1976 At The Movies - Fists, Bats, and Lasers

The year 1976 was a good one at the movies. At age twelve, I was finally getting to see films on their theatrical release on a somewhat semi-regular basis. The previous year, when I first began seeing movies at the cinema without my parents, I only caught a couple on the big screen - one of which was the meg-blockbuster Jaws. Hard to top that.

Well, in December of '76, the adrenalizing boxing film Rocky took my hometown by storm. I had never seen such stirring drama, both in and out of the ring. Stallone nailed his role as the blue collar worker turned boxing contender, as did old Burgess Meredith as his gritty manager and trainer. So many aspects of the movie made an impact on me. The blood, the guts, the "glory" (so to speak - we all know how it goes). Rocky had a powerful impact both physically and emotionally. 

Yo, here's the beef! - Rocky

Aside from the iconic duh-duh duh-duh theme from Jaws, Rocky has to have the most famous film music of all time. Think about it... on TV and in movies that followed... those classic Rocky musical moments were, and still are, re-used in tribute (both seriously and humourously) often. Bill Conti's famous score contributed in large part to the exhilarating spirit of the film. I re-lived that movie at home (before home video) by buying and playing the Rocky soundtrack album... over and over and over again.

The Rocky story and its music inspired me to whip myself into shape.... the best I could at the time. I bought some weights and other bits of exercise equipment. I pulled on my sweats and went out running in the cold. I kept looking for a long staircase to run up Rocky-style, but couldn't find one. I kept on with that fitness mindset for decades, all thanks to this timeless tale of gutsy determination. A movie with heart, if there ever was one.

This was also a year of laughter. I enjoyed the next installment in the Inspector Clouseau series, The Pink Panther Strikes Again. Peter Sellers never missed a beat in all of these slapstick gems. He was one of my favourite actors to watch, with his weird and silly accent and bumbling hi-jinks. 

The Bad News Bears was my first exposure to semi-raunchy comedy, with the young baseball team freely tossing curse-words around the diamond. Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal were among the star power here. I have zero memory of this flick and its sequels today, but I know I originally saw them all from a theatre seat, so I must have liked them at the time. Or maybe they were crap, but as a young lad, I just wanted to hang out with my pals at the viddy-plex. 

Take that, you mutha! - Logan's Run

Another wacky comedy I saw back then was Silver Streak, which starred Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor, among a large cast of big names. I thought it was fine at the time, but ultimately, it was forgettable. An outrageous story of a murder mystery on a cross-country train trip. 

Now on to a movie that to this day I consider one of my most nostalgic - and even durable, despite what others say - science fiction films: Logan's Run. I absolutely loved (and still admire) this exploration of utopian and dystopian themes. From the cool, athletic-looking uniforms of the Sandmen to Jerry Goldsmith's unsettling electronic musical score, and the fascinating world-building that included strange concepts such as Last Day and Carrousel, both designed for population control. And the idea of the police force of Sandmen who pursue and terminate the Runners who try to flee the domed city. Sure, you could look back on this movie and think it looks dated and hokey, but I don't have any problems with the visual effects - from the models and sets to the gadgets and laser violence. And really, how can you argue with the dashing young Michael York as Logan 5 (Sandman turned Runner) and his lovely new friend, Jenny Agutter as Jessica 6. And of course, pin-up poster model Farrah Fawcett-Majors has a small role. 

I liked Logan's Run so much that I even bought the original novel and read and re-read that endlessly, the only way to re-live the excitement of the movie in a time before DVDs and streaming video. 

If only I had been a few years older, I would have loved to have seen the shocker Carrie (which I later caught  on TV and home video) and Clint Eastwood in his second Dirty Harry outing, brandishing his cannon-sized side-arm in The Enforcer (which I eventually saw many times on the tube, and now own on home video). 

All in all, a pretty good year for movies. But, boy, does it ever get better in '77.