MY TOP 60 MOVIES AND DOCUMENTARIES FOR 1979 (in list order)
The most amazing year in movies with Fosse doing Fosse; Coppola goes nuts in the jungle, and Woody makes love to Manhattan.
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62 titles
- DirectorBob FosseStarsRoy ScheiderJessica LangeAnn ReinkingDirector/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.Roy plays Bob in this dazzling production...
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.More than a movie on war...
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonMariel HemingwayThe life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.Woody's little masterpiece...
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Ridley turns the horror genre on its head...
- DirectorCarroll BallardStarsKelly RenoMickey RooneyTeri GarrAfter being shipwrecked with a magnificent horse off the coast of Africa in the 1940s, a boy bonds with the stallion, and trains him to race after their rescue.A visual masterpiece...
- DirectorVolker SchlöndorffStarsDavid BennentMario AdorfAngela WinklerIn 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.Fascinating world on a boy who refuses to grow...
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsPeter SellersShirley MacLaineMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.Sellers leave the best till last...
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsJudy DavisSam NeillWendy HughesA proud young woman in early 20th century Australia must choose between marriage and independence.Welcome Judy and Neill...
- DirectorJames BridgesStarsJane FondaJack LemmonMichael DouglasA reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.Perfect political vehicle for Fonda...
- DirectorBertrand BlierStarsGérard DepardieuBernard BlierJean CarmetAlphonse lives in an empty building. Empty but for one neighbour, the police captain Morvandieu. When the man who have killed Alphonse's wife appears, the three men will be thrown in a serie of event in a surrealist world.A wonderful surreal combination of director Blier with actors Depardieu and Bernard Blier (father)...
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.Mel shoots to stardom, George follows...
- DirectorMartin RittStarsSally FieldBeau BridgesRon LeibmanA young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.Sally is brilliant...
- DirectorMargarethe von TrottaStarsJutta LampeGudrun GabrielJessica FrühSisters Maria and Anna live together. Maria, a most proficient secretary, encourages Anna to finish her studies and start a career; Anna broods, threatens to quit university, takes pills, and keeps a diary. When Maria's relationship with her boss' son Maurice starts to lead to love, Anna takes a selfish, drastic step that plummets Maria into solitude. No longer able to connect with Maurice, Maria manages to establish a relationship with Miriam, a typist at her office who becomes a substitute younger sister, but Maria is intrusive as well as helpful. Can this or any relationship work out for this talented woman whose past seems to choke her soul?Trotta's fascinating look at sisterly relationships....
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMichael BeckJames RemarDorsey WrightA street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.Perfect urban western...
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsJerzy StuhrMalgorzata ZabkowskaEwa PokasAn ordinary factory worker buys a camera on the occasion of the birth of his child. The authorities order him to make documentaries about the factory's success. But his endeavor to be truthful leads him to opposition against censorship.Kieslowski manages to say plenty about the state of his country is this unassuming look at an amateur filmmaker getting caught up in the internal politics of making film productions for his factory...
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsBen GazzaraDenholm ElliottJames VilliersJack Flowers, an American hustler in early-1970s Singapore, dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel and returning to the States to live a life of luxury.Gazzara is perfect for Bogdanovich...
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsDennis ChristopherDennis QuaidDaniel SternA working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.Perfect fun...
- DirectorFranc RoddamStarsPhil DanielsLeslie AshPhil DavisJimmy Cooper loathes his dead-end job and his working-class parents. He seeks solace with his mod clique, scooter riding, and drugs, only to be disappointed.Love the music and the high energy...
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsDustin HoffmanMeryl StreepJane AlexanderAfter his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.The Seventies ended with a few great dramas, and this was one of them...
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsClint EastwoodPatrick McGoohanRoberts BlossomAlcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.Siegel and Eastwood at it again...
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsAl PacinoJack WardenJohn ForsytheA lawyer is forced to defend a judge, while defending other clients, and trying to find punishment for the guilty and provide justice for the innocent.Pacino is brilliant as always...
- DirectorIra WohlStarsIra WohlPhilip WohlZero MostelIn this documentary, the director follows the day-to-day activities of his mentally ill, middle-aged cousin Philly, over a three-year period.Touching...
