad Company (Benton)
#13 B+ Ulzana's Raid (Aldrich)
#14 B+ The Offence (Lumet)
#15 B+ Junior Bonner (Peckinpah)
#16 B+ The Harder They Come (Henzell)
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> B The Poseidon Adventure [disaster movie where the main fun is in guessing which big-name stars die]
> B Sleuth [great double-act but when the tables are turned, it becomes obvious and loses impact]
> B The New Centurions [a cops-on-patrol yarn that is harder than Adam-12 but not as good]
> B The Hot Rock [a convivial-enough heist(s) movie which is nothing new but nothing subpar either]
> B What's Up, Doc? [some genuinely funny bits; some genuinely annoying bits]
> B The Ruling Class [real potpourri of genres which is nearly held together by a challenging lead performance]
> B Avanti! [an okay sex comedy that's about half an hour too long]
> B- The Amazing Mr Blunden [a Dickens-style kids story, too mildly told]
> B- The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds [gentle and careful and keeps its distance]
> B- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex... [some skits work; some skits don't; one is a classic]
> B- Fear in the Night [the best bit is the opening credits which is unfortunate for a suspense-thriller]
> B- Images [confusing moodpiece which unsettles more than it interests]
> B- The Other [a highly-regarded psych-thriller, but I must be missing something...]
> B- Henry VIII and His Six Wives [watch the 1970 TV mini-series instead; it's not as rushed...or as boring]
> C The Visitors [wants to build tension but I had a nap on the couch and unfortunately woke up for the ending]
> C Child's Play [evil children led by an evil teacher should've made for a better movie]
> C The Pied Piper [awkward curio which somehow blends the last gasp of hippiedom with a Black Death story]
> C Lady Sings the Blues [really just another version of The Glenn Miller Story lie, but done in 1970's bleak-chic]
> C Carry On Abroad [considered one of the better Carry On movies...which still isn't saying much]
> C The Getaway [pretty subpar for a Peckinpah, a McQueen and a heist movie...even with a Slim Pickens cameo]
> C The Groundstar Conspiracy [everybody appears to be sleepy, including the director]
> C Frenzy [Failed Hitchcock: all gruesomeness with no suspense and no class]
> C The Last Tango in Paris [sex as escape, hey? all I see is sex as jackboot-ish domination]
> C Travels With My Aunt [aka Zorba the Greek Gets a Sex Change]
> D The Possession of Joel Delaney [Satan film which gets uglier and extremely unpleasant as it goes along]
> D Kansas City Bomber [tawdry Rollerbrawl movie which secretly hates itself and its intended audience]
> E The Cowboys [A Personal Unmentionable]
> E Prime Cut [wants to be a confronting 'n' fastpaced gangster flick but settles for revolting 'n' clunky instead]
"Ah!..Sweet Mystery of Life...": 1972 Films I Apparently Still Need to See
The Arousers / Sweet Kill / A Kiss from Eddie (Hanson); The Asphyx (Newbrook); Asylum (Baker; Magee); Blacula (Crain); Boxcar Bertha (Scorcese); Butterflies are Free (Katselas); Cisco Pike (Norton); Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (Thompson); A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Medak); Doomwatch (Sasdy); Fear is the Key (Tuchner); Frogs (McCowan); Grave of the Vampire / Seed of Terror (Hayes); Jack’s Wife / Season of the Witch / Hungry Wives (Romero); Jeremiah Johnson (Pollack); Joe Kidd (Sturges); The King of Marvin Gardens (Rafelson); The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (Huston); Play It As It Lays (Perry); Pocket Money (Rosenberg); Pulp (Hodges); Silent Running (Trumbull); Snowball Express (Tokar); Straight on Till Morning (Collinson); Tales From the Crypt (Francis); The Triple Echo (Apted); Under Milk Wood (Sinclair); When the Legends Die (Miller); X, Y and Zee / Zee and Co. (Hutton); You’ll Like My Mother (Johnson); Young Winston (Attenborough)
Best Performances of 1972
Marlon Brando in The Godfather
Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris
Joel Grey in Cabaret
Eileen Heckart in Butterflies are Free
Liza Minnelli in Cabaret
Laurence Olivier in Sleuth
Al Pacino in The Godfather
But how about...
Joanne Woodward in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
While the film is only so-so (you observe the characters rather than become involved with them), Joanne's performance is the epitome of the old adjective (is-it-meant-as-a-compliment) "brave". Unlike anything else she has done (well...maybe her floozy in 1960's The Fugitive Kind), this character is definitely broad. Teetering close to caricature, she finally succeeds in creating sympathy, playing a woman who wants to be seen as worldly-wise and fun, but is clearly defeated and embarrassingly brash. Her Life highlights are all still from her High School years; she cracks sarcastic jokes which aren't particularly amusing; and she both loves and berates her troubled daughters whilst chainsmoking & booze-swilling & making big empty plans. A person who you know is just sad and lonely, but you still cross the street when you see her coming.
...and what about...
