ON-TV: a modest tribute
by Kintners-raft | created - 19 Aug 2012 | updated - 15 May 2016 | Publicc.1980-1983: a simple box with a single knob was connected to the only tv in our home and was largely responsible for the onset of my obsession with movies. ON-TV was a UHF-scrambled, commercial-free, subscription programming service that aired sports, concerts, music videos and movies several years before the introduction of cable tv.
The following is a list of influential movies I first experienced via 'ON' (at the impressionable ages of 12-15). Most are quite good and still rank as some of my all-time favorites while some are bona fide clunkers. Regardless of their critical reception, each certainly helped shape my overall interest in film, my cinematic inclinations, and my attitude about the world in which I was presently becoming an independent entity.
I suppose the real thanks should go to my parents who not only paid for this luxury but also provided me the freedom to explore all content without supervision, guidance or restriction. This rare act of parental latitude allowed me to be completely objective and thus thoroughly immerse myself in the medium to form opinions, emotions, likes and dislikes that were truly idiosyncratic.
Of course we are all products of our environment and usually retain and revere our early influences... and so it is, for me, that this became a "golden age" of film for which I am grateful to ON-TV for its quality, unedited programming and brief existence before the purchase of our first VCR.
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1. Wait Until Dark (1967)
Approved | 108 min | Thriller
A recently blinded woman is terrorized by a trio of thugs while they search for a heroin-stuffed doll they believe is in her apartment.
Director: Terence Young | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna, Efrem Zimbalist Jr.
Votes: 33,744 | Gross: $17.55M
2. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
R | 113 min | Drama
A naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver
Votes: 120,881 | Gross: $44.79M
3. M*A*S*H (1970)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman
Votes: 76,950 | Gross: $81.60M
4. Klute (1971)
R | 114 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead: a connection with a New York prostitute.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider
Votes: 29,639 | Gross: $17.44M
5. The French Connection (1971)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Votes: 135,755 | Gross: $15.63M
6. Macbeth (1971)
R | 140 min | Drama, History
A ruthlessly ambitious Scottish lord seizes the throne with the help of his scheming wife and a trio of witches.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jon Finch, Francesca Annis, Martin Shaw, Terence Bayler
Votes: 14,979
7. Straw Dogs (1971)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young American and his English wife come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Susan George, Peter Vaughan, T.P. McKenna
Votes: 64,524
8. Boxcar Bertha (1972)
R | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
During the Great Depression, a union leader and a young woman become criminals to exact revenge on the management of a railroad.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus, Bernie Casey
Votes: 10,918
9. To Kill a Clown (1972)
R | 104 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A young hippie couple rent a secluded cabin on the beach in an attempt to re-connect with each other and save their marriage. Unfortunately, the man they rented the cabin from is a ... See full summary »
Director: George Bloomfield | Stars: Alan Alda, Blythe Danner, Heath Lamberts, Eric Clavering
Votes: 271
10. Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
GP | 108 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Will Geer, Delle Bolton, Josh Albee
Votes: 35,004 | Gross: $47.74M
11. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 455,186 | Gross: $232.91M
12. American Graffiti (1973)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 98,191 | Gross: $115.00M
13. Enter the Dragon (1973)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri
Votes: 113,022 | Gross: $25.00M
14. Badlands (1973)
PG | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Ramon Bieri
Votes: 78,430
15. Serpico (1973)
R | 130 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire
Votes: 134,869 | Gross: $29.80M
16. Blazing Saddles (1974)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Western
In order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black Sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman
Votes: 152,555 | Gross: $119.50M
17. Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)
PG | 93 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Down-on-their-luck racers Larry and Deke steal from a supermarket manager to buy a car that will help them advance their racing chances. Their escape does not go as planned when Larry's one-night stand, Mary, tags along for the ride.
Director: John Hough | Stars: Peter Fonda, Susan George, Adam Roarke, Kenneth Tobey
Votes: 7,829 | Gross: $0.62M
18. Rollerball (1975)
Approved | 125 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Sport
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck
Votes: 29,311 | Gross: $30.00M
19. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar
Votes: 273,151 | Gross: $50.00M
20. Three Days of the Condor (1975)
R | 117 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, Max von Sydow
Votes: 62,604 | Gross: $41.51M
21. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,072,769 | Gross: $112.00M
22. Taxi Driver (1976)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
Votes: 921,191 | Gross: $28.26M
23. All the President's Men (1976)
PG | 138 min | Drama, History, Thriller
"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam
Votes: 126,098 | Gross: $70.60M
24. The Bad News Bears (1976)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 25,035 | Gross: $42.35M
25. Logan's Run (1976)
PG | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Roscoe Lee Browne
Votes: 61,060 | Gross: $25.00M
26. The Omen (1976)
R | 111 min | Horror, Mystery
Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador. Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist? The Devil's own son?
