My Life In Movies

Is it 1974 already? Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself. Gonna cheat my favourite this year because, if I’m honest, my favourite is Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks), but that’s the number one box-office movie of the year so picking that would be boring and I’d rather talk about a lesser seen movie. Officially though: Blazing Saddles.

Top Ten Box Office.

Unlike last year, it’s a Hollywood heavy Top Ten. Movie Star ‘Events’ like The Towering Inferno and Earthquake sit alongside Disney fodder like Benji and Herbie Rides Again. Mel Brooks is MVP with two comedy classics, the aforementioned Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein. Godfather Part II stands out as the only genuine classic that doesn’t include fart jokes. Still prefer the first one though.

As usual, the best stuff remains just outside the Top Ten. It’s an odd year for me as there are quite a few movies that have attained that ‘classic’ status, but very few that I particularly loved. Noteworthy are:

The Conversation. Coppola’s other masterpiece of the year is a mesmerising paranoia thriller anchored by Gene Hackman at his best, and Walter Murch doing things with editing and sound that will have film students clapping with glee.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Another film that attained video nasty status (see: 1973) and, as such, I didn’t see it for many years. Most of its notoriety is due to that title, and anyone looking for chainsaw massacres may well be disappointed. It is, however, a Grade A horror classic; relentless in its desire to leave your nerves in tatters, and masterfully crafted from very little, by Tobe Hooper, who would do the same again years later ‘but for kids’ with Poltergeist.

Chinatown. On the surface it’s a glossy, twisty film noir with a classy cast and a smart screenplay, but under the direction of Roman Polanski it digs deep under that gloss, revealing the corrupt, dark heart of America. Personal feelings about him aside, I think Chinatown would have been long forgotten had it not been for Polanski’s ‘European’ eye on a very ‘American’ genre. Sam Wasson’s excellent book ‘The Big Goodbye’ is a great partner, and a recommended read for fans of the film.

Other movies from 74 to check out if you haven’t already: Blood for Dracula (Paul Morrisey) Worth it just for Udo Kier, Dark Star (John Carpenter), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino), Phantom of the Paradise (Brian DePalma) and Lenny (Bob Fosse)

My favourite of 1974: Phase IV

I’m choosing this because, unlike most of the ‘great’ movies from this year, I’ve returned to this one many times and still find much to enjoy, and I love to introduce new people to it.

It’s a movie about killer ants!

Wait!

Come back. It’s a really good movie about killer ants. I promise. Just look at the poster:

After a *insert random sci-fi event* colonies of ants in the Arizona desert begin to evolve, scare off most of the human population, and create perfect geometric towers. Scientists are sent in to study them and figure out how to deal with them. The big question though is: whose actually studying who?

For the most part it’s a battle of wits between the scientists (often fighting between themselves) and the smarter ants leading to a thoughtful ending that sticks in the mind long after the movie is finished.

It would be the only movie Saul Bass ever directed. Famous for his graphic design work on numerous unforgettable title sequences, his artistic sensibility is evident here and takes the movie beyond its ‘B-movie’ origins. It is most evident in the original ending: a four minute montage of haunting, beautiful imagery that was cut after test audiences exclaimed loudly, and in great numbers, “What the Fuck?” It was long thought to be lost to the movie gods but turned up a few years back and can be seen here, or as part of an excellent Blu-Ray release by Second Sight. Best watched after seeing the movie though, as it’s a bit of a spoiler.

Interesting side note: It was written by Mayo Simon, which, for any fellow Brits reading, is quite amusing. The film is not. It’s an intelligent, haunting, often beautiful (the ant photography is still stunning), occasionally exciting, always interesting movie about killer ants, and if that doesn’t make you want to see it then I don’t think we can be friends any more.

See you next year, Friends.