The Oscars did my birth year right.
When honoring the films of 1971, Fiddler on the Roof, The French Connection, and The Last Picture Show –– big-timers all — shared the lead with eight noms apiece.
This rough-and-tumble cops vs. heroin kingpins flick emerged as the big winner, taking home five little gold men, including Best Picture.
As it nears its 50th anniversary, it’s probably in better shape than I am.
The car and elevated train chase still stands as a masterpiece of tension-inducing editing, and Gene Hackman is still a two-fisted terror when cleaning up scum.
Just as it should be.
