Where you a big movie fan back in 1975? Which movies were you watching and enjoying back then? Hard to believe, but those films are celebrating their 40 anniversary in 2015.
Jaws
1975 was an exciting movie year as it marked the birth of the blockbuster film as we have come to know it, while some of cinema's biggest names were enjoying huge success in a range of different movies and genres.
We take a look back at 1975 and pick out some of the year's biggest and most memorable movies that are turning forty this year.
- Jaws
When you think about iconic movies of the seventies, Jaws is right up there as it marked the birth of the blockbuster film. Steven Spielberg was in the director's chair for the monster hit - which remains as great a movie today as it was when it was released back in 1975.
Jaws was a movie that terrified a generation when it was released and has gone on to thriller audiences over the last forty years. It remains one of the greatest and most iconic films of all time.
I love the fast pace of this movie, Spielberg keeps the story, the action, and the terror zipping along - never giving the audience a moment to breath or relax. This only heightens the anxiety and keeps you well and truly on the edge of your seat. In that respect, Spielberg has delivered one of the most perfectly planned and constructed horror movies of all time.
Jaws remains the movie that Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss are forever synonymous, while Robert Shaw delivers an unforgettable turn as Quint.
Jaws was a critical hit and a commercial smash upon released and ended the year as the highest grossing film. It was the highest grossing movie of all time until Star Wars came along.
- The Towering Inferno
I don't know about you, but I love a good disaster film and there are few greater than The Towering Inferno - it was also great to see Steve McQueen and Paul Newman share the screen together. While The Towering Inferno enjoyed box office success in 1974, but it wasn't released in the UK until '75, which is why this great film has made our list.
The Towering Inferno is based on the novel by Richard Martin Stern and saw John Guillermin back in the director's chair for the first time since Shaft in Africa. He went on to direct a remake of King Kong a year later.
Set during the opening of a colossal and poorly constructed office building, a huge fire threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it. Newman took on the role of architect Doug Roberts and McQueen played fireman Chief Mike O'Hallorhan. They were joined on the cast list by William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire, and O.J. Simpson completed an all-star ensemble cast.
I have been a huge fan of The Towering Inferno for years and it remains one of the greatest disaster pictures of all time. It is an exciting, well-crafted movie that is packed with great set pieces as well as interesting characters.
As well as being a hit both commercially and critically, Towering Inferno was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar - it lost out to The Godfather Part II.
- Shampoo
There was no shortage of comedy movie hitting the big screen in 1975, and Shampoo was one of the most successful. The movie saw Warren Beatty join forces with Julie Christie and Goldie Hawn while Hal Ashby was in the director's chair.
Shampoo is set during a 24-hour period on the eve of the presidential election - which would see Richard Nixon win - in 1968.
Shampoo is a great comedy but it is a movie that really does capture the essence of that time. I suppose this was an over the top period and slightly ridiculous period in U.S. history and this movie really does capture that.
This is a movie that is also a great social commentary as it explores the demise of the idealism of the sixties and looks ahead to the start of the Nixon era. On top of all that you have got a movie that is packed with themes of sexual politics and how women were coming into their own like never before.
Upon release, Shampoo was a box office hit and ended the year as the fifth highest grossing film. The movie was nominated for four Oscars - Best Supporting Actress for Lee Grant, Best Supporting Actor for Jack Warden, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Art Direction. Grant triumphed for Best Supporting Actress, beating Ronee Blakley, Sylvia Miles, Lily Tomlin, and Brenda Vaccaro.
- Monty Python and The Holy Grail
Sticking with the comedy theme, Monty Python and The Holy Grail also hit the big screen in this year and was one of the big British hits. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin reunited, while Gilliam and Jones directed.
The movie followed King Arthur - played by Chapman - as he and his knights set out on a quest to find the Holy Grail - finding themselves in a host of hilarious predicaments along the way.
Monty Python and The Holy Grail has gone on to become a cult classic and is another of the films that the Monty Python boys will be forever be known for.
Monty Python have always delivered wonderfully inventive comedy and they continued that with The Holy Grail. Yes, it is silly and absurd but that is what makes all of their movies so charming and so enduring. The Holy Grail is equally as charming as it is hilarious and it remains a truly iconic British comedy movie.
Monty Python and The Holy Grail was a huge hit at the box office and was one of the most successful British movies in the U.S. that year. Over the decades, this movie has remained as popular as ever and continues to entertain new generations of comedy fans.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show
There was also box office success for the musical in 1975 as The Rocky Horror Picture Show hit the big screen for the first time. The movie was based on the 1973 stage production and was adapted for the screen by Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien.
As well as writing the screenplay, Sharman was in the director's chair for the film, which was only the second movie of his filmmaker career. O'Brien also took on a duel role on the project as he brought the character of Riff Raff to life.
The movie follows Brad Majors and Janet Weiss, a newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon took on the roles of Brad and Janet, while Tim Curry, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell were just some of the other names on the cast list.
Personally, I am not a huge fan of the musical genre but The Rocky Horror Picture Show has gone on to gain a cult following over the years and remains as popular as ever.
Despite being critically panned upon release, The Rocky Horror Picture Show struck a chord with audiences and went on to enjoy success at the box office. In fact, it ended 1975 the second highest grossing movie behind Jaws.
- Tommy
Tommy was another musical that was released that year and was a rock opera that was based on the 1989 album of the same name by The Who. The Who's Roger Daltrey took on the central role, while Ken Russell penned the screenplay and was in the director's chair.
The movie follows Tommy Walker, a psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind boy who becomes a master pinball player and the object of a religious cult because of that.
Tommy was the big screen debut for Daltrey and he was joined on the cast list by Ann-Margret, Oliver Reed, Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Jack Nicholson, and Keith Moon.
It's fair to say that there has never been and never will be a musical movie quite like Tommy - it certainly was one of the most unique movies to hit the big screen in 1975. Of course, it is self-indulgent and over the top, but that doesn't stop the film from being a lot of fun.
Tommy was screened at the Cannes Film Festival that year, while Ann-Margret went on to pick up a Golden Globe and Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her performance in the film.
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