Lifetime Movies: 1978

Nominees: Animal House, Dawn of the Dead, Grease, Halloween, Jaws 2

A better year than I thought at first glance, especially in terms of influence. George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead has long been considered the gold standard of zombie films and the one that has truly served as the template for the genre. (Though I must say Romero's 1968 ground-breaker, Night of the Living Dead,  is still incredibly effective.) And while on the subject of seminal genre work, John Carpenter's original Halloween remains one of, if not the, best slasher films ever. And that music has never been topped (composed by the directer himself). Jump-stepping to musicals, I'm amazed at not only how well Grease has held up over the years, but by how each generation has adopted it as its own. There's nothing not to like about it. (Apparently, a young me danced the film away in the back of his aunt's station wagon at the drive-in. Where was YouTube when you needed it?) What's that? Jaws 2, you say? For a long time, this was my favorite Jaws film. While I have since learned to appreciate the genius of the original, this one is still way too much fun not to watch whenever I catch it on TV. But Animal House...an absolutely pitch-perfect comedy. I don't quote movies, and I can quote this movie. Makes you want to start your own frat, doesn't it?

Winner: Animal House

Notes: The Deer Hunter is a great film, but as Vin mentioned, you have to be ready and committed to watching it...Superman could have easily been a nominee this year. While its effects don't hold up in the face of today's super hero extravaganzas (through no fault of its own), I was surprised at just how good Christopher Reeve's performance was when I saw it again a few years ago. Just...something that means "super"--I do not want to use "super"...Speaking of classic film music, how about that Midnight Express theme? Plus, it's a prison movie, which is right up there with zombies and fraternities in the "infinitely watchable" category for me (what, no summer camp movie? Couldn't you have rushed production, Meatballs?)...finally, speaking of wrestling, which I wasn't, but let me explain. I was actually introduced to the Midnight Express theme as the entrance music for a tag team of the same name. That leads into The Bad News Bears Go to Japan, a not very good film that I loved as a kid because, one, it was about baseball, and two, there was a wrestling scene. God, life was easier back then.