The best thing about discussing films from the 1970s is how much of an incredible decade it was for cinema; the worst thing about discussing films from the 1970s, is it's always the same films brought up ad nauseam. What about the little guys? Therefore, here are seven films from the seventies streamable for Lord knows how long on YouTube that deserve some shine.
Links are in their respective titles:
And God Said to Cain (Antonio Margheriti, 1970)
It might be lacking the epic scope of Leone or Corbucci's visions, but Margheriti's gothic style spaghetti western ticks all the right checkboxes for an entertaining revenge movie. Klaus Kinski plays a wrongly convicted protagonist out to dispense justice on those who betrayed him. Strong horror tones here, as Kinski comes across as a supernatural entity during the night well before his star turn in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979). Werner Herzog once claimed that Kinski hardly made any good films without him; And God Said to Cain is one of those good ones.
Daughters of Darkness (Harry Kümel, 1971)
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Lesbian vampires; who doesn't love 'em? Daughters of Darkness is perhaps the classiest entry in the erotic horror subgenre. Big fan of the art deco look of the film, from the grandeur of its beach hotel setting, to Delphine Seyrig and Andrea Rau styling themselves on silent era screen sirens Marlene Dietrich and Louise Brooks, respectively. Big fan of François de Roubaix's soundtrack, too. Always get a kick whenever I hear music from the film being sampled on songs.
Tower of Evil (Jim O'Connolly, 1972)
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This is it; Year Zero for the modern day slasher formula. If there's an earlier example, I still haven't found it yet. Blessed with a fantastic atmosphere thanks to its derelict lighthouse on a remote island location, Tower of Evil has all the goods that I love about British horror. Surprisingly sleazy and gory, even for its time, but the biggest surprise is its unexpected twist. Cool recognisable cast in this lost gem; including Dennis Price, Jill Haworth, Candace Glendenning and hairy lothario Robin Askwith delivering a hilarious American accent.
Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (Sergio Martino, 1972)
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Positive proof that a great film consisting of highly unlikeable characters can be made. Martino's giallo is a loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat and probably my favourite version, too. Amazing performance by Anita Strindberg as the long suffering wife of a degenerate author (Luigi Pistilli) shacked up in a crumbling rural estate that's home to wickedness and debauchery. Martino is reunited with the iconic numero uno giallo queen Edwige Fenech (sporting a bob cut) and unmistakable henchman character actor Ivan Rassimov. There are murders, depravity and an annoying bastard cat called Satan. A personal favourite in giallo cinema.
The Internecine Project (Ken Hughes, 1974)
Before being assingned his top governmental position, a shady economics professor (James Coburn) needs to bump off his former associates in his industrial espionage ring. This is accomplished via an ingenious plan where he has them all bumping each other off. The first half is essentially the set up, while the remainder are these actions being carried out. Coburn is icy cold here with his killer moustache. Lots of palpable tension just watching him pacing around his room drinking scotch and waiting for the telephone to ring. Plenty of suspense in this smart thriller laced with a devilish ending, and it's punctuated even further by a great score from Roy Budd.
Massacre at Central High (Renee Daalder, 1976)
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Personal fave amongst all the juvenile delinquent themed movies (to my shame, I still haven't covered yet). The beauty of Daalder's Massacre at Central High is how it deceptively comes across as a fluffy after school special whilst really being an exploitative take on the bullied becoming the bullies. The film inspired Heathers (1988) since many elements appeared to have been borrowed; the obvious one being its protagonist. It lacks Christian Slater's hyper realistic Jack Nicholson impression and that quintessential, eighties high school charm, but it's got that mean-spirited anything goes attitude inherent in seventies cinema which really does it for me.
Long Weekend (Colin Eggleston, 1978)
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Eggleston's Australian eco-horror which spells out mankind being a continuing blight on the environment is essentially a vegemite movie for many fans of horror. Not sure what they might have been exepcting, but Long Weekend is laden with immense dread as part of its eerie atmosphere, that makes it a winner in my book. Its ecological message is just as prescient now as it was when it was originally released. Never bothered watching its remake, though.
