General Stuff in Life Poll: Best Decade for Movies

[MoeFOH]

4 decades to pick from in this poll... give us your pick and your #1 movie from that decade.  🎥

Read the scenario, vote & discuss below. 

[Lucas Buck]

1970’s.

So many great films from that decade but my all time favorite movie is -

My Name is Nobody (1973)

[Chibearsv]

Godfather, Taxi Driver, Jaws, Alien, Star Wars, Close Encounters, Halloween, Rocky,  I’ll take the Seventies

[Chibearsv]

19 hours ago, Lucas Buck said:

1970’s

So many great films from that decade but my all time favorite movie is -

My Name is Nobody (1973)

That movie is pure fun.

[KCCubano]

No brainer for me...70s all the way.

[LaoFan]

Gimme the 90s.

Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption, Schindler's List, Forrest Gump, The Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, The Big Lebowski, Casino, Truman Show, Goodwill Hunting.

The last decade before CGI overtook storytelling, when studios still gambled on vision.

70s is close 2nd but as its well before my time doesn't hit as close to home.

[BrightonCorgi]

1930's had the best movies but wasn't an option in this poll.  

I agree with @Chibearsv with the 1970's 

[99call]

16 hours ago, LaoFan said:

The last decade before CGI overtook storytelling, when studios still gambled on vision.

Wholeheartedly agree with this. So many movies of today have zero soul or story, just churned out CGI dross. The Brutalist was the first film in a long time which actually stirred my emotions, notably is was just about people, performance and brilliantly crafted storytelling. I would gladly press delete on every Marvel film in existence.

I think every FOH member is going to be biased towards the movies of their youth.

[CaptainQuintero]

Nevermind the decade, 1994 alone probably comes close to cleaning house.

[Cigarsmoker81]

I was a big movie buff and the 90s were the decade. It was also the age that I had time to watch a lot of movies. Going to the cinema on a weekly basis ( sometimes back to back movies) was the thing to do. Amazing movies from Pulp Fiction to Forest Gump to Goodfellas. 

[BoliDan]

 70s. Easy. They ran out of ideas and are just remaking these movies. Idiocracy has set its course.

[BrightonCorgi]

40 minutes ago, BoliDan said:

 70s. Easy. They ran out of ideas and are just remaking these movies. Idiocracy has set its course

It's easier to finance sequels and remakes.

[Ford2112]

So many great movies in all the decades its hard to pick. For action movies I pick 80s, Beverly Hills Cop, Die Hard, Predator, Arnold movies in general, Rambo, Lethal Weapon, 48 hours, Scarface...

Drama and Westerns its the 70s for me. Godfather 1 and 2, The Outlaw Josie Wales, The Deer Hunter, Jeremiah Johnson, then Sci Fi like Close Encounters, Jaws,Star Wars. 

90s. Goodfellas, Silence of the Lambs, Pulp Fiction, Casino, Good Will Hunting.

Then you have all the Bourne movies. Then all the Batman movies. Big fan of X-Men. Yeah. I can't pick one decade.

[JohnS]

10 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

1930's had the best movies but wasn't an option in this poll. 

I totally agree with this. Amongst insiders who work within the industry, 1939 is often acclaimed as the height of Hollywood's Golden Age and the 1939 is called Hollywood's "Golden Year". 'Gone With The Wind', "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "The Wizard of Oz", "Wuthering Heights", Stagecoach", "Young Mr. Lincoln", "Only Angels Have Wings".

Now, for the second best year ever...try 1999 with "The Matrix", "Fight Club", "American Beauty", "Toy Story 2", "The Sixth Sense", "Magnolia", "Office Space".

Just behind that would be 1994. "Forrest Gump", "Pulp Fiction", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Lion King", "Speed", "Clerks", Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Dumb and Dumber", "True Lies" "Leon: The Professional".

[Lucas Buck]

58 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I totally agree with this. Amongst insiders who work within the industry, 1939 is often acclaimed as the height of Hollywood's Golden Age and the 1939 is called Hollywood's "Golden Year". 'Gone With The Wind', "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "The Wizard of Oz", "Wuthering Heights", Stagecoach", "Young Mr. Lincoln", "Only Angels Have Wings".

Now, for the second best year ever...try 1999 with "The Matrix", "Fight Club", "American Beauty", "Toy Story 2", "The Sixth Sense", "Magnolia", "Office Space".

Just behind that would be 1994. "Forrest Gump", "Pulp Fiction", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Lion King", "Speed", "Clerks", Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Dumb and Dumber", "True Lies" "Leon: The Professional".

Leon such a great film. One of my favorites. So underrated. 

[Bagman]

John Hughes. 1980's. End of story (movie). Porky's to boot.

Polly Shore = 1990's  The less we remember of the 70's the better. Disco, shag carpeting, etc . . .

 

[riderpride]

I'd love to say 70's, but sound effects and Foley Artists were behind the cinematography for a substantial portion of the decade.

