Tag Archives: 1970’s

Classic Movies: “M*A*S*H” Celebrates 50 Years Since Release In January 1970

MASH (stylized on-screen as M*A*S*H) is a 1970 American black comedy war film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner Jr., based on Richard MASH Movie Poster Release Date January 1970Hooker’s novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. The picture is the only theatrically released feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise, and it became one of the biggest films of the early 1970s for 20th Century Fox.

The film depicts a unit of medical personnel stationed at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) during the Korean War. It stars Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt, and Elliott Gould, with Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, René Auberjonois, Gary Burghoff, Roger Bowen, Michael Murphy, and in his film debut, professional football player Fred Williamson. Although the Korean War is the film’s storyline setting, the subtext is the Vietnam War — a current event at the time the film was made.[1]

The film won Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, later named Palme d’Or, at 1970 Cannes Film Festival. The film went on to receive five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. MASH was deemed “culturally significant” by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The Academy Film Archive preserved MASH in 2000.[2] The film inspired the television series M*A*S*H, which ran from 1972 to 1983.

From Wikipedia

Tributes: LIFE Magazine Photographer Bill Ray Dies At 84 (1936 – 2020)

From a The Guardian online release:

Bill Ray, primarily known for his work for Life magazine, has died aged 84. Born in Nebraska in 1936, he graduated from local newspapers to a staff job on Life, and photographed 46 covers for Newsweek. He was famed for his images of celebrities, and also covered the Hells Angels motorcycle club and the aftermath of the Watts riots.

Photographer Bill Ray Elvis

Photographer Bill Ray Art Goes Pop!

Bill Ray Website

 

 

Classics: “1971 Plymouth Barrauda Convertible”

1971 Plymouth Barracuda Interior Classic DriverThe Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car manufactured by Plymouth from 1964 to 1974.

The third generation, offered from 1970 to 1974, was no longer based on the A-body, but on the Chrysler E-body. The completely new design was similar to the Dodge Challenger and available in hardtop and convertible body styles. The Barracuda was discontinued after the 1974 model year.

Classic Driver logoThe redesign for the 1970 Barracuda removed all its previous commonality with the Valiant. The original fastback design was deleted from the line and the Barracuda now consisted of coupe and convertible models. The all-new model, styled by John E. Herlitz, was built on a shorter, wider version of Chrysler’s existing B platform, called the E-body. Sharing this platform was the newly launched Dodge Challenger; however no exterior sheet metal interchanged between the two cars, and the Challenger, at 110 inches (2,794 mm), had a wheelbase that was 2 inches (51 mm) longer than the Barracuda.

The E-body Barracuda was now “able to shake the stigma of ‘economy car’.”

From Wikipedia

New Arts & Culture Books: “Federico Fellini – The Book Of Dreams” (Rizzoli)

Federico Fellini The Book of Dreams Rizzoli 2020The volume will be released to coincide with the centenary of Federico Fellini’s birth (January 2020), which will be celebrated in Italy with a traveling exhibition on the director that will start its journey from Milan in December 2019.

A highly colorful journey into the boundless territory of a genius’s imagination, this is a work that added a fundamental element to the study of Federico Fellini and his creative experience. From the late 1960s until 1990, the great director used this diary to represent his nocturnal visions in the form of drawings or, as he himself described them, “scribbles, rushed and ungrammatical notes.”

About The Author

Sergio Toffetti, born in Turin in 1951, is president of the Museo Nazionale del Cinema and has published essays on Italian and international cinema, and on the conservation and restoration of film. Felice Laudadio is president of the Fondazione Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. He has overseen numerous cinema events, such as MystFest, EuropaCinema, and RomaFictionFest. Gian Luca Farinelli has been director of the Cineteca of Bologna since 2000. In 1986 he created, together with Nicola Mazzanti, Il Cinema Ritrovato an event dedicated to the history of cinema and the activity of film libraries. Together with Martin Scorsese, Raffaele Donato, Thierry Frémaux, and Alberto Luna he founded the World Cinema Foundation, which brings together about twenty great international directors for the restoration of third-world films.

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Interviews: 80-Year Old Lily Tomlin Opens Up On Her Long Career (NY Times)

From a New York Times interview (12/30/19):

Dustin Hoffman with Tomlin in “I Heart Huckabees” in 2004. Fox SearchlightEverett CollectionHas comedy evolved since you started? I think a lot more is allowed. When I was first starting out and was on “Laugh-In,” around ’71, I was trying to keep a low profile when I’d be working on something new.

 

Did you have that sense early in your career that your approach to comedy was different from most comedians? No. I just wanted to do the person, and more than likely the character would be self-confident and secure in her world. for instance. She mostly was looking out for herself and skewering pomposity, if I was going to be true to a child, the humor would take on a different quality.

Read more NY Times article

Classic Car Nostalgia: “1970 Fiat Dino 2400 Coupé”

From Wikipedia:

1970 Fiat Dino 2400 Coupé Interior Classic DriverThe Fiat Dino (Type 135) was a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by Fiat from 1966 to 1973. The Dino name refers to the Ferrari Dino V6 engine, produced by Fiat and installed on the cars to achieve the production numbers sufficient for Ferrari to homologate the engine for Formula 2 racing.

