“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life.” – Animal House
Grok® was feeling grumpy tonight.
1978 starts feels much farther from 1982, for instance, than four years. As I went through the films from 1978, they trend to be more focused on the past. As an example, of the top grossing movies of 1978, two are set in the 1950s/early 1960s (Grease, Animal House) and the third is a callback to a character that certainly hit peak popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, Superman.
11 of the major release films were sequels in 1978, compared to 25 in 1998, and 37 in 2018. Not remakes. Sequels. These are, as usual, excluded from the list.
The list is in the order that it’s in, and for no particular reason. It is what it is.
The Boys in Company C – Movies about Vietnam were popular in 1978, and this is the beginning of Hollywood coming to grips with the loss of that war. This one made the list because it was R. Lee Ermey’s first movie role. The movie then descends into some weird concept that the Marines need to learn to play soccer in order to beat the Viet Cong. In the end, everyone dies because they got bored playing soccer.
This has nothing to do with the movie, but I’m not going to let that stop me.
The Manitou – It’s awful. It stars Tony Curtis and . . . Michael Ansara? It’s also of an era where everyone starring in the movie is now dead, probably because this film was so bad it ended up killing them. It’s about Tony Curtis (a fake medium) coming into contact with actual Native American spirit power. In order to stop this, actor Michael Ansara plays an American Indian shaman. Basic plot: white people are awful and not spiritual and we killed off all the Indians so we had to hire a Syrian, Michael Ansara, to play one so he could use electricity to stop evil.
Grease – One of the big nostalgia pieces of 1978, it stars John Travolta as a Korean War veteran who meets an Australian in a POW camp. They escape through the use of a flying car.
Looks more like Billy-Bob Clooney Reynolds, but whatever.
Hooper – I really like Burt Reynolds. He had, especially after Deliverance, the chance to be a serious Hollywood star. He decided, “Nah, I’m in this for fun,” and spent the 1970s and 1980s doing whatever he wanted. Hooper is the result of that, as is his expensive divorce from Loni Anderson’s bosom. Hooper, though is not a bosom but a light action-comedy that has a plot that could have been written by two guys after downing a case of Schlitz™, which is probably what happened. It’s a silly movie. But it’s Burt’s movie.
“And your Delta Tau Chi name is . . . Dispenser.”
Animal House – Certainly one of the best comedies of all time if not one of the best movies of all time as well. It took Belushi from star to superstar, and grossed $142 million after being made on a budget of $3 million. It, too was a nostalgic look back, as the Boomers continued to consume movies about themselves – almost every movie on this list was made by an for Boomers. Oh, and it references Vietnam. As does . . .
Do two Chongs make a white?
Up in Smoke – There really isn’t a plot to the movie other than Cheech and Chong getting stoned, but it made massive money – $104 million on a budget of $2 million, most of which was probably spent on drugs.
It took my Brazillianth try to get this image.
The Boys from Brazil – The Boys from Brazil was probably the first time cloning hit the national consciousness. The plot is simple: escaped doctor Josef Mengele wants to clone an Austrian painter to . . . well, that’s unclear. Certainly not paint.
I told Grok just to have fun with that one, and I was pleased.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes – The plot is in the title. Ambulatory tomatoes go around killing people in a comedy horror film that is also somehow a disaster movie. The real joke of the movie is that there isn’t enough plot for a movie, yet it spawned three sequels. I think it succeeded because not because it was so bad, but it was intentionally bad in just the right way at just the right time, sort of like The Gong Show.
This one surprised me for the pun.
The Deer Hunter – Annnnnd back to Vietnam. Is this the darkest movie on the list? Certainly. When the Vietnam dam burst in film, it really burst. This movie is well regarded because it’s got great actors, an intense plot, and is perfectly put together. But it’s bleak. If it’s a movie about America, it’s a movie about a lost America under Jimmy Carter where we looked like the most likely superpower to collapse. But speaking about superpowers . . .
