Why 70's movies are still popular today
The reason seventies movies are still so popular today?
It was the first decade when things really started to get "gritty". Prior to this decade even some of the more risqué cinema was very tame compared to the movies made during the seventies which became ever more edgy and realistic as the decade progressed. The seventies also saw the rise in several actors' careers that have become known as the greatest character actors to have ever lived.
The likes of Al Pachino and Robert Duvall really saw their careers take of during the decade. It also saw ageing leading men such as Robert Mitchum and Marlon Brando revive their careers by taking on roles which would have previously been seen as far too risqué for them.
During the decade dialogue became much more realistic. For the first time ever, characters in movies talked how we talked in real life. There seemed to be a much greater emphasis on writing good dialogue for movie screenplays during the seventies with characters becoming darker and more complex than at any other time. There was also a prevalence of more adult themes such as sex, drugs and violence.
As the use of colour in movies was much more widespread than the previous decade, cinematography advanced a great deal and for the first time the audience could see the leading actors and scenery in all of its glory even on lower budget movies. The lower budget movies looking just as good as the larger productions also spawned a number of cult classics which the larger studios would not touch for fear of alienating their demographic.
Special effects also progressed a great deal over the seventies. By the time the decade came to a close George Lucas was pioneering the use of early CGI in his first Star Wars film.
When one looks at the greatest films ever made, there seems to be an awful lot of them made during the seventies. Perhaps the decade was just extremely lucky in that all of the greatest movie talent seemed to come of age at exactly the right time. Many directors as well as actors really started to perfect their art form during the decade. Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorcese and many others started to achieve mainstream success and even produced their best work.
Another key ingredient to the feel of seventies films was the distinctive soundtracks. From the haunting and beautiful Godfather main theme to the orchestral delights of the Star Wars theme and the dark synth tones and double bass of the Get Carter theme, music for movies seemed to get much more memorable than ever before.
Movies from the decade will continue to be watched for many years due to the sheer amount of essential classics produced during this era. And as Hollywood continues to run out of ideas with poor remakes and CGI heavy films that choose style over substance, the consistency of the era is unlikely to ever be reproduced again or at least for the foreseeable future. There are so many ingredients which make films made from this era so good that it's almost impossible to mention them all but combined they produced some of the most edgy and distinctive movies ever made.