Yes, it's that time again, the most illustrious awards of the decade: the Paul and Doug (PAD) Awards. This year, as we celebrated the 1970s, we were joined by many stars from Hollywood for a night of dazzling and extravagant celebration.
Meryl Streep (above, with us) was particularly on fine form, smashing a vodka bottle against a wall and punching Winona Ryder in McDonalds afterwards because she tried to cut the line. As she herself drunkenly roared 'never cut a Meryl'.
Least Favourite Film  Paul says: The Godfather Part II
The ‘70s phase of our project was a period of extreme highs and extreme lows for me, with most films either scoring 8 and above, or 3 and below, and only Annie Hall sits in the middle of the road. Two particular films have proving to be absolute wastes of time for me, one of them being the slow, excessively American slog that was Patton. But my “bottom of the pile” winner has to be The Godfather Part II, and I’ve chosen it because I get a real kick out of hating films that everyone reveres. The first Godfather at least had a juicy, tense tale, but its sequel jumps between two very dreary tales that, as far as I could see, did not compliment each other at all. And just as either time line got going, it was halted by jumping back into the other. It was like a car breaking down every time it hit third gear. If you’re into dark, monologue-laden, slow-moving art-for-the-sake-of-art films, then go for it, but I’m convinced that most people who gush over the Godfather trilogy are just pretending.
 Doug says: The Deer Hunter
For me, the 1970s has been a period of awful, dull films punctuated by an occasional burst of light. It’s been centred around themes that I find utterly uninteresting: masculinity, tough guys, war, and fraternities. In short: it’s been all about men. Men - in my opinion - are dull. They’ve had the upper hand for so long that any struggle on their part is far less powerful that that of women’s. So when it comes to choosing my least favourite, I’m really spoilt for choice. But while The Godfather Part II, Patton and The French Connection all bored me to tears (seriously, I’ve done so much staring out of the window during these films), it has to be The Deer Hunter which went above being simply boring and managed to be racist, and sickeningly patriotic too. The scenes with Russian Roulette are ridiculous and while it may have hit home at the time, it has not dated well.
Favourite Male Performance
I briefly touched on Ken Kesey’s novel at school, and my English teacher once said that there was no one else who could have played Randle McMurphy other than Jack Nicholson. She’s been proven wrong, to be fair, because Christian Slater played him on stage to great acclaim. But Nicholson engulfs himself in the character anyway, evidently improvising sometimes, evidently having a great time, and evidently getting along with his cast mates like a house on fire. He’s a great character to get behind, and gives his audience a release from social constrictions due to his anarchic, emotion-driven nature. Whilst I could never be friends with him, I did enjoy watching him. Close second-places were Sylvester Stallone in Rocky and Gene Hackman in The French Connection along with, begrudgingly, Woody Allen in Annie Hall and Dustin Hoffman in Kramer Vs Kramer.
Doug says: Sylvester Stallone in Rocky
We are now in #metoo territory. Films this decade include Dustin Hoffman, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Allen. Both my favourite performances come from alleged abusers, which is a bitter thing to admit. While Dustin Hoffman in Kramer Vs Kramer presents an extraordinary performance, the best performance easily belongs to Sylvester Stallone in Rocky. I take small comfort in the fact that several of the abuse allegations against him have been positively disproved, but in June of this year, there have been new cases against him that are being actively reviewed by special task forces. Stallone’s performance is brilliant, he portrays a tender, loving character with a real drive for good, and in an era of overt macho-ness, he is not afraid to show feeling or kindness. As we progress through this era, I am more wary than ever of expressing praise for actors, as more and more of them have sections on their wikipedia titled ‘Sexual Assault Allegations’. As Hannah Gadsby in Nanette says: ‘to the men in the audience, particularly the white men, especially the straight white men: pull your fucking socks up.’
Favourite Female Performance
This is a tough one because the 1970s Best Picture winners are very, very macho. All of them are male-centric, and many are about men taking matters into their own hands when society fails them. At a time when American politics was under such scrutiny post-Watergate and post-Vietnam, this is no surprise. The country must have felt very emasculated. But I’ve picked Talia Shire in Rocky because she managed to be tender, quiet, and understated but use those qualities to become a focal point of the film. To modern eyes, she suffers horrendous abuse from her over-protective brother, and the scene in which Rocky seduces her is dangerously close to sexual abuse. But I was behind her all the way, and she shines in this far, far more than she does in the Godfather movies. Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was pretty much my only other option.
I agree with Paul! This is a wonderfully understated performance that is somehow gripping. She’s not a doormat, but she is tyrannised by her horrific brother, and there’s a tremendous scene where she finally snaps and roars at him. It’s brilliantly built up, and superbly portrayed by Shire. It’s rare to see someone take such a quiet role and deliver in such a magnetic way. There’s a lovely scene at the ice rink where Rocky has persuaded them to open late so she can skate. Rocky runs alongside her on this first date, easing her into conversation, and we see her begin to open and bloom from someone taking real interest in her. Beautifully done.
Favourite Film 
Doug says: Rocky
This one was easy. It’s the only film from the 1970s besides The Sting to feature anything approaching light-heartedness, and it’s surprisingly modern. Rocky delivers a monologue to a teenage girl about how she should behave, and she rebounds with an effective ‘fuck off’. Rocky doesn’t win the big match, but he does earn the love of a shy woman who he alone was able to see was interesting and clever. It’s a sweet, uplifting film and brilliantly written by Stallone in three days. I found myself really enjoying the film, opposite to the majority of this decade which has had me trudging through grim ‘epics’. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest was a close second, with a gritty but absorbing take on mental health institutions, but in the end (as ever, with me) a film that manages to weave in lightness among the dark triumphs.
Paul says: The French Connection
I’ve actually started a Twitter poll to decide this one because I’ve been struggling to decide between my four highest-scoring films, which are The French Connection, Cuckoo’s Nest, Rocky and Kramer Vs Kramer. All hit the spot in different ways and all tackle the stereotypical '70s theme of man vs society from a different perspective. The ever-popular Cuckoo’s Nest ended up being the poll winner, but I’m going to give that one the title of Miss Congeniality. Instead, I’m choosing The French Connection as my absolute favourite because it jumped out of the collection and surprised me completely. I spent much of it trying to work out if we’re supposed to like this ruthless, abusive prick of a cop, and then, via the unconventionally inconclusive ending, I realised that this is the point. The film illustrated man’s desperate desire to assert himself in a world fraught with crime, corruption and symbolic dilapidation, and how self-destructive this is. It’s also one of the most exciting films I’ve seen, working at a furious pace and makes chasing criminals, whether by car or on foot, very intense stuff. I gave it a 9, but I keep thinking about it, so if the laws of Movie Criticism allow me, I would change it to a 10.
Average Film Scores
Paul: It was Paul's second highest scoring decade with 6.9
Doug: It was Doug's lowest scoring decade so far with 4.9
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