1979
by Jaimzay | created - 20 Oct 2021 | updated - 08 Mar 2022 | PublicThe Best Films of 1979
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 709,848 | Gross: $83.47M
2. Being There (1979)
PG | 130 min | Comedy, Drama
After 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.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden
Votes: 77,624 | Gross: $30.18M
3. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 949,942 | Gross: $78.90M
4. Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
PG | 112 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Alcatraz 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.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau
Votes: 147,387 | Gross: $43.00M
5. Life of Brian (1979)
R | 94 min | Comedy
Born on the original Christmas in the stable next door to Jesus Christ, Brian of Nazareth spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.
Director: Terry Jones | Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam
Votes: 421,765 | Gross: $20.05M
6. Breaking Away (1979)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A 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.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley
Votes: 25,460 | Gross: $16.42M
7. The Jesus Film (1979)
G | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Family
Filmed on location in Israel at authentic biblical sites, this inspirational drama and commercial success retells the life of Christ.
Directors: John Krish, Peter Sykes | Stars: Brian Deacon, Rivka Neuman, Alexander Scourby, Niko Nitai
Votes: 2,710
8. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
PG | 105 min | Drama
After 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.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
Votes: 154,636 | Gross: $106.26M
9. Rocky II (1979)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Sport
Rocky struggles in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch.
Director: Sylvester Stallone | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers
Votes: 231,157
10. Camera Buff (1979)
Not Rated | 112 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An 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.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Jerzy Stuhr, Malgorzata Zabkowska, Ewa Pokas, Stefan Czyzewski
Votes: 8,278
11. Time After Time (1979)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
H.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.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,627
12. Mad Max (1979)
R | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley
Votes: 222,216 | Gross: $8.75M
13. All That Jazz (1979)
R | 123 min | Drama, Music, Musical
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer
Votes: 35,368 | Gross: $37.82M
14. Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980)
R | 104 min | Drama
Seven 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.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Adam LeFevre, Maggie Cousineau
Votes: 2,227 | Gross: $2.00M
15. The Rose (1979)
R | 125 min | Drama, Music, Romance
The 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.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 9,247 | Gross: $29.20M
16. Norma Rae (1979)
PG | 114 min | Drama
A young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Sally Field, Beau Bridges, Ron Leibman, Pat Hingle
Votes: 12,826 | Gross: $22.23M
17. Over the Edge (1979)
PG | 95 min | Crime, Drama
A group of bored teenagers rebel against authority in the community of New Granada after the death of one of their own.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Matt Dillon, Michael Eric Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Vincent Spano
Votes: 8,118
18. The Warriors (1979)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler
Votes: 110,634 | Gross: $22.49M
19. Manhattan (1979)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Michael Murphy
Votes: 147,205 | Gross: $45.70M
20. The Amityville Horror (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror
Newlyweds and their three children move into a large house where a mass murder was committed. They start to experience strange, inexplicable manifestations which have strong effects on everyone living in or visiting the house.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger, Don Stroud
Votes: 44,581 | Gross: $86.43M
21. The China Syndrome (1979)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
Director: James Bridges | Stars: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Votes: 33,019 | Gross: $51.72M
22. And Justice for All (1979)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg
Votes: 39,626
23. Hair (1979)
PG | 121 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Claude 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.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden
Votes: 40,858 | Gross: $15.28M
24. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
G | 143 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
When an alien spacecraft of enormous power is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk resumes command of the overhauled USS Enterprise in order to intercept it.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan
Votes: 96,585 | Gross: $82.26M
Tell Your Friends