1. "The Deer Hunter"(1978)
In an alternate reality, Michael Cimino is one of the great directors. Instead, he made "Heaven's Gate", but we're hear to talk about '78, and the immaculate drama he also cowrote, that introduced the world to the talents of Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken. Vietnam and it's anguished aftermath are devastatingly depicted by a perfect cast, led by a bearded Robert De Niro(getting more godly with each passing year). The harrowing Russian roulette scene pictured above, has my vote for the single best sequence of the 1970s. Five Academy Awards including Best Picture/Director went to this Western Pennsylvania-set powerhouse.
2. "Coming Home"(1978)
Jane Fonda and Jon Voight were a match made in movie heaven in Hal Ashby's moving romantic drama. Conservatives have long vilified Fonda for her 'un-American' activities and embrace of the counterculture, completely ignoring the care and thought she brought to this passion project. It's extremely rare for the Best Actor AND Best Actress Oscar to be awarded to the same film, but's that's exactly what happened when Jane's VA hospital nurse met Jon's paraplegic former soldier. Will she end her unhappy marriage to Bruce Dern's stern military man, as their unlikely love affair blossoms in 1968 California? Do yourself a favor and find out.
3. "Superman"(1978)
Christopher Reeve's strapping Man of Steel remains one of the most pristine presentations of a superhero ever committed to celluloid(even Marvel boss Kevin Feige would agree). It's hard to believe there was ever a time when Hollywood had doubts about the financial viability of comic books characters. That was the unfriendly climate faced by the father-son producing team of Ilya and Alexander Salkind. Director Richard Donner broke the ice with a record budget, two titanic Best Actor winners(Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman), an ambitious Mario Puzo/Tom Mankiewicz script, and a wondrous John Williams score. This is fantasy filmmaking of the highest order.
4. "Halloween"(1978)
John Carpenter made history in the most iconic slasher of them all. That wasn't always a dirty word, because Michael Myers' first massacre outclasses the "Friday the 13th" franchise and all the putrid pretenders that came in his wake. Jamie Lee Curtis owes her career to Haddonfield heroine Laurie Strode, and Donald Pleasence oozes impending doom with every line he utters as the weary Dr. Loomis. Carpenter's eternally eerie score was also essential in turning this $300,000 indie into a $47 million institution. Myers and his white Captain Kirk mask would creep around on October 31st, ten more times. I have no doubt that he's good for ten more.
5. "Grease"(1978)
Remember when John Travolta was a svelte young stud? That's okay, because film is forever, and you didn't have to be around in the summer of '78 to rock out with Rydell High's Class of '59. Just when it seemed like the musical was dead, Australian hottie Olivia Newton-John helped turn this Broadway mainstay into a cinematic juggernaut. "Summer Nights", "Hopelessly Devoted to You", "Greased Lightnin'", "Sandy", You're the One That I Want".You'd be hard-pressed to find a musical with more memorable tunes. "Grease" was the year's #1 box office hit, and the second-biggest soundtrack ever heard at the time. The first was "Saturday Night Fever".
6. "Midnight Cowboy"(1978)
Don't smuggle drugs out of Turkey. That's the moral of Alan Parker's taut true story about a luckless Long Islander that tried to do just that. Billy Hayes(Brad Davis) was an American college student that spent five years in hell when foreign governments decided to crack down on drug infractions(however minor). Oliver Stone's stark screenplay was his first step toward industry omnipresence("Scarface", "Platoon", "Wall Street"). I'm staying right here in the States.
7. "An Unmarried Woman"(1978)
The late Jill Clayburgh made one relatable leading lady in this refreshing dramady that should strike a chord with at least half of the adult female population(sadly, she died in 2010 without ever landing another role this good). The dating game isn't easy, especially for a middle-aged mom in NYC with a horndog husband(Michael Murphy) that just eroded your faith in humanity. Writer-director Paul Mazursky("Harry and Tonto") explored some universal themes that don't get put up on screens nearly enough. Now turn off those Netflix shows and make a date with this "Woman".
8. "The Driver"(1978)
Let's discuss Ryan O'Neal. This brooding hunk's popularity may have ended with Jimmy Carter's presidency, but he made a few movies that you should know about. Walter Hill's lean, mean machine is definitely one of them, as O'Neal's enigmatic getaway car driver has Bruce Dern's dogged L.A. detective in his rearview. Hill strips away nearly everything that doesn't need to be here, and could teach many of today's filmmakers a lesson in economy. The 'less is more' mantra has rarely been as effectively executed. When people talk about the '70s being really f'n cool, this is what they're talking about.
Dustin Hoffman is dynamite as a downtrodden ex-con in Ulu Grosbard's gripping and grossly-under-appreciated crime drama. Only it doesn't start out that way, because Max Dembo is only trying to go straight after six years on the inside. U.S. prisons get a lot of repeat business, as this sobering story shows us in often-unnerving detail. Hoffman's quiet intensity is matched by a supporting cast that includes M. Emmet Walsh, Theresa Russell, Harry Dean Stanton and Gary Busey. It's about time you saw this one.
10(tie). "National Lampoon's Animal House"(1978)
James Belushi easily outshines his ensemble castmates(Tim Matheson, Tom Hulce, Peter Riegert) in this rambunctious '60s-set college comedy that made the SNL sensation the biggest comedy star on Earth, until his untimely death in 1982. John Landis' scattered direction and barely-there plot didn't matter much to paying customers(and there were LOTS of them) because this freewheeling flick's anarchic spirit spoke to just about every person that ever spent four years(or seven) in pursuit of a higher education. "Animal House" was the seventh highest-grossing film of the '70s, and it's DNA can still be found in the genre to this very day.
10(tie). "California Suite"(1978)
Now onto a different kind of comedy. Neil Simon, this era's defining comedic voice, kept his winning streak going for this formidable ensemble. Jane Fonda's fetching divorcee bickers with ex Alan Alda, Best Supporting Actress winner Maggie Smith questions her "marriage" to Michael Caine, and Richard Pryor banters with Bill Cosby. As if that wasn't enough, Walter Matthau needed a room on the West Coast, too. You're guaranteed a good time with one, if not all, of these stories. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Directed by Simon regular, Herbert Ross.
