The year 1977 in film involved some significant events, the biggest and most important of which was the release of Star Wars.
The top ten 1977 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
March 28 - At the 49th Academy Awards, Rocky picks up the Academy Award for Best Picture. Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, and Beatrice Straight all win Oscars for their performances in Network for Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress, while Jason Robards wins for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in All the President's Men. He would win again the following year, becoming the only person to win two consecutive Best Supporting Actor awards.
May 25 - Star Wars opens in theaters and became the highest-grossing film of the year. The film revolutionizes the use of special effects in film and television production. It also popularizes the notion of omitting any sort of opening credits sequence. Lucas was told by the Screen Actors Guild that he must have an opening credits sequence, so he instead distributes the film independently, sans the opening credits. The film's release is often considered one of the most important events in the history of motion pictures.
June 22 - Walt Disney Productions releases The Rescuers, which brought back an interest in animation that had been lost to both film-goers and critics throughout the beginning of the 1970s.
November 16 - Close Encounters of the Third Kind opens to widespread critical acclaim and massive box office success, becoming one of the top-grossing films to date and cementing Steven Spielberg's status as one of the most talented and profitable film directors of all time.
The average price of a movie ticket in the United States is about $2.25.
Academy Awards:
Best Picture:
Annie Hall - Rollins-Joffe, United Artists
Best Director:
Woody Allen -
Annie Hall
Best Actor:
Richard Dreyfuss -
The Goodbye Girl
Best Actress:
Diane Keaton -
Annie Hall
Best Supporting Actor:
Jason Robards -
Julia
Best Supporting Actress:
Vanessa Redgrave -
Julia
Best Foreign Language Film:
Madame Rosa (
La Vie devant soi), directed by Moshé Mizrahi, France
Golden Globe Awards:
Drama:
Best Picture:
The Turning Point
Best Actor:
Richard Burton -
Equus
Best Actress:
Jane Fonda -
Julia
Musical or comedy:
Best Picture:
The Goodbye Girl
Best Actor:
Richard Dreyfuss -
The Goodbye Girl
Best Actress (tie):
Diane Keaton -
Annie Hall
Best Actress (tie):
Marsha Mason -
The Goodbye Girl
Other
Best Director:
Herbert Ross -
The Turning Point
Best Foreign Language Film:
A Special Day, Italy
Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):
Father and Master (Padre padrone), directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italy
Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):
The Ascent (
Voskhozhdeniye), directed by Larisa Shepitko, USSR
US unless stated
#
3 Women, directed by Robert Altman, starring Shelley Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Janice Rule
21 Up, a TV made documentary film - (UK)
A
ABBA: The Movie - directed by Lasse Hallström - (Sweden/Australia)
Airport '77, starring Jack Lemmon, Lee Grant, Brenda Vaccaro, Christopher Lee, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, James Stewart
Alien Prey, directed by Norman J. Warren, starring Glory Annen - (UK)
Alice or the Last Escapade (Alice ou la dernière fugue), directed by Claude Chabrol, starring Sylvia Kristel - (France)
Allegro Non Troppo, a musical animated film - (Italy)
Amar Akbar Anthony, starring Amitabh Bachchan - (India)
The American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund), directed by Wim Wenders, starring Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz - (West Germany)
Andy Warhol's Bad, starring Carroll Baker and Perry King
Annie Hall, directed by and starring Woody Allen, with Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts, Carol Kane, Paul Simon
Audrey Rose, directed by Robert Wise, starring Marsha Mason, Anthony Hopkins, John Beck
The Ascent, directed by Larisa Shepitko - (USSR)
An Average Little Man (Un borghese piccolo piccolo), directed by Mario Monicelli, starring Alberto Sordi - (Italy)
B
Backroads, directed by Phillip Noyce - (Australia)
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, starring Jackie Earle Haley and William Devane
Black Joy, starring Norman Beaton - (UK)
Black Sunday, directed by John Frankenheimer, starring Robert Shaw, Bruce Dern, Marthe Keller
A Bridge Too Far, directed by Richard Attenborough, starring James Caan, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford - (US/UK)
The Brothers Lionheart (Bröderna Lejonhjärta) - (Sweden)
C
Candleshoe, starring David Niven, Helen Hayes, Jodie Foster
The Car, starring James Brolin
Ceddo, directed by Ousmane Sembène - (Senegal)
Charleston, starring Bud Spencer, James Coco, Herbert Lom
The Chess Players (Shatranj Ke Khilari), directed by Satyajit Ray - (India)
Chinatown Kid (Tang ren jie xiao zi), directed by Chang Cheh - (Hong Kong)
The Choirboys, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Charles Durning, Louis Gossett, Jr., Perry King, Phyllis Davis, Barbara Rhoades
Cinderella, starring Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith
Circuit no Ōkami (The Circuit Wolf) - (Japan)
Citizen's Band, directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Paul Le Mat and Candy Clark
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Bob Balaban, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr
Cross of Iron, directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason - (UK/West Germany)
Crossed Swords, starring Oliver Reed, Raquel Welch, Rex Harrison, Charlton Heston, George C. Scott
D
Damnation Alley, directed by Jack Smight, starring George Peppard and Jan-Michael Vincent
Death of a President (Śmierć prezydenta) - (Poland)
The Deep, directed by Peter Yates, starring Robert Shaw, Jacqueline Bisset, Nick Nolte, Louis Gossett, Jr.
