1979

Film Decades: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

• 10 – directed by Blake Edwards, starring Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek, Robert Webber, Brian Dennehy
• 1941 – directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, John Candy, Tim Matheson, Nancy Allen, Christopher Lee, Toshiro Mifune, Slim Pickens, Treat Williams, Warren Oates, Robert Stack
• The Actress, the Dollars and the Transylvanians – Romania
• The Adolescent – directed by Jeanne Moreau, starring Simone Signoret – France
• The Adventure of Sudsakorn – the first and only cel-animated feature film from Thailand
• Adventures of Sinbad
• Agatha, directed by Michael Apted, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman – (U.K.)
• Ah! Nomugi Toge (Nomugi Pass) – (Japan)
• Air Crew (Ekipazh) – (U.S.S.R.)
• Alien** – directed by Ridley Scott, starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto – US/UK
• All Quiet on the Western Front – directed by Delbert Mann, starring Richard Thomas & Ernest Borgnine – TV movie
• All That Jazz – directed by Bob Fosse, starring Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer, Cliff Gorman, Ben Vereen, & John Lithgow
• Anericathon – directed by Neal Israel and starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, & Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin
• An Almost Perfect Affair, starring Keith Carradine and Monica Vitti
• The Amityville Horror, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger
• …And Justice for All – directed by Norman Jewison, starring Al Pacino, John Forsythe, Jack Warden, Christine Lahti, Craig T. Nelson, Jeffrey Tambor, Thomas Waites, & Sam Levene
• Anti-Clock, directed by Jane Arden – (U.K.)
• Apocalypse Now – directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford
• The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway
• Arabian Adventure, starring Christopher Lee and Emma Samms – (U.K.)
• Ashanti – directed by Richard Fleischer, starring Michael Caine & Peter Ustinov
• Autumn Marathon (Osenniy marafon) – (U.S.S.R.)
• Baby Snakes, directed by Frank Zappa
• Ball Lightning (Kulový blesk) – (Czechoslovakia)
• Ballad of Tara (Tcherike-ye Tara) – (Iran)
• Bear Island, starring Donald Sutherland, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Barbara Parkins
• Being There – directed by Hal Ashby, starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart,& Richard Basehart
• The Bell Jar, starring Marilyn Hassett, Julie Harris, Anne Jackson
• Best Boy – documentary
• Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, directed by Irwin Allen, starring Michael Caine, Telly Savalas, Sally Field, Karl Malden, Shirley Jones
• Birth of the Beatles – directed by Richard Marquand
• The Bitch, starring Joan Collins – (U.K.)
• The Black Hole, directed by Gary Nelson, starring Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Ernest Borgnine, Yvette Mimieux
• The Black Stallion, directed by Carroll Ballard, starring Mickey Rooney, Hoyt Axton, Teri Garr, Kelly Reno
• Bloodline – directed by Terence Young, starring Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Gert Fröbe, Beatrice Straight
• Bloody Kids – directed by Stephen Frears – (U.K.)
• Boardwalk, starring Ruth Gordon, Lee Strasberg, Janet Leigh
• Boulevard Nights, directed by Michael Pressman
• Breaking Away – directed by Peter Yates, starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Paul Dooley
• Breakthrough, starring Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Rod Steiger, Curd Jürgens
• Les Bronzés font du ski (a.k.a. French Fried Vacation 2), directed by Patrice Leconte – (France)
• The Brood – directed by David Cronenberg, starring Oliver Reed & Samantha Eggar – Canada
• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, starring Gil Gerard and Erin Gray
• Buffet froid, directed by Bertrand Blier, starring Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet – (France)
• The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
• Butch and Sundance: The Early Days – directed by Richard Lester, starring Tom Berenger & William Katt
• The Butterfly Murders (Die bian), directed by Tsui Hark – (Hong Kong)
• Bye Bye Brazil – (Brazil/France/Argentina)
• C.H.O.M.P.S., directed by Don Chaffey, starring Wesley Eure, Valerie Bertinelli, Conrad Bain, Red Buttons
• California Dreaming, starring Glynnis O’Connor, Dennis Christopher, Tanya Roberts
• Caligula, directed by Tinto Brass – starring Malcolm McDowell, Teresa Ann Savoy, Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole – Italy/US
• Camera Buff – directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski – Poland
• The Castle of Cagliostro** – directed by Hayao Miyazaki – Japan
• The Cat and the Canary, starring Honor Blackman, Carol Lynley, Olivia Hussey – (U.K.)
