Ten films from 1979 now widely regarded as classics

Collider highlights ten films from 1979 that have come to be viewed as classics, a year the piece describes as defined by extremes across genre and tone.

The roundup spans apocalyptic visions, harrowing portraits of war, absurdist comedy, existential science fiction and intimate domestic drama, all said to coexist uneasily in 1979 cinema. Titles named include Nosferatu the Vampyre, The Warriors, Mad Max, Being There, Life of Brian, Kramer vs. Kramer, All That Jazz, Stalker, Alien and Apocalypse Now, and the article argues these films refused to play it safe and often aimed for larger truths, spectacle or myth.

The write-up notes several films were divisive or controversial on release but have grown in stature: Being There earned Peter Sellers a Best Actor Oscar nomination, Mad Max later sequels expanded its mythology, Stalker has influenced films including Annihilation as well as literature and games, and Apocalypse Now is listed with its August 15, 1979 release date, 147-minute runtime and credits including director Francis Ford Coppola and writers Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Coppola and Michael Herr.

Key Topics

Culture, Apocalypse Now, Alien, Mad Max, Stalker, Being There