Category: 1970s

Chato’s Land: Charles Bronson and director Michael Winner teamed up for the first time on this bleak & brutal Vietnam-war-era Western that set the template for their ‘Death Wish’ films

Chato's Land(1972), directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson, Richard Jordan and Jack Palance, is a brutal, down & dirty, unsparing Western that explores racism & bigotry in the old-West. "To you this is so much bad land - rock, scrub, desert and then more rock. A hard land that the sun has sucked … Continue reading Chato’s Land: Charles Bronson and director Michael Winner teamed up for the first time on this bleak & brutal Vietnam-war-era Western that set the template for their ‘Death Wish’ films →

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The Shootist: John Wayne rides off into the sunset in a blaze of glory

The Shootist (1976), Directed by Don Siegel from Glendon Swarthout’s eponymous 1975 novel, is John Wayne's final film in which he co-stars with Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard and James Stewart. The film has John Wayne playing a legendary gunfighter who's dying of cancer. “I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid … Continue reading The Shootist: John Wayne rides off into the sunset in a blaze of glory →

Rio Lobo: Legendary Director Howard Hawks ended his career with this perfectly comfortable John Wayne Western

Rio Lobo(1970), starring John Wayne, Jack Elam, Jorge Rivero and Christopher Mitchum, marked the fifth and final collaboration between John Wayne and Director Howard Hawks. This Western is also the last theatrically released feature film directed by Hawks. "I've been called a lot of things, but not 'comfortable'!" First there was "Rio Bravo(1959)," then came … Continue reading Rio Lobo: Legendary Director Howard Hawks ended his career with this perfectly comfortable John Wayne Western →

The Cowboys: John Wayne passes the baton to the next generation of (cow)boy heroes in one of his most poignant late-career Westerns

The Cowboys(1972), directed by Mark Rydell and starring John Wayne, Bruce Dern and Roscoe Lee Browne in lead roles, is a poignant Western that deals with issues of mortality, fatherhood, mentorship and coming-of-age. "Every man wants his children to be better'n he was. You are" In 1948, John 'Duke' Wayne teamed up with eminent director … Continue reading The Cowboys: John Wayne passes the baton to the next generation of (cow)boy heroes in one of his most poignant late-career Westerns →

Little Big Man: Dustin Hoffman entered ‘The Guinness Book of World Records’ with his epic portrayal of the titular misfit in Arthur Penn’s oddball Western Tragicomedy

Little Big Man(1970) is a revisionist Western directed by Arthur Penn from Thomas Berger's satirical novel. The film stars Dustin Hoffman as Jack Crabb, a white man raised by Native Indian Tribes, and it tells the tale of the conquest of the American West from the point of view of the Native Americans. Dustin Hoffman … Continue reading Little Big Man: Dustin Hoffman entered ‘The Guinness Book of World Records’ with his epic portrayal of the titular misfit in Arthur Penn’s oddball Western Tragicomedy →

Patton: George C. Scott is magnificent as the brilliant and mercurial WWII General in this splendid biographical war epic

Patton(1970) is a multiple Oscar winning war-biopic directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola. The film has George C. Scott essaying the brilliant and mercurial General George S. Patton during WWII, starting with the general's exploits in North Africa and ending with the fall of the Third Reich and the liberation … Continue reading Patton: George C. Scott is magnificent as the brilliant and mercurial WWII General in this splendid biographical war epic →

Posse: Bruce Dern gives one of his career-best performances in this Kirk Douglas directed cynical, Watergate-era Western

Posse(1975) is a typical 1970s anti-Western produced and directed by Kirk Douglas. This is Douglas' second (and final) directorial venture, and he also plays the lead protagonist alongside Bruce Dern, Bo Hopkins and James Stacy. Though Kirk Douglas was one of the first stars from Hollywood's golden era to form his own production company, he … Continue reading Posse: Bruce Dern gives one of his career-best performances in this Kirk Douglas directed cynical, Watergate-era Western →

