Jeff Bridges Names the Most 70s Movie Ever—and It's Not What You Think
Jeff Bridges, a guy who was practically raised on movie sets, just revealed what he considers the most 1970s movie ever made—and no, it's not Taxi Driver or Easy Rider or anything you'd find in an Oscar montage.
It's Forbidden Zone.
In a recent interview with Paste, Bridges went full nostalgia mode, reminiscing about cruising around with friends in the haze of the decade and eventually landing on one very strange film that, for him, captured the chaotic, DIY, acid-drenched energy of the time.
"If you want some weird, visual, acoustic stuff to wash over you, check out a movie called The Forbidden Zone," he said. "Bright wrote The Forbidden Zone, and my wife Susan was a dancer on that. Baim's wife Arla was in it. Rick Elfman directed it. That really will give you a vibe of the times."
Yes, that's the same Forbidden Zone directed by Richard Elfman and co-written by Matthew Bright, featuring a door to a psychedelic "sixth dimension," surreal set design, an incomprehensible plot, and Hervé Villechaize in a crown. It's pure chaos—and it's exactly the kind of thing someone in 1977 would've made while off their face on mescaline and cheap wine.
There's just one problem:
It didn't come out until 1980.
Still, the movie was shot between 1977 and 1978, so Bridges isn't completely off the mark. Like most true products of the 70s, the film ran out of money and sat around unfinished before finally premiering at the Los Angeles International Film Exposition in 1980. It took another two years before anyone outside LA could see it.
Some numbers, just to ground the madness:
- Budget: So low it's unclear there was one.
- Cast salaries: Only one actor, Phil Gordon, got paid. Everyone else worked for free.
- Distribution: Premiered in 1980, limited availability until 1982.
- Legacy: Now a cult classic, with rumors of a sequel floating around.
- Fun fact: It marked the film scoring debut of Danny Elfman, who went on to compose for The Simpsons, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Good Will Hunting.
So while Forbidden Zone may not be technically a 70s release, everything about it screams that era: shoestring budget, homemade sets, weird theater kids turning their garage fever dreams into cinema. In other words, Jeff Bridges might be wrong on the date—but he's not wrong on the vibe.