We journey back half a century to look at ten unmissable films from 1975…
We’re now half a century since 1975, an era of American cinema that was incredible. It was also a key year in terms of the first film that really started the ball rolling in shaping the kinds of films audiences would flock to see in huge numbers. The perennial B picture began to bloom into what would drive the box office in the following decades.
Aside from those early stages of reshaping mainstream cinema, 1975 also had an array of masterpieces and cult films that have stood the test of time. Sometimes unique, sometimes ground-breaking and sometimes uproarious. The year also featured some key breakout films for a number of iconic auteurs. Here are 10 unmissable films from 1975…
Deep Red
Dario Argento was already well versed in the Giallo by 75, but it would be Deep Red which proved to be his transcendental masterpiece. It broke him across the World and thrust him ahead of his mentor, Mario Bava, into the forefront of Giallo cinema. Many would then follow in Argento’s slipstream.
Deep Red is bold, stylish and assured with an engaging mystery, bloody deaths and great little nuggets that you’ll notice with every rewatch. Of course, many of Argento’s much-adored staples are here in full glory, with bold colours, and great lighting and it also marked the debut of prog-rock band, Goblin as Argento’s composer of choice for many of his iconic works. The inimitable Goblin score was a thrilling shock to the system that seemed to fit the film brilliantly. The film remains one of Argento’s best works and should be lesson 1 in Giallo 101.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Perhaps the greatest film of the year and one which is a perennial favourite among casual and devout cinephiles. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest proved a launching pad for a number of its stars and for Czech director, Milos Forman in his shift to Hollywood. Jack Nicholson is perfectly cast as rabble-rouser, McMurphy and delivers an incredible performance. He’s well matched by great turns by Louise Fletcher as the iconic Nurse Ratched and Brad Dourif in his breakout role as Billy.
Forman, as he had previously and would in future, manages to astutely balance moments of levity with gripping and harrowing moments of drama. Cuckoo’s Nest is both at once uplifting and inspiring and crushing.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Has there been a musical with such a long-standing cult following? Sing-a-long showings remain popular to this day, as do regular versions of the Richard O’Brien stage show. O’Brien (also known fondly to many UK fans as the iconic host of The Crystal Maze) also co-wrote the film adaptation and starred as Riff Raff.
With incredible songs and routines, Rocky Horror is blessed with unique and gleeful irreverence and majestically campy performances (particularly from Tim Curry). It’s just a great time that for 100 minutes injects a bit of joy and colour into your life.
Mirror
Let’s hit you with a complete antithesis to the crowd-pleasing theatrics of Rocky Horror and get all cerebral and deeply philosophical with this arthouse masterpiece. Andrei Tarkovsky, a few years after journeying to Solaris, conjures his most deeply personal and hypnotically dreamlike film, with Mirror.
A man on his deathbed recounts moments of his life through memories and dreams with Tarkovsky conjuring some astonishing visuals and capturing (like very few others), the feeling of dreaming. Its structure and nature made it difficult for many to immediately hook into but with such compelling visuals and performances, Tarkovsky slowly enraptures you and leaves you wanting to rewatch and analyse the film again. It’s so unique and a film that completely enraptures you.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The first major Monty Python movie sees King Arthur on a quest to find the holy grail, encountering countless (and usually ludicrous) obstacles along the way. Much like the latter film, The Life of Brian (and the original Python TV show) this has remained hugely popular and limitlessly quoted.
The gags come thick and fast and are almost always joyously absurd. You either vibe with Python or you don’t, but if this kind of absurd humour hits home to you or you’ve watched countless films and shows in years since which owe their existence to Python, then you’ll certainly love Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “I fart in your general direction!”
Jaws
From Bonnie and Clyde, to the arrival of Bruce the Shark (titular star of Jaws), American cinema had shifted from big epics to a more gritty, dark and generally pessimistic type of cinema. New directors on the block brought edge and creative new ideas, like Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg. For Spielberg, his early promise would be cemented with Jaws, which on paper had all the hallmarks of the kind of B picture that might have been the undercard of an A picture a decade or two prior.
However, not before nor since, had a creature feature been made with such skill. Jaws has rounded characters, exceptional performances, drama, levity and thrills in perfect measure. B pictures had always garnered a certain degree of popularity, usually on a low budget (and thus with less of a bar to hit before profit) but Jaws was a huge hit that became THE event movie of the year. It was instrumental in breathing new life into a faltering industry by delivering a film of pure escapism that would get lines going for blocks with people queuing for tickets. It laid foundations that Star Wars would cement and build upon and cinema is still very much in that realm now.
Dog Day Afternoon
While new voices in directing were emerging and some old schoolers were falling by the wayside, one man rolled skillfully with the times; Sidney Lumet. Dog Day Afternoon was based on the true story of a botched bank robbery turned media sensation, and Lumet effortlessly turns it into a gripping drama with layered characters who find themselves in over their head in a situation that gets increasingly out of control.
Al Pacino further cemented himself as one of the best young stars of the time and John Cazale as one of the finest character actors during his all too short-lived career. Chris Sarandon also excels as Sonny’s (Pacino’s) transsexual lover. It’s yet another all-time classic from 1975.
Barry Lyndon
Stanley Kubrick’s varied and interesting career saw him head from sci-fi in 2001: A Space Odyssey, to notoriety in the Dystopian, irreverent drama A Clockwork Orange, to returning to period epic with Barry Lyndon in the space of 7 years. Every frame of Barry Lyndon purposefully and meticulously looks like a painting with stunning cinematography.
Ryan O’Neal fits the part of Lyndon so well, a man difficult to read and whose increasing ego and ambition see him rise from nothing to a place of standing. Of course, in this 3-hour epic that’s never ever a slog, every big rise has the danger of a fall. Barry Lyndon is one of Kubrick’s least culty films but one of more restrained nuance that lets it grow on you with each viewing. It’s the work of a brilliant perfectionist, even if his pedantic and obsessive methods often alienated some actors he worked with.
Picnic At Hanging Rock
Peter Weir’s engrossing, eerie and unsettling mystery sees a group of boarding school girls (and a teacher) disappear while on a trip to Hanging Rock. Weir’s skill at pacing and creating intrigue is in full flow here, with a film luring you in for a big reveal, teasing with ambiguity and this is all matched with the feelings of the characters who break down in the aftermath of those disappearances, unable to move on without the definitive answers.
There’s always a danger with slow-burn cinema that you can lose the audience’s attention, but Weir’s auteur brilliance keeps us engaged with the mystery.
The Man Who Would Be King
James Bond and Harry Palmer sharing the screen? John Huston directing? Yeah, count me in. The Man Who Would Be King, based on the Rudyard Kipling (not the man who makes exceedingly good cakes) novel, is a sprawling opus that sees two British soldiers set themselves up as Kings in a small corner of Afghanistan called, Kafiristan.
The original story written at the height of the British Empire certainly has an undercurrent that feels dated, but it’s an intriguing tale not entirely born of pure fiction either, with Connery and Caine’s characters an amalgamation of several real-life inspirations. As far as the technical might of a John Huston production, this looks great whilst the inimitable Connery and Caine absolutely fill the screen with magnetic power.
What is your favourite film from 1975? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth, or hit me up @JolliffeProductions…
Tom Jolliffe
