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Directors top ten by decade (1 Viewer)

Adam_S

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Adam_S
What are your top ten films by decade?


To make this easy for everyone, we'll consider a decade consisting of all ten years from say 1960-1969 instead of the other confusing way.

For my list, bolding signifies having seen the film in 35mm or in an auditorium with an audience (projected video)

1920-9
1. Sunrise
2. Greed
3. Steamboat Bill Jr.
4. The General
5. Potemkin (video)
6. Nanook of the North
7. Sherlock Jr.
8. The Big Parade
9. Napoleon
10. The Gold Rush
runnersup
Nosteratu
Metropolis



1930-9
1. Grand Illusion
2. City Lights
3. The Thin Man
4. I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
5. King Kong
6. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
7. Stagedoor
8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
9. Bringing up Baby
10. The Lady Vanishes
runnerups
Golddiggers of 1933
Adventures of Robin Hood




1940-9
1. How Green was my Valley
2. It's a Wonderful Life
3. Shadow of a Doubt
4. Fantasia
5. Casablanca
6. Citizen Kane
7. Sergeant York
8. Miracle of Morgan's Creek
9. A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven)
10.
tie: Best Years of Our Lives
tie: Double Indemnity
tie: Red River

1950-9
1. Seven Samurai
2. Paths of Glory
3. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
4. The 400 Blows
5. Vertigo
6. Some Like it Hot
7. Rear Window
8. Bridge on the River Kwai
9. The Naked Spur
10.
tie: Sunset Blvd
tie: All About Eve
runnersup
Ugetsu
La Strada

Ordet
Searchers
Anatomy of a Murder

1960-9
1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. The Apartment
3. Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. Psycho
7. Lord of the Flies
8. The Great Escape
9. The Sound of Music
10. Once Upon a Time in the West
runnersup
Parent Trap
Pollyanna
Cool Hand Luke
Doctor Zhivago
Persona
Spartacus


1970-9
1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather Part II
3. Star Wars
4. Jaws
5. Taxi Driver
5. The Tin Drum
6. Walkabout
7. Harold and Maude
8. Deliverance
9. The Exorcist
10. Rocky

1980-9
1. Empire of the Sun
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
5. Grave of the Fireflies
6. Stand By Me
7. The Princess Bride
8. Raging Bull
9. A Christmas Story
10. Raising Arizona

bumped by Grave of the Fireflies
tie: Die Hard
tie: When Harry met Sally
Runnersup
Christmas Vacation
The Great Outdoors
Broadcast News
Bull Durham
Chariots of Fire
Once Upon a Time in America
Kiki's Delivery Service
Fanny and Alexander


1990-9
1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Braveheart
3. Fight Club
4. Magnolia
5. The Sixth Sense
6. Jurassic Park
7. Forrest Gump
8. Unforgiven
9. Chasing Amy
10. Dazed and Confused

Runners up
Terminator 2
Silence of the Lambs
LA Confidential
Groundhog Day
Miller's Crossing
Big Lebowski
Dogma
Dances with Wolves
Tommy Boy
Beauty and the Beast
Se7en
Mononoke Hime


2000-5
1. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2. Almost Famous
3. Battle Royale
4. O Brother, Where art Thou?
5. In America
6. Spirited Away
7. City of God
8. Lord of the Rings
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10. The Passion of the Christ
runners up
The Incredibles
Finding Neverland

In Good Company
800 Balas
Gangs of New York
Monsters Inc.
 

george kaplan

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1920s
1The Gold Rush
2Metropolis
3The Kid
4Blackmail
5Safety Last
6The Circus
7The Ring
8The Lodger
9The Boat
10The General

1930s
1Duck Soup
2Modern Times
3The Wizard of Oz
4Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs
5The Lady Vanishes
6The 39 Steps
7Bringing Up Baby
8The Thin Man
9Top Hat
10My Man Godfrey

1940s
1Casablanca
2Citizen Kane
3It's a Wonderful Life
4Double Indemnity
5To Have & Have Not
6Adam's Rib
7The Big Sleep
8The Maltese Falcon
9The Postman Always Rings Twice
10The Philadelphia Story

1950s
1Rear Window
2North by Northwest
3Some Like It Hot
4Vertigo
5The African Queen
6Pillow Talk
7Stalag 17
8The Bridge on the River Kwai
9Strangers on a Train
10The Seven Year Itch

1960s
1The Apartment
2Dr. Strangelove
32001
4Psycho
5A Hard Day's Night
6Charade
7It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
8From Russia With Love
9The Magnificent Seven
10The Graduate

