1975
Dog Day Afternoon
(1975)
Frank Pierson (screenplay), P.F. Kluge (based upon a magazine article by), Thomas Moore (based upon a magazine article by)
Won 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 19 nominations.
A man robs a bank to pay for his lover's operation; it turns into a hostage situation and a media circus.
Jaws
(1975)
Peter Benchley (screenplay), Carl Gottlieb (screenplay), Peter Benchley (based on the novel by)
Won 3 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 15 nominations.
It's a hot summer on Amity Island, a small community whose main business is its beaches. When new Sheriff Martin Brody discovers the remains of a shark attack victim, his first inclination is to close the beaches to swimmers. This doesn't sit well with Mayor Larry Vaughn and several of the local businessmen. Brody backs down to his regret as that weekend a young boy is killed by the predator. The dead boy's mother puts out a bounty on the shark and Amity is soon swamped with amateur hunters and fisherman hoping to cash in on the reward. A local fisherman with much experience hunting sharks, Quint, offers to hunt down the creature for a hefty fee. Soon Quint, Brody and Matt Hooper from the Oceanographic Institute are at sea hunting the Great White shark. As Brody succinctly surmises after their first encounter with the creature, they're going to need a bigger boat.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(1975)
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
1 win & 2 nominations.
King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
(1975)
Lawrence Hauben (screenplay), Bo Goldman (screenplay), Ken Kesey (based on the novel by), Dale Wasserman (the play version: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by)
Won 5 Oscars. Another 30 wins & 13 nominations.
McMurphy has a criminal past and has once again gotten himself into trouble and is sentenced by the court. To escape labor duties in prison, McMurphy pleads insanity and is sent to a ward for the mentally unstable. Once here, McMurphy both endures and stands witness to the abuse and degradation of the oppressive Nurse Ratched, who gains superiority and power through the flaws of the other inmates. McMurphy and the other inmates band together to make a rebellious stance against the atrocious Nurse.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
(1975)
Joan Lindsay (novel), Cliff Green (screenplay)
Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations.
Three students and a school teacher disappear on an excursion to Hanging Rock, in Victoria, on Valentine's Day, 1900. Widely (and incorrectly) regarded as being based on a true story, the movie follows those that disappeared, and those that stayed behind, but it delights in the asking of questions, not the answering of them.
Rollerball
(1975)
William Harrison (screenplay)
Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
The Man Who Would Be King
(1975)
John Huston (screenplay), Gladys Hill (screenplay), Rudyard Kipling (based on the story by)
Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 4 nominations.
This adaptation of the famous short story by Rudyard Kipling tells the story of Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnahan, two ex-soldiers in India when it was under British rule. They decide that the country is too small for them, so they head off to Kafiristan in order to become Kings in their own right. Kipling is seen as a character that was there at the beginning, and at the end of this glorious tale.