Thomas T's favorite/best movies by years 1928-2019 (1 Viewer)

[Bryan^H]

This list is purely my favorites rather than it being what I think is the best movie of each year. As you'll be able to tell, my knowledge of movies prior to the late 60's doesn't go much beyond the famous directors of the era and horror movies (especially the 30's where it's dominated by Universal horror pictures).

A few years were tough to even find a movie that I REALLY like (Predator is cool and all but it's probably the first time that it's been on a list with Vertigo) but other years had a ton of choices. 1974 and surprisingly 1994 were the toughest for me to narrow down. Chinatown, The Conversation, Female Trouble & The Godfather Part II and Ed Wood, Natural Born KIllers and Wes Craven's New Nightmare are also all favorites of mine so choosing was tough. And in 1997, I love Boogie Nights but Titanic edged it out by a hair.

And the only reason that The Rise Of Skywalker didn't get the top slot for 2019 was because Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was just undeniably better.

1931- Frankenstein
1932- Murders In The Rue Morgue
1933- The Invisible Man
1934- The Black Cat
1935- Bride Of Frankenstein
1936- Dracula’s Daughter
1937- Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs
1938- The Lady Vanishes
1939- Son Of Frankenstein
1940- Foreign Correspondent
1941- The Wolfman
1942- Cat People
1943- The Seventh Victim
1944- Double Indemnity
1945- The Body Snatcher
1946- Notorious
1947- Monsieur Verdoux
1948- Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein
1949- The Third Man
1950- Sunset Blvd.
1951- Ace In The Hole
1952- Limelight
1953- It Came From Outer Space
1954- Creature From The Black Lagoon
1955- The Night Of The Hunter
1956- The Killing
1957- The Bridge On The River Kwai
1958- Vertigo
1959- North By Northwest
1960- Psycho
1961- The Innocents
1962- To Kill A Mockingbird
1963- The Great Escape
1964- Marnie
1965- Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
1966- The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
1967- Bonnie And Clyde
1968- Night Of The Living Dead
1969- The Wild Bunch
1970- Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls
1971- Shaft
1972- Pink Flamingos
1973- American Graffiti
1974- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
1975- Jaws
1976- Taxi Driver
1977- Star Wars
1978- Halloween
1979- Dawn Of The Dead
1980- Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back
1981- Raiders Of The Lost Ark
1982- The Thing
1983- Star Wars: Episode VI- Return Of The Jedi
1984- Gremlins
1985- Back To The Future
1986- Aliens
1987- Predator
1988- Die Hard
1989- Back To The Future Part II
1990- Goodfellas
1991- The Silence Of The Lambs
1992- Reservoir Dogs
1993- Dazed And Confused
1994- Pulp Fiction
1995- Fargo
1996- Scream
1997- Titanic
1998- Saving Private Ryan
1999- Magnolia
2000- Almost Famous
2001- Mulholland Drive
2002- Panic Room
2003- Kill Bill Vol 1
2004- KIll Bill Vol 2
2005- Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge Of The Sith
2006- Clerks II
2007- Zodiac
2008- WALL-E
2009- Inglourious Basterds
2010- The Social Network
2011- Scream 4
2012- Django Unchained
2013- Inside Llewyn Davis
2014- Interstellar
2015- Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens
2016- Star Wars: Rogue One
2017- Star Wars: Episode VIII- The Last Jedi
2018- BlacKkKlansman
2019- Once Upon A Time In Hollywood


Like anyone else making a list like this, ask me tomorrow and my choices may be different.

A very powerful list you have there Travis. I have to go back and do my earlier years yet, but I guarantee you there will be some classic Universal horror films in mine as well. Your love for the early George Romero films is awesome. Of course Dawn of the Dead was so close to being my pick of the year....but I had to go with Alien (boy was that a tough choice).

Also nothing wrong with your pick for 2001 of Mulholland Drive, but your original choice of 'Ghost World' made me smile, as that almost took the spot for my favorite film of 2001 also. A great film.

 

[TravisR]

A very powerful list you have there Travis. I have to go back and do my earlier years yet, but I guarantee you there will be some classic Universal horror films in mine as well. Your love for the early George Romero films is awesome. Of course Dawn of the Dead was so close to being my pick of the year....but I had to go with Alien (boy was that a tough choice).

It was between Dawn and Alien. Apocalypse Now was another great one from 1979.

And for those thinking that Dawn Of The Dead premiered in 1978, that was the Italian cut done by Argento and I'm going with the U.S. cut that came out in 1979.

 

[Thomas T]

I amended my list to include Mulholland Drive for the year 2001. I knew I'd forget something but that was a pretty embarrassing omission since I'd say it's probably the best movie of the 21st century.

I love Mulholland Drive and it was tight between MD and Lagaan for my 2001 pick. Of course I know that as cinema, Mulholland Drive is the superior film. But I had to go with the "favorite" again. Lagaan is unadulterated pleasure from start to finish!

 

[Keith Cobby]

Probably the easiest way for me to compile a list is to go through my disc collection. I'm not a fan of the silent era (The General, Safety Last honourable exceptions) so would start with 'talkies'.

 

[bujaki]

I love Mulholland Drive and it was tight between MD and Lagaan for my 2001 pick. Of course I know that as cinema, Mulholland Drive is the superior film. But I had to go with the "favorite" again. Lagaan is unadulterated pleasure from start to finish!