1970s
1The Godfather
2Star Wars
3The Godfather, Part 2
4Chinatown
5Jaws
6Young Frankenstein
7Blazing Saddles
8Monty Python & the Holy Grail
9Animal House
10MASH

1980s
1Raiders of the Lost Ark
2Planes, Trains & Automobiles
3The Empire Strikes Back
4Back to the Future
5E.T.
6Hopscotch
7The Princess Bride
8Blade Runner
9Return of the Jedi
10Die Hard

1990s
1Toy Story
2Toy Story 2
3L.A. Confidential
4Terminator 2
5Groundhog Day
6Beauty & the Beast
7The Silence of the Lambs
8Unforgiven
9Goodfellas
10Aladdin

2000s
1The Incredibles
2Revernge of the Sith
3The Fellowship of the Ring
4The Two Towers
5The Return of the King
6Monsters, Inc.
7 Minority Report
8Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
9Memento
10Finding Nemo
 

Brook K

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Subject to change. this is very hard to do. I always feel like I'm forgetting something.

1920-9

1. The Passion of Joan of Arc
2. The Last Laugh
3. Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror
4. The Gold Rush
5. The Wind
6. A Page of Madness
7. The Crowd
8. Steamboat Bill, Jr.
9. Blackmail
10. Strike!


1930-9

1. Tabu
2. The Blue Angel
3. M
4. The Bride of Frankenstein
5. All Quiet on the Western Front
6. It Happened One Night
7. King Kong
8. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
9. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
10. The Wizard of Oz


1940-9

1. It's A Wonderful Life
2. The Maltese Falcon
3. Sullivan's Travels
4. The Red Shoes
5. Germany Year Zero
6. Citizen Kane
7. Day of Wrath
8. Stray Dog
9. The Lady Eve
10. The Bank Dick


1950-9

1. Ikiru
2. Tokyo Story
3. The Seventh Seal
4. Singin' in the Rain
5. Ordet
6. Sunset Blvd.
7. High Noon
8. Rear Window
9. Rashomon
10. Paths of Glory


1960-9

1. 2001 A Space Odyssey
2. Dr. Strangelove
3. Winter Light
4. Psycho
5. 8 1/2
6. My Life To Live
7. The Shop on Main Street
8. Woman in the Dunes
9. The Apartment
10. Shock Corridor


1970-9

1. Taxi Driver
2. In A Year With 13 Moons
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Love in the Afternoon
5. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
6. The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant
7. A Woman Under the Influence
8. Stalker
9. Days of Heaven
10. That Obscure Object of Desire


1980-9

1. Ran
2. Do The Right Thing
3. The Shining
4. My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
5. Lola
6. Full Metal Jacket
7. My Neighbor Totoro
8. The Sacrifice
9. Raging Bull
10. Raising Arizona


1990-9

1. Unforgiven
2. Eyes Wide Shut
3. Magnolia
4. A Scene At the Sea
5. Madadayo
6. Safe
7. Hoop Dreams
8. Breaking the Waves
9. Limbo
10. Autumn Tale


2000-

1. AI: Artificial Intelligence
2. Dogville
3. Yi Yi
4. 25th Hour
5. Mulholland Dr.
6. Spirited Away
7. Talk to Her
8. Dancer in the Dark
9. Requiem for a Dream
10. Punch-Drunk Love
 

george kaplan

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The funny thing is, that with a few deletions/additions, Brook's list (at least from the 70s on) could easily be made into my bottom ten by decade, and (probably) vice-versa. :)
 

Lew Crippen

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12,060
Not having access to my computer and therefore my various spreadsheets that I use to try to put some order into this kind of thing, I really don't know if I can get a very accurate list.

But, I do note that (predictably) George has all English language films until Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, while Brook starts his list with The Passion of Joan of Arc.
 

george kaplan

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Not quite true. I do have Metropolis on my 20's list. Still, what you're implying is certainly accurate. However, if it were the top 20 per decade there'd be a hell of a lot more foreign language films on my lists.
 

Walter Kittel

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I'm sure I am overlooking some favorite films because it is really tough to pick a mere 10 per decade. Today's list...

