1971--The Year in Review

A truly magnificent year for movies--especially American ones. I mean, just an astounding array of cult films, action films, intimate dramas, costume epics, musicals, documentaries, comedies, science fiction, horror, romances, westerns, cinematic television product, and the emergence of a potent black presence in film. But we also suffer a precipitous drop-off in quality from world cinema--a valley that will stretch across much of the ensuing decade. My top choice is an evocative, downbeat, gloriously black-and-white throwback to the emergence of the teen culture in 1950s Texas. It continually breaks your heart. But its closest competitor is also an examination of a possible future teen culture, vastly more perverted and still justifiably championed by most everyone. I still can't understand how Malcolm McDowell escaped even a nomination for his dynamic Alex De Large. I must reiterate: the sheer number of high-quality movies of all types ensures that some terrific titles are left out of the final mix. NOTE: These are MY choices for each category, and are only occasionally reflective of the selections made by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (aka The Oscars). When available, the nominee that actually won the Oscar will be highlighted in bold. 

PICTURE: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (US, Peter Bogdanovich)
(2nd: A Clockwork Orange (UK, Stanley Kubrick)
followed by: McCabe and Mrs. Miller (US, Robert Altman)
Fiddler on the Roof (US, Norman Jewison)
The French Connection (US, William Friedkin)
Punishment Park (UK/US, Peter Watkins)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday (UK, John Schlesinger)
Two-Lane Blacktop (US, Monte Hellman)
Carnal Knowledge (US, Mike Nichols)
Macbeth (UK, Roman Polanski)
Harold and Maude (US, Hal Ashby)
The Beguiled (US, Don Siegel)
A New Leaf (US, Elaine May)
Walkabout (Australia, Nicolas Roeg)
Dirty Harry (US, Don Siegel)
Klute (US, Alan J. Pakula)
Directed by John Ford (US, Peter Bogdanovich)
The Emigrants (Sweden/US, Jan Troell)
The Hospital (US, Arthur Hiller)
Taking Off (US, Milos Forman)
The Devils (UK, Ken Russell)
Duel (US, Steven Spielberg)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (US/UK, Mel Smith)
Millhouse (US, Emile De Antonio)
THX-1138 (US, George Lucas)
Vanishing Point (US, Richard Serafian)
Johnny Got His Gun (US, Dalton Trumbo)
The Andromeda Strain (US, Robert Wise)
Panic in Needle Park (US, Jerry Schatzberg)
Get Carter (UK, Mike Hodges)
Shaft (US, Gordon Parks)
Play Misty For Me (US, Clint Eastwood)
Sweet Sweetback’s Baaadasssss Song (US, Melvin Van Peebles)
Minnie and Moskowicz (US, John Cassavetes)
Bananas (US, Woody Allen)
The Boy Friend (UK, Ken Russell)
Straw Dogs (UK, Sam Peckinpah)
Death in Venice (US/Italy, Luchino Visconti)
The Clowns (Italy, Federico Fellini)
The Hired Hand (US, Peter Fonda)
Let's Scare Jessica to Death (US, John Hancock)
The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty Kick (West Germany, Wim Wenders)
Fata Morgana (West Germany, Werner Herzog)
Summer of ’42 (US, Robert Mulligan)
Ten Rillington Place (UK, Richard Fleischer)
The Decameron (Italy, Pier Paolo Pasolini)
Silent Running (US, Douglas Trumbull)
They Might Be Giants (US, Anthony Harvey)
Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (US, Ulu Grosbard)
Land of Silence and Darkness (West Germany, Werner Herzog)
Valdez is Coming (US, Edwin Sherin)
The Point (US, Fred Wolf)
A Fistful of Dynamite (Italy, Sergio Leone)
Sometimes a Great Notion (US, Paul Newman)
Mary, Queen of Scots (UK, Charles Jarrott)
And Now For Something Completely Different (UK, Ian McNaughton)
Christian the Lion (US, Bill Travers)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (UK, Robert Fuest)
Kotch (US, Jack Lemmon)
The Last Movie (US, Dennis Hopper)
The Strawberry Statement (US, Stuart Hagmann)
Diamonds are Forever (UK, Guy Hamilton)
Monte Walsh (US, William A. Fraker)
Red Sky at Morning (US, James Goldstone)
What's The Matter with Helen? (US, Curtis Harrington)
Pretty Maids All in a Row (US, Roger Vadim)
Behind the Green Door (US, Jim and Artie Mitchell)
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (UK, Val Guest)
WR: The Mysteries of the Organism (Yugoslavia, Dusan Makavejev))

ACTOR: Malcolm McDowell, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (2nd: Gene Hackman, The French Connection, followed by: Topol, Fiddler on the Roof; Gene Wilder, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Jack Nicholson, Carnal Knowledge; Walter Matthau, A New Leaf; George C. Scott, The Hospital; Peter Finch, Sunday, Bloody Sunday; Clint Eastwood, The Beguiled; Warren Beatty, McCabe and Mrs Miller)

ACTRESS: Jane Fonda, KLUTE (2nd: Ruth Gordon, Harold and Maude, followed by: Julie Christie, McCabe and Mrs. Miller; Kitty Winn, Panic in Needle Park; Jessica Walter, Play Misty for Me; Liv Ullmann, The Emigrants; Zohra Lampert, Let’s Scare Jessica to Death; Glenda Jackson, Sunday, Bloody Sunday; Jenny Agutter, Walkabout; Geraldine Page, The Beguiled)

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Ben Johnson, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (2nd: Warren Oates, Two-Lane Blacktop, followed by: Jeff Bridges, The Last Picture Show; Cleavon Little, Vanishing Point; Andy Robinson, Dirty Harry; Roy Scheider, The French Connection; Art Garfunkel, Carnal Knowledge; Tom Baker, Nicholas and Alexandra; Michael Bates, A Clockwork Orange)



SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Cloris Leachman, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (2nd: Ann-Margret, Carnal Knowledge, followed by: Ellen Burstyn, The Last Picture Show; Candice Bergen, Carnal Knowledge; Barbara Harris, Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?; Vivien Pickles, Harold and Maude; Lee Remick, Sometimes a Great Notion; Jo Ann Harris, The Beguliled)

DIRECTOR: Stanley Kubrick, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (2nd: Peter Bogdanovich, The Last Picture Show, followed by: Robert Altman, McCabe and Mrs. Miller; Peter Watkins, Punishment Park; William Friedkin, The French Connection; Norman Jewison, Fiddler on the Roof; Roman Polanski, Macbeth; Monte Hellman, Two-Lane Blacktop; Mike Nichols, Carnal Knowledge; John Schlesinger, Sunday, Bloody Sunday)

NON-ENGLISH-LANGUAGE FILM: THE EMIGRANTS (Sweden, Jan Troell) (2nd: The Clowns (Italy, Federico Fellini), followed by: The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty Kick (West Germany, Wim Wenders); Fata Morgana (West Germany, Werner Herzog); The Decameron (Italy, Pier Paolo Pasolini); Land of Silence and Darkness (West Germany, Werner Herzog))



DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD (US, Peter Bogdanovich) (2nd: Millhouse (US, Emile De Antonio), followed by: Fata Morgana (West Germany, Werner Herzog); Land of Silence and Darkness (West Germany, Werner Herzog); Christian the Lion (US, Bill Travers))



ANIMATED FEATURE: THE POINT (Fred Wolf)



ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Peter Watkins, PUNISHMENT PARK (2nd: Paddy Chayefsky, The Hospital, followed by: Penelope Gilliatt, Sunday, Bloody Sunday; Andy and Dave Lewis, Klute; Rudy Wurlitzer and Will Corry, Two-Lane Blacktop)



ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Peter Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (2nd: Stanley Kubrick, A Clockwork Orange, followed by: Robert Altman and Brian McCay, McCabe and Mrs. Miller; Ernest Tidyman, The French Connection; Joseph Stein, Fiddler on the Roof)



LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: HAPAX LEGOMENA: NOSTALGIA I (US, Hollis Frampton) (2nd: The Act of Seeing With One’s Own Eyes (US, Stan Brakhage); Hot Dogs for Gaugain (US, Martin Brest); Sentinels of Silence (Mexico, Robert Anram); Last Year in Vietnam (US, Oliver Stone)



ANIMATED SHORT FILM: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (UK, Richard Williams, won in 1972) (2nd: Evolution (Canada, Michael Mills), followed by: Freedom River (US, Sam Weiss); The Cat in the Hat (US, Hawley Pratt); The Selfish Giant (Canada. Peter Sander)



CINEMATOGRAPHY: Oswald Morris, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (2nd: Robert Surtees, The Last Picture Show, followed by: Vilmos Zsigmond, McCabe and Mrs Miller; Gilbert Taylor, Macbeth; Gordon Willis, Klute) 

ART DIRECTION: THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, Fiddler on the Roof, The Boy Friend, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nicholas and Alexandra

COSTUME DESIGN: THE BOY FRIEND, Nicholas and Alexandra, Macbeth, Fiddler on the Roof, Death in Venice

FILM EDITING: A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, The French Connection, Fiddler on the Roof, Punishment Park, Dirty Harry 

SOUND: FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, A Clockwork Orange, THX-1138, The Last Picture Show, McCabe and Mrs. Miller 



ORIGINAL SCORE: Isaac Hayes, SHAFT (2nd: Lalo Schifrin, Dirty Harry, followed by: Michel Legrand, Summer of ’42; Jerry Fielding, Straw Dogs; John Barry, Walkabout)



ADAPTED OR MUSICAL SCORE: John Williams, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (2nd: Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley, and Walter Scharf, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, followed by: Peter Maxwell Davies and Peter Greenwell, The Boy Friend)



ORIGINAL SONG: “Theme from Shaft” from SHAFT (Music and lyrics by Isaac Hayes) (2nd: “Don‘t Be Shy” from Harold and Maude (Music and lyrics by Cat Stevens), followed by: “If You Wanna Sing Out, Sing Out” from Harold and Maude (Music and lyrics by Cat Stevens); “Me and My Arrow” from The Point (Music and lyrics by Harry Nilsson); "Diamonds are Forever" from Diamonds are Forever (Music by John Barry, lyrics by Don Black); "Last Morning" from Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (Music and lyrics by Shel Silverstein); “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Music by Leslie Bricusse, lyrics by Anthony Newley); "Bless the Beasts and Children" from Bless the Beasts and Children (Music and lyrics by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr.)

SPECIAL EFFECTS: SILENT RUNNING, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, Bedknobs and Broomsticks

MAKEUP: THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, Kotch, The Boy Friend 

The Encylopedia of Cinematography (K-L)

Kagemusha (Takao Saito and Shoji Ueda, 80)
Wow--what a color pallette!  Spellbinding!  And I type that while trying to keep my shit together!!

The Killing (Lucien Ballard, 56)  
The beginnings of Stanley Kubrick's balanced, nuanced signature style, in collaboration with a master photographer who had no real respect for this young visionary (though old-guard Ballard did as he was told anyway).  
 

The Killing Fields (Chris Menges, 84)
A splendid melding of documentary and narrative photography stylings, in service of a brutal and moving tale of war, survival, and friendship.  

The King and I (Leon Shamroy, 56) 
The opulence of an unapproachable king, set against the giving heart of a lowly governess. Stupefyingly beautiful, all the way through--especially when they dance!  

King Solomon's Mines (Robert Surtees, 50) 
A proud progenitor of the action/adventure movie, in full and replete color.  

Kings of the Road (Robby Müller and Martin Schäfer, 76) 
A superb, expansive use of black and white.   

The King's Speech (Danny Cohen, 2010) 
Very unusual framing and color choices here, in a movie that could have been much less demanding in its success.  

Kiss Me, Deadly (Ernest Laszlo, 55)
For my money, the king of all noirs, with darkness, dutch angles, and wild, slashing shadows galore.  

Klute (Gordon Willis, 71) 
Willis adds his creepy command of darkness to Alan J. Pakula's thriller, with superb effect.  

The Knack, and How To Get It (David Watkin, 65)
Crazy oversaturated and often dreamy images dot this nutso comedy set in Swingin' London.  

Koyannisqatsi (Ron Fricke, 82)
Documentary photography like you've never seen it before.  Truly one-of-a-kind camera mastery here, with overexposures, slow motion and time lapse shots like you wouldn't believe.  
 

Kramer vs. Kramer (Nestor Alamendros, 79)
Warm and cozy NYC filmmaking of the highest order; incredible in that it seems so unassuming, and yet is so continually gorgeous. 
 

Kundun (Roger Deakins, 97)
Every shot here is astounding in its endlessly dazzling use of color instensity and composition.  
 

