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Hal Ashby would’ve celebrated his 90th birthday on September 2, 2019. With his long hair, sunglasses and bellbottoms, he was the epitome of the 1970s flower child, even though he was a decade older than most of the filmmakers working at the time. Though his flame burned brightly and briefly, he left behind a series of classics that signified the nose-thumbing, countercultural attitude of the era, with a bit of humanism and heart thrown in for good measure. In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at all 12 of his films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1929 in Utah, Ashby ambled around before becoming an apprentice editor for Robert Swink, working for Hollywood legends William Wyler and George Stevens. He moved up the ranks to become an editor for Norman Jewison, with whom he shared a fraternal and professional relationship. They cut five films together, including “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!...

Much like the Best Actress category, the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 1970s went to some true living legends. This decade included the youngest acting winner in history, the shortest performance to win an Oscar in history, and the start for a woman who would go on to become the all-time nomination leader. So which Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner of the 1970s is your favorite? Look back on each and vote in our poll below.

Helen Hayes, “Airport” (1970)— Hayes won her second Oscar thanks to her role in “Airport” as Ada Quonsett, an older woman who makes a habit of being a stowaway on airplanes. She previously won an Oscar in Best Actress for “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1931). Hayes became the first woman to “Egot,” winning the grand slam of major awards: the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

SEEJessica Lange (‘Tootsie’) named top Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner of 1980s,...

Actress Susan Anspach, best known for roles in landmark 1970s films like “Five Easy Pieces” and “Play It Again, Sam,” has died in Los Angeles. She was 75.

Her son, Caleb Goddard, announced the news on Thursday, telling the New York Times she died from coronary failure Monday.

Born in New York City in 1942,...

Actress Susan Anspach, whose style came to epitomize the counterculture of the 1960s and ’70s in such films as Five Easy Pieces, has died. She passed away Monday at her home in Los Angeles from coronary problems, according to her son, Caleb Goddard.

Anspach was on the cutting edge of acting in the 1960s. She appeared in the off-Broadway version of Hair early in her career, then moved on to such films as The Landlord, Blume in Love and opposite Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces.

Anspach (pronounced Ons-bok) began her film career in 1972 in Hal Ashby’s The Landlord (1970), following that same year with her definitive role, the classic Five Easy Pieces directed by Bob Rafelson. Anspach portrayed a New Age intellectual who sleeps with Nicholson even though she is engaged to his character’s brother.

She continued along with a busy schedule, appearing as writer-director-star Woody Allen...

Susan Anspach, the effervescent actress who made her mark in the early 1970s in the films Five Easy Pieces, Blume in Love and Play It Again, Sam, has died. She was 75.

Anspach died Monday of coronary failure at her home in Los Angeles, her son, Caleb Goddard, told The New York Times. Goddard's father is actor Jack Nicholson.

In 1970, Anspach made her film debut playing Beau Bridges' blue-blood sister in Hal Ashby's The Landlord, then shared a steamy scene with Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces. In that acclaimed Bob Rafelson drama, Anspach portrayed a pianist who...

Susan Anspach, the blonde actress known for her roles in ‘70s films including Bob Rafaelson’s “Five Easy Pieces,” Paul Mazursky’s “Blume in Love,” and Woody Allen’s “Play It Again, Sam,” died Monday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 75.

Anspach’s son, Caleb Goddard, announced her death to the New York Times and said the cause was coronary failure.

In “Five Easy Pieces,” Anspach played a serious pianist who had a steamy sex scene with Jack Nicholson despite being engaged to his brother; in “Play It Again, Sam,” she played Allen’s critical ex-wife. In Dusan Makavayev’s 1981 “Montenegro,” she played a disturbed housewife, and in “Blume in Love” she portrayed the ex-wife of George Segal’s character who he tries to win back.

Later in her career, Anspach landed recurring roles on television series. She appeared in the family drama “The Yellow Rose,” the 13-hour...

The so-called “New Hollywood” of the 1970s was driven by a number of filmmakers, many of them film school trained, who broke with many established modes of production and benefited from the opportunities afforded them by the collapse of the old studio system. Directors such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Brian De Palma, Robert Altman, Terrence Malick, William Friedkin, and others debuted films or made their breakthrough works during this period. One major director of this era who’s rather less often cited is Hal Ashby, who had a remarkable run of great films in the 70’s. Seven films in nine years, to be exact: The Landlord (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), Bound for Glory (1976), Coming...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

One of the comparatively unsung luminaries of 1970s American cinema receives a very fine tribute in Hal, an in-depth look at director Hal Ashby. Never a household name like Spielberg, Scorsese, Coppola or Lucas and without a genuine blockbuster to his credit, the former film editor nonetheless directed seven of the finest and most emblematic films of the New Hollywood Cinema era: The Landlord, Harold and Maude, The Last Detail, Shampoo, Bound for Glory, Coming Home and Being There. Then it was all over. Digging deep into the archives for rare and revealing material to accompany interviews with many of...