Chewers' 100 Funniest Films of the 70's - Page 2

44.

1975                                                  dir. Jim Sharman

 

Tim Curry is a god in fishnets, peaking early with the role that would define him. This is the best musical comedy of the 70s (and of all time, for my money) & remains a cultural rite of passage for millions.

 

Iconic.

 

45.

1970                      dir. Mike Nichols

 

The other cynical, disjointed wartime black comedy of 1970. Overshadowed by Robert Altman's behemoth, Nichols & Buck Henry's adaptation of Joseph Heller's classic novel is very much The Stones to M*A*S*H's Beatles.

 

A damn fine film.

 

46)

 

Stanley Gusciora: Your Honor, I can't do no 20 years.
Judge: Well do as much as you can, son.
[bangs gavel]

 

Criminally, this William Friedkin movie isn't on DVD and was only on Netflix Instant for about five minutes and I caught it on Cable by chance and DVRed that bad boy. It has a great cast that includes  Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Paul Sorvino, Warren Oates and Peter Boyle.

 

Edit: I was wrong, it just came out on DVD!

Edited by Cameron Hughes - 8/26/11 at 7:59pm

The fact that Freebie and the Bean is #1 on this list warms my heart.

 

47. The Long Goodbye (Altman, 1973)

 

It's okay by me.

 

More than Nashville, MASH, Short Cuts...this is Altman's crown jewel. A countercultural noir comedy that laid the ground for Shane Black and The Big Lebowski. Elliott Gould, one of the unsung great leading men of the 70's, tosses away the hardened idea of Marlowe and reinvents him as a beach bum who doesn't understand the way of the times.

 

...and since it wasn't taken...

 

48. The Last Detail (Ashby, 1973)

 

GIVE THIS MAN A BEER.

 

Post-Vietnam cynicism at its highest. Nicholson at his Nicholsoniest. Ashby at the top of his game. Towne equipped with the typewriter of destiny...an all-out dream of a 70's film.

Two brilliant choices-- California Split might actually be my favorite Altman picture.

CLASSIC trailer. If that doesn't sell you on Albert Brooks, then you should probably give up on life.

Statistically speaking, Hal Ashby is the Ted Williams of 70s comedy. Such an incredible run.

 

I just saw Shampoo for the first time because of this thread & it was fantastic. Jack Warden rules.

54. Semi-Tough (1977) d: Michael Ritchie, AGAIN

 

 

"Experience THIS, asshole!"

55. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) d. Mel Stuart

Produced by Quaker Oats, They wanted to make an new candy product line so Mel Stuart convinced them to buy the rights to Roald Dahl's classic book and develop a line based on it's magical Chocolatier . The candy line innitaly failed (because the wonka bar chocolate tasted awful), but the film made to promote it went on to be a family musical comedy classic.

60. Where's Poppa? (1970) d: Carl Reiner

 

The flip side of Harold and Maude, in which George Segal, desperate for a life of his own, is shackled to the responsibility of caring for his aged, senile mother Ruth Gordon, who simply refuses to die. Meanwhile his successful brother Ron Leibman looks on smugly, but you just wait.

 

Edited by Hammerhead - 9/2/11 at 4:13pm

61.

1976                                                  dir. Blake Edwards

 

The most consistent of the 70s Pink Panther films. Strikes Again is a Roger Moore Bond spoof in all but name, revolving around a plot in which the mad Inspector Dreyfus threatens to destroy the world with a giant laser lest they kill Clouseau for him. Unlike the first few Panther's, which were comparatively grounded slapstick farces, Edwards' 1976 entry is full on Saturday morning cartoon fun. This is the series' high point, IMO.

64. Cold Turkey (1971) d: Norman Lear

 

Fearless satire finds a tobacco company attempting to improve its public image by announcing a multi-million-dollar award to any town that can quit smoking for a month. It's assumed that this is an impossible feat, and therefore no financial risk. But there's one exceptionally depressed midwest town desperate enough to try...

 

 

Featuring an all-star cast of veterans and TV stars, many at the top of their game: Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Jean Stapleton, Vincent Gardenia, Tom Poston, Barnard Hughes, Paul Benedict, Edward Everett Horton, plus Bob & Ray as various newscasters. Anticipates Robert Altman's sprawling-community films in many ways. Randy Newman's first film score. Filmed in 1969 but unreleased for two years (conspiracy!).

Edited by Hammerhead - 9/3/11 at 6:15pm

65. All You Need is Cash (1978)

 

Since this was a film made for television, I'm debating if I should include it on the list. I'll leave it up to the rest of you to decide.

 

Despite it never being in movie theaters, All You Need Is Cash is still one of the most hilarious things Eric Idle ever made outside of Monty Python. If you love the Beatles, you need to see it. If you think the Beatles are overrated, you need to see it. The film packs a ton of verbal and visual gags into 76 minutes. The cast is up for anything. And the music....well, just watch for yourself.