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, David Warner
Votes: 132,663 | Gross: $4.27M
27. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
PG | 135 min | Drama, Western
Missouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George, Bill McKinney
Votes: 79,877 | Gross: $31.80M
28. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Highway Patrol Officer, two criminals and a station secretary defend a defunct Los Angeles precinct office against a siege by a bloodthirsty street gang.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, Martin West
Votes: 55,647
29. Carrie (1976)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery
Carrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, John Travolta
Votes: 206,766 | Gross: $33.80M
30. Network (1976)
R | 121 min | Drama
A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall
Votes: 170,710
31. Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy (1976)
88 min | Adult, Comedy, Fantasy
Alice dreams of the White Rabbit, whom she follows into Wonderland, where she begins to experiment with her unexplored sexuality.
Director: Bud Townsend | Stars: Kristine DeBell, Bucky Searles, Gela Nash, Ron Nelson
Votes: 3,177
32. The Enforcer (1976)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan reluctantly teams up with rookie Inspector Kate Moore to foil a terrorist organization made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans.
Director: James Fargo | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 49,180 | Gross: $46.20M
33. Slap Shot (1977)
R | 123 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Strother Martin, Jennifer Warren
Votes: 41,254 | Gross: $28.00M
34. Annie Hall (1977)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
Alvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane
Votes: 278,501 | Gross: $39.20M
35. Rollercoaster (1977)
PG | 119 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A blackmailer threatens to sabotage roller coasters at various American amusement parks if he isn't paid a huge ransom.
Director: James Goldstone | Stars: George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda
Votes: 6,916
36. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
R | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Susan Lanier, Robert Houston, John Steadman, Janus Blythe
Votes: 39,250 | Gross: $25.00M
37. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
PG | 91 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A thirteen-year-old girl, who lives with her absentee father, befriends a disabled teenage amateur magician and invites him, gradually, into her tenuous struggle against a predatory local neighbor.
Director: Nicolas Gessner | Stars: Jodie Foster, Martin Sheen, Alexis Smith, Mort Shuman
Votes: 18,094
38. The Gauntlet (1977)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A hard but mediocre cop is assigned to escort a prostitute into custody from Las Vegas to Phoenix, so that she can testify in a mob trial. But a lot of people are literally betting that they won't make it into town alive.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince
Votes: 25,096 | Gross: $35.40M
39. High Anxiety (1977)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their patients, and have secrets that they are willing to commit murder to keep.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman
Votes: 23,895 | Gross: $31.06M
40. Capricorn One (1977)
PG | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When the first manned flight to Mars is deemed unsafe and scrubbed on the launch pad, anxious authorities must scramble to save face and retain their funding - and so an unthinkable plot to fake the mission is hatched.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston
Votes: 24,740
41. Damien: Omen II (1978)
R | 107 min | Horror
Damien the Antichrist, now about to turn thirteen years old, finally learns of his destiny under the guidance of an unholy disciple of Satan. Meanwhile dark forces begin to eliminate all those who suspect the child's true identity.
Directors: Don Taylor, Mike Hodges | Stars: William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Robert Foxworth
Votes: 35,913 | Gross: $3.88M
42. Foul Play (1978)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
A San Francisco librarian picks up a hitchhiker whose car has broken down, which leads to her being stalked and hunted by shady individuals. A cop she briefly met during a function eventually comes to her rescue.
Director: Colin Higgins | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Rachel Roberts
Votes: 16,944 | Gross: $45.00M
43. Up in Smoke (1978)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Music
Two stoners unknowingly smuggle a van - made entirely of marijuana - from Mexico to L.A., with incompetent Sgt. Stedenko on their trail.
Directors: Lou Adler, Tommy Chong | Stars: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Strother Martin, Edie Adams
Votes: 40,926 | Gross: $44.36M
44. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,907 | Gross: $47.00M
45. The Boys from Brazil (1978)
R | 125 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer
Votes: 30,586 | Gross: $19.00M
46. Midnight Express (1978)
R | 121 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli
Votes: 88,271 | Gross: $35.00M
47. Magic (1978)
R | 107 min | Drama, Horror
A ventriloquist is at the mercy of his vicious dummy while he tries to renew a romance with his high school sweetheart.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess Meredith, Ed Lauter
Votes: 13,459 | Gross: $25.94M
48. The Deer Hunter (1978)
R | 183 min | Drama, War
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage
Votes: 362,367 | Gross: $48.98M
49. Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
PG | 114 min | Action, Comedy
The San Fernando Valley adventures of trucker turned prize-fighter Philo Beddoe and his pet orangutan Clyde.
