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Best Decade For Film?

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  • BondJasonBond006BondJasonBond006 on fb and ajb
    Posts: 9,020
    Well, wow...so many great French movies on everybody's lists.

    As for German/Swiss movies, which I obviously know a lot of, there are not too many that I really would put into a best movies ever list.

    One of my all time favourite movies though is German: Pappa Ante Portas 1991
    I'm the hugest Loriot fan :)
  • GBFGBF
    edited April 2016 Posts: 3,198
    Talking about German films. Certainly they reached their peak in the 20s or early 30s. One could also mention the film "Der goldene Engel" (!930) with Marlene Dietrich in the starring role. As a German I can also appreciate the films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. He directed many films throughout the 1960 to 1970s until he died 1982 at the young age of 37.
    Maybe the most famous German film post 1980 is "Das Boot" (!981) directed by Wolgang Petersen. This is probably the best submarine film in cinema history. The second most famous is probably "Der Himmel über Berlin" (1987) by Wim Wenders.

    Apart from this I can recomment some recent films that have not been mentioned yet:
    23 (1998) b]@Golden Gun, you might like this one[/b
    Run Lola Run (Lola rennt, 1998)
    Distant Lights (Lichter, 2003)
    Summer in Berlin (Sommer vorm Balkon, 2005)
    Muxmäuschenstill (2004)
    A coffee in Berlin (Oh Boy) 2012

    And to those who adore the opening of Spectre, I recomment "Victoria" (2015). This film is famous for its filming style, with the final cut constituted of a single continuous take. This is amazing since the film is 2 and a half hours long. It is a very natural and unique film. I really like it a lot.

  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,198
    DaltonCraig007 wrote: »
    3 German films from the 2000's are amongst my all time favorites:

    'The Wave'
    'Baader Meinhof Complex'
    'Downfall'

    Althought I'm not well-versed in german cinema.

    I like allthese films too. Nice to know that you know some German films. I would definately recommend you to watch "The life of others (2006)". You might like that as well.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Run Lola Run is almost as excellent as the director's next film.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,835
    Birdleson wrote: »
    20s cinema was dominated by German, Russian and American filmmakers, but for the sheer amount of revolutionary product I will give it the the Huns (the prescient imagery in those German Expressionist films foresaw the Nazis and the Holocaust by a decade, watch Frtiz Lang's METROPOLIS and tell me that isn't so).
    Sadly, it IS so.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,723
    What I'm very keen about is films looking back on the 1970's decade.

    'Munich'
    'Rush' (the Formula 1 film by Ron Howard)
    'Argo'
    'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'
    'Frost/Nixon'
  • dogrowup007dogrowup007
    Posts: 108
    I've taken up the tough challenge of a top 30. Though because you have to let too many great movies out. The selection is a matter of the heart; movies that struck and moved me. Primarily forties and fifties, as I suspected. Chances are that a top 50 would only increase the weight of these decades. Some of the most quintessential films were produced then.

    With regard to the discussion about American versus European cinema: since the twenties, and especially the threat of Germany's nazi regime, European cinema talent has been lured to Hollywood (Lang, Wilder, Renoir, Curtiz ...), undeniably seeping in some European influence into Hollywood. So without further ado, alphabetically per decade:

    Twenties
    L'Inhumaine (L'Herbier)

    Thirties
    All Quiet on the Western Front (Milestone)
    M (Lang)

    Forties
    La Belle et la bête (Cocteau)
    Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger)
    Brief Encounter (Lean)
    Casablanca (Curtiz)
    Notorious (Hitchcock)
    The Red Shoes (Powell & Pressburger)

    Fifties
    12 Angry Men (Lumet)
    The Bad & the Beautiful (Minelli)
    North by Northwest (Hitchcock)
    Some Like It Hot (Wilder)
    Sunset Blvd (Wilder)
    Vertigo (Hitchcock)

    Sixties
    2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)
    L'Avventura (Antonioni)
    Dr. Strangelove (Kubrick)
    The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Ford)

    Seventies
    The Conversation (Coppola)
    The Godfather (Coppola)
    Taxi Driver (Scorsese)

    Eighties
    Crimes and Misdemeanors (Allen)

    Nineties
    Kurosawa's Dreams (Kurosawa)
    The Remains of the Day (Ivory)
    Seven (Fincher)
    Silence of the Lambs (Demme)

    2000
    In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai)

    2010
    La Grande Bellezza (Sorrentino)
    Des Hommes et des dieux (Beauvois)
  • dogrowup007dogrowup007
    Posts: 108
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    As for German films I'd say this would be my top 10:

