The Big Picture · Draft
The 1977 Movie Draft
March 19, 2024/ 104 min/ Sean Fennessey · Amanda Dobbins · Chris Ryan
A three-person snake draft of 1977, the year of Star Wars, the tail end of New Hollywood, and Chris Ryan's birth. Sean, Amanda, and Chris each fill six category slots.
18 films across 1 segment.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The teams drafting the movies of 1977
Chris Ryan
Drama
Opening Night 1977
Cassavetes; Gena Rowlands as an actress coming apart during an out-of-town preview.
Action / Thriller / Horror
Rolling Thunder 1977
John Flynn's Vietnam-vet revenge picture, a Tarantino touchstone; Tommy Lee Jones with a hook for a hand.
Blockbuster
A Bridge Too Far 1977
Attenborough's cast-of-thousands Operation Market Garden epic, three-plus hours.
Comedy
Slapshot 1977
Chris's favorite comedy ever: Newman coaching a doomed minor-league hockey team.
Amanda Dobbins
Drama
3 Women 1977
Altman's Persona: Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall trading identities at a strange desert spa.
Action / Thriller / Horror
The Spy Who Loved Me 1977
Amanda's favorite Roger Moore Bond: the ski-jump opening, Jaws, Carly Simon's theme.
Comedy
Between the Lines 1977
Joan Micklin Silver's ensemble about a Boston alt-weekly facing a buyout; young Goldblum in a jumpsuit.
Blockbuster
Saturday Night Fever 1977
Norman Wexler's hard-bitten drama that the culture turned into the disco movie; Travolta as emergent star.
Oscar Nominee
Annie Hall 1977
The Best Picture winner; lights-out Diane Keaton and a template for the romantic comedy.
Sean Fennessey
Drama
The American Friend 1977
Wenders' Highsmith adaptation with Dennis Hopper as a cowboy-hatted Ripley and directors in bit parts.
Action / Thriller / Horror
Suspiria 1977
Argento; a ballet school run by witches, the plot incoherent by design but the visuals still land.
Comedy
The Kentucky Fried Movie 1977
Landis sketch anthology of fake trailers and interstitials: Mad Magazine as softcore.
Blockbuster
Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977
Spielberg's most personal film to date; a meditative family drama that happened to be an alien hit.
Oscar Nominee
Sorcerer 1977
Friedkin's post-Exorcist bomb, since canonized; Roy Scheider hauling nitroglycerin over a rope bridge.
On the board, undrafted honorable mentions
JuliaThe Turning PointThe Goodbye GirlSmokey and the BanditFreaky FridayFun with Dick and JaneLooking for Mr. GoodbarPete's DragonDemon SeedCapricorn OneBlack SundayThe Late ShowNew York, New YorkCross of IronSoldier of OrangeThe Last WaveBobby DeerfieldThe AscentThe DuellistsMartinThe SentinelTwilight's Last GleamingThe GauntletThe Bad News Bears in Breaking TrainingGrand Theft AutoJabberwocky
Also mentioned raised along the way
Also mentioned GreaseRockyRocky IVTaxi DriverThe FabelmansDuelThe Sugarland ExpressJawsHeatThe Philadelphia StoryInternal AffairsMr. Saturday NightJoeSerpicoThe French ConnectionThe ExorcistA Woman Under the InfluenceThe Killing of a Chinese BookieMASHMcCabe & Mrs. MillerThe Long GoodbyeNashvilleBuffalo Bill and the IndiansA WeddingQuintetA Perfect CoupleHealtHPopeyeThe Talented Mr. RipleyShock CorridorThe Naked KissRebel Without a CauseDeliveranceThe Texas Chain Saw MassacreAssault on Precinct 13High NoonNobody's FoolTwilightMoonrakerOctopussyDiamonds Are ForeverMajor LeagueBlack SwanPersonaA Hard Day's NightSpice WorldHerbie: Fully LoadedIrish WishImmaculateRoad HouseDuneAvengers: EndgameThe Movie CriticHeat 2Singin' in the RainMoana 2Debbie Does DallasThe Birth of a Nation
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV FelicityWelcome Back, KotterThe MandalorianThe CurseRipley
Ads Dear Felicity