Scenes from a Marriage - 1973 ****

'Scenes from a Marriage' is many things. Bleak, desolate, depressing, positive, hopeful, heartbreaking. But the thing that stands out most about it is how powerful and interesting it actually is. Weighing in at nearly three hours long, and originally broadcast as a mini series, it could be accused of being heavy. 

Ingmar Bergman again focuses on the emotions and character development as opposes to a strong narrative. 

It's intense, and the whole film revolves around a couple's disintegrating marriage. Things start off well, with the couple seemingly happy, but then put of the blue the husband returns from a trip to Europe to say that he has fallen in love with a younger woman. He leaves to be with her, then comes back six months later.

Both characters are incredibly unlikeable, the husband, thoughtless and chauvinistic and the wife, pathetic and desperate. (When the man goes to leave his wife, instead of begging her forgiveness, he insults and criticises her and lists all the reasons he hates her, dhe in turn apologises to him and offers to help him pack!)   

Whether the film reaches a conclusion is really up to the individual viewer. The pair don't seem to be able to live with or without each other which seems to make the whole film utterly pointless anyway. 

(HORROR) Sisters - 1973 ****

Quite a shocking film for it's time, mostly for the purely psychological tension and panic that it creates for the viewer. One of those situations where the audience knows what's going on and feels like they want to scream at the screen to stop the following events from happening. Margot Kidder gives quite a haunting performance, mainly I think it's because she's obviously not English, and her slightly stilted accent is a bit eerie. I wouldn't say it's quite as terrifying as Hitchcock but it still packs a punch, and the ending is very odd. A woman is accused of murdering her date after he is found dead in her apartment. A reporter and a neighbour witness it happen. The trouble is the woman is one half of Siamese twins and she fears her sister may have something to do with it.
There are some genuinely tense moments here, and for those who have seen 'Dressed to Kill' this is a must-watch.

A Touch Of Class - 1973 ****

What a nice contrast to the film before.This was funny, up-tempo and intelligent. A happily married man (Segal) meets divorcee (Jackson) and the 2 embark on a risque week away in Spain. The whole situation is (to put it bluntly) supposed to revolve around sex, but things get tricky when Segal realises he has fallen in love with Jackson. I know it's not that original of a plot, but it's very witty and actually there were a few moments where I laughed out loud (one involving Segal spraining his back). I also loved seeing London as it was in the 70s with normal people going about their business; snapshots like that always draw me to films like this.

High Plains Drifter - 1973 *

I was expecting to go into 'High Plains Drifter' and be greeted with another fantastic movie like 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.' However I was so unimpressed by the movie that it left a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Eastwood is a cowboy like no other, and in any other film I'm sure he would be exciting and cool. In this however, it was like he was completely uninterested in his own part, half acting, half slouching his way through the film, while scene after scene is shown where people are literally tripping themselves up to be in the same place as him. His manner is really not here nor there, it's not evil, and it's not good, it's just sort of 'medium', 'the gray area' which is totally baffling. It's amazing to see such a prolific actor take such an awfully menial part. Added to which, his directing skills really left a lot to be desired. Remember the gripping countdown of tension in TGTBATU? The way you knew something was going to happen and that when it did it would be monumental? Well there is nothing like that amount of tension here. There is a lot of walking around and long, long shots, but NOTHING HAPPENS. At all. The small amount of tension you get sort of filters off and evaporates. It was dull, far too violent for a Clint Estwood western with uncalled for swearing and pointless scenes that can only have been slotted in to make the male members of the audience sit up in their seats. Added to which there is some teeth-grating music that keeps coming on and off without warning, supposedly attempting to create a scare. It sounds like someone has got a bagpipe stuck in their windpipe. There is nothing to recommend about this movie at all.

The Baby - 1973 **

This is one of the weirdest films I have ever seen. Apparently a 'cult classic' I can only imagine it's because people are completely traumatised by it afterwards.

A young social worker goes to investigate a case involving a family's strange relationship with their baby, the only thing out of the ordinary is that the 'baby' is a 31 year old man.

It's one of those films that gives you the creeps and afterwards you feel a bit disturbed. I suppose it does satisfy 'cult' status but it's not something I would want to see again. Sort of makes you wonder why this film is so hard to find. It reminds me a bit of how I felt after watching 'Pink Flamingos', just like I wanted to drench myself in cold water to get rid of the shock. The only thing I did like was that the mother character sounds a cross between Joan Crawford and Shirley MacLaine. Bizarre.