Some classic movies celebrate their golden anniversaries this year. Here are 26 movies . . . both great and not-so-great . . . that turn 50 in ’26.
“Taxi Driver”
Robert De Niro is a lonely man in an ugly city that just doesn’t give a damn . . . much like Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker”, a film heavily inspired by “Taxi Driver”. In an ironic twist, “Joker” features De Niro as the man who pretty much pushes Joaquin’s character over the edge.
In addition to “Joker” and countless pop culture references to the classic line “You talkin’ to me?”, the film also inspired the real-life attempt on President Ronald Reagan’s life in 1981. Would be assassin John Hinckley Jr. was obsessed with Jodie Foster’s portrayal of a 12-year-old prostitute, and did it to impress her.
![TAXI DRIVER [1976] - Official Trailer (HD)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T5IligQP7Fo/hqdefault.jpg)
“The Bad News Bears”
The ultimate underdog story. There’s real heart underneath all the profanity and vulgarity, and anyone who’s ever played Little League will tell you that this movie really gets it right.
The 2005 remake, featuring Billy Bob Thornton taking the reigns from Walter Matthau as the team’s ne’er-do-well alcoholic coach, isn’t terrible . . . although it ultimately wimps out by having the kids celebrate nearly winning the championship with NON-ALCOHOLIC beer.
WARNING: This trailer contains racial slurs:
“All the President’s Men”
A film about American journalists with the guts to stand up to government corruption? File this one under “Fiction”.
“Family Plot”
Although it got overwhelmingly positive reviews at the time of its release, this is not considered among Alfred Hitchcock’s great films. It’s mostly notable for being his last.
“The Omen”
What “The Exorcist” did in bringing demonic possession into the public consciousness, “The Omen” did for the Antichrist. While considered the lesser of the two, this one is a lot more fun. The creative kills, which were amped up for 1978’s “Damien: The Omen 2”, were obvious precursors to Rube Goldberg-esque death sequences in the “Final Destination” films.
“The Outlaw Josey Wales”
One of Clint Eastwood’s best-loved Westerns, based on the 1973 novel “The Rebel Outlaw Josey Wales”, by half-Cherokee author Forrest Carter. But check this out:
While doing promotion for the movie, Forrest Carter was exposed as Asa Earl Carter, a notorious segregationist and KKK leader . . . who wrote the infamous line “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever” for Alabama Governor George Wallace.
“Car Wash”
A landmark comedy with a killer theme song and some top-of-the-line black comedians and musicians, including Richard Pryor, The Pointer Sisters, Garrett Morris, Bill Duke, Franklyn Ajaye, Antonio Fargas, and . . . George Carlin???
The script was written by Joel Schumacher, who would go on to direct “St. Elmo’s Fire”, “The Lost Boys”, “The Client”, “A Time to Kill”, “Batman Forever”, and, regrettably, “Batman & Robin”.
“Carrie”
One of the greatest horror movies of all time, this one put director Brian DePalma on the map, and netted stars Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie Oscar nominations.
It also features John Travolta saying “Git ‘er done” decades before Larry the Cable Guy based his entire act on the line.
“Rocky”
What’s left to say about this one, other than the fact that it could have been a much different movie. Sylvester Stallone wrote it, and was determined to star in it. He even rejected a six-figure deal that would have seen someone else playing the lead role. As would happen with Rocky in the film, Stallone’s dogged persistence paid off.
“Freaky Friday”
The O.G., starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris in the Lindsay Lohan / Jamie Lee Curtis roles. It was actually based on a novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers, published in 1972.
Honorable, and Dishonorable, Mentions:
“The Man Who Fell to Earth”: A British sci-fi drama starring David Bowie.
“Grizzly”: A “Jaws” rip-off rushed into theaters in less than a year, about an 18-foot killer grizzly bear.
“Mother, Jugs & Speed”: Guess which one Raquel Welch played?
“The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane”: A effective thriller starring a precocious Jodie Foster and a super-creepy Martin Sheen. (Yeah, Jodie Foster was all over the place in ’76.)
“Food of the Gods”: If “Man fights giant chicken” is all you need to hear to prompt you to seek this one out, you’re my kinda people.
“Murder by Death”: A hilarious whodunit that suffers from a very dated performance by Peter Sellers as a Charlie Chan-style Asian detective.
“Squirm”: Killer worms, you say? Sign me up!
“Bugsy Malone”: An all-kid gangster musical comedy starring Scott Baio and . . . are you freakin’ kidding me??? . . . Jodie Foster again.
“Marathon Man”: A thriller starring Dustin Hoffman as a long-distance runner who gets caught up in a plot by Nazi war criminals to retrieve stolen diamonds.
“The Song Remains the Same”: The legendary Led Zeppelin concert film.
“Buffalo Rider”: A bizarre little flick that would, decades later, inspire the hilarious YouTube parody series, “Guy on a Buffalo“.
“Assault on Precinct 13”: A tense, pre-“Halloween” thriller from John Carpenter.
“Network”: A TV news satire that still hits.
“A Star is Born”: Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in the third of what are now FOUR versions of this story.
“Silver Streak”: The first of four Richard Pryor / Gene Wilder collabs.
“King Kong”: Not great but not terrible (although I concede that this opinion is debatable), this remake features Jessica Lange in her debut film role.
