The best decade of film

[Mr Light]

I bet ya 90% of the responses will say the decade they grew up in

As such... I'd go with the 2000s. Particularly if I get to include 1999!

 

[Rii]

I bet ya 90% of the responses will say the decade they grew up in

I wouldn't go that far, but for most folks, i.e. those of us who haven't made the study or appreciation of the art form a particular focus of our lives, I suspect there's a relatively narrow chronological range within which one's observations are at all meaningful.

 

[Harvey]

I bet ya 90% of the responses will say the decade they grew up in

As such... I'd go with the 2000s. Particularly if I get to include 1999!

Not I, though I'm a bit of a film snob. It would be interesting to know the decades people grew up in compared to their favorite decade of films (I grew up in the 90s, but my favorite decade is the 70s).

 

[Lord Garth]

It's almost too easy to say the '40s or '70s. Sound film had reached maturity as a medium by 1939, so the '40s were the first full decade with that established form. Likewise, the '70s were the first full decade after the Hayes Code was done away with. Who wasn't dying to use ideas they couldn't for so long?

By design, other decades can't compete with the '40s or '70s. That having been said, for comedies it's hard to beat the '80s, and the movies I've enjoyed the most have been from the '00s (yes, I said it!). Most of the mainstream movies of the recently passed decade are overblown, you have to know what movies to look for, but what you'll find is worth it. Still, I shouldn't have to do as much digging as I've had to.

It's silly to say anything about the '10s since they're only six months old.

Well, that and the only 2010 movies I've seen are Iron Man 2 and Splice. Same deal as the '00s. Iron Man 2 was overblown and Splice is something I only found out about because I actively looking for something that wasn't a sequel, a remake, or made me feel like I was 13. Spice was great by the way, but no one I know has even heard of it.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

The 80s and last decade were awful for the most part.

I often hear this, but all of my favourite comedies come from this time. It was a fun era, probably the most imaginative and fun of any that I can think of. But I admit, I'm not a film historian or anything close to that, so I'm wondering why most people think this?

Or is this why, since things were lighter in tone and not as serious? I'm not even sure if that's a generalization or not.

I overreacted there. There were a lot of great, fun movies that decade. But when you look at it from a best picture category, it was awful.

I agree with the statement that TV is better than ever. In many ways, the true potential of TV is being realized.

Exactly. In previous decades network suits with no sense of creativity were butting in and making TV safe and predictable because they thought that's what audiences wanted to see. They didn't take risks. Somewhere along the line they realized that clever, quirky shows can be just as successful as lame-ass clichéd family sitcoms(Though we still have a fair share of such crap on the air) and that taking risks pays off. Speaking strictly of comedies, I'm sure they probably thought some of the most successful shows from the past were horrible ideas when they saw the pilots. Seinfeld, Roseanne, the Simpsons, Night Court, Newhart, Cheers, etc. Those types of unconventional shows paved the way for shows like "The Office," "30 Rock," "Big Bang Theory" and so on.

 

[suarezguy]

From what I've seen, the '90s. Dramas especially but also other genres seemed to be more serious and ambitious. While I can and do appreciate good films from before, I do tend to prefer the more colorful lighting and faster pace of more modern films, but the films of the '00s suffer from being less serious and more formulaic.

 

[DarthPipes]

I often hear this, but all of my favourite comedies come from this time. It was a fun era, probably the most imaginative and fun of any that I can think of. But I admit, I'm not a film historian or anything close to that, so I'm wondering why most people think this?

Or is this why, since things were lighter in tone and not as serious? I'm not even sure if that's a generalization or not.

I overreacted there. There were a lot of great, fun movies that decade. But when you look at it from a best picture category, it was awful.

I agree with the statement that TV is better than ever. In many ways, the true potential of TV is being realized.

Exactly. In previous decades network suits with no sense of creativity were butting in and making TV safe and predictable because they thought that's what audiences wanted to see. They didn't take risks. Somewhere along the line they realized that clever, quirky shows can be just as successful as lame-ass clichéd family sitcoms(Though we still have a fair share of such crap on the air) and that taking risks pays off. Speaking strictly of comedies, I'm sure they probably thought some of the most successful shows from the past were horrible ideas when they saw the pilots. Seinfeld, Roseanne, the Simpsons, Night Court, Newhart, Cheers, etc. Those types of unconventional shows paved the way for shows like "The Office," "30 Rock," "Big Bang Theory" and so on.

