Greaser's Palace (1972)

An American acid western directed by Robert Downey Sr.
A frontier town is run by a constipated saloon owner. A Jesus character arrives and performs miracles.
Very strange and funny. It is listed as an acid western and I think it fits the genre well. The rambling plot and religious references would seem more at home in Alejandro Jororowsky's catalog if the humor did not seem like it was written by Tom Green. The Jesus character was great and the suffering woman was unique to the western genre. When the space man talent agent showed up, even I found it a little too absurd. It seems that the only people who liked this wrote about it on IMDB. I rate it awesome for uniqueness alone. Watch it.

An American Hippie in Israel A.K.A. Ha-Trempist (1972)

An Israeli adventure written, directed, produced and edited by Amos Sefer.
A hippie arrives in Israel and hitches a ride with a woman. They form a romantic relationship and meet other hippies, but strange men are chasing the American and kill most of the hippie group. The American, his girlfriend and another couple go to a nearby island to "be free", but the island is just a pile of rocks and their boat drifts away. They are unable to swim for the nearby shore because sharks are in the water.
This would have been much better if it was shorter. The pacing was just too slow to hold my attention. About half an hour would have fit the plot nicely and even included the inconclusive ending. The dream sequence had no sound and it was obvious that the actor was doing a real time slow motion effect. He swung a long hammer very slowly at reel to reel machines which were turning quickly. The sharks were the fakest I've ever seen. Their whole bodies were visible and they were not moving. Even having someone underwater holding up a fin would have worked better. The soundtrack featured a repeated song that got annoying by the second repitition. This is another "worst" movie and it did suck, but was definitely better than some I've seen. I rate it bad. Don't watch it.

Fist of Fury A.K.A. The Chinese Connection, Jīng Wǔ Mén (1972)

A Chinese kung fu directed by Lo Wei, starring Bruce Lee.
A martial arts student in China returns to his school to find his teacher dead. Some Japanese fighters show up at the funeral to issue a challenge. This starts a chain of conflicts between the groups.
This is an iconic, early kung fu. It set the o.k. standard bar for future films. The plot must have been fresh at the time, but revenge became the default plot for all kung fu films to follow. The characters were a little shallow by today's standards, but it seemed more realistic that the hero would become a wanted murderer as the plot developed. It was also made very clear that he was the strongest fighter. English translated dialogue was all plot outline with no style or flavor. I imagine this would have been different to a Chinese speaking audience. Bruce Lee's acting was great though. He put on disguises to fool the Japanese group and portrayed different characters. The fights seemed to take full advantage of editing techniques to show damage to characters. There were also break away set pieces, slow motion and layering. Sets looked authentic and as mentioned before, Bruce had at least 4 costume changes. Camera-work looks standard by today's perspective because it actually set that standard. Most kung fu films before this don't look as good. I did not like the audio. It seemed that there was too much volume range between characters and very little music. IMDb has a 7.4/10 rating listed for this, AllMovie has a 3/5 AllMovie rating with 4.5/5 user ratings and Rotten Tomatoes lists 92% Tomatometer with 83% audience score for a 79.8% average. I would have agreed with the average consensus in 1972, but it feels kind of stale now. I rate it o.k.

Man From Deep River A.K.A. Deep River Savages, Sacrifice!, Il paese del sesso selvaggio (1972)

An Italian exploitation adventure directed by Umberto Lenzi, starring Ivan Rassimov.
A British man is captured by a rural tribe in Thailand. He has initial difficulties with them, but is accepted and marries one of the women.
A Man Called Horse 2 would be a better title. It was too similar to even merit a full review because I already did that for the film that this copied. So, what was different? I think there was more female nudity and I know there was more animal cruelty. Apparently, they really killed the animals in this. This had less creative use of camera-work and editing, with no compositing being used. The color balance was better too. Although there was lots of green, it didn't spill over onto non-green items like orange/brown did in A Man Called Horse. Audio was better too. I didn't hear distortion on any of the dialogue. The ending was also different. This was much clearer about the main character's plans for the future. This has a 5.5/10 on IMDB, 1/5 AllMovie rating, 2.5/5 user rating on AllMovie and 39% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 41% average is not a good grade. I rate this o.k. because what it was copied from got adequate and this only made minor changes from the source material.

