Directorial Chronology - 1978
In The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929 - 1968, Andrew Sarris provided an extremely useful and entertaining appendix he called "Directorial Chronology." It was basically a best American film of the year list with a highly auteurist, idiosyncratic bent. So you would see things like Man's Favorite Sport (Hawks) ranked well above something more critically exalted (by the mainstream) like Fail Safe (Lumet). He did not numerically rank the films, but they are pretty clearly presented in order of preference (and preferred auteurs). Since it is my aim to pay tribute to the great text by the great man, I am going to attempt to do the same. Here is the next entry.
Directorial Chronology - 1978
George Romero Dawn of the Dead
Terence Malick Days of Heaven
Philip Kauffman Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Floyd Mutrux American Hot Wax
Paul Schrader Blue Collar
Michael Cimino The Deer Hunter
Billy Wilder Fedora
Robert Altman A Wedding
Claudia Weill Girlfriends
John Carpenter Halloween
Alan Rudolph Remember My Name
Brian De Palma The Fury
Joe Dante Piranha
Paul Mazursky An Unmarried Woman
James Toback Fingers
Ted Post Go Tell the Spartans
Karel Reisz Who'll Stop the Rain
Sam Peckinpah Convoy
Stanley Donen Movie Movie
Richard Donner Superman
Warren Beatty Heaven Can Wait
Walter Hill The Driver
John Landis National Lampoon's Animal House
Robert Zemeckis I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Woody Allen Interiors
William Friedkin The Brink's Job
Blake Edwards Revenge of the Pink Panther
James Fargo Every Which Way but Loose
Hal Ashby Coming Home
Steve Rash The Buddy Holly Story
Alan Pakula Comes a Horseman
Howard Zieff House Calls
Robert Mulligan Bloodbrothers
Alan Parker Midnight Express
Doris Wishman Let Me Die a Woman
Larry Cohen It Lives Again
Jeannot Szwarc Jaws 2
Alan Arkush Deathsport
Bob Dylan Renaldo and Clara
John Milius Big Wednesday
Sidney Furie The Boys in Company C
Frank Pierson King of the Gypsies
Ulu Grosbard Straight Time
Peter Hyams Capricorn One
Matthew Robbins Corvette Summer
Louis Malle Pretty Baby
Burt Reynolds The End
