Movies about heartland/rural 70's America

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by antonkk, Mar 4, 2018.

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  1. aforchione

    aforchione Forum Resident

    Location:
    Englewood, Florida
    Saturday Night Fever...not small town America but very 70's.
     
    vconsumer likes this.
  2. Greg Arkadin

    Greg Arkadin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    Fat City

    Already mentioned but Breaking Away would be my go-to. I didn't grow up in Bloomington but pretty close to that in a college town, and it perfectly captures life in that part of the world.
     
    halfjapanese likes this.
  3. groundharp

    groundharp Maybe your friends think I'm just a stranger

    Location:
    California Day
    [​IMG]
    In this rare and virtually unseen film we follow the exploits of Leroy Mahoney (Alexis Kanner) as he settles in the country leaving behind a wayward life to work his land. With plot only provided as subtext, the simple story is a dramatization of a man and his resolve to live a quite honest life farming. Mahoney’s Last Stand has only appeared on Canadian TV and in particular remains neglected, forgotten even, with no release even on VHS.
     
  4. profholt82

    profholt82 Resident Blowhard

    Location:
    West Michigan
    'The Last Picture Show' and 'Badlands' are both excellent examples of rural America, but they take place in the 50s.

    The documentary 'Harlan County, USA' comes to mind. It's a powerful movie about a coal miners' strike in Kentucky during the early 70s. It's shot cinema verite style, and really captures its place and time.
     
  5. profholt82

    profholt82 Resident Blowhard

    Location:
    West Michigan
    Thought of another, 'Breaking Away.' It's about a group of young guys just out of high school trying to figure out what to do with their lives, and a big bicycle race. Takes place in rural Indiana during the late 70s.
     
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  6. clhboa

    clhboa Forum Resident

    I was going to suggest this one.
     
  7. Sean

    Sean Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa
    1978 version of Dawn of the Dead.

    Filmed at the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, PA during the winter of 1977-78
    Very dated to the time. Especially that mall!
    [​IMG]
     
  8. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    35 miles from where I grew up. I've probably jumped in one of those strip pit lakes...
     
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  9. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    tons of low budget movies really capture something from the era--"Drive-In" is a good one

    [​IMG]
     
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  10. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    This is the one that I was going to recommend. It's from 1979 and was filmed in Bloomington, IN.
     
  11. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    Movie is from 1974 but is set in 1948.
     
  12. YpsiGypsy

    YpsiGypsy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan, USA
    how about the original Jaws?
     
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  13. Witchy Woman

    Witchy Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Third Coast, USA
    “Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmie Dean, Jimmie Dean” starring Cher, Kathy Bates, Karen Black and Sandy Dennis

    “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”
     
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  14. YpsiGypsy

    YpsiGypsy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan, USA
    It's in the decade, 1970
     
  15. Rachael Bee

    Rachael Bee Miembra muy loca

    There's been some really good suggestions, many I would of made myself. The best urban meets kuntry film I can recall is Burt Reynolds in Deliverance.
     
    Sean likes this.
  16. YpsiGypsy

    YpsiGypsy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan, USA
    Here is a 1974 movie adapted from a book by Charles Willeford who is one of my favorite authors of noir fiction
     
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  17. YpsiGypsy

    YpsiGypsy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Michigan, USA
    From 1974 a movie from an Elmore Leonard book
     
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  18. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    Harlan County USA is at once the most moving and most demoralizing film made about the struggles of the last gasp of the US labor movement.

    I was born in West Virginia and I can attest to the absolute accuracy of the portrayal of Appalachia in that film. The strength and dignity shown by people living in deplorable conditions on the cusp of abject poverty is an inspiration.

    Having said all that, it is far from a Hollywood version of 70’s rural America and may be a little more realistic than what the OP has in mind.

    If the OP wants stark reality then I’d recommend that film without hesitation to anybody interested in an old school cinema verite’ style or direct cinema documentary.
     
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  19. htom

    htom Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    Badlands takes place in the 1950s.
     
  20. htom

    htom Senior Member

    Location:
    Montreal, Canada
    This one takes place in the 1910s?
     
  21. PonceDeLeroy

    PonceDeLeroy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland
    Casey's Shadow
    Spend It All (documentary on Cajun music)
     
  22. Barnabas Collins

    Barnabas Collins Senior Member

    Location:
    NH
    I Spit On Your Grave ;)
     
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  23. profholt82

    profholt82 Resident Blowhard

    Location:
    West Michigan
    Slap Shot (1977) directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman.

    While primarily a movie about bush league hockey, it takes place in a rust belt town during the 70s, and prominently features the automobiles and fashions of the time. In fact, there's even a brief fashion show. :p
     
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  24. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    Halloween for that matter.
     
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  25. Airport 77
    A disaster drama will all kinds of 70's things to look at. Pay special attention to just about anything in the back ground.
    While this is not rural or heartland you can observe many different things from the era.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2018
    marmalade likes this.
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