The Godfather 2, The Man with the Golden Gun or assignments are just a few of the films that will cross the half-century mark. Overview and portrait of an era…
The Godfather, part 2
The Oscar-winning film “The Godfather, Part 2” is the prequel to its predecessor “The Godfather” from 1972. A flagship work of Francis Ford Coppola, a monument of 20th century cinema, this adaptation of the novel of the same name by Mario In Puzo stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton, whose careers will forever be shaped by feature films.
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Al Pacino in The Godfather, Part 2. Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
Chinatown
As Roman Polanski directs Jack Nicholson, he gives him the face of a private detective who soon finds himself embroiled in a dark tale of murder and influence peddling. A portrait – and fiction – of Los Angeles in the 1930s, Chinatown is often cited as an example of screenwriting mastery, with Polanski reworking the ending. And the following year, a very young Jack Nicholson will demonstrate his immense talent in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
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Jack Nicholson in Chinatown. Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
Frankenstein Jr
The 1970s were also dominated by Mel Brooks, the director and screenwriter of numerous comedies and parodies. With his accomplice Gene Wilder, he reinvents the Frankenstein myth, shooting in black and white and even using props from the 1931 film. The result is a hilarious classic in which Igor (Marty Feldman) and his moving belly, the intimidating Mrs. Blücher ( Cloris), Leachman) and the eccentric Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) remain unforgettable.
Available on Prime Video and Crave
Cloris Leachman, Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman in “Frankenstein Junior.” Photo provided by 20th Century-Fox
assignments
Starring Jean Lapointe, Louise Forestier and Hélène Loiselle, to name a few, Michel Brault's masterpiece focuses on the October Crisis of 1970 and the situation of five characters who were victims of the War Measures Act. To create the script, the director interviewed around fifty people who were arrested at the time and Orders received the award for best director at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival.
Available on Illico, Éléphant, Memoire of Quebec Cinema and AppleTV
Guy Provost (Jean-Marie Beauchemin) in “Orders” by Michel Brault. Photo Daniel Kieffer / Collection Cinémathèque québécoise
Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which was unusually violent at the time, was invented by Tobe Hooper. Filming this story about a group of friends who fall victim to a family of cannibals was as stressful as the subject matter, as the filmmaker and co-writer had to start filming quickly due to significant budget constraints. Today, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and its terrifying character Leatherface has been transformed into a franchise with nine feature films, comic books, a novel and two video games!
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Marilyn Burns, Teri McMinn, Paul A. Partain and William Vail in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Photo Bryanston Distributing Company
Secret conversation
Another, lesser-known Coppola also appeared in 1974. In this thriller, Gene Hackman plays the role of a surveillance expert who overhears a couple's conversation and tries to figure out its meaning. In the credits we also find the late John Cazale, Meryl Streep's former partner, as well as a very young Harrison Ford, who would only become Han Solo three years later.
Available on AppleTV and Kanopy
Gene Hackman stars as a surveillance expert in “Secret Conversation.” Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Happy Sundays
Don't let the title fool you, this is not the well-known television show, but the 1974 feature film directed by Richard Martin. In Quebec, four couples break up amid discussions, seductions… and parties. The cast is a veritable who's who, as it includes Jean Duceppe, Denise Filiatrault, Luce Guilbeault, Andrée Lachapelle, Catherine Bégin and Louise Portal.
Denise Filiatrault and Yvon Dufour in “The Beautiful Sundays”. Photo provided by Ciné-Art
The waltzes
Apparently this film by Bertrand Blier has been on everyone's lips since the Depardieu affair broke out. The film, a snapshot of a bygone era, shows the trio consisting of Miou-Miou, Gérard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere and follows the road trip of these three marginal figures. The impudent and vulgar film “Les valseuses” will seduce the audience and quickly become a cult film due to several of its lines.
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Patrick Dewaere, Miou-Miou and Gérard Depardieu in “Les valseuses”. Photo provided by Studiocanal
The Crime of the Orient Express
Long before Kenneth Branagh's version of Agatha Christie's famous novel, there was this one directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Albert Finney as detective Hercule Poirot. The cast is stunning and includes Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery and Vanessa Redgrave.
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Albert Finney and Jeremy Lloyd in the film Murder on the Orient Express. Photo provided by EMI Films
The infernal tower
In Hollywood, the 1970s was also the decade of star-studded disaster films. The Infernal Tower is a classic of the genre. Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain and OJ Simpson (yes, yes) flee the inferno of a burning skyscraper. And yes, it's getting a bit old.
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Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in The Towering Inferno. Photo provided by Paramount Pictures
Zardoz
The picture may indeed surprise and even make you laugh, but Zardoz is directed by John Boorman (the man behind Deliverance and Excalibur) and stars Sean Connery and Charlotte Rampling in an apocalyptic world where barbarians have the titular Zardoz.
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Sean Connery in Zardoz. Photo provided by 20th Century Fox
The spirit of paradise
Written and directed by Brian De Palma, this film has become a cult favorite despite having a very disappointing box office performance at the time of its release. It's about a young singer-songwriter who falls victim to an unscrupulous producer. In addition to playing the antagonist, Paul Williams also composed the soundtrack for the feature film.
Available on Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play
William Finley in The Spirit of Paradise. Photo provided by 20th Century Fox
The sheriff is in jail
Directed by Mel Brooks, this satirical western challenges stereotypes and racism by featuring a black sheriff, a Yiddish-speaking indigenous chief, and a cast of characters as bizarre as they are amusing. The filmmaker also makes sure to include plenty of anachronisms, making his film “Sheriff is in Prison” as fun as ever.
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Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder in The Sheriff is in Jail. Photo provided by Warner Bros.
The adventures of a young widow
Dominique Michel as a young widow, pursued by her husband's former employees, a dishonest Japanese businessman and a Jew who wants to monopolize her faux fur coat. It's strange and downright unconventional today, but Roger Fournier's The Adventures of a Young Widow fits in with those local comedies that we watch with a touch of amusement and disbelief. P.-S. And yes, you will recognize La Poune there too.
Available from Illico and Éléphant, memory of Quebec cinema
Dominique Michel and Rose Ouellette in “The Adventures of a Young Widow”. Free photo
The man with the golden pistol
Of course, we also need a James Bond in this review. The man with the golden gun of the title is Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), a formidable villain dedicated to killing our favorite secret agent (Roger Moore). Note the presence of Maud Adams as Scaramanga's lover, the only actress to have been James Bond Woman twice since she also joined the cast of Octopussy in 1983.
Available on Illico, Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube and Google Play
Christopher Lee and Roger Moore in The Man with the Golden Gun. Photo provided by MGM