Best Movies of 1979
This page is updated regularly. Subscribe, so you don't miss new recommendations. The list of "Best Movies of 1979" contains films with the following parameters. Style: talky, unusual plot structure, melancholic, weird, visually appealing and interesting. Plot: dialogue, storytelling, mentor, suprisingly clever, runaway, catastrophe, culture clash, redemption, adaptation and chase. Genre: Drama, Comedy and Sci-Fi. Country: USA, UK and France.
Best Movies of 1979
TOP Movies: Apocalypse Now (1979), Alien (1979), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Mad Max (1979), All That Jazz (1979), Being There (1979), Manhattan (1979), Life of Brian (1979), Stalker (1979), Rocky II (1979), Breaking Away (1979), The Warriors (1979), Tess (1979), Norma Rae (1979), Escape from Alcatraz (1979), The China Syndrome (1979), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979), The Jerk (1979), The Muppet Movie (1979).
List of Best Movies
Genre: Drama, Mystery, War
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min.
Story:
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter ...
Style:
bleak, psychological, cult classic, surreal, sexy ...
Audience:
date night, adult
Plot:
vietnam war, jungle, insanity, anti war, military, army, secret mission, violence, mission, soldier, violent, river ...
Time:
20th century, year 1979, 60s, year 1969
Place:
vietnam, cambodia, southeast asia, asia, the philippines ...
Is relevant?
1.1M
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story:
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs ...
Style:
scary, suspense, futuristic, suspenseful, frightening ...
Audience:
kids, manly, adult
Plot:
monster, alien, space travel, outer space, space and aliens, heroine, survival horror, evil alien, spaceship, female protagonist, creature, alien monster ...
Time:
future, 22nd century, 20th century, year 1979, distant future
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story:
Ted Kramer is a career man for whom his work comes before his family. His wife Joanna cannot take this anymore, so she decides to leave him. Ted is now faced with the tasks of housekeeping and taking care of himself and their young son Billy.
Style:
touching, sentimental, sad, clever, realistic ...
Audience:
family outing, teens
Plot:
courtroom, divorce, lawyer, marriage, custody battle, father son relationship, single father, family drama, courtroom drama, legal, family relations, court ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1979, 80s
Place:
new york, california, usa, persia, new york state ...
Is relevant?
243K
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Style:
grindhouse, retro, futuristic, apocalyptic, perverse ...
Audience:
manly, boys' night
Plot:
apocalypse, dystopia, chase, post apocalypse, vengeance, revenge, biker, car chase, car, dystopic future, chaos, criminal ...
Time:
future, 20th century, year 1979, near future, distant future ...
Place:
australia, oceania
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Drama, Music, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story:
Joe Gideon is at the top of the heap, one of the most successful directors and choreographers in musical theater. But he can feel his world slowly collapsing around him - his obsession with work has almost destroyed his personal life, and only his ...
Style:
surreal, cerebral, captivating, touching, humorous ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
music, workaholic, showbiz, jazz, theater, death, dancing, filmmaking, heart disease, price of fame, father daughter relationship, divorce ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, 70s, year 1979
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, usa
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.
Style:
political, clever, witty, black comedy, satirical ...
Plot:
politics, satire, comedy of errors, lawyer, secret service, impotence, mansion, funeral, eviction, country estate, wealth, garden ...
Time:
year 1979, 20th century, 70s
Place:
washington d.c., north carolina, usa
Is relevant?
153K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
The life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.
Style:
romantic, intellectual, visually stunning, humorous, meditative ...
Audience:
date night, chick flick
Plot:
dating, couples, older man younger woman relationship, age difference, love and romance, teenage girl, dachshund, lolita, sarcasm, relationships, divorce, 17 year old ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, year 1979
Place:
new york, manhattan new york city, usa
Is relevant?
433K
Genre: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the ...
Style:
hilarious, funny, humorous, cult classic, parody ...
