The Year in Review- 1971

It was the year two tough cops changed the trajectory of popular cinema for the next twenty-five years. Stanley Kubrick caused controversy, Gene Wilder played Willy Wonka, and Jane Fonda was on fire. Steven Spielberg became a feature film director, Al Pacino became a movie star, and Jack Nicholson got nasty with Ann-Margret. Here are the ten best films in order for 1971.

1. "The French Connection"(1971) A 40 year Gene Hackman officially joined the A-list as hard-ass NYPD detective 'Popeye' Doyle in William Friedkin's fantastic fact-based drama. Doyle is fast, funny, fearless, and completely consumed with police work. The Best Actor Oscar couldn't have gone to any other performer. Friedkin's documentary-style direction emphasizes the gritty realism of an enterprising drug ring and it's elusive participants, while Popeye's ten-minute pursuit of an elevated train may be the most celebrated chase scene ever filmed. "Connection" is one of the movies you seek out as soon as you decide to start getting serious about movies.

2. "Dirty Harry"(1971) Is there a cooler, more iconic image in '70s cinema that Clint Eastwood, armed with a full head of brown hair and a 44. Magnum? It's the most powerful handgun in the world, and will blow your head clean off. We were all lucky to have Inspector Callahan in our lives. Don Siegel's masterpiece has been imitated so many times, it's difficult to remember where it all began. The original "Harry" remains one of the finest examples of the genre, a lean, gripping thriller that makes good use of San Francisco and contains one of the great Movie Star turns. The underrated Andrew Robinson is electric as the sadistic sniper villain Scorpio. Four sequels followed, helping turn Eastwood into an unstoppable creative force.

3. A Clockwork Orange"(1971) Three years after the monumental success of "2001", Stanley Kubrick achieved artistic immortality with his controversial, thought-provoking instant cult classic, based on the 1962 novel by Don Burgess. Every movie isn't supposed to be an easy-to-digest, assembly-line product designed for opening weekend mass consumption. Stanley clearly had that in mind when he unleashed Alex DeLarge and his "droogs" on a bleak futuristic Britain(copycat crimes got the film banned in the U.K. until Kubrick's death in '99). Malcolm McDowell is mesmerizing in a performance he never equaled, and the free will vs. conformity debate still registers.

4. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory"(1971) This delightful comic fantasy famously under-performed in it's initial summer release, only to be reborn as a firm favorite over a decade later, during the 1980s cable/VHS boom period. Gene Wilder is wonderful as the kooky candyman that invites five pint-sized Golden Ticket holders to his mysterious chocolate factory. Pure imagination, Oompa Loompa sing-alongs, and a couple of dark fates await poor boy Charlie Bucket(Peter Ostrum) and his flawed companions. Director Mel Stuart made substantial changes to the 1964 novel, that only it's author Roald Dahl had any objections to.

5. "Klute"(1971) A fully-formed, 32 year old Jane Fonda is dynamite as Bree Daniels, a hardened NY call girl in Alan J. Pakula's absorbing dramatic thriller. Donald Sutherland's detective title character drives the mystery/stalker subplot, that isn't as memorable as Fonda's relevatory Best Actress-winning characterization. That's no disrespect to Andy and David Lewis, whose original screenplay was nominated. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Michael Small's score and the under-appreciated Roy Scheider on this blog, for pimping out Fonda AND partnering up with Popeye in his breakout year.

6. "Duel"(1971) The greatest TV movie of all time was granted a theatrical release in 1972, setting the stage for the seismic success of it's wildly ambitious first-time director Steven Spielberg. The shark in "Jaws" and the T-Rex in "Jurassic Park" might not have been possible without the ominous tanker truck(and mystery driver) that stalk Dennis Weaver throughout the Mojave Desert. Spielberg made magic in thirteen days with a $450,000 budget, and a mastery of camera placement, stunt work, and good old-fashioned suspense that would make him the envy of much more tenured filmmakers.

7. Carnal Knowledge"(1971) This daring relationship drama is the first and best of the four collaborations between Mike Nichols and Jack Nicholson(although, I'll defend "Wolf" till my dying day). Jack's cavalier cocksman persona and frank discussions about the opposite sex with timid best pal Art Garfunkel were just plain shocking in '71, while Ann-Margret was never better as his downtrodden girlfriend. Sexual politics haven't changed THAT much in the last fifty years. That's why I expect this movie to still have something to say in the year 2071.

