1968: Greetings -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGJ7L8WT6vU" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGJ7L8WT6vU

 1969: Sam's Song (aka. The Swap) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6JjpWeUACU" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6JjpWeUACU

 1970: Hi Mom! -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn16wo58MWY" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn16wo58MWY

 1973: Bang the Drum Slowly -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_pijVRzGMo" rel="nofollow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_pijVRzGMo

 1973: Mean Streets

Movie links coming up in a jiffy.....

"Taxi Driver" for me here with "The Deer Hunter" and "New York, New York" close behind (but not that close). 

That's the only one I haven't seen. 

I saw it when it was first released in cinemas and found it really tough going, as good as DeNiro is in it.

Most of these guys did their best work in the 70s. De Niro, Nicholson, Pacino, etc..

"Taxi Driver" because he's playing a supporting character in Godfather II, which I love as well. Best sequel ever. But Marlon Brando will always be "The Godfather" to me.

Not that fan of de Niro.. but from the list, I like his acting best on 'The Deer Hunter'.

Hi,

It's a Bertolucci film ... and often the hard part in some of his films, is that they can be slow and sometimes a bit confusing, but they manage to make it through really well. The film itself, has Vittorio Storaro for cinematography and then Ennio Morricone for music ... and that is ... not to mention the insane cast ... a very high level of folks all around, which I'm sure Robert would have appreciated, even as an actor. 

I like Michael Cimino's The Deerhunter ... and his directing is incredible in this film, although it really is not exactly one of the most enjoyable things to watch, and sometimes it just ... comes off plain rough ... probably intentionally so, and something that Michael also did in his next film that few people like (Heaven's Gate), which is almost the same manner but in a different jungle ... one stolen by the authorities and government ... a piece of history as bad as what happened to all the native Americans that disappeared and were chased down!

In many ways, I find these films more important, but that is not to say that some of the others don't cut it. I guess I find that the stuff where Robert can "disappear" and just do his job is much better than the stuff where he is the top dog, and is supposed to shine above everyone else.

I have to admit that I have never really been a "fan" of the Godfather films at all! Aside from Brando's work, I find the whole thing a bit too much!

Perhaps it has something to do with the subject matter, "1900" being an almost hysterical anti-fascist screed whereas "The Deer Hunter" is at its core about the power of friendship.

Both films are wayayayayay toooooo looooooong, IMHO.

yes TDH is unbearable in the torture dept.

1900 is a pure yawner. 

.

The film 1900 makes a lot more sense in Europe than here. The political situation in Italy, Spain and Portugal (as a great example) with its fascist rulers, made for a lot of material for film. You could not say the same thing for Hollywood, and America, who undertook to the colorful scrims and a song to make it look far out and dream of stardom. The notion of "stardom" in the 50's in Europe and into the 60's was kind of crazy and even ridiculous, given that the media in those 3 countries (not to mention the Communist ones!!!) made sure that such thing never got an inch of value or attention.

The Deerhunter, I agree with you, is about something that is difficult to live through many times but is appreciated a lot more than we often give it credit for. 

I think that a lot of European film has a lot more material having to do with the social content, a lot more than the individual content ... and I guess that affects me more, as an European (Portuguese) and I still have the anti-establishment sentiment and you know why ... the government in those days was the worst thing ever, and the only real enemy, that lied and made sure that they changed all context to make it look like they were not only in charge, but also the law, which gave many folks in there the upper hand since they thought of themselves as above the law!

Hi,

I have never thought of anything in life as "too long" and that also goes for us as people, too!

Life is not something that we count down to a certain amount of time, in my book ... and this has been a theme in one of my novels when one person discusses herself and then then is given a thought ... a life is not one moment ... a life is from the day you were born to the day you were done. If all you remember is 5 minutes of it, you have lost most of your life and have no perspective.

A lot of folks disliked my review of "LA BELLE NOISEUSSE" a film that was 4 hours long, and half the folks at the Portland International Film Festival walked out on the film before intermission ... and all it tells you is that the beauty of watching a hand CREATE a piece of work was completely missed or (likely) just not wanted because we live in a throwaway society that dumps as fast as it creates!

