1970s

Movie musings on the stars and films of the 1970s. You’ve only gotta ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

Old Hollywood: Sophia Loren, Sunflower and Sex Appeal

by Linsey Satterthwaite 30 January 2015

Many actors/actresses use the method, a form of intense training to delve into the feelings and the emotions of the character they are portraying and, if possible, drawing on personal memories to enhance the performance. One actress who almost transcended the notion of the method was Sophia Loren, such was the embodiment of the characters […]

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In Review: When the Legends Die (1972) on DVD

by Daniel Goodwin 13 May 2014

In the dusty mountains of Colorado, Tom Black Bull (Frederic Forrest) a teenage Ute Indian, is adopted by a craggy old cowboy named Red Dillon (Richard Widmark), who recognises the young boy’s bucking potential and plans to make a superstar out of him on the rodeo circuit.

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In Review: Orca – The Killer Whale (1977) on DVD

by Martyn Conterio 8 April 2014

Exploiting the popularity of Steven Spielberg’s landmark summer blockbuster, Jaws (1975), Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis delivered his own knockoff rendition of the monster fish movie with a lunatic effort about a male orca whale exacting revenge against an unthinking human that done him wrong.

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In Review: Wake In Fright (1971) on Blu-ray

by Martyn Conterio 19 March 2014

Depicting Australian machismo, mateship and the rough-and-tumble etiquette of an outback mining town as an almost Kafkaesque fable, Wake in Fright deserves the accolade ‘masterpiece’ – an over-used term for sure, but without a doubt totally justified, here.

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In Review: Wake In Fright (1971)

by Mark Searby 5 March 2014

This is not the Australia Baz Luhrmann showcased in his epic 2008 production. There may be dusty barrens in both films but that is definitely where the similarities stop. Recognised as a key work of the Australian New Wave film movement, this is a movie that paints a truly sadistic portrait of outback life.

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In Review: Serpico (1973) on Blu-ray

by Christina Newland 25 February 2014

Sidney Lumet was a director who successfully navigated the vast tide of change between Hollywood old and new, with stone-cold classics on either side of the generation gap. In the 1970s, he directed several of the most memorable films of the Hollywood New Wave, including Serpico (1973). It tells the true story of Frank Serpico […]

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In Review: The Godfather: Part II (1974) re-released

by Mark Searby 21 February 2014

As argued over in parlours and drinking establishments [and one particular Wes Craven film] many, many times over, there are very few sequels that surpass the original but that’s exactly what Francis Ford Coppola did with The Godfather Part II.

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The New Empress Magazine Video Blog: Serpico (1971)

by Martyn Conterio 19 February 2014

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In Review: Riddles of the Sphinx (1977) on Blu-ray

by Daniel Goodwin 20 September 2013

Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen’s stunning, avant-garde examination of the role of women in 1970s Britain is equally mesmeric as it is complex; addressing a range of issues from female identity in a male dominated society to concerns about the state of inner-city childcare.

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The New Empress Magazine Video Blog: John Carpenter’s Elvis (1979)

by Helen Cox 15 August 2013

A whole host of bio-pics are being released in the next 12 months from P. L. Travers to Princess Diana, but there is one person no big budget studio has ever come close to capturing. Why has there never been a big budget bio-pic of Elvis Presley? Mark Searby ponders this in our latest video […]

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The New Empress Magazine Video Blog: Censorship in Action Films

by Helen Cox 10 July 2013

The latest New Empress Magazine video blog raises questions about the impact of censorship and classification on the action genre. Although many might argue that the introduction of the 12A has meant decline and dilution for the action genre, this issue isn’t as recent as some believe.

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