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Ten Best List for the Year 1974
- The Beast Must Die -- British thriller in which a millionaire (Calvin Lockhart) invites some guests (Peter Cushing, Tom Chadbon, Michael Bambon) to spend a weekend at his remote country estate where everything is wired for sight and sound because the host knows that one of them will turn into a beast when the moon is full. Directed by Paul Annett, the updated werewolf tale offers some novelty and a fair amount of trumped up horror and gore for fans of this kind thing. A-III-adults (PG) 1974
- Conrack -- Jon Voight gives a convincingly exhuberant performance as an idealistic white teacher in a black school on a remote island off the coast of South Carolina. The problems he encounters in adjusting to the islanders' traditional way of life, in reaching his students with useful knowledge and in dealing with suspicious adults and cranky school officials form the core of an unusual and often moving work. Adapted from Pat Conroy's "The Water Is Wide" and directed by Martin Ritt, the movie is funny, sad, poignant, full of hope and real feeling for people. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1974
- The Conversation -- Intricate story about the world of electronic eavesdropping in which a colorless professional bugger (Gene Hackman) is hired to spy on a young couple but then finds himself being spied upon. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, it is beautifully acted, meticulously paced and of interest because it looks at some of the ambiguities and shades of responsibility in the subterranean area of electronic snooping as practiced by anonymous professionals for hire. Some violence. A-III-adults (PG) 1974
- The Great Gatsby -- Lavish but disappointing screen version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel about the fatally ill-matched love of a millionaire (Robert Redford) for another man's wife (Mia Farrow). Director Jack Clayton's lush production gives more attention to the movie's set design and costuming than to Francis Ford Coppola's very literate but frequently literal adaptation. The result is beautiful to watch but proves an empty experience. Mature themes. A-III-adults (PG) 1974
- Harry and Tonto -- Art Carney stars as Harry, the 72-year-old retired teacher who, after being evicted from his New York apartment, takes to the road with his cat Tonto, sees different aspects of contemporary American life and reaches California to continue his struggle alone. Written, produced and directed by Paul Mazursky, the subtle, sensitive, bittersweet comedy about old age and loneliness is marred only by the needless inclusion of many vulgarisms that may not be suitable for the young. A-III-adults (R) 1974
- The Parallax View -- Gripping thriller about an unorthodox reporter (Warren Beatty) whose investihation of a senator's assassination leads him to suspect that the murder was the work of a nationwide conspiracy. Though a bit too contrived, director Alan Pakula keeps the action tense and taut until the sudden smashing climax. The result is a first-rate suspense chiller that makes clever use of a number of political conspiracy theories without pretending to be a serious statement on the subject. Some violence and rough language. A-III-adults (R) 1974
- Scenes from a Marriage -- Episodic Swedish drama about a middle-aged couple (Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson) who after ten years of a seemingly ideal marriage, get divorced when the husband falls in love with a younger woman. Seven years later, though married to different partners, they drift into an affair with each other, relatively happy in their new-found discovery of themselves. Written, produced and directed by Ingmar Bergman, the movie uses exterior moments in the couple's relationship to tellingly reveal the interior pain and loneliness that constitute the motivation for their actions. Some may object to its depiction of the intimate details of married life but, for many, it will hit the mark for honesty and truth in showing the frail attempts by which one indvidual reaches out to another. A-IV-adults with reservations (PG) 1974
- That's Entertainment! -- Singing, dancing historical survey of the best of the MGM musicals charms the eye and ear with romantic fantasy. Written, produced and directed by Jack Haley, Jr., the selection of excerpts from these musicals effortlessly demonstrates why their appeal endures from generation to generation. A-I-general patronage (G) 1974
- Where the Lilies Bloom -- After their widowed father dies, four Appalachian youngsters provide for themselves out of the profits from "wildcrafting" -- the collection and preparation of herbs and wild flowers prized for their medicinal qualities. Produced by Robert B. Radnitz and directed by William A. Graham, the story of youths learning to fend for themselves is told with warm humor and genuine sensitivity to the folkways of the rural poor. A-I-general patronage (G) 1974
- A Woman Under the Influence -- The title character (Gena Rowlands) is a mother of three small children in the middle of a nervous breakdown with which her rough but loving blue-collar husband (Peter Falk) is totally unable to cope. Directed by John Cassavetes in his characteristic improvisational style, the result is full of the small realities and individual details that make up ordinary human experience but is short on the sort of heightened drama expected from more conventional movie narratives. Mature theme and treatment. A-III-adults (R) 1974
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