Best film of each decade?

[begin_within]

Since the lounge is currently in a "best film of the decade" mood, why not list your favorite film from each decade?

1910s -
1920s -
1930s -
1940s -
1950s -
1960s -
1970s -
1980s -
1990s -
2000s -

So, I'll start...

1910s - The Birth of a Nation (1915)
1920s - Metropolis (1927); runner-up, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
1930s - Stagecoach (1939); runner-up, It Happened One Night (1934)
1940s - Ladri di biciclette (1948); runner-up, Casablanca (1942)
1950s - Tôkyô monogatari (1953) runner-up, The Searchers (1956)
1960s - Au hasard Balthazar (1966) runner-up, Psycho (1960)
1970s - Chinatown (1974) runner-up, The Stunt Man (1978)
1980s - El Norte (1983) runner-up, E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
1990s - The Shawshank Redemption (1994), runner-up, Ed Wood (1994)
2000s - Daughter from Danang (2002); runner-up, Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

[MonkeyFunk]

1. I will never understand

the appeal of Shawshank Redemption. It was trite, maudlin and treacly.

[begin_within]

2. "A Man Escaped" (1956) is just as good, arguably better than Shawshank, but

still not the best film of the 1950s. But it's my choice for best prison film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049902/

[jpgray]

3. One of my least favorite Bresson films. And it's his most famous.

Why? Nazis? I had the same problem with Clouzot--saw all the lesser known ones and Wages of Fear turned out to be a huge disappointment. They were still good films, though!

[begin_within]

6. I guess it's all just a matter of personal taste...

...this forum is loaded with Coen-brothers-worshippers, and the only Coen film I really liked was "The Man Who Wasn't There." The rest of their films, and Tarantino films, do nothing for me. Go figure...

[idgiehkt]

45. cool words, yo

I can't wait til the next person gets in my face, I'm gonna tell them they are "trite, maudlin, and treacly". :)

Now, on to look up "treacly" in the dictionary.

:woohoo:

[Twillig]

46. with Stephen King's penchant for anal rape, too! N/T!

[ghostsofgiants]

4. Hmmm...

1910s - Not sure I've seen any from that decade.
1920s - Un Chien Andalou (Yeah, I'm including short film, sue me, haha.)
1930s - Freaks, perhaps, I dunno, haven't seen many 1930s films.
1940s - Meshes Of The Afternoon
1950s - Maybe Rear Window? I dunno, or maybe Les Yeux Sans Visage.
1960s - Last Year at Marienbad
1970s - Eraserhead
1980s - Either The Shining, Blue Velvet, or The Vanishing.
1990s - Fight Club
2000s - Mulholland Drive

[begin_within]

5. I liked Un Chien Andalou, and L'Age d'Or too. I thought they were amusing.

[ghostsofgiants]

7. Bunuel was great.

[begin_within]

28. In some ways I think Almodovar is carrying on in Buñuel's footsteps

At least in terms of skewering Spanish society and traditions. Buñuel's "Viridiana" seems like a film that could have been made by Almodovar. And Almodovar's "Dark Habits" was something that I think Buñuel would have made.

[ghostsofgiants]

34. You know, I've actually never seen a film by Almodovar.

I really wanted to see Talk To Her when it came out, but I oddly lost interest. Weird. I should look into his work.

[begin_within]

37. Dark Habits is wickedly funny and surreal. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is

another good one.

[ghostsofgiants]

39. Awesome, I'll hunt down a torrent for each.

Thanks!

[begin_within]

43. That makes me not want to become a filmmaker.

People ripping off artists like that...

[ghostsofgiants]

44. Don't even start with that shit.

I buy DVDs as often as I possibly can, but there are times where I can't afford or even find the films I'm looking for. Never mind the fact that I refuse to buy anything when it comes to movies or music before I have seen or listened to it. (And you're talking to an aspiring filmmaker here.)

[Dragonbreathp9d]

23. your kidding with Mulholland right?

that movie was terrible! Hey, I have an idea, lets not act, at all, and have random meaningless lesbian sex scenes!

I've seen better acting from middle schoolers, and that is NOT an overstatement

[ghostsofgiants]

33. Normally, I would think what I'm about to say is incredibly pretentious...

But you clearly did not get the film at all.

[Dragonbreathp9d]

36. maybe not

but the acting was so bad it probably distracted me from it

[ghostsofgiants]

38. The acting for the first two thirds or so was intentionally "bad."

That segment of the film represents Diane's dream world. Everything is over the top in how ideal it is, and there's a naiveté that is demonstrated through it.

