10. LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR
31 LISTS | 2 TOP SPOTS Richard Brooks | 136 mins | Drama Diane Keaton | Richard Gere | Tuesday Weld
“Too searingly honest, brutal and frank for some filmgoers, Richard Brooks’ devastatingly accurate eye to the keyhole of permissive society left me shattered. Diane Keaton gave the performance of the year, but got rewarded for less demanding work in a more palatable film. Such is the tragedy of acting awards, which usually are confused with popularity contests. Years from now, when the hysteria dies down, this is the film that will be most remembered from 1977. ” – Rex Reed
9. SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
35 LISTS | 3 TOP SPOTS John Badham | 118 mins | Drama/Music John Travolta | Karen Lynn Gorney | Barry Miller
“’Saturday Night Fever’ is a funny, moving portrait of life in the working class for youths, for whom the weekend at the disco can seem like the only chance to be somebody and feel like a person. John Travolta, Karen Gorney and Donna Pescow are exciting, the story moves swiftly , and rough language is justified.” – Frances Taylor, Newhouse News Service
8. THE GOODBYE GIRL
35 LISTS | 1 TOP SPOT Herbert Ross | 111 mins | Comedy/Drama/Romance Richard Dreyfuss | Marsha Mason | Quinn Cummings
“A tender, almost lyrically written piece, this season’s Christmas gift by the master of comedy, Neil Simon. It was directed with a breezy touch of Herbert Ross who also directed “The Turning Point.”
Simon’s wife, Marsha Mason, stars as a dejected and disillusioned dancer who has suddenly been dumped by her actor boyfriend. She is also about to be evicted from her apartment with her 10-year-old daughter until Richard Dreyfuss storms in as a scraggily, super-charged actor with weird habits and a warm heart.
She may be occupying the apartment but he has just taken over the lease, so why don’t they share the place? Separate rooms, of course.
The movie is an affecting comedy about two initially hostile apartment mates who eventually fall in love. “The Goodbye Girl” is essentially a modern day fairy tale.” – Donna Chernin, Cleveland Plain Dealer
7. 3 WOMEN
39 LISTS | 2 TOP SPOTS Robert Altman | 124 mins | Drama/Mystery/Thriller Shelley Duvall | Sissy Spacek | Janice Rule
“The great puzzle movie of 1977, and funnier, more touching and accessible than most deliberately enigmatic tales. Altman said it was his first film to be inspired by a dream, and it retains the fragmented yet compelling logic of the dream state.” – John Hartl, Seattle Times
6. THE LATE SHOW
61 LISTS | 0 TOP SPOTS Robert Benton | 93 mins | Comedy/Mystery/Thriller Art Carney | Lily Tomlin | Bill Macy
“An affectionate look at the private world of a private eye, and also an engaging inspection of Los Angeles. Art Carney and Lily Tomlin comprise one of the funniest, warmest couples of the year, bouncing off each other’s vibrations while maintaining their distinct individuality. The film was not a noteworthy box-office success, which may have altered plans to shoot a sequel. I hope not. Although not generally a fan of sequels, I could continue seeing Carney-Tomlin acting duets as long as they care to film them.” – Philip Wuntch, Dallas News
5. JULIA
60 LISTS | 2 TOP SPOTS Fred Zinneman | 117 mins | Drama Jane Fonda | Vanessa Redgrave | Jason Robards
“Julia, from a story in Lillian Hellman’s book of memoirs, “Pentimento,” has Jane Fonda playing young Lillian on a mission to smuggle bribe money into Nazi Germany. Vanessa Redgrave is her life-long friend, Julia. The actresses are compelling, but the material is improbable and fuzzily related. However, Fred Zinnemann has directed with mastery and taste, and his film is stunningly evocative of the mid-‘30s period.” – Stanley Eichelbaum, San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle
4. THE TURNING POINT
66 LISTS | 4 TOP SPOTS Herbert Ross | 119 mins | Drama/Romance Anne Bancroft | Shirley MacLaine | Mikhail Baryshnikov
“Some scoffed when director Herbert Ross set out to make a “dance picture,” but this dramatic examination of the lives of two ballerinas (Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft) turned out to be the prima cinema of 1978. Uniformly excellent acting, exquisite ballet sequences.” – Perry Stewart, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
3. STAR WARS
89 LISTS | 13 TOP SPOTS George Lucas | 121 mins | Action/Adventure/Fantasy Mark Hamill | Harrison Ford | Carrie Fisher
“What can you say about a movie that has been seen by more people in San Francisco (I think this is what I read) that the city has citizens? It’s more than popular. It’s a way of life, and it couldn’t happen to a nicer movie.
