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Directed
by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood as Inspector Harry Callahan,
DIRTY HARRY, released in 1971, stands as one of the iconic films
of the Seventies. "A serial killer is loose in San Francisco. Wielding
his 44 Magnum, Harry tracks him down without obeying any rules or
his superiors. Finally, he has the killer where he wants him and
blows him away. Harry then tosses his badge in the water nearby;
he is fed up with the limits restricting him and remains a man who
believes in taking the law into his own hands. The film was a huge
success and a crowd-pleaser, especially for audiences who believed
Harry was right. Four sequels followed." So observes veteran cinema
historian Vincent Lobrutto in this entertaining and informative
overview of Seventies film.
Lobrutto, who taught editing and film history for many years at
the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and is the author of such
studies as BECOMING FILM LITERATE: THE ART AND CRAFT OF MOTION PICTURES
and STANLEY KUBRICK: A BIOGRAPHY, divides his book into twelve chapters.
In chapter one, he discusses "How Old Hollywood Became New Hollywood."
Professor Lobrutto then devotes the next ten chapters to each year
of the decade. For instance, chapter two examines 1970, chapter
three explores 1971, chapter four addresses 1972, and so on. Chapter
twelve considers the Eighties, focusing on the period 1980-1987,
and details how several superstar directors, including William Friedkin,
Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola, stumbled. In their Seventies
heyday, Friedkin directed THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) and THE EXORCIST
(1973), Cimino made THE DEER HUNTER (1978), and Coppola helmed such
masterpieces as THE GODFATHER (1972), THE GODFATHER: PART II (1974),
and APOCALYPSE NOW (1979).
The decade witnessed the release of numerous now-classic films,
including Robert Altman's M*A*S*H (1970), Peter Bogdanovich's THE
LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971), John Boorman's DELIVERANCE (1972), George
Lucas's AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973), Roman Polanski's CHINATOWN (1974),
Steven Spielberg's JAWS (1975), Martin Scorsese's TAXI DRIVER (1976),
Woody Allen's ANNIE HALL (1977), Allen Parker's MIDNIGHT EXPRESS
(1978), and Ridley Scott's ALIEN (1979). And that just scratches
the surface! Other popular pictures of the decade included PATTON
(1970), FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971), CABARET (1972), THE STING (1973),
BLAZING SADDLES (1974), ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975),
ROCKY (1976), STAR WARS (1977), ANIMAL HOUSE (1978), and KRAMER
VS. KRAMER (1979).
Lobrutto excels at providing succinct, though insightful, sketches
of many of the decade's actors and directors. For example, he evaluates
character actor Harry Dean Stanton, who appeared in more than twenty
films during the Seventies, including TWO-LANE BLACKTOP (1971),
PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (1973), THE GODFATHER: PART II (1974),
THE MISSOURI BREAKS (1976), ALIEN (1979), and THE ROSE (1979). Stanton,
Lobrutto contends, "had a gaunt, nearly haunted look that distinguished
him and the skill to quickly establish a character on screen…His
career spanned six decades," and he worked with such directors as
Monte Hellman, Sam Peckinpah, Francis Ford Coppola, Arthur Penn,
Ridley Scott, and Mark Rydell. Stanton died in 2017 at the age of
91. And Gene Hackman, Professor Lobrutto asserts, "became a superstar
and audience favorite for his aggressive character work as Popeye
Doyle in THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971), for which he won the Oscar
for Best Actor. He was compelling as the radical reverend in THE
POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972), directed by Ronald Neame, and he transformed
into Harry Caul in Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION (1974),
a master surveillance expert who has the tables turned on him. He
appeared in the World War II epic A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977) as Major
General Sosabowski, a member of the Polish armed forces. In 1978
he played the ultimate villain Lex Luthor in SUPERMAN, directed
by Richard Donner."
Texas history enthusiasts will be interested to know that Lobrutto
discusses several denizens of the Lone Star State, such as filmmakers
Terrence Malick, who helmed BADLANDS (1973) and DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978),
and Tobe Hooper, director of the terrifying TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE
(1974), both of whom were Austin residents. He also considers Quitman-born
Sissy Spacek, who starred in some of the decade's most memorable
pictures, including Malick's BADLANDS and Brian De Palma's CARRIE
(1976). Of course, Spacek went on to claim the Best Actress Oscar
for her depiction of singer Loretta Lynn in Michael Apted's COAL
MINER'S DAUGHTER (1980).
Clearly, the Seventies was a cinema-rich decade. Cinephiles will
undoubtedly enjoy Lobrutto's commendable survey. And…cut!
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