1920 - 29
The General
Metropolis
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Sherlock, Jr.
Battleship Potemkin
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Nosferatu
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Sunrise
The Gold Rush


1930 - 39
City Lights
M
Mr. Smith Goes To Washingon
Grand Illusion
My Man Godfrey
All Quiet On The Western Front
King Kong
Wizard of Oz
It Happened One Night
A Night At The Opera


1940-49
Citizen Kane
Out of the Past
Casablanca
It's A Wonderful Life
The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
The Maltese Falcon
Mildred Pierce
Force of Evil
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Double Indemnity


1950-59
Some Like It Hot
Harvey
Singin' In The Rain
In A Lonely Place
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Paths of Glory
Rear Window
Sweet Smell of Success
Sunset Boulevard
The Day The Earth Stood Still


1960-69
2001: A Space Odyssey
Dr. Strangelove
Once Upon A Time In The West
Hud
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Lawrence of Arabia
Cool Hand Luke
In Cold Blood
Goldfinger
Bonnie and Clyde


1970-79
A Clockwork Orange
The Godfather
The Godfather, Pt. II
Taxi Driver
The Last Picture Show
Chinatown
Being There
The Conversation
Apocalypse Now
Monty Python and the Holy Grail


1980-89
Chariots of Fire
Raging Bull
Ran
Blade Runner
Blue Velvet
Tender Mercies
Wings of Desire
Empire of the Sun
Angel Heart
The Natural


1990-99
The English Patient
The Sweet Hereafter
Miller's Crossing
Magnolia
Lone Star
Grand Canyon
Pulp Fiction
Grave of the Fireflies
L.A. Confidential
Last of the Mohicans


2000-05
City of God
Almost Famous
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Requiem for a Dream
Mulholland Dr.
Million Dollar Baby
2046
25th Hour
Donnie Darko
Spirited Away


Edited the 2000s.

- Walter.
 

Walter Kittel

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Thanks Jack. Surprised you didn't mention my omission of Zardoz. :) It just missed my top ten for the '70s. Due to the very subjective nature of these lists and their dependance upon mood, at least for me; it might have placed as high as 5 or 6 on my '70s list another day.

Of course, Mr. Kubrick was, not surprisingly, well represented. :)

- Walter.
 

John Kilduff

Screenwriter
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1970s:

-1.) "The Muppet Movie"
-2.) "The Warriors"
-3.) "Animal House"
-4.) "Halloween"
-5.) "Carrie"
-6.) "The Exorcist"
-7.) "The French Connection"
-8.) "Jaws"
-9.) "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind"
-10.) "Dirty Harry"

Runners-up:

-"Network"
-"Monty Python And The Holy Grail"

--------------
1980s:

-1.) Tie: "Scarface"/"Back To The Future"
-2.) "The Little Mermaid"
-3.) "Lethal Weapon"
-4.) "Beverly Hills Cop"
-5.) "Do The Right Thing"
-6.) "Aliens"
-7.) "Spaceballs"
-8.) "This Is Spinal Tap"
-9.) "Field Of Dreams"
-10.) "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Runners-up for the 80s:

-"16 Candles"
-"Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
-"Sudden Impact"
-"Desperately Seeking Susan"
-"The Blues Brothers"
-"To Live And Die In L.A"
-"Running Scared"
-"S.O.B"
-"Victor/Victoria"
-"Crossing Delancey"
-"Pee-Wee's Big Adventure"
-"Blind Date"
-"Pennies From Heaven"
-"Chariots Of Fire"
-"Night Shift"
-"The Accused"
-"The Untouchables"
-"Ruthless People"
-"Amazon Women On The Moon"
-"Working Girl"
-"Reform School Girls"
-"Die Hard"
-"Resurrection"
-"Midnight Run"
-"Highlander"
-"Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life"
-"The Muppets Take Manhattan"
-"Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense"
-"8 Million Ways To Die"
-"Weird Science"
-"UHF"
-"Johnny Dangerously"
-"The Naked Gun"
-"Airplane!"
-"48 HRS"

---------------------
1990s:

-1.) "Beauty And The Beast"
-2.) "New Jack City"
-3.) "Dick Tracy"
-4.) "Aladdin"
-5.) "Silence Of The Lambs"
-6.) "Total Recall"
-7.) "Casper"
-8.) "The Lion King"
-9.) "Wayne's World"
-10.) "South Park: Bigger, Longer And Uncut"

Runners-up:

-"Home Alone"
-"Freaked"

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

To use food metaphors, I prefer popcorn to caviar.

EDIT: How could I have forgotten "Back To The Future"?
 

Brook K

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I like almost all the movies on your lists George and unless I'm mistaken, you haven't seen nearly half the films on mine, though I imagine that you wouldn't like them if you had so perhaps you're half right.

I somehow left Tabu off my 30's list.
 

george kaplan

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I've seen all but 21/90 (23%).

