Best Movies of 1979 by Rank
21
1
Francis Ford Coppola
Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms
Action / Drama / War / Adventure / Epic / Cult
USA
English
183
2
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
323
5
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny, Gisela Uhlen
Drama / War
West Germany
German
342
6
Hal Ashby
Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Melvyn Douglas, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart
Drama / Comedy
USA / UK / West Germany / Japan
English
459
8
Volker Schlöndorff
Mario Adorf, David Bennent, Angela Winkler, Katharina Thalbach, Daniel Olbrychski
Drama / Period Film / War
West Germany / France / Poland / Yugoslavia
German
484
9
Peter Yates
Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid
Drama / Comedy / Sports / Family
USA
English
666
10
Terry Jones
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
Comedy / Religion / Cult
UK
English
Advertisement
718
11
Andrei Tarkovsky
Aleksandr Kajdanovsky, Alisa Frejndlikh, Anatoli Solonitsyn
Mystery / Sci-Fi
West Germany / Soviet Union
Russian
749
12
James Bridges
Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Thriller / Drama
USA
English
849
13
Gillian Armstrong
Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Wendy Hughes, Robert Grubb
Drama / Romance / Period Film / Biography
Australia
English
967
14
George Miller
Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley
Action / Sci-Fi / Adventure / Crime / Drama / Cult
Australia
English
987
15
Roman Polanski
Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson
Drama / Romance / Period Film
France / UK
English
1075
16
John Huston
John Huston, Brad Dourif, Dan Shor, Harry Dean Stanton
Drama / Comedy / Religion
USA / West Germany
English
1118
17
Werner Herzog
Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor
Horror
West Germany / France
German
1211
18
Ira Wohl
Zero Mostel, Christine O'Connor, Frances Reiss, Philip Wohl
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
1239
19
Carroll Ballard
Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, Teri Garr, Clarence Muse
Adventure / Family
USA
English
1333
21
Francesco Rosi
Gian Maria Volontè, Paolo Bonacelli, Alain Cuny, Lea Massari, Irene Papas
Drama
France / Italy
Italian
1337
22
Richard Pearce
Rip Torn, Conchata Ferrell, Barry Primus, Megan Folsom
Western / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1353
23
Franc Roddam
Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Philip Davis, Mark Wingett
Drama / Music / Cult
UK
English
1387
24
Carl Reiner
Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams, Mabel King, Richard Ward
Comedy
USA
English
1564
25
James Frawley
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Charles Durning
Adventure / Comedy / Family / Musical
UK / USA
English
1607
26
Milos Forman
John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo, Annie Golden
Musical / Comedy / Drama
USA / West Germany
English
1623
27
Blake Edwards
Dudley Moore, Bo Derek, Julie Andrews, Robert Webber
Comedy / Romance / Drama
USA
English
1692
28
Albert Brooks
Dick Haynes, Albert Brooks, Matthew Tobin, J.A. Preston
Comedy
USA
English
1719
29
François Truffaut
Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Marie-France Pisier
Drama / Comedy / Romance
France
French
1827
30
Paul Schrader
George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, Season Hubley, Dick Sargent, Leonard Gaines
Drama / Post-Noir / Detective
USA
English
1832
31
Shohei Imamura
Ken Ogata, Mayumi Ogawa, Rentaro Mikuni, Mitsuko Baisho
Drama / Thriller / Crime
Japan
Japanese
1904
32
Walter Hill
Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler
Crime / Drama / Action / Thriller / Cult
USA
English
1934
33
Lewis John Carlino
Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O'Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky
Drama / War
USA
English
1958
34
Martin Brest
George Burns, Art Carney, Lee Strasberg, Charles Hallahan, Pamela Payton-Wright
Comedy / Drama / Crime / Caper
USA
English
1963
35
Ted Kotcheff
Nick Nolte, Mac Davis, Charles Durning, Dayle Haddon
Comedy / Drama / Sports
USA
English
2115
36
James Ivory
Lee Remick, Robin Ellis, Wesley Addy, Tim Choate
Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK
English
2127
37