Grok came up with the logo himself.
Superman – It was the most expensive movie made up to that point at $55 million, and made $300 million, so this movie did not kneel before Zod. Was it a movie for kids? Certainly, but plenty of adults had to go see it, too. I think the plot is far too optimistic to be made today, and if Netflix™ were to remake it, Superma’am™ would be a proud black FtM transexual, since Superman™ is already an illegal alien.
Sally doesn’t like being replaced.
Every Which Way but Loose – Clint spent most of the 1970s killing people in places like San Francisco or the Alps, he decided he wanted to do a comedy to “broaden his appeal.” What comedy? Every Which Way but Loose. In it, Eastwood plays a bare-knuckle boxer who roams the United States looking for a girl while accompanied by his best friend and his monkey. It’s sort of like what Smokey and the Bandit would have been if Sally Field was a monkey. Did Clint have a lot of money after all those earlier box office hits? He did. This one made over $100 million on a $5 million budget.
If you know, you know.
Halloween – Halloween is, perhaps, the first modern horror movie that made it big. John Carpenter, who had already done some good movies, decided to make a great movie. It was one of the lowest-budgeted movies on this list, yet made $70 million at the box office. Carpenter was paid just $10,000 to write and direct it, but retained a 10% profit stake. This was the movie that showed what horror movies would become after the Hammer Films Dracula-style movie was no longer the standard.
This is 1978. It’s pretty dark, but America was in a dark place. High inflation, stagnant economy, the Soviets attacking Afghanistan and Americans held hostage in Teheran. It reminds me of Biden’s America, but Carter didn’t have dementia and Obama to blame.
What did I miss?
I think Saturday Night Fever also came out early that year as it seemed to be a good year for Travolta. To this day, I still can’t tell whether Travolta is an acting genius, or just really lucky. He seems to have a very limited range, but a knack for picking highly successful movies where that limited range was a good fit.
Hooper was a favorite mainly because it was filmed somewhat close to home. That was back in the day when Hollywood was the center of most filming, so it was a novelty for us.
Never cared for horror movies in general so Halloween was a pass for me. Nevertheless, Carpenter is still one of my favorite filmmakers because he was always doing stuff that was so different from the mainstream. I wish there were more like him today. My favorite of his films is still “Dark Star”. It was his first film (i.e. very low budget) but a very funny cult classic.
J-Bird
I love Dark Star. Watched it last month. I read the book first, but the movie is still a hoot – better now than when I saw it as a kid.
Animal House has stood the test of time, I can still watch it and laugh uproariously. Several scenes were important to me as a young lad in the 80s when it was on HBO at night. Superman is terribly dated, still OK for nostalgia value though. I was pretty young in 78 so I didn’t see many films in the theater.
AS-
My AH fav, among 20+ others, is when the kid is reading Playboy, the “bunny” falls into his bed, and he says “Thanks God!”.
The end chase in “Hooper” was filmed in Tuscaloosa. Bama built a huge apartment complex east of US 82 for GIs after WW2. They were planning to demo the complex, when Burt said, we’ll do most of that for free.
Left out? Two “Pink Panthers”, “The Last Waltz” & “Watership Down” – the animated movie that describes the Deep State to a T.
Animal House is very, very good. Made a lot of money for Nat Lamp, which no doubt bought a lot of cocaine.
I didn’t see any of these in the theater, but eventually saw most of them later. But I’m not sure on a couple of them–Animal House and Halloween–whether I’ve actually seen the whole movie or have just seen so many clips that it feels like I’ve watched the movie. I had the same issue with Monty Python and the Holy Grail: I’d heard so many people quote different parts of the movie before I saw it that I already knew most of the lines when I first watched it.
Same here. Zero in theater.
I think I’ve overdosed on mutated – or mutilated – cat images. Grok may be worse at the cat images than at people’s hands.
Ha! Yes, I guess you’re right.