8. "Panic in Needle Park"(1971) Exactly eight months before "The Godfather" rewired cinema, a grungy NYC livewire named Al Pacino showed some serious promise in this edgy urban drama(his second film). The soon-to-be Michael Corleone is electric as one half of a heroin-addicted couple(Kitty Winn is his wayward girlfriend) on the Upper West Side. "Panic" pushes the envelope with it's unflinching presentation of drug use and street life. Director Jerry Schatzberg would quickly reunite with his red-hot, still-affordable star for another little-seen gem, 1973's "Scarecow".

9. "Play Misty For Me"(1971) An ambitious Clint Eastwood made his directorial debut in this chilling "Fatal Attraction"-style thriller, a full sixteen years before that film entered the culture. The word 'stalker' didn't exist during the Nixon era. That definitely worked in the favor of a wild-eyed Jessica Walter, in a performance that deserved Supporting Actress consideration. Clint's easygoing disc jockey can't shake his deranged one-night stand long enough to resume relations with his on-and-off girlfriend Donna Mills in Carmel, California. "Misty" holds up, despite countless similarly-themed films, and marks the beginning of one of the greatest directing careers of all time.

10. "The Beguiled"(1971) Did I mention that Clint was the biggest Movie Star of the 1970s? I don't know how he managed this hat trick in twelve months. Don Siegel's Civil War-set drama(based on a 1966 novel) actually came first, and presents his five-time leading man in a more vulnerable position than audiences were accustomed to. A rural Mississippi seminary school for Young Ladies, presided over by Geraldine Page, is upended in 1863 by the presence of a bedridden Eastwood and his rugged masculinity. Sofia Coppola wrote and directed a comparable remake with Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman in 2017.

Honorable Mentions- "THX 1138"(1971) George Lucas' directorial debut is a cold, distant curiosity. "A New Leaf"(1971) Walter Matthua marries Elaine May. "Big Jake"(1971) Big John Wayne. "Escape From the Planet of the Apes"(1971) The third installment. "Get Carter"(1971) Michael Caine is cool. "The Anderson Tapes"(1971) Sean Connery is a career criminal in this Sidney Lumet caper. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller"(1971) Warren Beatty is a bearded gambler in this Robert Altman Western. "Shaft"(1971) Richard Roundtree ushers in the blaxploitation era. "Sunday Bloody Sunday"(1971) John Schlesinger was an awards contender. "Kotch"(1971) Jack Lemmon directs his buddy Walter Matthua to a Best Actor nomination. "The Last Picture Show"(1971) Critics showered praise on Peter Bogdanovich's black-and-white breakthrough. "Fiddler on the Roof"(1971) Norman Jewison's three-hour musical was the last of it's kind. "Harold and Maude"(1971) The Hal Ashby era begins. "Straw Dogs"(1971) Sam Peckinpah unveils the dark side of Dustin Hoffman. "Diamonds Are Forever"(1971) So is James Bond. "Brian's Song"(1971) James Caan and Billy Dee Williams will bring a tear to your eye. "The Hospital"(1971) George C. Scott + a Paddy Chayefsky screenplay.

R.I.P. Richard Donner 1930-2021

The entertainment world was saddened to learn of the death of director Richard Donner at age 91. One of the most dependable filmmakers in Hollywood at his peak(1976-1998), Donner's deep, booming voice was felt in many popular, era-defining films, three of which will never be forgotten- "Superman", "The Goonies", and "Lethal Weapon". That's right, Dick put Christopher Reeve in a red cape and blue tights and gave Mel Gibson a gun and a badge. A prolific TV director, Donner worked on twenty-five shows(including the "Fugitive" and "The Twilight Zone") before finding his big screen mojo, and formed an impactful production company with his wife Lauren- his superhero success inspired her to pursue the "X-Men" property in 1994, ultimately launching Hugh Jackman and that eleven-film franchise. Join me as I rank all 21 of Donner's directorial efforts in order of importance.

21. "The Toy"(1982) Richard Donner's worst movie is an odd relic of the early '80s that isn't even fondly recalled by Richard Pryor's legions of followers. I assume they both just wanted to stay busy when they chose this problematic remake of French filmmaker Francis Veber's 1976 comedy. Jackie Gleason's wealthy Louisiana businessman buys a "toy" for his spoiled preteen son(future porn actor Scott Schwartz), and Pryor's desperate unemployed protagonist is forced to do all sorts of goofy shit that's supposed to be funny and isn't. The racial undertones here makes it impossible to imagine this movie getting made by a major studio today. "The Toy" actually made money, but there's more to life.

20. "16 Blocks"(2006) Donner's last movie was this tired buddy cop thriller, territory that he'd trekked in the "Lethal Weapon" franchise, which we'll obviously get to. Bruce Willis looks as bored as I was watching, and rapper Mos Def annoyed me as the motor-mouth convict/witness he must protect from corrupt NYC cops(a villainous David Morse is the only bright spot). Stick to "48 Hrs".