Demon Seed, directed by Donald Cammell, starring Julie Christie
Desperate Living, directed by John Waters
The Devil Probably (Le diable probablement), directed by Robert Bresson - (France)
Dharam Veer, starring Dharmendra - (India)
Dinner for Adele (Adéla ještě nevečeřela) - (Czechoslovakia)
The Disappearance, starring Donald Sutherland and David Hemmings
The Dog Who Loved Trains (Pas koji je voleo vozove) - (Yugoslavia)
The Domino Principle, directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, Mickey Rooney, Eli Wallach, Richard Widmark
Dot and the Kangaroo - (Australia)
Double Murder, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Peter Ustinov
The Duellists, directed by Ridley Scott, starring Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel - (UK)
E
Elisa, vida mía (Elisa, My Life), directed by Carlos Saura, starring Geraldine Chaplin and Fernando Rey - (Spain)
Equus, directed by Sidney Lumet, starring Richard Burton and Peter Firth - (US/UK)
Eraserhead, directed by David Lynch, starring Jack Nance
Executioners from Shaolin (Hong Xi Guan) - (Hong Kong)
Exorcist II: The Heretic, directed by John Boorman, starring Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher
F
First Love, starring Susan Dey, William Katt, Beverly D'Angelo
Full Circle, aka The Haunting of Julia, starring Mia Farrow, Keir Dullea, Tom Conti
Fun with Dick and Jane, directed by Ted Kotcheff, starring Jane Fonda and George Segal
G
The Gauntlet, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, with Sondra Locke
The Getting of Wisdom, directed by Bruce Beresford - (Australia)
Golden Rendezvous, starring Richard Harris, Ann Turkel, David Janssen
The Goodbye Girl, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason
Grand Theft Auto, directed by and starring Ron Howard with Nancy Morgan
The Grateful Dead Movie, directed by Jerry Garcia and Leon Gast
The Greatest, starring Muhammad Ali as himself
Gulliver's Travels
H
Halloween with the New Addams Family
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo, directed by Vincent McEveety, starring Dean Jones and Don Knotts
Heroes, starring Henry Winkler, Sally Field, Harrison Ford
High Anxiety, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, with Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman, Howard Morris, Cloris Leachman
The Hills Have Eyes, directed by Wes Craven
Hitler: A Film from Germany, directed by Hans-Jürgen Syberberg - (West Germany)
The Hobbit, an animated film
House (Hausu) - (Japan)
The Hunters (Oi kynigoi), directed by Theodoros Angelopoulos - (Greece)
I
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, starring Kathleen Quinlan
In the Name of the Pope King (In nome del papa re), starring Nino Manfredi - (Italy)
In Search of Noah's Ark
Iphigenia, directed by Michael Cacoyannis - (Greece)
The Iron Prefect (Il prefetto di ferro) - (Italy)
The Iron-Fisted Monk (San De huo shang yu Chong Mi Liu), directed by and starring Sammo Hung - (Hong Kong)
The Island of Dr. Moreau, starring Burt Lancaster, Michael York, Barbara Carrera
Islands in the Stream, starring George C. Scott
J
J.A. Martin Photographer (J.A. Martin photographe) - (Canada)
Jabberwocky, directed by Terry Gilliam, starring Michael Palin - (UK)
Joseph Andrews, directed by Tony Richardson, starring Ann-Margret
Jubilee, by Derek Jarman, starring Adam Ant, Toyah Willcox, Little Nell - (UK)
Julia, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Jane Fonda, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards
K
The Kentucky Fried Movie, directed by John Landis, starring Bill Bixby and George Lazenby
Kingdom of the Spiders, starring William Shatner and Tiffany Bolling
The King of the Street Cleaners (Çöpçüler Kralı) - (Turkey)
Die Konsequenz (The Consequence), directed by Wolfgang Petersen, starring Jürgen Prochnow - (West Germany)
L
La Soufrière, a documentary film directed by Werner Herzog - (West Germany)
The Lacemaker (La Dentellière), starring Isabelle Huppert - (France)
The Last Remake of Beau Geste, directed by and starring Marty Feldman
The Last Wave, directed by Peter Weir - (Australia)
