Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPride MonthAmerican Black Film FestivalSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Copy

The 21 Greatest Movies of 1978

by Gibboanxious • Created 3 years ago • Modified 2 weeks ago
List activity
145 views
• 0 this week
Create a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
  • 24 titles
  • National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

    1. National Lampoon's Animal House

    19781h 49mR79Metascore
    7.4 (133K)
    At a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.
    DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiKaren AllenTom Hulce
  • Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter (1978)

    2. The Deer Hunter

    19783h 3mR90Metascore
    8.1 (376K)
    An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
    DirectorMichael CiminoStarsRobert De NiroChristopher WalkenJohn Cazale
  • Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Christopher Reeve, Jackie Cooper, Sarah Douglas, Jeff East, Margot Kidder, Jack O'Halloran, Valerie Perrine, and Susannah York in Superman (1978)

    3. Superman

    19782h 23mPG82Metascore
    7.4 (197K)
    An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
    DirectorRichard DonnerStarsChristopher ReeveMargot KidderGene Hackman
  • John Paul in Dawn of the Dead (1978)

    4. Dawn of the Dead

    19782h 7mUnrated71Metascore
    7.8 (133K)
    During an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
    DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. Reiniger
  • Donald Sutherland and Veronica Cartwright in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

    5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    19781h 55mPG75Metascore
    7.4 (76K)
    When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, replicating the city's residents one body at a time.
    DirectorPhilip KaufmanStarsDonald SutherlandBrooke AdamsJeff Goldblum
  • The Last Waltz (1978)

    6. The Last Waltz

    19781h 57mPG84Metascore
    8.1 (21K)
    A film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.
    DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobbie RobertsonMuddy WatersNeil Young
  • Brad Davis in Midnight Express (1978)

    7. Midnight Express

    19782h 1mR59Metascore
    7.5 (91K)
    Billy Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
    DirectorAlan ParkerStarsBrad DavisIrene MiracleBo Hopkins
  • Halloween (1978)

    8. Halloween

    19781h 31mR90Metascore
    7.7 (324K)
    Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois, to kill again.
    DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony Moran
  • The Driver (1978)

    9. The Driver

    19781h 31mR56Metascore
    7.1 (21K)
    A getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.
    DirectorWalter HillStarsRyan O'NealBruce DernIsabelle Adjani
  • The Brink's Job (1978)

    10. The Brink's Job

    19781h 44mPG60Metascore
    6.5 (3.7K)
    A fictional retelling of the infamous Boston Brink's Company robbery on January 17th, 1950, of $2.7M, which cost the American taxpayers $29M to apprehend the culprits, with only $58,000 recovered.
    DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsPeter FalkPeter BoyleAllen Garfield
  • Watership Down (1978)

    11. Watership Down

    19781h 32mPG64Metascore
    7.5 (42K)
    Hoping to escape destruction by human developers and save their community, a colony of rabbits, led by Hazel and Fiver, seek out a safe place to set up a new warren.
    DirectorsMartin RosenJohn HubleyStarsJohn HurtRichard BriersRalph Richardson
  • Dustin Hoffman and Theresa Russell in Straight Time (1978)

    12. Straight Time

    19781h 54mR64Metascore
    7.4 (11K)
    The difficulties of a career burglar to reinsert himself after being released on parole.
    DirectorsUlu GrosbardDustin HoffmanStarsDustin HoffmanTheresa RussellGary Busey
  • Days of Heaven (1978)

    13. Days of Heaven

    19781h 34mPG94Metascore
    7.7 (66K)
    A hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.
    DirectorTerrence MalickStarsRichard GereBrooke AdamsSam Shepard
  • John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in Grease (1978)

    14. Grease

    19781h 50mPG70Metascore
    7.2 (315K)
    Good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
    DirectorRandal KleiserStarsJohn TravoltaOlivia Newton-JohnStockard Channing
  • The Boys from Brazil (1978)

    15. The Boys from Brazil

    19782h 5mR40Metascore
    7.0 (32K)
    A Nazi hunter in Paraguay discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.
    DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGregory PeckLaurence OlivierJames Mason
  • Death on the Nile (1978)

    16. Death on the Nile

    19782h 20mPG59Metascore
    7.3 (42K)
    As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board. Can Poirot identify the killer before the ship reaches the end of its journey?
    DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsPeter UstinovMia FarrowSimon MacCorkindale
  • Piranha (1978)

    17. Piranha

    19781h 34mR71Metascore
    5.9 (26K)
    When flesh-eating piranhas are accidentally released into a summer resort's rivers, the guests become their next meal.
    DirectorJoe DanteStarsBradford DillmanHeather Menzies-UrichKevin McCarthy
  • American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978)

    18. American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince

    197855mNot Rated
    7.3 (2.1K)
    Director Martin Scorsese talks to actor Steven Prince about his past. As the night goes on, Prince reveals some very amusing and moving stories of his experiences with drugs and violence.
    DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsSteven PrinceJulia CameronMardik Martin
  • Sylvester Stallone and David Huffman in F.I.S.T. (1978)

    19. F.I.S.T.

    19782h 25mPG54Metascore
    6.4 (9.1K)
    A rebellious Cleveland warehouse worker rises through the ranks of a trucking industry union to become union president but his organized crime links cause his eventual downfall.
    DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSylvester StalloneRod SteigerPeter Boyle
  • Gates of Heaven (1978)

    20. Gates of Heaven

    19781h 25mNot Rated
    7.3 (6.5K)
    A documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.
    DirectorErrol MorrisStarsLucille BillingsleyZella GrahamCal Harberts
  • Brooke Shields in Pretty Baby (1978)

    21. Pretty Baby

    19781h 50mR66Metascore
    6.5 (14K)
    A preteen girl lives as a prostitute in New Orleans in 1917.
    DirectorLouis MalleStarsBrooke ShieldsKeith CarradineSusan Sarandon
  • William Holden and Marthe Keller in Fedora (1978)

    22. Fedora

    19781h 54mPG
    6.8 (5.6K)
    Down-on-his-luck Hollywood producer Barry 'Dutch' Detweiler attempts to lure Fedora, a famous but reclusive film actress, out of retirement only to discover the horrible truth behind her success.
    DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenMarthe KellerHildegard Knef
  • Diane Keaton, Mary Beth Hurt, and Kristin Griffith in Interiors (1978)

    23. Interiors

    19781h 32mPG67Metascore
    7.3 (22K)
    Three sisters find their lives spinning out of control in the wake of their parents' sudden, unexpected divorce.
    DirectorWoody AllenStarsDiane KeatonGeraldine PageKristin Griffith
  • Richard Burton in The Medusa Touch (1978)

    24. The Medusa Touch

    19781h 49mPG49Metascore
    6.9 (8K)
    A telekinetic novelist causes disasters simply by thinking about them.
    DirectorJack GoldStarsRichard BurtonLee RemickLino Ventura

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.