The Best Decade for Movies

ER · February 20, 2025, 10:23:14 AM

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....)

RCMerchant · February 20, 2025, 10:47:56 AM

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.

zombie no.one · February 20, 2025, 10:51:32 AM

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...

Rev. Powell · February 20, 2025, 10:53:43 AM

30s, 70s, or 90s. If pushed I'd probably say 70s.

M.10rda · February 20, 2025, 11:44:28 AM

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!

RCMerchant · February 20, 2025, 01:27:11 PM

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.

Trevor · February 20, 2025, 01:46:05 PM

60s, 70s and 80s for me.

In South African terms, our 'golden age of cinema' ran from about 1961 to 1984.

HappyGilmore · February 20, 2025, 02:54:19 PM

Quote from: zombie no.one on February 20, 2025, 10:51:32 AM
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...

Right there with you

HappyGilmore · February 20, 2025, 03:00:09 PM

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.

RCMerchant · February 20, 2025, 06:19:07 PM

Quote from: zombie no.one on February 20, 2025, 10:51:32 AM
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...

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?

zombie no.one · February 21, 2025, 04:31:47 AM

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...

zombie no.one · February 21, 2025, 05:33:35 AM

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?

)

ER · February 21, 2025, 07:40:16 AM

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.

RCMerchant · February 21, 2025, 10:25:00 AM

^ 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.

zombie no.one · February 21, 2025, 10:34:19 AM

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.