The Enforcer: The very entertaining third ‘Dirty Harry’ film has lots of humor, exciting action sequences and a female partner for Clint Eastwood’s supercop

The Enforcer(1976), the third film in the 'Dirty Harry' series, is directed by James Fargo. The film pairs Clint Eastwood with Tyne Daly, and it contains a lot more humor along with all the elements that made the first two films great entertainment. After incurring the wrath of his superiors for the nth time - … Continue reading The Enforcer: The very entertaining third ‘Dirty Harry’ film has lots of humor, exciting action sequences and a female partner for Clint Eastwood’s supercop →

Cross of Iron: Sam Peckinpah’s gritty and unflinching World War II epic is one of the greatest anti-war films ever made

Cross of Iron (1977), starring James Coburn, James Mason and Maximillian Schell in lead roles, is Sam Peckinpah's bleak, pessimistic WWII epic about a band of retreating German soldiers on the Russian frontier. It's hard to believe that director, 'Bloody' Sam Peckinpah made just one 'War' film in his career. The film was "Cross of … Continue reading Cross of Iron: Sam Peckinpah’s gritty and unflinching World War II epic is one of the greatest anti-war films ever made →

French Connection II: Gene Hackman brilliantly reprises ‘Popeye’ Doyle in this terrific sequel that takes the iconic character in an interesting direction

French Connection II(1975) has Gene Hackman reprising the role of Popeye Doyle from the Oscar winning 1971 prequel, The French Connection. This film, directed by the great action film maestro, John Frankenheimer, is a more polished and melodramatic film which is not as viscerally powerful as the original, but expands on that film in interesting … Continue reading French Connection II: Gene Hackman brilliantly reprises ‘Popeye’ Doyle in this terrific sequel that takes the iconic character in an interesting direction →

Rooster Cogburn: John Wayne reprises his Oscar winning role opposite Katherine Hepburn in this Western version of “The African Queen”

Rooster Cogburn(1975) is the stand-alone sequel to the 1969 Western, 'True Grit', with John Wayne reprising his Oscar winning character of Marshal 'Rooster' Cogburn, this time, opposite screen-legend Katherine Hepburn. This is the only film Wayne and Hepburn made together. “From head to toe he is all of a piece. Big head. Wide blue eyes. … Continue reading Rooster Cogburn: John Wayne reprises his Oscar winning role opposite Katherine Hepburn in this Western version of “The African Queen” →

Two Mules for Sister Sara: Clint Eastwood co-stars with Shirley MacLaine in Don Siegel’s amusing blend of Spaghetti Western and romantic-comedy

Two Mules of sister Sara(1970) is a quirky Western directed by Don Siegel, and starring Shirley MacLaine and Clint Eastwood in lead roles. The film mixes the aesthetics of a Sergio Leone Western with the romantic-comedy elements from John Huston's African-Adventure, The African Queen, to arrive at a highly enjoyable romantic-comic Western adventure. The quirky … Continue reading Two Mules for Sister Sara: Clint Eastwood co-stars with Shirley MacLaine in Don Siegel’s amusing blend of Spaghetti Western and romantic-comedy →

Escape from Alcatraz: The final collaboration between Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel resulted in a subdued and suspenseful prison-break thriller

Escape from Alcatraz(1979) brought together Clint Eastwood and director, Don Siegel for the fifth and final time. In this low-key, slow-burn, prison-break thriller, Clint plays Frank Lee Morris, a real-life convict who escaped from the Alcatraz prison in 1962. "If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison. If you disobey the … Continue reading Escape from Alcatraz: The final collaboration between Clint Eastwood and Don Siegel resulted in a subdued and suspenseful prison-break thriller →

The Outlaw Josey Wales: Clint Eastwood created his definitive Western masterpiece with this post-civil war saga that seamlessly combines the traditional and revisionist elements of the genre