• The Champ – directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starring Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden, Arthur Hill
• Chapter Two, starring James Caan, Marsha Mason, Joseph Bologna, Valerie Harper
• Chilly Scenes of Winter – directed by Joan Micklin Silver, starring John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt, Peter Riegert, Kenneth McMillan, & Gloria Grahame
• The China Syndrome – directed by James Bridges, starring Jack Lemmon, Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas
• Christ Stopped at Eboli (Italian: Cristo si è fermato a Eboli), directed by Francesco Rosi, starring Gian Maria Volonté – (Italy/France)
• City on Fire, starring Susan Clark and Ava Gardner
• The Concorde … Airport ’79, starring Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner, George Kennedy
• Cuba – directed by Richard Lester, starring Sean Connery, Brooke Adams, Chris Sarandon
• David – West Germany
• Derek and Clive Get the Horn, starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore – (U.K.)
• Dirty Ho (Lan tou He), starring Gordon Liu – (Hong Kong)
• Don Giovanni, directed by Joseph Losey, starring Ruggero Raimondi, John Macurdy, Kiri Te Kanawa – (Italy/France/U.K./West Germany)
• Dracula, directed by John Badham, starring Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Trevor Eve – (US/UK)
• Dreamer, starring Tim Matheson
• Eagle’s Wing – starring Martin Sheen & Sam Waterston – UK
• The Electric Horseman, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine, John Saxon, Willie Nelson
• Escape from Alcatraz – directed by Don Siegel, starring Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Fred Ward
• Escape to Athena – directed by George P. Cosmatos, starring Roger Moore, David Niven, Elliott Gould, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Telly Savalas – UK
• The Europeans – directed by James Ivory, starring Lee Remick, Robin Ellis, Tim Woodward, & Lisa Eichhorn – UK
• Fast Break, starring Gabe Kaplan and Bernard King
• Felicity, starring Glory Annen – (Australia)
• Ffolkes, aka North Sea Hijack, starring Roger Moore, James Mason, Anthony
• Perkins, Michael Parks – (U.K.)
• The Fifth Musketeer – starring Sylvia Kristel, Ursula Andress, Beau Bridges, Ian McShane, Rex Harrison – Austria/West Germany
• Firepower – starring Sophia Loren, James Coburn, O.J. Simpson – UK
• First Case, Second Case – directed by Abbas Kiarostami – Iran
• The First Great Train Robbery – starring Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Donald Sutherland – UK
• A Force of One, starring Chuck Norris and Jennifer O’Neill
• The Frisco Kid – directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Gene Wilder, Harrison Ford
• French Postcards, starring Miles Chapin, David Marshall Grant, Debra Winger
  Gal Young Un, directed by Victor Nuñez
• The Genealogy – South Korea
• Going in Style – directed by Martin Brest, starring George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg
• The Glove, starring John Saxon and Roosevelt Grier
• Gol Maal (Confusion) – India
• Goldengirl, starring Susan Anton, James Coburn, Leslie Caron
• Grass Labyrinth – Japan
• The Great Santini – starring Robert Duvall, Michael O’Keefe, Blythe Danner, Lisa Jane Persky, Stan Shaw
• The Great Riviera Bank Robbery – starring Ian McShane – UK
• Hair – directed by Miloš Forman, starring John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D’Angelo
• Hanover Street – directed by Peter Hyams, starring Harrison Ford, Lesley-Anne Down, Christopher Plummer – US/UK
• Hardcore, directed by Paul Schrader, starring George C. Scott and Peter Boyle
• Heart of the Forest – Spain
• Heartland, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell
• Hot Stuff, directed by and starring Dom DeLuise, with Suzanne Pleshette, Ossie Davis, Jerry Reed
• The Human Factor – directed by Otto Preminger, starring Richard Attenborough, John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi – UK
• Hurricane – starring Mia Farrow, Jason Robards, Max von Sydow, Trevor Howard
• The Hussy – France
• The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting – directed by Raúl Ruiz – France
• I as in Icarus – starring Yves Montand – France
• The In-Laws – directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Alan Arkin & Peter Falk
• Jack Frost, directed by Rankin/Bass, starring Robert Morse
• Jaguar – Philippines
• The Jerk – directed by Carl Reiner, starring Steve Martin & Bernadette Peters
• Jesus, directed by Peter Sykes and John Krisch, starring Brian Deacon – (Australia/US/UK)
• Just You and Me, Kid, starring George Burns and Brooke Shields
• Kaala Patthar (Black Stone), starring Shashi Kapoor – (India)
• Kassbach – Ein Porträt (Kassbach – A Portrait) – (Austria)
• The Kids Are Alright, a rockumentary featuring The Who – (U.K.)
