The Movie Journal

Taxi Driver (1976) Taxi Driver is truly the movie where director Martin Scorsese really comes into his own. 1973’s Mean Streets did not really connect with me as it did with other people and 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore was a very entertaining road trip movie but it’s not a classic. Now Taxi Driver is absolutely the definition of an instant classic. This film, about a loner with borderline homicidal tendencies, was well-received upon release and to this day, the movie holds up incredibly strong. There are many themes that can be applied to the film which we will get more into later, so this film is one of those rare ones that will challenge you to think; to make your own personal opinions about what is occurring onscreen. Paul Schrader’s screenplay is well-written and his words are easily brought onto screen with such effectiveness. Then again, I also think Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro helped bring those words to life. So the film focuses basically on one mai...

All the President's Men (1976) Let me tell you readers something about newspaper movies. They are generally about the excitement of the events that is occurring, but seldom do these kind of movies allow the audience to know that the majority of retrieving information is dull and tedious. In 1976’s All the President’s Men , that is exactly what it’s all about. This is a newspaper movie that takes you through the finer points of the newspaper business accurately as possible with very little action and mostly dialogue. I see that as a good thing……and a bad thing. See, there are some movies that should be accurate as possible and this is one of them. This movie is about how the Washington Post uncovered the Watergate Scandal and accuracy is about the best you’ll see in any film. But does that sacrifice the entertainment value of the movie? It depends on the moviegoer you are. If you like movie with lots of exposition, then you’ll have no problem. I think it also depends on your...

Rocky (1976) Here is a good trivia question to ask. That question is, “What was the first sports movie to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars?” The movie with that special honor is 1976’s Rocky. This movie is an American classic and it’s widely known to be one of the most influential sports movies of all time. This movie spawned many sequels and a spin-off movie. The character of Rocky Balboa remains to this day a heavy cultural presence. In fact, if you travel to the Philadelphia Art Museum, you’ll be able to see a statue of Rocky at those famed steps. There is nothing special about the story itself. It’s a by-the-numbers underdog story, but it’s the underlying themes that make this movie so special. The themes of heroism and being the underdog really elevated this movie. The making of this movie is part of that underdog theme, and it took a very long time for this movie to make it to the big screen. Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay and it was widely acclaimed in the m...

Network (1976)   “ I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore.” This is the most famous line in 1976’s Network and could possibly be one of the most famous lines of the decade in film. That quote is said by Howard Beales, perhaps the most memorable character of the movie. When people think about this movie, most of them think about the antics of Howard Beale in the movie. His character is associated on a real-life scenario where some news reporter committed an on-air suicide. We shall talk more about this character later, but this film is more than just about Howard Beale. This is a scathing satire about the decline of actual news reporting. The theme is simple and it leads into today’s news reporting. They just report what people want to hear, not actual stories. If ratings are bad, you can say goodbye to reporters, newscasters, programs, etc. and they will be replaced no matter how good they are. What the movie does very well is conveying those themes to the...