Many people say the 1970s was the high water mark of cinema because it had the largest concentration of great movies. I've also heard the 1930s get mentioned.
So out of the last hundred years, which decade do you think had the best movies?
(I was actually thinking about this topic in the middle of the night....)
For me, the 70's. Not the late 70's, so much.
STAR WARS ruined serious science fiction for a long time. And killed the drive-in exploitation and low budget films ever making it to a big screen.
The 80's ruined horror movies for a very long time, with all the so-called "slasher" movies and their ilk.
Yeah- the early 70's.
Quote from: RCMerchantThe 80's ruined horror movies for a very long time, with all the so-called "slasher" movies and their ilk.
this is the main reason I would choose the 80s, lol...
30s, 70s, or 90s. If pushed I'd probably say 70s.
My instinct is often to say the 90s. There were so many dreadful, cynical, glib, practically worthless movies in the 90s. (The 90s were a particularly weak decade for horror...) And yet a handful of my most favorite movies were made in the 90s, and yet maybe that's just because I came of age in the 90s (and went to film school and started watching movies constantly in the 90s) and whichever era you come of age in, you tend to romanticize it.
Most films from the 90s interest me very little these days. The second half of the 60s, the entire 70s, and the first 3-4 years of the 80s... that's where I feel like all the treasures are buried!
Quote from: Rev. Powell on February 20, 2025, 10:53:43 AM30s, 70s, or 90s. If pushed I'd probably say 70s.
The 30's I found the best for classic horror and slapstick comedy. The 40's for Noir. The 50's for schlocky monster movies. The 60's for innovation.
The 70's had the best exploitation and down right scary horror films, which is my favorite type of film.
60s, 70s and 80s for me.
In South African terms, our 'golden age of cinema' ran from about 1961 to 1984.
Quote from: zombie no.one on February 20, 2025, 10:51:32 AMQuote from: RCMerchantThe 80's ruined horror movies for a very long time, with all the so-called "slasher" movies and their ilk.
this is the main reason I would choose the 80s, lol...
Right there with you
Personal choice, the 90s. Big fan of Tarantino, Kevin Smith. The Scream films started and they were great. The Faculty was a fun time, plus The Addams Family with Raul Julia is my favorite portrayal of Gomez.
Quote from: zombie no.one on February 20, 2025, 10:51:32 AMQuote from: RCMerchantThe 80's ruined horror movies for a very long time, with all the so-called "slasher" movies and their ilk.
this is the main reason I would choose the 80s, lol...
To each his own!
I just got no pleasure for watching Jason do the same thing in every convoluted film 10 times or more. How many were their? 10? 11? 12?
the slew of slashers (if that's the collective noun?) from 80 to about 83 is probably my favourite era of any movie genre... I just never tire of them. (and I think there's currently 12 F13's!)
obviously every decade has its awesome films and its total duds...
I mean the 60s would be quite far down on my list compared to 70s 80s and 90s, and yet there's PSYCHO, FASTER PVSSYCAT, ROSEMARY'S BABY, BLOODY PIT OF HORROR, DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORROR, THE GRADUATE, the Sean Connery JAMES BONDs...
(yes BLOODY PIT OF HORROR really did come to mind before THE GRADUATE... guess I'm definitely on the right website eh? :bouncegiggle: )
While a good horror movie is tough to beat (The Haunting is a masterpiece) and murder can be a necessary part of storytelling, I've never seen any appeal at all to slasher movies. To be honest I've always thought they drew-in people who had limited exposure to how terrible real life acts of violence can be. Also slashers tended to be mindless.
To answer my own question, the 1990s has a lot to argue for it being the greatest of all time. The '80s had a lot of bubble gum but also some true cinematic gems. I may be missing something but I don't think many great movies are being made nowadays, and can foresee a time when multiplexes go the way of drive-ins, and Hollywood shrinks drastically in cultural significance.
^ I agree on 'slashers'. Teenagers have sex-teenagers die. There's NO suspense at all. It's the same tired formula over and over again-you could trade Michel Myers with Jason and not tell the difference. Silent, masked, seemingly immortal guy with a knife. Ho hum. No imagination, nothing in a way of a real plot, just the same old nonsense film after film after film. It's the equivalent of a wish sandwhich. 2 pieces of bread and you wish you had some meat.
Quote from: ER on February 21, 2025, 07:40:16 AMI've never seen any appeal at all to slasher movies. To be honest I've always thought they drew-in people who had limited exposure to how terrible real life acts of violence can be.
isn't that a bit like saying only people who've never been caught up in an actual earthquake or flood could possibly enjoy cheesy 'disaster movies'?
...to me it's all escapism at the end of the day. I'm not going to think too hard about equating what goes down on-screen in an enjoyable piece of cinematic trash to any 'real life' woes.
If you haven't seen it, there's a film called IN A VIOLENT NATURE that was the best new movie I saw last year, and it addresses/explores a lot of the slasher-centric conversation here. If you love slasher movies you might love it, and if you hate slasher movies you might love it...!
Quote from: M.10rda on February 21, 2025, 10:51:38 AMIf you haven't seen it, there's a film called IN A VIOLENT NATURE that was the best new movie I saw last year, and it addresses/explores a lot of the slasher-centric conversation here. If you love slasher movies you might love it, and if you hate slasher movies you might love it...!
damn.. I literally noticed that dvd earlier today when I was in town! caught my eye...wondered what it was about. will check it out
Quote from: zombie no.one on February 21, 2025, 10:34:19 AMQuote from: ER on February 21, 2025, 07:40:16 AMI've never seen any appeal at all to slasher movies. To be honest I've always thought they drew-in people who had limited exposure to how terrible real life acts of violence can be.
...to me it's all escapism at the end of the day. I'm not going to think too hard about equating what goes down on-screen in an enjoyable piece of cinematic trash to any 'real life' woes.
^ I'm not ragging YOU- you like what you like. More power to ya. Fer crying out loud- I think the HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND is a classic!
As far as "limited exposure to real violence"- I've had boat loads of real violence happen in my life- murder- suicide-car wrecks- but watching slashers don't bother me. If they are well made, say like the 1st HALLOWEEN- it's all good. It's just the repetition of it all. It just seems like watching the same movie over and over , ad nauseum.
it's all good. we all have our tastes. and no one can really help what they do or don't like, movie-wise...
- attempting to justify taste is another matter :bouncegiggle:
Eh, late '70s, early 80s, when cheap but amusing knock-offs of Star Wars & Alien started coming out of the woodwork, & then all these Mad Max rip-offs started catching on....