Best Movies of 1979 by Rank
22
1
Francis Ford Coppola
Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms
Action / Drama / War / Adventure / Epic / Cult
USA
English
188
2
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
317
5
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny, Gisela Uhlen
Drama / War
West Germany
German
349
6
Hal Ashby
Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart
Drama / Comedy
USA / UK / West Germany / Japan
English
455
8
Volker Schlöndorff
Mario Adorf, David Bennent, Angela Winkler, Katharina Thalbach, Daniel Olbrychski
Drama / Period Film / War
West Germany / France / Poland / Yugoslavia
German
476
9
Peter Yates
Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid
Drama / Comedy / Sports / Family
USA
English
627
10
Terry Jones
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
Comedy / Religion / Cult
UK
English
752
11
Andrei Tarkovsky
Aleksandr Kajdanovsky, Alisa Frejndlikh, Anatoli Solonitsyn
Mystery / Sci-Fi
West Germany / Soviet Union
Russian
754
12
James Bridges
Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Thriller / Drama
USA
English
776
13
Gillian Armstrong
Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Wendy Hughes, Robert Grubb
Drama / Romance / Period Film / Biography
Australia
English
870
14
George Miller
Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley
Action / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Crime / Drama / Cult
Australia
English
997
15
John Huston
John Huston, Brad Dourif, Dan Shor, Harry Dean Stanton
Drama / Comedy / Religion
USA / West Germany
English
1026
16
Roman Polanski
Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson
Drama / Romance / Period Film
France / UK
English
1111
17
Werner Herzog
Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor
Horror
West Germany / France
German
1203
18
Ira Wohl
Zero Mostel, Christine O'Connor, Frances Reiss, Philip Wohl
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
1247
19
Carroll Ballard
Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Clarence Muse
Adventure / Family
USA
English
1292
20
Franc Roddam
Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett
Drama / Music / Cult
UK
English
1373
22
Carl Reiner
Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Mabel King, Richard Ward
Comedy
USA
English
1382
23
Francesco Rosi
Gian Maria Volontè, Paolo Bonacelli, Alain Cuny, Lea Massari, Irene Papas
Drama
France / Italy
Italian
1557
24
Richard Pearce
Rip Torn, Conchata Ferrell, Barry Primus, Megan Folsom
Western / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1585
25
James Frawley
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Charles Durning
Adventure / Comedy / Family / Musical
UK / USA
English
1653
26
Albert Brooks
Dick Haynes, Albert Brooks, Matthew Tobin, J.A. Preston
Comedy
USA
English
1691
27
Milos Forman
John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden
Musical / Comedy / Drama
USA / West Germany
English
1704
28
Blake Edwards
Dudley Moore, Bo Derek, Julie Andrews, Robert Webber
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
1785
29
François Truffaut
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Marie-France Pisier
Drama / Comedy / Romance
France
French
1822
30
Shohei Imamura
Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ogawa, Rentaro Mikuni, Mitsuko Baisho
Drama / Thriller / Crime
Japan
Japanese
1868
31
Paul Schrader
George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent, Leonard Gaines
Drama / Post-Noir / Detective
USA
English
1879
32
Walter Hill
Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler
Crime / Drama / Action / Thriller / Cult
USA
English
1903
33
Martin Brest
George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg, Charles Hallahan, Pamela Payton-Wright
Comedy / Drama / Crime / Caper
USA
English
1964
34
Ted Kotcheff
Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Charles Durning, Dayle Haddon
Comedy / Drama / Sports
USA
English
2014
35
Lewis John Carlino
Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky
Drama / War
USA
English
2128
36
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen, Eddie Constantine, Volker Spengler
Comedy / Crime / Drama
West Germany
German
2181
37
James Ivory
Lee Remick, Robin Ellis, Wesley Addy, Tim Choate
Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK
English
2205
38
Carlos Diegues
José Wilker, Betty Faria, Fábio Júnior, Zaira Zambelli
Drama / Comedy
France / Brazil / Argentina
Portuguese
2234
39
Jonathan Kaplan
Michael Eric Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Matt Dillon, Vincent Spano, Tom Fergus
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2238
40
Philip Kaufman
Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, Alan Rosenberg, Jim Youngs
Drama / Action
USA
English
2258
42
Nikita Mikhalkov
Oleg Tabakov, Yuri Bogatyryov, Andrei Popov, Yelena Solovey
Drama / Period Film
Soviet Union
Russian
2283
43
Vladimir Menshov
Vera Alentova, Irina Muravyova, Aleksei Batalov
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Soviet Union
Russian
2326
44
Allan Arkush, Joe Dante, Jerry Zucker
P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young, Mary Woronov
Comedy / Musical / Cult
USA
English
2327
45
George Roy Hill
Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, Thelonious Bernard, Arthur Hill, Sally Kellerman
Comedy / Romance / Family
France / USA
English
2361
46
Hark Tsui
Siu-Ming Lau, Michelle Mee, Shu Tong Wong, Guozhu Zhang, Qiqi Chen, Jiang Wang
Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2400
47
Nicholas Meyer
Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen
Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Romance / Fantasy / Crime
USA
English
2455
48
Jerry Schatzberg
Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Melvyn Douglas
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2455
48
Robert Wise
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei
Sci-Fi / Adventure / Cult
USA
English
2473
49
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Jerzy Stuhr, Malgorzata Zabkowska, Ewa Pokas, Stefan Czyzewski, Jerzy Nowak
Drama / Comedy
Poland
Polish
2487
50
Peter Bogdanovich
Ben Gazzara, Denholm Elliott, James Villiers, Joss Ackland
Drama
USA
English
2489
51
Mark Rydell
Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton
Drama / Musical
USA
English
2496
52
Steven Spielberg
Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Ned Beatty, Toshirô Mifune
Comedy / War / Action
USA
English
2509
53
Don Siegel
Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward
Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2548
54
Andrei Konchalovsky
Natalya Andrejchenko, Sergei Shakurov
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2559
55
John Irvin
Alec Guinness, Michael Jayston, Anthony Bate, George Sewell, Bernard Hepton
Drama / Thriller / Spy
UK
English
2611
57
Bertrand Blier
Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet, Denise Gence, Marco Perrin
Comedy / Crime
France
French
2611
57
Peter Lilienthal
Mario Fischel, Walter Taub, Irene Vrkijan, Eva Mattes, Dominique Horwitz
Drama / War
West Germany
German
2611
57
Victor Nunez
Dana Preu, David Peck, J. Smith-Cameron, Gene Densmore, Jennie Stringfellow
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2611
57
Marja Kok, Erik van Zuylen
Helmert Woudenberg, Frank Groothof, Joop Admiraal, Olga Zuiderhoek, Marja Kok
Drama
Netherlands
Dutch
2693
58
Med Hondo
Cyril Aventurin, Fernand Berset, Roland Bertin, Gérald Bloncourt
Drama / Musical
France / Algeria / Mauritania
French
2695
59
Stan Dragoti
George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, Dick Shawn, Arte Johnson
Horror / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2695
59
Lewis Gilbert
Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel, Corinne Clery
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / France / USA
English
2695
59
Bob Clark
Christopher Plummer, James Mason, David Hemmings, Susan Clark, Anthony Quayle
Crime / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Period Film / Detective
UK / Canada
English
2695
59
Harold Becker
John Savage, James Woods, Franklyn Seales, Ted Danson, Ronny Cox
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2695
59
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Action / Sports / Drama
USA
English
2695
59
Alan J. Pakula
Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen, Charles Durning, Frances Sternhagen
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2695
59
Douglas Hickox
Burt Lancaster, Peter O'Toole, John Mills, Bob Hoskins, Simon Ward, Denholm Elliott
