What was the best Decade for movies?

mjjason said:
Unlike music, movies tend to not pass people by. Every decade offers a great/classic film. Where in music I would immediately say the 60's was the best decade followed closely by the early 90's, in Movies its harder to point.

The 60's and 70's had probably the largest range of films, especially ones that broke the mold several times over. The 80's had the great blockbuster films along with a bunch of slice of life/stylized films. The 90's had more of an indie feel than previous decades and many blockbuster became more polished. The 50's and 40's included classic studio films.

For me the weakest decade has been the current one. While we have had some great films most have been international films. The US market has been relatively weak when compared to the decades past.

But like I said, unlike music, where we out grow the latest bands, movies will always produce something classic.
Click to expand...

I hear ya!

It seems like there were way too many remakes, and old TV shows that have gone to the big srceen.

I absolutely am not a big fan of that. Bewitched is a prime example of Lazy Hollywood.
 
Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Alain Resnais

Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Alain Resnais

Mason Gilligan said:
Nouvelle Vague....
Click to expand...

Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Alain Resnais .

Where are they now?
 
ifownlee41nite@mac.com said:
Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Alain Resnais .

Where are they now?
Click to expand...

Jean-Luc Godard: still working
François Truffaut: dead
Claude Chabrol: still working
Alain Resnais: still working; won a Silver Lion for Best Directing at the Venice Film Festival in 2006

notre-musique.jpg

18709537.jpg

picture1vr5.jpg
 
I agree that the 50's was the golden age. The thing that always drove me nuts about those movies was the dialogue, its always way too polished and proper.

I think the 70's spawned the best drama movies, the 80's introduced the effects spectacular blockbusters, and the 90's tamed things down and brought a more everyday life feel to films. Its hard to really point out the best decade, because each one of them brought a different feel and style to the table.
 
Zak Forsman said:
Jean-Luc Godard: still working
François Truffaut: dead
Claude Chabrol: still working
Alain Resnais: still working; won a Silver Lion for Best Directing at the Venice Film Festival in 2006

notre-musique.jpg

18709537.jpg

picture1vr5.jpg
Click to expand...

That is what I love about even the idea of being a film maker. The older you get, the more you experience, the more you have to share and express.

3 out of 4 are still with us and still doing what they love decades later.

Wow!
 
ifownlee41nite@mac.com said:
Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Alain Resnais .

Where are they now?
Click to expand...

Man, what a question....Do you even like film?

Their inluence can still be seen and felt in movies today, many made by people who couldn't hold a candle to the work these greats have done.

Howard Hawks,....what has he done lately?

As for the topic at hand, the 70's is regarded as a classic decade for filmmaking. The shackles of the studio were thrown off, and the freedom to explore the form, which stemmed in part from The New Wave and Italian Neorealism, was embraced. I love films from this era, even smaller ones like...

The Gambler
Cinderella Liberty
The Killer Elite
Rollerball
(so much Caan...so little time)
The Panic In Needle Park
Scarecrow
Serpico
(packed full of Pacino)
The 7-Ups

However, the 50's were a golden era with amazing stuff that still outdoes most of the junk made nowdays...without the benefit of CGI and other special effects. The examples given previously are testimony to this assertion.

It's a tough call...and then when you throw in the 40's, with fillms like...

Casablanca
The Maltese Falcon
To Have And Have Not
The Big Sleep
(I'm big on Bogey)
Citizen Kane
The Third Man
It's A Wonderful Life
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn
The Bicycle Thief
His Girl Friday
Rope
The Philadelphia Story
Red River

I'm having a bit of trouble deciding.....
 
Last edited:
From http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?p=499284#post499284
CallaghanFilms said:
...My vote is for the 1940's by the way.

Just to name a few...

Casablanca (1942)
Citizen Kane (1941)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
The Third Man (1949)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Rebecca (1940)
Key Largo (1948)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
Notorious (1946)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
White Heat (1949)
Brief Encounter (1945)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
The Great Dictator (1940)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
Great Expectations (1946)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Ivan Groznyy I (1944)
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Red Shoes (1948)
The Heiress (1949)
Sergeant York (1941)
Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Laura (1944)
Black Narcissus (1947)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
Dead of Night (1945)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
Know Where I'm Going!' (1945)
Red River (1948)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Oliver Twist (1948)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Click to expand...

My gut reaction would be to go with the 1940's...
but,
according to my Top 100 List, more of my picks came
out in the 50's than in any other decade.
 
I can't really pick a defining decade I feel that every decade in cinema history has had defining moments. I'll admit I am not to happy with our current decade however we still have a few gems here and there.
 
Things have changed so much. We live in a completely disposable era. Very little is made to stand up over time. Few people read actual books anymore, so less books are written, which means less novel based movies, more cheap action based movies, or movies based on comics and video games and popular culture.
 
So Hollywood is not getting lazy, they just don't have good subject matter. A good story drought is what we're facing in the movie industry, is that what your saying Ming?
 
Ming said:
Things have changed so much. We live in a completely disposable era. Very little is made to stand up over time. Few people read actual books anymore, so less books are written, which means less novel based movies, more cheap action based movies, or movies based on comics and video games and popular culture.
Click to expand...

Your post is made with little backing.

Based on UNESCO stats, in 1996 there were 68,175 books published in the US. In 2005 there were 172,000.

This begs the question of what percentage of people are reading compared to before (insert date for before). But with that many books being published each year, one would assume the % of readers has increased.

I doubt there is less good material to work with compared to however long ago. The problem lies within Hollywood's love for the formulaic movie. They know how to make it, how to market it and that most of the time, they will be making a profit. More than ever, Hollywood is a business with the $ being the bottom line.
 
Hollywood has always been churning out formulaic crap. You just have to look around for the good stuff. There's a lot more beyond Hollywood. I think this has been a great decade in cinema so far, but if we're talking just about Hollywood, then I wholeheartedly agree. Take all of the re-makes for example. They've arrived at a point where they're not only recycling old ideas, but they're completely re-making them, which seems even lazier than recycling. Anyway, getting back on topic, I'm still going to have to say the '70s is the best decade in cinema.
 
Check out the 2 post before the one you question

Check out the 2 post before the one you question

DeSica said:
What does that question even mean?
Click to expand...

If you read the question before the post your responding to you would see that it was a follow up to the question I was asking Ming.

ifownlee41nite said:
So Hollywood is not getting lazy, they just don't have good subject matter. A good story drought is what we're facing in the movie industry, is that what your saying Ming?
Click to expand...

Many people have voiced opinions that Micheal Bay lacks story telling ability, and makes up for that with great CG and visual effects.

I don't agree with that so much, but since many people here do it works.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top