    DAS CABINET DES DR. CALIGARI (1920 Wiese)
    NOSFERATU, EINE SYMPHONIE DES GRAUENS (1922 Murnau)
    METROPOLIS (1927 Lang)
    M (1931 Lang)
    DAS TESTAMENT DES DR. MABUSE (1933 Lang)

    Have you seen "Menschen am Sonntag"? Some of Hollywood's later heavy weights collaborated on what supposedly is a landmark in German cinema (Siodmak, Ulmer, Zinneman, Wilder).
  • Problem_EliminatorProblem_Eliminator Ojai, CA
    Posts: 613
    I want to say 80s because it has so many of my favorites but I know deep down its not the best.
  • patbpatb
    Posts: 4,617
    Without thinking about it too much, I think the 70s was a great era. A greater focus on character and plot construction before we moved into the 80s and a move to massive action productions. Films like The French Connection, All The Presidents Men, The China Syndrome etc are great examples of how tension and excitement can be achieved without blowing something up. Even stuff like Dirty Harry and Serpico left room for social comment and character. I was too young to enjoy these movies on original release but they compare very well to newer stuff. Movies like The Big Short and Spotlight are examples that prove that there is still room for this genre to be squeezed between the massive action movies.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,723
    My favorite films of the 1970's:

    The Godfather
    The Godfather Part 2
    French Connection
    Jaws
    Close Encounter of the Third Kind
    Star Wars
    Patton
    Rocky
    Chinatown
    One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest
    All The President's Men
    The Deer Hunter
    Taxi Driver
    Apocalypse Now
    Alien
    Dirty Harry
    The Day of the Jackal
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited April 2016 Posts: 7,222
    @dogrowup007 Haven't seen that one, added it to my watchlist.

    I decided to throw in my top 10 Italian films too, maybe @Birdleson can shine his light on this collection too ;)

    ROMA, CITTÀ APERTA (1945 Rossellini)
    LA DOLCE VITA (1960 Fellini)
    L'AVVENTURA (1960 Antonioni)
    8 1/2 (1963 Fellini)
    IL BUONO, IL BRUTTO, IL CATTIVO (1966 Leone)
    C'ERA UNA VOLTA IL WEST (1968 Leone)
    L'UCCELLO DALLE PIUME DI CRISTALLO (1970 Argento)
    AMARCORD (1973 Fellini)
    SUSPIRIA (1977 Argento)
    TENEBRE (1982 Argento)

    Now that I think of it, Italy and UK are arguably my favourite film countries of them all.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,198
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    @dogrowup007 Haven't seen that one, added it to my watchlist.

    I decided to throw in my top 10 Italian films too, maybe @Birdleson can shine his light on this collection too ;)

    ROMA, CITTÀ APERTA (1945 Rossellini)
    LA DOLCE VITA (1960 Fellini)
    L'AVVENTURA (1960 Antonioni)
    8 1/2 (1963 Fellini)
    IL BUONO, IL BRUTTO, IL CATTIVO (1966 Leone)
    C'ERA UNA VOLTA IL WEST (1968 Leone)
    L'UCCELLO DALLE PIUME DI CRISTALLO (1970 Argento)
    AMARCORD (1973 Fellini)
    SUSPIRIA (1977 Argento)
    TENEBRE (1982 Argento)

    Now that I think of it, Italy and UK are arguably my favourite film countries of them all.

    What about "La vita e bella" and "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso"?

  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    edited April 2016 Posts: 7,222
    @GBF The latter is on my watchlist, the former I find quite overrated. The moving bits were too obvious and in-your-face. The whole thing just lacks the subtlety that usually characterizes European cinema.
  • GBFGBF
    Posts: 3,198
    You are certainly right. It feels rather like a Hollywood film. However, I still like it. But you will certainly like Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. I find it is a bit similar to Amarcord which is great, too.
  • GoldenGunGoldenGun Per ora e per il momento che verrà
    Posts: 7,222
    Birdleson wrote: »
    GoldenGun wrote: »
    @dogrowup007 Haven't seen that one, added it to my watchlist.

    I decided to throw in my top 10 Italian films too, maybe @Birdleson can shine his light on this collection too ;)

    ROMA, CITTÀ APERTA (1945 Rossellini)
    LA DOLCE VITA (1960 Fellini)
    L'AVVENTURA (1960 Antonioni)
    8 1/2 (1963 Fellini)
    IL BUONO, IL BRUTTO, IL CATTIVO (1966 Leone)
    C'ERA UNA VOLTA IL WEST (1968 Leone)
    L'UCCELLO DALLE PIUME DI CRISTALLO (1970 Argento)
    AMARCORD (1973 Fellini)
    SUSPIRIA (1977 Argento)
    TENEBRE (1982 Argento)

    Now that I think of it, Italy and UK are arguably my favourite film countries of them all.

