Movies are a result of the time in which they are created. No era better defined this sentiment than the 1970s—specifically, 1975. As America came to terms with the end of Vietnam and the lingering traumas of Watergate, there was a desire for a collective nervous breakdown. Chaos became therapy. Therapy became art. In the wake of disruption, movies told the stories of the time. An era in which the silver screen looked less like a projection image and more like a reflecting mirror. Breakdown: 1975 tells the story of America’s reaction and change, reflected through the movies. Nostalgia is a powerful drug, and yet rather than whimsically, the film looks back on the movies of this era with candor and affection.
America. 1975. Richard Nixon is no longer president. The bumbling Gerald Ford, while well-intentioned, only fuels anxiety about corruption and duplicity. The Vietnam War is ending, but the stain leaves Americans bitter. Cynicism replaces the rosy optimism of the past. The American Dream seems more like a fantasy, and the actual reality is more like a nightmare. If ever there was a time when culture intersected with society. If ever there was a meeting of art and politics. It was 1975.
History buffs and certainly cinephiles are going to bask in what Breakdown: 1975 has to offer. Featuring such prominent figures as Ellen Burstyn and Martin Scorsese, looking back on the era they helped create. At the same time, newer voices like Josh Brolin and Seth Rogen chime in with expert analysis of why this era of film intertwines with the cultures of the past and present.
The 70s are held in high regard as one of—if not the — greatest era in the history of American filmmaking. The old studio system ended. The emergence of a New Hollywood broke down doors, allowing in the talents of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and others. Films were no longer feel-good escapism. Films had a point. A commentary on the times in which they were living. No year better captured the mood and zeitgeist than ’75.
Films that have become classics were born in this year. Jaws. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. A Dog Day Afternoon. Nashville. The list goes on. Jaws became the highest-grossing film to date and paved the way for the blockbuster movies that still exist today. Others, such as Taxi Driver (released in 76), captured the brewing feel of isolation and paranoia sweeping across the land. In essence, the films of this era were less products and more statements—a living history book.
We celebrate films like All The President’s Men and The Conversation as iconic entries in the cinematic canon, but these were more than popcorn fodder. These were personal statements, even a cinematic expose, that were less about capturing a feel-good sentiment and more about making a statement of fact. Take into account the 1975 win for best documentary: Hearts and Minds. Columbia Pictures refused to distribute the film, and yet it won all the same. An unthinkable event that drew outcry from the Academy and prompted host Bob Hope to denounce a political reference made during Bert Schneider’s acceptance speech.
A film like Hearts and Minds winning an Oscar would be far less controversial today, but then—disruption. It’s win saw a passing of the guard where a sanitized version of history was no longer acceptable. Feather ruffling be damned from the pearl-clutching crowd.
There exists a glossiness to movies before this era. A sanitzation. Movies rarely reflect their time and place up until this point. Breakdown: 1975 argues that idealism and optimism were showing cracks over the prior twenty-five years. As crises like the bankruptcy of New York emerged. New challenges erupted like water fountains, there was less appetite for a Disney-fied picture. Now, the author Kurt Andersen, who appears in the documentary, makes the point that, as much as we tire of the cotton-candy stories and experiences, something is comforting about it all.
Further, as unvarnished and honest as the movies of the 70s and specifically ’75 happened to be, it was a moment in time, and much less a clarion call. While idealism ended and reality entered the chat, the film makes it plain that, in the final analysis, this inflection point was a brief opportunity for America to bear its flaws.
None of this occurs without preceding events like Watergate and Vietnam. However, it stretches further—the political upheaval of the 60s. The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., fed this desire for a primal scream in a dramatic, yet constructive way. Timeless and legendary films were born from this era and resonate today, in part because, as Josh Brolin says, “movies were made back then that didn’t pander to trend. It was about a personal point of view. I have something to say.”
The old saying, “they don’t make ’em like they used to,” is tried but true. This documentary captures the feeling of America on the verge of a complete breakdown, and yet, rather than imploding, we turned to creative expression. Chaos became art. It is this sentiment that gave rise to countless films admired and beloved to this day. It is also a statement of why people look back fondly on an era when movies were less about profit and focus groups, and more about the art. There could still be spectacle, but at the heart of each affair was a story worth being told.
Breakdown: 1975 is currently available to stream on Netflix.
This documentary captures the feeling of America on the verge of a complete breakdown, and yet, rather than imploding, we turned to creative expression. Chaos became art. It is this sentiment that gave rise to countless films admired and beloved to this day.
Writing & podcasting, for the love of movies.
His Letterboxd Favorites: The Dark Knight, Halloween, Jaws & A Christmas Story.
