60 Fun Facts About 70s Movies

Who directed The Godfather (1972)?

Bogdanovich was among the directors who turned the job down; Coppola co-wrote the script with novelist Mario Puzo.

Marlon Brando declined his Best Actor Oscar for The Godfather and sent whom to the podium instead?

The activist read his objection to Hollywood's depiction of Native Americans; Brando was the second actor to refuse the award after George C. Scott.

The Godfather Part II (1974) made Academy Awards history how?

Robert De Niro played the young Vito Corleone, the role that had won Brando his Oscar two years earlier.

Who directed Jaws (1975)?

It was the first major film shot on the ocean and ran badly over budget and schedule off Martha's Vineyard.

Why does the shark appear so little in Jaws?

He suggested its presence instead, helped by John Williams's two-note theme.

Which 1973 hit gave George Lucas the leverage to secure the merchandising and sequel rights to Star Wars?

Made for $777,000, American Graffiti became one of the most profitable films ever.

Star Wars was distributed in 1977 by which studio?

Only Kenner accepted the licensing offers at first, so little merchandise existed for months after release.

Who wrote and starred in Rocky (1976)?

Avildsen directed; the film cost about $1 million and won Best Picture.

The Exorcist (1973) was the first film of its genre to do what?

It received ten nominations in all; William Friedkin directed from William Peter Blatty's own novel.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) was only the second film ever to do what at the Oscars?

Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director and Adapted Screenplay; It Happened One Night did it first and The Silence of the Lambs later.

Which film beat Star Wars to the Best Picture Oscar for 1977?

Woody Allen's film won four of the Big Five, including Best Actress for Diane Keaton in a role written for her.

Who plays Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)?

The film won the Palme d'Or and later gained notoriety for inspiring John Hinckley Jr.'s attack on Ronald Reagan.

Chinatown (1974) is loosely inspired by which real-life conflict?

Roman Polanski directed Robert Towne's script, and himself plays the thug who slits Jack Nicholson's nose.

In Grease (1978), Olivia Newton-John's Sandy is a transfer student from which country?

It was the highest-grossing film of 1978 and the biggest musical ever at the time.

Saturday Night Fever (1977) was based on a magazine article that turned out to be what?

Nik Cohn's 'Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night' ran in New York magazine in 1976.

Who plays Ripley in Alien (1979)?

The chestburster design was inspired by a Francis Bacon painting, and the cast were not warned about the blood pumps.

Apocalypse Now (1979) is loosely based on which novella?

Coppola moved Conrad's Congo to Vietnam; the shoot in the Philippines stretched past a year and Martin Sheen had a heart attack.

Which star suffered a near-fatal heart attack during the Apocalypse Now shoot?

Brando, meanwhile, arrived overweight and unprepared, and typhoons destroyed the sets.

The Sting (1973) reunited which two stars of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

George Roy Hill directed both; Robert Shaw plays the mob boss they con.

A Clockwork Orange (1971) was adapted from a novel by which author?

Stanley Kubrick wrote, produced and directed the film about youth gangs in a near-future Britain.

In The French Connection (1971), Gene Hackman plays a detective with what nickname?

Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle was based on real narcotics detective Eddie Egan.

Which French director acts in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) as scientist Claude Lacombe?

Richard Dreyfuss plays Roy Neary, the Indiana lineman obsessed with a mountain shape.

Who directed Superman (1978), starring Christopher Reeve?

Godfather novelist Mario Puzo was among the screenwriters, and Marlon Brando played Jor-El.

Michael Myers's mask in Halloween (1978) was made from a $1.98 mask of which TV character?

The film cost $300,000 and grossed $70 million, making it one of the most profitable independent films ever.

Who plays Willy Wonka in the 1971 film?

Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay from his own novel; five Golden Tickets are hidden in Wonka Bars.

Who was Mel Brooks's original choice to play Sheriff Bart in Blazing Saddles (1974)?

Pryor co-wrote the script but the studio reportedly refused to insure him; Cleavon Little took the role.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) was partly financed by which rock bands?

No studio would fund it; Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and several record labels also chipped in.

In The Deer Hunter (1978), the steelworkers are from a town near which city?

Clairton, Pennsylvania; the film won five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Walken.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) won Best Picture and acting Oscars for Dustin Hoffman and whom?

Nine-year-old Justin Henry was also nominated, making him one of the youngest nominees ever.

Dirty Harry (1971) drew on the real case of which unidentified murderer?

Clint Eastwood's Inspector Callahan hunts the Scorpio killer through San Francisco.

Enter the Dragon (1973) was notable as what for Bruce Lee?

He died on 20 July 1973, aged 32, weeks before its release.

