# Movies per decade opinion poll **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 2, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149 "2004-10-02T04:14:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jeffro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jeffro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeffro)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/1 "2004-10-02T04:14:49Z")
For me certain movies epitomize certain decades here’s my list, let’s see yours. 30s – Wizard of Oz, 1939 40s – It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946 50s – Singin’ in the Rain, 1952 60s – Midnight Cowboy, 1969 70s – Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977 80s – Ghost Busters, 1984 90s – Saving Private Ryan, 1998 ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/2 "2004-10-02T04:52:43Z")
50’s ----American Grafitti (even though it was released in the 70’s) 60’s----Easy Rider 70’s–Saturday Night Fever 80’s– 90’s– ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/3 "2004-10-02T12:38:53Z")
'30s – Top Hat '40s – '50s – Rebel Without a Cause '60s – Bonnie and Clyde ‘70s – Saturday Night Fever (with a tip of the ol’ fedora to **Casey** '80s – Fatal Attraction '90s – I need to think about the '40s and the '90s some more. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/4 "2004-10-02T14:18:22Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > 50’s ----American Grafitti (even though it was released in the 70’s) And set in [1962](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069704/). ---
**Author:** ![wonder9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c57346/32.png) [@wonder9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonder9)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/5 "2004-10-02T23:22:21Z")
I think that the movie [“The Best Years of Our Lives”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036868/) is much more a 40’s movie than “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Post war America was really not a great place to be. Lots of angst, lots of change, lots of sorrow amid the charging economy and frantic normalcy (sp?). Wonderful Life crashed at the box office for that very reason. America didn’t believe is a Capra kinda world anymore. They didn’t like the one they had, but they preferred the darker vision over the brighter one. My opinion, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/6 "2004-10-02T23:36:52Z")
> [@Julius Henry](#): > > And set in [1962](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069704/). Ah, that’s practically the 50s, you know how this decade thing works. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/7 "2004-10-03T08:05:53Z")
> [@Julius Henry](#): > > And set in [1962](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069704/). Which doesn’t appear to be the OP’s criterion. I think he’s talking about movies that sum up the films made in a decade, not the decade itself. Not even the world’s biggest idiot would name _Saving Private Ryan_ for the 90’s on that latter basis. Mine: 1920s - The Jazz Singer. You ain’t heard nothin’ yet. 1930s - Gone With the Wind. Just because. 1940s - It Happened One Night - mainly because screwball did epitomise the decade, but I hate IAWL. Besides, IHON won the big four at the Oscars. 1950s - The Thing. B-movie, nuclear threat allegory. 1960s - Spartacus. Big, Christ-era epics. 1970s - Dirty Harry. The beginning of the deconstructionist era. 1980s - Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Enter the teen movie, kicking and screaming. 1990s - Independence Day. Huge, flashy event movies that aren’t really very good. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/8 "2004-10-04T23:49:33Z")
I have no knowledge or opinion of the earlier decades, but I think you guys are crazy with your later picks. 1980s had the following nominees: Ghost Busters Fatal Attraction Fast Times at Ridgemont High The 80s were not the decade of comedies, but if you felt it was, **Porky’s** would more properly sum up the decade’s contributions to film. Nor was it the decade of thrillers. My initial thought was **Wall Street** , but then I remembered that the 80s were all about action. Both **Lethal Weapon** and **Die Hard** sum up the 80s movie experience perfectly. In a pinch, any Arnold movie would do. **Predator** comes to mind. Here’s the 90s nominees: Saving Private Ryan Independence Day In particular I want to address the impression that the 90s were all about “Huge, flashy event movies that aren’t really very good.” I completely disagree. The 90s were all about the rise of independent film. As such, **Pulp Fiction** is the ultimate 90s movie, though you could also make the case for **Good Will Hunting** or **Clerks**. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/9 "2004-10-10T10:01:05Z")
1910’s: Birth of a Nation 1920’s: Greed 1930’s: Gone With The Wind 1940’s: Casablanca 1950’s: The Day The Earth Stood Still 1960’s: Easy Rider 1970’s: Cabaret ? ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/10 "2004-10-10T10:14:27Z")
1890’s - _A Christmas Accident_ 1900’s - _A Trap For Santa Claus_ 1910’s - _Intolerance_ 1920’s - _La Passion De Jeanne D’Arc_ 1930’s - Errrm… _All Quiet On The Western Front_ 1940’s - Errrm… _Citizen Kane_ 1950’s - Errrm… Ah… _Gentlemen Prefer Blondes_ 1960’s - _A Bout De Souffle_ 1970’s - _Gates Of Heaven_ 1980’s - _Do The Right Thing_ 1990’s - _Dead Man? Showgirls?_ 2000’s - _Fa Yeung Nin Wa? Elephant?_ ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/11 "2004-10-10T10:15:45Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > As such, Pulp Fiction is the ultimate 90s movie, though you could also make the case for Good Will Hunting or Clerks. Yet, none of those were independent films. Except _Clerks._ ---
**Author:** ![Cuthbert\_Allgood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Cuthbert\_Allgood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuthbert_Allgood)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/12 "2004-10-10T16:58:15Z")
1930’s Gone With The Wind 1940’s It’s A Wonderfull Life 1950’s Rebel Without A cause 1960’s Midnight Cowboy 1970’s Dirty Harry 1980’s Sure Thing 1990’s Chasing Amy 2000’s The Lord Of The Rings ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/13 "2004-10-12T00:50:54Z")
> [@Ilsa\_Lund](#): > > Yet, none of those were independent films. Except _Clerks._ Yeah, I just read the New York Magazine article about Harvey Weinstein (sp?), and learned that Disney bought Miramax in '93, which is far earlier than I thought. So I retract my original position altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/14 "2004-10-12T04:50:31Z")
Just how the decades appear to me. More than one when there are two separate impressions. 20’s - The Gold Rush 30’s - King Kong, Gone with the Wind (epics) 40’s - The Maltese Falcon (dark thrillers) 50’s - Shane, Creature from the Black Lagoon (westerns and monster films) 60’s - Goldfinger, 2001 70’s - Shaft, Star Wars 80’s - Porky’s, Rambo 90’s - Forrest Gump ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/15 "2004-10-12T08:09:37Z")
10’s: Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley 20’s: Safety Last! 30’S Twentieth Century 40’s: Casablanca 50’s: The King and I 60’s: Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? 70’s: Taxi Driver 80’s: Rain Man 90’s: Being John Malkovich 00’s: Spiderman ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/16 "2004-10-12T08:14:36Z")
1930s: His Girl Friday 1940s: Double Indemnity 1950s: The Big Country 1960s: What New Pussycat? 1970s: Shaft 1980s: Witness 1990s: Titanic Now I’ll look at everyone else’s. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2004, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-per-decade-opinion-poll/267149/17 "2004-10-12T08:21:42Z")
Oops, _His Girl Friday_ was released in 1940, but at least that suggests it might have been shot in 1939. Screwball typical of 30s or 40s, anyone? I’d still stick with the earlier pre-WWII decade but then I’m no film buff.