I picked 90s for movies above plus In The Name of The Father.

Cheers

ETA - 'Best year in movie history' is a Jeopardy category right now 😆 . Answers were 1994, 1999, 2007, 1939, and 1986.

[BoliDan]

10 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

It's easier to finance sequels and remakes.

It's lazy though. We had so much innovation then. It's sad anything new is crap. 

 

7 hours ago, JohnS said:

I totally agree with this. Amongst insiders who work within the industry, 1939 is often acclaimed as the height of Hollywood's Golden Age and the 1939 is called Hollywood's "Golden Year". 'Gone With The Wind', "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", "The Wizard of Oz", "Wuthering Heights", Stagecoach", "Young Mr. Lincoln", "Only Angels Have Wings".

Now, for the second best year ever...try 1999 with "The Matrix", "Fight Club", "American Beauty", "Toy Story 2", "The Sixth Sense", "Magnolia", "Office Space".

Just behind that would be 1994. "Forrest Gump", "Pulp Fiction", "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Lion King", "Speed", "Clerks", Four Weddings and a Funeral", "Dumb and Dumber", "True Lies" "Leon: The Professional".

John, you're too sophisticated for us. I change my answer. I agree with Cigar Jesus. 

[LaoFan]

7 minutes ago, BoliDan said:

It's lazy though. We had so much innovation then. It's sad anything new is crap. 

 

John, you're too sophisticated for us. I change my answer. I agree with Cigar Jesus. 

Honestly, the answer IMO is to go foreign. S. Korea, Japan, Nordic countries, France are all putting out fantastic cinema with great plots and purpose.

[Li Bai]

16 minutes ago, LaoFan said:

Honestly, the answer IMO is to go foreign. S. Korea, Japan, Nordic countries, France are all putting out fantastic cinema with great plots and purpose.

Very much agreed, I wouldn't include France myself though 🤔

[LaoFan]

Les Intouchables is a Top 10 movie of all time for me. Omar Sy's performance is fall on the ground hilarious. Touching story. Ludovico Einaudi's 'Una Mattina' is an incredible piece of music.

The Kevin Hart/Brian Cranston version, The Upside, is aiiiight, but not even close. You're seeing this more and more, Western production companies doing remakes of foreign movies. Speak No Evil was another recent one. Both are solid, but the Danish one is better.

La Haine ('95) is awesome too.

 

[Li Bai]

1 hour ago, LaoFan said:

Les Intouchables is a Top 10 movie of all time for me. Omar Sy's performance is fall on the ground hilarious. Touching story. Ludovico Einaudi's 'Una Mattina' is an incredible piece of music.

The Kevin Hart/Brian Cranston version, The Upside, is aiiiight, but not even close. You're seeing this more and more, Western production companies doing remakes of foreign movies. Speak No Evil was another recent one. Both are solid, but the Danish one is better.

La Haine ('95) is awesome too.

 

Again very much agreed, French cinema used to produce gems, but not anymore unfortunately.

I love Les Intouchables and La Haine (Saïd Taghmaoui was my big brothers' mate in high school, he's from my hometown) is a legend to us who grew up in that neighbourhood and many more movies (like Contre-enquête with Jean Dujardin for example) but the inspiration dried up about a decade or so ago...

Now they just CAREFULLY produce below average movies which is no way to make art imo, it's just a business.

My heart goes with South Korea right now, these guys have no limits and I love it 👍

[BrightonCorgi]

We watch a lot of Indian movies at home.

[tbelle7]

On 5/21/2025 at 12:33 PM, LaoFan said:

Gimme the 90s.

Pulp Fiction, Fight Club, Goodfellas, The Shawshank Redemption, Schindler's List, Forrest Gump, The Silence of the Lambs, Se7en, The Big Lebowski, Casino, Truman Show, Goodwill Hunting.

The last decade before CGI overtook storytelling, when studios still gambled on vision.

70s is close 2nd but as its well before my time doesn't hit as close to home.

Yep.

[Cigar Surgeon]

Releases for 1984 and 1986 alone sweep any other decade for me.  When you combine the totality of the 1980s...

Raging Bull, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Platoon, Blade Runner, Dune, Aliens, Empire Strikes Back, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Airplane!, Das Boot, Terminator, Die Hard, Princess Bride, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Scarface, Spinal Tap, Back To The Future, Color Purple, Chariots of Fire, Glory, Killing Fields, Witness, Return Of the Jedi, Nightmare on Elm Street, Top Gun, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Ghostbusters, Breakfast Club, Caddyshack, Ferris Bueller, Stand by Me, First Blood, Commando, Lethal Weapon, Tango & Cash,  The Secret of NIMH,  An American Tail, The Land Before Time,  Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Top Secret!, Beverly Hills Cop, Crocodile Dundee, Conan, Neverending Story, Legend, Labyrinth, The Thing, Bloodsport, Big Trouble Little China, Young Guns...

Then you have HK cinema Police Story, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer...