FC Podcast Episode 6: Cinema of the 1970s

by Sebastian · Published November 26, 2022 · Updated November 26, 2022

The new Furious Cinema Podcast is a show hosted by Pete and Seb. Join us for discussions on our favorite movies as well as other topics of interest.

On the long overdue sixth episode your trusted cinephile duo turn to an era they both highly appreciate, the 1970s. Inspired by reading Quentin Tarantino‘s CINEMA SPECULATION (click here to read Sebastian’s review) and some of the discussions and cinematic time travel going on at the Video Archives Podcast (special shout out to Gala, Roger and Q), they enter a special discussion of four movies from that era that stood out for them. Pete and Seb each picked two movies. Here are the films discussed in the episode.

Comes a Horseman (1978) Directed by Alan J. Pakula

Sebastian picks this late farmland drama as an example for the swansong type film, it boasts great cinematography and strong performances by Fonda and Caan, but is held back slightly by its script. An overlooked gem. Co-starring Jason Robards, Richard Farnsworth.

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Scarecrow (1973) Directed by Jerry Schatzberg

This is just one of Pete’s favorite movies of the 70s (of which there are many!!). Hackman and Pacino knock this road movie out of the park with their portrayal of two hapless hustlers making their way across the country searching for a new start in life. Co-starring Ann Wedgeworth, Eileen Brennan and Richard Lynch.

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The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) Directed by Peter Yates

Another of Pete’s all time 70s favorites featuring a particularly amazing performance by the later stage Robert Mitchum in a super well written Boston crime drama about a low level mobster trying to get free from a prison sentence. Co-starring Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan and Steven Keats.

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High Plains Drifter (1973) Directed by Clint Eastwood

Sebastian picks this as an example for how someone like Eastwood maneuvered the tectonic plate change that was New Hollywood. This was Clint’s second directing effort and first western as such. It’s a highly allegoric shocker of a movie, full of symbolism and of high entertainment value. Sebastian has been to that location before and could attest to it’s eerie qualities. Co-starring Billy Curtis, Walter Barnes, Geoffrey Lewis.

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Here is the Letterboxd list of all the movies mentioned in Cinema Speculation, by the way.