(no subject)

[deckardcanine]

Months ago (don't ask why I didn't bring this up earlier), EW opined that the best year for movies was not 1939 but 1984. Sure, it didn't offer much in the way of drama besides Amadeus, but it gave a huge number of movies that are still enjoyed today. While none of those are among my absolute favorites, I appreciate the writer's point.

A comment on the article stated a preference for 1994. This did not surprise me at all: two of the top five on IMDb are from that year, as are a few others on the top 250, and I can think of some other nice ones. Probably my favorite movie year of that decade.

Then I remembered how much I for one loved 2004's fare: The Aviator, The Chorus, Crash (it counts), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fahrenheit 9/11, Finding Neverland, Garden State, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hellboy, Hotel Rwanda, House of Flying Daggers, Howl's Moving Castle (tho released in the U.S. in 2005), The Incredibles, The Passion of the Christ, The Phantom of the Opera, Ray, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Shrek 2, Sideways, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Steamboy, and Walk on Water. There were also some movies that I didn't care much for but lots of people did: Million Dollar Baby, The Notebook, and Spider-Man 2. And some popular ones I haven't seen yet: Dodgeball, Downfall, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Kung Fu Hustle, and Shaun of the Dead. I can't say how many of these films we'll still be talking about in 25 years; I just know what I and others like(d).

There's enough of a pattern here for me to have high hopes for 2014, but I'm not sure how far back it goes. Who remembers 1974 well? It was the year of Blazing Saddles, Chinatown, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Lenny, The Sting, The Towering Inferno, and Young Frankenstein, but what else was good?

Please do not factor in the bad movies. They cannot detract from the power of the good.

Comments

[ceruleanst.livejournal.com]

I might conjecture that the turn of a decade inspires people to take creative risks and define new trends in popular culture. The generally accepted answer for the average production time of a big-budget Hollywood film is three years, to which we can reasonably add a year for the inception, first draft, and pitching of a really good idea before the studio starts working.

[thatcatgirl.livejournal.com]

That is a good explanation. I do wonder how much of a pattern it is, since I don't keep track very well of *which* years are good or bad for movies, just that it tends to be feast-or-famine.

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Wow, I'd never have thought of that. You're sharp.