My comment was exaggerated, but I just noticed what seemed like so many of my least favorite films on your list (e.g., Do the Right Thing, Shock Corridor, Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream, Punch-Drunk Love, etc., etc.) and what I knew were some of your least favorite films on my list (e.g., Young Frankenstein).
 

Haggai

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Haven't been participating in these polls too much, but I do have a list of this sort filed away. I haven't seen quite enough silent movies to pick a top 10 with much confidence for the '20s, although The Big Parade and Sunrise would certainly rank very highly on any all-time favorites list for me.

I didn't rank within each decade, just alphabetical, for the most part:

1930s
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Bringing Up Baby
Gone With the Wind
Grand Illusion
It Happened One Night
Love Me Tonight
M
Mutiny on the Bounty
The Rules of the Game
The Wizard of Oz

1940s
Bambi
Casablanca
Children of Paradise
Citizen Kane
Double Indemnity
The Lady Eve
Notorious
The Third Man
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
White Heat

1950s
North by Northwest
Rashomon
Rear Window
Rio Bravo
The Searchers
Singin' in the Rain
Some Like it Hot
Throne of Blood
Vertigo
Wild Strawberries

1960s
8 1/2
2001
The Apartment
Bonnie and Clyde
Dr. Strangelove
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Jules and Jim
Lawrence of Arabia
The Manchurian Candidate
Psycho

1970s
Annie Hall
Blazing Saddles
Chinatown
The French Connection
The Godfather I & II
MASH
Paper Moon
Star Wars
The Sting

1980s
Amadeus
Atlantic City
Bladerunner
Das Boot
Brazil
Chariots of Fire
The Empire Strikes Back
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
A Room With a View

1990s
All About My Mother
Days of Being Wild
Fargo
Goodfellas
L.A. Confidential
Pulp Fiction
Schindler's List
The Shawshank Redemption
Unforgiven
The Usual Suspects

2000s
City of God
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
In the Mood for Love
Kill Bill 1 & 2
Lord of the Rings, Extended Editions (3 movies)
Million Dollar Baby
The Pianist
 

Brook K

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George, I was speaking specific to the 70's and up lists since you mentioned those specifically.

Nice lists Haggai. I had Love Me Tonight on my initial 30's list but kept thinking of films and ended up bumping it off.
 

george kaplan

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Oh, in that case I've seen all but 14/40 (35%). So yes, this does include more films I haven't seen, but also more films I have seen and hate. :)
 

Arman

Screenwriter
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my
top
ten
by
decade

1920-9
1. Nanook of the North
2. The General
3. Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror
4. Metropolis
5. The Passion of Joan of Arc
6. Battleship Potemkin
7. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
8. Steamboat Bill Jr.
9. The Last Laugh
10. The Gold Rush
 

Arman

Screenwriter
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1,625
2000-5

1. In the Mood for Love
2. Before Sunset
3. Yiyi
4. 2046
5. A.I Artificial Intelligence
6. Spirited Away
7. City of God
8. Talk to Her
9. Mulholland Dr.
10. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Runners-up (maybe someday ...): Amelie, High Fidelity, Read My Lips, Raising Victor Vargas, Memento, Amores Perros, Bad Education
 

Arman

Screenwriter
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1960-9 (my most favorite - the hardest to rank decade so I'll just do it alphabetically with 22 in the list but if I really must list only 10 - look for the ones with * :))

8 1/2 *
2001: A Space Odyssey *
Andrei Rublev
Belle De Jour *
Blow-up *
Contempt
Dr. Strangelove
The Exterminating Angel
Gertrud
A Hard Day's Night *
Jules and Jim *
La Dolce Vita
Lawrence of Arabia *
L'Avventura *
My Life to Live
Persona
Pierrot Le Fou
Psycho *
Rocco & His Brothers
Rosemary's Baby
Shoot the Piano Player
Stolen Kisses *
 

Arman

Screenwriter
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Messages
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1940-9

1. Children of Paradise
2. Citizen Kane
3. The Magnificent Ambersons
4. The Bicycle Thief
5. Open City
6. The Third Man
7. Stray Dog
8. The Great Dictator
9. Brief Encounter
10. To Be Or Not To Be
 

Arman

Screenwriter
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Messages
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1990-9

1. Three Colors Trilogy
2. The Remains of the Day
3. Chungking Express
4. Before Sunrise
5. Eyes Wide Shut
6. Pulp Fiction
7. Raise The Red Lantern
8. Days of Being Wild
9. Happy Together
10. All About My Mother

Honorable Mention: Madadayo, Live Flesh, To Live, Underground, The Ice Storm, Sweet Hereafter, Waking Ned Devine
 

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