1979 in film
See also:
Events
- March 5 - Production begins on The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel to Star Wars.
- November 1 - Production begins on Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Top grossing films
- North America
- Superman
- Every Which Way But Loose
- Rocky II, starring Sylvester Stallone
- Alien
- tie, The Amityville Horror and Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Moonraker starring Roger Moore
- The Muppet Movie
- California Suite
- The Deer Hunter
Academy Awards
- Best Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer - Jaffe, Columbia
- Best Director: Robert Benton - Kramer vs. Kramer
- Best Actor: Dustin Hoffman - Kramer vs. Kramer
- Best Actress: Sally Field - Norma Rae
Births
- January 4 - Isidra Vega, actress
- January 8 - Sarah Polley, actress
- January 27 - Rosamund Pike, actress
- February 9 - Mena Suvari, actress
- February 9 - Zhang Ziyi, actress and dancer
- April 4 - Bunko Kanazawa, actress
- April 12 - Claire Danes, actress
- April 19 - Kate Hudson, actress
- April 23 - Jaime King, actress
- May 9 - Rosario Dawson, actress
- May 25 - Monica Keena, actress
- October 4 - Rachael Leigh Cook, actress
- December 23 - Summer Altice, model and actress
Deaths
- February 12 - Jean Renoir, director
- March 1 - Dolores Costello, actress
- March 22 - Ben Lyon, actor, also credited as the person who "discovered" and renamed Marilyn Monroe
- May 29 - Mary Pickford, actress, movie studio founder
- June 11 - John Wayne, actor
- August 17, Vivian Vance, actress
- September 8 - Jean Seberg, actress
Other movies released
- Alexandria - Why?
- All That Jazz
- Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford, Palme d'Or winner
- Being There, starring Peter Sellers
- The Black Stallion
- Breaker Morant
- Caligula, by Gore Vidal and Bob Guccione
- The China Syndrome
- David, Golden Bear winner
- The Electric Horseman, directed by Sydney Pollack, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda
- Escape From Alcatraz
- Hardcore, starring George C. Scott
- The In-Laws
- The Jerk, starring Steve Martin
- Kramer vs. Kramer, starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep, both of whom won Oscars for their performances
- La Cage aux Folles
- Love at First Bite, starring George Hamilton
- Mad Max, starring Mel Gibson
- Manhattan
- The Marriage of Maria Braun
- Meatballs, starring Bill Murray
- Monty Python's Life of Brian
- 1941, starring Dan Aykroyd
- Norma Rae
- Nosferatu the Vampyre
- Rock 'n' Roll High School, produced by Roger Corman, featuring The Ramones
- The Rose
- Siberiade
- Soldier of Orange
- 10, directed by Blake Edwards, starring Dudley Moore
- Tess, directed by Roman Polanski, starring Nastassja Kinski
- Time After Time
- The Tin Drum, Palm d'Or winner
- Vengeance is Mine
- Zulu Dawn