Hanzo the Razor series: Sword of Justice, The Snare & Who's Got the Gold? (1972, 73 & 74)

A Japanese samurai series directed by Kenji Misumi, Yasuzo Masumura and Yoshio Inoue, starring Shintaro Katsu.
Hanzo is a loose cannon petty officer with a big dick and a penchant for blackmail who has had enough of government corruption.
Sex and violence! Four and a half hours of Hanzo in one day is a little bit much. It started off great, but I was wishing it would end like 3/4 through the third film. The pacing was really moderate all the way through. There were a few sections where editing cuts picked up speed in fights and sex scenes though. The plot was basically the same through all of the films. There were different people involved in side-plots, but the main idea remained constant. The main characters were developed quite well. Hanzo himself identifies himself by his penis maintenance regimen in the beginning of each film and then goes on to have his lackeys lower a girl in a net onto him, who he spins while she hangs from a rope. The lackeys were criminals that Hanzo freed and act as comic relief. The constant villain is Magobei "snake" Onishi, Hanzo's superior officer, but Hanzo dispatches other bad guys in each film. The dialogue was all written well and crossed the language barrier decently. The actors all knew their roles and played their characters fine. Obviously, Hanzo was the best. The sets and costumes were evidently planned very well and fit the samurai genre to a T. The camera-work included lots of creative angles and shot composition. The first film even had an "inside the vagina" shot. Special effects included lots of blood, as would be expected and was definitely appreciated. The audio was mixed dynamically, with good dialogue levels and a funky psychedelic rock soundtrack. The overall style reminded me of Lone Wolf and Cub. On IMDB, Sword of Justice has 6.8/10, The Snare has 7.1/10 and Who's Got the Gold? has 6.7/10. I think these ratings are very low for such a good series. I rate this awesome for Hanzo's wang and excessive blood.

The Getaway (1972)

An American crime adventure directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Steve McQueen.
A group of criminals plan and execute a bank robbery, but each tries to claim the money for themself.
Not too shabby. The plot kept me interested and the characters showed a little bit of depth. There were some general good camera angles and shot composition, but what really impressed me was the foreshadowing swimming scene in the park at the beginning. The audio was alright. I could hear all of the dialogue, but the music was limited to a few repeated pieces. The "action scene" music was a synthesizer number that sounded a little bit like farts. Overall, it passes the test of being mildly amusing. I rate this adequate.

Junior Bonner (1972)

An American western directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring Steve McQueen, Robert Preston, Ida Lupino and Ben Johnson.
A rodeo rider returns to his hometown to find that things have changed. His family are all selling their land and no longer get along with each other. He rides in the rodeo with his father, with the main event of trying to ride a difficult bull.
This was not interesting to me. The plot seemed desultory and unimportant. It was also largely inconclusive. The characters seemed to all be the same: cowboys and their families. This may be because all of the stars began their careers in the 1930s. The video element to mention was during a few action scenes. Plowing the house, rodeo riding and the bar fight had a little bit of creative editing. The music was appropriate, although the "live" band's bassist had clearly never seen a bass played before. Overall, not so great. I rate it poor.

Godzilla vs. Gigan A.K.A. Chikyū Kōgeki Meirei: Gojira tai Gaigan (1972)

A Japanese daikaiju science fiction directed by Jun Fukuda.
A group of aliens have taken human bodies as disguises and plan to take over the Earth. As a small group of humans uncover their plan, the aliens summon Gigan and Ghidorah who fight Godzilla and Anguirus.
Not so great. The main problem is that underexposure ruined the whole monster fight. Other than that, it's the same as all the other Godzilla films. There was also some re-used footage. I rate this poor.

The Godfather (1972 - 1990)

An American crime drama directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro.
The only remaining son of a defeated mafia don in Italy escapes to America where he builds his own crime syndicate. His son takes over the family business and annihilates all competition.
This was the longest, most boring thing I have ever seen. Sure, there were momentary bursts of ultra-violence that shook things up every so often, but the bulk of the films consisted of talking. A few of the highlights include a man waking up with his prize horse's amputated head bleeding all over him in bed, multiple instances of tommy guns turning men to swiss cheese and a brutal knifing on a balcony. The little ditty that I composed to accompany this goes like: "They call me the widowmaker, my name is Michael Corleone, I have men killed for sport and pleasure, but selling drugs I do not condone". Seriously, everyone is killed. Overall, this consists of waiting far too long between action scenes. I rate it poor.

