The Skeptical Eye
Notes on the Cinema of the 70s, by Jürgen Müller & Jörn Hetebrügge. Excerpt from the book 'Movies of the 70s', by Jürgen Müller
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With What's Up, Doc? (1972), he attempted to create a screwball comedy à la Howard Hawks. "Reclaiming" such classic genres was typical of the Wunderkinder. In this case, the result was a splendidly exuberant film-buff's jamboree, packed full of movie quotations and amusing nods to past classics. Nonetheless, the film worked even for those who were less in the know, partly thanks to the comic talent of Barbra Streisand, one of the top female stars of the 70s. New York, New York (1977) was Martin Scorsese's extravagant attempt to revive interest in the musical. To evoke the Golden Age of the genre, he placed all his bets on the glamour and star quality of a Broadway icon, Liza Minnelli. Although the daughter of Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland had received a lot of attention for her lead role in Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972), New York, New York failed to attract a big audience. Instead, moviegoers flocked to pop musicals like Hair (1978) and the tongue-in-cheek The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). These were two films that achieved remarkable cult status - yet ultimately, they too were isolated, one-off hits.
Of course, neo-noirs such as Taxi Driver were also modeled on classic films of the past; yet they reveal much more than the cinematic preferences of their creators. In the pessimistic perspective of film noir, it's clear that these filmmakers saw clear parallels to their own take on American reality. And so they didn't merely adopt the dark visual style of 40s and 50s thrillers; they also facilitated the comeback of a genre with a supremely skeptical outlook on social mechanisms: the detective film.
Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974) is a masterpiece of the genre, and one of the best films of the decade. The Polishborn director created a magnificent portrait of universal corruption and violence, while also managing to conjure up the glory that was Hollywood. Nonetheless, his film was much more than a mere homage, thanks not least to some fabulous actors. Faye Dunaway perfectly embodied the mysterious erotic allure of a 30s film vamp, without ever seeming like a mere ghost from movies past. Jack Nicholson's private detective was also far more than yet another Bogart clone: J. J. Gittes is an authentic figure, a tough little gumshoe made of flesh and blood, who maintains his credibility even with a plaster on his nose. For a moralist like Gittes, a sliced nostril is just another hazard that goes with the job. The US cinema of the 70s took a skeptical and pessimistic attitude to the myths of the nation, and this had its effect on the most American film genre of them all - the Western. John Ford, Howard Hawks, and John Wayne all died within a few years, and these were the personalities who had stamped the genre for decades. Ever since the late 50s, a process of demystification had been at work; and now the content of the Western was also taken to its logical conclusion.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4]
With What's Up, Doc? (1972), he attempted to create a screwball comedy à la Howard Hawks. "Reclaiming" such classic genres was typical of the Wunderkinder. In this case, the result was a splendidly exuberant film-buff's jamboree, packed full of movie quotations and amusing nods to past classics. Nonetheless, the film worked even for those who were less in the know, partly thanks to the comic talent of Barbra Streisand, one of the top female stars of the 70s. New York, New York (1977) was Martin Scorsese's extravagant attempt to revive interest in the musical. To evoke the Golden Age of the genre, he placed all his bets on the glamour and star quality of a Broadway icon, Liza Minnelli. Although the daughter of Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland had received a lot of attention for her lead role in Bob Fosse's Cabaret (1972), New York, New York failed to attract a big audience. Instead, moviegoers flocked to pop musicals like Hair (1978) and the tongue-in-cheek The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). These were two films that achieved remarkable cult status - yet ultimately, they too were isolated, one-off hits.
Of course, neo-noirs such as Taxi Driver were also modeled on classic films of the past; yet they reveal much more than the cinematic preferences of their creators. In the pessimistic perspective of film noir, it's clear that these filmmakers saw clear parallels to their own take on American reality. And so they didn't merely adopt the dark visual style of 40s and 50s thrillers; they also facilitated the comeback of a genre with a supremely skeptical outlook on social mechanisms: the detective film.
Roman Polanski's Chinatown (1974) is a masterpiece of the genre, and one of the best films of the decade. The Polishborn director created a magnificent portrait of universal corruption and violence, while also managing to conjure up the glory that was Hollywood. Nonetheless, his film was much more than a mere homage, thanks not least to some fabulous actors. Faye Dunaway perfectly embodied the mysterious erotic allure of a 30s film vamp, without ever seeming like a mere ghost from movies past. Jack Nicholson's private detective was also far more than yet another Bogart clone: J. J. Gittes is an authentic figure, a tough little gumshoe made of flesh and blood, who maintains his credibility even with a plaster on his nose. For a moralist like Gittes, a sliced nostril is just another hazard that goes with the job. The US cinema of the 70s took a skeptical and pessimistic attitude to the myths of the nation, and this had its effect on the most American film genre of them all - the Western. John Ford, Howard Hawks, and John Wayne all died within a few years, and these were the personalities who had stamped the genre for decades. Ever since the late 50s, a process of demystification had been at work; and now the content of the Western was also taken to its logical conclusion.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4]
Movies of the 70s
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The birth of the blockbuster: The prodigies of the 1970s revolutionize cinema
Stills from 'A Clockwork Orange', UK 1971