I'd also add Married with Children to that list. It came before Roseanne and it was another show where the family didn't get along and the humor was biting. It's one of my favorite shows and one of the few from the 80s that holds up very well today. MWC was never a ratings giant but that set the tone for the Fox network more than any other show they had.

80s TV was by and large awful, with the cliched, play-it-safe comedies.

 

[CorporalClegg]

It's almost too easy to say the '40s or '70s.

Are you suggesting I'm easy?

 

[Cicero]

From among the options given, I would choose the 90s. Without restriction, though, I would easily choose the 30s.

I'd rank the decades like this:

30s
90s
40s
00s
50s
80s
60s
70s

(I haven't seen enough silents to rank anything earlier.)

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

I overreacted there. There were a lot of great, fun movies that decade. But when you look at it from a best picture category, it was awful.

I agree with the statement that TV is better than ever. In many ways, the true potential of TV is being realized.

Exactly. In previous decades network suits with no sense of creativity were butting in and making TV safe and predictable because they thought that's what audiences wanted to see. They didn't take risks. Somewhere along the line they realized that clever, quirky shows can be just as successful as lame-ass clichéd family sitcoms(Though we still have a fair share of such crap on the air) and that taking risks pays off. Speaking strictly of comedies, I'm sure they probably thought some of the most successful shows from the past were horrible ideas when they saw the pilots. Seinfeld, Roseanne, the Simpsons, Night Court, Newhart, Cheers, etc. Those types of unconventional shows paved the way for shows like "The Office," "30 Rock," "Big Bang Theory" and so on.

I'd also add Married with Children to that list. It came before Roseanne and it was another show where the family didn't get along and the humor was biting. It's one of my favorite shows and one of the few from the 80s that holds up very well today. MWC was never a ratings giant but that set the tone for the Fox network more than any other show they had.

80s TV was by and large awful, with the cliched, play-it-safe comedies.

Yeah, I thought I'd mentioned MWC but I guess I left it out. Sometimes I watch it in syndication and just marvel over how groundbreaking Fox used to be. I wasn't allowed to watch MWC in 1987, as I was only 11 and my parents didn't want me watching any shows where kids talked back to their parents(), but I'd always try to sneak a peak at it as often as I could.

 

[DarthPipes]

Exactly. In previous decades network suits with no sense of creativity were butting in and making TV safe and predictable because they thought that's what audiences wanted to see. They didn't take risks. Somewhere along the line they realized that clever, quirky shows can be just as successful as lame-ass clichéd family sitcoms(Though we still have a fair share of such crap on the air) and that taking risks pays off. Speaking strictly of comedies, I'm sure they probably thought some of the most successful shows from the past were horrible ideas when they saw the pilots. Seinfeld, Roseanne, the Simpsons, Night Court, Newhart, Cheers, etc. Those types of unconventional shows paved the way for shows like "The Office," "30 Rock," "Big Bang Theory" and so on.

I'd also add Married with Children to that list. It came before Roseanne and it was another show where the family didn't get along and the humor was biting. It's one of my favorite shows and one of the few from the 80s that holds up very well today. MWC was never a ratings giant but that set the tone for the Fox network more than any other show they had.

80s TV was by and large awful, with the cliched, play-it-safe comedies.

Yeah, I thought I'd mentioned MWC but I guess I left it out. Sometimes I watch it in syndication and just marvel over how groundbreaking Fox used to be. I wasn't allowed to watch MWC in 1987, as I was only 11 and my parents didn't want me watching any shows where kids talked back to their parents(), but I'd always try to sneak a peak at it as often as I could.

Heheh. Yeah, I remember all the controversy over Married with Children.

I actually started watching it in the first season, when I was 8. My parents started watching it a season or two later. I still remember the warning they put up for the "Santa Corpse" episode. They STILL put that warning up before the show airs.

 

[Caligula]

The 1930's are often thought of as the "Golden Age." 1939 in particular. I'm not sure just how true this actually is, but what cannot be disputed is that there were some serious classics to come out of that period!

The 1960's began slow (with an obvious hangover from the much "safer" 1950's) but then began pushing the boundaries by the latter part of the decade, paving the way for....

The 1970's to blow the doors wide open with certain films that, quite frankly, just would not be attempted today.

The 1980's calmed down a bit, yet are still quite memorable for their comedies, action heroes, "slasher" villains, and certain sci-fi outings.