17,18,19. "X-15"(1961), "Salt and Pepper"(1968), "Lola"(1970) I'm lumping Donner's first three movies together, because they have no reputation at this point, and won't be seen by anybody that isn't highly motivated to do so, as dusty relics from the 1960s have become ancient history. Mary Tyler Moore made her film debut in the low-budget docu-style aviation drama "X-15". A pre-fame Charles Bronson also appears in that and the equally-obscure "Lola". Everybody has to start somewhere.

16. "Radio Flyer"(1992) This '60s-set coming-of-age tale, though technically well made, contains the troubling message that child abuse can be dealt with simply by running around your neighborhood and losing yourself in a land of make-believe. Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello should have told their mother(an underused Lorraine Bracco) about their abusive stepfather. I'm pulling a Roger Ebert on this one. The backstory- Donner was a last-minute replacement for screenwriter David Mickey Evans("The Sandlot") who was removed from the director's chair early in production. Tom Hanks narrates.

15. "Assassins"(1995) Sylvester Stallone vs. Antonio Bandares. This should have been more exciting than it was. Fun fact- the Wachowski sisters got their big break selling this screenplay and made crucial contact with super-producer Joel Silver(although they disliked the film and disowned it). A stone-faced Stallone was losing his U.S. audience, and the joyless, overlong "Assassins" couldn't compete with the fall's breakout hit, David Fincher's "Seven". At least Julianne Moore continued her rise as a computer hacker/love interest.

14. "Timeline"(2003) This ambitious time-travel adventure indicates that Donner probably should've retired on or around his 70th birthday. Maybe Tarantino is onto something with his repeated insistence that most directors lose it when they become senior citizens. It's not that this movie is really bad, it's just utterly forgettable, and it lost over $40 million. Paul Walker and Gerald Butler are among a group of history students that enter a wormhole to medieval France. Only their most loyal, die-hard fans will want to go with them.

13. "Inside Moves"(1980) John Savage is a depressed, partially-crippled Californian trying to rebuild his life in this respectable drama that Donner dove into to get his mind off of "Superman"(more on that later). David Morse and Diane Scarwid are both solid in supporting roles, but I don't think Donner ever really decided what kind of movie he wanted to make out of this script from Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. "Inside Moves" never really commits to it's darker moments, and a supposedly-uplifting basketball subplot feels out of place. That's why it's unknown to virtually everyone under age 40.

12. "Ladyhawke"(1985) We've got a gorgeous 26 year old Michelle Pfeiffer, a post-"Blade Runner" Rutger Hauer, and a pre-Bueller Matthew Broderick. These elements should have made this medieval France-set fantasy an '80s classic. Andrew Powell's subpar musical score is a major problem. "Ladyhawke" failed to recoup it's budget at the spring box office, but had a long cable afterlife and it's high-concept premise is just begging for the reboot/remake treatment.

11. "Maverick"(1994) Get used to Mel Gibson's name and face. He considered Donner a mentor during their six-film partnership. This lightweight Western, based on the 1957-1962 TV show, made over $100 million in the U.S., thanks largely to the easy charm of it's lead, then in his unassailable superstar phase that Donner helped construct. Jodie Foster has been an unwavering ally since playing his saloon-girl love interest, while series star James Garner and super-screenwriter William Goldman class up the proceedings as well. An agreeable time-passer.

10. "Scrooged"(1988) Bill Murray's first starring role in four years(he went off the grid to escape the "Ghostbusters" craze) was this cult Christmas comedy that I remember being a rather hyped-up affair as we entered the holidays. Murray recruited his SNL writer-pals Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue to craft his comeback as a mean-spirited TV executive that gets visited by three ghosts. What should've been a Tim Burton movie(he was too busy) turned into a fraught alliance between Donner and Murray- they had different visions of the film's style and tone. "Scrooged" is a little too over the top for my taste, but it did make $100 million worldwide.

9. "Conspiracy Theory"(1997) Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts were a potent pair in this paranoid thriller, produced with gusto by Joel Silver, way before conspiracy theories were the dark domain of QAnon and online Trumpers. In 1997, it was just summer fun. Mel's manic energy makes a difficult character digestible, as his crazed cabbie Jerry Fletcher dodges the evil government. Don't spend too much time analyzing Brian Helgeland's overstuffed script. Just enjoy Donner's bustling NYC shoot and the glossy star power that we just don't get anymore in this IP era. Patrick Stewart is good as a shadowy CIA villain.