George Lucas (“American Graffiti”), who wrote and directed “Star Wars,” has transferred to film a lot of the wonder, delight, magic and mystery of the fiction we all read as children. “Star Wars” is a live-action comic-strip that never makes fun of its material while being consistently fun and often funny.
It may say something about the age we live in that the film’s three most popular characters are a villain named Darth Vader and two Laurel and Hardy-like robots, See-Threepio and Artoo-Deetoo. Then again, it may not. Did the popularity of the Cowardly Lion throw any light on World War I?” – Vincent Canby, New York Times
2. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
95 LISTS | 11 TOP SPOTS Steven Spielberg | 138 mins | Drama/Sci-Fi Richard Dreyfuss | François Truffaut | Teri Garr
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind arrived in time to make us feel better about the year, but mostly about Steven Spielberg. The director of “Jaws” leaped over “Star Wars” to give us a spirit-lifting Spindletop of goodwill. As dazzled earthlings welcomed the UFO visitors, who arrive in a Christmas shower of light and music, we briefly and joyfully feel part of cosmic family. But this intimate, innocent epic isn’t much – there’s wit behind the wonder, and a spry intelligence.
The film stumbles halfway, then takes off to dreamland. When have a child’s eyes been more beautiful, terror (Richard Dreyfuss in the truck) more amusing, or human hopes more transparently loveable” – David Elliott, Chicago Daily News
1. ANNIE HALL
122 LISTS | 28 TOP SPOTS Woody Allen | 93 mins | Comedy/Romance Woody Allen | Diane Keaton | Tony Roberts
“”Annie and I broke up,” Woody announces abruptly at the beginning of “Annie Hall.” “What went wrong>” he wonders, and proceeds to show us in one of the most painful and, at the same time, hilarious romantic comedies ever made.
“Annie Hall’s” special magic is its air of absolute honesty. There is hardly a contrived, stereotypical moment in the entire film and audiences (not to mention this reviewer) saw portions of their lives mirrored in Annie (Diane Keaton) and Alvy’s (Woods) love affair. The best film of the year.” – David Rosenbaum, Boston Herald
Full List:
| R | Film | L | #1 | AR | L% | #1% | TCL | TCL1 | TCL% | TCL1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annie Hall | 122 | 28 | 2.56 | 92% | 33% | 32 | 7 | 89% | 28% |
| 2 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | 95 | 11 | 4.27 | 72% | 13% | 24 | 3 | 67% | 12% |
| 3 | Star Wars | 89 | 13 | 3.43 | 67% | 15% | 25 | 3 | 69% | 12% |
| 4 | The Turning Point | 66 | 4 | 5.24 | 51% | 5% | 17 | 2 | 47% | 8% |
| 5 | Julia | 60 | 2 | 5.66 | 46% | 2% | 16 | 1 | 44% | 4% |
| 6 | The Late Show | 61 | 0 | 5.46 | 46% | 0% | 19 | 0 | 53% | 0% |
| 7 | 3 Women | 39 | 2 | 4.30 | 29% | 2% | 11 | 1 | 31% | 4% |
| 8 | The Goodbye Girl | 35 | 1 | 5.52 | 27% | 1% | 9 | 0 | 25% | 0% |
| 9 | Saturday Night Fever | 35 | 3 | 5.88 | 27% | 4% | 10 | 1 | 28% | 4% |