^These are the four best decades of film, in my opinion. For me, the most impressive/daring decade would be the 1970's, while the most entertaining one is the 1980's.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

I'd also add Married with Children to that list. It came before Roseanne and it was another show where the family didn't get along and the humor was biting. It's one of my favorite shows and one of the few from the 80s that holds up very well today. MWC was never a ratings giant but that set the tone for the Fox network more than any other show they had.

80s TV was by and large awful, with the cliched, play-it-safe comedies.

Yeah, I thought I'd mentioned MWC but I guess I left it out. Sometimes I watch it in syndication and just marvel over how groundbreaking Fox used to be. I wasn't allowed to watch MWC in 1987, as I was only 11 and my parents didn't want me watching any shows where kids talked back to their parents(), but I'd always try to sneak a peak at it as often as I could.

Heheh. Yeah, I remember all the controversy over Married with Children.

I actually started watching it in the first season, when I was 8. My parents started watching it a season or two later. I still remember the warning they put up for the "Santa Corpse" episode. They STILL put that warning up before the show airs.

And speaking of Fox, X-files was a pretty groundbreaking show as well. You can see its influence all over the place.

 

[Lt. Brannigan]

I can't just pick a span of ten years... so I will select a span of almost 5 decades.

1930-1978.
B Western's, Serials, Bela Lugosi, Karloff, Tom Tyler, Roy Rogers, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Bob Hope, Abbott & Costello, The Three Stooges, Martin & Lewis, Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, The Ritz Brothers, Lon Chaney Jr, The Creature From The Black Lagoon, Milton Berle, Superman: The Movie, and the rise of John Williams. And so much more

And of course the main reason I find most of that period so good is, John Wayne.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Lately I've been digging stuff from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, but my favourite era is by far the 80s. I'll always have a soft spot for the 90s since that's when I grew up and was watching new movies constantly (either in theatres or renting new releases, which I almost never do these days). I have trouble with a lot of 60s stuff. Maybe because the style of everything in movies (writing/dialogue, acting, directing, etc.) was so different back then in ways that often alienated me, but the 70s, 80s, and 90s classics tend to be right up my alley.

Over the years, as I've tried to get my hands on as many classics/cult classics as I can, I consistently find 80s movies to be the ones I appreciate and enjoy most. One of the best things about choosing to spend more time watching older movies than keeping up with new releases is the joy of finding movies that are underrated gems, and on average, I find more of those come from the 80s than any other time period. For example, I was just recently blown away by "Lucas" from 1986.

I'm not even that keen on some of the most universally beloved 80s movies like "The Empire Strikes Back", "Raiders of the Lost Ark/The Temple of Doom", "The Thing", "Blade Runner", "Aliens" and "Ghostbusters" (I do like this one a lot, just not as much as most people), yet there are more favourites of mine in the 80s than any other period in movie history. I made a list here. I would have included "Back to the Future", "Gremlins", and "The Goonies", but I wanted to limit the list to 20.

 

[Orcus]

The decade where I made out the most times in a darkened theatre.

I probably spend too much time on FaceBook: I'm looking for the "Like" button...

 

[Shazam!]

The 80s easily.

Look at all these classics released in 1986 alone:

Aliens
The Assault
Back to School
Big Trouble in Little China
Blue Velvet
The Boy Who Could Fly
Crocodile Dundee
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
Down by Law
F/X
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Flight of the Navigator
The Fly
The Golden Child
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Highlander
The Hitcher
The Karate Kid, Part II
Labyrinth
Little Shop of Horrors
Manhunter
The Mosquito Coast
The Mission
The Money Pit
Platoon
Pretty in Pink
Ruthless People
Short Circuit
Sid and Nancy
Stand by Me
Star Trek IV
¡Three Amigos!
Top Gun
The Transformers: The Movie

 

[Too Much Fun]

The 80s easily.

Look at all these classics released in 1986 alone:

You forgot "Lucas" . I'm not crazy about all those picks, but generally I agree with you...damn fine year (and decade) for movies.

 

[Goliath]

Another vote here for the 40s and 70s.

If I had to choose one or the other, I would choose the 40s. Though, for me, 'the 40s' really means the mid-forties to the mid-fifties--the decade of classic film noir.

I grew up in the 80s--the Reagan years were my teenage years. And in my opinion, a lot of movies from the 80s have not aged very well. I thought the 90s were an improvement, overall.

 

[Shazam!]

You forgot "Lucas" . I'm not crazy about all those picks, but generally I agree with you...damn fine year (and decade) for movies.

Well I obviously used term 'classics' lightly, but the sheer number of watchable movies released that year is mental.