The Manitou (1978)

A woman discovers a fast-growing tumor on the back of her neck. The doctors schedule next-day surgery, so she goes to see old friend -- a low-rent fortune teller Harry played by Tony Curtis -- to have a roll in the hay. When the surgeon is supernaturally prevented from removing the tumor (which they now believe may contain a fetus), Harry gets to work on figuring out how to deal with it from a mystical perspective.

It is no-holds-barred bonkers. A jacked little person emerging from a neck womb is probably the fourth most wtf thing to occur, with laser-shooting boobs coming in just ahead. It's a mess, but Curtis seems to be having a hell of a time, which makes it worth the watch.

D

The Driver (1978)

A persistent detective (Bruce Dern) sets his sights on a slippery getaway driver (Ryan O'Neal). The story's told with a minimum of dialogue, heaps of style and some of the best car chase footage I've ever seen. Knowing that those sequences were accomplished via practical effects make them all the more impressive.

B

Death on the Nile (1978)

Unfortunately, we'd seen Branagh's remake earlier, so the mystery of who did it was spoiled for us. But it's still diverting and charming and gave us a small dose of Maggie Smith, who we'd lost the day before this screening.

B-

The Cheap Detective (1978)

Basically a comedy mash-up of Casablanca and '40s detective movies (Spade/Marlowe), and it mostly works. It's extremely silly and comically sexist and everyone dives in with gusto. 

That said, the script is about on par with the kinds of parodies we created in high school. It adheres to recognizable plot beats while replacing absolutely anything serious with the ridiculous and -- when in doubt -- leaning hard on the broadest of stereotypes.

B-

The Spiral (1978)

A stranger shows up at the base shelter for mountain climbers. He begs a place to sleep and some rope from the others there. He is also a complete twat to everyone. When he can't be found the next morning, a search party is sent out for him.

I admit that I was frustratingly confused for much of this movie. I think that he was a psychiatric patient who wanted to commit suicide, but I'm honestly not completely sure. What I do know is that this film's only palatable moments come from the decent people who choose to reach out to this prickly character even as he kicks out at them.

D

Autumn Sonata (1978)

Ingrid Bergman crushes it as an aloof concert pianist visiting her adult daughters after being widowed by their stepfather. The film is basically talk, talk, yell, flashback, talk, talk, yell -- but, wow. The power in their faces is nothing short of marvelous.  I admit I wasn't a real fan of Bergman's before, but she proved to me here that her place as a revered actress was earned.

A

The Dionne Quintuplets (1978)

Documentary about the five identical girls born in 1934 -- the first recorded as surviving their infancy.

It's hard to even figure out how to feel about the way their lives were handled. They were exploited as a product: spokespeople thrust into the public eye with no regard for normalcy. It's also impossible to know for sure whether their parents would be more rightly considered fellow exploiters or victims themselves.

Compelling watchable, like most freak shows are, even if you feel guilty for being fascinated.

B

An Unmarried Woman (1978)

Woman with a blandly perfect life is oblivious to the fact that her husband has been carrying on an affair and is completely blindsided when he announces he's leaving. What follows is a quite dull journey of therapy and experimentation. What a bore. Apparently the cast was filled out with people plucked off the street, as only the three main parts could act AT ALL.

D

Coming Home (1978)

Fonda and Voight are good, but the story isn't as brutal as it could/should be. Instead of being powerful because of the destructive impact war has on everyone, it focuses on the pedestrian destruction caused by the "neglected wife finds true freedom with sensitive stranger" storyline.

I had to pause the movie a couple of times in the last 20 minutes just to relieve my ears from the pounding "background" music -- even though the scene changed, the music REFUSED TO STOP.

C+

Coma (1978)

Hey! Why are all these healthy people dying during routine surgery? Just doesn’t seem right, somehow.

B+