The Carey Treatment (1972)

An American drama directed by Blake Edwards, starring James Coburn.
A doctor at a hospital ummmm..... There's a dead girl and.... uh...
James Coburn is one of my favorite actors and it was good to see him as the main character. This was not painful to watch. Now that the niceness is out of the way, I can say how bad this sucked. It was so dull and the plot was so murky that I had trouble paying attention. I did watch the whole thing and it did kill some time. Unfortunately, it was all drivel. There were 2 memorable scenes with Coburn tormenting the antagonist (a teenage girl) by driving his car fast and psyching her out by making her think that she was going through drug withdrawal. The rest was filler. I rate this bad. Do not watch!

The Proud and the Damned A.K.A. Proud, Damned and Dead (1972)

An American Columbian western directed by Ferde Grofe Jr. starring Chuck Connors and Cesar Romero.
A group of cowboys are on a mission in mexico from one general, run afoul of another and when the 3rd lets them stay in his town, they piss him off too. While in the town, 2 of the cowboys fall in love with women who they are forbidden to engage with. Then battles happen.
The plot was pretty epic and had identifiable and memorable characters. There were some relatively dry and boring sections, but the forbidden love and fighting made up for those. The audio and video had no problems, but I was glad that I know some Spanish because there were sections in which the language was spoken without subtitles. Although technically sound and relatively interesting, something rubbed me the wrong way about the style. I didn't really like the camera-work and there was too much soundtrack music that did not add to the film as a whole. Overall, worth watching. I rate it adequate.

Stanley A.K.A. O Réptil Maligno, Slangerne angriber, slangerne dræber, Ormarna (1972)

An American horror directed by William Grefe, starring Chris Robinson.
A young snake handler runs afoul of a fashion designer and a go-go girl's pimp. He uses his snakes to get even when conflicts arise.
This was pretty lo-fi and underground, but that's why I liked it. It came in a set of some massive number of horror movies 4 to a disc from Walmart. The main character's affinity with reptiles played ever so nicely into the sleazy '70s style of the film. They were doing the right type of low budget horror flick at the right time and accidentally got it right. The production quality was horrible and it generally looked a little on the sloppy side, but sometimes that's what is needed. This film has what multi-billion dollar CG Hollywood flicks lack: authenticity. It really is a sleazy, underground, low-budget horror movie about snakes and that's why I like it. You can't fake that, no matter how many dollars you throw at it. I rate this good.

The Witches Mountain A.K.A. El Monte de las Brujas (1972)

A Spanish horror directed by Raul Artigot.
A photographer takes an assignment so he won't have to go on vacation with his girlfriend. He meets a new young woman at a beach who joins him as he travels to a mountain. There are witches there.
I thought this was Italian because of how bad the production was. Video exposures were off and the sound was terrible. One prime example is the cat screaming near the end. The plot was really vague and nearly pointless. Why do we see this unrelated scene in the beginning? None of the characters were developed in any way. Every time the female lead changed her clothes, I was waiting for nudity that just did not happen. My initial impression of what country it might be from says more than enough to explain why I didn't like it. I rate this poor. You probably shouldn't watch it.

Silent Night, Bloody Night A.K.A. Night of the Dark Full Moon A.K.A. Death House (1972)

An American horror directed by Theodore Gershuny.
The owner of a house has been announced dead many years ago and a patient has escaped from a mental institution. As murders start to pile up, the sordid history of this family is revealed.
The film kept me wondering how many maniacs were on the loose until the very end. So there's points for plot and characters. Another story element that I found to my liking was the back-story developing as the present action played out. Meanwhile, the viewer is left to wonder whether the male lead is a good guy or a bad guy. Normally, I don't like this much confusion, but this film made it work so well. There was some underexposed video and a little bit of harshness and treble-bias in the audio, but such shortcomings did not detract from the film as a whole. I thought it was pretty good and rate it adequate. If you like obscure horror flicks, this would be one to watch.

It Can Be Done Amigo A.K.A. Si Può Fare... Amigo A.K.A. Saddle Tramps (1972)

A Spanish Italian French spaghetti western directed by Maurizio Lucidi, starring Bud Spencer.
A lone cowboy is being chased by a man who claims that the cowboy impregnated his sister. A lawyer and his nephew are nearby and the lawyer is shot, leaving the young nephew in the care of the first cowboy. The cowboy finds that the child owns a ranch and has a wad of cash. They go to the town where the ranch is and are not welcomed. People try to buy the ranch from the boy and cowboy because they know what the main characters do not.
The complex plot was not clearly communicated. Part of this was because the pacing was too slow. The other part is because the editing and camera angles were weird and didn't make sense. What looked like a scene change would only be a change of camera angles. The continuity was extremely choppy because of this.The video was poor quality, with overexposed lights and underexposed darks. The audio was harsh and annoying. Despite the poor production quality, it still maintained the style of a classic spaghetti western. Bud Spencer is a classic actor of this genre and The other actors did an alright job as well. All of the main characters were easily differentiated and relatively memorable. This is one of those movies that I think should have been better than it is. They had the right people and style, but poor production and murky communication spoiled it. I rate this poor.

