1978 At The Movies - Sharks, Snatchers or a Speeding Bullet?

Today, let's enjoy a flashback to 1978 at the cinema. I was just fourteen years old so I couldn't see any of the Restricted-rated movies that year, but I did my best to see the blockbusters and anything else of interest. Some of the biggies at the box-office were Grease, Superman, and National Lampoon's Animal House. I had zero interest in anything like Grease (a dance musical), but I made like a speeding bullet to the theatre to see Superman. I can't remember if I saw Animal House on its first run, but I have a feeling I did not. I do recall renting that on VHS with some buddies a few years later.

I was nuts about Superman - in general - ever since I can remember. The majority of the titles in my modest childhood comic book collection were Superman-oriented. Batman might have been a close second. I watched repeatedly the reruns of the 50's George Reeves Superman TV show. As clunky as its visual effects (the flying) were, I didn't really notice much, if at all, when I was a kid. 

So when a Superman motion picture (the first ever) featuring state-of-the-art (for that time) visual effects came along, I was totally on board. It blew everyone's mind... including mine. That was certainly the highlight of the year for me. And ever since then, I've watched and re-watched Superman many, many times. Great story, great performances, out-of-this-world visuals... whew.

Every Which Way But Loose wasn't exactly my kind of movie, but I dragged myself out to a school friend's birthday outing to see it. A man and a monkey. Meh. A few years older, I'd sure dig Clint Eastwood in his tough-cop Dirty Harry flicks, but he was just weird in this goofy comedy. Not my style and totally forgettable. 

I believe I first saw Jaws 2 at the drive-in with a carload of fellow 14-year-olds. Again, it was a birthday outing for a friend. So... lots of junk food and horseplay... but I did settle down enough to enjoy the gargantuan shark chomping down on hapless swimmers. I don't think I ever saw the movie again, until just a couple of years ago when I finally found time to give it a re-watch. And it was actually pretty good, not on par with the first Jaws, but a better than decent follow-up which picks up with Roy and his family not long after their earlier misadventures. 

Revenge of the Pink Panther was the sixth, but not last, instalment in the comedy series starring Peter Sellers. I was a fan of the Panther movies, having laughed my guts out repeatedly viewing the earlier flicks on TV. Revenge was probably one of the lesser of them all, but I'm sure it was still good enough for a dumb kid back in the day. As long as the key ingredients were there - Herbert Lom as the mentally unstable Chief Inspector, and Clouseau's (Sellers) manservant Cato - a Pink Panther movie just couldn't fail. Well, '83's Curse of the Pink Panther did that, didn't it?

I don't know how discerning I was about picking movies to see at the cinema, but I probably jumped on any chance to see something with my friends. At the age of fourteen, all kids are looking for a reason to get out of the house - away from the parents - for an evening. Coma was likely a bit of a stretch for me. Coma was based on Michael Crichton's sci-fi thriller novel... less action and more talky, certainly a lower-key film intended for an older audience. The movie was forgettable for me at the time. Who knows, maybe I'd see something good in it now.

Damien: Omen II was the sequel my pals and I were eagerly anticipating. This sort of horror, while rather tame by today's standards, was creepy enough back in the day. Damien is growing up, 12-years-old now, and is as evil as ever. His devilish doings were fun to watch, though I didn't feel compelled to see it over and over again. The original was the best. Always would be.

The Bad News Bears Go To Japan was the second sequel in the series about foul-mouthed youngsters who took the baseball diamond by storm. Matthau returned as the coach, but I think the rest of the cast was re-vamped. I mean... you have to keep it fresh... and that meant keeping young kids in the mix. Who wants to see the original Bears team growing up? Not me. Forgettable.

I nearly finished this post without recalling what is now regarded as one of the best horror movies of the 70's... the Philip Kaufman re-make of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Many people prefer this re-make to the original, citing colour film and screaming aliens as factors that make it far superior. Don't get me wrong, I really like this re-imagining of the classic sci-fi thriller of the 50's. The thing is that I already had several years of exposure to the seminal 1956 alien invasion story (on TV)  and had developed a deep admiration for the tense, creepy black-and-white gem. Paranoia everywhere! So when director Kaufman brought his vision to the big screen, I had reservations. Yet it's a terrific film, just as anxiety-inducing and spine-chilling as its predecessor. An all-star cast: Sutherland, Nimoy, Goldblum, Cartwright. Weird and disturbing visual effects are likely part of the reason fans rank this re-make above the original. But for me, nostalgia speaks louder... the original wins. Still, excellent stuff.

Because of my still tender age, I wasn't able to see horror milestone Halloween theatrically. I had a while to go before I could rent that on VHS in the 80's. Same with Cheech and Chong's Up In Smoke, of which I am now a huge fan... hey, I'm no dope-head - it's just plain funny. Animal House had to wait, too. 

So, as far as movies I actually saw in '78 go, I'd say that Superman and Invasion of the Body Snatchers were the best of the bunch. A fair year, with only a couple of standouts.