Your Favorite Year In Film

So what's your favorite movie year? Try to pick a year that you feel is relatively well-rounded, top to bottom. A year that's chock full of good to great movies and one that includes a few of your personal favorites, as well. Or pick a year that you feel was particularly significant in the history of cinema. Or whatever else you can think of. Choose the year based on any criteria you like; just try to back it up. I got the idea from The Onion AV Club. Some of their writers did this a while back and it was a really interesting read. So pick away, MoFos!

My favorite is a toss up betwen 1994 and 1996. So many great movies between the two of them and a ton of my personal favorites, too. They were both tremendously fun, diverse years for film. Gun to my head, I'd probably pick '94 but they're both fantastic.

Here are my top ten lists for 1994 and 1996:



1994
1. Leon
2. Shallow Grave
3. Ed Wood
4. Pulp Fiction
5. The Last Seduction
6. Three Colors: White
7. Clerks
8. Bullets Over Broadway
9. True Lies
0. Hoop Dreams

Honorable Mention Amateur, Spanking the Monkey, Reality Bites, The Hudsucker Proxy, Exotica, Heavenly Creatures, The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Three Colors: Red and The Shawshank Redemption



1996
1. Trainspotting
2. Bound
3. Joe's Apartment
4. Bottle Rocket
5. Breaking the Waves
6. Flirting with Disaster
7. Mars Attacks!
8. Hard Eight
9. Sling Blade
0. Swingers

Honorable Mention The Arrival, Scream, Fargo, Lone Star, Secrets and Lies, Kingpin, Waiting for Guffman, Schizoplis, Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Phantom, and From Dusk Till Dawn

In terms of number of quality films seen, I think it's probably 1999 for me (also the year I graduated from High School), none of the 51 movies I've seen from that year are on my top ten all time, but I'd easily defend the first 7 as "great", and would say no.'s 8-14 are borderline-great, and another 15 or so are pretty damn good too:

1999:
Limbo; The Ninth Gate; eXistenZ; Wonderland; The Limey; The Straight Story; Sweet and Lowdown; Fight Club; The Minus Man; The Iron Giant; Ghost Dog; The Blair Witch Project; Cookie’s Fortune; The Winslow Boy; Mystery Men; Toy Story 2; The War Zone; Taboo; The Road Home; Sasayaki; Summer of Sam; My Best Fiend; My Neighbors the Yamadas; Mr. Death; Being John Malkovich; Audition; Election; Julien Donkey-Boy; Kikujiro; The Matrix; Not One Less; Beautiful People; Bowfinger; Liberty Heights; Bringing Out the Dead; Bicentennial Man; Magnolia; The Boondock Saints; Notting Hill; Buena Vista Social Club; Dogma; The Talented Mr. Ripley; Three Kings; 10 Things I Hate About You; Gemini; The Mummy; Office Space; 8MM; The Omega Code; End of Days; Tell Me Something;


In terms of years with high-ranked movies, 1985 has 3, and 1991 has 2 within my most recent top 20.

I really have enjoyed quite a few films from the year 1999

American Beauty
Girl, Interrupted
Fight Club
The Sixth Sense
The Green Mile
Magnolia
Sleepy Hollow
The Virgin Suicides
Boys Don't Cry
October Sky

2006
1. Children of Men
2. The Fountain
3. Babel
4. Casino Royale
5. Letters from Iwo Jima

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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

Off the top of my head it's 1987, though that might just be because whenever i see a good film from that year i remember it more since it's the year i was born in.

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My year of choice is...

1984

Top five...



1. This Is Spinal Tap (Reiner)



2. Repo Man (Cox)



3. Stop Making Sense (Demme)



4. The Terminator (Cameron)



5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Spielberg)

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

2001

Black Hawk Down



Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone



Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring



Shrek



Monsters, Inc.

These are some amazing movies! Some of my favorites. You, my friend, have very good taste.

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The best year IMO has to be 1994 some of my favorite movies came out of that year...

Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Clerks
Forest Gump
Interview With a Vampire
Speed
True Lies
Dumb and Dumber
Natural Born Killers
Maverick
Leon: The Professional
The Lion King (you know you love it)

Come on...You cant beat that lineup...

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"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity" -George Carlin (RIP good sir)

Great list, 1999 is the 2nd best year for movies IMO

You also left off:

Ed Wood
Quiz Show
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Heavenly Creatures
Three Colors: Red
Queen Margot
Bullets Over Broadway
Nobody's Fool
Legends of the Fall
Hoop Dreams
Little Women
etc.

I'll make a list of 1941 films:

The Maltese Falcon
The Devil and Daniel Webster
Citizen Kane
Dumbo
Major Barbara
49th Parallel
Sullivan's Travels
The Lady Eve
Tom, Dick and Harry
The Little Foxes
How Green Was My Valley
Meet John Doe
Sergeant York
Ball of Fire
Hold Back the Dawn
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
One Foot in Heaven
The Devil and Miss Jones
Bedtime Story
High Sierra
Suspicion
Kipps
Flame of New Orleans
Caught in the Draft
Skylark
and I've always considered The Man Who Came to Dinner to be 1941, but IMDb says it was released January 1, 1942. Harumph.

I'll come back later and mention a few other years.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

1987

Bad Taste
Dirty Dancing
Evil Dead 2
Fatal Attraction
Full Metal Jacket
Good Morning, Vietnam
Hellraiser
Lethal Weapon
Lost Boys
Masters of the Universe
Monster Squad
Near Dark
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Predator
Princess Bride
Raising Arizona
Robocop
Roxanne
The Running Man
Spaceballs
Superman VI
The Untouchables
Wall Street
Withnail and I

1986
(hey, they may have been released in 1987 over here)

9 1/2 Weeks
Aliens
Big Trouble in Little China[/b]
Blue Velvet
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Flight of the Navigator
The Fly
From Beyond
Highlander
The Hitcher
Labyrinth
Little Shop of Horrors
Manhunter
Night of the Creeps
Platoon
Short Circuit
Stand By Me
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Top Gun

1988
(ok, so there probably isn't a time loop getting these released over here before they were made but hey!)

Akira
Beetlejuice
Big
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Die Hard
A Fish Called Wanda
The Naked Gun
Rain Man
Tequila Sunrise
They Live!
Twins
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Young Guns

Swedish Chef, thought i'd reply to your comment here. In answer to your question, i've not actually watched them but they are on the ever growing list of films to see. Only reason i didn't include them is because i used a website to remind me of the films and they weren't on it.

1974


"But Mrs. Mulwray, I damn near lost my nose, and I like it. I like breathing through it...And I
still think you're hiding something."

1. Chinatown (Roman Polanksi)
2. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola)
3. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola)
4. Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks)
5. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Sam Peckinpah)
6. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes)
7. The Three Musketeers (Richard Lester)
8. Lenny (Bob Fosse)
9. The Sugarland Express (Steven Spielberg)
10. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Martin Scorsese)
11. My Name Is Nobody (Tonino Valeri)
12. Dersu Uzala (Akira Kurosawa)
13. California Split (Robert Altman)
14. F for Fake (Orson Welles)
15. Lacombe Lucien (Louis Malle)
16. Swept Away... (Lina Wertmüller)
17. Amarcord (Federico Fellini)
18. The Taking of Pelham One-Two-Three (Joseph Sargent)
19. The Longest Yard (Robert Aldrich)
20. Thieves Like Us (Robert Altman)
21. Murder on the Orient Express (Sidney Lumet)
22. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks)
23. The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani)
24. Hearts & Minds (Peter Davis)
25. The Gambler (Karel Reisz)
26. Thunderbolt & Lightfoot (Michael Cimino)
27. Ali - Fear Eats the Soul (Fassbinder)
28. Cockfighter (Monte Hellman)
29. Phantom of the Paradise (Brian DePalma)
30. The Laughing Policeman (Stuart Rosemberg)


