POLL: What Are Your Favorite Decades For Movies?

Kurosawa and Satyajit Ray...that takes me back.

 

Every poster tells a story.

 

The 1980's- so many great Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, Adventure, and Comedy movies!

 

Pre-code

 

Does nostalgia play a part in watching movies from a earlier decade ?

 

Possibly for me, in that the 80's was when I watched new movies on a semi-regular basis (Siskel & Ebert may have played a part in this), and not because I think that decade was objectively "great" per se, particularly now with the advantage of hindsight. In other words, the stuff I usually enjoy from the 80's almost always tends to fall into the sort of "mindless entertainment" crap pile that decade so often gets blamed for, such as:

Evil Dead II, Big Trouble In Little China, Road House, Top Secret, Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Conan the Barbarian, Porky's, National Lampoon's Vacation, Body Double, The Lost Boys, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, etc.

Also, because I was a teenager during the 80's (Class of '87), I identified with many of the young actors from all those John Hughes movies and other "zits 'n tits" flicks. Granted, some of the titles were more intelligent than others (Stand By Me, Sixteen Candles, etc.), and while these may be decent enough films even if only on a purely re-watchability basis, plus there were arguably some truly great films made during those years (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Blade Runner, etc.), I still cannot bring myself to call the 80's my "favorite decade" or even in my top five, as the preceding five decades all beat the 80's fairly easily, as follows:

1. 70's - I am continually discovering obscure classics from this richly creative decade, in which even most of the "mainstream" Hollywood films were at least interesting, and often deserving of Oscar "Best Picture" type awards, though additionally here I could say that nostalgia plays a part given many period favorites of mine remain "G" rated children's fare.
2. 30's - I would not argue with the oft-quoted saying that 1939 in particular was a peak in studio filmmaking (The Wizard of Oz, Ninotchka, etc.), though I have been finding great enjoyment in recent years from watching those pre-Hayes code movies, both feature-length and short subjects (Betty Boop comes to mind! ).
3. 60's - while "new wave" film technically started in the 50's, it was during the next decade that this "genre" of sorts really took off, and seemed to open up the door for more experimental and underground filmmaking to emerge, while at the same time I'd say this decade perhaps saw the last hurrah for old-time musicals (The Sound of Music, West Side Story, etc.), cinematic epics (Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, etc.), and so forth.
4. 40's - while WWII had a rather devastating effect with all those propaganda films (though I'll admit to having a semi-ironic appreciation for that Orwellian newspeak voice), the "golden age of Hollywood" was not yet finished, as there were still plenty of great musicals, comedies, adventures, film noir, etc. I should add that I originally saw most films from these early eras on television, and that TCM has been great in keeping these memories alive.
5. 50's - in some ways, this decade actually ties with the 40's for me, because even though this is generally considered to be the end of the "golden age" with the the rise of television (or perhaps more ominously as marked by the infamous "blacklist"), there were still all those classic Hitchcock films, widescreen epics, and the stirrings of underground cinema as noted above.

By the 90's, I really wasn't following new movies as much as I had the previous decade, which would continue to the present time. Today, I couldn't even tell you who most of the current stars are (CGI action figures?!), let alone what movies they are appearing in (everything looks pretty same-y now); however, I really enjoy watching various special edition DVDs of the classics with making ofs, commentaries, etc.
Cheers!

 

'70s and '80's with a bit of '60's thrown in.

 

Any decade that has Godfather 1 and 2, A Clockwork Orange, Apocalypse Now, Jaws, Star Wars, Deer Hunter, etc... has my vote.

 

For me, it's the 1960's and 1970's. People were starting to make new types of movies, we had new exciting actors, directors and writers to help them create great characters - I'm thinking of Gene Hackman, Robert De Niro etc. Also, some of the earlier stars were getting a second wind, such as Robert Mitchum. This is to say nothing of the incredible soundtrack work during this period by Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, Ennio Morricone, John Williams and the like. A lot of these films speak to me in very different ways, such as A HARD DAY'S NIGHT and KLUTE, to name only two. Then we had Blake Edwards and his comedies, Europeans coming to the UK or USA to make movies....I'd be here all day explaining why, so I'll leave it at that.

 

In fact, I've just finished re-reading Peter Biskind's book EASY RIDERS RAGING BULLS, which documents in greater detail what you just wrote.

 

Modern Hollywood in general.

In short, the 1960's to the 2000's.

 

Does any of the period films you dip into help you remember lost memory snapshots ie, dating, food, day to day life experience from that era?

 

Well, aside from remembering who you went to certain movies with (which can create good or bad associations), I'd say the awkwardness of dating (or at least making initial approaches) was fairly well-represented in most John Hughes' 80's movies, and I think "The Breakfast Club" in particular did a good job of capturing the boredom of being stuck in school, including detention (luckily, I never had to go in on a Saturday!). The comment made by Judd Nelson's character (similar to that by Matt Dillon's character in "My Bodyguard") regarding the (horrible!) school lunch was spot on.


If you dip back further still to the 70's, the film I could really relate to (even though I was a soccer player) was "The Bad News Bears"; that captured the era perfectly, both on a superficial level with those lousy clothes, haircuts, etc., and in a more timeless way of showing pretty much what kids (and their parents -- I do not recommend having your father be your coach) were actually like. Unfortunately, it seems the emphasis on "winning" is even stronger in the general culture now than it was back then.

Flash forward to the 90's, I was (and still am) living in the greater Seattle area, during which time the "coffee culture" was just about to explode with the rise of Starbucks, as well as premium brewing like Red Hook, so movies like "Singles" (and a short film that I think was called "Wired") now evoke those pre-internet and pre-cell phone days reasonably well. On a more humorous level, I thought "Office Space" brilliantly illustrated the types of personalities we all have probably come across in our working lives.

Short answer: "Yes!"

 

I chose the 1970's, but I really do love movies from the early 1980's.

 

Short answer "
Lengthy prose.

 

80s, 90s, 2000s

Some older films also

 

Understand.

 

What makes the seventies so great.
Is it a oldsters choice here?
Or is it a unanimous decision with moviegoers any age?

 

And this is very important when participating in modern discourse on the internet.

 

The 80s and 90s without a doubt!

 

Upon further review, I voted 1940's-1990's. A few of the numerous reasons:











Plus MANY more.....

 

It's when a new wave of brilliant American filmmakers started making great films -- names like Scorsese, Altman, Coppola, Spielberg and De Palma.

It's noteworthy that the late film critic Pauline Kael, who was in her 50s when the '70s came along, thought that was the greatest decade too.

 

70's win more great directors overall ,better looking movies overall Gee even Paper Moon is great looking

 

90s gets my vote, mostly due to Hollywood B-production thrillers which were fantastic in the 90s.

 

Best movie of the nineties:
Pulp Fiction

Eighties:
Predator

Seventies
Godfather 2

Sixties:
Psycho

Fifties:
North By Northwest

Forties:
Dark Passage