Director: James Fargo | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Beverly D'Angelo
Votes: 30,054 | Gross: $106.00M
50. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
PG | 115 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 69,894 | Gross: $24.95M
51. The Warriors (1979)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler
Votes: 110,740 | Gross: $22.49M
52. The China Syndrome (1979)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
Director: James Bridges | Stars: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Votes: 33,050 | Gross: $51.72M
53. Phantasm (1979)
R | 89 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A teenage boy and his friends face off against a mysterious grave robber, known only as the Tall Man, who employs a lethal arsenal of unearthly weapons.
Director: Don Coscarelli | Stars: A. Michael Baldwin, Bill Thornbury, Reggie Bannister, Kathy Lester
Votes: 41,283 | Gross: $11.99M
54. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
PG | 89 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A 20th century astronaut emerges out of 500 years of suspended animation into a future time where Earth is threatened by alien invaders.
Director: Daniel Haller | Stars: Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Pamela Hensley, Henry Silva
Votes: 6,875 | Gross: $21.67M
55. Love at First Bite (1979)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Horror
After being evicted from his castle in Transylvania, Count Dracula and his assistant Renfield travel to New York to find a woman who the Count believes is the reincarnation of the woman he has loved for all eternity.
Director: Stan Dragoti | Stars: George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, Dick Shawn
Votes: 6,392 | Gross: $43.89M
56. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 951,423 | Gross: $78.90M
57. Meatballs (1979)
PG | 94 min | Comedy
Wacky hijinks of counselors and campers at a less-than-average summer camp.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham
Votes: 23,883 | Gross: $43.05M
58. North Dallas Forty (1979)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
A satire of American professional football in which a veteran pass-catcher's individuality and refusal to become part of the team family are bitterly resented by his disciplinarian coaches.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Nick Nolte, Charles Durning, Mac Davis, Dayle Haddon
Votes: 5,996 | Gross: $26.08M
59. Americathon (1979)
PG | 86 min | Comedy, Musical
In a story told in narrative flashbacks, a young TV consultant is hired by the President of a bankrupt USA to organize a telethon in order to prevent the country from being repossessed by wealthy Native Americans.
Director: Neal Israel | Stars: Harvey Korman, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Zane Buzby
Votes: 959 | Gross: $6.17M
60. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 710,585 | Gross: $83.47M
61. Time After Time (1979)
PG | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
H.G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to the 20th Century when the serial murderer uses the future writer's time machine to escape his time period.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, David Warner, Charles Cioffi
Votes: 20,647
62. The Onion Field (1979)
R | 126 min | Crime, Drama
An LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: John Savage, James Woods, Franklyn Seales, Ted Danson
Votes: 5,765 | Gross: $9.89M
63. 10 (1979)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
A Hollywood composer goes through a mid-life crisis and becomes infatuated with a sexy, newly married woman.
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Dudley Moore, Bo Derek, Julie Andrews, Robert Webber
Votes: 19,287 | Gross: $74.87M
64. And Justice for All (1979)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A lawyer is forced to defend a judge, while defending other clients, and trying to find punishment for the guilty and provide justice for the innocent.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg
Votes: 39,693
65. The Great Santini (1979)
PG | 115 min | Drama
As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated Marine pilot.
Director: Lewis John Carlino | Stars: Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky
Votes: 6,949
66. Quadrophenia (1979)
R | 120 min | Drama, Music
Jimmy Cooper loathes his dead-end job and his working-class parents. He seeks solace with his mod clique, scooter riding, and drugs, only to be disappointed.
Director: Franc Roddam | Stars: Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Phil Davis, Mark Wingett
Votes: 20,880
67. The Rose (1979)
R | 125 min | Drama, Music, Romance
The tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton
Votes: 9,253 | Gross: $29.20M
68. 1941 (1979)
PG | 118 min | Action, Comedy, War
Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Treat Williams, Nancy Allen
Votes: 36,280 | Gross: $31.76M
69. The Jerk (1979)
R | 94 min | Comedy
A simpleminded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Mabel King
Votes: 64,236 | Gross: $73.69M
70. The Electric Horseman (1979)
PG | 121 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A rodeo star past his prime steals his company's horse and rides into the desert, accompanied by a feisty reporter.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine, Willie Nelson
Votes: 10,300 | Gross: $61.80M
71. Being There (1979)
PG | 130 min | Comedy, Drama
After the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden
Votes: 77,689 | Gross: $30.18M
72. All That Jazz (1979)
R | 123 min | Drama, Music, Musical
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse tells his own life story as he details the sordid career of Joe Gideon, a womanizing, drug-using dancer.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer
Votes: 35,418 | Gross: $37.82M
73. The Fog (1980)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman
Votes: 83,043 | Gross: $21.38M
74. Little Darlings (1980)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
Two fifteen year-old girls from different sides of the tracks compete to see who will be the first to lose their virginity while at a summer camp.