    Great list, but you missed several of my favorites: much more Fellini, like LA STRADA, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and an all around Top Ten of all time...THE BICYCLE THEIF. Also OPEN CITY, and many more from the Italian New Wave. THE LAST TANGO IN PARIS.

    I know, I just made a top 10 but I love the ones you've mentioned too. As I only listed 10 and I'm also a big giallo fan, I had to include some of those as well.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    The most impressive decade was of course the 1890s. Nothing can beat the awe the audience felt when moving pictures was a brand new magic thing.

    The only thing that comes close is probably Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    I'm afraid my film knowledge is quite limited owing to my youth, but I would say that these following ten films are the ones that have had the greatest impact on me and the ones I find myself watching time and time again. Curiously, no film beyond the 2000s make it onto my list.

    AIRPLANE (1980)
    JAWS (1975)
    THE BIRDS (1963)
    GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
    THE TRUMAN SHOW (1998)
    STAR WARS (1977)
    STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
    THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
    ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
    CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND(1977)
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,456
    Well, definitively I would say the 80's, hands down.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    edited May 2016 Posts: 8,456
    Ah, the dreaded genre film. Good job no one round here is into that stuff.
  • dogrowup007dogrowup007
    Posts: 108
    Being a Bond-fan doesn't mean you like only Bond. As Bond puts it so eloquently in YOLT "No, just different. Like Peking Duck is different from Russian caviar, but I love 'em both". I love Bond-movies, but I also like Wong Kar Wai, Fritz Lang and Sorrentino (amongst others).

    And @Birdleson is quite right: the eighties and nineties are "plagued" by financial low-risk movies, which quite often means genre films, preferably with stars. The sixties and seventies have many movies that dare to challenge their audience with interesting stories.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    I have to admit, as much as I like some of the films made in the 80s and 90s, I have to say that the 1980s did have an impact on the cinema industry in a negative manner. The films of that decade have set a standards on cliche acting instead of theatrical performances coming from actors. I mean, look, I love the action films of Stallone, Schwarzenegger and many of their imitators. But, there is no way in hell they are on the same league as Clint Eastwood of the 60s and 70s. Or Charles Bronson. Or Michael Caine (Get Carter, anyone?), etc etc. I could even go as far to the 1940s when we've had people like Humphrey Bogart, Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Peter Lorre, Lauren Bacall, James Cagney, Gene Tierney (wow, Laura!). The 80s was the downfall of the film industry, if you ask me. It's only after mid-2000s that we started getting quality films in some of the productions that do reflect on the standards of those old theatrics.
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited May 2016 Posts: 23,883
    There is a school of thought that both Jaws and later SW brought that on, by ushering in the mega money era of the blockbuster. From then on, it all became about the moola, once Hollywood smelled what was possible.

    Critical film making was apparently sort of pushed aside from then on.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    bondjames wrote: »
    There is a school of thought that both Jaws and later SW brought that on, by ushering in the mega money era of the blockbuster. From then on, it all became about the moola, once Hollywood smelled what was possible.

    Critical film making was apparently sort of pushed aside from then on.
    And that's exactly where they've faulted.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,456
    But a film doesn't have to be intelligent to be intelligently made. Hitchcock, Carpenter and Tarantino all make/made genre films. They are the true masters. Plus, 'serious films' is a bit of a contradiction. Film is a medium of entertainment. And like Moore once said, "If you have a message to send, I recommend the postoffice. People go to the cinema to be entertained." (I'm paraphrasing).
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Mendes4Lyfe wrote: »
    But a film doesn't have to be intelligent to be intelligently made. Hitchcock, Carpenter and Tarantino all make/made genre films. They are the true masters. Plus, 'serious films' is a bit of a contradiction. Film is a medium of entertainment. And like Moore once said, "If you have a message to send, I recommend the postoffice. People go to the cinema to be entertained." (I'm paraphrasing).
    Don't get me wrong, Mendes4Lyfe. I still am and have always been on the side of the escapist films instead of the moody, broody and depressing films as opposed to the majority of today. But, sometimes, some of the cheese and goofs that some films made in the 80s and 90s can't be really on the same league as an intellectual escapist (see Where Eagles Dare, now THAT is an intellectually escapist fun film). And all things aside, the film music of the 80s and 90s are painful to listen to. Come on... Synth Pop?
  • bondjamesbondjames You were expecting someone else?
    edited May 2016 Posts: 23,883
    @ClarkDevlin, I completely agree on Where Eagles Dare. Superb film.

