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benj clews 
"...."
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 Posted - 01/19/2007 : 23:49:08
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Okay, this should make for some interesting debate... what was the best year for cinema?
I'm far from knowledgeable enough on this subject and I'm sure there'll be a lot better suggestions than this, but I have a lot of love for 1999.
This is the year we had end of the century purpose-of-life pondering from the likes of Fight Club, American Beauty and the brilliantly quirky Being John Malkovich.
The Sixth Sense threw a curve ball so influential it's been obligatory to feature a twist in every film since.
One of the best CGI films ever made- Toy Story, was actually bettered with, well... Toy Story 2.
Bond was back with a proper freaky villain (after the rather limp Jonathon Pryce in Tomorrow Never Dies) and Brosnan was also busy making a cool, decent remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. Meanwhile, Steven Soderburgh made pensioners mean and hip with The Limey.
Sci-fi was reinvented (as were cinema effects) with The Matrix and suddenly Canoe Reeves was fashionable again. Also, the Star Wars saga was at last begun (albeit somewhat shakily) with Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
It was also a good year for comedy. Steve Martin was actually funny in Bowfinger (which was then cancelled out by The Out-Of-Towners), Rob Schieder was tolerable in Deuce Bigalow, Austin Powers was a lot funnier than his overrated first outing and we had one of the best teen comedies in years- American Pie. Woody Allen was back on fine form after his serious period and a run of slightly ho-hum efforts with Sweet And Lowdown. There were some great genre piss-takes with the likes of Galaxy Quest and Mystery Men, and Drop Dead Gorgeous darkly spoofed the heck out of beauty pageants. Talking of darkly comic, we also got the excellent Election. Oh... and we got more "fuck"s in one film than before or since with South Park: Bigger, Longer And Uncut.
Dark Castle pictures was born and they had a darned good try at bringing back the old haunted house movie with House On Haunted Hill (shame about the big effect for the finale). The Blair Witch Project divided cinema-goers and showed a clever idea, cunningly marketed can still go a long way without the need for a huge budget. Lake Placid was a decent stab at reviving the shocks of Jaws in it's prime, Tim Burton gave us a good old fashioned ghost story in Sleepy Hollow, and we got the most horrifying film ever made: Guest House Paradiso.
There were some nice happy moments in 1999, too- Notting Hill made us all believe we could run into Julia Roberts in a bookshop, David Lynch shocked the world and made not only a warm, affectionate film, but also one that made sense with The Straight Story. And Takeshi Kitano also did an about turn, going from violent action films to a childish road trip in Kikujiro.
We had the critically acclaimed likes of The Cider House Rules, The Virgin Suicides, Magnolia, Buena Vista Social Club and Girl, Interrupted.
The Mummy was an enjoyable romp, not quite up to but certainly trying to be in the spirit of Indiana Jones. Three Kings was an off-beat, dark-humoured war drama doing that whole bullet-whizzing through someone's guts thing before anyone had heard of CSI. And Jim Carrey, hot off the back of The Truman Show, continued to impress with his brilliant Andy Kaufman/ Tony Clifton rendition in Man On The Moon.
Unfortunately, we also had Wild Wild West, but it had Selma Hayek busting out of provocative dress, so I can even forgive that. Oh... and us Kate Winslet fans got Holy Smoke.
All in all, not a bad year (and this is just my blinkered view on it)- it's amazing to see just how much of my DVD collection is from 1999.
Anyone else want to suggest a year? |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 00:12:22
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Oh yeah... there was also a little website called the fwfr launched in 1999 too!  |
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 00:21:21
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Oh yeah... there was also a little website called the fwfr launched in 1999 too!
Well, that settles it --- no one could argue that was the crowning glory! 
Actually, I've been trying to come up with a better, fuller year -- but you make a very good case for 1999, Mr Clews! I think you have to go back unto the 1930's for something comparable. But I'll have another ponder overnight 
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lemmycaution
"Long mired in film"
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 00:24:21
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Some geezers, like me, think that 1939 was the zenith.
STAGECOACH
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS
NINOTCHKA
MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
THE WOMEN
GUNGA DIN
GWTW
WIZARD OF OZ
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
MIDNIGHT
FOUR FEATHERS
HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
GOODBYE MR CHIPS
YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN
STORY OF THE LAST CHRYSANTHEMUM
RULES OF THE GAME |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 00:31:00
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| Oh dear... I've only seen one of those! |
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lemmycaution
"Long mired in film"
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 01:03:37
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Oh dear... I've only seen one of those!
Ah, yes, but you're young.
Look what you have to look forward to!  |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 01:49:04
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In general, if I absolutely have to identify one single year, then I have to go 1939. What lemmy said. Look at the breadth as well as the wealth of filmmaking in that year.