The Mansion of Madness A.K.A. Dr. Tarr's Torture Dungeon (1972)

A Mexican exploitation film directed by Juan Lopez Moctezuma.
A British man with a friend, friend's girlfriend and the girlfriend's father go to visit an insane asylum/dungeon in France. As the plot develops, it goes from an asylum with protective guards outside to a place where the inmates do whatever they want to a place that is ruled by the leader of the inmates.
This is the cheap type of shit that tries to be crazy and psychedelic so hard that it fails miserably. The video was all dark and underexposed. The audio was annoying and distorted in most places. If they had even gone to the trouble of checking light and sound levels, it would have been a much better film. The simple plot got lost in a ceaseless barrage of sub-plots and meaningless scenes. The main characters were easy to identify, but difficult to keep track of. The only thing that was done right was female nudity. There were some breasts to be seen, and pointy ones at that. I rate this bad and would advise against viewing it.

Horror Express (1972)

A Spanish British science fiction horror film directed by Eugenio Martin, starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
A scientist brings a box onto a train which enrages a religious fanatic. The box supposedly contains the remains of an apelike creature said to be the missing link. After the ape escapes, people begin to be found dead with white eyes and smooth brains (graphic autopsy scene). It is eventually found that the thing from the box contained a consciousness which travels through it's victims.
I'm too sick to think clearly, so a short review. The style is that of cult horror films of the time. The plot was interesting, but most characters were not. Father Pujardov was the most interesting character. The audio was typical of cult horror film of the time as well, meaning loud and annoying. If the audio wasn't so gratingly abrasive, it would have gotten a better review. I rate it o.k. Watch this if you like Suspiria (1977) and stuff like that.

Ripped Off (1972)

An Italian action crime film directed by Franco Prosperi, starring Robert Blake and Ernest Borgnine.
A young boxing champion's criminal manager is killed and he is the prime suspect. To save himself from jail, he must find who really killed the manager.
Upon reading the plot after viewing the film, most of the film had little to do with the plot. It seems like an awful lot of Stephen King style setup for a cheap Italian crime film. The characters were barely identifiable and easily confused due to stereotypical '70s fashion choices. Fortunately for us, most of the bad guys had mustaches and the good guys had relatively clean shaven upper lips. The audio and video were lo-fi '70s standard and I was afraid that I was turning on a kung fu film when it first started. The style was generic enough to deserve no further description. The only scene that caught my attention was in the diner, the main character pours various items onto the counter and mixes them together. Overall, it's just another '70s crime flick. I rate it poor.

The Master Touch (1972)

An Italian West German crime film directed by Michele Lupo, starring Kirk Douglas.
A bank robber enlists the help of a circus gymnast to steal millions of dollars from a safe.
The characters and plot didn't really stand out to me. The style was typical of the date. If the film were the crime, they would get away with it by blending in so well. I thought the rig in the sound testing room was cool, but otherwise the film was all bland and boring. There was an ever so slight sense of tension when the characters were actually robbing the building. What we've got here is a mediocre film. I rate it poor.

Manhunt (1972)

An Italian crime action film directed by Fernando Di Leo.
A pair of American assassins are hired to kill a low level pimp in Milan when a shipment of heroine does not arrive. Somehow, all of Milan's crime underworld turns against this man.
I was reminded of a scene from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) because the Americans are there "to croak a scag baron named" no, not Savage Henry, but Luca Canali. That's about as far as the plot made sense. Who is the hero? Apparently, nobody. Why are all the gangsters from Milan out to kill this guy as well? The movie doesn't say. I call that marks against plot and characters. The main character is a pimp and there is some female nudity, but it is my opinion that the women in these roles were not "well endowed" enough to merit this placement. That's a negatory on the female anatomy points. Seems to me that this was just an excuse to film chase scenes and shootouts. It does a fairly good job of this, but does that make it a good movie? This is the type of question/situation that I've been facing most frequently as of late. I'm reviewing movies here and have a list of criteria on the right side of my page detailing what makes a good movie. This falls somewhat short of that mark, but I thought it was relatively entertaining to watch. I rate it o.k. It called into question my evaluation and rating procedures and gave me something to type about.