Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on August 17, 2006 at 18:53:15

In Reply to: Great American movies decade by decade posted by Analog Scott on August 17, 2006 at 15:57:08:

... and inspired by films in the 60's & 70's.

A less subjective, more objective method of compiling a list of great films would survey the best existing films decade by decade and limit the number to say the top 10 or 12 from each decade or devise a more balanced system based upon the number of films produced each decade as part of a mathematical formula.

There are too many variables not considered to make such assessments fairly, IMHO. For instance, technological advances and limitations; directorial styles, acting styles, the Hayes Office imposing a restrictive code in 1934 limiting certain kinds of themes and roles, the MPAA film rating system (G, M, R, X & NR code; M later changed to PG) devised in the mid-60's which allowed a reintroduction of more adult themes, etc., etc. These are important factors in maintaining objectivity when compiling such lists.

To take this one step farther, by way of example, there are literally dozens of GREAT films from the 1920's, most prior to the advent of sound, that should've been given more consideration. Here are just a smattering of examples (without looking at the AFI list & limited to films produced in America):

Wings
Sunrise
The Wind
The Thief of Bagdad
Foolish Wives
Greed (what's left of it)
The Wedding March
The Merry Widow
Safety Last
Girl Shy
The Freshman
The Kid Brother
Speedy
Sherlock, Jr.
The General
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
The Cameraman
The Kid
The Gold Rush
My Best Girl
Ben Hur
Way Down East
He Who Gets Slapped
The Big Parade
Flesh and the Devil
The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse

The 1910's are much more difficult for a variety of reasons (the feature film developed in America by D.W. Griffith in mid-decade after a couple of Italian features achieved success here; then, for a time the feature film had to compete equally with the serial for the film-goer's interest), but surely more than just one example of a great film can be found! Here are a handful of the better American releases produced from 1910-1919; all should've been considered:

Birth of a Nation
Intolerance
Broken Blossoms
The Immigrant
Hell's Hinges
The Blue Bird
Stella Maris

Oddly enough, one of the strongest decades for films as demonstrated on this best-of list is one of the weakest AFAIC (1970's). Films from this decade oft-times seem more dated than films from the 60's because of the cinematic style popularized in the 70's (lot's of mid-range shots), cheesy production values, poor color transfers (cheap film stock) and very dated cultural references. Now, that said, there are many exceptions, but still, from my recollections of the 70's it wasn't an especially inspiring decade cinematically. And yet the AFI applauds 15 films from this decade alone.

Oh, well, to each his or her own; I'm not a big fan of lists anyway. :o)

Cheers,
AuPh