Best Cinema Education

I've heard it said, somewhere, by somebody, that the 70's were the last great decade of film . . . or something like that.  It's a thing filmsnobs or critics say, usually they then cite movies I've never seen, like The Conversation, as an example of this.  But last weekend I happened to see a movie from 1976 one night and a movie from 1972 the other and you know what?  I think those Know-It-Alls might know something after all.



Friday night I saw the Song Remains the Same, a Led Zeppelin concert film that's 1/2 footage from a three night stint at Madison Square Garden and 1/2 dream sequences showing members as knights, wizards, and race car drivers.  Just about everyone goes through a Led Zeppelin phase around 13 or 14 and then moves on.  Myself, I had never really realized how talented the band was.  Watching Jimmy Page's guitar solos slackjawed me and John Bonham's stage-clearing solo on Moby Dick made me want to run home and Wikipedia him.  And you're knowing you're watching a very serious concert when Stairway to Heaven is the shortest song they play.  Seriously, there's a 25 minute version of Dazed and Confused in the middle of the thing.  And it flew right by.  I honestly think this movie should be played in college History of Civ classes.  When people are being taught about all that humanity has done, they need to know about the arena rock of the seventies.

Then Saturday night I headed out to Jersey to see The Poseidon Adventure (Carol blogged it too) and I loved it!  Both ironically and seriously.  Seriously!  Like, it was real cheesey and campy, sure.  And how are you supposed to take a movie seriously where the women have to trudge through a capsized cruise ship in hot pants (or no pants) and four inch heels?  BUT also it was exciting!  For real!  I jumped once or twice and was little sad (I mean, at least I didn't cheer) about some of the deaths.  I think it's the best disaster movie I've ever seen.  Even better than Towering Inferno.