• Knockabout, directed by and starring Sammo Hung – (Hong Kong)
• Kramer vs. Kramer – directed by Robert Benton, starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, Justin Henry, JoBeth Williams, Jane Alexander
• Lady Oscar – directed by Jacques Demy, starring Catriona MacColl & Patsy Kensit – France/Japan
• Le Pétomane, starring Leonard Rossiter and Graham Stark
• The Lady Vanishes, starring Elliott Gould, Cybill Shepherd, Angela Lansbury
• Last Embrace – directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Roy Scheider & Janet Margolin
• The Last of the Knucklemen – (Australia)
• Little House Years
• A Little Romance – directed by George Roy Hill, starring Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, Sally Kellerman – France/United States
• Little Tragedies – USSR
• Love and Bullets, directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Rod Steiger
• Love at First Bite, starring George Hamilton and Susan Saint James
• Love on the Run – directed by François Truffaut – France
• Lovers and Liars – starring Goldie Hawn & Giancarlo Giannini – Italy/France
• La Luna, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Jill Clayburgh – (Italy)
• Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro** – directed by Hayao Miyazaki – Japan
• Mad Max –  directed by George Miller, starring Mel Gibson & Hugh Keays-Byrne – (Australia)
• The Magician of Lublin – starring Alan Arkin, Louise Fletcher, Valerie Perrine
• Magnificent Butcher (Lin shi rong), starring Sammo Hung – (Hong Kong)
• The Main Event, starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neal
• Mamá cumple cien años (Mama Turns 100), directed by Carlos Saura, starring Geraldine Chaplin – (Spain)
• Manhattan – directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, & Anne Byrne
• A Man, a Woman, and a Bank, starring Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams
• The Marriage of Maria Braun, directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla – (West Germany)
• Maula Jatt – (Pakistan)
• Meatballs – directed by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray – Canada
• The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed (Mesto vstrechi izmenit nelzya) – (U.S.S.R.)
• Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff biography directed by Peter Brook – (U.K.)
• Meteor – directed by Ronald Neame, starring Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Henry Fonda, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard
• Monty Python’s Life of Brian** –  directed by Terry Jones, written by & starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Jones, & Michael Palin – (U.K.)
