and dear god the embarrassment of riches that is 1975, with:
BARRY LYNDON
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
JEANNE DIELMAN
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
THE MIRROR
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
JAWS
BARRY LYNDON
DOG DAY AFTERNOON
JEANNE DIELMAN
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
THE MIRROR
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
JAWS
1 / 4
Comments
A flawless cast delivers what may be the 70s fiercest comedy. May have seemed like a broader satire when it came out than it does now; it feels almost understated today. Impossible to shake the sense that it's not just predicting the future but observing it.
Identity becomes confused and porous in an increasingly symbiotic relationship between two women, part 2 (see 1966). This entry adds a third woman and new age sunshine trance to its fever dream of modern loneliness.
Also notable: Eraserhead, which almost won here.
This devastating portrayal of class warfare and exploitation of labor in rust belt America. Three friends on a Michigan assembly line embark on a comically inept heist scheme that sets them on a path to defy The Man. Watching a rigged game play out draws real blood.
Can't quite say what Steve Martin does here (as both actor and writer) but it's magic. Example: the moment Bernadette Peters lifts the trumpet slays me. I don't need anything else. Not one more thi—I need THIS.
Also notable: Stalker, Being There
Not my favorite Star War but still this is the one that I think burst it out of the box of a one-off sci fi hit. Nothing's out of place here; 77's original laid down the blueprint; this first sequel expands it to epic scope.
Also Notable: The Shining
Couldn't have a more dramatic shift from Star Wars to this, but even a single conversation can be epic if the topics are epic. I will show you fear in cailles aux raisins, existential ennui in terrine de poisson, and hope in three sprigs of asparagus.