Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
Related Articles
Last time around, I wrote about how “1970s cinema” seeped into 1980. Well, now, I’m into the ‘70s. Like, the thick of the ‘70s. We’re talking 1975. Fortunately, I am post The Godfather and its first sequel. Fine films, but films that define the conversation in those given years. Of course, I know what movie made the most money in 1975 off the top of my head, and I know the movie that won big at the Oscars as well. There are two totemic movies of 1975, so I might as well start there.
First, the box-office champ. That would be Jaws. It became the highest-grossing movie in history. It is credited with created the summer blockbuster. It made Steven Spielberg, still in his twenties, a known commodity. Also, it’s still a good movie. Jaws is the kind of summer blockbuster they used to make.
The second-highest-grossing movie of the year, because this is the 1970s, is the Best Picture winner. In fact, it is one of the three movies that have won the Big Five at the Academy Awards. That would be Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress. That movie is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. While I imagine it doesn’t really reflect mental institutionalization, I don’t think that was ever the intention. As a ‘70s drama, it really works for me. Both Jaws and Cuckoo’s Nest hold up. Which is interesting, because both are based on lousy books.
Also big moneymakers that year include Shampoo and Dog Day Afternoon. One is about a queer bank robber, the other is about a hairdresser who is a total doofus and sleeps with basically every woman he meets. These were the hit movies of 1975! We used to build things in this country!
I mean, I don’t even need to name any other movies. Those are the four highest-grossing movies of 1975. I’ve mentioned every film to win a major Oscar other than The Sunshine Boys, which won George Burns a lifetime achievement award in the form of a Best Supporting Actor. Then he lived another 20 years. Welp!
