As Time Goes By....What Era holds up?

08-15-2010, 03:12 AM

I totally agree.

**RockStar** · 08-15-2010, 10:32 AM

I agree about the 80s being young. :nod: It's part of its charm, the 80s had so many dreamy movies.

I haven't seen many movies from the 30s/40s, but you get a sense of the writing. The scripts were beautifully written and detailed.

I'm a sucker for the 90s big movies.

Titanic, Twister, Independence Day, Forrest Gump, etc.. Everything became larger than life in the 90s. The stories, the characters, the FX.

08-15-2010, 12:31 PM

ITA.

I have a fondness for the 80s because they were part of my youth. Films like E.T., Raiders of the Last Ark and Aliens will not seem too dated because of the genre but most other films from the 80s do seem very dated and cheesy when you watch them again. However, I loved that the 80s were a decade of young actors. Apart from the infamous John Hughes flicks you also had Lucas, Goonies, Wargames, Back to the Future, Lost Boys, Stand by Me, The Outsiders, Karate Kid, Legend of Billie Jean and so forth.

But as much as I love the 80s, I'd have to say that the 30s & 40s are probably the best. These 2 decades were chock full of vintage performances from Hollywood legends. How could you not love screwball comedies like Easy Living, You Can’t Take It With You, Arsenic & Old Lace and Duck Soup? Then you also had some classic thrillers like Notorious, Shadow of a Doubt, Gaslight, Rebecca & The Picture of Dorian Gray. And although I am not big on musicals I can’t help but be entertained by The Wizard of Oz and the Deanna Durbin musicals of the 30s. As for dramas…Gone with the Wind, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca & Citizen Kane have become film treasures.

My least favourite eras? Probably the 60s, 70s & 90s. The 60s felt like a 'transitional' decade caught between the big production glamour of the 50s and the dramatic edginess of the 70s. As a result, I don't see much of an identity to the film decade as a whole. As for the 70s…. the aesthetics of that decade leave a lot to be desired. Many (but not all) of the films had poor musical scores (eg. blaring trumpets, plink-boink! sounds) that are grating to listen to. There was also a grainy/seedy/filthy look to many of the films whether they were western or urban. Of course not all was bad. The Godfather obviously is a classic from this era. And some very good SF like THX1138, Logan’s Run, Alien, Jaws and Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind helped pave the way for the SF of today. The 90s was a bit like the 60s. Caught in transition.

**RockStar** · 08-15-2010, 06:56 PM

Thanks for the information and titles of those movies, mukooh. We'll have to keep an eye out for them. Expending the scope of our movie viewing is never unwelcome nor untimely. :nod:

Personally, I'm guilty of having a steady Hollywood diet and I have been making an effort to change that.

08-15-2010, 07:32 PM

what about now?....well into the new millenium...in a country other than the united states....iran imo is producing some of the greatest filmmakers in the world today....and there are now record numbers of film school graduates in iran and each year more than 20 new directors make their debut films, many of them women. in the last two decades, there have been a higher percentage of women directors in iran than in most countries in the west.

iranian films of the 2000's...which i have seen and could recommend.....

'the circle'...the story of a group of women survive struggling to function in modern day sexist iranian society.....

'the day i became a woman'...3 woman of different ages....and how their lives are at that particular age......

of special note....

'crimson gold'...the story of pizza delivery driver.........

'turtles can fly'...a film about children clearing minefields......

'a time for drunken horses'.....heartbreaking...siblings try to save the life of their younger brother...

all of these iranian films are rather dark...lighter and happier iranian do exist....if your interested i would suggest googling iranian films of the 1990's...'children of heaven' or 'the white balloon' is a good place to start.....

08-16-2010, 01:59 AM

Very nice post and I couldn't agree more with you Ash.

08-16-2010, 04:31 AM

my favorite films and stars are from the 30s to the 60s. that's when most of my favorite movies were made. and the actors and actresses were just incredible.

there's some good actors now. but nowhere near the greatness of the greats. like they'll never really measure up. there'll never be another James Stewart or Marlon Brando or Clark Gable or Charlton Heston or Gregory Peck or Cary Grant and so on. and the girls there'll never be another Katherine Hepburn or Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly or Norma Shearer or Joan Crawford or Vivien Leigh.

most of the people in the entertainment industry today are celebrities not great actors. and most of the movies today are trashy and here for the moment and don't have real longevity to them. like only 10 to 15 movies that come out every year are good. the rest are just junk.

the past eras were just great. and 1939 is like the greatest year of movies for me. the Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind, Wuthering Heights, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Stagecoach. the Women, Babes in Arms. and many others all came out in that same year, they've lasted almost 70 years. I don't know how many films that come out now will have that long of a longevity.

08-16-2010, 10:17 AM

A tony award winning singer is playing the lead I believe--so there better be singing! A little off topic whoops!

**RockStar** · 08-16-2010, 05:52 PM

I know 80's films are really dated but I love them. I love how you feel the atmosphere, the fashion, the fads, everything. It's like jumping in a time machine.

I believe that there will be singing! :nod: Haha, yeah. Disney has cute princes.

08-17-2010, 02:27 AM

I saw this film for the very first time this year. Amazing! Akira Kurosawa likes to tell stories about human nature. My first Kurosawa film (and 1950s flick) is Ikiru

Another lovely film.

Oh, I didn't know that Disney will be making The Frog and the Princess. Will it be like old Disney films where there is singing? They better make the Prince goodlooking. That's a must in Disney films

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