Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) - ★★★★

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Robert Getchell
Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Alfred Lutter III, Kris Kristofferson, Harvey Keitel, Diane Ladd, Jodie Foster, Valerie Curtin

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore sucks you in right from the start and never lets go. It's the simple story of a simple woman that is going through a rough patch in her life. I admire the fact that it doesn't try to be all artsy or poetic. It's raw, it's real, and it's just so interesting. The performances are breathtaking... Ellen Burstyn is definitely one of the greatest actresses of all time. If someone said to me that this was the pinnacle of her career, I wouldn't disagree. Her character, this story, and the whole movie was just captivating.

Chinatown (1974) - ★★★★★

Director: Roman Polanski
Writers: Robert Towne,
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Jerry Lopez

This is one of the greatest mystery/thrillers I've ever seen. It hooks you from start to finish without an ounce of boredom in between. I loved this film so much, I won't even hesitate to say that it should have won Best Picture in 1974. I consider this to be Polanski's greatest film to date, and one of the all time greatest movies.

The story follows Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), a private detective who specializes in matrimonial cases. He is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), when she suspects that her husband, the builder of the city's water supply system, is having an affair. Gittes photographs him with a young girl but in the ensuing scandal, he finds out that he was hired by an impersonator and not the real Mrs. Mulwray. When Mr. Mulwray is found dead, Jake is plunged into a complex web of deceit involving murder, incest and municipal corruption all related to the city's water supply.

Let me just say that the story is absolutely enthralling. The suspence is built up superbly when we see Mr. Mulwray acting suspiciously, visiting all the water site areas and reflecting on his thoughts. Then a few days later, he's dead. The mystery was already implanted deep into my mind, and I found myself constantly trying to solve it. The most incredible thing about this film is that this is a story that I don't think anyone could have solved. There is no doubt in my mind that the twist in this film had many people flabbergasted and in disbelief. I must admit that I couldn't believe it myself. For me, the most genius part of the whole film was the ending. Now this film has an ending that left me shocked and also joyous, for it was so unexpected. I couldn't believe it. That is the greatest thing about Chinatown, it continued to surprise me until the very end.

Nicholson was amazing in this film, as he is in so many others. He plays his usual character, which is rough, cheeky, and intelligent. I found myself liking this Jake Gittes, for he wanted to solve a mystery that did not concern him, no matter how dangerous it was. There was something about Dunaway's character that had me thinking more and more about whether she was mentally stable. A lot of messed up things happened in her past, yet she came across so calm and cool for much of the film. Towards the end she began to unravel, and the secrets were coming out. It was absolutely beautiful to see Dunaway display how a person's sanity can be cracked so swiftly. Nicholson and Dunaway had great chemistry, which made this film so much more enjoyable.

So what's the verdict? I think everyone should see Chinatown. This is how a mystery film should be made! This is how a thriller film should make audience's feel! With one of the greatest story's ever on film, superb performances and unforgettable dialogue, Chinatown deserves to be known as one of the greatest films of all time.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974) - ★★★½

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Paul Dehn (Screenplay), Agatha Christie (Novel)
Stars: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins, Ingrid Bergman, Martin Balsam, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael York

This is arguably the greatest ensemble cast in the history of film. So many legends, so many talents, such good acting all in one film! Not to mention, this is my favorite Agatha Christie novel. Murder on the Orient Express is a very entertaining, beautiful film that I enjoyed every minute of.

Famous detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) is returning to England aboard the Orient Express, which is a train unusually crowded for the time of year. Shortly after the train's departure, a wealthy American businessman, Rachett (Richard Widmark), tries to secure Poirot's services for $15,000 since he has received many death threats, which Poirot turns down. The next morning Ratchett is found stabbed to death in his cabin. Poirot enlists the help from his friend Bianchi (Martin Balsam) and Dr. Constantine (George Coulouris) to solve the mystery of who killed Ratchett. Poirot soon discovers that Ratchett was not who he claimed to be. His secret past indicates a clear motive for murder, even justification, but who was the killer?

The story is filled with many twists and turns and clues for the viewer to solve. There is beautiful cinematography and music throughout the film which enhanced the joy of watching the mystery unfurl. At first I wasn't sure if I liked Albert Finney's Poirot, but after a while I grew to like how he portrayed the character. I personally think that the best portayal of Poirot is by David Suchet.

The supporting cast were magnificent. For me the clear standouts were Bacall, Bergman and Gielgud, who were all entertaining and clearly the masters of acting in the film. Anthony Perkins was great to watch too, especially when he talked about his mother in the film (which I had a laugh about, remembering Psycho). It's not often you see Sean Connery and Vanessa Redgrave outshined in a film, but this was one of them. They're both great actors, who had to compete with legendary actors, making this film full of great acting!

Not only is this one of the greatest murder mysteries there is, but it's also my favorite. The acting is so good that no matter what I say about it, it would not do the film or the actors justice. I love this film, however, not as much as the David Suchet version. I recommend it to anyone that loves a good mystery.

Blazing Saddles (1974) - ★★★★

Director: Mel Brooks
Writers: Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg
Stars: Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks. 

Blazing Saddles is a film that has as so many laughs, and also many jokes that fall flat. It's really funny in some parts, and tedious in others. What makes this movie so good is the originality and unpredictability of it all. There are many scenes that I've seen copied from this movie, yet they are no where near as good. I guess that's where the genius lies, is with its expert execution in comedy (with scenes that don't involve Mel Brooks). 

You could say that this is the Ultimate Satirical Western Spoof. It is set in the town of Rock Ridge situated next to a railroad construction site, where everyones surname is Johnson. When quicksand blocks the construction, the route has to be changed to go through Rock Ridge. The villain of the film, Hedy Lamarr, I mean Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman), wants to buy the land along the new route cheaply by driving out the townspeople. He sends a gang of thugs led by his blundering assistent Taggart (Slim Pickens), to get rid of them. The townspeople then demand that Governor William J. Le Petormane (Mel Brooks) appoint a new sheriff. The slow witted governor appoints a black railroad worker named Bart (Cleavon Little) who was about to be hanged to become the new Sheriff, for Lamarr convinced him that a black lawman will so offend the town people that they will either abandon Rock Ridge or kill the new sheriff.  Either way it will pave the way for him to take over the town. Bart then assumes the position of sheriff and joins forces with drunken gunslinger Billy 'Waco the Kid.' Together they must save the town of Rock Ridge from Lamarr. 

Gene Wilder played a small supporting role as Billy, who has the fastest gunslinging hands in the world. I was surprised at how toned down his performance was, as he is usually eccentric in films. The important thing is that he was funny, which I don't give kudos for director Mel Brooks' script. Brooks was the unfunniest part of the whole film. The Governor provided half of the flat jokes in the film and made me uncomfortable with how terribly unfunny he was. One thing I can say about Governor Petormane is that he reminded me a lot of George W. Bush, which was about the only thing that was slightly amusing about him. Cleavon Little was a great lead actor. He was funny, charismatic and really held the movie together well. Madeline Kahn played Lili Von Shtupp, who in my opinion was the funniest of the lot. She was pretty much a spoof on the great Marlene Dietrich and did a fantastic job.

Blazing Saddles was almost as unfunny as it was funny, which should make it a pretty average film. It is its revolutionary style of comedy that has made many call it one of the greatest comedies of all time. I personally thought that the ending made the film great, adding much of the action and excitement that was beginning to fizzle out. In the end I was entertained, it made me laugh and I'm glad I sat through all of it. It's clear that this film inspired many satirical spoofs made after it, thus giving the film the right to be called great.