The Late Show, directed by Robert Benton, starring Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche, Joanna Cassidy
A Little Night Music, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Lesley-Anne Down, Diana Rigg
Looking for Mr. Goodbar, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Diane Keaton, Tuesday Weld, Richard Kiley, Richard Gere
The Lorry (Le Camion), directed by and starring Marguerite Duras with Gérard Depardieu - (France)
M
MacArthur, starring Gregory Peck
Madame Rosa, starring Simone Signoret - Academy Award for Best Foreign Film - (France)
The Magic Pony
Ma-ma - (Romania/USSR/France)
Mama, I'm Alive (Mama, ich lebe) - (East Germany)
Man of Marble (Człowiek z marmuru), directed by Andrzej Wajda - (Poland)
The Man Who Loved Women (L'Homme qui aimait les femmes), directed by François Truffaut, starring Charles Denner, Brigitte Fossey, Leslie Caron - (France)
Manly Times, directed by Eduard Zahariev, starring Grigor Vachkov, Mariana Dimitrova, Velko Kanev - (Bulgaria)
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
March or Die, directed by Dick Richards, starring Gene Hackman, Catherine Deneuve, Max von Sydow
Martin, directed by George A. Romero
Mimino - (USSR)
Mogliamante - (Wifemistress) - (Italy)
Mr. Billion, starring Terence Hill, Valerie Perrine, Jackie Gleason
N-O
Nenè - (Italy)
New York, New York, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro
A Nice Plate of Spinach (Což takhle dát si špenát) - (Czechoslovakia)
Office Romance (Sluzhebnyy roman) - (USSR)
Oh, God!, directed by Carl Reiner, starring George Burns, John Denver, Teri Garr, Paul Sorvino
One on One, starring Robby Benson, Annette O'Toole, G. D. Spradlin
One Sings, the Other Doesn't (L'une chante, l'autre pas), directed by Agnès Varda - (France)
Opening Night, directed by John Cassavetes, starring Gena Rowlands, Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara
Orca, starring Richard Harris, Charlotte Rampling, Bo Derek
The Other Side of Midnight, starring Marie-France Pisier, Susan Sarandon, John Beck, Clu Gulager, Raf Vallone
Outlaw Blues, starring Peter Fonda and Susan Saint James
P-Q
Padre Padrone (Father and Master), directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani - (Italy) - Palme d'Or winner
Pafnucio Santo - (Mexico)
Pete's Dragon, directed by Don Chaffey, starring Helen Reddy, Jim Dale, Mickey Rooney
The Picture Show Man, starring Rod Taylor - (Australia)
A Piece of the Action, directed by and starring Sidney Poitier, with Bill Cosby and James Earl Jones
Plae Kao (The Scar) - (Thailand)
Portrait of a Hitman, starring Jack Palance and Rod Steiger
Providence, directed by Alain Resnais, starring John Gielgud, Dirk Bogarde, Ellen Burstyn - (France/Switzerland)
Pumping Iron, a docudrama starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
R
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure, an animated film with the voices of Didi Conn and Mark Baker
Rembrandt 1669 - (Netherlands)
The Report (Gozāresh), directed by Abbas Kiarostami - (Iran)
The Rescuers, animated film with voices of Eva Gabor and Bob Newhart
Rollercoaster, starring Timothy Bottoms, George Segal, Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda
Rolling Thunder, starring William Devane
Roots, TV mini-series, starring LeVar Burton, Louis Gossett, Jr., John Amos, Cicely Tyson, Georg Stanford Brown, Olivia Cole, Ben Vereen
Roseland, starring Teresa Wright, Geraldine Chaplin, Lou Jacobi, Christopher Walken
Ruby, starring Piper Laurie
S
Saturday Night Fever, directed by John Badham, starring John Travolta and Karen Lynn Gorney
Scott Joplin, starring Billy Dee Williams, Margaret Avery, Clifton Davis, Art Carney
Semi-Tough, directed by Michael Ritchie, starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston, Bert Convy
The Sentinel, starring Chris Sarandon, Cristina Raines, José Ferrer, Martin Balsam, Ava Gardner
September 30, 1955, directed by James Bridges, starring Richard Thomas, Susan Tyrrell, Dennis Quaid, Tom Hulce, Dennis Christopher
The Serpent's Egg, directed by Ingmar Bergman, starring David Carradine and Liv Ullmann - (US/West Germany)