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen, Eddie Constantine, Volker Spengler
Comedy / Crime / Drama
West Germany
German
2178
38
Carlos Diegues
José Wilker, Betty Faria, Fábio Júnior, Zaira Zambelli
Drama / Comedy
France / Brazil / Argentina
Portuguese
2218
40
Vladimir Menshov
Vera Alentova, Irina Muravyova, Aleksei Batalov
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Soviet Union
Russian
2229
41
Nikita Mikhalkov
Oleg Tabakov, Yuri Bogatyryov, Andrei Popov, Yelena Solovey
Drama / Period Film
Soviet Union
Russian
2266
42
Jonathan Kaplan
Michael Eric Kramer, Pamela Ludwig, Matt Dillon, Vincent Spano, Tom Fergus
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2276
43
Philip Kaufman
Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen, Toni Kalem, Alan Rosenberg, Jim Youngs
Drama / Action
USA
English
2309
44
Hark Tsui
Siu-Ming Lau, Michelle Mee, Shu Tong Wong, Guozhu Zhang, Qiqi Chen, Jiang Wang
Horror / Mystery / Thriller
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2332
45
George Roy Hill
Laurence Olivier, Diane Lane, Thelonious Bernard, Arthur Hill, Sally Kellerman
Comedy / Romance / Family
France / USA
English
2341
46
Nicholas Meyer
Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen
Adventure / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Romance / Fantasy / Crime
USA
English
2352
47
Peter Lilienthal
Mario Fischel, Walter Taub, Irene Vrkijan, Eva Mattes, Dominique Horwitz
Drama / War
West Germany
German
2368
48
Allan Arkush, Joe Dante, Jerry Zucker
P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten, Clint Howard, Dey Young, Mary Woronov
Comedy / Musical / Cult
USA
English
2368
48
Peter Bogdanovich
Ben Gazzara, Denholm Elliott, James Villiers, Joss Ackland
Drama
USA
English
2398
49
Andrei Konchalovsky
Natalya Andrejchenko, Sergei Shakurov
Drama
Soviet Union
Russian
2434
50
Mark Rydell
Bette Midler, Alan Bates, Frederic Forrest, Harry Dean Stanton
Drama / Musical
USA
English
2449
51
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Jerzy Stuhr, Malgorzata Zabkowska, Ewa Pokas, Stefan Czyzewski, Jerzy Nowak
Drama / Comedy
Poland
Polish
2449
51
Don Siegel
Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, Roberts Blossom, Jack Thibeau, Fred Ward
Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2450
52
Jerry Schatzberg
Alan Alda, Barbara Harris, Meryl Streep, Rip Torn, Melvyn Douglas
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2450
52
Robert Wise
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei
Sci-Fi / Adventure / Cult
USA
English
2501
53
Steven Spielberg
Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Ned Beatty, Toshirô Mifune
Comedy / War / Action
USA
English
2541
55
John Irvin
Alec Guinness, Michael Jayston, Anthony Bate, George Sewell, Bernard Hepton
Drama / Thriller / Spy
UK
English
2552
56
Med Hondo
Cyril Aventurin, Fernand Berset, Roland Bertin, Gérald Bloncourt
Drama / Musical
France / Algeria / Mauritania
French
2591
57
Bertrand Blier
Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet, Denise Gence, Marco Perrin
Comedy / Crime
France
French
2591
57
Victor Nunez
Dana Preu, David Peck, J. Smith-Cameron, Gene Densmore, Jennie Stringfellow
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2591
57
Marja Kok, Erik van Zuylen
Helmert Woudenberg, Frank Groothof, Joop Admiraal, Olga Zuiderhoek, Marja Kok
Drama
Netherlands
Dutch
2606
58
Carlos Saura
Geraldine Chaplin, Amparo Muñoz
Comedy / Fantasy / Drama
Spain / France
Spanish
2606
58
Jaime de Armiñán
Héctor Alterio, Ana Torrent, Luis Politti
Drama
Spain / Argentina
English
2606
58
Franco Brusati
Mariangela Melato, Eleonora Giorgi, Erland Josephson
Drama
France / Italy
Italian
2606
58
Andrzej Wajda
Daniel Olbrychski, Anna Seniuk, Maja Komorowska
Drama / Period Film / Romance
Poland / France
Polish
2628
59
Stan Dragoti
George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, Dick Shawn, Arte Johnson
Horror / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2628
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
2628
59
Bob Clark
Christopher Plummer, James Mason, David Hemmings, Susan Clark, Anthony Quayle
Crime / Drama / Horror / Mystery / Thriller / Period Film / Detective
UK / Canada
English
2628
59
Harold Becker
John Savage, James Woods, Franklyn Seales, Ted Danson, Ronny Cox
