The 1970's considered by many to be the greatest decade for film because of the directors that arose during the decade but also because of the great films that have come from the decade. 1974 is one of the best years from the decade which unlike most years at the oscars was actually reflected in what was chosen for the nominees and eventual winner. The winner of the best picture prize was Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II. Unlike popular opinion I actually prefer this sequel to the original feature. The film is great even if I feel their where better films from the year but the fact that I can say a great film won the prize is unfortunately a rarity at the academy awards. The other nominees alongside Godfather where Roman Polanski's Chinatown, Francis Ford Coppola's second feature of 1974 The Conversation, Bob Fosse's Lenny and The Towering Inferno definitely the worst of the nominees. To have four deserving choices out of five is impressive which is why Towering Inferno sticks out so much like a sore thumb.
In terms of what I would've chosen for the best film of 1974 it would have to be Roman Polanski's Chinatown. The films is just expert from Polanski's direction, Robert Towne's game changing screenplay and performances from the great Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and especially John Houston. Towne wrote this film so expertly that years since the film came out his work is studied and taught in a many a film writing class. Francis Ford Coppola accomplished a feat not many directors have done producing two all time great films in one year. However I feel The Conversation is the better of his two films. Starring Gene Hackman in what should've been a best actor win Coppola made something quite original with The Conversation. The stillness and care he put into the film amounted to such a special feature that some how is overlooked for Coppola's bigger and brighter films. Bob Fosse known for his great musicals goes outside his zone with Lenny, telling the story of Lenny Bruce he is able to match his expert direction with Bruce's quick witted timing. A Woman Under the Influence has been praised to the heavens for Gena Rowland's all time great performance but the film is so much more than her like most Cassavetes films. The final film I feel that would've been worthy of a best picture nod is John Berry's Claudine. Similar to Women Under... this film is praised for it's leading lady performance and is a greatly rewarding feature to sort of discover. The acting prizes of 1974 went to Art Carney, Ellen Burstyn, Robert De Niro and Ingrid Bergman. Carney and Bergman are questionable for the lack of actual quality because having seen their performances they are such undeserving choices. Burstyn is good but in such a strong year for women her work is less to me and De Niro while brilliant in Godfather is out performed by John Cazale who was not even nominated for his iconic work. Madeline Kahn was great in both Mel Brooks comedies Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. She got the nomination for the latter and really should've gotten the win too.
25 is the amount of films I was able to see from 1974. The complete sum of quality is all time great with the films making the top of my list among some of the greatest films of all time. Below is the list of nominees and winners I would've chosen.
OUTSTANDING PICTURE:
1. Chinatown (Produced by Robert Evans)
2. The Conversation (Produced by Francis Ford Coppola)
3. Lenny (Produced by Marvin Wroth)
4. A Woman Under the Influence (Produced by Sam Shaw)
5. Claudine (Produced by Hannah Weinstein)
6. Scenes From a Marriage
7. The Godfather: Part II
8. Blazing Saddles
9. Young Frankenstein
10. Amarcord
OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:
Ingmar Bergman for Scenes From a Marriage
John Cassavetes for A Woman Under the Influence
Francis Ford Coppola for The Conversation
Bob Fosse for Lenny
Roman Polanski for Chinatown
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:
Peter Falk as Nick Longhetti in "A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE"
Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in "THE CONVERSATION"
Dustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce in "LENNY"
Jack Nicholson as J.J. Gittes in "CHINATOWN"
Gene Wilder as Dr. Frankenstein in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"
OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:
Diahann Carroll as Claudine in "CLAUDINE"
Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray in "CHINATOWN"
Valerie Perrin as Honey Bruce in "LENNY"
Gena Rowlands as Mabel Longhetti in "A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE"
Liv Ullman as Marianne in "SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:
John Cazale as Fredo Corleone in "THE GODFATHER: PART II"
Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in "THE GODFATHER: PART II"
Marty Feldman as Igor in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"
John Huston as Noah Cross in "CHINATOWN"
Harvey Korman as Hedley Lamarr in "BLAZING SADDLES"
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Bibi Andersson as Katarina in "SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE"
Teri Garr as Inga in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"
Madeline Kahn as Lili Von Shtupp in "BLAZING SADDLES"
Diane Keaton as Kay Adams-Corleone in "THE GODFATHER: PART II"
Cloris Leachman as Frau Blücher in "YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN"
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Robert Towne for Chinatown
Lester Pine & Tina Pine for Claudine
Francis Ford Coppola for The Conversation
Ingmar Bergman for Scenes From a Marriage
John Cassavetes for A Woman Under the Influence
OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola & Mario Puzo; Based on The Godfather by Mario Puzo, The Godfather: Part II
Screenplay by Julian Barry; Based on Lenny by Juliane Barry, Lenny
The Parallax View
Screenplay by Stirling Silliphant; Based on The Tower by Richard Martin Stern & The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia & Frank M. Robinson, The Towering Inferno
Screenplay by Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks; Based on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Young Frankenstein
OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:
Production Design by Richard Sylbert; Set Design by Ruby Levitt for Chinatown
Production Design by Dean Tavoularis; Set Design by Doug von Koss for The Conversation
Production Design by Dean Tavoularis; Set Design by George R. Nelson for The Godfather: Part II
Production Design by John Box; Set Design by Peter Howitt & Herb Mulligan for The Great Gatsby
Production Design by Dale Hennesy; Set Design by Bob de Vestel for Young Frankenstein
OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:
Tamu Blackwell (Claudine)
Marilyn Burns (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (Claudine)
Alfred Lutter III (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore)
Valerie Perrine (Lenny)
OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:
John A. Alonzo for Chinatown
Bill Butler for The Conversation
Gordon Willis for The Godfather: Part II
Bruce Surtees for Lenny
Gerald Hirschfeld for Young Frankenstein
OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:
Danilo Donati for Amarcord
Anthea Sylbert for Chinatown
John Furniss for Daisy Miller
Theadora Van Runkle for The Godfather: Part II
Theoni V. Aldredge for The Great Gatsby
OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY:
Hearts and Minds (Directed by Peter Davis)
That's Entertainment! (Directed by Jack Haley Jr.)
OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE:
Blazing Saddles (Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Slim Pickens, Dom DeLuise, Mel Brooks, Liam Dunn, George Furth, Burton Gilliam, John Hillerman, David Huddleston, Richard Collier, Alex Karras, Jack Starrett, Robyn Hilton, Rodney Allen Rippy, Charles McGregor, Robert Ridgel, Carol Arthur)
Claudine (Diahann Carroll, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Tamu Blackwell, David Kruger, Yvette Curtis, Eric Jones, Socorro Stephens, Adam Wade, Elisa Loti, Roxie Roker)
The Godfather: Part II (Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, Morgana King, G. D. Spradlin, Richard Bright, Marianna Hill, Gastone Moschin, Troy Donahue, Dominic Chianese, Amerigo Tot, Joe Spinell, Bruno Kirby, Frank Sivero, Maria Carta, Francesca De Sapio, Giuseppe Sillato, Roman Coppola, John Megna, Julian Voloshin, Larry Guardino, Danny Aiello, John Aprea, Leopoldo Trieste, Salvatore Po, Harry Dean Stanton)
The Towering Inferno (Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Jennifer Jones, O. J. Simpson, Robert Vaughn, Robert Wagner, Susan Flannery, Sheila Matthews, Norman Burton, Jack Collins, Don Gordon, Felton Perry, Gregory Sierra, Ernie Orsatti, Dabney Coleman, Ross Elliott, William Bassett)
Young Frankenstein (Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, Liam Dunn, Rolfe Sedan, Danny Goldman)
OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:
Danford B. Greene & John C. Howard for Blazing Saddles
Sam O'Steen for Chinatown
Richard Crew for The Conversation
Barry Malkinm Richard Marks & Peter Zinner for The Godfather: Part II
Alan Helm for Lenny
OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ali–Fear Eats the Soul (Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Amarcord (Directed by Federico Fellini)
Scenes From a Marriage (Directed by Ingmar Bergman)
Swept Away (Directed by Lina Wertmüller)
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/ADAPTATION SCORE:
Nino Rota for Amarcord
Jerry Goldsmith for Chinatown
David Shire for The Conversation
Nino Rota for The Godfather: Part II
Murder on the Orient Express
OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:
Blazing Saddles, "Blazing Saddles" (Music by John Morris; Lyrics by Mel Brooks)
Blazing Saddles, "I'm Tired" (Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks)
Claudine, "On and On" (Music and Lyrics by Curtis Mayfield)
The Little Prince, "I Never Met a Rose" (Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)
The Towering Inferno, "We May Never Love Like This Again" (Music and Lyrics by Maureen McGovern & Joel Hirschhorn)
OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:
John Cazale (The Conversation, The Godather: Part II)
Faye Dunaway (Chinatown, The Four Masketeers, The Towering Inferno)
Gene Hackman (The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, Zandy's Bride)
Madeline Kahn (Blazing Saddles, Young Frakenstein)
Diane Ladd (Alica Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Chinatown)
OUTSTANDING SOUND:
Charles Grenzbach & Larry Jost for Chinatown
Walter Murch & Art Rochester for The Conversation
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Theodore Soderberg & Herman Lewis for The Towering Inferno
Richard Portman & Gene Cantamessa for Young Frankenstein
Just because the 1970's are so good I'm going to go in chronological order and move next on 1975. This year holds a special distinction where a film won the 5 big prizes (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay) on oscar night. This film that won these awards was Miloš Forman's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Did the film deserve those prizes for me or did any of the other exceptional nominees from this year deserve prizes too.
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