Short Eyes, directed by Robert M. Young, starring Bruce Davison and Jose Perez
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, directed by Sam Wanamaker, starring Patrick Wayne and Jane Seymour - (US/UK)
Slap Shot, directed by George Roy Hill, starring Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Lindsay Crouse, Strother Martin
Smokey and the Bandit, directed by Hal Needham, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason
Soldier of Orange (Soldaat van Oranje), directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Rutger Hauer - (Netherlands)
Sorcerer, directed by William Friedkin, starring Roy Scheider
A Special Day (Una giornata particolare), directed by Ettore Scola, starring Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, John Vernon - (Italy)
Speedtrap, starring Joe Don Baker and Tyne Daly
Spider-Man, starring Nicholas Hammond
The Spy Who Loved Me, starring Roger Moore (as James Bond) with Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens, Richard Kiel - (UK)
Starship Invasions, starring Christopher Lee, Robert Vaughn, Helen Shaver
Star Wars, directed by George Lucas, starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing
Stroszek, directed by Werner Herzog, starring Bruno S. and Eva Mattes - (West Germany)
Suspiria, directed by Dario Argento, starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli - (Italy)
Sweeney!, starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman - (UK)
T
A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness (Hishū monogatari) - (Japan)
Telefon, directed by Don Siegel, starring Charles Bronson and Lee Remick
Tenda dos Milagres (Tent of Miracles), directed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos - (Brazil)
Tentacles, starring John Huston, Shelley Winters, Henry Fonda
That Obscure Object of Desire (Cet obscur objet du désir), directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Fernando Rey, Carole Bouquet, Ángela Molina - (France/Spain)
That's Carry On!, a compilation film featuring Kenneth Williams and Barbara Windsor - (UK)
Thunder and Lightning, starring David Carradine and Kate Jackson
Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea (Zítra vstanu a opařím se čajem) - (Czechoslovakia)
Tongpan - (Thailand)
The Turning Point, directed by Herbert Ross, starring Shirley MacLaine, Anne Bancroft, Tom Skerritt, Mikhail Baryshnikov
Twilight's Last Gleaming, directed by Robert Aldrich, starring Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Charles Durning, Paul Winfield, Burt Young
U-V
Unsichtbare Gegner directed by Valie Export - (Austria)
Viva l'Italia! (I nuovi mostri), starring Vittorio Gassman and Ornella Muti - (Italy)
Viva Knievel!, featuring Evel Knievel
W
The War in Space (Wakusei Daisensō: Za uō in Supesu) - (Japan)
Which Way Is Up?, directed by Michael Schultz, starring Richard Pryor, Margaret Avery, Lonette McKee
White Bim Black Ear (Belyy Bim, Chyornoe ukho) - (USSR)
The White Buffalo, starring Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Will Sampson, Slim Pickens, Kim Novak
Wilma, starring Shirley Jo Finney, Cicely Tyson, Denzel Washington
Wizards - animated film directed by Ralph Bakshi
The World's Greatest Lover, directed by and starring Gene Wilder, with Carol Kane, Dom DeLuise
Wounded Game (Podranki) - (USSR)
XYZ
The Year of the Hare (Jäniksen vuosi) - (Finland)
The Yellow Handkerchief (Shiawase no kiiroi hankachi) - (Japan)
You Light Up My Life, starring Didi Conn
January 1977
7 January
The Sentinel
February 1977
9 February
Fun with Dick and Jane
Wizards
11 February
Thieves
25 February
Slap Shot
Tentacles
March 1977
3 March
Mr. Billion
9 March
Islands in the Stream
11 March
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Black Sunday
Airport '77
April 1977
1 April
Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure
2 April
The Eagle Has Landed
8 April
Demon Seed
15 April
Fantasia (re-release)
Never a Dull Moment (re-release)
The Three Caballeros (re-release)
13 May
The Car
19 May
The Greatest
20 April
Annie Hall
29 April
3 Women
May 1977
25 May
Star Wars
27 May
Smokey and the Bandit
June 1977
Viva Knievel!
