The French Connection (1971)

The French Connection (1971)

[7] A pair of New York city narcotics cops try to bust a big heroin deal being brokered between suspected mobsters and a French connection. But one of the cops, 'Popeye' Doyle (Gene Hackman), has a history of recklessness and threatens to…
The Pom Pom Girls (1976)

The Pom Pom Girls (1976)

[7] The Pom Pom Girls stands out from the grindhouse pack for me. The title is actually a misnomer, as there are precious few moments with any cheerleaders. The movie is really about two high-school boys and their girlfriends making love, participating…
The Jerk (1979)

The Jerk (1979)

[6] Steve Martin and director Carl Reiner team up for this absurdist, serendipitous comedy about a poor country boy who leaves his family to discover what the big city has to offer him. Martin's character is an oblivious man-child whose ignorance and…
Meatballs (1979)

Meatballs (1979)

[5] This dopey but harmless summer camp movie helped lead the charge of '80s teen comedies that would follow in its wake. It's tame by comparison, but noteworthy for being the first pairing of director Ivan Reitman and actor Bill Murray, who…
Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1971)

Fortune and Men’s Eyes (1971)

[7] A young man named Smitty (Wendell Burton) goes to prison and immediately falls into a brutal struggle for power and supremacy. He reluctantly enters into a submissive relationship with one of his roommates, a tough guy named Rocky (Zooey Hall) who…
The Ritz (1976)

The Ritz (1976)

[8] Jack Weston stars in this gay-themed screwball comedy based on a stage play by Terrence McNally (Love! Valour! Compassion!). Weston plays a frumpy, middle-aged man hiding out in a New York bath house from a brother (Jerry Stiller) who plans to…
The Hobbit (1977)

The Hobbit (1977)

[7] This American/Japanese animated venture would be the first feature-length movie journey into J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. Produced by Rankin/Bass (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Last Unicorn) and animated by the studio that would later become Studio Ghibli, The Hobbit is a…
Grey Gardens (1975)

Grey Gardens (1975)

[8] Documentary filmmakers Albert and David Maysles (Gimme Shelter) bring us inside the isolated world of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' eccentric aunt and first cousin, 'Big' Edie and 'Little' Edie Beale. The women, 79 and 57 respectively, live in squalor at the title…
Watership Down (1978)

Watership Down (1978)

[7] Martin Rosen brings to life Richard Adams' novel about a group of rabbits who leave their burrows and face a series of deadly hardships in search of a new home. Watership Down is one of the more serious animated films geared…
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

[7] After the success of Star Wars two years earlier, Paramount was quick to launch their own cinematic foray into outer space with the first Star Trek feature film. Star Trek: The Motion Picture reunites the crew from the TV show, which…