Friday, November 9, 2012

Best Music: 1970s

Best Original Score:

1970: Love Story (Francis Lai)
Oscar winner: Love Story (Francis Lai)

1971: Straw Dogs (Jerry Fielding)+
Oscar winner: Summer of '42 (Michel Legrand)
Was this nominated?: Yes

1972: The Godfather (Nino Rota)
Oscar winner: Limelight (Charles Chaplin, Raymond Rasch, and Larry Russell)
Was this nominated?: No (disqualified)

1973: Sisters (Bernard Herrmann)+
Oscar winner: The Way We Were (Marvin Hamlisch)
Was this nominated?: No

1974: Chinatown (Jerry Goldsmith)
Oscar winner: The Godfather Part II (Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola)
Was this nominated?: Yes

1975: Jaws (John Williams)
Oscar winner: Jaws (John Williams)

1976: Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann)
Oscar winner: The Omen (Jerry Goldsmith)
Was this nominated?: Yes

1977: Star Wars (John Williams)
Oscar winner: Star Wars (John Williams)

1978: Halloween (John Carpenter)
Oscar winner: Midnight Express (Giorgio Moroder)
Was this nominated?: No

1979: The Tin Drum (Maurice Jarre)
Oscar winner: A Little Romance (Georges Delerue)
Was this nominated?: No

Best Original Song:

1970: "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" - The Aristocats
Oscar winner: "For All We Know" - Lovers and Other Strangers
Was this nominated?: No

1971: "Don't Be Shy" - Harold and Maude+
Oscar winner: "Theme from Shaft" - Shaft
Was this nominated?: No

1972: "Across 110th Street" - Across 110th Street
Oscar winner: "The Morning After" - The Poseidon Adventure
Was this nominated?: No

1973: "Blue Balloon (The Hourglass Song)" - Jeremy
Oscar winner: "The Way We Were" - The Way We Were
Was this nominated?: No

1974: "Faust" - Phantom of the Paradise
Oscar winner: "We May Never Love Like This Again" - The Towering Inferno
Was this nominated?: No

1975: "My Idaho Home" - Nashville
Oscar winner: "I'm Easy" - Nashville
Was this nominated?: No

1976: "Rainy Fields of Frost and Magic" - The Killing of a Chinese Bookie+
Oscar winner: "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born)" - A Star is Born
Was this nominated?: No

1977: "New York, New York" - New York, New York
Oscar winner: "You Light Up My Life" - You Light Up My Life
Was this nominated?: No

1978: "Annie's Back in Town" - Paradise Alley
Oscar winner: "Last Dance" - Thank God It's Friday
Was this nominated?: No

1979: "The Rainbow Connection" - The Muppet Movie
Oscar winner: "It Goes Like It Goes" - Norma Rae
Was this nominated?: Yes

+ Possible spoilers in the Straw DogsSisters, Harold and Maude and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (NSFW) clips

Updated: 8/8/14

4 comments:

  1. wow, thanks for putting this together. A great mix of classics and lesser known tracks. Live and Let Die is up there with the finest Bond theme tunes ever in my humble opinion, and for me, it is the best song by Wings.

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    1. Haha, you're welcome. Glad you like my picks, Chris. And I completely agree on Live and Let Die. :)

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  2. Straw Dogs, that’s a spirited choice. I don’t think I’ve ever thought about the music. Hmmm.

    The Godfather, disqualified… I never knew that?! Assholes.

    No disrespect to The Omen, but Taxi Driver is a masterpiece of musical composition. My favorite movie score of all time. Love it.

    Also, props to John Carpenter for creating the Halloween score from scratch because he couldn’t afford to pay anyone.

    Great list yet again!

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    1. I hadn't thought of Straw Dogs' music either, until I was researching scores from that year.

      Yeah, The Godfather was actually nominated, then disqualified because Rota apparently sampled some of his score from Fortunella. Sleuth got a nomination in its place.

      Should've guessed that about Taxi Driver. ;)

      I wouldn't love Halloween as much without Carpenter's score.

      Thanks!

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