Best films of 1975: Best Picture Oscar category shockingly included 5 of the very best of the year
1975 is the only year in which all films nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award also figure in our Best of the Best list.
The five films are: Barry Lyndon, an 18th-century morality tale; Dog Day Afternoon, a very 20th-century tale of media irresponsibility, urban violence, and inner angst; Jaws, the gripping tale of a shark addicted to yummy human meat; Nashville, a mordant satire on American values through the prism of the entertainment world – and with some surprisingly good country music to boot; and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a corrosive critique of authoritarianism and social conformism.
Our top pick for 1975 would be a tie between Dog Day Afternoon and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but since we’ve made a point of choosing only one top film per year, we have solomonically split our choice into two: Best Picture to Dog Day Afternoon, Best Director to Milos Forman for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Now, focusing on our Best Film choice, Dog Day Afternoon revolves around a botched bank robbery and hostage taking during a sizzling-hot summer day in New York City. Based on actual events, Frank Pierson’s screenplay attacks both the American media, which transform the bank robbers into instant celebrities and the hostage situation into a circus show, and human beings in general, who lose their awe – and respect – for the bank robbers because, well, those guys just ain’t vicious enough. Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Network) directs with the sort of unrelenting gutsiness that Hollywood directors have long since forsaken for manipulative razzle-dazzle, while star Al Pacino (The Godfather, Scent of a Woman) is superb as the robber wannabe who risks it all for the love of a woman-in the-making.
Best Film
Barry Lyndon – dir. & Scr.: Stanley Kubrick;
Dog Day Afternoon – Dir.: Sidney Lumet; Scr.: Frank Pierson
Jaws – Dir.: Steven Spielberg;
Love Among the Ruins – Dir.: George Cukor; Scr.: James Costigan
The Man Who Would Be King – Dir.: John Huston; Scr.: John Huston & Gladys Hill
Nashville – Dir.: Robert Altman; Scr.: Joan Tewkesbury
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Dir.: Milos Forman; Scr.: Lawrence Hauben & Bo Goldman
Picnic at Hanging Rock – Dir.: Peter Weir; Scr.: Cliff Green
The Story of Adele H. / L’Histoire d’Adèle H. – Dir.: François Truffaut; Scr.: François Truffaut, Jean Gruault & Suzanne Schiffman
The Wild Party – Dir.: James Ivory; Scr.: Walter Marks
Best Actress
Isabelle Adjani – The Story of Adele H.
Ann-Margret – Tommy
Katharine Hepburn – Love Among the Ruins & Rooster Cogburn
Glenda Jackson – The Romantic Englishwoman
Romy Schneider – Innocents with Dirty Hands / Les Innocents aux mains sales
Best Actor
James Coco – The Wild Party
Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Laurence Olivier – Love Among the Ruins
Al Pacino – Dog Day Afternoon
John Wayne – Rooster Cogburn
Best Supporting Actress
Geraldine Chaplin – Nashville
Shelley Duvall – Nashville
Louise Fletcher – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Barbara Harris – Nashville
Judith Malina – Dog Day Afternoon
Sylvia Miles – Farewell, My Lovely
Susan Peretz – Dog Day Afternoon
Rachel Roberts – Picnic at Hanging Rock
Lily Tomlin – Nashville
Gwen Welles – Nashville
Best Supporting Actor
John Cazale – Dog Day Afternoon
Brad Dourif – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Christopher Lloyd – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
William Redfield – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Will Sampson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Best Cinematography
Barry Lyndon – John Alcott
Bite the Bullet – Harry Stradling Jr.
Funny Lady – James Wong Howe
The Hindenburg – Robert Surtees
Love Among the Ruins – Douglas Slocombe
Nashville – Paul Lohmann
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Haskell Wexler
Picnic at Hanging Rock – Russell Boyd
The Story of Adele H. – Nestor Almendros
The Wind and the Lion – Billy Williams
Best Original Score
Farewell, My Lovely – David Shire
Jaws – John Williams
Love Among the Ruins – John Barry
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Jack Nitzche
Picnic at Hanging Rock – Bruce Smeaton