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Best Decade For Film?

stun_harvestingstun_harvesting
edited April 2016 in General Movies & TV Posts: 337
As a general movie buff, I'd like to see what people thought was the best decade for films. There are stalwart defenders of films in each decade, so each decade is valid as long as you have a good reason for it.

Personally, I see the 1970's as the greatest decade for movies. We've got films like The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest that are considered the best or one of the best of all time. There were also some of the biggest landmarks in almost every genre such as:
- The Exorcist, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Jaws, The Omen, Halloween and Alien for horror.
- Star Wars, Alien, Close Encounters of a Third Kind and so on for science-fiction.
- The rise of martial arts films into pop culture with Bruce Lee's early 70's flicks, as well as more traditional action films like Vanishing Point, The French Connection, The Seven-Ups, Dirty Harry and its sequels, and of course the Bond flicks. Oh, did I forget Mad Max?
- The likes of the Monty Python movies. Annie Hall, The Goodbye Girl and Heaven Can Wait in comedy.
- Some other culturally popular films like Rocky, Smokey and the Bandit, Superman, and Kramer vs Kramer.

I'm interested to see your lists, people.
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Comments

  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,265
    Here for you, @stun_harvesting:
    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/10177/movies-of-the-seventies-celluloid-of-the-free-the-tales-that-were-brave/p3

    Something close to this:
    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/13973/your-favorite-movie-from-each-year-you-ve-been-alive

    Just an FYI; not closing down this thread or anything. ;-)
  • stun_harvestingstun_harvesting
    Posts: 337
    @DarthDimi - Yeah, I didn't find something that compared decades to each other, so I thought this would be fine to make.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,592
    I definitely would agree on the 70's. So many classics from that era.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited April 2016 Posts: 7,221
    The sixties!

    Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo
    Per qualche dollaro in più
    Per un pugno di dollari
    C'era una volta il west
    8 1/2
    La dolce vita
    The Graduate
    Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
    Le samouraï
    Persona
    The Lion in Winter
    Såsom i en spegel
    Tystnaden
    Night of the Living Dead
    Belle de jour
    Le mépris
    To Kill a Mockingbird
    Rocco e i suoi fratelli
    Lawrence of Arabia
    Rosemary's Baby
    Dr. Strangelove
    Yojimbo
    Spartacus
    The Fall of the Roman Empire
    Andrei Rublev
    Blowup
    Il Gattopardo
    Operazione paura
    La ragazza che sapeva troppo
    Sei donne per l'assassino
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
    2001: A Space Odyssey
    The Devil Rides Out
    Quatermass and the Pit
    The Brides of Dracula
    Alphaville
    L'avventura
    L'eclisse
    La notte
    Nattvardsgästerna
    etc.

    and of course:
    Dr. No
    From Russia with Love
    Goldfinger
    Thunderball
    You Only Live Twice
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    No contest

    50's
    Closely followed by the
    60's
  • stun_harvestingstun_harvesting
    edited April 2016 Posts: 337
    The 60's does come close for me (probably second), but I don't think it makes headway in as many genres as the '70's, nor does it have the same number of films that are revered in popular culture today (actually, I don't think any of the other decades do).
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,221
    Well the 70's might have been the highlight for American cinema, international cinema however peaked in the 60's.

    So therefore I'd say the sixties.
  • stun_harvestingstun_harvesting
    edited April 2016 Posts: 337
    @GoldenGun - I don't know about that. Asian cinema might have had its Golden Age in the 40's-60's, but it reached its greatest international popularity international popularity in the 70's (and spawned the martial arts genre that it's now famous for), and Australian films didn't really hit international stands until the '70's either. I believe African cinema also didn't really hit its stride until the '70's.

    I'll have to concede on Latin American and European cinema, though. But then again, America dominated film culture anyway.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,221
    stun_harvesting wrote: »
    @GoldenGun - I don't know about that. Asian cinema might have had its Golden Age in the 40's-60's, but it reached its greatest international popularity international popularity in the 70's (and spawned the martial arts genre that it's now famous for), and Australian films didn't really hit international stands until the '70's either. I believe African cinema also didn't really hit its stride until the '70's.

    I'll have to concede on Latin American and European cinema, though. But then again, America dominated film culture anyway.

    Maybe the term international was too broad, I was especially referring to European cinema. Masters such as Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Sergio Leone, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard and others all peaked in the sixties.

    Maybe the US dominates the film culture, but that doesn't mean it's the best in terms of quality or influence. Most great American directors are happy to admit that they have been influenced by European filmmakers.
  • stun_harvestingstun_harvesting
    Posts: 337
    @GoldenGun - As I said, I have to concede on European cinema.

    Sure, but European influence usually dates back to the '20's or '30's. But then again, this all depends on what you think defines the best decade of film. I think the '70's making huge steps towards every single genre and having some of the greatest films of all time in said genres constitutes being the best decade of film - and it helps to have plenty of films considered to be the best or one of the best.
  • Mathis1Mathis1
    Posts: 7,624
    60's and particularly 70's for me. Most of my collection is from that era!
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,221
    stun_harvesting wrote: »
    @GoldenGun - As I said, I have to concede on European cinema.

    Sure, but European influence usually dates back to the '20's or '30's. But then again, this all depends on what you think defines the best decade of film. I think the '70's making huge steps towards every single genre and having some of the greatest films of all time in said genres constitutes being the best decade of film - and it helps to have plenty of films considered to be the best or one of the best.

    French New Wave and Italian Neorealism have had great influence, although I must admit they were already around at the end of the fifties.

    I agree wholeheartedly with your last statement. Nevertheless I would make a sidenote that those 'considered the best' are frequently limited to a one-way Anglo-Saxon view, which is narrowing it down a bit too much for my taste.

