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The Best Movie of Each Decade
1920’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
17
My pick: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Critics’ Likely Consensus: Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Honourable Mentions:The Gold Rush (1925), The General (1926), Nosferatu (1922), Metropolis (1927), Sunrise (1927)
1930’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
18
My pick: The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Critics’ Likely Consensus: Gone With the Wind (1939)
Honourable Mentions:All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), City Lights (1931), M (1931), It Happened One Night (1934), King Kong (1933), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
1940’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
25
My pick:Casablanca (1942)
Critics’ Likely Consensus:Citizen Kane (1941)
Honourable Mentions:The Grapes of Wrath (1940), Pinocchio (1940), It’s A Wonderful Life (1946), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Bicycle Thieves (1948)
1950’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
44
My pick:12 Angry Men (1957)
Critics’ Likely Consensus: Vertigo (1958)
Honourable Mentions:Sunset Boulevard (1950), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Roman Holiday (1953), Seven Samurai (1954), Rear Window (1954), The Searchers (1956), Throne of Blood (1957), Ben-Hur (1959), Some Like It Hot (1959), North by Northwest (1959), On the Waterfront (1954)
1960’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
54
My Pick:The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Critics’ Likely Consensus:2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Honourable Mentions:Psycho (1960), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Apartment (1960), Dr. Strangelove (1964), The Sound of Music (1965), The Graduate (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
1970’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
65
My Pick: The Godfather (1972)
Critics’ Likely Consensus:The Godfather (1972)
Honourable Mentions:A Clockwork Orange (1971), Paper Moon (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), Chinatown (1974), Jaws (1975), Taxi Driver (1976), Star Wars (1977), Alien (1979)
1980’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
255
My Pick:Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Critics’ Likely Consensus:Raging Bull (1980)
Honourable Mentions:The Shining (1980), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Bladerunner (1982), The Thing (1982), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Back to the Future (1985), The Breakfast Club (1985), Amadeus (1984), Die Hard (1988)
1990’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
431
My Pick: Schindler’s List (1993)
Critics’ Likely Consensus: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Honourable Mentions: Goodfellas (1990), Unforgiven (1992), The Lion King (1994), Pulp Fiction (1994), Forrest Gump (1994), Braveheart (1995), Toy Story (1995), Fargo (1996), The Shawshank Redemption (199), The Big Lebowski (1998), The Matrix (1999)
2000’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
549
My Pick:There Will Be Blood (2007)
Critics’ Likely Consensus:Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Honourable Mentions:The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-03), Spirited Away (2001), The Dark Knight (2008), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
2010’s
How many I’ve watched (as far as I know):
612
My Pick:Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Critics’ Likely Consensus: The Tree of Life (2011)
Honourable Mentions :Inception (2010), The Social Network (2010), The Avengers (2012), Birdman (2014), Boyhood (2014), La La Land (2016), Get Out (2017), Joker (2019), Parasite (2019)
Congratulations The Outsiders. This is your week.
And the Oscar goes to…
Best Actress:
Marisa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vino in My Cousin Vinny.
Best Actor: Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid Part II.
Best Quote: “Stay gold, Pony Boy. Stay Gold.” — Ralph Macchio as Johnny in The Outsiders.
For my picks I tried to choose with a critical view as opposed to just listing my favourite. For instance, my favourite movie of the 80’s would be a toss-up between The Empire Strikes Back and Back to the Future. But to take a critical standpoint, a film that I believe checks all the boxes and represents the decade as a whole, I think Raiders is the right choice.
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