Clint Eastwood directs and stars in The Outlaw Josey Wales(1976), an epic Western saga set in the aftermath of the American civil war. The film finds Clint as his very best as an actor and director, as he fashions a sweeping narrative that encompasses a wide range of emotions and landscapes. It details an epic … Continue reading The Outlaw Josey Wales: Clint Eastwood created his definitive Western masterpiece with this post-civil war saga that seamlessly combines the traditional and revisionist elements of the genre →

The Godfather Part II: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro redefines screen acting with their astounding performances in Francis Ford Coppola’s ultimate American epic

Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II(1974), starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Lee Strasberg, is an extraordinary continuation to the director's magnum opus, The Godfather(1972). In many ways, the film is even better than its predecessor, and marks the height of auteur-driven  New-Hollywood cinema of the 1970s. The Godfather … Continue reading The Godfather Part II: Al Pacino and Robert De Niro redefines screen acting with their astounding performances in Francis Ford Coppola’s ultimate American epic →

Westworld: Yul Brynner’s heroic Gunslinger is reincarnated as a killer android in Michael Crichton’s cult genre mashup

Westworld(1973), written and directed by Michael Crichton, is a seminal Sci-fi thriller that incorporates elements from Westerns and horror movies to tell a chilling tale of robots turning against humans in a futuristic society. The film can be basically summed up as a 'Western' themed 'Jurassic Park' Steven Spielberg once called his friend and frequent … Continue reading Westworld: Yul Brynner’s heroic Gunslinger is reincarnated as a killer android in Michael Crichton’s cult genre mashup →

The Train Robbers: An alluring Ann-Margaret and a twist ending adds freshness to this unabashedly traditional John Wayne Western shoot-’em-up

In one of his last outings as the legendary Western hero, John Wayne joins up with a team of adventurers, played by Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson, etc. to help out Ann-Margaret's widow recover half-a million dollars worth of gold from Mexico in this Burt Kennedy written and directed 1973 Western. The Train Robbers(1973), written and … Continue reading The Train Robbers: An alluring Ann-Margaret and a twist ending adds freshness to this unabashedly traditional John Wayne Western shoot-’em-up →

Magnum Force: Clint Eastwood’s ‘Dirty Harry’ battles ultra-vigilantes in this expansive, episodic and very entertaining sequel

Magnum Force(1973), directed by Ted Post, is the very successful sequel to the iconic 1971 crime thriller, Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood returns as the renegade-cop, Harry Callahan, in its relatively subdued version; the filmmakers have created a quartet of ultra-vigilante super-cops as the antagonists to tone down the criticism that Harry faced in the original … Continue reading Magnum Force: Clint Eastwood’s ‘Dirty Harry’ battles ultra-vigilantes in this expansive, episodic and very entertaining sequel →

The Electric Horseman: Robert Redford is supercool as the modern-day cowboy who sets himself and a horse free in this enjoyable Romance-Western

Robert Redford and Director Sydney Pollack teamed up for the fifth time for this very entertaining modern-day, Romance-Western that features Jane Fonda, John Saxon and Willie Nielsen in major roles. “For me it was a chance to demonstrate my own particular affinity for horses, but the film is also about a way of life out … Continue reading The Electric Horseman: Robert Redford is supercool as the modern-day cowboy who sets himself and a horse free in this enjoyable Romance-Western →

Kelly’s Heroes: Clint Eastwood reteams with his ‘Where Eagles Dare’ director to put an irreverent, satirical spin to the ‘Men on a mission’ WWII adventure

Kelly's Heroes(1971), directed by Brian G. Hutton, and starring Clint Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles and Telly Savalas is a satirical take on wartime heroism, with Eastwood leading a band of soldiers on a private mission behind enemy lines to steal Nazi gold. In 1968, Clint Eastwood teamed up with director Brian G. Hutton to … Continue reading Kelly’s Heroes: Clint Eastwood reteams with his ‘Where Eagles Dare’ director to put an irreverent, satirical spin to the ‘Men on a mission’ WWII adventure →