Films of 1979

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Last Updated: 1/28/26
Total Films: 56
Note: The year of each film is according to IMDb. It sometimes changes without my knowledge. When I become aware, I will make adjustments. Like the Oscars, I select the best for each category: picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, cinematography, editing, original screenplay, adapted screenplay, and documentary. This is based on the movies I've actually seen, and miniseries and telefilms are fair game. Each winner is named along with the next four ordered runner-ups (which may be less) and honorable mentions (if any). These categories may be left blank if I feel there's no deserving winner. A ranked list of films is presented afterwards.



Best Picture
Apocalypse Now

2. The Black Stallion
3. Being There
4. Alien
5. Roots: The Next Generations
Honorable Mentions: The Jericho Mile, Return of the Secaucus 7, The Brood, ...And Justice for All, and Rocky II


Best Actor
Peter Sellers (Being There)

2. Kelly Reno (The Black Stallion)
3. Robert Duvall (The Great Santini)
4. Al Pacino (...And Justice for All)
5. Peter Strauss (The Jericho Mile)
Honorable Mentions: Georg Stanford Brown (Roots: The Next Generations), Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away), Phil Daniels (Quadrophenia), James Earl Jones (Roots: The Next Generations), Jack Lemmon (The China Syndrome), Steve Martin (The Jerk), Nick Nolte (North Dallas Forty), Kurt Russell (Elvis), John Savage (The Onion Field), Martin Sheen (Apocalypse Now), Stan Shaw (Roots: The Next Generations), Treat Williams (Hair), and James Woods (The Onion Field)


Best Actress
Sally Field (Norma Rae)

2. Sigourney Weaver (Alien)
3. Jane Fonda (The China Syndrome)
4.
5.
Honorable Mentions: None


Best Supporting Actor
Marlon Brando (Apocalypse Now)

2. Robert Duvall (Apocalypse Now)
3. Ron Leibman (Norma Rae)
4. Mickey Rooney (The Black Stallion)
5. Melvyn Douglas (Being There)
Honorable Mentions: Marlon Brando (Roots: The Next Generations), Mac Davis (North Dallas Forty), Paul Dooley (Breaking Away), Michael Douglas (The China Syndrome), Henry Fonda (Roots: The Next Generations), Frederic Forrest (Apocalypse Now), Al Freeman, Jr. (Roots: The Next Generations), Arthur Hill (A Little Romance), Burgess Meredith (Rocky II), Michael O'Keefe (The Great Santini), Laurence Olivier (A Little Romance), Oliver Reed (The Brood), and Franklyn Seales (The Onion Field)


Best Supporting Actress
Blythe Danner (The Great Santini)

2. Samantha Eggar (The Brood)
3.
4.
5.
Honorable Mentions: None


Best Director
Francis Ford Coppola (Apocalypse Now)

2. Carroll Ballard (The Black Stallion)
3. Ridley Scott (Alien)
4. Michael Mann (The Jericho Mile)
5. Hal Ashby (Being There)
Honorable Mentions: Harold Becker (The Onion Field), David Cronenberg (The Brood), George Roy Hill (A Little Romance), Martin Ritt (Norma Rae), Franc Roddam (Quadrophenia), and John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus 7)


Best Cinematography
Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now)

2. Caleb Deschanel (The Black Stallion)
3. Vittorio Storaro (Agatha)
4. Rexford L. Metz (The Jericho Mile)
5. Brian Tufano (Quadrophenia)
Honorable Mentions: John A. Alonzo (Norma Rae), Caleb Deschanel (Being There), and Derek Vanlint (Alien)


Best Editing
Lisa Fruchtman, Gerald B. Greenberg, and Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now)

2. Stanford C. Allen (Rocky II)
3. Terry Rawlings and Peter Weatherley (Alien)
4. Arthur Schmidt (The Jericho Mile)
5. Robert Dalva (The Black Stallion)
Honorable Mentions: Alan Collins (The Brood), Don Coscarelli (Phantasm), and Sidney Levin (Norma Rae)


Best Original Screenplay
John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus 7)

2. Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson (...And Justice for All)
3. Blake Edwards (10)
4. David Cronenberg (The Brood)
5. Don Coscarelli (Phantasm)
Honorable Mentions: Dan O'Bannon (Alien), Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr. (Norma Rae), and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky II)


Best Adapted Screenplay
John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola (Apocalypse Now)

2. Jerzy Kosinski (Being There)
3. Melissa Mathison, Jeanne Rosenberg, and William D. Wittliff (The Black Stallion)
4. Ernest Kinoy, Sydney A. Glass, John McGreevey, Thad Mumford, and Dan Wilcox (Roots: The Next Generations)
5. Joseph Wambaugh (The Onion Field)
Honorable Mentions: Frank Yablans, Ted Kotcheff, and Peter Gent (North Dallas Forty)


Films Rated '10'
  1. Apocalypse Now

  2. The Black Stallion

  3. Being There

  4. Alien

  5. Roots: The Next Generations

  6. The Jericho Mile

  7. Return of the Secaucus 7

  8. The Brood

Films Rated '9'
  1. ...And Justice for All

  2. Rocky II

  3. The Onion Field

  4. Norma Rae

Films Rated '8'
  1. Quadrophenia

  2. A Little Romance

  3. Escape from Alcatraz

  4. Breaking Away

  5. The China Syndrome

  6. North Dallas Forty

  7. Over the Edge

  8. The Jerk

  9. 10

  10. All Quiet on the Western Front

Films Rated '7'
  1. Kramer vs. Kramer

  2. Phantasm

  3. The Great Santini

  4. Elvis

  5. Hair

Films Rated '6'
  1. An Almost Perfect Affair

  2. Hardcore

  3. Agatha

Films Rated '5'
  1. Fukushû suru wa ware ni ari

  2. Scum

  3. All That Jazz

  4. Mad Max

  5. Avalanche Express

  6. Meatballs

Films Rated '4'
  1. Hanover Street

  2. When a Stranger Calls

  3. Prophecy

  4. Winter Kills

  5. The Concorde - Airport '79

Films Rated '3'
  1. Salem's Lot

  2. Caligula

  3. Zombie

  4. The Champ

  5. Meteor

  6. Moonraker

  7. Dracula

Films Rated '2'
  1. More American Graffiti

  2. The Electric Horseman

  3. Love at First Bite

  4. The Warriors

  5. The Amityville Horror

Films Rated '1'
  1. Life of Brian

  2. Murder by Decree

  3. 1941