The early 1970s represented a time of great change and experimentation. The Production Code had only been officially abolished for a few short years and filmmakers grappled with unprecedented freedoms and inspiration from newly unchecked foreign influences. If I’m to generalize the period, because this is a blurb and not an opus, I’d say filmmakers created, without reservations, in a vacuum of regulation. The old rulebook of American cinema went out the window; innovators set about creating the new one. The New Hollywood was just over the horizon and young, daring filmmakers merged genres and manipulated standard tropes. No one could argue that it was one of the most exciting creative explosions in the history of American cinema.

The more movies I dug up from 1972, the more I wanted to watch. Even the movies I didn’t like brought something interesting to the conversation. (Except the ones that felt stuck in a disappeared studio system built for mass appeal. We won’t speak of them.) Arbitrary moviewatching limiters like years of release encourage deep dives that wouldn’t happen if left to my own whims. I’m thankful for these anniversary watchpiles because I’m forced to escape my comfort zones. I discover, unencumbered.