Fiat Dino 2400, 1969–1973

1970 Fiat Dino 2400 Spider – In 1969, both Ferrari and Fiat introduced new 2.4-litre Dino models. The Fiat Dino 2400 premiered in October 1969 at the Turin Motor show; besides the larger engine, another notable improvements was independent rear suspension.[8] The V6 now put out 180 PS (132 kW; 178 hp), and used a cast iron instead of the previous light alloy engine block; the same engine was installed on the Dino 246 GT, Ferrari’s evolution of the 206. Whereas the original Dino was equipped with a rigid axle suspended by leaf springs and 4 shock absorbers, 2.4-litre cars used a coil-sprung independent rear suspension with 2 shock absorbers derived from the Fiat 130. Rather than engine power and absolute speed, the most important consequence of the larger displacement was a marked increase in torque, available at lower engine speeds; the Dino 2400 had much better pickup, and it was found more usable, even in city traffic.

New Photography Books: “Stones From The Inside – Rare And Unseen Images”

Stones From The Inside Rare and Unseen Images Bill Wyman December 2019Along with the images of the band at work and play, Wyman includes remarkable images of those along for the ride, from John Lennon, Eric Clapton, David Bowie and Iggy Pop to John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. To accompany his photographs, Wyman offers up wonderful insights, anecdotes and behind-the-photo stories, giving all us a front-row seat and backstage pass to what it was like to be there, as music history was made as a member of The Rolling Stones.

Known, unknown, rare and unseen images from former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, capturing life on-stage, backstage and on the road

In addition to this trade edition, there will also be a limited edition of 300 copies, which comes in a slipcase, with an open-edition A4 print

Stones From The Inside Rare and Unseen Images Bill Wyman December 2019

As soon as Bill Wyman was given a camera as a young boy, he quickly developed a passion for photography. After joining what would become the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band, Wyman continued his hobby. When he didn’t have his bass, he had his camera. The result is an arresting, insightful and often poignant collection of photographs, showing his exclusive inside view of the band. From travelling to relaxing, backstage and on, Stones From the Inside is a unique view captured by a man who was there, every step of the way.

To read more or purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Stones-Inside-Rare-Unseen-Images/dp/1788840682/ref=sr_1_7?Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.x=26&Adv-Srch-Books-Submit.y=12&field-datemod=12&field-dateop=During&field-dateyear=2019&qid=1576956262&rnid=1000&s=books&sr=1-7&unfiltered=1

1970’s Movie Nostalgia: Soundtrack Music From “American Graffiti” (1973)

Soundtrack/theme music from the 1973 George Lucas film “American Graffiti,” with Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Bo Hopkins, Harrison Ford, Suzanne Somers, Kathleen Quinlan & Wolfman Jack.

Biographies: “Shatner” By MICHAEL SETH STARR (2019)

Shatner by Michael Seth Starr December 2019Shatner takes a comprehensive look at this singular performer, using archival sources and information culled from interviews with friends and colleagues to transport readers through William Shatner’s remarkably bumpy career: his spectacular failures and triumphs; tragedies, including the shocking death of his third wife, Nerine; and, ultimately, the resilience Shatner has shown, time and again, in the face of overwhelming odds. Author Michael Seth Starr unravels the mystery of William Shatner, stripping away the many myths associated with his personal life and his relationships with fellow actors, presenting a no-holds-barred, unvarnished look at the unique career of an inimitable performer.

In the early months of 1966, a handsome, hardworking thirty-five-year-old Canadian-born actor named William Shatner was cast as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, a troubled, low-budget science-fiction television series set to premiere that fall on NBC. Star Trek struggled for viewers and lasted only three seasons, but it found a huge, rabidly dedicated audience when it premiered in syndication following its cancellation—turning Shatner into a pop-culture icon and launching him on a career path he never could have imagined after graduating from McGill University with an economics degree twenty years earlier. As he approaches his ninetieth year, he’s still working at a furious pace as a man of boundless contradictions: by turns one of the most dissected, disliked, revered, respected, mocked, imitated, and beloved stars in the show business firmament.

To read more or order book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781493050659/Shatner

Top Graphic Designers: 88-Year Old Seymour Chwast “The First Postmodernist”

Excerpts from The Revolutionary Seymour, By Steven Heller:

Seymour The Obsessive Images of Seymour ChwastSeymour’s art was postmodern long before the term was coined. Yet it was resolutely modern in its rejection of the nostalgic and romantic representation, as in the acolytes of Norman Rockwell, that had been popular in mainstream advertising magazines at the time. Instead of prosaic or melodramatic tableau, Seymour emphasized clever concept. What makes the very best of his art so arresting, and so identifiable, is the tenacity of his ideas—simple, complex, rational, and even absurd ideas.

Illustrator Seymour Chwast Archives

The illustrations for magazines, posters, advertisements, book jackets, record covers, product packages, and children’s books that he created after founding Push Pin Studios with Milton Glaser and Edward Sorel in 1954 directly influenced two generations (statistical fact) and indirectly inspired another two (educated conjecture) of international illustrators and designers to explore an eclectic range of stylistic an conceptual methods.

To read more: http://seymourchwastarchive.com/about/seymour/