Favoritest Movies of 1979
by Tincage | created - 01 Feb 2012 | updated - 01 Feb 2012 | PublicI'm making (I hope...) the most comprehensive favorite movie list ever!!! (No sense in being arbitrary with such a commonly asked question!) So I'm ranking every movie I've ever seen using Paired Comparison Analysis. First, year by year. Then, the top 80th percentile from each year advance to the decade round, and from there the all time round. I'll admit that a number of movies a much younger me saw long ago may be appreciated more or differently now, but in their cases, I only have my reactions at the time to draw upon.
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1. 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: 96,589 | Gross: $82.26M
The BEST Trek movie. Star Trek's triumphant return to TV, Star Trek Phase II got upgraded into this movie. But, sadly fans seemed to not like Trek in it's purest intended form until it was called Star Trek : The Next Generation; Complete with Ilia being renamed Troi, and William Decker being recycled into William T Riker!
2. The Bugs Bunny/Road-Runner Movie (1979)
G | 98 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
Bugs Bunny reflects on his past cartoon exploits.
Directors: Chuck Jones, Phil Monroe, Maurice Noble, Tom Ray | Stars: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan, Paul Julian, Nicolai Shutorev
Votes: 4,454
Looney toons are too short to get onto my lists in the year they originally came out, but this 'Greatest hits album' of Looney Toons eases in.
3. The Black Hole (1979)
PG | 98 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A research vessel finds a missing ship, commanded by a mysterious scientist, on the edge of a black hole.
Director: Gary Nelson | Stars: Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster, Joseph Bottoms
Votes: 27,970
4. The Muppet Movie (1979)
G | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Kermit and his newfound friends trek across America to find success in Hollywood, but a frog legs merchant is after Kermit.
Director: James Frawley | Stars: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt
Votes: 39,132 | Gross: $76.66M
5. 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: 950,053 | Gross: $78.90M
6. Moonraker (1979)
PG | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle, and discovers a plot to commit global genocide.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel
Votes: 108,773 | Gross: $70.31M
7. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
PG | 89 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A 20th century astronaut emerges out of 500 years of suspended animation into a future time where Earth is threatened by alien invaders.
Director: Daniel Haller | Stars: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Pamela Hensley, Henry Silva
Votes: 6,866 | Gross: $21.67M
8. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Masuyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue
Votes: 33,554
9. 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: 20,631
10. The Great Train Robbery (1978)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
England, 1850s. A master criminal aims to rob a train of a large sum of gold. Security is incredibly tight and the task seems an impossible one. However, he has a plan and just the right people to carry it out.
Director: Michael Crichton | Stars: Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Alan Webb
Votes: 19,547 | Gross: $13.03M
11. 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: 222,238 | Gross: $8.75M
12. 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: 709,909 | Gross: $83.47M
13. 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: 33,020 | Gross: $51.72M
14. The Lathe of Heaven (1980 TV Movie)
105 min | Sci-Fi
In a highly controlled and overpopulated society, a man who has terrifying dreams that affect reality is assigned a psychiatrist who takes advantage of the situation.
Directors: Fred Barzyk, David R. Loxton | Stars: Bruce Davison, Peyton E. Park, Niki Flacks, Kevin Conway
Votes: 2,810
15. 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: 421,782 | Gross: $20.05M
16. 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: 147,396 | Gross: $43.00M
17. The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979)
G | 88 min | Comedy, Family, Western
The adventures of two idiotic outlaw wannabees, Amos and Theodore.
Director: Vincent McEveety | Stars: Tim Conway, Don Knotts, Tim Matheson, Kenneth Mars
Votes: 3,259 | Gross: $20.93M
18. The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
PG | 113 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A supersonic airborne disaster. In order to survive a flight headed for the Moscow Olympics, passengers of the Concorde must endure aerial acrobatics to dodge missiles and survive a device that decompresses the plane.
Director: David Lowell Rich | Stars: Alain Delon, Susan Blakely, Robert Wagner, George Kennedy
Votes: 6,953 | Gross: $13.00M
19. Dracula (1979)
R | 109 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
In 1913, the charming, seductive and sinister vampire Count Dracula travels to England in search of an immortal bride.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Kate Nelligan
Votes: 11,108 | Gross: $20.16M
20. The Shape of Things to Come (1979)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Some time in the future, man has set up colonies on the Moon, when Earth becomes uninhabitable. A madman decides to destroy the Moon colonies with his robots and automated ships, and only three people and their robot can stop him.
Director: George McCowan | Stars: Jack Palance, Carol Lynley, Barry Morse, John Ireland
Votes: 1,325
21. Zulu Dawn (1979)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Drama, History
A dramatization of the Battle of Isandlwana, where the British Army met its match against the Zulu nation.
Director: Douglas Hickox | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Peter O'Toole, Simon Ward, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 7,593
22. 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: 231,171
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: 40,862 | Gross: $15.28M
24. Caligula (1979)
Unrated | 156 min | Drama, History
A 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.
Director: Tinto Brass | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Peter O'Toole, Helen Mirren, Teresa Ann Savoy
Votes: 38,345 | Gross: $23.44M
25. The Black Stallion (1979)
G | 118 min | Adventure, Family, Sport
After 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.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Clarence Muse
Votes: 14,034
26. Love at First Bite (1979)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Horror
After 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.
Director: Stan Dragoti | Stars: George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, Dick Shawn
Votes: 6,387 | Gross: $43.89M
27. Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
PG | 114 min | Action, Adventure
An extension of the previous film, wherein a group of adventurers return to the overturned ship to seek several fortunes.
Director: Irwin Allen | Stars: Michael Caine, Sally Field, Telly Savalas, Peter Boyle
Votes: 5,868
28. C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979)
PG | 89 min | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
A young man invents a robot dog that has super strength, x-ray vision and can detect crimes being committed. A greedy businessman tries to steal the invention from him.
Director: Don Chaffey | Stars: Wesley Eure, Valerie Bertinelli, Conrad Bain, Chuck McCann
Votes: 999
29. Meatballs (1979)
PG | 94 min | Comedy
Wacky hijinks of counselors and campers at a less-than-average summer camp.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham
Votes: 23,859 | Gross: $43.05M
30. Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)
PG | 115 min | Comedy, Western
A prequel of sorts to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) which chronicles the two outlaws' lives in the years before the events portrayed in the 1969 movie.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: William Katt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Corey, John Schuck
Votes: 1,704 | Gross: $5.14M
31. 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: 154,649 | Gross: $106.26M
Hey, my parents got divorced! It's like Kramer Vs. Kramer the home game! So, I hate this movie. I hat it almost more than any Duston Hoffman movie... okay I hate Marathon Man more... had a car accident, left me afraid of dentists for almost 20 years. But I can't possiblly like a movie less than this!
32. More American Graffiti (1979)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Told in four different New Year's Eves in the mid 1960s, John, Terry, Debbie, Steve and Laurie deal with adulthood, the Vietnam war, peace rallies, and relationships.
Director: Bill Norton | Stars: Candy Clark, Bo Hopkins, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat
Votes: 5,076 | Gross: $15.01M
33. The Jerk (1979)
R | 94 min | Comedy
A 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.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Mabel King
Votes: 64,191 | Gross: $73.69M
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