    I also agree on 80's synth pop. It really hasn't aged well at all. Even one of my favourite films from that decade (Manhunter) is riddled with it. Barry was smart to stay away from that for Bond, but when he finally succumbed in 1987 with his final score (TLD), he delivered a masterpiece imho.

    Interestingly, he did include synth in his score for Jagged Edge, and it's a great score.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    edited May 2016 Posts: 15,423
    bondjames wrote: »
    @ClarkDevlin, I completely agree on Where Eagles Dare. Superb film.

    I also agree on 80's synth pop. It really hasn't aged well at all. Even one of my favourite films from that decade (Manhunter) is riddled with it. Barry was smart to stay away from that for Bond, but when he finally succumbed in 1987 with his final score (TLD), he delivered a masterpiece imho.
    My all time favourite spy film, @bondjames. I love it more than any of the Bond films.

    And I do also agree on Barry's use of the synth pop in The Living Daylights. It's good, but when I do listen to it, sometimes, you can't reuse it for a modern Bond film, whereas the pieces from the 60s, if re-recorded and renewed (without changing anything from the musical notes, and making it a complete replica), could definitely work. Even Eric Serra's The GoldenEye Overture track from GoldenEye is good, but it's a piece that can only remain in its own time, like the synth pop beats from The Living Daylights. In the end, the elegance of music always highs up the class and quality of a film.

    And Tarantino, even though his early films were great, is no way in hell a master. And don't get me started on his pal Robert Rodriguez. That man is an abomination in the face of cinema.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,456
    ClarkDevlin wrote: »
    Mendes4Lyfe wrote: »
    But a film doesn't have to be intelligent to be intelligently made. Hitchcock, Carpenter and Tarantino all make/made genre films. They are the true masters. Plus, 'serious films' is a bit of a contradiction. Film is a medium of entertainment. And like Moore once said, "If you have a message to send, I recommend the postoffice. PClonesgo to the cinema to be entertained." (I'm paraphrasing).
    Don't get me wrong, Mendes4Lyfe. I still am and have always been on the side of the escapist films instead of the moody, broody and depressing films as opposed to the majority of today. But, sometimes, some of the cheese and goofs that some films made in the 80s and 90s can't be really on the same league as an intellectual escapist (see Where Eagles Dare, now THAT is an intellectually escapist fun film). And all things aside, the film music of the 80s and 90s are painful to listen to. Come on... Synth Pop?

    I say the 80's because it was the last decade before CGI started making up for poor scripts/ filmmaking. All that went out with Independance day. That was the film that killed cinema. After that we got a slew of disaster films with absolutely on artistry whatsoever. The only draw is the special effects. Things have improved slightly since then, but the same problem remains. If you compare the troopers from the original star wars with those in Attack Of The Clones, or the Orcs from LOTR compared to the CGI ones in the hobbit, there is no comparison. That's the biggest problem with CGI, no matter how good it looks, it'll look terrible in ten years.
  • ClarkDevlinClarkDevlin Martinis, Girls and Guns
    Posts: 15,423
    Mendes4Lyfe wrote: »
    ClarkDevlin wrote: »
    Mendes4Lyfe wrote: »
    But a film doesn't have to be intelligent to be intelligently made. Hitchcock, Carpenter and Tarantino all make/made genre films. They are the true masters. Plus, 'serious films' is a bit of a contradiction. Film is a medium of entertainment. And like Moore once said, "If you have a message to send, I recommend the postoffice. PClonesgo to the cinema to be entertained." (I'm paraphrasing).
    Don't get me wrong, Mendes4Lyfe. I still am and have always been on the side of the escapist films instead of the moody, broody and depressing films as opposed to the majority of today. But, sometimes, some of the cheese and goofs that some films made in the 80s and 90s can't be really on the same league as an intellectual escapist (see Where Eagles Dare, now THAT is an intellectually escapist fun film). And all things aside, the film music of the 80s and 90s are painful to listen to. Come on... Synth Pop?

    I say the 80's because it was the last decade before CGI started making up for poor scripts/ filmmaking. All that went out with Independance day. That was the film that killed cinema. After that we got a slew of disaster films with absolutely on artistry whatsoever. The only draw is the special effects. Things have improved slightly since then, but the same problem remains. If you compare the troopers from the original star wars with those in Attack Of The Clones, or the Orcs from LOTR compared to the CGI ones in the hobbit, there is no comparison. That's the biggest problem with CGI, no matter how good it looks, it'll look terrible in ten years.
    While some of the CGI are quite noticeable in some films, some points that members have made on the use of CGI in general don't catch up with my intellect, to be honest. Would you have preferred if we were to stick in the use of Stop Motion technique? Imagine if that were to make past the 80s...

    And of course, I've never been a fan of LOTR or any of the kind released around the same time or afterwards.
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