Despite having some real winners like Apocalypse Now and The Jerk, 1979 produced several losers too. From failed comedies to plots that are scattered, these ae some of the worst films of the year. Do you agree?
1. The Little Dragons (1979)
The plot of the martial arts comedy The Little Dragons is about a group of outcast youths who band together to stop a criminal gang. The kids use the skills they’ve learned from their martial arts teacher, Charles Lane, to fight the bad guys. The movie received bad reviews because the jokes weren’t very funny and could not impress the audience.
2. 1941 (1979)
1941 is a slapstick comedy directed by Steven Spielberg in Los Angeles after the attack on Pearl Harbour. The movie follows Captain Wild Bill Kelso (John Belushi) and other characters trying to deal with the chaos of wartime panic. The movie had a lot of big names in it, but the over-the-top humor and disjointed story didn’t work for audiences or critics.
3. Last Embrace (1979)
Last Embrace is a thriller in which Roy Scheider plays a traumatized government spy who gets caught up in a web of espionage and danger. As he tries to piece together the truth while dodging assassins, the movie has trouble keeping a consistent storyline and pace, which made it known as one of the worst films of the year.
4. Quintet (1979)
In the science fiction movie Quintet, which is set after the end of the world, the world has been destroyed by an ice age. Paul Newman plays the role of Essex, a survivor who gets caught up in a dangerous game called “Quintet.” Even though the movie’s premise was interesting, its slow pace, lack of character development, and confusing story all added to its failure with critics and audiences.
5. The Main Event (1979)
The Main Event is a sports comedy starring Barbra Streisand as a businesswoman who inherits a boxer (Ryan O’Neal) and decides to make him a champion. The movie tried to be romantic and funny about sports, but its story was predictable, and the two main characters didn’t have much chemistry.
6. A Perfect Couple (1979)
The love comedy Robert Altman directs A Perfect Couple. The movie is about how Sheila (Marta Heflin) and Alex (Paul Dooley), two very different people brought together by fate, have difficulty getting along. Even though Altman is known for telling stories in new ways, this movie was one of the worst of the year because its tone was all over the place and didn’t make sense.
7. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the first time that the series has been shown on a big screen. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his team go on a mission to find out what is threatening Earth and what it is. Despite the movie’s move from T.V. to film was exciting, many fans were disappointed by its slow pace and heavy focus on special effects instead of character development.
8. Fast Company (1979)
Fast Company is an action-drama about drag racing and shady business dealings. In the movie, a drag racer named Lonnie (William Smith) competes with a team run by a shady businessman. The movie tried to capture the excitement of the racing world, but it had trouble keeping its different plot lines in sync and didn’t do well at the box office.
9. Hair (1979)
The musical comedy-drama Hair is based on the same-named Broadway show. The movie is about Claude Hooper Bukowski (John Savage), who makes friends with a group of free-spirited hippies led by George Berger (Treat Williams) during the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Despite having some excellent musical pieces, it was one of the worst of the year because it didn’t have a clear plot, and the story was all over the place.
10. Home Movies (1979)
Home Movies is a comedy about a young director named Denis (Keith Gordon) who gets into trouble. Denis’s view of life gets increasingly skewed as he makes a documentary about his friends. The movie was supposed to be a satire of the artistic process, but the story was all over the place, and it wasn’t clear where it was going.
11. The Clonus Horror (1979)
The Clonus Horror is a science fiction story that is mostly about a bad plot by the government. In the movie, a young man named Richard Knight (Timothy Donnelly) discovers he is part of a cloning experiment, which leads him to discover the frightening truth about the project. The movie’s premise was interesting, but its low budget and low production values led to a lackluster response.
12. Goldengirl (1979)
The sports story Goldengirl is about a young woman named Goldine Serafin (Susan Anton), a very good athlete. The movie is about how she trains for the Olympics and how her coach (Curt Jurgens) and a government spy (James Coburn) put pressure on her. Critics didn’t like it because the pace was all over the place, and the characters weren’t well-developed.
13. Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
The first film was outstanding, but the sequel Beyond the Poseidon Adventure lacks its luster. It picks up right where The Poseidon Adventure left off. A group of salvagers, led by Captain Mike Turner (Michael Caine), go into the sunk ship to look for important cargo. The movie had a lot of big names in it, but it didn’t have the same tension and emotional effect as its predecessor, which disappointed both audiences and critics.
14. C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979)
The family comedy C.H.O.M.P.S. is about a robot dog named C.H.O.M.P.S. (Canine Home Protection System) that was made by Brian Foster (Wesley Eure). As the robot dog helps solve crimes, it has to compete with a robot made by a different company. It was one of the worst films of the year because it was not original and was poorly made.
15. The Concorde… Airport ’79 (1979)
The final film in the Airport catastrophe film series, The Concorde… Airport ’79 was released in 1979. In the movie, the passengers and crew of a Concorde jet deal with sabotage and foreign intrigue, among other things. Even though Alain Delon and George Kennedy were in the movie, the story didn’t make sense, and there wasn’t enough drama to keep people interested.
16. Hanover Street (1979)
Set during World War II, Hanover Street is a romantic drama that follows a pilot (Harrison Ford), a nurse (Lesley-Anne Down), and her husband (Christopher Plummer) as they navigate a tangled love triangle. As the characters face the dangers of war and their own problems, the movie has trouble balancing the love parts with the historical background, which leads to a lackluster response.
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