Film Dictionary

October 10, 1978

'The Boys From Brazil (1978) ****

Pretty Baby (1978) ****

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Co mi zrobisz jak mnie zlapiesz (1978) ****

Preparez vos mouchoirs (1978) ****

The Deer Hunter (1978) ****

One of the greatest films about the Vitnam War, a timeless classic.

An enormously popular musical starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-Johns and Stockard Channing. Superb songs include:

"Grease" ***
"Summer Nights" ***
"Look At Me, I'M Sandra Dee" *
"Hopelessly Devoted To You" **
"Greased Lightnin'" **
"Beauty School Dropout" ***
"Rock 'n Roll Is Here To Stay" **
"Tears On My Pillow" **
"Hound Dog" *
"Born To Hand-Jive" ***
"Blue Moon" *
"Sandy" *
"There Are Worse Things I Could Do" *
"You're The One That I Want" ***
"We Go Together" ***
"Grease" (reprise) ***

September 9, 1978

Animal House (1978) ***

Halloween (1978) ***

An Unmarried Woman (1978) ***

A Wedding (1978) ***

Drunken Master (1978) ***

A Hunting Accident (1978) ***

Autumn Sonata (1978) ***

An Ingmar Bergman film starring Ingrid Bergman.

The Buddy Holly Story (1978) ***

A musical biopic about the famous singer.

La Cage aux Folles (1978) ***

Classic French farce about a gay couple (Michel Serrault and Ugo Tognazzi) pretending to be straight.

Eraserhead (1978) ***

David Lynch's feature film debut.

Gates Of Heaven (1978) ***

Unique documentary about a pet cemetary.

Interiors (1978) ***

Woody Allen is imitating Ingmar Bergman, but he is imitating him well.

The Last Waltz (1978) ***

Martin Scorsese's documentary about the final concert of The Band.

Revenge Of The Pink Panther (1978) ***

The last Pink Panther film starring Peter Sellers. It was followed by "Trail Of The Pink Panther" (1982) that used archive footage of Peter Sellers, and then by other Pink Panther films, starring, respectively, Roger Moore (1983's "Curse Of The Pink Panther), Roberto Benigni (1993's "Son Of The Pink Panther") and Steve Martin (2006's "The Pink Panther").

Up In Smoke (1978) ***

Amusing comedy starring Cheech and Chong.

Watership Down (1978) ***

Very intresting animated feature.

Days Of Heaven (1978) ***

Visually gorgeous film with about Prairie farm workers. Nestor Almendros won a well deserved Oscar for cinematography. Ennio Morricone also should have won an Oscar for his absolutely magnificent score.

The Lord Of The Rings (1978) ***

Directed by Ralph Bakshi. J.R.R.Tolkien's fantasy saga is given a short shrift, but the film is remarkable for its mix of rotoscoping and traditional animation.

Who'll Stop The Rain (1978) ***

Michael Moriarty and Nick Nolte star in this complex and tense drama about corruption, heroism and loyalty.

The Wiz (1978) ***

This musical starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson has plenty of flaws, but impressive art direction and a couple of very good songs save it from being a failure. Musical numbers include:

"The Feeling That We Have"
"He's The Wizard" **
"Soon As I Get Home"
"You Can't Win" *
"Ease On Down The Road" ***
"What Would I Do If I Could Feel"
"Slide Some Oil To Me" *
"I'M A Mean Old Lion"
"Be A Lion" *
"Don't Bring Me No Bad News" ***
"Brand New Day" *
"Believe In Yourself"
"Home"

The Brink's Job (1978) ***

August 8, 1978

Violette Noziere (1978) ***

July 7, 1978

The Orchestra Rehearsal (1978) *

Bilbao (1978) ***

Women Against Women (1978) ***

Stay As You Are (1978) ***

Spirala (1978) ***

Empire Of Passion (1978) ***

Seven Freckles (1978) ***

Bez znieczulenia (1978) ***

Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet (1978) ***

Just Like Home (1978) ***

You Are Not Alone (1978) ***

Crippled Avengers (1978) *

The title says it all. It's a chop-socky flick from Hong Kong about a bunch of handicapped kung fu fighters.

The Tree Of Wooden Clogs (1978) *

A terminally boring film about Italian peasants. Praised by many critics, but extremely difficult to watch without falling asleep.

Avere vent'anni (1978) ***

War Of The Robots (1978) *

Horrible Italian science-fiction flick about vicious humanoid robots in Outer Space. It makes even the worst TV episode of "Star Trek" look like "Citizen Kane" by comparison.

June 6, 1978

Felicity (1978) ***

In Praise Of Older Women (1978) ***

The Shout (1978) ***

April 4, 1978

Bicycle Race (1978) ***

Double Strength (1978) ***

Rzepka (1978) ***

Sur des musiques erotiques (1978) ***

A romantic French ballad, sung by Herbert Leonard.

Burial Path (1978) ***

Experimental, almost abstract film from Stan Brakhage.

Vampiros da Miseria (1978) ***

The Flight Of The Gossamer Condor (1978) ***

Oscar-winning documentary short.

Coke Adds Life (1978) ***

The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey (1978) ***

Political (and politicized) documentary about the Native land claims. One of the better films of its kind.

Xenogenesis (1978) *

Campy sci-fi short, directed by James Cameron, but offering no hint of his talent.

Salome (1978) *

An early Pedro Almodovar short that offers no hint of his talent.

An Encounter With Faces (1978) *

Rather boring documentary set in India.

Special Delivery (1978) *****

Satiemania (1978) *****

Rip Van Winkle (1978) ***

Tale Of Tales (1978) ***

Allegorical tale inspired by Russia's turbulent history. There are memorable images of men going off to war. It's an evocative, very stylish film.

Why Me ? (1978) ***

A patient is told that he has only five minutes to live.

The Small One (1978) ***

A Disney short directed by Don Bluth. The story deals with a young boy trying to sell his donkey. After many unpleasant ecounters, he finally sells it to a certain Joseph, who needs it to carry his pregnant wife, Mary (aren't those names familiar ?). Bluth's approach to his material is too serious, but the quality of animation and the beautifully drawn backgrounds are definite assets. The warm color hues, especially the various shades of orange, would later become tradmarks of Don Bluth's palette.