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2628
59
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Action / Sports / Drama
USA
English
2628
59
Alan J. Pakula
Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen, Charles Durning, Frances Sternhagen
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2628
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
2635
60
William Richert
Jeff Bridges, John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Sterling Hayden
Drama / Thriller / Mystery
USA
English
2645
61
John Schlesinger
Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, Lisa Eichhorn, William Devane
Romance / Drama / War
USA / West Germany / UK
English
2656
62
Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub
Olimpia Carlisi, Guido Lombardi, Gino Felici, Lori Pelosini
Drama
Italy / West Germany / UK / France
Italian
2661
63
Concepcion Bohulano, Delfin Bohulano
Dawn Bohulano Mabalon
Documentary / History
USA
English (No Dialogue)
2661
63
Michael Pressman
Richard Yniguez, Danny de la Paz, Marta DuBois, James Victor
Crime / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2661
63
Haile Gerima
Barbarao, Johnny Weathers, Susan Williams, Cora Lee Day, Simmi Ella Nelson
Drama / Crime
USA
English
2661
63
Sylvia Morales
Carmen Zapata, Alicia Escalante, Francisca Flores, Dolores Huerta
Documentary / Short / History
USA
English
2689
64
Manoel de Oliveira
António Sequeira Lopes, Cristina Hauser
Drama / Romance
Portugal
Portuguese
2690
65
Gleb Panfilov
Mikhail Ulyanov, Inna Churikova, Evgeniy Vesnik, Yevgeniya Nechayeva
Comedy / Drama / Romance
Soviet Union
Russian
2694
66
Eagle Pennell
Lou Perryman, Sonny Carl Davis, Doris Hargrave, Eric Henshaw, David Weber
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2697
67
Youssef Chahine
Naglaa Fathi, Ahmed Zaki, Farid Shawqi, Mahmoud El Meligy, Ezzat El Alaili
Drama
Egypt / Algeria
Arabic
2697
67
Marco Ferreri
Roberto Benigni, Dominique Laffin, Chiara Moretti, Carlo Monni, Girolamo Marzano
Comedy / Drama
Italy / France
Italian
2709
68
Francis Ford Coppola
Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms
Drama / Mystery / War
USA
English
2712
69
Willard Huyck
Miles Chapin, Blanche Baker, David Marshall Grant, Valérie Quennessen
Comedy / Drama / Romance
France / West Germany / USA
English
2712
69
Jeanne Moreau
Simone Signoret, Francis Huster, Laetitia Chauveau, Edith Clever, Jacques Weber
Drama / Romance
France / West Germany
French
2713
70
Ivan Reitman
Bill Murray, Harvey Atkin, Kate Lynch, Russ Banham, Kristine DeBell, Sarah Torgov
Comedy / Sports
Canada
English
2715
71
Yuri Norstein
Aleksandr Kalyagin
Animation / Short / Experimental
Soviet Union
Russian
2719
72
Henri Verneuil
Yves Montand, Michel Albertini, Roland Amstutz, Jean-Pierre Bagot, Georges Beller
Crime / Drama / Mystery / Thriller / Detective
France
French
2719
72
Arthur Hiller
Peter Falk, Alan Arkin, Richard Libertini, Nancy Dussault, Penny Peyser
Adventure / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Action / Spy
USA
English
2719
72
George T. Nierenberg
Bunny Briggs, Chuck Green, Lionel Hampton, Howard 'Sandman' Sims
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2719
72
Robert Altman
Paul Dooley, Marta Heflin, Titos Vandis, Belita Moreno, Henry Gibson
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2730
73
Bill Melendez, Phil Roman
Peter Robbins, Tracy Stratford, Bill Melendez, Christopher Shea, Karen Mendelson
Animation / Short / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2741
74
Iván Zulueta
Eusebio Poncela, Cecilia Roth, Will More, Marta Fernández Muro
Drama / Horror
Spain
Spanish
2751
75
Andrew Noren
Experimental
USA
English (Silent)
2751
75
Russ Meyer
Uschi Digard, Ann Marie, Stuart Lancaster, Michael Finn
Comedy
USA
English
2751
75
Ulrike Ottinger
Magdalena Montezuma, Nina Hagen, Kurt Raab, Volker Spengler
Drama / Experimental
West Germany
German
2765
76
Chick Strand
Karen Amend, Melissa Lou Beal, Johanna Demetrakas, Cathy Freeman, Simone Gad
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2768
77
Norman Jewison
Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg, Jeffrey Tambor
Drama / Thriller / Crime / Comedy
USA
English
2776
78
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