• Moonraker, directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Roger Moore, with Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel – UK
• More American Graffiti – starring Candy Clark, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams
• Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video – starring Michael O’Donoghue, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray
• The Muppet Movie** – directed by James Frawley, starring Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, and Jerry Nelson, with Charles Durning, and cameos Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, & Orson Welles
• Murder by Decree, starring Christopher Plummer (as Sherlock Holmes) and James Mason – (U.K./Canada)
• My Brilliant Career, directed by Gillian Armstrong, starring Judy Davis and Sam Neill – (Australia)
• Nightwing, directed by Arthur Hiller, starring Nick Mancuso and Kathryn Harrold
• Noorie, directed by Manmohan Krishna – (India)
• Norma Rae – directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sally Field, Ron Leibman, Beau Bridges
• The North Avenue Irregulars, starring Karen Valentine, Barbara Harris, Susan Clark
• North Dallas Forty, starring Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, G.D. Spradlin, Dayle Haddon, Bo Svenson, John Matuszak
• Nosferatu the Vampyre – directed by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz – West Germany
• The Odd Angry Shot, starring Bryan Brown – (Australia)
• The Odd Couple (Bo ming chan dao duo ming qiang), starring Sammo Hung – (Hong Kong)
• The Onion Field, directed by Harold Becker, starring James Woods, John Savage, Franklyn Seales, Ted Danson
• Operación Ogro, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, starring Gian Maria Volonté – (Spain/Italy)
• Over the Edge, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, starring Matt Dillon
• The Passage, starring Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Malcolm McDowell, Patricia Neal, Kay Lenz
• A Perfect Couple – directed by Robert Altman, starring Paul Dooley & Marta Heflin
• Peruvazhiyambalam, directed by Padmarajan – (India)
• Les petites fugues (The Little Fugitives) – (Switzerland)
• Phantasm – directed by Don Coscarelli
• A Pleasure Doing Business, directed by Steven Vagnino, starring Conrad Bain, John Byner, Alan Oppenheimer and Misty Rowe
• The Plank, directed by and starring Eric Sykes, with Arthur Lowe – (U.K.)
• The Plumber, directed by Peter Weir, starring Judy Morris – (Australia)
• Prince Nezha’s Triumph Against Dragon King (Nezha nao hai), an animated film – (China)
• The Prisoner of Zenda, starring Peter Sellers, Lynne Frederick and Lionel Jeffries
• The Prize Fighter, starring Don Knotts and Tim Conway
• Prophecy – directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Talia Shire, Robert Foxworth, Richard Dysart, Armand Assante
• Quadrophenia, directed by Franc Roddam, starring Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Ray Winstone, with music by The Who – (U.K.)
• Real Life, directed by and starring Albert Brooks, with Charles Grodin
• Richard Pryor: Live in Concert
• Rich Kids – starring Trini Alvarado & John Lithgow
• Rock ‘n’ Roll High School – produced by Roger Corman, featuring The Ramones
• Rocky II – directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone, with Carl Weathers, Talia Shire, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young
• The Rose, directed by Mark Rydell, starring Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest
• The Runner Stumbles – directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Dick Van Dyke, Kathleen Quinlan, Maureen Stapleton, Tammy Grimes, Beau Bridges, & Ray Bolger
• Running, starring Michael Douglas
• Saint Jack – directed by Peter Bogdanovich, starring Ben Gazzara
• Scavenger Hunt – starring Cloris Leachman, Cleavon Little, Vincent Price, Tony Randall
• Scum, starring Ray Winstone – (U.K.)
• A Scream from Silence (Mourir à tue-tête) – (Canada)
• The Seduction of Joe Tynan, starring Alan Alda, Meryl Streep, Melvyn Douglas, Barbara Harris, Rip Torn
• A Sense of Freedom, directed by John Mackenzie – (U.K.)
  Série noire (Black Series), directed by Alain Corneau – (France)
• Siberiade, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky – (U.S.S.R)
• Sisters, or the Balance of Happiness (Schwestern oder Die Balance des Glücks), directed by Margarethe von Trotta – (West Germany)
• Skatetown, U.S.A., starring Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Maureen McCormick, Patrick Swayze
• Something Out of Nothing, directed by Nikola Rudarov, starring Asen Kisimov, Stefan Danailov, Aneta Sotirova – (Bulgaria)
• Something Short of Paradise – directed by David Helpern, starring Susan Sarandon & David Steinberg
• Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky – (U.S.S.R.)
