[Archived] Best Films Of The Last Two Decades

[rebelmswar]

I am currently studying motion picture development at university since I got out of the service on a medical disability and would like to conscript the boards help on a paper I am doing.

It is about the most important films of the last two decades.

I am doing a comparison to what films people see as "important" and which ones people label "The Best".

There is a massive difference in opinion and due to the wide demographic on this forum I thought it would be the best place to ask. I would rather do this than ask at a mall or something,

If you could let me know which movies you liked the best in the 80's and 90's and why, also which movie you felt was most important.

I appreciate the help or just the fact that you read this.

Many thanks again.

[3rdpillar]

The Warriors. EndOf

http://www.warriorsmovie.co.uk/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warriors_(film)

[RibbleValleyRover]

The Warriors. EndOf

http://www.warriorsmovie.co.uk/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warriors_(film)

The Warriors is a great film, one of my favs.

Pulp Fiction for me was a great film and had that cult effect that has had an influence on films afterwards with the violence and comedy combined together.

I'll have to have a hard think about which films i consider to be important, groundbreaking or the best films. Like you said opinions are going to differ from person to person.

[Nelsta]

I'd have to say

Clerks.(most important to me)

Just because i can relate to it's characters and the story and the characters actions more than i can with any other film.And some of the issues raised in the film..i.e..issues with girls, not knowing what you want/what to do in life.Hating your situation but not having the courage to change it and blaming other people for the situation.Just all strikes a chord with me.

Chasing Amy.(Best)

Again there's something about Kevin Smith's films that ring true to me.

This is the first Romantic film i saw where the Male lead and Female lead dont have a happy ending.And it's due to the Male leads own insecurities(something most men can relate to)He can not handle her sexaul dealings in the past and feels he cant live upto what she's done, so much so that he dosnt see that them things in the past didnt make her happy and all she wants is him.

That's my 2 cents.

I was torn to include Empire strikes back, Jaws and Dawn of the Dead..but the 2 i mentioned are the 2 films i got the most out of.

[Cocker]

I would have to say that you would have to include The Matrix in your paper. When that came along it blew everything else away with its affects - just like star wars had done before it.

[Billy Castell]

Perhaps Goodfellas should be included. I think it's only 'quite good', but others say its one of the best gangster films, and has influenced later films on this topic.

Jackie Chan films such as Who am I? have been important, as they have been a bridge between eastern and western action films. Horror films such as The Ring have had a similar effect.

[Ozz]

AS-I know you're there, think this is one for you mate.

My fav, if pushed at this moment it time is still Oh Brother Where Art Though. Music and story just make my head swim in delight.

[Paul]

I think you're asking a really difficult question, especially when you talk about "important." Are films important? For me it's entertainment and I can't say I've ever watched a film that was important, if the sense is it has made a real difference to society, my life etc. If I had to chose a film I consider important it would be "No Direction Home - Bob Dylan" by Martin Scorsese. I don't know if the film is important but for me Dylan is the single greatest artist of the 20th century thus making the film very important. There are other areas of popular culture that have had, and still do have a far greater impact on me than films. Anyway enough of the philosophy, my favourite film of the last 20 years or so is Pulp Fiction which I watch over and over again. It's supremely funny, well written and has some excellent performances.

[adopted scouser]

Can't have 'Man Who Would Be King' 1975

[rebelmswar]

I'd have to say

Clerks.(most important to me)

Just because i can relate to it's characters and the story and the characters actions more than i can with any other film.And some of the issues raised in the film..i.e..issues with girls, not knowing what you want/what to do in life.Hating your situation but not having the courage to change it and blaming other people for the situation.Just all strikes a chord with me.

Chasing Amy.(Best)

Again there's something about Kevin Smith's films that ring true to me.

This is the first Romantic film i saw where the Male lead and Female lead dont have a happy ending.And it's due to the Male leads own insecurities(something most men can relate to)He can not handle her sexaul dealings in the past and feels he cant live upto what she's done, so much so that he dosnt see that them things in the past didnt make her happy and all she wants is him.

That's my 2 cents.

I was torn to include Empire strikes back, Jaws and Dawn of the Dead..but the 2 i mentioned are the 2 films i got the most out of.

Funny enough Dawn of the Dead (1978) is considered one of the most ground breaking films of the 70's with its views of consumerism. Zombies picketing a mall due to the fact that after they died and became an animated corpse, the thing that the dead Americans still remembered was shopping. The new product (human flesh) being available at the mall only adds to the desire to get in. You can go into the same dissection of all Romero's films with his latest "Land of the Dead" being anti Bush, the ivory tower symbolism as the rest of the world goes to hell.

Clerks is a stand alone for indie cinema, psychological twists such as his girl friend getting more pleasure from a corpse than he has supplied lately adds to the feeling of hopelessness of the lead.

Chasing Amy.. enough said, great movie.

Thanks for the input.

[rebelmswar]

The Warriors is a great film

Agreed. What makes it stand out to the likes of "Assault on Precinct 13" to you two though?

[Tango]

Like Paul I think you're going to have a hard time defining a film as important without placing it in context. If you define a film as being important within the film industry, i.e. its influence on other films/directors etc. then I would say Pulp Fiction, as others have already mentioned. If you're talking about films as being important in a social context, i.e. dealing with or portraying moral or cultural issues, then I'd say... Pulp Fiction again!

