All Films

The Strange Case of the End of Civilization as We Know It

1977 • 56 min • United Kingdom

John Cleese is hilarious as the descendant of Sherlock Holmes in this modern detective drama of international power politics and intrigue. Unlike his illustrious grandfather however, he only succeeds in bungling every job he organizes. Also stars Arthur Lowe as the "bionic" grandson of Dr. Watson, Stratford Johns as the Commissioner of Police, and Connie Booth as Mrs. Hudson.

The Dreamer

1977 • 3 min

A little-known animated short about the hearty imagination of a young elephant.

The Rocking Horse Winner

1977 • 30 min • Canada, United Kingdom, United States of America

Nigel Rhodes plays a boy who, while riding his wooden rocking horse, can predict which horse will win at the race.

The Bluegrass Special

1977 • 48 min

Penny is a teenage horse trainer with a very special dream of becoming a jockey. She picks Woodhill to compete in the upcoming Bluegrass Special; Woodhill is a beautiful race horse with a bad reputation who threw and injured his rider during a race in Tijuana. Penny's devotion and determination are an inspiration to anyone who believes that dreams can come true.

Rehearsal

1977 • 30 min

Creative differences arise during rehearsal of a play about a love affair.

Sky Pirates

1977 • 60 min • United Kingdom

Two boys wage a battle against diamond smugglers with radio controlled model aircraft.

A Journey to the Center of the Earth

1977 • 60 min • Australia

Following the instructions on a mysterious parchment, Prof. Lindenbrock and his companion, Alex, discover and explore the center of the Earth, a mysterious place full of dangerous electrical storms, prehistoric reptiles and swamp monsters. Based on author Jules Verne's fantasy novel, this animated adventure follows the explorers' struggles to survive and prove their findings to the rest of the world.

A Dirty Story

1977 • 50 min • France

A group of friends listen as one man tells them a story about a time when, in a small cafe, he discovered a peephole into the ladies' bathroom and became addicted to looking through it at female genitals. They ask him questions and come to conclusions about sex. This is a filmed, scripted version. Then, the actual person who this happened to relates the same story; this time, however, it is an unscripted documentary, in which the same things occur as in the scripted one.

Sesame Street at Night?

1977 • 30 min

Shalit is to host an adult 'look' at Sesame Street in a Festival '77 special for PBS. The 30-minute special, Sesame Street at Night? takes its theme from a critic's remark when TV's most popular children's series began eight years ago – 'It's too good for kids.

Energy: A National Issue

1977 • 27 min • United States of America

Animated documentary talking about the United States' use of oil.

Halloween Is Grinch Night

1977 • 26 min • United States of America

When the sour-sweet wind starts blowing again, the Whos retreat to their homes because they know the Grinch will soon be a'prowlin. Young Eukariah Who has to make a trip to the Euphemism (outhouse), when the wind blows him away to a confrontation with the gruesome Grinch. Eukariah decides that the Grinch must be stopped, so he faces his fears and confronts the Grinch and his spooks.

Orion

1977 • 52 min

The world is coming to an end, and the last survivors board a space-ship ready to leave the doomed planet Earth in search of a new world.

Kipper

1977 • 29 min

Kipper is obsessed with Manor Park Football Club. At his workplace, this obsession attracts the derision of two of his colleagues. Meanwhile, Manor Park are to play against Dutch club Ajax

Autumn Fires

1977 • 53 min • New Zealand

Actor Martyn Sanderson returns in 1977 to the Hokianga of his youth and visits his elderly and romantic aunt, Olive Bracey. Her reminiscences of pioneer life mesh with nostalgic songs and readings from her fiction.

Snakewoman

1977 • 15 min

Stars Patti Astor as a waylaid heroine fending for herself in the wild, filmed guerilla style in Central Park.

Mime Control

1977 • 9 min

The artist uses the computer to accent and control a mime’s disciplined choreography. Studies in facial distortions with lens distortions. Channel 13, WNET.

The Fourth King

1977 • 24 min • United States of America

The animals decide they must send a representative after the three wise men begin following the star of Bethlehem. Uno, the Lion, arrogantly decides he should be the one to go, and that he does not need any help. Feathers, who brought Jesus's birth to the attention of the animals, insists on traveling with him, and soon he is followed by a beaver, a rabbit, and a turtle.

The Mannikin

1977 • 28 min

A singer is possessed by a demonic spirit. From the book by Robert Bloch (Psycho).

Charles Ives: A Good Dissonance Like a Man

1977 • 60 min

A thoroughly researched biopic of Charles Ives, America's greatest and most innovative composer (and insurance executive), who combined strikingly futuristic experimentalism with gentle nostalgia. Includes narration taken directly from Ives's own writings, and reminiscence from those who knew him.

The Testing of Eric Olthwaite

1977 • 30 min • United Kingdom

Eric Olthwaite is so boring that his family all leave home to escape him. Then one day he is accidentally caught up in a bank robbery and discovers that the robber shares his interests in shovels, black pudding and rainfall so they team up to make daring raids to steal rainfall records. As a result Eric becomes famous and is considered interesting again, so much so that he is made the mayor of Denley Moor.

Stepping Out

1977 • 11 min • United Kingdom

A couple's untraditional early morning ritual is observed in a short drama which originally supported Polanski's The Tenant in UK cinemas.

A Flintstone Christmas

1977 • 48 min • United States of America

Santa has an accident at Fred's house on Christmas Eve, Fred and Barney have to continue his run for him.

Kill the Flower Bud!

1977 • 60 min • Japan

A man (Shimomoto Shiro), who is an assistant to a star singer, and a woman (Tajima Haruka), who specializes in playing passersby in TV dramas, go on a trip on a motorcycle. They don't have any particular destination in mind, but they just think that speeding down mountain roads on a motorcycle will make them feel refreshed. Both he and she were struggling to protect their dreams in the city every day. They lived in agony, searching for a way out. When Tajima's long hair fluttered in the wind, Shimomoto began to confess. At that moment, a slight sense of unease began to grow between the two lovers...

Roots Rock Reggae: Inside The Jamaican Music Scene

1977 • 52 min • Canada, United States of America

'Roots Rock Reggae' depicts an unforgettable moment in Jamaica's history when music defined the island's struggles and immortalized its heroes. Director Jeremy Marre films Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Lee 'Scratch' Perry record in his legendary Black Ark studio with The Upsetters. Jimmy Cliff rehearses with Sly and Robbie, while Inner Circle's historic live gig is recorded on the violent Kingston streets. The legendary Abyssinians harmonize their haunting Rastafarian songs; Joe Higgs (formerly Bob Marley's teacher) plays and talks; majestic toaster U Roy raps alongside The Mighty Diamonds, and Third World record in a Kingston studio. There is also early archive footage of Toots and the Maytals, and Haile Selessie's royal visit to Jamaica while police and thieves battle it out on the streets, and the ghettos erupt in violence. 1977: An extraordinary year for Reggae music.