I am not a student of the cinema (and I’d be embarrassed to list some of the films I’ve never seen). Yet, even from my naive perspective, a few movies stand out as having been hugely influential, i.e. they spawned legions of imitators, or broke new ground, or established new standards, etc.).
I can’t comment intelligently on foreign cinema (at least not pre-1970), so I’ll confine my choices to American-made films.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967): This is the film that introduced graphic violence to the movies. Peckinpah would extend things in The Wild Bunch a few years later, but he was just building on what Penn did here. Slow motion carnage (seen from many angles), lots of blood, gruesome deaths of innocent bystanders… It all started with Bonnie and Clyde.
The film was also a pioneer in bringing the anti-hero to the mainstream. I mean, really, murdering bank robbers as human beings? with feelings? (and with a near comic songtrack)?
MASH (1970): At a time when Vietnam was still very much a war, Robert Altman gave us permission to laugh at death, the army, and authority in general. We were even allowed to hear the “F” word (and roar with approval). After MASH, nothing would ever be sacred on the silver screen again. And, MASH also provided us with more anti-heroes, consolidating the cinematic trend of the late '60s.
Remarkably, MASH gave birth to a TV series that was even more successful than its progenitor. Hollywood and the networks took notice.
Animal House (1978): In case there was any doubt, National Lampoon’s Animal House confirmed that appeal to “youth” (with gross, scatological humor, premarital sex, drugs, and Rock ‘n’ Roll) would now be a driving force in Hollywood. Barely a dozen years after American kids joined their families in reverence while watching The Greatest Story Ever Told, those same kids, now teenagers, would howl as John Belushi “popped a zit”.
And Animal House beget Porky’s, which beget Porky’s II, and Porky’s Revenge, which beget Fast times at Ridegemount High, which beget the Revenge of the Nerds, etc, which beget Police Academy, which beget Police Academy 2, … Police Academy 6, etc. (I think you get my point).
So, what are your choices for some of the most influential American films post 1960?
Argh, I cannot believe that you didn’t mention Star Wars, the film that destroyed literate, adult cinema in America for well over a decade. My God, once Hollywood executives realized that teenage boys would pay first-run prices to see the same movie over and over again, it was all over. Ever since Star Wars, movies have reverted to the pre-1970’s fashion of emphasising plot over character, a sharp good/evil distinction over moral ambiguity, scenery over dialogue, and a whole plethora of ills that set American cinema back 10 years.
The blockbuster mentality
The simplification of dialogue and plot
The emphasis on sensory overload rather than emotional or intellectual overload
Movies have gotten better since Heathers re-opened the door a little bit for moral ambiguity, but for a period of about 10 years, from 1978 to 1987 films generally sucked… especially the popular ones.
** Jaws ** … ushered in the idea of mega-blockbusters.
** The Godfather ** see ** The Sopranos ** and everything in between.
** Pulp Fiction ** a buncha things, but most obviously non-linear storytelling.
** Midnight Cowboy ** did for sexual themes what Bonnie & Clyde did for violence.
** Close Encounters of the Third Kind ** introduced the now expected view of friendly, lovable aliens, virtually unknown previously.
I think The Lion King showed that animation was a force to be reckoned with.
Braveheart was an amazing epic that spawned lesser wannabe’s like The Messenger and Gladiator. Also spawned many spoofs and possibly (imo) influenced battle scenes from Lord of the Rings.
Matrix - as someone already said, it’s only been three years since the Matrix and how many other films have copied it?
Alien really brought a new aspect to the whole sci-fi/horror scheme of things.
Night of the Living Dead. Not only did it create and define the zombie genre, but it was also the first movie with a black person playing a <GASP> strong, leading role amongst a bunch of white people.
Psycho (1960) – speaks for itself. Pink Flamingos (1972) – two families at war for the title of “filthiest people alive.” Still shocking after 30 years. Network (1976) – Disturbingly prescient satire of a television network that would kill to achieve a 20 share/30 rating. Probably the most literate screenplay in the history of American cinema. Fargo (1996) – A Japanese woman apparently froze to death in a misguided attempt to find the buried loot. Now that’s influence. American Beauty (1999) – I thought the movie’s tag line “look closer” was marketing drivel until I saw the movie and discovered a big piece of myself – and several other people I know – inside.
Based entirely upon the fact that KoalaBear beat me to three of the five movies I was coming in here to mention (the other two having been also already mentioned), I am going to make every effort to see Pink Flamingos as soon as possible.
See Sidney Poitier’s Oscar-winning role in Lillies of the Field (1963) and his performances in To Sir, With Love (1967) and In the Heat of the Night (1967).
Many excellent choices. I agree, in particular, with the influence of Star Wars, The Godfather, and Midnight Cowboy. And, I think that Stoid’s point about Close Encounters was astute.
I think you do an incredible disserve to pre-1970s movies. I would characterize them just the opposite. Think of what are commonly considered classics of the cinema – Gone With the Wind, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Children of Paradise, All About Eve, The Searchers. They are all about how character is what creates plot.
Not the most influential, but one of the most influential was Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. It helped establish the idea that it’s “okay” for a movie to be completely dialog-driven, introspective, and deal with psychological themes.
While I’ll agree that Tron is influential, it’s because of this basic misperception. There is very little computer generated backgrounds and environments in Tron (the number I’ve seen is around seven minutes in all). Most of the effects used standard optical technology.
Since the movie was so bad to begin with, no one wanted to see it twice to check. But “Tron as computer generated” is a movie marketing myth on the level of “Delaruentiis’s King Kong used a robot.”
But “Tron as computer generated” is a movie marketing myth on the level of “Delaruentiis’s King Kong used a robot.”