Leatherface in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) was partly inspired by which real murderer?

The plot itself is fictional; the film was banned in several countries for its violence.

Carrie (1976), starring Sissy Spacek, was adapted from whose debut novel?

Brian De Palma directed; the prom scene ranked eighth on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Peter Finch won Best Actor for Network (1976) in what circumstance?

His Howard Beale was his final role; Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight also won for the film.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) dramatises a real 1972 robbery of a bank in which New York borough?

Al Pacino plays a version of John Wojtowicz, whose story ran in Life magazine as 'The Boys in the Bank'.

In All the President's Men (1976), Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play which journalists?

The film follows their Washington Post reporting on Watergate; William Goldman wrote the screenplay.

Who co-wrote Young Frankenstein (1974) with Mel Brooks and played the title role?

The same year Wilder also starred in Brooks's Blazing Saddles.

Animal House (1978) is set at which fictional campus?

John Belushi's Bluto and the Delta house battle Dean Vernon Wormer; Harold Ramis co-wrote it.

Mad Max (1979) was the directorial debut of which Australian filmmaker?

Mel Gibson stars as the police officer turned vigilante in a collapsing near-future Australia.

Who wrote The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and plays Riff Raff in it?

It was adapted from his 1973 stage musical; Jim Sharman directed.

George Lucas's 1973 cruising film is set on one night in 1962 in which California city?

George Lucas's hometown; Harrison Ford has a small role and Wolfman Jack plays himself.

The 1970 tearjerker starring Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal is famous for which line?

The film marked Tommy Lee Jones's screen debut and ranks ninth on the AFI's list of most romantic films.

George C. Scott won Best Actor for Patton (1970) and did what?

Two years later Brando followed suit for The Godfather.

Which 1974 disaster movie teamed Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in a burning skyscraper?

Producer Irwin Allen had already sunk a liner in The Poseidon Adventure two years earlier.

Cabaret (1972) holds which Academy Awards record?

It won eight, including Best Director for Bob Fosse and Best Actress for Liza Minnelli, but lost Best Picture to The Godfather.

Which 1970 film, led by Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin, kicked off the decade's disaster-movie genre?

Based on Arthur Hailey's novel, it spawned three sequels.

In Smokey and the Bandit (1977), what are the Bandit and Snowman smuggling from Texarkana to Atlanta?

The film was stuntman Hal Needham's directorial debut, with Burt Reynolds, Sally Field and Jackie Gleason.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) is set aboard a liner on its final voyage from New York to which city?

Its cast included five Oscar winners: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Albertson, Shelley Winters and Red Buttons.

In The Omen (1976), Gregory Peck plays the father of which child?

The boy was secretly swapped in at birth after the couple's own baby died; Richard Donner directed.

Deliverance (1972) follows four Atlanta businessmen canoeing a river in which state?

The film made 'Dueling Banjos' famous and was the debut of Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox.

Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975) is celebrated for interior scenes lit only by what?

The costume drama was based on Thackeray's novel and shot with special lenses; its settings echo Hogarth paintings.

The China Syndrome (1979) opened just twelve days before which real nuclear accident?

Jack Lemmon had just won Best Actor at Cannes for the film when the Pennsylvania accident made its plot eerily prescient.

Which former Beatle formed HandMade Films to finance Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)?

EMI had pulled its funding days before shooting; the finished film was banned outright by 11 British local councils.

Which song from The Muppet Movie (1979) earned Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher an Oscar nomination?

The film's cameo list ran from Orson Welles to Steve Martin, and it earned $65.2 million on an $8 million budget.

Colin Higgins's screenplay for Harold and Maude (1971) began life as what?

A flop on release, the film only turned a profit in 1983 and later made AFI's list of the 100 funniest films.

Who took over directing Serpico (1973) after John G. Avildsen was dismissed?

Lumet chose locations and organised scenes on short notice, shooting Al Pacino's whistleblower drama in just July and August.

Fiddler on the Roof (1971) shot its on-location scenes in which country?

Then part of Yugoslavia, it stood in for Tevye's shtetl; the film became 1971's highest grosser and won three Oscars.

The title of the 1973 prison drama Papillon, starring Steve McQueen, is French for what?

It refers to Henri Charrière's tattoo and nickname; Dustin Hoffman co-starred as the forger Louis Dega.

In Logan's Run (1976), at what age must every citizen of the domed city die?

The 1967 novel set the limit at 21; the film raised it and invented the Carrousel ritual for eliminating people.

Robert Altman's Nashville (1975) is famous for juggling how many main characters?

They collide over five days before a gala concert for a populist presidential candidate of the Replacement Party.