Best Movies of 1978 by Rank
131
1
Michael Cimino
Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken
Drama / War / Epic
USA
English
194
2
Terrence Malick
Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz, Robert J. Wilke
Drama / Romance / Period Film
USA
English
358
3
Charles Burnett
Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry
Drama
USA
English
407
4
John Carpenter
Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Kyes, P.J. Soles
Horror / Thriller
USA
English
543
5
Ermanno Olmi
Luigi Ornaghi, Francesca Moriggi, Omar Brignoli, Antonio Ferrari, Teresa Brescianin
Drama
Italy / France
Italian
731
6
George A. Romero
David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross
Action / Horror / Drama / Cult
Italy / USA
English
768
7
Randal Kleiser
John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Comedy / Musical / Romance / Family
USA
English
806
8
Martin Scorsese
Robbie Robertson, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison, Dr. John
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
810
9
Richard Donner
Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando
Action / Adventure / Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Romance / Crime / Family / Comic
UK
English
870
10
Fred Schepisi
Tommy Lewis, Freddy Reynolds, Ray Barrett, Jack Thompson
Drama
Australia
English
941
11
John Landis
John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Karen Allen
Comedy
USA
English
947
12
Alan Parker
Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Paolo Bonacelli, Paul L. Smith
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Adventure / Biography
UK / USA
English
1034
14
Paul Mazursky
Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, Cliff Gorman, Patricia Quinn
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1178
15
Paul Schrader
Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel, Yaphet Kotto, Ed Begley Jr.
Crime / Drama
USA
English
1234
16
Bertrand Blier
Gérard Depardieu, Carole Laure
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Belgium / France
French
1401
17
Ingmar Bergman
Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, Halvar Björk, Marianne Aminoff
Drama / Music
France / West Germany / Sweden
Swedish
1630
18
Edouard Molinaro
Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault
Comedy
France / Italy
French
1642
19
Woody Allen
Diane Keaton, Geraldine Page, Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt
Drama
USA
English
1724
20
Ulu Grosbard
Dustin Hoffman, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmett Walsh, Theresa Russell
Crime / Drama
USA
English
1808
21
Steve Rash
Gary Busey, Don Stroud, Charles Martin Smith, Conrad Janis
Drama / Music / Biography / Family
USA
English
1830
22
Claudia Weill
Melanie Mayron, Eli Wallach, Adam Cohen, Anita Skinner, Jean De Baer
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
1881
23
Walter Hill
Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakley, Matt Clark
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Post-Noir / Gangster / Detective
USA
English
1889
24
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Volker Spengler, Ingrid Caven, Gottfried John, Elisabeth Trissenaar
Drama
West Germany
German
1922
25
Warren Beatty, Buck Henry
Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, James Mason, Jack Warden
Fantasy / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
1936
26
Louis Malle
Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine, Susan Sarandon, Frances Faye
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
1953
27
Lou Adler, Tommy Chong
Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Strother Martin, Edie Adams, Harold Fong
Comedy / Adventure / Cult
USA
English
1960
28
Reinhard Hauff
Bruno Ganz, Angela Winkler, Hans Christian Blech
Drama / Thriller
West Germany
German
2007
29
Herbert Ross
Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Walter Matthau
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2070
30
Claude Chabrol
Isabelle Huppert, Stéphane Audran, Jean Carmet
