Top Ten Films of 1979

...before Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert took their weekly movie review show commercial. Here they have more time to talk since there are no commercials inserted. Later, the two will combine Best Of lists and just talk about what their individual selection for best film of the year is. At this point, they have enough time to break out every single selection.

Roger's Choices:

1. Apocalypse Now

2. Breaking Away

3. The Deer Hunter

4. The Marriage of Maria Braun

5. Hair

6. Saint Jack

7. Kramer V Kramer

8. The China Syndrome

9. Nosferatu

10. 10

Gene's choices:

1. Hair

2. Kramer Vs. Kramer

3. The Deer Hunter

4. Breaking Away

5. Manhattan

6. The Marriage of Maria Braun

7. Nosferatu

8. The Onion Field

9. Time After Time

10. The China Syndrome

It's interesting looking back over 40 years ago, because the Vietnam War is still very much on everyone's mind. Along that line the pair even pick the 1978 Best Picture Winner, The Deer Hunter, as a top film for 1979. I've never even heard of Saint Jack. I'll have to watch that one.

Then it is time for "Dogs of the Year". This was the practice that Siskel and Ebert had of having the arrival of a cute dog usher in the discussion of the really bad films of the week on their weekly shows, and for all of 1979 in this one. For Roger the worst of 1979 was The Hurricane. For Gene it was Beyond the Poseidon Adventure. In Poseidon it is interesting to see Michael Caine start a run at taking just about any part offered to him for the next ten years, and so he really does end up in some horrendous movies.