Sunday, February 02, 2014

Movies by year: 1970

(Warning: here be spoilers, but seriously come on, this movie's 44 years old now!)

My Life Songs project inspired me to do the same with movies. I'm going to pick a movie per year of my life and just introduce you to it briefly. Not necessarily my absolute favourite of the year (though it will be among them) or the smartest or the most poignant - just an interesting one. So let's start with 1970:

Little Big Man


This is a long one, but lots of fun. Dustin Hoffman is Jack Crabb, an insanely old man telling the tale of his life, as he lived alternately among American settlers and the Cheyenne who raised him, moving back and forth between them, witnessing atrocities and encountering a slew of bizarre characters along the way. Every time he gets comfortable in one setting, something happens that forces him to move on. A great morality play (remember, the US was deep into Vietnam when this was released) tempered with humour - Faye Dunaway as a less-than-chaste Reverend's wife; Richard Mulligan as an unhinged General Custer; a frightening Swedish wife; a Contrary who owes Jack a life; and my favourite: Chief Dan George as Old Lodge Skins, the sweet and wise father figure. Of course, the question in the end is this: did these things really happen to him, or is he just an old man making up stories? I prefer the former.

I also could have talked about M*A*S*H but I thought this deserved an introduction for anyone unfamiliar.

So, what do you think? Have you seen Little Big Man?

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