- DirectorSylvester StalloneStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungRocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch.More of the same but still as good...
- DirectorTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseMichael PalinBorn on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.Very naughty boys...
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsAlan AldaBarbara HarrisMeryl StreepRespected liberal Senator Joe Tynan is asked to lead the opposition to a Supreme Court appointment. It means losing an old friend and fudging principles to make the necessary deals, as well as further straining his already part-time family life. But it could be a big boost to his career, so he takes it on. Helping him prepare the case is pretty southern researcher Karen Traynor, and their developing relationship further complicates and compromises his life.Top political drama...
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJudy MorrisIvar KantsRobert ColebyA young couple, living in a campus apartment complex, are repeatedly harassed by an eccentric plumber, who subjects them to a series of bizarre mind games while making unnecessary repairs to their bathroom.Weir even managed to turn this small one into an interesting piece...
- DirectorCarl ReinerStarsSteve MartinBernadette PetersCatlin AdamsA simpleminded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy.The perfect Hollywood intro for Martin...
- DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsMalcolm McDowellMary SteenburgenDavid WarnerH.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.Great little time travelling film...
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsDavid BowieMick RonsonTrevor BolderThe July 3rd, 1973 historic concert of the 'leper Messiah'. This was to be David Bowie's last concert with the Ziggy persona and the Spiders from Mars. A great medley of 'Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud'/'All The Young Dudes'/'Oh! You Pretty Things', a Lou Reed cover, and a Rolling Stones cover are but some of the highlights.For the love of Bowie...
- DirectorJoan Micklin SilverStarsJohn HeardMary Beth HurtPeter RiegertCharles is a bored civil servant struggling through a harsh Utah winter. He spends most of his time reflecting on his romance with Laura, a coworker who left him to return to her husband, an A-Frame salesman.Another little Seventies gem from director Silver about love and pain and the whole damn thing...
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsOliver ReedSamantha EggarArt HindleA man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, amidst a series of brutal murders.Another weird horror trip with Cronenberg...
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsChristopher PlummerJames MasonDavid HemmingsSherlock Holmes investigates the murders commited by Jack the Ripper and discovers a conspiracy to protect the killer.The perfect dream cast to do a Sherlock and Watson...
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiIsabelle AdjaniBruno GanzCount Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.Love it when Herzog and Kinski go to strange places...
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordJane FondaValerie PerrineA rodeo star past his prime steals his company's horse and rides into the desert, accompanied by a feisty reporter.Pollack pulls it off with the help of Fonda and Redford...
- DirectorJames FrawleyStarsJim HensonFrank OzJerry NelsonKermit and his newfound friends trek across America to find success in Hollywood, but a frog legs merchant is after Kermit.How can you not love this movie...
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsGeorge C. ScottPeter BoyleSeason HubleyA religious businessman from Michigan has to venture into the world of pornography in California, desperately searching for his runaway teenage daughter.Schrader gets darker...
- DirectorMark RydellStarsBette MidlerAlan BatesFrederic ForrestThe tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.Rydell, a great cast and the music are all perfect...
- DirectorAlbert BrooksStarsDick HaynesAlbert BrooksMatthew TobinA film crew sets out to record a year in the life of an average family, but things quickly start going wrong.Brooks hits a home run...
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsBruce MacDonaldMaggie RenziAdam LeFevreSeven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, DC.Sayles takes on directing with great results...
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsBrad DourifJohn HustonDan ShorFresh out of the army, Hazel Motes attempts to open the first Church Without Christ in the small town of Taulkinham.Huston's underrated gem...
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJill ClayburghMatthew BarryVeronica LazarWhile touring in Italy, a recently-widowed American opera singer has an incestuous relationship with her 15-year-old son to help him overcome his heroin addiction.Bertolucci pushes it, but still interesting...
- DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsKen WahlKaren AllenJohn FriedrichThe Wanderers is a teenage, Italian gang in Bronx, NYC, 1963. They have their confrontations with other gangs. Drugs and weapons are uncool. Adult life awaits them.Love the music and the gang...
