Comedy
Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb? A: The fish. Much like that joke, comedy comes down to personal taste and what one finds funny or not. Some like their humour light and frothy and very generalised, while others like it to have an edge and go for a more twisted, darker humour. The motherlode of this genre can be scrolled below. Either way, we're sure there will be something for everybody in the subsections on the left.
Right: There's Something About Mary's hairdo...
Battle Creek Brawl ( aka The Big Brawl ) (1979)
5.8/10
Director: Robert Clouse
Starring: Jackie Chan, Jose Ferrer, Kristine DeBell, Mako
Jackie Chan battles the world's meanest brawlers (including H B Haggerty, wrestler/footballer) in the fight of the century in this, his first American... Read more
Cactus Jack (1979)
8.3/10
Director: Hal Needham
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ann-Margret
Aka 'The Villain'. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the mysterious, handsome stranger in this combination of a western spoof and Road Runner cartoon. With Kir... Read more
The Jerk (1979)
7.2/10
Director: Carl Reiner
Starring: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams
Steve Martin made a very funny film debut in this wacky comedy about the misadventures of a terminally stupid young man. Watch out for the cat jugglin... Read more
The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)
6.9/10
Director: Roger Graef
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, John Cleese, Billy Connolly, Peter Cook, Clive James, Terry Jone...
A full-length, unexpurgated film of the annual Amnesty International comedy fundraiser that captures some of England's finest comedic minds performing... Read more
1941 (Director's Cut) (1979)
5.8/10
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Christoph...
Steven Spielberg's monumental comedy spectacular, based on a true incident, about the war panic that erupted in Southern California after a Japanese s... Read more
Being There (1979)
8/10
Director: Hal Ashby
Starring: Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Warden, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Dysart, Ri...
Peter Sellers gives the performance of his career as Chance, a middle-aged gardener who's led a sheltered life and whose thoughts and behaviour are to... Read more
Mork & Mindy (1978)
7.1/10
Starring: Robin Williams
A wacky alien comes to Earth to study its residents and the life of the human woman he boards with is never the same. Read more
Cheech & Chong: Up in Smoke/ Still Smokin (1978)
6.6/10
Director: Lou Adler
Starring: Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong
Two stoners unknowingly smuggle a van - made entirely of marijuana - from Mexico to L.A., with incompetent Sgt. Stedenko on their trail. Cheech & C... Read more
Middle Age Spread (1978)
6/10
Director: John Reid
Starring: Donna Akersten, Dorothy McKegg, Grant Tilly, Peter Sumner, Bridget Armstrong
A unique "comedy of manners", based on Roger Hall's stage play which was a smash hit in NZ and the UK. Colin (Grant Tilly) is the deputy principal of... Read more
The Brink's Job (1978)
6.5/10
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Peter Falk, Peter Boyle, Allen Goorwitz, Warren Oates, Gena Rowlands, Paul Sorvi...
From director William Friedkin ('The French Connection') comes this brilliant portrayal of one of the most famous and daring armed robberies in United... Read more