September 30, 2014 Tuesday 7: Movies of 1978
I was 6 years old in 1978, barely aware that movies were even a thing. I don’t remember what the first movie I ever saw was, but I remember seeing Mary Poppins at a friend’s house when I was young, and I remember the Disney cartoon Robin Hood, but I have no frame of reference for when any of those things happened.
Suffice to say I didn’t see any of these movies until much later. Well, except for the honorable mention. I had to have been pretty young when I saw that one.
Honorable Mention: The Cat from Outer Space – I remember that the cat had a collar that would glow as an indication it was using telekinesis, and that’s about all I remember.
7. National Lampoon’s Animal House – I get that this is an “important” movie in the “wild college movies” genre, but… ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Some scenes hold up better than the movie as a whole – who doesn’t want to smash an acoustic guitar at some point in their life, right?
6. Same Time Next Year – More interesting than good, watching the characters grow and change through the different decades. If you didn’t know beforehand that it was based on a play, you’d pretty much guess it while watching.
5. Paradise Alley – I read Stallone’s book way before I ever saw the movie. Very Rocky-ish, which probably isn’t surprising.
4. Grease – Most people have fond memories of this movie because the songs are peppy and fun, but, man, the message is terrible: “Girls, the best way to get a man is to change everything about yourself so he’ll like you.” Bleah.
3. The Deer Hunter – For several years I was really “into” the Vietnam War. I read all kinds of books about it and wrote reports for school. I’m pretty sure it was because of Rambo: First Blood Part II, but it led me to some very interesting movies eventually. (Like this one, if that wasn’t immediately clear.)
2. Superman – This movie doesn’t really belong this high on the list, but I gotta take the year as a whole into account. It’s never going to show up on my Top Twenty, Fifty, or even Hundred, that much I know.
1. Halloween – It basically created the slasher flick, and it introduced us all to Jamie Lee Curtis, so give it a little respect, okay? Just, you know, maybe don’t think about the sequels too much.
Written by: Mark
- 3 comments
- Posted under Movies
Permalink #
daniel
said
I love that first Superman movie. I was 11 years old when I saw it in the theater. No super hero film had been done seriously before that and it was GOOD. It may not be the BEST super hero film, but it helped pave the way for all the others that came after. The Cat From Outer Space, man, that was fun.
Permalink #
Mark
said
I appreciate where it got us, certainly. I just don’t think the movie itself is very good :/
Permalink #
Lyn
said
“Same Time Next Year” is a movie I’ve seen from half an hour in a dozen times. Never seen the start. It’s a staple of the Midday Movie slot and I find it late. I must try and see the beginning one day.