1979 wasn’t justthe end of a decadeit was a cinematic mic drop.
With this in mind, this list ranks the most essential movies from thatannus mirabilis.
It’s less realism and more survival game turned mythological odyssey.
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It breezes by at just 92 minutes and is well worth checking out, especially for midnight movie enthusiasts.
Not for this town, not for your father, not for anybody."
This movie is a real fever dream, boasting kaleidoscopic editing, surreal musical numbers, and fourth-wall-breaking theatricality.
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Not to mention, the choreography is striking and explosive throughout.
The bravura and showmanship are key to making the themes hit home.
The writing is witty and self-deprecating, skewering Isaac’s inadequacies, pivoting between earnest and cynical.
But what elevatesManhattanbeyond its prickly premise is its visual elegance.
The opening montage, in particular, is legitimately beautiful.
Overall,Manhattanremains controversial, but also undeniably influentiala film as full of contradictions as the city it adores.
“Stalkerisa hypnotic, metaphysical journeyfrom Soviet directorAndrei Tarkovsky, who also madeAndrei RublevandSolaris.
Conversations stretch long and spiral deep into existential despair.
There are no monsters, no clear answersonly water, decay, silence, and the burden of choice.
This critique has only grown more relevant in the decades since.
What follows is a year of spilled eggs, missed meetings, hard lessons, and deep bonding.
On paper,Kramer vs. Kramersounds like a courtroom drama about custody.
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Few films have capturedthe messy, often contradictory emotions of divorceand parenthood with such intimacy and nuance.
DirectorRobert Bentongives both parents space to be heard, refusing to demonize either of them.
Hes a very naughty boy!”
Whats remarkable is how its sharpest jokes have only sharpened with age.
“What have the Romans ever done for us?”
isnt just a lineits now a shorthand for willful ignorance.
Likewise, the Judean Peoples Front (or was it the Peoples Front of Judea?)
has become the go-to metaphor for the infighting that plagues any cause.
Sheen is the anchor, Brando the enigma, and the jungle a character in itself.
It’s a movie made on the knife-edge between genius and collapse.
One by one, theyre hunted by a creature thats not just deadly, but biomechanically elegantthanks toH.R.
Giger’s unforgettable design.
NEXT:10 Essential Sean Penn Movies, Ranked
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