And to say the sex scenes were random and meaningless just solidifies my hypothesis that you didn't understand it at all.

[regnaD kciN]

48. You're kidding! Marienbad???

:boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring: :boring:

As much as it pains me to have to agree with right-wing talk-show host and film reviewer Michael Medved, Marienbad was the most excruciating film I've ever had to sit through. The best review I could think of would be simply the last syllable of the title.

Hiroshima Mon Amour, on the other hand... :applause:

[ghostsofgiants]

50. I thought it was brilliant.

I'm more inclined to agree with Adonis Kyrou's assessment of it as a surrealist triumph. Visually it was great, and the way the plot overlapped itself was great as well.

[Lethe]

8. you will certainly disagree

1950s - Vertigo
1960s- The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
1970s - Godfather, part I
1980s - TRON
1990s - The Big Lebowski
2000s - Donnie Darko

and i don't care.

[begin_within]

13. I've seen all except Donnie Darko

and they are all good movies except I did not enjoy "Big Lebowski," the Coen brothers have done much, much better films (The Man Who Wasn't There" for example).

[Dragonbreathp9d]

24. oooo Donnie Darko, gotta agree with that

dunno about TRON though :)

[pokerfan]

9. Anyone willing to use unicode to render Tôkyô

is going to fucking hate my picks.

1930s - The Wizard of Oz (1939)
1940s - Casablanca (1942)
1950s - The African Queen (1951)
1960s - Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
1970s - M*A*S*H (1970)
1980s - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
1990s - Fargo (1996)

2000s aren't finished yet. I'll let you know.

[begin_within]

12. I don't hate your picks

I've seen all of those and none of them are bad. (actually I didn't use unicode by the way, I just copied and pasted)

[BlueIris]

10. Hmmm. Well, I'm an anklebiter whose film knowledge doesn't go back before 1930...

So:

1930s: "His Girl Friday" (first truly feminist film of American cinema, if you ask me)
1940s: "Casablanca"
1950s: "On the Waterfront"
1960s: "North By Northwest"
1970s: Toss up between "Taxi Driver" and "Apocalypse Now"
1980s: Toss up between "Ordinary People" and "Children of A Lesser God"
1990s: "JFK"
2000s: "Brokeback Mountain"

[begin_within]

15. I've seen all of those except His Girl Friday

and they're all good films. Technically North by Northwest is a 1959 film, according to imDb

[BlueIris]

22. Oh. Oops.

[sarge43]

11. No film noir circa 40's?

Murder, My Sweet or Laura

[begin_within]

16. I've seen Laura but not the other two

Guess I'll have to catch up on those

[sarge43]

18. Yes, check out Murder, My Sweet

Definitive noir and Dick Powell's breakout role after years as a chorus boy. Then, there's Mike Mazurki as King Kong in a cheap suit ("You gotta find Velma.") - character actors have been boosting that performance ever since.

[auburngrad82]

30. How about Double Indemnity?

Excellent film noir thriller.

[sarge43]

32. No argument. DI is probably the ultimate noir

However, I think Murder, My Sweet sets the standard by combining all the noir elements into a nearly perfectly wrapped package. Like Night of the Hunter it's an overlooked classic that deserves more attention.

[auburngrad82]

35. Oh yeah, Night of the Hunter is another great one.

They don't make movies like they used to...

[Dragonbreathp9d]

14. .....mmmmm Amilie

what a fucking good movie

Its hard to say other than that, but I would definately put Dead Poets Society in there

[formerrepuke]

17. Mine:

1910s: (the only one I've seen is 'Birth of a Nation')
1920s: The Crowd
1930s: I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang
1940s: Double Indemnity
1950s: Night of the Hunter
1960s: Tom Jones
1970s: Nashville
1980s: Amadeus
1990s: Bob Roberts
2000s: Talk to Her

[begin_within]

20. thanks

[Burma Jones]

19. I'll Play, here are some favorites, I do not assume to be able to coronate any films....

1910s - Intolerance
1920s - The Battleship Potemkin, Napoleon
1930s - Duck Soup, Wizard of Oz
1940s - Citizen Kane, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Looney Tunes
1950s - On The Waterfront, Seventh Seal, Seven Samaurai, Looney Tunes
1960s - Yojimbo, Dr. Strangelove
1970s - The Godfather, Aguirre: the Wrath of God, Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now
1980s - Raging Bull, Amadeus, Elephant Man
1990s - Goodfellas, Saving Private Ryan, Babe
2000s - Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Amelie, LOTR Trilogy

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

21. Mine

1910s - Shoulder Arms
1920s - Sunrise (runner up Sherlock, Jr)
1930s - Zero de conduite (runner up Bringing Up Baby & M)
1940s - Citizen Kane (runner up Shoeshine)
1950s - Ordet (runner up Paths of Glory & Wild Strawberries)
1960s - 2001 (runner up Week End)
1970s - Annie Hall (runner up Celine and Julie Go Boating)
1980s - Blue Velvet (runner up Raging Bull)
1990s - Pulp Fiction (runner up Rosetta & Close Up)
2000s - La Commune (runner up Mysterious Skin & Under the Sand)


Subject to change in about 2 minutes ....!

