There’s no point beating around the bush: 1979 was an awesome year for cinema. It seems to be the case that years ending with “9” end up being particularly great.1999 was a notably strong year, there were plenty of amazing movies from2009 in just the sci-fi genre alone, and 2019 is going to be a tough year to beat going forward, seeing as it had a great mix of blockbusters and some of the strongest end-of-year awards contenders in recent memory.
And 1979 is just another great “9” year, with so many classics that it’s inevitable a ranking of any size will have some remarkable honorable mentions. Here, those include the originalGoing in Style,The Wanderers,Time After Time,Quadrophenia, andThe In-Laws, with the movies below being arguably even better, and making up the very best of what the excellent 1979 had to offer.
10’Escape from Alcatraz'
Escape from Alcatrazis a reasonably well-known (by today’s standards)Clint Eastwoodmovie, but stillmight be a little underrated overall. It takes a fairly dependable prison-break premise and executes it almost perfectly, being an exciting and consistently tense story about breaking out of what might stand as one of the 20th century’s most infamous prisons.
RELATED:Clint Eastwood’s Best Western Characters, Ranked
It’s loosely based on real events from the early 1960s, and was largely filmed on location to give the whole thing an extra sense of authenticity. No-nonsense prison break movies don’t get a whole lot better or more exciting thanEscape from Alcatraz, and Eastwood excels in the lead role, playing the kind of character he’s always been amazing at playing on-screen.
9’The Warriors'
The Warriorsis a cult classic action-thriller, and centers around a fictitious (and large-scale) war between New York City street gangs. After the leader of one gang is murdered, the titular gang is blamed, and the movie follows the members of that gang trying to escape the various other gangs with their lives.
Some may look at a movie likeThe Warriorsand call it a little too blunt or simplistic, but they might just be thinking about it too hard. For pure, uncomplicated action and thrills, it’s the kind of movie that delivers and then some, with its style and expert pacing still provinginfluential for the action genre to this day.
8’Nosferatu the Vampyre'
Few movies provide such an eerie and haunting look at thestruggles of aging likeNosferatu the Vampyredoes. It makes its titular monster more tragic than just about any vampire has been before, as he longs for human connection and some kind of fulfilling life, yet finds himself cursed to live in the darkness and, for the most part, alone.
It stands as one ofWerner Herzog’svery best films, and the way he was able to replicate the silent film classicNosferatuwhile also respectfully updating it makes this a masterful adaptation/remake (of sorts). It’s creepy, atmospheric, and also simply tells a great story, meaning this is essentially everything you could want out of a horror movie and then some.
7’Kramer vs. Kramer'
While 1979’s Best Picture winner at the Oscars might not be seen as the very best film of the year nowadays, it still largely holds up. The film in question isKramer vs. Kramer, and though modern-day viewers may picture two Kramers fromSeinfeldgoing head-to-head in court, the actual film is not nearly as funny as that could be.
RELATED:The Top 10 ‘Best Picture’ Oscar Winners of All Time, Ranked According to IMDb
In fact,Kramer vs. Kramerexcels for being a gritty and quite downbeat family drama, revolving around a couple’s divorce proceedings, with a particular emphasis placed on who’ll ultimately get custody of their young son. With a story that’s naturally heavy on emotions, and two acclaimed performances fromDustin HoffmanandMeryl Streep, it holds up as a classic of the legal drama genre.
6’Being There'
The lastPeter Sellersfilm completed before his death also happens to have one of the actor’s greatest performances. That performance is found inBeing There, which is a dramedy about a gentle and not particularly smart man falling upwards in politics, and eventually becoming an advisor to a very powerful man.
It might not be as wide-reaching or famous as hisPink Pantherseries, butBeing Thereis a valuable reminder that Sellers was capable of far more than just slapstick comedy (even his multiple roles inDr. Strangeloveare quite broadly comedic).Being Thereends up being a strange but memorable film, and those who don’t mind their comedies a little slow and subtle should find plenty to like here.
5’Stalker'
Andrei Tarkovskymade numerous acclaimed filmsduring his short but impactful directing career, though none have stood the test of time quite likeStalker. It’s a very slow and methodical sci-fi film about three men venturing into a mysterious, seemingly otherworldly area, as they expect to find something within that will grant them the ability to wish for anything.
Rather than being all about action and adventure,Stalkeris a sci-fi movie that’s more concerned with looking inward at the human condition, and asking what drives the human race as a whole. It’s deep, lofty, and overwhelming, but undeniably well-made on a technical level, and stands as the kind of film that lingers in one’s mind long after they’ve watched it.
4’Life of Brian'
Of all the movies that the comedy groupMonty Pythonmade,Life of Brianis arguably their very best. It works as a parody of old biblical films as well as a takedown of certain ideas and individuals within the Church, which is what made it very controversial back in its day (Jesus Christhimself really isn’t mocked, and the members of Monty Python pick far more deserving targets throughout the film).
RELATED:Iconic Directors and Their Favorite Films They Worked On
It follows the titular Brian, who’s an incredibly unlucky man who cannot catch a break, and finds his life spiraling out of control after he’s mistaken for the Messiah. He’s not the Messiah at all - he’s just an allegedly very naughty boy, and while the whole thing is very silly and played for laughs, it’s a movie with a surprising amount to say about how powerful people can use religion to manipulate others, and about the consequences of blind faith and devotion.
An untouchable classic of the sci-fi and horror genres,Aliengave birth to a franchise that’s had incredible longevity, though the original is also astounding as a self-contained story. It’s all very simple: a group of people find themselves stuck on a ship in space, and there’s an alien life form loose that seems hellbent on killing them all one by one.
It builds slowly into an exciting fight for survival, and has a remarkably effective final act that’s impact is lessened somewhat by the knowledge that sequels exist. However, it’s easy to imagine how intense this all would have been to viewers in 1979, and honestly, much of it’s still tense when you know what’s going to happen. It’s a film where all the moving parts work in perfect tandem with one another, and as such, certainly stands as a classic.
2’All That Jazz'
All That Jazzgoes to show thatnot all musicals are bright, happy, and upbeat. This semi-autobiographical film goes in the complete opposite direction, as it’s essentially about one man working himself to death while also ignoring various health scares and concerns from his family.
With frantic editing and undeniably flashy style, it all builds to one strange and unforgettable finale, becoming an intensely psychological musical about facing one’s demons and, after failing to do so, confronting death itself. DirectorBob Fosse’sown fate followed that of his stand-in character here, withAll That Jazzultimately standing as the greatest movie of his filmmaking career.
1’Apocalypse Now'
The making ofApocalypse Nowis a story that’s almost as harrowing and compelling as the film itself. It had one of the most troubled productions in cinema history, though somehow, everything came together in the end, and now you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t consider it one of the most essential war movies of all time.
It follows one man being given an assignment to kill a colonel who’s apparently lost his mind and has isolated himself deep in the jungle. It’s as much a trip into the lead character’s mind as it is a trip into the dark and dangerous jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia, and as a film, it’s lost none of its impact, with the haunting sights and sounds still packing a visceral punch well over 40 years on from release.
NEXT:Director’s Cuts That Are Much Longer Than the Theatrical Cuts, Ranked by Runtime
