Discussion 1- Favorite Year in Film

Currently, my favorite year in film would be 1979.

This is the year that Apocalypse Now was released, a film which rates among my favorites of all time. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by John Milius, the movie is a masterpiece in every way. I am in love with the beautifully destructive cinematography. The screenplay was originally based off of the book Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which also happens to be one of my favorite books of all time. For me personally, this film is nearly perfect.

Also released in 1979 was The Amityville Horror. A great horror film that was wildly successful.

Alien was also released in this year. This is a hugely successful science fiction horror film that has influenced many other works, and has even ended up combining with the Predator franchise to create Alien vs. Predator.

Stalker, directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, was released this year as well in Russia. This film was based off of the book Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. I am a fan of the book, and have just recently stumbled upon and taken a liking to Tarkovsky as a director, so when I found out that he had done a film adaptation of it I was overjoyed. In the film, the “Zone” is a mysterious area that was hit by a falling meteor and since then has been plagued by supernatural occurrences. The government has cordoned the area off but a “Stalker” can be hired to guide one into and back out of the zone. The areas outside of the zone are filmed in black and white, whereas the zone itself is filmed in color.

Mad Max is another great film released in this year. Made in Australia, it is a fantastic movie that was filmed at a low budget but ended up becoming one of the most profitable films of all time. There is one point in this film that literally made my jaw drop, and I love this movie for it.