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Period Film
France / Canada
French
2093
31
James Toback
Harvey Keitel, Tisa Farrow, Jim Brown, Michael V. Gazzo, Marian Seldes
Drama / Crime / Action / Gangster
USA
English
2177
32
Stanley Donen
George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Red Buttons, Eli Wallach
Comedy / Musical
USA
English
2226
33
Chia-Liang Liu
John Cheung, Chia Hui Liu, Yu Wang, Lieh Lo, Chia Yung Liu, Norman Chu
Action / Drama
Hong Kong
English
2227
34
Martin Rosen
John Hurt, Richard Briers, Michael Graham Cox, John Bennett, Ralph Richardson
Animation / Family / Drama / Fantasy / Adventure
UK / Canada
English
2232
35
Bill Douglas
Stephen Archibald, Paul Kermack, Jessie Combe, William Carrol, Morag McNee
Biography / Drama
UK
English
2267
36
Phillip Noyce
Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Gerard Kennedy, Chris Haywood, John Ewart, Don Crosby
Drama / History
Australia
English
2277
37
Robert Enders
Glenda Jackson, Mona Washbourne, Alec McCowen, Trevor Howard
Drama / Biography
UK
English
2299
38
Cheh Chang
Sheng Chiang, Philip Kwok, Feng Lu, Pai Wei, Chien Sun, Meng Lo
Action / Adventure / Drama / Cult
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2304
39
Jirí Menzel
Rudolf Hrusínsky, Jirí Menzel, Blazena Holisová
Comedy / Drama
Czechoslovakia
Czech
2340
40
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg
André Heller, Harry Baer, Heinz Schubert, Peter Kern
War / Experimental
West Germany / UK / France
German
2482
41
John Guillermin
Peter Ustinov, Mia Farrow, Jane Birkin, Lois Chiles, Bette Davis
Crime / Mystery / Drama / Thriller / Detective
UK
English
2482
41
Colin Higgins
Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Rachel Roberts
Comedy / Thriller
USA
English
2605
42
Ted Post
Burt Lancaster, Craig Wasson, Jonathan Goldsmith, Marc Singer, Joe Unger
Drama / War / Action
USA
English
2605
42
Howard Zieff
Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Art Carney, Richard Benjamin, Candice Azzara
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2605
42
John Duigan
Kim Krejus, Sonia Peat, Ian Gilmour, Serge Frazzetto, Walter Pym, Michael Carman
Drama / Crime
Australia
English
2605
42
John Hanson, Rob Nilsson, Martin Lavut
Robert Behling, Susan Lynch, Joe Spano, Marianna Åström-De Fina
Drama / History / Biography
USA
English
2605
42
Geoff Steven
Ken Blackburn, Deryn Cooper, Alan Jervis, Grant Tilly, Bill Johnson
Drama
New Zealand
English
2688
43
John Milius
Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt, Gary Busey, Patti D'Arbanville, Lee Purcell
Comedy / Drama / Sports
USA
English
2688
43
Woo-ping Yuen
Jackie Chan, Siu Tien Yuen, Jang Lee Hwang, Ching Chiang, Ging Man Fung
Comedy / Action
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2689
44
Franklin J. Schaffner
Gregory Peck, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Uta Hagen
Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller / War / Crime
USA / UK
English
2689
44
Sidney J. Furie
Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens, James Canning, Michael Lembeck, Craig Wasson
Drama / War
USA / Hong Kong
English
2689
44
Peter Hyams
Elliott Gould, James Brolin, Brenda Vaccaro, Sam Waterston, O.J. Simpson
Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Action
USA / UK
English
2689
44
Robert Moore
Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Stockard Channing
Comedy / Crime / Mystery / Romance / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2689
44
Michael Crichton
Geneviève Bujold, Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Ashley, Rip Torn
Thriller / Mystery / Tech-Noir
USA
English
2689
44
Burt Reynolds, James Best
Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Sally Field, Harry Caesar, Janice Carroll
Comedy
USA
English
2689
44
Irvin Kershner
Faye Dunaway, Tommy Lee Jones, Brad Dourif, Rene Auberjonois, Raul Julia
Mystery / Thriller / Crime / Detective
USA
English
2689
44
Brian De Palma
Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress, Charles Durning, Amy Irving
