1970s

"A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready. Not thinking, yet not dreaming. Ready for whatever may come... And when there is an opportunity, I do not hit. It hits all by itself." When you think of the words "Kung" and "Fu" and "Hollywood" you will almost certainly think of Mr. Bruce Lee - prowling around, screaming like a mating monkey and kicking many villains in the face. He is, and still remains, the greatest of all time when it comes to the martial arts su

It has been said that you can often judge a person's inner state not by their words, but their actions. If this is indeed true, then it would seem fair to say that John Cassavetes, when making this film, had obviously grown tired of being a marquee studio actor, felt constrained by the Hollywood process and felt the need to express himself in the most unhinged way imaginable. The result is this film.  To say that this film bucks traditional convention would be like saying br

When thinking of great films starring the legend that is Jack Nicholson, few would immediately name this 1973 cult classic. However, Jack himself considers this his finest moment on screen, famously stating "I did it in that movie. That was my best role". When you watch this largely unheralded gem again now, it's not hard to see why.  At the dawn of 'New Hollywood', Hal Ashby became quite an important figure. However, by 1973 he was coming off the back of the abject failur

At the time of it's release, what is now known as 'the heist movie' was just starting to find it's cinematic feet. After relative successes like 'Ocean's Eleven' and 'The Italian Job' in the 60s, Sam Peckinpah's 'The Getaway' (1972) became something of a box office hit, thus opening the door for more of the like. Because as we all know, when Hollywood finds something that works, they'll rinse the living arse out of it until it don't work no more. 

Before directing such crowd pleasers as 'Rocky' (1977) and 'The Karate Kid' (1984), John G. Avildsen was making his bones on the indie film circuit. He'd done a couple of not particularly noteworthy films before taking on 'Joe' in 1970. Little did he know that, despite the grim subject matter and unflinching portrayals of far right political viewpoints, this film would become a pretty significant success upon its release. It seemed to catch a wave that was bubbling at this ti

With the recent, Eddie Redmayne-fronted, re-release of this story in a big budget TV format, it seems now might be an appropriate time to revisit the original film that inspired the series.  A co-production of the UK and France (showing that sometimes we can get along) and based on a Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name, this film is a political thriller telling the story of an attempted assassination attempt on General Charles De Gaulle. Although it is based on real cha

Even if you've never seen Don Siegel's 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood, you probably will be aware of it's titular character and his famous quote:  "I know what you're thinking, punk. You're thinking 'Did he fire six shots or only five?' Now to tell you the truth, I've forgotten myself in all this excitement. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and will blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Wel

By 1977, William Friedkin was firmly established in the upper echelons of Hollywood. His two hits, 'The French Connection' (1971) and, most famously, 'The Exorcist' (1973) were both heralded as classics. The latter, of course, being one of the most famous films of all time. Then he wandered off to spend the next few years in five countries on three continents making his next film. The result was 'Sorcerer'.  Allow me for a moment to go on a diatribe about film consumption in