Another 'Build Your Collection' Week
As they did last week the UK iTunes Store appears to be hosting another build your collection week. This time there is a selection of films from the 70's. As usual, iTunes has a few other movies on offer this week, namely Beethoven (£4.99) and Crazy Stupid Love (£3.99) but I thought I'd pick a few from the 70's collection to highlight.
The seventies was an exciting time for cinema, with many of the world famous directors we know today making their first real forays into feature films. Also, the invention of much smaller cameras allowed directors to get out of the studios sound stages and onto the streets to capture a more gritty real world visual.
So here are a few of my favourites picks from this week's offerings.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - Directors Cut - £3.99
Richard Dreyfuss stars as cable worker Roy Neary, who along with several other stunned bystanders experience a close encounter of the first kind - witnessing UFOs soaring across the sky. After this life-changing event, the inexplicable vision of a strange, mountain-like formation haunts him. He becomes obsessed with discovering what it represents, much to the dismay of his wife and family. Meanwhile, bizarre occurrences are happening around the world. Government agents have close encounters of the second kind - discovering physical evidence of extraterrestrial visitors in the form of a lost fighter aircraft from World War II and a stranded military ship that disappeared decades earlier only to suddenly reappear in unusual places. Roy continues to chase his vision to a remote area where he and the agents follow the clues that have drawn them to reach a site where they will have a close encounter of the third kind - contact.
The martial arts classic that made Bruce Lee an international legend. Three agents invade an island fortress pretending to be participants in a brutal martial arts tournament in order to investigate the suspected criminal activities of the man staging the annual tournament. Starring Lee, John Saxon ("Beverly Hills Cop III," "From Dusk 'Till Dawn") and Jim Kelly ("Black Samurai," "Black Belt Jones").
Considered among the best films of all time, Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver was nominated for Academy Awards® for Best Picture, Best Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Supporting Actress (Jodie Foster) and Best Original Score (Bernard Herrmann). Solitary, alienated, and emotionally scarred from Vietnam, taxi driver Travis Bickle (De Niro) works the night shift in Manhattan.Though the world around him is teeming with life, Travis is unable to connect with anyone. His date with Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), a beautiful campaign aide, fails when he takes her to a porno movie. He tries to save a 12-year-old prostitute, Iris (Foster), from her pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel) - though it's unclear Iris wants to be saved. Travis's pent-up anger and misplaced loyalty finally boil over in a paroxysm of revenge and violence.
The French Connection is William Friedkin's gritty, Oscar®-winning police drama where two tough New York City cops try to intercept a huge heroin shipment coming from France. Police partners Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) put a candy store under surveillance based on a hunch that something fishy was going on. Eventually, it turns out that the proprietors are involved in one of the biggest narcotics smuggling rings on either side of the Atlantic, and the cops go to work. Popeye Doyle is a short-tempered alcoholic bigot, but he is nevertheless a hard-working and dedicated police officer. Doyle's nemesis is Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey), a suave and urbane gentleman who is a criminal, and one of the largest suppliers of pure heroin to North America. As money troubles begin for the hoods they decide to kill Popeye and Buddy to give them enough room to bring in the heroin.
Directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws set the standard for edge-of-your-seat suspense quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the way audiences experience movies. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again. Featuring an unforgettable score that evokes pure terror, Jaws remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history.
From William Goldman's best-selling novel comes one of the most daring and affecting thrillers ever brought to the screen. Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman (Rainman) plays the likeable graduate student and marathon runner of the title, unwillingly trapped in a killing game of intrigue involving a Nazi fugitive, Christian Szell. Laurence Olivier received an Academy Award nomination for his chilling portrayal of the sadistic Szell, who turns dental instruments into tools of torture with dispassionate ease. Directed by John Schlesinger and featuring an all-star cast, Marathon Man moves with nail-biting suspense to its thrilling, fever-pitched conclusion. Co-starring Roy Scheider and William Devane.
There are many more movies in the 'Build You Collection' offer, these are just a few of my favourites. However, these offers usually only last a week so grab a bargain while you still can.
All prices correct at time of publishing.