All Films

Diary of an African Nun

1977 • 16 min • United States of America

An African nun is consumed by fear and doubt about her decision to take the solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Her anguish intensifies night after night as she lies on a hard bed in her small room at the convent and listens to the rhythmic, beckoning drums of her village.

Powers of Ten

1977 • 9 min • United States of America

A scientific film essay, narrated by Phil Morrison. A set of pictures of two picnickers in a park, with the area of each frame one-tenth the size of the one before. Starting from a view of the entire known universe, the camera gradually zooms in until we are viewing the subatomic particles on a man's hand.

Masako, Junko, Momoe: On Stage

1977 • 51 min • Japan

Cast - Masako Mori - Junko Sakurada - Momoe Yamaguchi

Bewitching Eyes

1977 • 40 min • Poland

A Polish folktale set in the Middle Ages, tells the story of a man, whose eyes, or the gaze of them, brings upon death.

Bette Midler: Ol' Red Hair Is Back

1977 • 60 min • United States of America

In 1977, Bette Midler's first television special premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win Bette her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Special — Comedy-Variety or Music. To make the show palatable to home viewers, the special featured heavily cleaned up versions of the material Midler was performing at that time on stage. The title of the show, Ol' Red Hair is Back, was a takeoff on the title of Frank Sinatra's recent album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.

The Chevy Chase Show

1977 • 52 min

Sketch comedy special similar in style to "NBC's Saturday Night Live", in which Chevy Chase previously appeared.

A Christmas Carol

1977 • 58 min • United Kingdom

Miser Ebenezer Scrooge is awakened on Christmas Eve by spirits who reveal to him his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways. Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold: death or redemption.

History of Japanese Evil and Hatred

1977 • 60 min • Japan

Buddha, forgive me! This monk is so skilled... daughters, young widows, and even nuns writhe in agony and cry in the embrace of this corrupted monk,

Have I Got a Christmas for You

1977 • 60 min • United States of America

Members of a town's Jewish community decide to substitute for their Christian friends and neighbors so they can enjoy Christmas. The good folk humorously attempt jobs they have never done before.

Savage

1977 • 23 min

A PBS documentary shot in the "famous Portland Sports Arena" in the mid 70's. Although the film centers around a feud between the Iron Sheik and Dutch Savage, which culminates in a coal miner's glove match, there are also cameo appearances by other wrestlers such as Jimmy Snuka, Jesse Ventura, etc. Plus it interviews people in the crowd who come to the matches every week, including a few sweet old ladies.

The Believer's Heaven

1977 • 60 min • United States of America

The third and final evangelical cinema collaboration between Rev. Estus Pirkle and directors Ron and June Ormond depicts the glory of Heaven - with a clear warning for what awaits sinners.

Hospital

1977 • 22 min • Poland

24 hours in the life of a hospital from the point of view of the doctors and nurses.

Black Christmas

1977 • 50 min

A bittersweet drama on a familiar theme - the frictions forced to the surface during a Christmas family get-together - Michael Abbensetts' Black Christmas is an understated and affecting study of relationships, unexpressed pain and a tormented nostalgia for a distant home.

A Hymn from Jim

1977 • 30 min • United Kingdom

When a clean-cut young pop-star gets in trouble, he calls his manager. The call sets in motion a unusual series of events.

Cumbernauld HIT

1977 • 45 min

A James-Bond type fiction film about an evil woman's plans to 'hi-jack' the New Town of Cumbernauld. Sponsored by Cumbernauld Development Corporation, this film is an original take on the 'promotional' films produced for Scotland's New Towns during the 1970s.

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.