Not sure why, but rips of films prior to the 1980s seem to last longer on YouTube for whatever reason; including those not in the public domain yet.
Never heard of any of these. Some great titles.
ReplyDeleteIf I can stop watching old Doctor Who, I'll try Tower Of Evil first.
Don't know if it's been featured yet, but Tower of Evil is a perfect film for Cellar Club with Caroline Munro, imo.
ReplyDeleteAlso been watching old Doctor Who. Some episodes are definitely missing in the first season. No idea how Ian ended up with his Del Boy robe, because the Marco Polo story isn't available. Looking forward to getting to The Sensorites, eventually.
Marco Polo was supposedly one of the best Hartnell era stories too according to old-timer Doctor Who geeks.
ReplyDeleteBeyond the very first episode, the two Dalek stories, + The Tenth Planet, The Time Meddler with Peter Buttersworth as The Meddling Monk is one of my favourite Hartnell era stories.
Still working through the first series, but I enjoyed the first Daleks story and The Keys of Marinus was pretty cool, too.
ReplyDeleteHoping Hartnell gets to shine more, as The Doctor feels like a supporting character at times.
You seen that BBC4 are showing a colourised, shortened version of Hartnell's first Dalek story tomorrow night?
ReplyDeleteNo, but cheers for the heads up.
ReplyDeleteWere there any Hartnell shot in colour? IIRC, there was The Three Doctors with Hartnell, Troughton and Pertwee, but that's the only one I know of.
Yeah, that's his only appearance in colour. Pertwee's first story Spearhead From Space in 1970 was when the show switched to colour.
ReplyDelete(I know way too much about old Doctor Who 😳)
It'll take ages before I even get to Pertwee's run. Totally underestimated how many episodes Hartnell had done. Want to get to the Cybermen at some point as their early incarnations look the most terrifying versions.
ReplyDeleteRap, Neighbours, Arsenal, Doctor Who and one more chosen specialist subject and you can apply to go on Mastermind, blud.
Tempted to do the same and just go for whatever takes my fancy.
ReplyDeleteI noticed there was an animated episode on the iPlayer. Figured it was for one of those lost episodes. Apparently, back in the day, well before the internet, Doctor Who fans from all over the UK would copy tapes of lost material and share it with another. I think that's how the BBC was able to replace some of the footage which was destroyed. Probably the most beautiful example of positive fandom I've heard.
Yep, all the audio used on the animated episodes came from 4 or 5 different blokes who'd recorded the episodes onto cassette tape back in the 60s and then shared them with other fans and, eventually, the BBC itself. I think all the missing episodes exist in audio form thanks to those guys. Shout out 60s geeks with foresight 👏
ReplyDeleteAbsolute heroes.
ReplyDeleteDid you watch that colourised Daleks version then? I noticed it also had some very modern editing and a more contemporary soundtrack, too. Enjoyed it, regardless.
Also watched An Adventure in Space and Time again, which followed afterwards. Matt Smith's cameo was replaced with Ncuti Gatwa instead for the 60th anniversary.
Found the cameo on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteI did. I liked it but a couple of things bugged me:
ReplyDeleteIt could have been 5 minutes or so longer - particularly needed a couple more minutes from the opening where they land in the petrified forest and Susan gets spooked.
The modern soundtrack music was a combination of jarring and annoying. Made the pacing feel rushed at times.
I'd never seen An Adventure in Space and Time before and really enjoyed that.
There are other Hartnell era Doctor Who stories in the works going to be colourised. Might avoid them until I get to see the original versions, maybe. Agree about that Daleks story feeling rushed at times.
ReplyDeletePretty cool how Sacha Dhawan went on to become The Master after playing Warris Hussein in An Adventure in Space and Time.
I'm glad to see there's other people complaining about the "visual noise" of the music and some of the editing in the comments. Hopefully the backlash means the BBC refrain from adding terrible new music to the other colourised episodes.
ReplyDeleteThink the action music is there for the Disney + zoomers, maybe.
ReplyDeleteI’m cool with some of the tinkering, but not if it winds up being detrimental to the original episodes.