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.Tarkovskiy's bleak world of Russia and it's fading dreams...
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsHanna SchygullaKlaus LöwitschIvan DesnyMaria marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s.And Fassbinder keeps pumping them out...
- DirectorJeff MargolisStarsRichard PryorPatti LaBelleHuey P. NewtonRichard Pryor's classic 1979 concert film has him discussing a wide range of topics, including race, the police and his favorite target -- himself.Funny bugger...
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiEva MattesWolfgang ReichmannFranz Woyzeck is a hapless, hopeless soldier, alone and powerless in society, assaulted from all sides by forces he can not control.How to create a monster...
- DirectorSuzan PittAn animated, surreal, visually stunning as well as rather uniquely imaginative candy-colored nightmare from indie artist Suzan Pitt.Suzan Pitt's bizarre animated world of that funny vegetable that ultimately ends up as a phallic symbol...
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsJohn SavageJames WoodsFranklyn SealesAn LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.Who can be trusted...
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydTreat WilliamsHysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.Even Spielberg's turkey is good enough...
- DirectorAlan ClarkeStarsRay WinstoneMick FordJulian FirthAn uncompromising story of life in a British juvenile offender institution in the '70s.Hard hitting prison movie for its time...
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsDudley MooreBo DerekJulie AndrewsA Hollywood composer goes through a mid-life crisis and becomes infatuated with a sexy, newly married woman.Worth a giggle...
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsFrank LangellaLaurence OlivierDonald PleasenceIn 1913, the charming, seductive and sinister vampire Count Dracula travels to England in search of an immortal bride.Langella is not a bad Dracula...
- DirectorPál GáborStarsVera PapErzsi PásztorÉva SzabóVera Angi works as a nurse in a hospital after WWII in communist Hungary. Because she speaks up about the terrible conditions in which the nurses and doctors have to work, she's placed in a six-month education course.A hard life...
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsGene WilderHarrison FordRamon BieriA Polish rabbi wanders through the Old West on his way to lead a synagogue in San Francisco. On the way, he is nearly burned at the stake by Native Americans and almost killed by outlaws.Strange combination helmed by the wild Aldrich...
- DirectorWilliam RichertStarsJeff BridgesJohn HustonAnthony PerkinsThe younger brother of an assassinated US President is led down a rabbit hole of conspiracies and dead ends after learning of a man claiming to be the real shooter.Hit and miss with Cult written all over it...
- DirectorMichael MannStarsPeter StraussRichard LawsonRoger E. MosleyA prisoner gets a chance to take part in the Olympics.Were it all began for Mann...
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsNick NolteCharles DurningMac DavisA satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team family are bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches.The dirty politics of American football...
- DirectorTom JeffreyStarsGraham KennedyJohn HargreavesJohn JarrattIn between drinking cans of Fosters beer, Australian soldiers tread on a few landmines, and generally experience the war in Vietnam.The Aussie in Vietnam is worth the serious laugh...
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsPeter FalkAlan ArkinRichard LibertiniOn the eve of their children's marriage, NYC in-laws Sheldon Kornpett and Vince Ricardo embark on a series of misadventures involving the CIA, the Treasury Department and Central American dictators.Falk and Arkin have fun...
- DirectorStan DragotiStarsGeorge HamiltonSusan Saint JamesRichard BenjaminAfter being evicted from his castle in Transylvania, Count Dracula and his assistant Renfield travel to New York to find a woman who the Count believes is the reincarnation of the woman he has loved for all eternity.A chuckle on the expense of Dracula...
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJohn SavageTreat WilliamsBeverly D'AngeloClaude Bukowski leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly embraced into the hippie group of youngsters led by Berger, yet he's already been drafted. He soon falls in love with Sheila Franklin, a rich girl but still a rebel inside.A musical for its day...
- DirectorTinto BrassStarsMalcolm McDowellPeter O'TooleHelen MirrenA dramatization of the ascent to Caesar and subsequent reign of Caligula, one of the most notorious leaders of ancient Rome. We see his ambition, his scheming, his perversion and decadence, his brutality and his lunacy.Tinto's high art soft-porn for the masochistic...