1979
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the year 1979.
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The Amityville Horror
‘The Amityville Horror’ is a surprisingly subtle capturing of gradual domestic violence and its associated dread, ultimately succumbing to its sensationalist origins. (read more)
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The Warriors
I recommend the Director’s Cut of The Warriors as it adds a few scenes that make more obvious its playfulness and pulpy influences which offsets the questionable machismo and misogyny. That aside, this is a great mini-classic with surprisingly good acting, sci-fi-esque dystopian costume design, and excellently choreographed fight scenes (though they’re often edited weakly… (read more)
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Camera Buff
Camera Buff (AKA Ametor) is a semi-autobiographical drama made by a filmmaker for a filmmaker. I am not a filmmaker and have no interest in becoming one, but I was still thoroughly engaged despite not connecting to Camera Buff on a personal level like Kieslowski’s others. Anyway, the perv-stached Jerzy Stuhr portrays Kieslowski’s own struggles… (read more)
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Mad Max
George Miller must’ve felt like he won the jackpot for making as huge a profit from something like Mad Max. It’s a miracle hit, if you ask me. To be fair, I find the dystopian settings of these late ’70s and early ’80s movies to be very cheap and dry. This is in dire need… (read more)
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The Castle of Cagliostro
Studio Ghibli adapts the iconic hero-thief Lupin III to the silver screen in this 1979 adventure, "The Castle of Cagliostro." (read more)
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Apocalypse Now
As remarkable as everything related to the production of Apocalypse Now is, I find its cynical themes overly nihilistic with an aura that suggests animalistic ruthlessness is the world’s only truth. This “angst,” if I can even dare to use such a trivial word for this admittedly great movie, isn’t profound for me because its… (read more)
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Alien
One of my most controversial movie opinions is that I’m not that into Alien. It surprises even myself, as I love its concept. I like horror in general, and the relative novelty of sci-fi horror elevates proceedings. I’m even a particular fan of cosmic horror, and while the immediate threat of the Xenomorph isn’t dissimilar… (read more)
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Lizzy Mercier Descloux – “Press Color” (1979)
Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s classy, lounge-esque vocals on “Tumour” coupled with its perverse, post-punk guitars imitating saxophones it an indisputable highlight. Press Color is generally not energizing enough to be a great dance-punk album, and doesn’t go far enough into no wave territory to be endearingly abrasive. The combination of two genres known for their energy… (read more)
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Blondie – “Eat to the Beat”
Eat to the Beat is an appropriate follow-up to Parallel Lines. Overall not as good, but very acceptable. “Dreaming” and “Union City Blue” (my favorite Blondie song!) drive it home. “Atomic” is also great, but the album version keeps the “Three Blind Mice intro” (exactly what it sounds like) which is juvenile and uninventive, really… (read more)
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Fleetwood Mac – “Tusk” (1979)
Tusk Review Tusk is a pathetic follow-up to the previous two albums by Fleetwood Mac. And pathetic is the right word to use as Lindsey Buckingham, heartbroken after the events now permanently documented in 1977’s seminal Rumours album, is in too shitty a mood to write a good song, content with simply gliding by on… (read more)