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture – directed by Robert Wise, starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Persis Khambatta, Stephen Collins
• Starting Over – directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen, Charles Durning
• Suhaag (a.k.a. Sign of Marriage), starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha – (India)
• The Survivors (Los sobrevivientes) – (Cuba)
• Take Down, starring Lorenzo Lamas and Maureen McCormick
• Tale of Tales (Skazka skazok), an animated film – (U.S.S.R.)
• Tarka the Otter, narrated by Peter Ustinov – (U.K.)
• The Tempest, directed by Derek Jarman, starring Toyah Willcox – (U.K.)
• Tess, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Nastassja Kinski – (France/U.K.)
• That Summer!, starring Ray Winstone – (U.K.)
• The Theme (Tema), directed by Gleb Panfilov, starring Mikhail Ulyanov, Inna Churikova, Stanislav Lyubshin, and Yevgeni Vesnik. Winner of 1987 Golden Bear – (U.S.S.R.)
• The Third Generation (Die Dritte Generation), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Hanna Schygulla – (West Germany)
• Those Wonderful Movie Cranks (Báječní muži s klikou), directed by Jiří Menzel – (Czechoslovakia)
• La Tía Alejandra (Aunt Alejandra) – (Mexico)
• Tim – starring Mel Gibson & Piper Laurie – Australia
• Time After Time – directed by Nicholas Meyer, starring Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen
• The Tin Drum – directed by Volker Schlöndorff, starring David Bennent – West Germany
• To Forget Venice (Dimenticare Venezia), directed by Franco Brusati, starring Mariangela Melato and Erland Josephson – (Italy)
• Tourist Trap, starring Chuck Connors and Tanya Roberts
• Ultraman – (Japan)
• Ultraman: Great Monster Decisive Battle – (Japan)
• Uncle Marin, the Billionaire (Nea Mărin miliardar) – (Romania)
• Vengeance Is Mine (fukushū suru wa ware ni ari), directed by Shohei Imamura, starring Ken Ogata – (Japan)
• The Villain, directed by Hal Needham, starring Kirk Douglas, Ann-Margret, Arnold Schwarzenegger
• The Visitor – directed by Giulio Paradisi (as Michael J. Paradise), starring John Huston, Paige Conner, Joanne Nail, & Lance Henriksen with Shelley Winters, Glenn Ford, Sam Peckinpah, & Franco Nero (uncredited)
• Wanda Nevada, directed by and starring Peter Fonda, with Brooke Shields
• The Wanderers, starring Ken Wahl and Karen Allen
• The Warriors, directed by Walter Hill, starring Michael Beck, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Deborah Van Valkenburgh
• When a Stranger Calls – starring Charles Durning & Carol Kane
• Who’s Who – directed by Mike Leigh, starring Richard Kane, Joolia Cappleman, Phil Davis, Adam Norton, Simon Chandler, Graham Seed, Catherine Hall, Felicity Dean, Jeffry Wickham, Souad Faress, David Neville, Lavinia Bertram, Francesca Martin, Geraldine James, Sam Kelly, Angela Curran, & Roger Hammond – TV movie – UK
• Winter Kills – starring Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins
• Wise Blood – directed by and starring John Huston, with Brad Dourif – United States/West Germany
• Woman Between Wolf and Dog (Femme entre chien et loup) – (Belgium/France)
• Woyzeck – directed by Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski & Eva Mattes – West Germany
• The Wretches Are Still Singing (Τα Κουρέλια Τραγουδάνε Ακόμα), directed by Nikos Nikolaidis – (Greece)
• Yanks, directed by John Schlesinger, starring Richard Gere, Lisa Eichhorn, Vanessa Redgrave – (US/UK)
• Yesterday’s Hero, directed by Neil Leifer, starring Ian McShane, Suzanne Somers, Adam Faith and Paul Nicholas – (U.K.)
• Zombi 2, directed by Lucio Fulci, starring Tisa Farrow, Ian McCulloch, Richard Johnson – (Italy)
• Zulu Dawn, starring Peter O’Toole, Burt Lancaster, Simon Ward – (United States/South Africa/Netherlands)

Film Decades: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980