Also what he said about the wonderful screenings you have waiting for you in the future, if indeed you've only seen one of 'em... |
Edited by - randall on 01/20/2007 01:55:48 |
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turrell 
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 02:02:55
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I thought of 1999 too when I saw the posting.
6th Sense
Matrix
Austin Powers
American Beauty
Any Given Sunday
Fight Club
Green Mile
Magnolia
Being John Malkovich
Three Kings
So many of these films were not just great, but almost revolutionary. They busted genres and have been imitated. I realize this is a modern biased list, but these films are all most universally better than any films from th elast couple of years in my opinion. |
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 02:39:53
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In 1999 I had a one year old at home, so I'm still catching up on some of these movies on video.
*takes notes* |
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Conan The Westy 
"Father, Faithful Friend, Fwiffer"
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 03:09:31
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quote:
Originally posted by lemmycaution
quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Oh dear... I've only seen one of those!
Ah, yes, but you're young.
Look what you have to look forward to!
I heard lemmy saw them all new-release on the big screen. |
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lemmycaution
"Long mired in film"
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 03:36:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Conan The Westy
quote:
Originally posted by lemmycaution
quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Oh dear... I've only seen one of those!
Ah, yes, but you're young.
Look what you have to look forward to!
I heard lemmy saw them all new-release on the big screen.
Mind your manners, youngster.  |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 04:19:54
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Nice list benj, gonna be hard to beat. To the 1999 list I'll add:-
The Insider
Gloomy Sunday - Hungarian, one of my favourites from this year
Boys Don't Cry
All About My Mother
My Father and Mother (aka The Road Home) - Zhang Yimou
and, meant to be good but I haven't seen it:-
October Sky. |
Edited by - Sean on 01/20/2007 09:41:40 |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 04:51:52
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OK, I recall 2003 being an excellent year, so, let's see if it gives 1999 a run for it's money:-
I've seen all these and can attest to their excellence:-
LOTR: Return of the King
Oldboy
Finding Nemo
Kill Bill: Vol 1
Mystic River
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
X2
Lost in Translation
21 Grams
Love Actually
Good Bye Lenin
House of Sand and Fog
The Snow Walker
I haven't seen these (yet) but are supposed to be good:-
Dogville
Big Fish
The Station Agent
The Triplets of Belleville
Zatoichi
Osama
Seabiscuit
and these are arguably pretty good:-
POTC Curse of the Black Pearl
Tokyo Godfathers
and a couple of decent feature-length documentaries:-
Touching the Void
The Corporation
So, how's that?  |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 06:01:43
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1999 and 1939 are generally considered stellar years for Hollywood cinema. Although it is overshadowed by its adjacent year, I rather enjoyed the films of 1998, and kind of liked that a lot of the best films all had a similar theme of characters that don't feel alien to the world they inhabit:
American History X ("2 fascists, too furious." - Tequila Mockingbird)
Antz ("Ant-y totalitarian flick." - MguyX)
Dark City ("Riff Raff rags Rufus." - Randall)
Life is Beautiful
Pleasantville ("Thinking inside the box." - Salopian)
Shakespeare in Love ("Gwyn: 'Nice play, Shakespeare!'." - Randall)
The Truman Show ("The Screw Carrey Show." - thefoxboy)
What Dreams May Come ("Paint and suffering." - noncentz) |
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w22dheartlivie
"Kitty Lover"
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 06:29:43
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quote:
Originally posted by lemmycaution
Some geezers, like me, think that 1939 was the zenith.
STAGECOACH
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS
NINOTCHKA
MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
THE WOMEN
GUNGA DIN
GWTW
WIZARD OF OZ
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
MIDNIGHT
FOUR FEATHERS
HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
GOODBYE MR CHIPS
YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN
STORY OF THE LAST CHRYSANTHEMUM
RULES OF THE GAME
How funny. Before I had scrolled down past the initial posting, I was thinking 1939 myself. Benj, you really MUST try to see some of those films. I don't want to ask what the one you've seen is... but I'd guess The Wizard of Oz?
To those stellar films listed by lemmy, I'd add:
Of Mice and Men
Destry Rides Again
Hound of the Baskervilles
Beau Geste
Dark Victory
Young Mr. Lincoln
James Whale's The Man in the Iron Mask
Love Affair - Leo McCarey's first love affair tragedy involving meeting at the Empire state Building |
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turrell
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 01/20/2007 : 07:55:13
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quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
1999 and 1939 are generally considered stellar years for Hollywood cinema. Although it is overshadowed by its adjacent year, I rather enjoyed the films of 1998, and kind of liked that a lot of the best films all had a similar theme of characters that don't feel alien to the world they inhabit:
My favorite of that year and one of my favorites of all time is Out of Sight - great movie - best work ever by J Lo and established Clooney as a leading man - Soderbergh is genius. |
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Best year for films
