https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2017/09/the-1970s-the-best-era-in-cinema-history/

So many directors made their legends in the 1970's -- Coppola, Scorcese, Allen, Malick, Spielberg, Bogdonovich, Lucas . . .

So many of our great actors and actresses were at or nearing their peak -- Pacino, De Niro, Hoffman, Diane Keaton, Redford.

So many of the greatest films of all time across the board were made then: The Godfather-s, Chinatown, Star Wars, Taxi Driver, Jaws, Blazing Saddles, Annie Hall . . .

There's not one decade better.

Can't argue with that. And nowadays, James Cameron shoots a trillion Assatar sequels.

^The quantity and quality of great films was and is astounding.

Good era for foreign films as well.

I'm partial to the 60s because the fashions looked better then.

sexton said:

I'm partial to the 60s because the fashions looked better then.

Early 60's or late 60's

It had "Animal House" so it wins.

Yeah...no.

I'd say... yes.

there was a unified rebellion against the Hollywood aesthetic, shooting out on locations with high speed grainy film to avoid big lighting rigs... and it left TV behind in the dust. Even something mainstream like "Superman the Movie" got hit with a dose of cool design and conceptual discipline that was somewhat removed form the old Hollywood studio production flow (in that case it was a mix of contrast between the new and old school). From The Godfather to The Exorcist to Star Wars to ALIEN to Kramer vs Kramer and Rocky and so many other films...

But I'm biased... I was a kid in the 70's!


Now HBO and the new venues like Netlfix & Amazon are leading a sort of creative revolution with long form series.

I jut watched the second season of "Top of the Lake" which could have been retitled "Going Over-the-Top of the Lake"

i'll leave it to the experts to determine such things, i guess, but i do think there's a bit of a recency bias whenever a topic like this comes up. that is to say, i think a lot of fairly classic movies from the first part of the century get overlooked. i'm guilty of it myself, for sure. i've barely looked at movies from the fifties or earlier, and i've always resisted diving into anything from the silent era, as if those films were transmissions from a completely different period, a foreign experience i wouldn't really enjoy.

saturday night i watched sunrise, a 1927 picture from the tail end of the silent era and i thought it was absolutely one of the greatest things i've ever seen. not just for its time, or allowing for whatever limitations they were working under. it was just flat out great...funny, some creepy moments, & genuinely & universally touching. and when i asked a few people if they'd ever seen it, not one of them had even heard of it.

[Edited 10/3/17 14:16pm]

movies and music ...70's unbeatable

damosuzuki said:

i'll leave it to the experts to determine such things, i guess, but i do think there's a bit of a recency bias whenever a topic like this comes up. that is to say, i think a lot of fairly classic movies from the first part of the century get overlooked. i'm guilty of it myself, for sure. i've barely looked at movies from the fifties or earlier, and i've always resisted diving into anything for the silent era, as if those films were transmissions from a completely different period, a foreign experience i wouldn't really enjoy.

saturday night i watched sunrise, a 1927 picture from the tail end of the silent era and i thought it was absolutely one of the greatest things i've ever seen. not just for its time, or allowing for whatever limitations they were working under. it was just flat out great...funny, some creepy moments, & genuinely & universally touching. and when i asked a few people if they'd ever seen it, not one of them had even heard of it.

Sunrise is AWESOME!! I've seen it several times, but anytime TCM has it, I watch it again.

Totally agree with you on the "recency bias." (Terrific phrase, by the way.)

My vote for "best decade" isn't a traditional decade, but 1935-1945. The 40s half of that suffers a bit from the fact that WWII really put the kibosh on a lot of moviemaking - especially in Europe. But I don't know how you name a best decade that doesn't include 1939 - which is the single best year in film history.

I love discussions like this! Anyone interested in doing a "Top 3 movies of every decade" kind of thread?

Tough to argue with that assessment. I'm an 80s kid so it'll always be my fave decade (Terminator, Aliens, Predator, the slasher boom, Beverly Hills Cop, Die Hard, etc) ... but for quality cinema I don't think the 70s will be topped.

The noughties were pretty good thinking about it, I'd put that decade in the runner up spot.

luvsexy4all said:

damosuzuki said:

i'll leave it to the experts to determine such things, i guess, but i do think there's a bit of a recency bias whenever a topic like this comes up. that is to say, i think a lot of fairly classic movies from the first part of the century get overlooked. i'm guilty of it myself, for sure. i've barely looked at movies from the fifties or earlier, and i've always resisted diving into anything from the silent era, as if those films were transmissions from a completely different period, a foreign experience i wouldn't really enjoy.

saturday night i watched sunrise, a 1927 picture from the tail end of the silent era and i thought it was absolutely one of the greatest things i've ever seen. not just for its time, or allowing for whatever limitations they were working under. it was just flat out great...funny, some creepy moments, & genuinely & universally touching. and when i asked a few people if they'd ever seen it, not one of them had even heard of it.

[Edited 10/3/17 14:16pm]

You're one of our resident cinephiles, so I certainly respect that. While not an expert on the films of the 1st half of the century, I've seen quite a few of them, and am slowly catching up on films made . They were innovative decades in all respects.