Sunday, November 29, 2009

I got it!!!!
HAL ASHBY'S SHAMPOO (1975)
There's an endless list of reasons to love this movie (super performances by Warren Beatty,
Julie Christie,
Goldie Hawn,
and Jack Warden)
... plus there's a quite touching love story hidden in there. But, really, Julie Christie's sequined, turtleneck backless dress eclipses all...
...wait for it....

MICHELANGELO ANTONIONI'S THE PASSENGER (1975):
The most stylish movie ever made. We've got:

- a roadtrip across the south of Spain, broken up by frequent pitstops at dusty restaurants and roadside bodegas...

- the African dessert

- a leading lady (Maria Schneider, of Last Tango in Paris notoriety) so chic she can effortlessly rock a Hawaiian shirt paired with unflattering navy blue trousers.
(Not the best ensemble in the movie, definitely, but still.) Here are some better images of her...

- young Jack Nicholson....

- 70s moustaches...

- a karate chop/fight scene so awkward it looks like stop motion
(I wish I knew how to get the video for it... stayed tuned - maybe I'll figure it out someday.)
The scene is especially remarkable for being the only 20 seconds of action in a movie about mistaken identities,
arms dealers,
a nervous breakdown,
a scorned wife,
a television producer,
and young lovers on the run...


I'm already a sucker for gritty-yet-slow 70s movies, but if you add all the above... I'm a goner.