I watched first-run and really enjoyed Corvette Summer, a cheerful youth adventure story that was Mark Hamill’s sophomore outing filmed before Star Wars was released and became a megahit. This was also Annie Potts’ film debut before she became an A-lister a few years later in Ghostbusters. She is still going strong as grandmother Connie in the CBS TV show Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage, for my money the best outing of the Big Bang Theory franchise and a show you should be watching as the current (and deserved) #1 rated comedy on network TV. Perhaps watch the last two seasons of Young Sheldon first to understand the GMFM premise setup… but I digress.
I also remember seeing and enjoying Goin’ South first run, and that’s probably where I developed my fan crush on Mary Steenburgenwho later went on to be the love interest of not one but two screen scientists – cementing her place in my heart. Oh, and Jack Nicholson was good in this one too, that goes without sayin’.
The best horror film in 1978 wasn’t Halloween, it was the film version of Michael Crichton’s Coma. The scene of the warehouse of donors hanging from wires is real horror, coming soon to a clone near, er, of you. I’m not a big fan of Geneviève Bujold (thank God she was replaced in the pilot of Star Trek : Voyager as Captain Janeway by Kate Mulgrew – see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbl3cGQ5vxI ) but she did a good job here.
As another example of actor comparisons, The Big Sleep showed that nobody does it like Bogie, not even Robert Mitchum.
For the record, the legendary Debbie Does Dallas was released in 1978. Never seen that one. Probably quaint by today’s standards.
Besides Go Tell The Spartans, add the much-better -known Coming Home to the Vietnam film list. The title refers to female lead Hanoi Jane returning from her shift on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun to thank paraplegic Wounded Warrior Jon Voight for his service by committing adultery with him.
An Unmarried Woman added sexuality to the prior Mary Tyler Moore Show on television and launched media portrayals of feminism to new heights. If you’re wondering how we got to where we are today, this film is a key waypoint.
Before The Blue Lagoon, Brook Shields started her career portraying a 12 year old child prostitute in Pretty Baby. Epstein probably saw this film first run at age 25 about the time the CIA or Mossad hired him, and look where it got him.
Also getting his film debut in 1978 was Billy Crystal in Rabbit Test, showing that yes, men can indeed have babies.
A Different Story was a tender tale of a lesbian taking on an illegal immigrant gay man as a roommate. Love blossoms. And a baby.
It should be obvious from the half-dozen or so films listed above that by 1978 the woke wave of Hollywood films was already gathering strength and headed in as a tsunami to flood the cultural beach of America.
But one stake in the sand of that beach, the core values of what America stood, was the idealism and innocence of Superman. I saw that movie upon its release in 1978 and then several times afterwards in early 1979. My mother committed suicide that Christmas, and I only saw Superman once before that happened. In later viewings and ever since, when Lois Lane dies in the movie and Superman spins the Earth backwards to turn back time bring her back, I always had tears in my eyes wishing I had that particular superpower to do the same.
Huh. Lookie what I found over on YouTube… Corvette Summer!
To true film geeks, CS is very meta. For example, from Wikipedia:
“In the 2017 Justice League Action short episode “Missing the Mark”, Trickster (voiced by Hamill) mentions Corvette Summer as his favorite film to an animated Mark Hamill, describing the premise to sound like he is talking about Star Wars before mentioning it by title.”
Fun! Loyalty! Love! Betrayal! Coming of Age! A true hero’s journey…
Ha! I looked forward to that movie because . . . Star Wars. Very disappoint (because . . . Star Wars)
“For the record, the legendary Debbie Does Dallas was released in 1978.”
John should take a stab at the DDD poster just to see how the AI interprets it. Although I do worry where the PEZ dispenser might end up 🙂
I saw that movie when I was 24 or so (looooong after it *ahem* came out). I wonder what would have happened if it was done like Evil Dead.
It’s amazing how movies can bring us back to a place and time . . . the story of your mother and Superman . . . no words.