Kwaidan (Yoshio Miyagima, 64)
A nightmarish creep-out, this one, with always inventive widescreen work.  

L.A. Confidential (Dante Spinotti, 97)  
In its telling of a pulpy tale, it merges the real with the unreal, all while set in a land of dreams.  Completely energetic and ravishing. 

Lancelot du Lac (Pasqualino de Santis, 74) 
The brutality of King Arthur's court, shot with lush grit. 

Lassie Come Home (Leonard Smith, 43) 
Sumptuous, delicious Technicolor work, in service of our collective love of animals, and starring the most charismatic animal star of all time.
 

The Last Picture Show (Robert Surtees, 71)
The incredible B&W photography is so much like a film of the era in which it's set (the early 50s), it's impossible to believe it hails from the 70s. IMPOSSIBLE! 
 

Last Tango in Paris (Vittorio Storaro, 72)
Storaro furthers his collaboration with Bernardo Bertolucci, and amazes us with each shot of this groundbreaking classic.  

Last Year at Marienbad (Sacha Vierny, 61)
Dream photography nonpareil!  

The Last Emperor (Vittorio Storaro, 87)  
More work from Storaro and Bertolucci, this time capturing China's Forbidden City in all its tremendous opulence.

The Last Temptation of Christ (Michael Ballhaus, 88)  
A succession of stunning images that will sear themselves into your brain!  Jesus--a man of impeccable tastes--would have wanted it so. 
 

The Last Waltz (Michael Chapman, Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond, 78) 
Possibly the most dynamically filmed concert performance ever to hit the screen.  

L’Atalante (Louis Berger, Boris Kaufman, and Jean-Paul Alphen, 34)
Absolutely mesmerizing in its invention and bravery, from director Jean Vigo, who left us way too early.  

Laura (Joseph La Shelle, 44)
A key noir in every way, and one of the most perverse!

Lawrence of Arabia (Freddie Young, 62)
Epic widescreen photography at its highest apex--huge in scope, yet also incredibly intimate and personal. Can you IMAGINE the human effort that went into making this movie, and in the middle of the desert, too? 

Leave Her to Heaven (Leon Shamroy, 45)
Stunning use of evocative shadows and rich colors in this odd noir from director John Stahl.  

The Leopard (Giuseppe Rotunno, 63)  
Another stunningly intimate and visually detailed epic, with a recognizably Italian ambiance!  
 

Lenny (Bruce Surtees, 74)
Rich black-and-white, from a photographer with a penchant for utter darkness.  

Life with Father (J. Peverell Marley and William V. Skall, 47)  
Stunning Technicolor work that's often forgotten!  All the red hair in this movie just pops!   

Life of Pi (Claudio Miranda, 2012) 
Digital and real world photography continue their first genuine meeting. 
 

A Little Princess (Emmanuel Lubezki, 95) 
Gorgeous work, both in the real and the extra unreal fantasy sequences, and the near beginning of the photographer's association with one of his most valued collaborators, director Alfonso Cuaron. 

Local Hero (Chris Menges, 83) 
The haunting Scottish beaches, and the impersonal Texas highrises clash wonderfully in this, perhaps one of the most terrifically shot comedies of all time.  
 

Lola Montes (Christian Matras, 55)  
A film in which each shot is just unspeakably tremendous.  A must for cinematography afficiandos.  

The Long Goodbye (Vilmos Zsigmond, 74)
Los Angeles has never looked more seedy and unusual than in this Altman-directed noir, with his trademarked constantly-in-motion camerawork.  
 

The Long Riders (Ric Waite, 80)
Only one non-Peckinpah film has done things so right, Peckinpah would be proud, and this is in large part due to the athletic cinematography (and editing).  
 

Looking for Mr. Goodbar (William A. Fraker, 77)
The 70s bar scene, shockingly real and scary.  The strobe light sequence at the climax might very well make you ill!   

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (Andrew Lesnie, 2001) 
The template for one of the most respecting movie series of all time.  Its understanding and completion of Middle Earth's look is beyond reproach.

The Lost Weekend (John F. Seitz, 45) 
Alcoholism at its despairing rock bottom, shot with disquieting contrasts.  

The Lover (Robert Fraisse, 92) 
Heated and sweaty eroticism.