Best Films of 1979

It's hard to believe that 40 years have passed since a pivotal year for films (and music). What are your list of best films of 1979 (it doesn't matter if you were born yet or not-chime in!)

For me:

1. Alien
2. Apocalypse Now
3. Being There
4. The China Syndrome
5. The Life of Brian
6. The Black Stallion
7. Kramer vs. Kramer
8. All That Jazz
9. Mad Max
10. Stalker
11. Norma Rae
12. The Tin Drum
13. The Great Santini
14. The In-Laws
15. The Rose
16. Hardcore
17. Quadrophenia
18. Nosferatu
19. The Warriors
20. The Jerk

Honorable mentions:
The Plumber--from Peter Weir. An unsettling thriller original made for TV down in Oz.
The Seduction of Joe Tynan-a forgotten fine film with Alan Alda.
Time After TIme-A small science fiction film with heart from future Star Trek and The Day After director Nicholas Meyer
Wise Blood-A powerful adaptation of Flattery O'Conner's novel by John Huston.
Winter Kills-A bizarre thriller, shot through with dark humor and satire with Jeff Bridges from William Richert . Sadly, still unavailable on Blu-ray. Shout Factory, get to work!!
Manhattan by Woody Allen would have made the list but I feel it is pretentious and bombastic plus, in retrospect, a bit disturbing given the later revelations about Allen's personally life.

It was a bumper crop year for American films with strong releases both at the box office and critically acclaimed films.

The one disservice--Peter Sellers (or Robert Duvall for "The Great Santini") should have won the Oscar for "Being There" a performance that, IMHO, dwarfed Dustin Hoffman's good performance in "Kramer vs. Kramer". Likewise, Bette Midler should have won for "The Rose" instead of Sally Field for "Norma Rae".

What are some of yours?

 

Oh, yeah! The good old days.
Not a forkin’ Marvel film in the bunch!

 

The top two and Gunter Grass one.

 

The Tin Drum is one weird movie.

 

I like Phantasm and Time After Time from that year.

 

Yep. So is the book. It's a pretty accurate translation to the screen and does a good job of adapting elements that might otherwise be difficult to achieve.

 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture


Not anywhere near the best movie in the Star Trek movie franchise (and I don't count the "new" Star Trek movies as part of the franchise ), but I remember watching my dad's VHS copy over and over when I was a kid, so this is the movie that stands out most for me.

 

Alien
Apocalypse Now
All That Jazz
Mad Max
Manhattan

@wayneklein I agree with what you say about Manhattan, but it's also a gorgeously shot film (by Gordon Willis) with great work from the rest of the cast, Mariel Hemingway being the standout, so I'm reluctant to dismiss it completely.

 

Stalker
Vengeance Is Mine
Scum

 

Great choice!

A lot of my choices have been mentioned already so I'll add only these:

Siberiade
Tale of Tales (one of my favourite animated movies)
Tess

 

Also fine choices, particularly the two Russian films.

 

And Justice for All is probably worth a mention.

 

At the time (I was nine), I would have quickly answered The Black Stallion. I loved that movie (and the book).

Now I would probably say The Jerk.

 

Great year for movies.

Have to go with Apocalypse Now as my fav.

 

You forgot Breaking Away.....one of my top 5 films of all time. It was nominated for Best Picture

 

I watched it again in 2005 and all the seams were showing. I was shocked at how obvious it was.

 

Apocalypse Now for me and it is also my all time favorite movie.

 

This movie was at times boring, weird, and utterly unlike any other Star Trek franchise movie. But for all those reasons, it may be the most interesting one!

Or maybe I just respected the hot bald babe.

(Rest in peace, Persis Khambatta.)

 

My picks for the years, from list I made for a friend.

Apocalypse Now
All That Jazz
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Alien
The Muppet Movie
Manhattan
Quadrophenia/The Kids Are Alright
Mad Max
Real Life
The Warriors
The Castle of Cagliostro

Honorable mentions:
The Black Hole
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie
The Jerk
Phantasm/Zombi 2
Time After Time

(Dis)Honrable mentions:
Caligula
Moonraker
1941
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition)

Disappointments:
Hair

 

A dozen favorites from '79 listed alphabetically (almost):

1. Alien
2. All That Jazz
3. Apocalypse Now
4. Being There
5. The Black Stallion
6. Breaking Away
7. Monty Python's Life of Brian
8. The Muppet Movie
9. The Rose
10.
11. Scavenger Hunt
12. The Tin Drum

 

Just a few big winners off the top of my head:

Drama: Time After Time
Comedy: Life of Brian
Documentary: The Kids Are Alright

 

Three movies from that year rocked my world to a level I can barely fathom, let alone describe: Apocalypse Now, The Kids Are Alright, and Richard Pryor Live in Concert.

Beyond them, I would cite Nosferatu the Vampyre, Breaking Away, Wise Blood, Over the Edge, Saint Jack, The Brood, Quadrophenia, and The Onion Field.

 

My best films of 1979...

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (theatrical cut & Director's Edition)


The Muppet Movie

 

Manhattan
Alien
The Plumber
Eagle's Wing
Being There
The Seduction of Joe Tynan
Murder by Decree
The Warriors
Apocalypse Now
Nosferatu
Wise Blood
Woyzeck
Love on the Run
Time After Time
Breaking Away
The Europeans
Norma Rae
The Tin Drum
Winter Kills
The Tempest
Richard Pryor: Live in Concert
The Onion Field
Escape from Alcatraz
Buffet Froid

Not all works of art, I know, but...