 

 

This makes a great double feature with This Is Spinal Tap.

 

Edited by JPL - 9/4/11 at 4:52pm

66. REDNECK MILLER ('77)

 

Do NOT be fooled by the poster art.

This is a story about a good ole boy country DJ in a small town who finds out his motorcycle's been stolen by drug lords. When they refuse to give it back, he wages an all-out war against them, and by war I mean a succession of increasingly silly pranks. Tons and tons of fun.

68.

1972          dir. Richard A Colla

 

M*A*S*H with cops & Burt Reynolds' first foray into action comedy. This is your parents' Police Academy.

This thread has become a regular smorgasbord of films I need to see.

71. Little Murders (1971) - The name of author Jules Feiffer should clue you in as to how dark and paranoid this film is.  Amazing film.

72.

1973                    dir. George Roy Hill

 

Your boss is quite a card player, Mr. Kelly; how does he do it?

 

He cheats.

Art Decade for the win. What a fucking golden movie it is.

73. Between the Lines (1977) d: Joan Micklin Silver

 

The staff of a counter-culture newspaper wrestles with changing times, growing up and selling out. Strong cast includes John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, Jeff Goldblum, Jill Eikenberry, Stephen Collins, Michael J. Pollard and Bruno Kirby. Look quick for Marilu Henner as a stripper. Not 100% a comedy, but the scene in which Goldblum defuses a tense encounter with a crazy 'conceptual artist' is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

 

I can't find that scene online, but here's Goldblum bullshitting his way through a music-appreciation lecture:

 

 

 

Edited by Hammerhead - 9/6/11 at 11:15am

74. High Anxiety (1977) d. Mel Brooks

 

My older sister took me to see this when I was just eight years old and I had no clue who Alfred Hitchcock was. But I still thought this movie was funny, so I guess it works on at least two levels.

Seconded.  One of the best "urban frustration" movies ever made even if this film's version of New York is as dated as the Crimean War.  

How the hell hasn't this appeared yet??

 

 

78. The Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

 

 

Brilliant genre hybrid horror-comedy-musical by De Palma.   The Beef scenes alone push this into pure comedy, but the whole thing generates lots of weird, goofy laughs and the songs are inspired.  It skewers the excesses of  rock music better than any movie that isn't Spinal Tap.  

 

It's probably worth mentioning that the "sequel," Can't Buy Me Lunch, is largely a mess of scraps and leftovers, with a few new bits, and arguably the least funny thing any Python ever created. It's also evidently the source of a bitter legal feud between Idle and Neil Innes, which saddens me.

 

For more Beatles-related goodness:

 

79. I Wanna Hold Your Hand, 1978. Nancy Allen, Wendy Jo Sperber, Eddie Deezen (aka "Ringo Klaus"), under the direction of Robert Zemeckis, caught up in the insanity of The Beatles' visit to New York and first Ed Sullivan gig. Sweet and silly, and pretty effective at summoning up the exhilaration of the times.

 

And just for the hell of it:

 

80. 1941, 1979. Remember, the thread title is not "best comedies" of the 70's, but "funniest films," and while 1941 is truly an unholy mess, it is filled with hysterically funny moments (just not enough to justify the running time or ungainly set pieces). "OK, Dad, but you're ruining Christmas!" It also has one of Williams' most underrated scores, and a main theme that can compete with Raiders or Superman for sheer over-the-top bravura.
 

 

Concur with both, esp. 1941 which is an all-time favorite of mine, despite its terrible reputation.  That score is amazing.  

83.

1977                        dir. Carl Reiner

 

An old Vaudevillian gets the role that would define & endear him to millions. All but forgotten today, this was pretty massive when it came out in 1977 & still makes the perfect double feature with The Muppet Movie.

Love love love this one, though it's a good deal less laugh-out-loud funny than Midnight Run.

 

Edited by Jeb - 9/8/11 at 2:45pm

As long as we're doing Burns:

 

84. The Sunshine Boys, 1975. Not Simon's best-constructed play, and I think the film improves on the structure, as well as doing an adequte job of fleshing out the story. And while we all know Burns got the Oscar for sentimental reasons, he really was a brilliant straight man; I saw Sam Levine play the part on stage, and I'd have killed to see Burns' comic timing in the role in front of a live audience. As for Matthau, he's huge and imposingly half-deranged where Jack Albertson (who originated the role) was just cranky. The jokes are among Simon's darkest, downright mean-spirited at times (Matthau reading a songwriter's obituary: " 'Lady, lady be my baby.' 'Lady' he rhymes with 'baby'? No wonder he's dead."). But the showbiz atmosphere is beautifully rendered, and the climactic sketch scene is far funnier than anything relying on old vaudeville jokes has any right to be.