Isn’t The Sting (1973)  great?  I remember seeing it for the first time and felt completely conned…  Paul Newman and Robert Redford were as good-looking as at any time in their lives. When I visited the Santa Monica Pier carousel where the movie was filmed, I somehow got the impression that the movie was actually set there.  I did figure out, about the 3rd or 4th time I watched it, that it takes place in Chicago…  The soundtrack is as famous as the movie with its Scott Joplin ragtime-y music.  It was a good year for Marvin Hamlisch:  he won 2 Best Music Oscars, one for the score/adaptation in The Sting and one for original score in The Way We Were.

The reasons I really like The Godfather, Part II (1974) better than part I:  1) I like the era that Vito came through Ellis Island to the USA, when millions of Europeans immigrated to our country in pursuit of liberty, etc.  It is faithfully depicted in the movie.  I like all of the flashbacks, partly because Robert DeNiro as the young Vito is really, um, good.  2) The action in Cuba and subsequent machinations prove that Michael is the coolest Godfather ever.. 3) Kay finally gets slapped…should have happened in part I.    I would have made a great mob wife…seriously.

I sooo resisted watching the movie of  One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)  because I was faithful to Ken Kesey’s book and he didn’t like the changes that were made for the screenplay.  Despite the fact that the film swept the Oscars, setting a record  for winning Best Picture, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), Best Director (Milos Forman), and Best Writing, I held out.  In fact, I really liked  the contender “Dog Day Afternoon” and still would advise you to read Kesey’s book and watch Al Pacino  in DogDay.  A decade after its release, I caved in and  realized that it is a wonderful movie and I learn something every time I watch it…  (one of my co-workers calls me “Nurse Ratchet”   and I have no idea if that’s a compliment or…)    The book is from a different point of view and when you think of it, we need to look at things from several aspects.

Can you believe that I had never seen Rocky (1976) ???  I did not realize that he was Retarded.  I know we’re not supposed to use that word now, but back in 1976, we still called it retarded and he was it.  Huh.  I knew the gist of it, just never watched it from alpha to omega.  Talia Shira sure had some big brown eyes, didn’t she?  Overall, I liked Rambo better…and I didn’t like it much.