1978 in film
overview of the events of 1978 in film
The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.
Events
February 6 – David Begelman resigns as president of Columbia Pictures.
March 1 – Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from a Swiss cemetery three months after burial. After recovery a few weeks later, the casket is sealed in a concrete vault prior to reburial.
March – Leigh Brackett completes the first draft for The Empire Strikes Back, but dies only two weeks later.
June – Daniel Melnick becomes head of Columbia Pictures after the David Begelman scandal.
June 4 – Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, has its world premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. It becomes the highest-grossing musical ever and Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film.
July 20 – Alan Hirschfield is fired as president and CEO of Columbia Pictures. He is replaced by Francis T. Vincent.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “1978 in film” is overview of the events of 1978 in film. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through film, overview and events, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “overview of the events of 1978 in film” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q753355. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1978.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “1978 in film”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 1978 in film primary sources, 1978 in film archive and film research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “1978 in film”?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “1978 in film” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.