3 June
Fraternity Row
Crossed Swords
10 June
Rollercoaster
For the Love of Benji
The Boatniks (re-release)
15 June
A Bridge Too Far
17 June
The Deep
Exorcist II: The Heretic
21 June
New York, New York
22 June
A Tale of Two Critters
The Rescuers
24 June
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
Sorcerer
28 June
One on One
July 1977
1 July
Greased Lightning
7 July
The Spy Who Loved Me
Martin
8 July
The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training
15 July
The Shadow of Chikara
22 July
Orca
The Hills Have Eyes
August 1977
5 August
March or Die
12 August
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger
Suspiria
15 August
Outlaw Blues
24 August
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
31 August
You Light Up My Life
September 1977
29 September
Handle with Care
Bobby Deerfield
October 1977
2 October
Julia
7 October
Oh, God!
A Piece of the Action
14 October
Starship Invasions
19 October
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
21 October
Damnation Alley
November 1977
3 November
Pete's Dragon
4 November
First Love
14 November
The Turning Point
16 November
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Telefon
20 November
The Pack
30 November
The Goodbye Girl
December 1977
7 December
Fellini's Casanova
14 December
Saturday Night Fever
15 December
ABBA: The Movie
16 December
Candleshoe
18 December
The World's Greatest Lover
25 December
High Anxiety
27 December
The Duellists
January 7 - Dustin Diamond, American actor
January 8 - Amber Benson, American actress
January 13 - Orlando Bloom, English actor
January 19 - Taliesin Jaffe, American voice actor
January 28 - Joey Fatone, American singer and actor
January 31 - Kerry Washington, American actress
February 16 - Paul Brittain, American actor and comedian
March 2 - Heather McComb, American actress
March 8 - James Van Der Beek, American actor
March 9 - Lydia Mackay, American voice actress
March 24 - Jessica Chastain, American actress
March 25 - Édgar Ramírez, Venezuelan actor
April 2 - Michael Fassbender, Irish-German actor
April 10 - Stephanie Sheh, American voice actress
April 14 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress
April 20 - Robert Wilfort, English actor
April 23 - Kal Penn, American actor
April 26 - Tom Welling, American actor
May 13 - Samantha Morton, English actress
May 16
Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer
May 19 - Kelly Sheridan, Canadian voice actress
May 20 - Matt Czuchry, American actor
June 1 - Danielle Harris, American actress
June 2 - Zachary Quinto, American actor
June 5 - Liza Weil, American actress
July 1 - Liv Tyler, American actress
July 6 - Craig Handley, writer
July 8 - Milo Ventimiglia, American actor
July 13 - Kari Wahlgren, American voice actress
July 27 - Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor
July 30 - Jaime Pressly, American actress
August 2 - Edward Furlong, American actor
September 15 - Tom Hardy, English actor
September 25 - Clea DuVall, American actress
October 7 - Brandon Quinn, American actor
October 8 - Jamie Marchi, American voice actress
October 11 - Matthew Bomer, American actor
October 26 - Jon Heder, American actor
November 10 - Brittany Murphy, actress (d. 2009)
November 14 - Brian Dietzen, American actor
November 15 - Sean Murray, American actor
November 16 - Maggie Gyllenhaal, American actress
December 8 - Matthias Schoenaerts, Belgian actor
December 10 - Emmanuelle Chriqui, Canadian actress
December 15 - Geoff Stults, American actor
Dan Aykroyd - Love at First Sight
Brian Dennehy - Semi-Tough
Mel Gibson - Summer City
John Goodman - Jailbait Babysitter
Steve Guttenberg - Rollercoaster
Tom Hulce - September 30, 1955
Helen Hunt - Rollercoaster
Bruce McGill - Handle with Care
Kevin McNally - The Spy Who Loved Me
Sam Neill - Sleeping Dogs
Pete Postlethwaite - The Duellists
Meryl Streep - Julia
Sigourney Weaver - Annie Hall
Robin Williams - Can I Do It... 'Till I Need Glasses?
