I have now watched 38 films from 1979. A list of these can be found here. From the 1001 Movies List, I have not seen Stalker, The Tin Drum or Christ Stopped at Eboli. Here are my favorites of th year.
The Elephant God (Joi Baba Felunath) Directed by Satyajit Ray Written by Satyajit Ray 1979/India IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
“Excellent!” I cried. “Elementary,” said he.” ―
Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Sherlock Holmes
This engaging film is the second and last of the films Satyajit Ray made about the detective Feluda, a sort of modern Indian Sherlock Holmes. The appearance of Hindu god Ganesh, the god of overcoming and new beginnings made this timely viewing for me.
Feluda goes on holiday to the holy city of Benares together with his cousin and irritating comic relief sdekick. But once they get there, the trio find it is to be a busman’s holicay. A priceless gold and gem-incrusted figurine of the elephant god Ganesh has been stolen in the household of another friend. Feluda agrees to locate the thief and the object for a price. Many complications are to follow before the film reaches its very satisfying conclusion.
I love Ray and this movie is thoroughly enjoyable. It has wit, action, beautiful scenery, and humanity included in a detective story with plenty of twists and turns. Highly recommended.
Manhattan Directed by Woody Allen
Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman
1979/US IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Isaac Davis: Chapter One. He was as tough and romantic as the city he loved. Behind his black-rimmed glasses was the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. Oh, I love this. New York was his town, and it always would be.
When I saw this on original release, long before the scandal, I thought this was Woody Allen’s best ever. Decades later it’s still near the top. As a valentine to New York City, it will probably never be surpassed.
Isaac (Allen) is a twice-divorced TV comedy writer. His last wife (Meryl Streep) left him for another woman and is now writing a scathing memoir about the horrors of their marriage. He is dating a 17-year-old high school student named Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). Tracy is the only character in the movie who is not pretentious and neurotic.
Tracy and Isaac double date with Isaac’s best friend Yale (Michael Murphy) and his wife Emily. Early on, Yale discloses that he is having an affair with journalist Mary (Diane Keaton), whom Isaac hates at first meeting. Then she changes his mind and complications ensue.
I remember this movie mostly for the scenes with Mariel Hemingway who was perfect for her character. But the images of Manhattan and all that glorious Gershwin music are the star attractions. Allen also gets in some hilarious digs at pseudo-intellectuals. Recommended.
The Great Santini Directed by Lewis John Carlino
Written by Lewis John Carlino from a novel by Pat Conroy
1979/US IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
Bull Meechum: I am Santini, the Great Santini.
Bull Meechum: I come from behind the moon, out of the dark, unannounced.
Bull Meechum: Watch out!
Robert Duvall plays the title character, a career Marine fighter pilot whose real name is Bull Meechum. He’s an alcoholic , loves mean jokes, and treats his family as if he is the drill sergeant and they are a bunch of grunts. He has a hot temper and can lash out with violence. His family is simultaneously proud of Bull’s accomplishments and both terrified and resentful of his many outbursts.
This is also the coming-of-age story of the family’s eldest son Ben (Michael O’Keefe). Being the first born male enormous expectations are placed on him. Can he stand up to his father and carve his own place in the world?
This is one of Robert Duvall’s greatest performances, enough to warrant a watch all by itself. I watched it last on original release and I still remembered vividly where Duvall taunts Michael O’Keefe by bouncing a basketball off his head. The whole thing is a very well-done and powerful dissection of the dysfunctional family.
Town Bloody Hall Directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker 1979/US IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.” Rebecca West
Normal Mailer does battle in a debate with four founding mothers of the women’s liberation movement and a hostile crowd. A good time is had by all. This film was released in 1979 but the debate it captures took place in 1971 during the heady first days of women’s liberation. Some of the rhetoric is pretty out there.
Mailer’s opponents were authors Germaine Greer, Jill Johnston and Doris Lessing, and President of the National Organization of Women Jacqueline Ceballos.
For all the heat and harsh words used at times in the conversation there were plenty of wit and laughter too. Norman Mailer held his own pretty well.
Alien Directed by Ridley Scott Written by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shuset 1979/US/U.K. IMDb page
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Ripley: Micro changes in air density, my ass.
Ridley Scott shows himself to be a master of suspense in this horror/sci-fi thriller.
Whatever the year, space travel has become a commonplace grind, albeit a dangerous one. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is second in command on a space ship that must stop off on an icy planet to make repairs. The crew goes to explore and brings back some organic material. Against Ripley’s advice, they bring the material aboard. Of course it becomes a face-hugging, chest-exploding alien.
Science officer Ash (Ian Holm) foils all efforts to destroy the disgusting creature. It is Ripley that must conquer or perish. With an excellent supporting cast including Tom Skerrit, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, and Veronica Cartwright.
This certainly deserved to be a blockbuster. The production and effects are amazing for the time period and Scott makes his three-hour film fly by like lightening. But it is Weaver that makes the movie. What a truly bad-ass heroine! Recommended.
All That Jazz Directed by Bob Fosse Written by Robert Alan Arthur and Bob Fosse 1979/US IMDb page
Repeat viewing/DVD
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Joe Gideon: [to God, while wandering the hospital after surgery] What’s the matter? Don’t you like musical comedy?
Roy Scheider is amazing in Bob Fosse’s unique semi-autobiographical musical.
Joe Gideon (Scheider) is a speed-dropping, hard drinking, womanizing genius. He has no morals but he sure can choreograph and direct.