Dawn of the Dead, Piranha, Midnight Express, I Spit on Your Grave
Dawn of the Dead was on the list, until I remembered: sequel.
“I Spit” has more merit than Siskel and Ebert suggested. I actually scouted the filming locations in Kent, CT not too long ago.
Up in Smoke was one of the favorite films of my youth, and the best C&C movie. Still funny. Saw it at the drive-in once on a double bill with Animal House, back when we used to be a proper country.
The Seniors is a skinemax fave directed by Rod Amateau of BOB CUMMINGS SHOW/BURNS AND ALLEN/DOBIE GILLIS fame and starring a young Dennis Quaid with lots of terrific character actors (including Alan Reed in his final role). And….Priscilla Barnes bares all. Can’t in good conscience call it a great movie by any means, but some really good lines and pre teen me loved it. My future acting teacher Ryland Markey has a part, and it was filmed near SMU campus in Dallas.
Convoy is a glorious mess, but worth seeing as the least likely Sam Peckinpah film ever. And in fact, rumor is that James Coburn actually directed most of it for him.
Burt did do a “serious” type movie the same year, The End. Directed it too, but it isn’t nearly as rewatchable or fun as Hooper. He did alternate his light projects with more “substantial” roles like Starting Over and Sharky’s Machine, which mostly worked, and Rough Cut and Best Friends, which didn’t.
The Buddy Holly Story plays very, very, VERY loosely with the facts, but Busey’s performance is a reminder of what a talent he once was.
Another excellent film is Blue Collar, which has a few flaws but retains much of its grit today. Probably Richard Pryor’s best dramatic performance. I’ll second the recommendation also for Go Tell The Spartans.
I really enjoyed Up in Smoke – the local college showed it as a matinee years after it first came out, and I thought it was a hoot.
The rest . . . new to me (with the exception of The End, which is hilarious).
Belated comment, but I had some thoughts to share. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes! is outstanding. Brilliant comedy movie. A masterpiece of subtle and not-so-subtle wit.
I will not lie and say it’s a good movie, but Starcrash is certainly memorable.
The Star Wars Holiday Special isn’t as bad as the reputation would suggest. I wouldn’t call it good, but it does have good moments. Also, it’s a Thanksgiving Special, not Christmas.
Animation:
Watership Down – Rabbits forced from their old territory by human encroachment embark on a hazardous journey to find a new home.
Lupin the 3rd: The Mystery of Mamo – Master Thief challenges strange conspiracy that ends up being much stranger than expected.
Good year for Martial Arts:
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin – Oppressed commoner joins the Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu. Ends up learning more than kung fu.
Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow – Jackie Chan’s breakout role. Local loser learns martial arts from observation and a mentor, then gets dragged into a conflict between schools.
Five Deadly Venoms – A dying master is worried that some of his first five students are abusing their powers and asks his sixth and final student to track them down and kill them if they’re evil.
Crippled Avengers – Evil martial artists cruelly abuse anyone who gets in the way or even speaks up against them. Several men crippled by them learn kung fu in order to overcome their disabilities and stop the villains.
Things I haven’t seen yet, but which I am interested in.
The Cheap Detective – Film Noir parody with a surprisingly star-studded cast.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Classic science fiction horror story.
Death on the Nile – Hercule Poirot adaptation. I don’t expect it to be as amazing as the 1974 Murder on the Orient Express movie, but hopefully it will be good.
The Great Train Robbery – Heist movie on a train.
Convoy – Truckers vs The Law. Based on a song.
Eyes of Laura Mars – female fashion photographer starts seeing out of the eyes of a murderer.
The Inglorious Bastards – WW2 penal legion sent on a suicide mission.
The Wild Geese – Mercenaries fighting in Africa.
Deathsport – David Carradine in a Bloodsport fought on ‘Destructocycles’.
Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings – I’ve seen the Peter Jackson versions, but I’m also curious about the old animated adaptations.
Circle of Iron – More David Carradine, this time in a martial arts movie.