Jeannie Berlin in The Heartbreak Kid
Saturday morning after a Friday night boozefest...ever woken up in a strange bed (or even your own), looked over at the person lying next to you and thought: "who...? oh yeah...that's right...geez...hmm...what was I thinking?" This performance is that picked-up person...terrific when inebriated; questionable when the sun comes up. Whiny naggy voice & eats with both hands & sings badly with gusto & now expects something resembling an ongoing relationship. And, for someone on the outside looking into your predicament, this is genuinely hilarious. You don't want to hurt his/her feelings; you just wanna get the hell outta there. Jeannie is this person you'll see through beer goggles, so learn to drink responsibly...and remember that no one should ever get quite that lonely.
...not to mention...
Robert Duvall in Tomorrow
A rustic-Americana variation on Silas Marner, the little-seen / little-known Tomorrow tends to polarize opinions (ranging from "mentally checked out" to "stark and stunning"). I am a great fan of it (couldn't find a copy anywhere after years of searching...ended up getting a special delivery from the Museum of Modern Art!), and find Robert's portrayal of a gentle and morally-uncluttered man to be truly moving. His voice affectation puts some people off (think Billy Bob in Sling Blade), but I settled into it quickly and the skeletal vocab used by the man was padded out by the rich expression in his eyes. The film is bookended by a pair of courtroom vignettes which add poignancy to the already emotional story. Free of showcasing and extreme delivery (like in The Great Santini and The Apostle), this is Robert Duvall's greatest performance.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Ali MacGraw in The Getaway
Who told her she could act? Ali can't do anger (being miffed is not the same); she can't do alluring (being pretty with wet hair is not the same); she can't do sad (sniffling is not the same); she can't do humour (she just can't). In this goes-on-and-on-and-on heist movie, Ali supposedly supplies toughie Steve McQueen with a partners-in-crime-and-on-the-lam love interest, but fails to do much more than just hang around when he feels the need to slap someone. When you play a leading role in a film, you are usually expected to make a sizable contribution to the proceedings, but Ali makes a withdrawal, sucking life out of her scenes. Love may mean never having to say you're sorry, but I think in this case, Ali owes us all one helluva grovel.
My 10 Favourite Performances of 1972
 |
| "Danny Kaye...is that you?" |
#02 Robert Duvall in Tomorrow
#03 Al Pacino in The Godfather
#04 Gene Wilder in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex...
#05 Woody Allen in Play It Again, Sam
#06 Joel Grey in Cabaret
#07 James Mason in Child's Play
#08 Laurence Olivier & Michael Caine in Sleuth
#09 Joanne Woodward in The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
#10 Peter O'Toole in The Ruling Class
Overflow: More List-Worthy Performances
#11 Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come
#12 Jeannie Berlin in The Heartbreak Kid
#13 Susannah York in Images
#14 Cicely Tyson in Sounder
#15 Diana Ross in Lady Sings the Blues
#16 George C. Scott in The New Centurions
#17 Sean Connery in The Offence
#18 Susan Tyrrell in Fat City
#19 Diana Dors in The Amazing Mr Blunden
#20 Arthur Lowe in The Ruling Class
#21 Stacy Keach in Fat City
#22 Clive Revill in Avanti!
#23 Nicholas Colasanto in Fat City
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> Shelley Winters in The Poseidon Adventure [I kept thinking of a puffer fish]
> Marlon Brando in The Godfather [a supporting performance in a lead role, or vice versa]
> James Caan in The Godfather [all violence with no nuance]
> Maggie Smith in Travels With My Aunt [an Edith Evans impersonation that doesn't work]
> Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris [his motivation seems to be in an uncrackable code]
And so...onto the annual awards (with a nod of appreciation to Danny Peary)...
The Alternate Oscars for 1972 are:
FILM of the YEAR
GOLD: The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola)
SILVER: Cabaret (Bob Fosse)
BRONZE: Tomorrow (Joseph Anthony)
LEAD ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Robert Duvall (Tomorrow)
SILVER: Al Pacino (The Godfather)
BRONZE: Woody Allen (Play It Again, Sam)
LEAD ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Liza Minnelli (Cabaret)
SILVER: Joanne Woodward (The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds)
BRONZE: Susannah York (Images)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Gene Wilder (Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex...)
SILVER: Joel Grey (Cabaret)
BRONZE: George C. Scott (The New Centurions)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Jeannie Berlin (The Heartbreak Kid)
SILVER: Susan Tyrrell (Fat City)
BRONZE: Diana Dors (The Amazing Mr Blunden)
ENSEMBLE or PARTNERSHIP: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Laurence Olivier & Michael Caine (Sleuth)
SILVER: Jeff Bridges & Barry Brown (Bad Company)
BRONZE: Robert Redford & George Segal & Ron Leibman & Paul Sand (The Hot Rock)
JUVENILE: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Nell Potts (The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds)
SILVER: Kevin Hooks (Sounder)
BRONZE: Chris & Martin Udvarnoky (The Other)
The Alternate Razzies for 1972 are:
CRAP FILM of the YEAR
The Cowboys (Mark Rydell)
CRAP MALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Gene Hackman (Prime Cut)
CRAP FEMALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Ali MacGraw (The Getaway)
