# movies of a decade **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007 "2001-01-27T15:39:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007/1 "2001-01-27T15:39:39Z")
I was thinking about movies that capture the spirit of a particular decade. Some obvious ones are Oliver Stone’s Wall Street for the 80’s and The Graduate for the 1960’s. For the early part of the 70’s I would go with Jack Nicholson’s Five Easy Pieces. For the life of me though, I can’t think of any particular movie for the 90’s. Now for the ground rules which I am making up as I type. ``` * The movie has to have been made during that decade. None of this nostalgic looking-back type of movie. The film has to be of the moment and it should "know" this. * We're not talking about great movies that were simply produced during that decade. In other words, let's take Jaws from the 1970's or E.T. from the 80's. ``` Both of these movies are strongly identified with that decade but aren’t really **ABOUT** that decade. This makes sense right? \* The film should capture a moment in time, so to speak and should engulf and embody aspects -like music and dress- that are associated with that particular period. Hmm… I’m not sure if that one makes any sense at all. Maybe I should stop here. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007/2 "2001-01-27T16:44:00Z")
I like this question! '70s: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest or Last House on the Left '80s: Rocky IV or Top Gun '90s: Reservoir Dogs or Trainspotting ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Plankton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Dave\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007/3 "2001-01-27T17:58:03Z")
1970’s…Saturday Night Fever 1980’s… 1990’s…American Beauty or Fight Club All I can think of when I think of the 80’s are Brat Pack movies. 1960’s…Alfie, The Italian Job ---
**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007/4 "2001-01-27T18:34:53Z")
For the '90s, Pulp Fiction or Fight Club ---
**Author:** ![JDeMobray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@JDeMobray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDeMobray)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007/5 "2001-01-27T19:44:37Z")
I was thinking of either Philidelphia or American Beauty ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007/6 "2001-01-28T11:09:50Z")
**Clueless** and **Clerks** are also good for the nineties; very much of their time. **Do the Right Thing** has a certain nostalgia quality (imagine associating the term “nostalgia” with that film at the time it was released!). The title song begins with a shout of “Nineteen eighty **nine**!”; compared to the racial conflicts that took place in the '90s, it’s almost an optimistic view. ---
**Author:** ![DVous\_Means](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@DVous\_Means](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVous_Means)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-of-a-decade/52007/7 "2001-01-28T14:08:31Z")
I recently saw an acclaimed Australian movie called “Looking for Alabrandi”, which dealt with the trials and tribulations of a teenage girlin her final year of high school, in the middle of Sydney in 1999. It was an up-to-the-minute view of the world from her perspective. Good stuff.