Action / Adventure / Drama / History / War
USA / South Africa / Netherlands
English
2697
60
William Richert
Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Sterling Hayden
Drama / Thriller / Mystery
USA
English
2715
61
Carlos Saura
Geraldine Chaplin, Amparo Muñoz
Comedy / Fantasy / Drama
Spain / France
Spanish
2715
61
Jaime de Armiñán
Héctor Alterio, Ana Torrent, Luis Politti
Drama
Spain / Argentina
English
2715
61
Franco Brusati
Mariangela Melato, Eleonora Giorgi, Erland Josephson
Drama
France / Italy
Italian
2715
61
Andrzej Wajda
Daniel Olbrychski, Anna Seniuk, Maja Komorowska
Drama / Period Film / Romance
Poland / France
Polish
2718
62
Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub
Olimpia Carlisi, Guido Lombardi, Gino Felici, Lori Pelosini
Drama
Italy / West Germany / UK / France
Italian
2745
63
John Schlesinger
Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, Lisa Eichhorn, William Devane
Romance / Drama / War
USA / West Germany / UK
English
2747
64
Manoel de Oliveira
António Sequeira Lopes, Cristina Hauser
Drama / Romance
Portugal
Portuguese
2761
65
Concepcion Bohulano, Delfin Bohulano
Dawn Bohulano Mabalon
Documentary / History
USA
English (No Dialogue)
2761
65
Michael Pressman
Richard Yniguez, Danny de la Paz, Marta DuBois, James Victor
Crime / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2761
65
Haile Gerima
Barbarao, Johnny Weathers, Susan Williams, Cora Lee Day, Simmi Ella Nelson
Drama / Crime
USA
English
2761
65
Sylvia Morales
Carmen Zapata, Alicia Escalante, Francisca Flores, Dolores Huerta
Documentary / Short / History
USA
English
2780
66
Ivan Reitman
Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham, Kristine DeBell, Sarah Torgov
Comedy / Sports
Canada
English
2788
67
Eagle Pennell
Lou Perryman, Sonny Carl Davis, Doris Hargrave, Eric Henshaw, David Weber
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2797
68
Andrew Noren
Experimental
USA
English (Silent)
2797
68
Russ Meyer
Uschi Digard, Ann Marie, Stuart Lancaster, Michael Finn
Comedy
USA
English
2797
68
Ulrike Ottinger
Magdalena Montezuma, Nina Hagen, Kurt Raab, Volker Spengler
Drama / Experimental
West Germany
German
2803
69
Francis Ford Coppola
Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms
Drama / Mystery / War
USA
English
2806
70
Willard Huyck
Miles Chapin, Blanche Baker, David Marshall Grant, Valérie Quennessen
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France / West Germany / USA
English
2806
70
Jeanne Moreau
Simone Signoret, Francis Huster, Laetitia Chauveau, Edith Clever, Jacques Weber
Drama / Romance
France / West Germany
French
2810
71
Yuri Norstein
Aleksandr Kalyagin
Animation / Short / Experimental
Soviet Union
Russian
2812
72
Henri Verneuil
Yves Montand, Michel Albertini, Roland Amstutz, Jean-Pierre Bagot, Georges Beller
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Detective
France
French
2812
72
Arthur Hiller
Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, Nancy Dussault, Penny Peyser
Adventure / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Action / Spy
USA
English
2812
72
George T. Nierenberg
Bunny Briggs, Chuck Green, Lionel Hampton, Howard 'Sandman' Sims
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2812
72
Robert Altman
Paul Dooley, Marta Heflin, Titos Vandis, Belita Moreno, Henry Gibson
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2822
73
Bill Melendez, Phil Roman
Peter Robbins, Tracy Stratford, Bill Melendez, Christopher Shea, Karen Mendelson
Animation / Short / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2832
74
Iván Zulueta
Eusebio Poncela, Cecilia Roth, Will More, Marta Fernández Muro
Drama / Horror
Spain
Spanish
2856
75
Chick Strand
Karen Amend, Melissa Lou Beal, Johanna Demetrakas, Cathy Freeman, Simone Gad
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2857
76
Norman Jewison
Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg, Jeffrey Tambor
Drama / Thriller / Crime / Comedy
USA
English
2865
77
Govindan Aravindan
Ashokan, Kottara Gopalakrishnan
Fantasy / Family
India
Malayalam
NR
-
Michael Crichton
Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down, Alan Webb, Malcolm Terris
Drama / Action / Comedy / Adventure / Crime / Thriller / Caper / Period Film
UK
English
