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Looking back through these forums, I saw a post like this for the '70s (of course) and the '80s (controversial!) but I thought I'd put up an argument here for the '90s.
Hear me out. Firstly, I think the way we divide decades works mathematically, but not very well culturally. For example, people often talk about "the '60s" as being an era of free love, great music, experimentation and exploration. But what they're talking about didn't start until a couple years into the '60s, and really they're probably thinking about like '67 to '72 or so. I'd argue that culturally, there's usually a couple years hangover from the previous decade before we shift modes, and that's probably reflected in films, too. So, for example, when people talk about the darkness and realism in film of the '70s, they may be thinking of films in '71 like The French Connection, Dirty Harry, or A Clockwork Orange. But you could argue that those have a lot in common with films from '69 like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Easy Rider, or even the darker James Bond- OHMSS. Compare that to films of the later '70s like '74: Blazing Saddles and The Longest Yard, or '78: Grease, Animal House, and Revenge of the Pink Panther. I'd argue that the '70s were a lot less gritty than some people think, and critics have a tendency to cherry pick in order to make that argument.
Nevertheless, I'll be somewhat typical and look at the '90s from let's say: '91 to 2000. I'd argue you could stack up the best films of most years against any other decade and the '90s usually comes out looking very impressive. Just a few of my favorites from '92 for example:
Last of the Mohicans, Basic Instinct, Reservoir Dogs, Aladdin, and of course, Under Siege.
Compare that to say, '52: Singing in the Rain...High Noon...The Quiet Man if those Wayne films do it for you. What else?
Or '72: The Godfather, sure, but what else? Frenzy, Jeremiah Johnson...Sleuth maybe? Maybe The Getaway? Kind of depends on your tastes...
Or let's look at '94: Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Natural Born Killers, The Lion King, Speed, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Clerks, The Crow, Leon, The Last Seduction, Legends of the Fall, even Dumb & Dumber.
Or '99: The Matrix, Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, Three Kings, Office Space, The Iron Giant, Toy Story 2, The Insider, The Green Mile, Cruel Intentions, Go, Galaxy Quest, Any Given Sunday, Man on the Moon, Election, even Austin Powers, South Park, and American Pie if you go for broad comedies.
You can do cross-comparisons of similar years, and the '90s always impresses. There's not a bad year in the decade. Prove me wrong, Internet!
Hear me out. Firstly, I think the way we divide decades works mathematically, but not very well culturally. For example, people often talk about "the '60s" as being an era of free love, great music, experimentation and exploration. But what they're talking about didn't start until a couple years into the '60s, and really they're probably thinking about like '67 to '72 or so. I'd argue that culturally, there's usually a couple years hangover from the previous decade before we shift modes, and that's probably reflected in films, too. So, for example, when people talk about the darkness and realism in film of the '70s, they may be thinking of films in '71 like The French Connection, Dirty Harry, or A Clockwork Orange. But you could argue that those have a lot in common with films from '69 like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Easy Rider, or even the darker James Bond- OHMSS. Compare that to films of the later '70s like '74: Blazing Saddles and The Longest Yard, or '78: Grease, Animal House, and Revenge of the Pink Panther. I'd argue that the '70s were a lot less gritty than some people think, and critics have a tendency to cherry pick in order to make that argument.
Nevertheless, I'll be somewhat typical and look at the '90s from let's say: '91 to 2000. I'd argue you could stack up the best films of most years against any other decade and the '90s usually comes out looking very impressive. Just a few of my favorites from '92 for example:
Last of the Mohicans, Basic Instinct, Reservoir Dogs, Aladdin, and of course, Under Siege.
Compare that to say, '52: Singing in the Rain...High Noon...The Quiet Man if those Wayne films do it for you. What else?
Or '72: The Godfather, sure, but what else? Frenzy, Jeremiah Johnson...Sleuth maybe? Maybe The Getaway? Kind of depends on your tastes...
Or let's look at '94: Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption, Natural Born Killers, The Lion King, Speed, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Clerks, The Crow, Leon, The Last Seduction, Legends of the Fall, even Dumb & Dumber.
Or '99: The Matrix, Fight Club, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, Three Kings, Office Space, The Iron Giant, Toy Story 2, The Insider, The Green Mile, Cruel Intentions, Go, Galaxy Quest, Any Given Sunday, Man on the Moon, Election, even Austin Powers, South Park, and American Pie if you go for broad comedies.
You can do cross-comparisons of similar years, and the '90s always impresses. There's not a bad year in the decade. Prove me wrong, Internet!