Director: Ron Maxwell | Stars: Tatum O'Neal, Kristy McNichol, Armand Assante, Matt Dillon
Votes: 6,578 | Gross: $34.33M
75. The Long Riders (1980)
R | 100 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the Jesse James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Dennis Quaid, Keith Carradine
Votes: 12,916 | Gross: $23.00M
76. Fame (1980)
R | 134 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean
Votes: 24,709 | Gross: $0.12M
77. Carny (1980)
R | 107 min | Drama
Tired of her dull job as a waitress, Donna decides to join two carnival hustlers and see what life in their field is like.
Director: Robert Kaylor | Stars: Gary Busey, Jodie Foster, Robbie Robertson, Meg Foster
Votes: 2,441
78. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,107,280 | Gross: $44.02M
79. Brubaker (1980)
R | 131 min | Crime, Drama
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, Morgan Freeman, Jane Alexander
Votes: 19,445 | Gross: $37.12M
80. The Stunt Man (1980)
R | 131 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady while facing off with his manipulative director.
Director: Richard Rush | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Allen Garfield
Votes: 10,471 | Gross: $7.06M
81. Airplane! (1980)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Votes: 261,247 | Gross: $83.40M
82. Used Cars (1980)
R | 113 min | Comedy
When the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae
Votes: 16,775
83. The Big Red One (1980)
R | 113 min | Drama, War
A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco
Votes: 21,402
84. Dressed to Kill (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A mysterious blonde woman kills one of a psychiatrist's patients, and then goes after the high-class call girl who witnessed the murder.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon
Votes: 48,249 | Gross: $31.90M
85. Caddyshack (1980)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Sport
An exclusive golf course has to deal with a flatulent new member and a destructive dancing gopher.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight
Votes: 127,214 | Gross: $39.85M
86. Xanadu (1980)
PG | 96 min | Fantasy, Musical, Romance
A struggling artist living in Los Angeles meets a girl who may hold the key to his happiness.
Director: Robert Greenwald | Stars: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan
Votes: 15,392 | Gross: $22.76M
87. Ordinary People (1980)
R | 124 min | Drama
The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
Votes: 56,699 | Gross: $54.80M
88. Gloria (1980)
PG | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen, Tony Knesich
Votes: 11,437
89. One-Trick Pony (1980)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Jonah (Paul Simon) is a once-popular folk-rock musician trying to put together a new album in the face of an indifferent record-company executive and a talentless producer. At the same time, he's struggling to save his failing marriage.
Director: Robert M. Young | Stars: Paul Simon, Blair Brown, Rip Torn, Joan Hackett
Votes: 764
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Votes: 258,557
91. Private Benjamin (1980)
R | 109 min | Comedy, War
A sheltered young high-society woman joins the United States Army on a whim and finds herself in a trickier situation than she ever expected.
Director: Howard Zieff | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan, Armand Assante, Robert Webber
Votes: 28,702 | Gross: $69.85M
92. Motel Hell (1980)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller
A seemingly friendly farmer and his sister kidnap unsuspecting travelers and bury them alive, using them to create the "special meat" they are famous for.
Director: Kevin Connor | Stars: Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod
Votes: 13,618 | Gross: $6.34M
93. Hawk the Slayer (1980)
PG | 90 min | Adventure, Fantasy
With the aid of his companions, a man seeks to defeat his evil brother who has taken a nun hostage.
Director: Terry Marcel | Stars: Jack Palance, John Terry, Bernard Bresslaw, Ray Charleson
Votes: 4,101
94. Flash Gordon (1980)
PG | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol
Votes: 61,561
95. Stir Crazy (1980)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Crime
Set up and wrongfully accused, two best friends are sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. However, no prison cell can keep them locked in a cage.
Director: Sidney Poitier | Stars: Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, Georg Stanford Brown, JoBeth Williams
Votes: 30,404 | Gross: $101.30M
96. The Jazz Singer (1980)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Music, Romance
The son of a Jewish Cantor must defy the traditions of his religious father in order to pursue his dream of being a popular singer.
Directors: Richard Fleischer, Sidney J. Furie | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Neil Diamond, Lucie Arnaz, Catlin Adams
Votes: 5,015 | Gross: $27.12M
97. Seems Like Old Times (1980)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
Wrongfully accused of a bank robbery, a writer seeks the help of his ex-wife, who is now married to the soon-to-be Attorney General of California.
Director: Jay Sandrich | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Charles Grodin, Robert Guillaume
Votes: 10,806 | Gross: $44.00M
98. Altered States (1980)
R | 102 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid
Votes: 38,653 | Gross: $19.85M
99. Fort Apache the Bronx (1981)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama
In New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
Director: Daniel Petrie | Stars: Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello
Votes: 6,988 | Gross: $29.20M
100. The Howling (1981)
R | 91 min | Horror
After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone
Votes: 40,223 | Gross: $17.99M
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