Critics Club III: The Greatest Film of the 1970's

[Neon Ignition]

Voting for each year of the 1970's is now complete and for each year we have the forums choices for the Top 3 films of the year. We now turn our attention to taking those results and voting for the best film of them all.

As a result - You can only select one film in this poll

Think carefully then cast your vote for the film you feel is the truly the greatest in the list above

[QualityChimp]

Holy smokes, this is tough!

[Atticus]

It's been great going through the 70s ... cheers for compiling [MENTION=345]Neon Ignition[/MENTION]

But in the end there's only one film I can go for on that list and that's The Godfather.

[QualityChimp]

It's been great going through the 70s ... cheers for compiling @Neon Ignition

Yeah, I just wanted to echo this, @SuperCrazyNeonManTaxiIgnitionFallsNext!

Those of us who have gotten involved have really enjoyed it, thank you!

[QualityChimp]

I went with Jaws.

It stands the test of time and is totally still watchable today.
I need to get one of the Blu-Rays!

It's got thrills, an amazing cast, some amazing shots like the Dolly Zoom and the chumming scene, that score which is terrifying with just two notes, has loads of behind-the scenes stories and invented the term "blockbuster":

[Atticus]

Jaws is class. I clocked your vote QC and thought 'oh yeah, actually Jaws is amazing' ... probably just second to The Godfather in that list for me. The head in the boat was a proper traumatic event for me when I was a kid ... Hooper's wide eyes and bubbly scream too ...wow.

One thing this 70s film odyssey has shown me is I have neglected to watch a very popular film: Superman. I'm going to have to pick it up and put that right. I've seen bits and bobs of it here and there over the years but never properly watched it.

[Dogg Thang]

I have to go with Alien. Although Jaws might be a close second from this list. Alien is absolutely timeless and an incredible piece of filmmaking. Any film entirely set in space with loads of effects work pre-dating digital touchups and looks amazing to this day deserves kudos but there is much more to Alien than that. There is the creeping, rising tension which is so effective. It's a great horror movie. And even then, there is more to that to Alien. The character performances are so natural and they spark off each other in the exact right way. These people up in a fictional spaceship being terrorised by a fictional alien are entirely believable as real people. And not a lot of films can get that. Every actor in this film is brilliant and they are clearly directed really well.

So yep, Alien. It's a masterclass in filmmaking.

[MartyG]

Torn between Taxi Driver, Star Wars, Jaws, Close Encounters and Alien.

In the end, I think it has to go to Scorsese (although actually, I think Mean Streets is the better of Scorsese's films from the 70s - if you haven't watched that, you really should). Taxi Driver is a masterclass in cinematography using the legendary Zeiss Super Speed lenses.

[Neon Ignition]

I mulled hard between three films: Rocky, Superman and Alien

In the end I went for Alien because whilst it was a real tussle I think Rocky has areas where the film could be a little tighter and Superman has areas where its age is shown whereas by comparison Alien has aged much better and remains a film that (as much as I prefer the sequel) has little that could be improved upon.

[Atticus]

Ooo, we have a frontrunner Need more votes in. There are so many AAA films in that list it could go any which way.

[QualityChimp]

I love how we've mainly voted for different things so far, but acknowledge that there's a lot of fried gold in that list.

[Neon Ignition]

I'm undecided so far as to whether this one works fine as it is or whether allowing multi-voting like the others would have worked better. With single option you get a very specific preferred choice but I think people find it easier to vote when they can choose their faves without agonising over selecting a specific film.

[Finsbury Girl]

Definitely a hard choice there are some bona fide true classics of cinema plus some just genuine fund movies that you watch over and over.

Close Encounters, Jaws, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver would be close.

But Kelly's Heroes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Alien, Star Wars are some of my faves.

Definitely cannot choose.

[Leon Retro]