A Bit of Magic: The 1971 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part Two

The honors for the films of 1971 continue! Yesterday, the big winners were Fiddler on the Roof, The Devils, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. All but one of those titles return today...but not necessarily as winners!

BEST SOUND

5. The Anderson Tapes
Dennis Maitland, production sound
Al Gramaglia, sound mixer
Jack Fitzstephens, sound editor
Why do footsteps always seem different in Sidney Lumet's films? They scuff and shuffle, clip and clop. And of course, we mustn't forget the conversations we hear, whether in person, over headphones, or through the hiss of secret recordings played back for our benefit.

2. The Boy Friend
Maurice Askew, sound recordist
Brian Simmons, sound mixer
At times blending a scratchy vinyl recording with the voices of the on-screen ensemble, changing it up from polished and perfect to the sometimes-lost acoustics of the rundown theatre, and never missing a step -- quite literally, especially during the tap numbers.

1. Fiddler on the Roof
David Hildyard, sound mixer
Gordon K. McCallum, sound re-recording mixer
Les Wiggins, sound editor
Perfect. From the butcher chopping in time to "Tradition" to all atmosphere dropping out during the "Chava Ballet Sequence", from the subtle scrapings of the bottle dancers' feet to the soundtrack being overwhelmed by fire and pounding music. Grounds the musical in reality.

3. The French Connection
Chris Newman/Theodore Soderberg, sound
It's all about that chase sequence between a car and a city train, with the right amount of squeals, shrieks, screams, moans (from heart attacks), and so on. I'm also a big fan of the sequence where the cops are taking a suspicious car apart -- rejoice in the RIP RIP RIP!

4. El Topo
Gonzalo Gavira, sound effects
Lilia Lupercio, sound editor
Every little noise is exact, from the bullets to the crunching of the sand beneath a boot. The cacophony of the village at the end, the echoes of the cave of the misfits, the gutting final slaughter.

Visual Effects, Director, Supporting Actress and more, after the jump...

Mayhem, Music, Murder: The 1971 Retro Hollmann Awards, Part One

After so much waiting, here it finally is -- the Retro Hollmann Awards of 1971! Seventy (70) films were screened for 1971, and as always, some desirables were missed, some surprises were discovered, and some duds, unfortunately, slipped through the cracks. But here's the full list:

 The Abominable Dr. Phibes

The Anderson Tapes

The Andromeda Strain

Bananas

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Billy Jack

Black Jesus

Bless the Beasts & Children

Blood Mania

The Boy Friend

Brewster McCloud

Carnal Knowledge

Cat O’Nine Tails

A Clockwork Orange

Cold Turkey

The Conformist

Death in Venice

The Devils

Diamonds Are Forever

Dirty Harry

Dodes’Ka-Den

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Drive, He Said

Escape from the Planet of the Apes

Fiddler on the Roof

The French Connection

The Garden of the Finzi Continis

Get Carter

The Go-Between

Harold and Maude

Honky

The Hospital

The House That Dripped Blood

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Jennifer on My Mind

Johnny Got His Gun

Klute

Kotch

The Last Picture Show

The Lickerish Quartet

The Love Machine

Making It

Le Mans

Mary, Queen of Scots

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

The Music Lovers

Nicholas and Alexandra

Play Misty for Me

Pretty Maids All in a Row

Shaft

Simon, King of the Witches

Sometimes a Great Notion

Straw Dogs

Summer of ’42

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song

Taking Off

Tchaikovsky

They Might Be Giants

El Topo

The Trojan Women

Two-Lane Blacktop

Wake in Fright

Werewolves on Wheels

What’s the Matter with Helen?

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

Who Is Harry Kellerman, and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?

Willard

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Zachariah

For the next three days, I will be naming my perceived best in all 18 categories, two of which (Makeup, Ensemble) did not have an Oscar equivalent that year. Some nominees match the Academy's, while some categories have been completely overhauled. They are all, however, unmistakably Me.

And we start with the Editors!  

BEST EDITING

2. The Anderson Tapes
Joanne Burke
Standout scene: the entire heist that takes up the final third of the film, cutting back and forth between the tenants of each floor as they are rounded up by Anderson's crew; the crew itself gathering the objects of desire; the several areas of surveillance; and the slowly mobilized law enforcement.

5. The Devils
Michael Bradsell
Standout scene: If this was purely the director's cut, I'd say the sequence where the nuns rape a towering, crucified Jesus statue, intercut with Frather Grandier holding a quiet, personal Mass in nature, is legendary for a reason. But let us not forget the final sequence, as the village of Loudon watches an execution with varying degreess of satisfaction and horror.

1. Fiddler on the Roof
Antony Gibbs/Robert Lawrence
No standout scene -- for it is all so perfectly edited, from "Tradition" through to the finale -- the Bottle Dance, the pogrom, the Chava ballet, "Anatevka", the dream sequence....perfection.

4. Get Carter
John Trumper
Standout scene: Carter beats the shit out of some thugs, using their car. It's great.

3. Klute
Carl Lerner
Standout scene: Any of the therapy sessions, cut back and forth between Bree and the doctor at the perfect moments. Bree's final encounter with a deranged murderer, including listening to a recording of her deceased friend, is a gutting, terrifying scene as well.

Makeup, Cinematography, Score, and more -- below the jump.