Painting, by nature, is very slow, and probably the slowest of all arts. Writing might be next, though in my case it is the shortest, since I do not pre-meditate what I am writing about and simply follow that "internal movie" and let it develop on its own something that is beyond a lot of people's imaginations ... someone once asked me if I could handle not even thinking about this or that or such a situation ... and my only answer is ... I TRUST THE INNER SIDE of us, and what they do. It is at the core of a lot of theater, film, and many arts! Not as visible in painting and writing these days with so much stuff all just about commercial fire pool material.

And almost all of the reviews and work that I do, is about that internal light and where it might come from ... without there is no life worth living!!!!!

And here we are ... talking about film! How ironic!

Yes, I think that "The Deer Hunter" could have done with some trimming. Part of the problem is the pacing. The wedding scene drags on longer than it has to and then, wham we are in Vietnam and things move very quickly until the main character gets back home and it slows down again and so on.

"1900" as well as being too long was for me just an unpleasant experience.

To me it seemed like the European film makers of the '50's and '60's had an almost maniacal obsession with making their films all about anti-fascism whilst completely ignoring any so called entertainment value, and whilst I think that in itself is a noble and worthwhile thing, in the end I don't like to feel I'm being preached at.

Guillermo Del Toro learnt this and was able to make movies that were both anti-fascist and watchable, "Pans Labyrinth" being the culmination of this

.

I think he was at his most sensitive in G2.

Hi,

I really think that the wedding scene dragging so long is quite intentional. 1) We will go to our daughters (or sons) weddings only to come out ... gawd ... that's too long! 2) The comparative idea is that if the wedding is "too long" ... how you gonna feel when the war is even longer? for me, as a reviewer, I tend to think that this is an intentional thing.

Likewise, in Michael's next film, he did the same thing with the foreigners being killed off one by one ... until their "fight" is over, so the militia (government folks!) can now own the land they are trying to steal! In one difficult, but scary shot, the camera does a 360 in the middle of the battle with people falling all around ... and you know the intent and idea behind the whole thing ... it's scary, it's bad ... and you know it's over.

That's an interesting interpretation but I actually think there's something else going on here.

The movie is in two halves, with the scenes in the first half mirrored by scenes in the second half. The joy of the wedding celebration is mirrored by the sombre (non) celebration for the return of the DeNiro character in the second half. Likewise the comradery of the first deer hunting trip is mirrored by the tensions of the deer hunting expedition in the second half, as is the conrtrast with the involuntary particicipation of the Russian roulette scenes of the first and the voluntary participation in the second half.

I think this is primarily to highlight the effects of the trauma of going to war and how it fundamentally changes not only those directly involved with the experience, but also how it effects those they associate with on their return.

The optimism of the first half dissolves in the muted cynicism of the second half, highlighted by the singing of "God Bless America" at the end, which in turn is in contrast with the sing-a-long in the bar at the beginning.

Hi,

Reminds me of Jimi doing the National Anthem ... in front of GARBAGE. I can relate to what Jimi might have thought, like, not a whole lot of this means much to most ... and it didn't ... it became a commercial rape of so many bands, with 2 or 3 standing out from the rest. And it did not "represent" what the whole of the music was about, either.  Not to mention that one of the producers went on to put together another show that had some bad casualties due to his choice of security folks. Not all "bikers" I have ever met were bad, but on that day, it all snapped. 

I kinda think that the "cynicism" was already apparent and had been since Dr. Strangelove!

I really need to see Mean Streets again. 

I'd take these movies over the last 45 years combined.

All that money, and they can't take less, make a great independent movie (and make it known). What a waste. Ben Gazzarra did that for multiple directors, like John Cassavetes, and one of his best roles in Vincent Gallo's "Buffalo '66"

Actually, I haven't seen most of these but Taxi Driver was great even though it was a bit warped.