Woven Tongues I encountered one of those popular psychology ideas recently, the one that says that the music that was on the radio when you were 13 determines your taste in music. I supposed it could be true. I have a deeply sculpted life in cinema but music just flows in to be ‘liked’ or… Continue reading Be Glad… (1970)
Tag: 1970s
Films released in the 1970s
Barbed Wire Dolls (1976)
Captured I’ve been involved in a dangerous business, diving into the catacombs of film, digging around in trash pits and seeing grand things. Part of this endeavour comes from my appreciation for the vitality of film today which in large part is anchored by Spanish and Spanish-speaking filmmakers. There’s an easy sliding of realities, a… Continue reading Barbed Wire Dolls (1976)
Storm Boy (1976)
Mockingbird I’ve had the advantage of being old, and living in both the US and Australia and raising kids in each. That gives me a perspective on the book before seeing the film. Every so often, a young adult book hits a sweet spot in the national heart. I believe it is because we yearn… Continue reading Storm Boy (1976)
Arabian Nights (1974)
The Story of the Story Pasolini is a wonderful, wonderful adventure. Welcoming him into your heart is not without cost; he’s a friend who is brilliant on one side and captive to banality on the other. The bad? Well, its tolerable for me because it is so flamboyantly obvious. The man has a triple curse:… Continue reading Arabian Nights (1974)
The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)
Good Three-way Storytelling I’m usually appalled at how vintage Disney (of about 1940-80) ignored the basics of good storytelling, relying instead on cinematic gimmicks. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not, but when you just simply don’t invest in good storytelling, you plant poison that somehow catches up with you. The primary reason that I remembered this… Continue reading The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)
One of My Wives is Missing (1976)
Switched Narratives There are spoilers here for this filmed stage play that in the end is not worth it. The basic idea is appealing. We are presented with a man who seems to be the target of a massive scam involving a switched wife. We sit through the scam as it tortures the guy with… Continue reading One of My Wives is Missing (1976)
Alice in Wonderland (1972)
Words Without Misunderstanding I am an Alice obsessive. I recently saw the Depp/Burton project and was horrified at the opportunity missed. So I turned to this, surprised that I had not seen it before. This at least has a couple advantages. Though far less colorful and lacking imagination in the design, it conforms to the… Continue reading Alice in Wonderland (1972)
Poor Albert & Little Annie (1972)
I Dismember Alice Horrible production values in every respect except for the idea behind the script. I collect films that are based on Alice in Wonderland. This is one. The little girl is the typical Alice since the Disney version: long blond hair, light blue dress, white knee socks. Her identity shifting is the same… Continue reading Poor Albert & Little Annie (1972)
Danish Pastries (1973)
Timothy Leery I was happy to be able to find this old gem. In the early 70s, there was brief window when porn was where many cinematic experiments were happening. Some of them actually had some promise for being important. Perhaps the oddest is the porn musical. This is the most interesting from a historical… Continue reading Danish Pastries (1973)
Island of Death (1978)
Photos I have a growing respect for Jess Franco. Some of his stuff is rather clever. But to my mind, this is much better. It doesn’t suffer from that Spanish notion of the scowling bigbreasted vamp. And it has some moody photography when it is not busy “shocking” us. How this is put together is… Continue reading Island of Death (1978)