Audience:
kids, teens
Plot:
religion, monty python, satire, mistaken identity, absurdism, ancient rome, dark humor, medieval, ancient, roman empire, god, sarcasm ...
Time:
1st century, ancient times, biblical epic, 20th century, year 1979 ...
Place:
jerusalem, palestine, ancient greece, greece, middle east ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
155K
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 162 min.
Story:
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A Stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep seeded ...
Style:
philosophical, atmospheric, bleak, art house, psychological ...
Audience:
family friendly, adult
Plot:
stalker, post apocalypse, dystopian future, surrealism, psychokinesis, dog, wish come true, trippy, human nature, distopia, escapades, post apocalyptic ...
Time:
future, distant future, year 1979, near future
Place:
soviet union, ussr, russia
Is relevant?
247K
Genre: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
After Rocky goes the distance with champ Apollo Creed, both try to put the fight behind them and move on. Rocky settles down with Adrian but can't put his life together outside the ring, while Creed seeks a rematch to restore his reputation. ...
Style:
inspirational, saga, sincere, rough, feel good ...
Audience:
family outing, teens, boys' night, manly
Plot:
boxing, boxer, underdog, training, comeback, fight, tough heroes, coma, working class, tough guy, bodybuilding, rocky ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, 80s
Place:
philadelphia, pennsylvania, usa, north america
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his 3 friends, The comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one ...
Style:
touching, teen, witty, talky, feel good ...
Audience:
teens, kids, family outing, teen drama
Plot:
underdog, working class, cycling, childhood, bicycle, coming of age, small town, friendship, bicycle race, teenage life, father son relationship, teenage boy ...
Time:
70s, year 1979, 20th century
Place:
indiana, usa, california, new jersey
Is relevant?
119K
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Prominent gang leader Cyrus calls a meeting of New York's gangs to set aside their turf wars and take over the city. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus' ...
Style:
cult classic, neo noir, retro, grindhouse, grim ...
Audience:
teens, boys' night, teen drama, adult
Plot:
survival, street gang, gang, gang war, gang member, subway, violence, warrior, gangster, chase, murder, graffiti ...
Time:
future, 70s, year 1979, near future, 80s
Place:
new york, coney island brooklyn new york city, bronx new york city, usa, north america ...
Is relevant?
20K
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, France
Duration: 186 min.
Story:
This multiple-Oscar-winning film by Roman Polanski is an exquisite, richly layered adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. A strong-willed peasant girl (Nastassja Kinski, in a gorgeous breakthrough) is sent by her father to the ...
Style:
period piece, costume drama, scenic, visually appealing, erotic ...
Plot:
love, breast feeding, rape, tragic love, relationships, literary, mansion, beautiful scenery, nobility, loneliness, peasant, autumn ...
Time:
19th century, year 1979, 1800s, turn of the century, victorian era ...
Place:
eastern europe, britain, england, europe, brazil
Is relevant?
14K
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min.
Story:
Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the ...
Style:
political, touching, inspirational, aesthetic, sad ...
Plot:
labor union, working class, feminist, small town, union, women, labor, business, labor movement, courage, single mother, american politics ...
Time:
20th century, year 1979, 70s
Place:
north carolina, usa, alabama
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
Escape from Alcatraz tells the story of the only three men ever to escape from the infamous maximum security prison at Alcatraz. In 29 years, the seemingly impenetrable federal penitentiary, which housed Al Capone and "Birdman" Robert ...
Style:
atmospheric, suspense, suspenseful, exciting, realistic ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
prison, prison escape, alcatraz, escape, prison life, freedom, jail, island, prison warden, harassment, prison guard, convict ...
Time:
year 1960, 20th century, year 1979, year 1961, year 1962 ...
Place:
san francisco, bay area, usa, canada
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
A modern nightmare nearly becomes reality in this tension-filled story about an "incident" at a nuclear power plant. Jane Fonda stars as Kimberly Wells, an ambitious TV reporter covering a story on energy sources, who is present at the ...