As for my favourite, Aliens probably sits just outside your 20 year remit, so I'll say Die Hard from 1988!

[rebelmswar]

I would have to say that you would have to include The Matrix in your paper. When that came along it blew everything else away with its affects - just like star wars had done before it.

Matrix of course makes the list simply because it was a film that required serious thought to understand the plot. Most action films have the desire to hypnotise as apposed to make a person ponder, Gibson (great books) has to take a lot of credit for opening the cyberpunk Pandora's box onto our screens.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella)

A Jewish man has a wonderful romance with the help of his humour, but must use that same quality to protect his son in a Nazi death camp

[rebelmswar]

I want to thank you for the help here, any posts will help.

Thanks again.

[3rdpillar]

Agreed. What makes it stand out to the likes of "Assault on Precinct 13" to you two though?

I first saw the Warriors in the Vulcan, says it all really.

[TugaysMarlboro]

I can't really think of two films in the 80's and 90's that I would say are "the best AND important." So i'm best just sticking to my two personal favourites.

1980's - Full Metal Jacket - Purely because i've never laughed so hard in my entire life.

1990's - Fight Club - I just love it, I was 13 when I first watched it - i'd never heard about the plot or had any spoilers or anything like that, I only realised Tyler wasn't real during the scene with that guy behind the bar who was wearing the very large neckbrace. For whatever reason it blew me away, then again I was only 13. Infact it was the first ever DVD I bought.

For the 80's it was a tough choice between The Shining, Raging Bull, Das Boot and Blade Runner.

The 90's I toyed with Pulp Fiction, Schindlers List, Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump, Silence of The Lambs and Leon.

If it was the "noughties" movie choice i'd probably choose, This Is England.

Mentioning Movies i'm chomping at the bit to see the new Batman film.

[RibbleValleyRover]

Just realised both are 70's films, 1976 for Assault on Precinct 13 and 1979 for The Warriors, both great films though exempt from the discussion if its films of the 80's and 90's.

Onto a film from the 90's. Schindler's List for me was a great film. I remember having to watch it in my History class and was blown away by it as it was such an emotionally powerful and harrowing film.

That scene with the little girl in the red coat as the Germans are liquidating the ghettos and the major impact it has on Schindler is really powerful.

Great performances by Liam Neeson & Ben Kingsley.

[American]

Onto a film from the 90's. Schindler's List for me was a great film. I remember having to watch it as in my History class and was blown away by it as it was such an emotionally powerful and harrowing film.

I was literally JUST about to post that....

[RibbleValleyRover]

I was literally JUST about to post that....

Sorry

What made the film stand out to you American?

[neekoy]

Sin City, Bladerunner, The Seventh Seal, Shawshank Redemption, Spoorloos, Goodfellas, Kandahar, Lord of the Rings, City Of God, Unforgiven, The Shining, Finding Nemo, Pulp Fiction, ET, Terminator 2, Akira, Bowling for Columbine, Reservoir Dogs, The Matrix, Raging Bull, Amelie, Oldboy, Pans Labyrinth

I will pencil in Batman Begins for the moment as the greatest comic character adaptation until I see Dark Knight.

I have grouped my picks up the greatest movies by genre

[Rovermatt]

A mixture of best and most important:

The Shawshank Redemption: In my book this is the greatest film ever made. A beautiful score, a wonderful story and some of the most brilliant, subtle acting you're ever likely to see. This ranks as the most important film of my life.

Heat: A virtuoso performance from all involved, Michael Mann is the best director out there as far as I'm concerned (hell I even thought Miami Vice was ok). This is the ultimate demonstration of his talents, pulling together a host of elements - photography, writing, sound and, best of all, acting - to create something both epic and very, very cool.

The Matrix: This signalled the new dawn of action cinema. While the sequels were perhaps more spectacular (though increasingly insane also) nothing has rippled more powerfully in recent times than the revolutionary styles and concepts employed here.

Dances With Wolves: It's become all too fashionable in recent years to snigger at Kevin Costner's work but this is his opus in my opinion and proof that slow burning, thoughtful, earnest story telling still has a place in modern cinema.

Die Hard: Just sneaking into the 20 year bracket, Die Hard is the best action movie ever made. Period (though reasonable argument can be made for Terminator 2). Sure The Matrix may have upped the ante and revamped the genre but frankly nothing can beat this monster.

[broadsword]

Die Hard was an important film for film-makers, it ushered in a whole host of imitators (not all of them particularly good ...) It was something totally different at the time.

Schindler's List was important film, it brought home one of the most sick periods of human history and made it real.

I guess by "important" you mean films "with a message" rather than just brainless popcorn fodder.

I never warmed to Heat at all, I don't know why, perhaps because it's only sustained by its flashy exterior.

I think 15 minutes with de Niro in it had something to say.

[Rovermatt]

Heat is quite a cold film though. None of the characters are particularly likeable (De Niro's master thief is arguably the most sympathetic) and the whole thing is very pensive and quiet (save for the awesome, score-free gun battle and Pacino's shouting fits). But for me it just oozes class and atmosphere.

[broadsword]

I always preferred him in Carlito's Way. I have a liking for Sea of Love as well.