Also from '74 (in no particular order): The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Groove Tube, The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Airport 1975, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Daisy Miller, The Great Gatsby, The Phantom of Liberty, Flesh Gordon, Zardoz, Dark Star, For Pete's Sake, The Cars That Ate Paris, The Man with the Golden Gun, McQ, Death Wish, Foxy Brown, Uptown Saturday Night, Freebie & the Bean, Mr. Majestyk, Billy Two Hats, Céline and Julie Go Boating, Harry & Tonto, The Parallax View, 11 Harrowhouse, S*P*Y*S, The Odessa File, The Front Page, Sweet Movie, Bank Shot, That's Entertainment!, Benji, Herbie Rides Again, Gone in 60 Seconds and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

74 and 94 were both excellent years. Like many, mine is '99:

- Fight Club
- The Matrix
- American Beauty
- Being John Malkovich
- Magnolia
- Office Space (personal fav)
- The Sixth Sense
- Boondock Saints
- The Insider
- The Green Mile

Pretty solid top ten IMO

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I usually get kissed before I get f*cked.

I guess '99 is holding up as a year that kindled the imagination of teens that were prime to become bigger film buffs because I see it listed all the time. But for my taste, anyway, some of the year's greatest films aren't even usually mentioned. Movies such as The Limey, All About My Mother, Run Lola Run, The Straight Story, Election, The Buena Vista Social Club, Limbo...IMO.



There's even more, a bunch I think are all high quality flicks that even linespalsy didn't list above: Eyes Wide Shut, Last Night, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Blair Witch Project, Open Your Eyes, 42 Up, Cookie's Fortune, American Movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Go, Return to Me, Stir of Echoes, Mansfield Park, East/West, Galaxy Quest, Payback, Dick, Titus, The Legend of 1900.... Unfortunately more people seem to know some of the real forgettable crap from the year, like Entrapment, Deep Blue Sea and the dull folly that is Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, more than Almodóvar. Whatareyougonnado?


1999 really was a very good year for film, American and international, but not because of The Matrix, The Boondock Saints, The Sixth Sense, The Cider House Rules and The Green Frippin' Mile.

1999 is the year that springs to mind for me, as well. Maybe this is because it was my first year at uni and I saw more movies then than I have for previous years. All the same:

The Matrix
Topsy-Turvy
Stigmata
American Beauty
Cruel Intentions
Go
Boys Don't Cry
Fight Club
The End of the Affair
Galaxy Quest
Titus
Eyes Wide Shut
All About My Mother
Sleepy Hollow
Notting Hill
The War Zone
South Park
The Mummy (ok...but it was fun to watch at the time)


...is a pretty good showing for any year.

Edit: Holden mentioned Open Your Eyes and Run Lola Run, both great films but Open Your Eyes was first released in 1997 and Run Lola Run in 1998 according to imdb so I am counting them in those years. If everyone goes by the release date in their own country we would all have wildly different lists of what was released in each year...and let's face it, 1997 needs all the help it can get...

1st: thanks Pike, some of those are already in my netflix queue and those that aren't will be shortly.

2nd: slight correction: The Blair Witch Project and Cookie's Fortune are numbers 12 and 13 on my list.

Yeah, for the purpose of lists and such I usually go by the U.S. release date, just for the sake of consistency. Also, the IMDb listings are certainly not infallible. For instance Paul Haggis' Crash is listed as a 2004 film, though the only dates it had in that calendar year were film festivals. It was truly released proper in 2005 and won its Oscar in 2006.


Abre los Ojos opened during the very end of '98 in Spain only, and played most of the rest of the world in 1998 (though it actually didn't make it to the U.K. until 2000). Lola Rennt opened in German in 1998 and played the international festival circuit then, but it didn't really start playing throughout the world until '99.


But, yeah. Nailing down international release dates is tricky.

IMDb is downright anally wrong about many of their release dates. Festivals are not releases in any way, shape or form.