Style:
suspense, tension, suspenseful, political, tense ...
Plot:
reporter, conspiracy, investigation, power plant, radiation, politics, journalism, nuclear power, whistleblower, disaster, murder, corruption ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1979
Place:
california, usa, los angeles, southern california, pennsylvania
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min.
Story:
When a destructive space entity is spotted approaching Earth, Admiral Kirk resumes command of the Starship Enterprise in order to intercept, examine, and hopefully stop it.
Style:
futuristic, saga, epic, exciting, talky ...
Audience:
teens, boys' night
Plot:
star trek, space travel, space opera, artificial intelligence, alien, space adventure, teleportation, planet, space exploration, space station, bald woman, man versus machine ...
Time:
23rd century, future
Place:
san francisco
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story:
The last of the 'Airport' series again stars George Kennedy as aviation disaster-prone Joe Patroni, this time having to contend with nuclear missiles, the French Air Force and the threat of the plane splitting in two over the Alps!
Style:
psychological, cult classic, fast, serious, bleak ...
Audience:
teens, boys' night
Plot:
disaster, aviation, airport, airplane, natural disaster, air disaster, arms dealer, survival, terrorism, murder, airplane accident, missile ...
Time:
70s, year 1979, 80s
Place:
europe, france, alps, washington d.c., paris france ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
68K
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
After discovering he's not really black like the rest of his family, likable dimwit Navin Johnson runs off on a hilarious misadventure in this comedy classic that takes him from rags to riches and back to rags again. The slaphappy jerk strikes ...
Style:
funny, slapstick, hilarious, laugh out loud, clever ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
stupidity, rags to riches, dog, irreverent, farce, coming of age, sniper, fish out of water, leaving home, butler, family reunited, voice over narration ...
Time:
70s, 20th century
Place:
mississippi, usa, los angeles, southern usa, st. louis missouri
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family, Musical
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Kermit the Frog is persuaded by agent Dom DeLuise to pursue a career in Hollywood. Along the way, Kermit picks up Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and a motley crew of other Muppets with similar aspirations. Meanwhile, Kermit must elude the grasp of ...
Style:
funny, humorous, slasher, fantasy adventure, aesthetic ...
Audience:
family outing, family friendly, kids, adult, preschool
Plot:
muppets, road trip, mad scientist, puppet, friendship, pig, desert, bear, inventor, children, eternal love, puppetry ...
Time:
70s, year 1979, 20th century, 80s
Place:
california, florida, georgia, usa, los angeles ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
An ethical Baltimore defense lawyer disgusted with rampant legal corruption is asked to defend a judge he despises in a rape trial. But if he doesn't do it, the judge will have him disbarred.
Style:
suspense, realistic, disturbing, cynical, clever ...
Plot:
courtroom, courtroom drama, lawyer, fighting the system, legal, rape, corruption, court, law, justice, trial, hotshot lawyer ...
Time:
20th century, 70s
Place:
usa, maryland, baltimore
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story:
The Wildest Chase Of The Century! London 1893 is home to a killer with a macabre nickname... and also to a visionary genius who would write The Time Machine. But what if H.G. Wells' invention wasn't fiction? And what if Jack the Ripper ...
Style:
suspenseful, retro, psychotronic, cult classic, mysterious ...
Plot:
time travel, time machine, serial killer, time loop, jack the ripper, culture clash, murder, altering history, bank, writers, elevator, alternate history ...
Time:
19th century, victorian era, 70s, year 1979, 20th century ...
Place:
san francisco, london, california, usa, europe
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Family, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story:
While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a ...
Style:
inspirational, scenic, emotional, cute, touching ...
Audience:
kids, teens, pre-teens, family outing, girls' night
Plot:
horse, horse race, beach, boy horse relationship, shipwreck, human animal relationship, child, survival, stallion, desert island, widow, single mother ...
