0
0
1976 brought some game changers to the world of film. We saw the Italian Stallion come on the scene and fight for the heavyweight championship. We also got a story about the President and all of his men. Hell, people were mad as hell and were not going to take it anymore. Robert De Niro asked people if they were talking to him and Carrie burned down her school at Prom. 1976 had some really strong movies.
Rocky
Rocky has been a mainstay in the boxing world for decades, and he isn’t even a real person. Let’s give it up to Sylvester Stallone. Dude pushed all his chips on the table, and it paid off greatly for him. Rocky is a great boxing film where an underdog gets his chance against the heavyweight champion of the world. Carl Weathers did a great job as Apollo Creed. Most of the scenes haven’t aged too well, but the overall boxing and story are superb. Hell, when you get up to eight or nine films, many people still love this character.
All the President’s Men
How big do you think your story will be from people breaking into a building, getting caught, and then ultimately leading to the President of the United States resigning. That is a pretty freakin big story in my eyes. All the President’s Men is that story about the Watergate scandal in which the Nixon administration’s continual attempts to cover up its involvement. The film is strong as it digs deep and shows how information was gathered and brought to light.
Network
“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!” This film is one of the best movies about network tv and how people do things inside the industry. The story is all made up, but damn, is it so good. From the acting performances to the story to some of the messages delivered in this film, it is truly OUTSTANDING. It is one of the best films of the year.
Taxi Driver
“You talkin’ to me?” In Martin Scorsese’s film, Robert De Niro is intense in the psychological drama. De Niro plays Travis Bickle in a bankrupt NYC and works as a taxi driver. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War, and his mental state goes off the deep end and he works nights in the city. This movie is intense but so good to watch. De Niro drops classic lines as the character becomes lost in his own mind.
The Omen
What the world doesn’t need is more creepy ass kids. The Omen follows creepy ass, Damien Thorn, who is the son of Satan and the antichrist. As mysterious deaths happen around the family, his father comes to believe that he must be stopped. The kid who played Damien always had this creepy ass smile on his face and when the deaths happen, it gets crazy.
Carrie
One of the scariest and classic horror films. Stephen King’s book comes to life with Sissy Spacek as Carrie White. Carrie is a shy girl who is bullied at school and lives with her overbearing and religious mother. She has telekinetic powers and when a group of kids trick her into prom to embarrass her, she unleashes hell upon them. This film is great and still holds up today. Spacek still scares me with the derange look on her face after being covered in blood. Great freakin movie.
The Bad News Bears
There is something special and funny about a sports film that shows a former player trying to coach little kids. The Bad News Bears is a classic sports film where Walter Matthau stars as Morris Buttermaker, an alcoholic ex-baseball pitcher who becomes a coach for a youth baseball team known as the Bears. Insanity ensues as the Bears are the least talented group in their league. It is funny to see Morris trying to coach and inspire the kids.
The Enforcer
Even though it is not the greatest film in the Dirty Harry film series, the film kept the series going with two more sequels to follow. Dirty Harry has a lot of crime to clean up. Eastwood returns as the famous inspector. This time the film has more comedic dialogue but the gore and violence is a little over the top but you can always make Harry’s day.
The Outlaw Josey Wales
I love a good outlaw story. Clint Eastwood delivered in more ways than one in this film and seemed to always show the world how good he is at these types of films. The films tells the story of Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer who looks for revenge against Union militants that killed his family during the Civil War. We see most heroes join the Union, but Josey joins a Confederate guerrilla band and kills anyone who gets in his way. This film is great to watch and a high point of the year.
Assault on Precinct 13
I watched the remake and it doesn’t even come close to the original. This was vastly underrated, and it is one of John Carpenter’s best films. If you love action and a high stakes thriller, this was one of the best films of the year. Who doesn’t love a film where a police officer with the help of his coworkers must defend their precinct at all costs against a relentless criminal gang while protecting a notorious killer.