[Dragonbreathp9d]

25. not sure if it is 40's, but whatever decade its in

12 Angry Men gets it!

[NewJeffCT]

27. 1957

Same year as "Bridge on the River Kwai" and "Witness for the Prosecution"

[NewJeffCT]

26. My picks

2000s: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
1990s: Schindler’s List
1980s: Gandhi
1970s: The Godfather
1960s: Lawrence of Arabia
1950s: Bridge on the River Kwai
1940s: The Grapes of Wrath
1930s: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

A lot of great movies in each decade. Heck, just in 1957 with "Bridge on the River Kwai" is one of my personal favorites – “12 Angry Men” - and also “Witness of the Prosecution”

[HughBeaumont]

29. Here's mein . . .

A lot of these are going to be ties, because I cannot choose; especially with the 70s. There's no way I can pick just one with that decade.

1920s - Metropolis, The Kid
1930s - Wizard of Oz, Dracula
1940s - Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Kind Hearts and Coronets
1950s - 12 Angry Men, Ikiru, Hidden Fortress, Rashomon
1960s - 2001: A Space Odyssey, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Dr. Strangelove, Once Upon a Time in the West.
1970s - A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, The Exorcist, The Godfather (Parts I and II), One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Monty Python and the Holy Grail
1980s - Brazil, Caddyshack (HELLS no I'm not kidding), The Shining, The Meaning of Life, Full Metal Jacket, Once Upon a Time in America
1990s - City of Lost Children, Boogie Nights, Goodfellas, 12 Monkeys, The Truman Show, Ed Wood, Leon, Straight Story, Dazed and Confused, The Sandlot, Hoop Dreams.
2000s - City of God, Downfall, Zodiac, Children of Men

[auburngrad82]

31. 1930s- Wizard of Oz nt

[BOSSHOG]

40. 60's - Cool Hand Luke

[trackfan]

41. 1920s - The Crowd

1940s - The Best Years of Our Lives
1970s - Annie Hall

[noonwitch]

42. okay

30s-The Wizard of Oz, Gone With The Wind
40s-Casablanca
50s-The Sound Of Music
60s-The Lion In Winter
But I can understand anyone who chose "Lawrence Of Arabia" or "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid".

70s-
The Godfather (part 1 or 2).
Monty Python And The Holy Grail
Star Wars
Ordinary People (or was that the 80s?)

80s

The Empire Strikes Back (the best Star Wars movie of all)
A Fish Called Wanda
Roger and Me
The Color Purple

90s
The Silence Of The Lambs
Much Ado About Nothing or Othello (Branaugh versions)
American Beauty
Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett was robbed-no way did Gwyneth Paltrow deserve that oscar over her)
Schindler's List

Honorable mention: Wild At Heart.

2000s
Bowling For Columbine
Shrek

[yellowdogintexas]

47. my favorites

before the '30 's
Nosferatu

1930's: Gone With the Wind
1940's Phildadelphia Story
1950's Mr Roberts
1960's Cool Hand Luke, with Lion in Winter & The Graduate close in there
1970's Godfathers I & II but "The Sting" is mighty damn close
1980's StarWars/Indiana Jones/and Victor Victoria
1990's Schindler's List
2000's Lord of the Rings Trilogy

[regnaD kciN]

49. And mine...

I couldn't get it down further that two per decade. If someone put a gun to my head and made me choose, I would probably pick the first of each two; but I couldn't guarantee that my opinion might not change on each of them given a few minutes reflection.

1930s - Lost Horizon, A Night at the Opera
1940s - Citizen Kane, Casablanca
1950s - The Seventh Seal, Vertigo
1960s - Lawrence or Arabia, To Kill a Mockingbird
1970s - Days of Heaven, Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1980s - The Mission, Chariots of Fire
1990s - Boogie Nights, The Secret Garden
2000s - LOTR trilogy, Donnie Darko