    But you're right that the seventies were great. I'd put it right behind the sixties for sure.
  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    The 50's and 60's are my personal favourites as most of my favourite movies are of those decades.
    Of course I can see that the 70's have produced many of the all time best movies.
    But as I am not into mob movies or hard edged police drama action, many of them are not for me, blaxploitation also never appealed to me. Political drama also is not my favourite genre.

    I love Film Noir, black&white, suspense, comedy, dramedy.
    Many of my favourites produced movies in the 50's and 60's, Hitchcock, Doris Day, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Blake Edwards, Stanley Donen etc.
    Also I love musicals, Hello Dolly, Sound Of Music, Funny Girl, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and so many more.
  • GerardGerard
    Posts: 6,022
    I do think that this kind of competition (trying to find which decade was best for movies) is ultimately useless, because each deacde is great in its own way. Take the fifties for example : it was the end of the age of the studio system, but look at all the movies that were produced : Singing in the rain, North by northwest, and so many others. The sixties : Bonnie and Clyde, the first James Bond, etc. And I could go on and on. For this reason, I think I'll pass. I don't have any favourite decade in movies, even if the 70s will have a nostalgia factor for me, because it was there when I started to go to the theaters. But I had seen so many movies on saturday and sunday T afternoon TV coming from earlier decades that I really can't choose favourites.
  • Master_DaharkMaster_Dahark
    Posts: 4,813
    I'm an 80's man. That goes for music too! ;)
  • Crazysoul95Crazysoul95
    Posts: 3,336
    Im not quite sure, but i really like the 50's and the 90's
  • stun_harvestingstun_harvesting
    Posts: 337
    @Gerard - Well, this is all subjective, obviously, I was just trying to start some discussion here.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    60's for Bond, 70's for sci-fi & drama, 80's for Trek & OTT action.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    This one.

    There is so much talent out there now, it is amazing what they can do effectswise as well, and they have a hundred years of previous films to learn from and draw inspiration from.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,361
    The 1980's is my favorite decade for film.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    The 1970s for me, too, although the 80s and 90s are not far behind.
  • FLeiterFLeiter
    Posts: 315
    I'll take the 1930's as the BEST decade for movies. So many classics that have stood the test of time. Just a small sampling: Gone With the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, City Lights, M, Modern Times, King Kong, All Quiet on the Western Front, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Stagecoach, Frankenstein, Dracula, I Am a Fugitive from A Chain Gang, Wuthering Heights, A Tale of Two Cities, The Four Feathers, Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Good Earth and Mutiny on the Bounty.
  • fire_and_icefire_and_ice
    Posts: 6,432
    1970's for me, so many great independent directors emerged with licence to make the films they wanted.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    For Bond, the 60's. For film in general, the 70's.....truly ground breaking.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,198
    I also think that the 90s are a great period of film. This is certainly controversial. But just think of:

    The Shawshank redemption,
    Goodfellas,
    The usual suspects,
    The Silence of the lambs,
    Pulp Fiction,
    Reservoir Dogs,
    Jackie Brown,
    Schindler's List,
    Seven,
    American Beauty,
    La Vita e bella,
    Trainspotting,
    Thelma and Louise,
    Fight Club,
    Forrest Gump,
    Leon,
    Heat,
    Todo sobre mi madre,
    Mulholloand Drive,
    The straight story,
    Fargo,
    The big Lebowski,
    A simple plan,
    Unforgiven,
    Primal Fear,
    Donnie Brasco

    These are just the films that I think of in the moment. I am pretty sure that here are many more great ones I forgot.

  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,221
    Well, I'll do the same thing as @Birdleson and post my top 30:

    (in chronological order)
    BRONENOSETS POTYOMKIN (1925 Eisenstein)
    THE 39 STEPS (1935 Hitchcock)
    CITIZEN KANE (1940 Welles)
    CASABLANCA (1942 Curtiz)
    THE THIRD MAN (1949 Reed)
    PETER PAN (1953 Geronimi, Luske & Jackson)
    VERTIGO (1958 Hitchcock)
    L'AVVENTURA (1960 Antonioni)
    À BOUT DE SOUFFLE (1960 Godard)
    8 1/2 (1963 Fellini)
    CLEOPATRA (1963 Mankiewicz)
    FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963 Young)
    LE MÉPRIS (1963 Godard)
    PERSONA (1966 Bergman)
    LE SAMOURAÏ (1967 Melville)
    C'ERA UNA VOLTA IL WEST (1968 Leone)
    THE GODFATHER (1972 Coppola)
    VISKNINGAR OCH ROP (1972 Bergman)
    CHINATOWN (1974 Polanski)
    SUSPIRIA (1977 Argento)
    KAGEMUSHA (1980 Kurosawa)
    TENEBRE (1982 Argento)
    DER HIMMEL ÜBER BERLIN (1987 Wenders)
    THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987 Glen)
    NIKITA (1990 Besson)
    L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (1997 Hanson)
    THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001 Jackson)
    DAS LEBEN DER ANDEREN (2006 Henckel von Donnersmarck)
    VALS IM BASHIR (2008 Folman)
    THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014 Anderson)

    1920's: 1
    1930's: 1
    1940's: 3
    1950's: 2
    1960's: 9
    1970's: 4
    1980's: 4
    1990's: 2
    2000's: 3
    2010's: 1
  • stun_harvestingstun_harvesting
    Posts: 337
    The Battleship Potemkin is a very good film. It was named the best film of all time back in 1958.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    @Birdleson, Taxi Driver came out in 1976.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    Did she regret it? I regretted showing my son Alien when he was 10 or 11.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    I know what you mean. My son had nightmares for days, but got over it.
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