Time:
1940s, year 1979, 20th century
Place:
detroit, bronx new york city, new york, astoria oregon
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
44K
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
A young boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber known only as the Tall Man, who keeps a mysterious arsenal of terrible weapons with him.
Style:
scary, cult classic, disturbing, harsh, atmospheric ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
gory, tall man, twists and turns, cemetery, funeral, small town, supernatural, mausoleum, hearse, murder, adaptation, family relations ...
Time:
20th century, 70s, year 1978, 80s
Place:
usa, southern california, california, oregon
Is relevant?
14K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
This is the hard and shocking story of life in a British Borstal for young offenders. The brutal regime made no attempt to reform or improve the inmates and actively encouraged a power struggle between the 'tough' new inmate and the ...
Style:
tense, serious, controversial, independent film, grindhouse ...
Plot:
boy, rebellion, corruption, rape, criminal, prison, humiliation, youth, prison life, juvenile delinquent, racism, revenge ...
Time:
year 1979, near future, 70s, 20th century
Place:
england, britain, united kingdom
Is relevant?
44K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Musical, Romance, War
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story:
"Hair" is a 1979 musical war comedy-drama film adaptation of the 1968 Broadway musical "Hair: An American Tribal Love-Rock Musical" about a Vietnam War draftee, Claude, who meets and befriends a tribe of long-haired hippies on ...
Style:
stylized, thought provoking, psychedelic, cult classic, feel good ...
Plot:
hippie, nudity, counterculture, vietnam war, broadway, anti war, music, rock and roll, dancing, male nudity, commune, lsd ...
Time:
60s, year 1979, 20th century, 70s
Place:
oklahoma, vietnam, new york, manchester, manhattan new york city ...
Is relevant?
38K
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
A man tries to uncover an unconventional psychologist's therapy techniques on his institutionalized wife, while a series of brutal attacks committed by a brood of mutant children coincides with the husband's investigation.
Style:
creepy, cult classic, disturbing, suspenseful, slasher ...
Plot:
body horror, mental illness, killer child, murder, creepy child, childhood trauma, child abuse, psychiatrist, transformation, strangulation, supernatural, mutant ...
Time:
year 1979, 70s, 20th century
Place:
toronto ontario canada, canada
Is relevant?
17K
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
A conservative Midwest businessman ventures into the sordid underworld of pornography in California to look for his runaway teenage daughter who is making porno films in the porno pits of Los Angeles.
Style:
neo noir, erotic, disturbing, harsh, psychological ...
Audience:
adult
Plot:
private detective, sex, porn industry, hairy pussy, making love, father, female nudity, sex worker, group sex, strip club, perversion, violent ...
Time:
year 1979, 70s, 20th century
Place:
los angeles, california, southern california, usa, san francisco ...
Is relevant?
26K
Genre: Comedy
Country: Canada
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
Tripper is the head counselor at a budget summer camp called Camp Northstar. In truth, he's young at heart and only marginally more mature than the campers themselves. Tripper befriends Rudy, a loner camper who has trouble fitting in. As ...
Style:
funny, humorous, light, entertaining, grindhouse ...
Audience:
teens, kids, teen drama
Plot:
summer camp, coming of age, campfire story, camp, rivalry, youth, outcast, mentor, camping, friends, mischievous children, rich and poor ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, year 1979, 80s
Place:
canada
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France, USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A young American girl and a young French boy meet in Paris and fall in love, with the assistance of an old man and his stories.
Style:
teen, sentimental, avant garde, grindhouse, offbeat ...
Audience:
date night, teens, girls' night
Plot:
first love, stepfather stepdaughter relationship, childhood love, coming of age, child, aging, relationships, teen angst, fall in love, youth, bittersweet, young lovers ...
Time:
year 1979, 20th century, 70s
Place:
paris france, venice, france, italy, europe
Is relevant?
