Our Journey to the 70's and Back

This class was a very good experience for me in all aspects. One way that this class was a good experience, was just the enjoyment and entertainment that I got from seeing all of these movies from the 70's. not only was this class entertaining, it also helped me to expand my critical thinking skills. I loved being able to take an in depth look at a period of time that I was not a part of and get a good understanding of what it was like during that time.

It was interesting to me how we saw many of the same themes come up throughout the class in the different movies that we saw throughout the duration of the class. For example one of the main themes that was often in the films that we watched, was the Vietnam war. Not all of the movies were directly related to the Vietnam war but there were many references to the war. I think that filmmakers in the 70's just wanted to get their opinion out about the major issues of the time, that they were referencing them in their films.

I really enjoyed being able to take each of these films and analyze them in a way that I would not normally do if I were watching the film on my own. I was challenged to see these films in a different light and look past the surface. I feel that to often I find myself watching a film only to be entertained, this is not necessarily a bad thing but I may be looking past the message that the filmmaker is trying to get across. This class has made me want to take a deeper look at all of the movies that I watch from here on.

This class has taught me many things that I will be able to use for the rest of my life. I will never forget the time that we were able to share through the duration of the class.

Assault On Precinct 13

Assault on precinct 13 was from beginning to end full of non-stop violence and action. You are thrown right into the beginning of this movie with a scene of the cops shooting up a gang called street thunder in Los Angeles. From there you see a few gang members make a blood pact, saying that they will get revenge for their lost members. This act of police brutality is the only explanation that I could find for all of the violence that street thunder inflicted upon the police station on precinct 9.

I am sure that this film took it's audiences by surprise. Of course there were many other violent films that came out in the 70's but this one in particular I believe took the violence to a different level. Not only was this movie a complete bloodbath but the director John Carpenter pushed the limits to a whole new level that people were not used to at that time.

The first thing that I feel was different that most films, was that street thunder had no emotions. This gang was so cold, they had no problems just going out and killing people. It's almost as if they are not even human, they always were straight faced and never seemed to be worried about the pain that they were inflicting on others or even themselves.

The next decision that Carpenter made that brought his film to a new level, was his decision to have a gang member kill a little girl for no apparent reason. In one part of the movie there is a little girl that goes to an ice cream truck to get an ice cream cone, after getting her ice cream she realizes that she got vanilla when she in fact had asked for vanilla twist. She proceeded to go back to the truck and switch her ice cream cone, when she gets there and tells the man that she didn't get what she ordered without thinking about it he pulls out his gun and shoots her.

Even today if you see a child get murdered in a movie you feel very uneasy about it. So the decision for this girl to be shot, was a big risk on Carpenters part. It is apparent that Carpenter was not afraid to make decisions that might drive away people that might have seen his film if he would have chosen to leave this scene out. I believe that Carpenter was trying to brand himself as a filmmaker that made films that would push the envelope. I think that Carpenter was successful in his attempt to brand himself.

An Unmarried Woman.

This movie was I am sure groundbreaking in the 70's because of the fact the main character Erica (Jill Clayburgh) became an independent woman. In this film Erica's husband Martin (Michael Murphy) told her that he was in love with another woman and that he was leaving her. Although Erica did not come to her independence on her own, she eventually embraced it and decided to break the mold that had been set for the women of that time. Right after Erica found out about her husband's decision to leave her, she decided to start going to a therapist. The advice that was given to her by her therapist, was to go out and start to see other men. At first she was not very keen on the idea of seeing other men, being as she hated all men at the time but she shortly after decided that she would take her therapists device and start seeing other men.

She goes to the bar and sees one of her co-workers Chalie (Cliff Gorman) and she tells him to go buy her a drink and before they even finish their drinks she tells him to take her to his loft. When they got to his loft she didn't want to make any small talk so she got right to business and slept with him and when they were done she left. By her leaving right after she slept with him she was making a statement showing that she didn't need a man to depend on; she was showing that she wasn't desperate for a man to take care of her all she wanted was to satisfy herself.

Soon after her encounter with Charlie Erica meets Saul (Alan Bates) in an art gallery, where he is putting up one of his paintings. Saul flirts with her a little bit and before you know it you see the two of them in Saul's loft putting their clothes back on, eluding to the idea that the two of them had just slept together. Saul then asks erica where they are going to dinner and Erica let him know that she was not interested in going out with him and all she wanted was to see what it was like to sleep with someone that she had no emotional attachment to. After telling him this Saul asks her what it felt like and she let him know that she felt empty. Saul was not willing to let their relationship end at that because he truly cared for Erica, so he decided to try and show her that he was not like all other guys. Before too long the two of them became an "item". I think that this was a struggle for he because she had deep feelings for Saul but she did not want to fall into the same "trap" that she was in with her husband.

Saul asked Erica to go to Vermont with him for the summer and leave her job and her life there in New York behind so that they would be able to spend time together. This scared her because the whole time she had been trying to become independent and now her boyfriend was asking her to leave her job and come with him where she would be dependent upon him. She ended up compromising with him and telling him that she would come visit him on holidays and maybe even some weekends. I think that in doing this she proved to herself that she had achieved her independence. The final scene of the movie Saul is packing his car with his things for his trip to Vermont and he asks Erica to hold on to a very large painting for him. After she takes hold of the painting Saul gets in the car and starts to drive away, she asks him what she was supposed to do with the painting and he told her that it was a gift for her. Erica then proceeds to carry this large painting through New York back to her apartment. I think that this last scene was ultimately a scene depicting her independence once again, instead of leaving the painting there or asking for help she decides to carry the painting on her own.

I can imagine that in the 70's and even still today that Erica's character was a role model that women looked up to and admired.

Dog Day Afternoon

The movie "Dog Day Afternoon" was in ways much different than any of the other movies that we have seen in class but at the same time it incorporates some of the same themes that we have seen in the other films that we have watched. One way that I feel this movie was different than the others that we have seen, is the fact that the main character Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) was the bad guy and not a "hero". You can make the argument that Sonny is a hero especially to the crowd that is outside of the bank that he is attempting to rob or to Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon) his wife who he is robbing the bank for, so that he will be able to afford a sex change.

I however do not feel that Sonny is a hero, I believe that he is trying to be but he goes about his "heroism" in the wrong way. While trying to help the one that he loves, he only creates more problems for everyone. For one he is putting himself and others in danger, putting himself in this situation only causes more grief for himself, his loved ones, his partner Sal (John Cazale) and all of his hostages. Another way that what he is doing is causing problems, is he is creating a stressful environment for Leon. Leon has been in a mental institution and is in no way mentally stable, his actions bring Leon into the situation when he does not need to be around all this stress. I don't think that Sonny thought through all of the repercussions of his actions, even if he had I am not sure if he would have changed his mind about his plan to rob the bank.

Saturday Night Fever

This film was very straight forward and did not sugar coat anything like many movies do. The whole movie you follow Tony Manero (John Travolta) through New York in his day to day life. In many movies that you see today the main character has a close to perfect life, there is usually a struggle that the character goes through but it is almost always overcome at the end. That is not the case in this movie, there is nothing that could be mistaken as perfect in Tony's life. He is working a dead end job that he doesn't enjoy, he is a part of a very dysfunctional family where his brother is favored by his parents and he is seen as the black sheep with no vision for his life. The only thing that Tony had to look forward to was going to the disco on the weekends.

I like how real this movie was, if this movie came out today Tony would probably either have a job that he absolutely loved or be so wealthy that he wouldn't even have to work. I feel like Hollywood is trying to make everything seem to be perfect and create a false sense of security for the viewing audience. When in actuality it's almost more depressing to watch a movie where everything is perfect because that isn't how life actually is in most cases. It's kind of refreshing to see a movie where the "hero" has problems that are relatable to real life.

The ending of this movie is optimistic but in no way perfect. At the end Tony decides that he is going to move to the other side of New York to get away form everything that is dragging him down and try to make a better life for himself. There is no guarantee that he is going to make it but he is taking a step in the right direction. In the end Tony still has a long way to go before reaching his ultimate goal, which sticks to the realistic theme to a movie. You are really able to relate with his situation because there is always going to be something that you need to work for and instead of it all falling into you lap at once, it will come to you one step at a time.

Shaft

The movie shaft was very enjoyable. Right from the beginning of the movie you can tell that John Shaft (Richard Roundtree) wasn't going to let anyone push him around. The opening of the film you see Shaft walking through the street not using any crosswalks and expecting that all drivers will yield to him. Throughout the movie Shaft is working with the police but it almost seems as if he is running things, rather than him taking orders from the police. The Police chief that Shaft is continually working with is Vic Androzzi (Charles Cioffi). There are multiple instances throughout the movie where Vic tells Shaft what he needs to be doing but Shaft basically tells him that he is going to do it his own way. One scene in particular that this happens is when Vic is sent to Shafts house to bring him into the station, when he gets there he asks shaft if he is home and he tells him that he isn't. So Vic goes back to the station and tells them that he was unable to find him.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who is wanting an entertaining film to see.

Jaws

Jaws was the first movie that we have watched in class that hasn't left me confused about some part of the film. I enjoyed it very much, this was the first time that I had seen Jaws.

One of the things that I enjoyed about this movie was how it went along with the post-watergate theme, even though it wasn't trying to focus on watergate. Throughout the movie Mayor Larry Vaughn (played by Murray Hamilton) was trying to cover up the fact that there was a shark that had been attacking people on Amity's beach. Eventually when Mayor Larry Vaughn realizes that there is no way to cover his tracks any longer, he says that he was acting in the towns best interest. It is quite obvious that he wasn't thinking in the towns best interest at all, in fact very much the opposite. This whole plot with the Mayor though was very much a reflection of not being able to trust the government, as a result of what happened with the whole watergate scandal.

One more interesting point that I will bring up, throughout the whole movie you are made aware of Chief Brody's (played by Roy Scheider) fear of the water. You are never given a concrete reason why he has this fear though. I noticed in the scene where Sam Quint (Robert Shaw) and Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) are talking about their many scars, Chief Brody lifts his shirt looking at a scar on his abdomen area. I believe that he was attacked by shark when he was younger and that was the cause of his fear of water.

I would definitely recommend this movie.