As the film begins, Joe is visited by Angelique, the Angel of Death (Jessica Lange, all in white). She is mercilessly truthful with Joe about his many vices but principally his constant lying and game playing.
Joe has a new movie called The Standup waiting to premiere (an obvious reference to Fosse’s Lenny (1974). He is also casting for a new Broadway musical. We watch that production go from audition to sometime in the middle of rehearsals. We see some elaborate numbers being choreographed. We never really learn what the musical is about because the plot of the actual film is about Joe’s last weeks before his death.
Joe is constantly accompanied in his delirious substance fueled reveries by ex-wife Audrey (Leland Palmer), girlfriend Kate Jagger (Ann Reinking), bimbo Victoria (Deborah Geffner), and daughter Michelle (Erzsebet Foldi). He has treated all these ladies very badly.
Joe continues to abuse his body in every way possible until he has his inevitable heart attack. With Ben Vereen as a sort of MC.
I last saw this on original release when it was all a little bit too weird for me. This time I loved it! It’s a great film that wraps brilliant choreography, biting wit, and something to think about in one spectacular package. All the actors are great but I have a special affection for Jessica Lange. And Scheider is a phenomenon. He’s good in every movie he is in and here he has a chance to lay it all on the line. Recommended.
All That Jazz won Oscars for Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Adapted Score. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.
The Kids Are Alright Directed by Jeff Stein Written by Jeff Stein 1979/UK IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
Pete Townshend: It’s, “You’ve got to go on, man. Otherwise, all those kids, they’ll be finished! They’ll have nothing to live for.” That’s rock-n-roll.
This documentary is composed entirely of performances on TV shows, filmed concerts, and contemporary interviews of The Who, who by this time were the oldest intact rock band other than the Rolling Stones.
It explores their career from the beginning through triumphs and rocky patches. The boys are all cheeky intelligent interviewees. I enjoyed this a lot.
Mad Max Directed by George Miller Written by James McCausland, George Miller and Byron Kennedy 1979/Australia IMDb page
First viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Nightrider: Born with a steering wheel in his hand and lead in his foot. He is the Nightrider cruising at the speed of fright! This is the Nightrider, and we ain’t never coming back! I’m a fuel-injected suicide machine! I am a rocker! I am a roller! I am the out-of-controller! I am the Nightrider!
If you like brutal violence, explosions and the squealing of tires, this might be the movie for you. Mel Gibson’s film debut made him a star and this blockbuster provided the template for others in coming decades.
The year is sometime in the near future. The setting is outback Australia. Anarchy has overtaken society. Max works for a relatively weak police force trying to keep the peace for the populace by taking out the violent, sadistic motorcycle gangs that are terrorizing the countryside. Later when the gang gravely injures his partner and kills his his wife and child, Max’s pursuit of the gang becomes personal and he earns the name “Mad Max”.
I’m not a big fan of explosions, brutal violence, and screeching cars. So this was not made for me. It works well for what it is.
Wise Blood Directed by John Huston Written by Benjamin and Michael Fitzgerald from a novel by Flannery O’Connor 1979/US IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
Hazel: Your conscience is a trick, it don’t exist, and if you think it does, then you had best get it out in the open, hunt it down and kill it.
Flannery O’Connor is one of my very favorite writers and John Huston did a magnificent job of capturing the Southern Gothic milieu and the black humor of her novel.
The time period is sort of unclear. The location is a smallish city in the Deep South of America. Hazel Motes (Brad Dourif) has just returned from army service dressed in his military uniform and looking spiffy. He goes home to find a burned out empty shack. But Hazel has a mission he can only carry out in the city: to do things he has never done before. He switches into civilian gear and picks out a black hat which makes him look like a preacher to every one he meets. Hazel had a hellfire and brimstone preacher grandfather (John Huston, in flashback) and his main character trait is he does not believe in anything.
The first thing he does is hook up with a prostitute whose name he found on a bathroom wall. He then proceeds to preach the gospel of the Church of Christ without Christ on the streets. He is successful enough at this that later he attracts a copycat (Ned Beatty).
He meets up with kind of an idiot young man named Enoch Emory (Dan Shore) who refuses to stop following him around. He also meets blind preacher Asa Hawks (a great performance by Harry Dean Stanton) and his randy daughter Sabbath Lily (Amy Wright). He is fascinated by the preacher and eventually moves into the boarding house where the two live.
Flannery O’Connor’s universe is populated by antiheros and heroines who are running from God in one way or another. But God always has his way with these in the end. Whether the experience is positive or negative varies. Hazel is one that is profoundly changed when he is finally hunted down.
I love this movie. All the acting is great and the tone and meaning of the novel are captured perfectly. Highly recommended.
I have now watched 38 films from 1979. A list of these can be found here. From the 1001 Movies List, I have not seen Stalker, The Tin Drum or Christ Stopped at Eboli. Here are my favorites of th year.
Manhattan directed by Woody Allen
Alien directed by Ridley Scott
Apocalypse Now directed by Francis Ford Coppola
The Black Stallion directed by Carroll Ballard
The Marriage of Maria Braun/Die Ehe der Maria Braun directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Wise Blood directed by John Huston
Amator directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
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This is one of Robert Duvall’s greatest performances, enough to warrant a watch all by itself. I watched it last on original release and I still remembered vividly where Duvall taunts Michael O’Keefe by bouncing a basketball off his head. The whole thing is a very well-done and powerful dissection of the dysfunctional family.