| 10 | Looking for Mr. Goodbar | 31 | 2 | 5.20 | 23% | 2% | 8 | 1 | 22% | 4% |
| 11 | That Obscure Object of Desire | 29 | 2 | 4.38 | 22% | 2% | 10 | 2 | 28% | 8% |
| 12 | New York, New York | 28 | 0 | 6.77 | 21% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 14% | 0% |
| 13 | Oh, God! | 23 | 0 | 6.67 | 17% | 0% | 6 | 0 | 17% | 0% |
| 14 | The Spy Who Loved Me | 22 | 0 | 6.45 | 17% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| 14 | Islands in the Stream | 22 | 0 | 5.67 | 17% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 11% | 0% |
| 16 | Cria! | 21 | 1 | 5.86 | 16% | 1% | 8 | 0 | 22% | 0% |
| 17 | The Man Who Loved Women | 20 | 0 | 6.91 | 16% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 22% | 0% |
| 18 | Providence | 18 | 2 | 6.50 | 14% | 2% | 8 | 0 | 22% | 0% |
| 19 | Black and White in Color | 18 | 0 | 4.63 | 13% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 8% | 0% |
| 20 | Padre Padrone | 16 | 2 | 6.00 | 13% | 2% | 4 | 0 | 11% | 0% |
| 21 | Handle With Care | 15 | 0 | 6.33 | 11% | 0% | 5 | 0 | 14% | 0% |
| 22 | The American Friend | 14 | 1 | 8.17 | 11% | 1% | 5 | 1 | 14% | 4% |
| 23 | Harlan County, U.S.A. | 14 | 1 | 8.50 | 11% | 1% | 2 | 0 | 6% | 0% |
| 24 | Sorcerer | 14 | 1 | 7.38 | 11% | 1% | 5 | 0 | 14% | 0% |
| 25 | I Never Promised You a Rose Garden | 14 | 0 | 8.43 | 11% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 3% | 0% |
| 25 | Slap Shot | 14 | 0 | 8.17 | 11% | 0% | 4 | 0 | 11% | 0% |
| 27 | The Lacemaker | 12 | 1 | 8.00 | 9% | 1% | 1 | 0 | 3% | 0% |
| 28 | A Bridge Too Far | 12 | 0 | 4.50 | 9% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 6% | 0% |
| 29 | Equus | 11 | 0 | 3.50 | 9% | 0% | 2 | 0 | 6% | 0% |
| 30 | 1900 | 11 | 1 | 3.75 | 9% | 1% | 4 | 0 | 11% | 0% |
| 31 | Pardon Mon Affaire | 11 | 0 | 7.33 | 8% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 8% | 0% |
| 32 | A Special Day | 10 | 0 | 6.67 | 8% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 8% | 0% |
| 33 | Aguire: Wrath of God | 10 | 2 | 7.29 | 8% | 2% | 5 | 0 | 14% | 0% |
| 34 | The Rescuers | 10 | 0 | 7.80 | 8% | 0% | 1 | 0 | 3% | 0% |
| 34 | Black Sunday | 10 | 0 | 6.25 | 8% | 0% | 3 | 0 | 8% | 0% |
Lists Included 133 | Top Critics’ Lists Included 36
R Rank
L Total number of lists where the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year
AR Average position on ranked top 10 lists
#1 Total number of lists where the film was selected as the best film of the year
L% Percentage of total lists where the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year
#1% Percentage of mentions where the film was selected as the best film of the year
TCL Number of times that the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL1 Number of times that the film was selected as the best film of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL% Percentage of times that the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL1% Percentage of lists where the film was selected as the best film of the year on top critics’ lists