Drama / Horror / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2689
44
Hal Needham
Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, Sally Field, Brian Keith, John Marley
Action / Comedy
USA
English
2689
44
Philip Kaufman
Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, Veronica Cartwright, Leonard Nimoy
Horror / Mystery / Romance / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2689
44
Robert Mulligan
Alan Alda, Ellen Burstyn, Ivan Bonar, Bernie Kuby, Cosmo Sardo, David Northcutt
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2689
44
Ted Kotcheff
George Segal, Jacqueline Bisset, Robert Morley, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Philippe Noiret
Comedy / Mystery / Crime
USA / Italy / France / West Germany
English
2689
44
Karel Reisz
Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, Michael Moriarty, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Masur
Action / Crime / Drama / War / Thriller / Post-Noir
USA
English
2689
44
Sidney Lumet
Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Mabel King, Theresa Merritt
Adventure / Fantasy / Musical / Family
USA
English
2709
45
Hans W. Geissendörfer
Brigitte Fossey, Helmut Griem, Dieter Laser, Walter Kohut
Crime / Drama / Thriller
West Germany
German
2709
45
Claude Sautet
Romy Schneider, Bruno Cremer, Claude Brasseur, Arlette Bonnard
Drama
France / West Germany
French
2740
46
Alan J. Pakula
James Caan, Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, George Grizzard
Drama / Western / Romance
USA
English
2740
46
Philippe de Broca
Annie Girardot, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Alric
Action / Comedy / Thriller / Detective / Romance / Mystery
France
French
2746
47
Mark Rappaport
Randy Danson, Marilyn Jones, Kevin Wade
Drama / Romance / Experimental
USA
English
2775
48
Sam Peckinpah
Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Ernest Borgnine, Burt Young, Madge Sinclair
Action / Comedy / Drama / Crime
USA
English
2779
49
Marco Ferreri
Gérard Depardieu, Marcello Mastroianni, James Coco
Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance / Sci-Fi
Italy / France
English
2779
49
Jerzy Skolimowski
Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt, Robert Stephens
Horror / Drama
UK
English
2789
50
Jules Dassin
Melina Mercouri, Ellen Burstyn, Andréas Voutsinas
Drama
Greece / USA / Switzerland
English
2789
50
Boaz Davidson
Yftach Katzur, Jonathan Sagall, Zachi Noy, Anat Atzmon
Drama / Comedy
Israel
Hebrew
2789
50
Eric Rohmer
Fabrice Luchini, André Dussollier, Solange Boulanger
Drama / Adventure / Period Film
France / Italy / West Germany
French
2792
51
Orson Welles
Orson Welles, Robert Coote, Hilton Edwards
Documentary
West Germany
English
2792
51
François Truffaut
François Truffaut, Nathalie Baye, Jean Dasté
Drama / Period Film
France
French
2792
51
Manuel de Landa
Dina Paisner, Ken Burns, Patrick Gerstle, Susan Schneider
Short / Drama / Experimental
unknown
unknown
2792
51
Chantal Akerman
Aurore Clément, Helmut Griem, Magali Noël,
Drama
France / Belgium / West Germany
French
2801
52
Robert Altman
Desi Arnaz Jr., Carol Burnett, Geraldine Chaplin, Howard Duff, Mia Farrow
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2842
53
Carlos Mayolo, Luis Ospina
Luis Alfonso Londoño, Carlos Mayolo, Ramiro Arbeláez
Short / Comedy
Colombia
Spanish
2842
53
Gonzalo García Pelayo
Miguel Ángel Iglesias, Ana Bernal, Lola Sordo, Guillermo Méndez
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Spain
Spanish
2860
54
Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Zdzislaw Mrozewski, Marek Walczewski, Henryk Bista
Drama / Biography
Poland
Polish
2860
54
Andrzej Wajda
Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Ewa Dalkowska, Andrzej Seweryn
Drama
Poland / France
Polish
NR
-
E.W. Swackhamer
James Coburn, Hector Elizondo, Jason Miller, Jean Simmons, Paul Stewart
Mystery / Drama / Detective
USA
English
NR
-
Blake Edwards
Peter Sellers, Herbert Lom, Burt Kwouk, Dyan Cannon, Robert Webber, Tony Beckley
Comedy / Crime / Mystery / Detective / Family
UK / USA
English