8. "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut"(2006) Long before the Snyder cut of "Justice League", Donner got to go back and finish HIS version of the super sequel that he was unceremoniously fired from in 1979 by producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind. I'm glad he got to dust off that precious Brando footage in The Fortress of Solitude(technically, this is Marlon's last role), but for me, "The Donner Cut" is just a curiosity, a companion piece. I grew up watching Richard Lester's theatrical cut regularly, and it hasn't been replaced. In a less divisive world, we could combine the best stuff from both versions, credit both men, and then we'd have a perfect movie. Maybe one day.

7. "The Goonies"(1985) We're down to the Big 7, the essential Richard Donner collection. Many will object to me placing Sean Astin and Corey Feldman and Chunk and the Asian kid from "Temple of Doom"(Ke Huy Quan) this low. What can I say? I just don't LOVE this movie as much as every other person on the planet in my age group seems to. That doesn't mean it isn't a classic, as sequel rumors persisted for decades. Steven Spielberg worked his magic as producer, and it must be noted that the young cast adored Donner(especially Feldman) and consider this a formative experience. With a Chris Columbus screenplay(what a dream team), the Goonies are good enough- gotta love that Cyndi Lauper theme song.

6. "Lethal Weapon 4"(1998) This fourth episode is like the last season of a long running TV show(or maybe not, if #5 finally materializes). It's comforting, familiar, like that warm sweatshirt you put on after a long day. This franchise became a big part of Donner's identity as a filmmaker, and his consistency behind the camera really makes it feel like one long story told over eleven years, way before Marvel and the "Fast and Furious" crew normalized that sort of thing. The freeway chase and the rain-soaked fight to the death between Riggs/Murtaugh and Jet Li's scary Yakuza villain are both among the series' best moments.

5. "Lethal Weapon 3"(1992) The second-biggest hit of the summer of '92(behind "Batman Returns") represented the peak of the "Lethal" era in pop culture. Michael Bay's "Bad Boys" wouldn't even exist without the dynamic duo of Gibson and Glover. That doesn't get said often enough. With all due respect to Walter Matthua and Jack Lemmon, they never had to diffuse a bomb in an underground parking garage or survive a wild shootout in a burning housing development. Some critics called "LW3" more of the same, but go ask "Alien 3" what happens when you mess with perfection. A 37 year old former model named Rene Russo landed her breakout role as Internal Affairs ass-kicker Lorna Cole.

4. "The Omen"(1976) Donner's fourth feature was the real start of his cinematic career. The '70s was a sensational time for horror lovers, and a TV-trained Donner was more than ready to continue what "Rosemary's Baby" started. In one of his last big roles, Gregory Peck plays an American Ambassador in the U.K. and the unknowing father of the devilish Damien(Harvey Stephens). A birthday party hanging and a glass-pane decapitation are among the horrific highlights. Fueled by Jerry Goldsmith's score, "The Omen" was the must-see movie of the '76 summer, spawning sequels that Donner passed on. He had better things to do.

3. 'Lethal Weapon 2"(1989) We're entering the realm of pure cinematic bliss here. I feel bad for anyone that wasn't alive when mega-producer Joel Silver, swimming in "Die Hard" profits, signed off on this slick, super-charged sequel that helped close out the decade that's synonymous with epic entertainment. Shane Black's original vision was dark(Riggs dies). Donner wasn't interested in a downbeat tragic arc, so Jeffrey Boam's rewrites gave us an elating late-night victory over those vile South Africans AND Leo Getz, played by a motor-mouthed Joe Pesci at the dawn of his omnipresence. Where else are you going to find a bomb on a toilet? "Lethal 2" is a blast.

2. "Superman"(1978) It's hard to believe there was ever a time when Hollywood didn't believe in the financial viability of superheroes. That was the climate in the mid-'70s, when nearly every big name actor you can think of passed on the opportunity to wear an "S" on their chest. Thank the movie gods they did, because Donner's masterstroke was the selection of a 24 year old theatre geek named Christopher Reeve, then skinny and unknown and absolutely wonderful in the role. "Superman" is a special movie, that still stands tall whenever the overworked genre it essentially birthed is discussed. Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman collectively played a huge part in changing people's perceptions. John Williams' soaring score remains one of his best.

1. "Lethal Weapon"(1987) The first "Weapon" was released with little fanfare in March '87, and swiftly became one of the beloved films of the 1980s. Mel Gibson was a megastar the moment he locked Gary Busey in a triangle choke, after a string of underwhelming dramas that mostly failed to build off of his Mad Max hype. Danny Glover is equally great, as cinema's ultimate bromance was born before our eyes. Joel Silver handed Shane Black's scintillating screenplay to a hungry Donner and his casting director Marion Dougherty and the rest is history. This movie has been a firm favorite since I was an R-rated action-loving preteen, and I know I'm not alone. Now, let's hear it for Dick Donner.