Iconic 70's "vibe" Movies?

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Zhaun_sl

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What do people think are good movies that give a great feel for the 70's as a "stereotypical era"?

Not necessarily movies *from* the 1970's, but about the culture of America in the 1970's.

Certainly there is a lot out there, but I'm looking for a list of the better and more interesting ones that people have run across. Like Saturday Night Fever is clearly iconic, but I don't know how really interesting it is or fun to watch, for example.
 
Agenor

Agenor

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I enjoy watching Serpico. More of an east coast vibe with the setting in New York. Story covers parts of the 60s into the 70's, but was shot in the early 70's. The film really captures how badly NYC bottomed out just in general. Comparing what the city looked like back then, to now is staggering.

Story is about the culture of the police at that time, and how it was "changed" lol, after this guy brought it all down. For me this film screams 70's, but it may be just because I remember the days of 42nd street before Disney got a hold of it. What a shit hole it was in the 70's.

Honorable mention to "Jaws" as well.
 
Szlia

Szlia

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Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song comes to mind for black culture of the '70s.

The Conversation for some good old fashioned Nixon era taping.

Killer of Sheep is also a reference for a sociological portrait of black suburbs in the '70s. I must admit that I did not enjoy the movie much when I saw it a dozen years ago (but it was during a festival so I was tired and I misunderstood the nature of the film so expected something else).

Network for television in the '70s.

For something a little more rural... why not Cockfighter?


Oh and Klute just because it's that good.
 
Caliane

Caliane

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Bullet, death wish, death race, smokey and the bandit, car wash, halloween

(notice a car/trucking theme?)
while, not really ABOUT society directly. these do give an interesting glance into what life was like, and what fiction was like in some cases. A cultures fiction says ALOT about that culture.
 
OneofOne

OneofOne

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I just picked up the original Halloween the other day. Shit sucks ass.
 
Blackyce

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Having lived through the 70's I can say two movies that weren't from the 70's but give a great 70's vibe are "Dazed and Confused" the movie that the TV's "That 70's Show" was based on and "Almost Famous".

Dazed is a very good mid 70's period piece that really captures the mid 70's. Everything is extrememly similar except for not everyone had an incredible muscle car back then. Almost famous is a great early 70's piece as well that shows the culture of the time and how music permiated peoples lives very deeply back then.

If you want a good 70's movie that has a great 70's vibe, the first one for me that comes to mind is "The Bad News Bears". Yes it's a sports movie but it really shows what life was like back in California 1976. It's rather shocking today seeing it and comparing the culture of back then to today.
 
Heylel

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Smokey and the Bandit is pretty much a documentary about the south in the 70s.

48 Hours is great for a look at how casually racist everything was at the time.
 
Caliane

Caliane

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Blackyce_sl said:
Having lived through the 70's I can say two movies that weren't from the 70's but give a great 70's vibe are "Dazed and Confused" the movie that the TV's "That 70's Show" was based on and "Almost Famous".

Dazed is a very good mid 70's period piece that really captures the mid 70's. Everything is extrememly similar except for not everyone had an incredible muscle car back then. Almost famous is a great early 70's piece as well that shows the culture of the time and how music permiated peoples lives very deeply back then.

If you want a good 70's movie that has a great 70's vibe, the first one for me that comes to mind is "The Bad News Bears". Yes it's a sports movie but it really shows what life was like back in California 1976. It's rather shocking today seeing it and comparing the culture of back then to today.
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good ones.

Movies "ABOUT" a time or the culture, often dramatize that time. Like 70's show, or almost famous, both really caricatures of the time. while bad news bears is much more of what it was like.
Which is why movies incidentally about them, or during the time are often way better of getting a real snapshot.

like 80's. go watch Poltergiest, Goonies, ET, harry and the hendersons, . A remarkable snapshot of 80's homelife.


also, I spelt Bullitt wrong.
And forgot Vanishing Point. <- has alot of the 70's culture in it.
 
Heylel

Heylel

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Dog Day Afternoon, The French Connection and Taxi Driver are all good ones as well (and happen to be fucking awesome movies).
 
Z

Zhaun_sl

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Wow, lots more good ideas and stuff to think about than I first imagined. Glad I posted and asked, thanks for all the responses.

A really good point was made with the "incidental" view of things, we see in movies made in an era about something else, versus the "idealized" view of things, we see in movies made actually about the time.

But you guys reminded me that there is a lot more going on that first imagined, normally when I first think on the 70's I think Blacksploitation and disco/funk (of which I enjoy), I had forgotten about the great car-culture going on and a lot of great rock and roll and drug culture still in from the 60's as well.

Lots of good stuff from this thread, I quite appreciate all the help!
 
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etchazz

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"a clockwork orange" if you haven't seen it yet. fucking amazing movie, although not really about the 70's, it was written in the 60's and made into a movie in '71 i believe. also, most definitely has that 70's "vibe."
 
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