# Most influential American movies (since 1960) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2002, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866 "2002-06-01T06:16:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/21 "2002-06-01T18:03:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JohnT \* > **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.** Baloney. I’d say “Heaven’s Gate” and the resulting chilling effect on giving directors artistic control over their films did far more to hurt good cinema. And some damn good movies were made from 1977 to 1987. > [@](#): > > 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… Why is emphasizing character better than emphasizing plot? I would pick: **Bonnie and Clyde (violence, breakdown of Producers Code) The French Connection (Gritty cop dramas) Dirty Harry (Renegade cop on the edge; quasi-fascist revenge movies) Jaws (Blockbuster thrillers) Star Wars (Blockbuster product tie-ins) M_A_S\*H (TV spinoffs, modern anti-war films) Jurassic Park (Hel-looo, CGI!) Pulp Fiction (Dialogue-heavy, story-light stagelike movies) Animal House (Gross-out humor) Friday the 13th (Teen slashers)** Some that are more recent, and so hard to judge, that I suspect will end up being remembered as influential will be “Saving Private Ryan” (ultra-realistic, deliberately harrowing war films) and “The Matrix.” ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/22 "2002-06-01T18:26:44Z")
The only movie not mentioned so far is One Flew Through the Cuckoos Nest. Showed that the mentally ill are not all that much different from the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/23 "2002-06-01T18:50:51Z")
Star Wars-if only because special effects became better. Titanic-the whole big overblown love story drama. (I like Titanic, but even I have to admit it was over hyped). ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/24 "2002-06-01T20:14:08Z")
Well, “Blade Runner” wasn’t a huge hit, but it’s been hugely influential. Its vision of the future (advanced AND poor, high-tech AND dilapidated, progressive and yet bleak) has become the norm in science fiction films. Now, I’m aware that this vision of the future was common in sci-fi LITERATURE, but until Ridley Scott made “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” Holywood’s vision of the future was always much more upbeat. ---
**Author:** ![Slainte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Slainte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slainte)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/25 "2002-06-01T20:44:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\* > > The question was what were the most _influential_ movies since 1960, not what were your favorites. \*\* Hey, they were influential to _me_ 😃 Technically speaking though, you are correct. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/26 "2002-06-01T21:08:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by racer72 \* > The only movie not mentioned so far is One Flew Through the Cuckoos Nest. Is that a sequel to [this movie](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0073486)? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WSLer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@WSLer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WSLer)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/27 "2002-06-01T21:08:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cisco \* > \*\*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. \*\* Ever hear of Snow White? Fantasia? Bugs Bunny? Daffy Duck? They were around and ground breaking before the mere IDEA for Lion King was ever even in anyone’brain. Ever hear of The 10 Commandments? Ben Hur? Spartacus? Gone With The Wind? Again those were epics that were considered classics while mel Gibson was still taking dumps in his pampers. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Teerious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Miss\_Teerious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Teerious)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/28 "2002-06-01T22:13:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by WSLer \* > Ever hear of The 10 Commandments? Ben Hur? Spartacus? Gone With The Wind? Again those were epics that were considered classics while mel Gibson was still taking dumps in his pampers. Well, okay, but the whole point of this thread was to name influential movies that were made _after_ 1960, these were all made before. No one is questioning their significance. And while I’m here, let me put in a bid for _The Graduate_. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/29 "2002-06-02T00:39:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by the\_great\_dalmuti \* > \*\*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. \*\* Woody Allen’s hero Ingmar Bergman had already done that a decade earlier with his internationally acclaimed _Persona_ (1966). ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/30 "2002-06-02T00:56:56Z")
I’m I reading this thread right? Nobody said _Goodfellas_. Godfather naturally but GF’s made it modern. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/31 "2002-06-02T02:19:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yojimbo \* > \*\*I’m I reading this thread right? > > Nobody said _Goodfellas_. Godfather naturally but GF’s made it modern. \*\* **Goodfellas** is one of my all-time favourite movies. _But_, as much as I love it, I’d be hard pressed to call it influential. Maybe that will become apparent as time goes on, but as of today I can’t see it having influenced movies in general, or the _mob_ genre, in particular. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/32 "2002-06-02T02:38:45Z")
It’s about time someone spoke up for The Graduate! And what about two Stanley Kubrick classics, Dr. Strangelove and 2001. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/33 "2002-06-02T02:54:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\* > Is that a sequel to [this movie](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0073486)? 🙂 \*\* Ahhhhh, I knew I messed up. I tried to read this thread and and post a reply during a 10 minute break at work today. I did want to say One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Just excuse me for the brain fart. My truck was stolen yesterday and my mind has been on other things. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/34 "2002-06-02T02:55:58Z")
IMO 2001: A Space Odyssey was boring, but definately influenced SciFi to take a much more cerebral approach to moviemaking. The Star Trek movies for instance (most anyway). ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/35 "2002-06-02T03:50:43Z")
What about: The Deer Hunter Apocolypse Now ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/36 "2002-06-02T04:54:00Z")
**Halloween** was the real father of the slasher movies. No votes for Kurosawa? ‘Ran’, or ‘The Seven Samurai’? **Jaws** created the notion of the summer blockbuster. Before that, big movies came out at Christmas, and summer was the time when B-movies like “Corvette Summer” were distributed. In terms of industry influence, Jaws is probably number one. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2002, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866/37 "2002-06-02T04:56:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\ ***No votes for Kurosawa? ‘Ran’, or ‘The Seven Samurai’?** The request was for _American_ movies released since 1960. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-influential-american-movies-since-1960/111866.md?page=1)