I have to agree with you here. Mulholland Drive is a masterpiece; however, Lagaan, in all its 3-hour running time, is a total delight.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Well, here's my list. I tell you, I had some real difficulty even finding a favorite film in several years there in the 2000s. Some of those years were not overflowing with classics, so the pickings were slim, at least for me. Conversely, there were several years pre-2000 where the competition was brutal, and I had to skip over some real beloved titles (like 1946, for example, where The Best Years of Our Lives was narrowly beaten out by It's a Wonderful Life, or 1939, when I had to pass over Only Angels Have Wings in favor of Gunga Din).

Obviously, my tastes tend more toward genre and populist fare, so take that as you will. I haven't seen enough pre-1930s films to feel comfortable chiming in on those years, so I started at 1931.

This was fun...thanks for the much-needed diversion, Thomas!

1931 – Frankenstein
1932 – Island of Lost Souls
1933 – King Kong
1934 – The Thin Man
1935 – A Night at the Opera
1936 – My Man Godfrey
1937 – Lost Horizon
1938 – The Adventures of Robin Hood
1939 – Gunga Din
1940 – The Mark of Zorro
1941 – How Green Was My Valley
1942 – Casablanca
1943 – The Life and Death of Col. Blimp
1944 – To Have and Have Not
1945 – I Know Where I’m Going
1946 – It’s a Wonderful Life
1947 - Black Narcissus
1948 – Key Largo
1949 – She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
1950 – In a Lonely Place
1951 – Scrooge
1952 – The Quiet Man
1953 – Shane
1954 – Rear Window
1955 – Bad Day at Black Rock
1956 – The Searchers
1957 – The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958 – The Big Country
1959 – Rio Bravo
1960 – The Magnificent Seven
1961 – Judgment at Nuremburg
1962 – Lawrence of Arabia
1963 – The Great Escape
1964 – Zulu
1965 – For a Few Dollars More
1966 – The Professionals
1967 – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1968 – Planet of the Apes
1969 – The Wild Bunch
1970 – Colossus: The Forbin Project
1971 – Get Carter
1972 – The Godfather
1973 – The Three Musketeers
1974 – Murder on the Orient Express
1975 – Jaws
1976 – Rocky
1977 – Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1978 – Halloween
1979 – Alien
1980 – The Empire Strikes Back
1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 – The Thing
1983 – Local Hero
1984 – The Terminator
1985 – Back to the Future
1986 – Aliens
1987 – The Untouchables
1988 – Die Hard
1989 – The Abyss
1990 – Dances with Wolves
1991 – Flirting
1992 – The Last of the Mohicans
1993 – Dave
1994 – Pulp Fiction
1995 – The American President
1996 – Lone Star
1997 – L.A. Confidential
1998 – The Big Liebowski
1999 – The Matrix
2000 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2001 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002 – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (the best of a weak year)
2003 – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2004 – The Incredibles
2005 – Hustle and Flow
2006 – Casino Royale
2007 – 3:10 to Yuma
2008 – The Wrestler
2009 – Watchmen
2010 – Toy Story 3
2011 – Drive
2012 – Jack Reacher
2013 – Oblivion
2014 – Guardians of the Galaxy
2015 – Mad Max – Fury Road
2016 – Hell or High Water
2017 – Wind River
2018 – Leave No Trace
2019 – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

 

[Thomas T]

Well, here's my list. I tell you, I had some real difficulty even finding a favorite film in several years there in the 2000s. Some of those years were not overflowing with classics, so the pickings were slim, at least for me. Conversely, there were several years pre-2000 where the competition was brutal, and I had to skip over some real beloved titles (like 1946, for example, where The Best Years of Our Lives was narrowly beaten out by It's a Wonderful Life, or 1939, when I had to pass over Only Angels Have Wings in favor of Gunga Din).

Obviously, my tastes tend more toward genre and populist fare, so take that as you will. I haven't seen enough pre-1930s films to feel comfortable chiming in on those years, so I started at 1931:

1931 – Frankenstein
1932 – Island of Lost Souls
1933 – King Kong
1934 – The Thin Man
1935 – A Night at the Opera
1936 – My Man Godfrey
1937 – Lost Horizon
1938 – The Adventures of Robin Hood
1939 – Gunga Din
1940 – The Mark of Zorro
1941 – How Green Was My Valley
1942 – Casablanca
1943 – The Life and Death of Col. Blimp
1944 – To Have and Have Not
1945 – I Know Where I’m Going
1946 – It’s a Wonderful Life
1947 - Black Narcissus
1948 – Key Largo
1949 – She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
1950 – In a Lonely Place
1951 – Scrooge
1952 – The Quiet Man
1953 – Shane
1954 – Rear Window
1955 – Bad Day at Black Rock
1956 – The Searchers
1957 – The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958 – The Big Country
1959 – Rio Bravo
1960 – The Magnificent Seven
1961 – Judgment at Nuremburg
1962 – Lawrence of Arabia
1963 – The Great Escape
1964 – Zulu
1965 – For a Few Dollars More
1966 – The Professionals
1967 – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1968 – Planet of the Apes
1969 – The Wild Bunch
1970 – Colossus: The Forbin Project
1971 – Get Carter
1972 – The Godfather
1973 – The Three Musketeers
1974 – Murder on the Orient Express
1975 – Jaws
1976 – Rocky
1977 – Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1978 – Halloween
1979 – Alien
1980 – The Empire Strikes Back
1981 – Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 – The Thing
1983 – Local Hero
1984 – The Terminator
1985 – Back to the Future
1986 – Aliens
1987 – The Untouchables
1988 – Die Hard
1989 – The Abyss
1990 – Dances with Wolves
1991 – Flirting
1992 – The Last of the Mohicans
1993 – Dave
1994 – Pulp Fiction
1995 – The American President
1996 – Lone Star
1997 – L.A. Confidential
1998 – The Big Liebowski
1999 – The Matrix
2000 – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
2001 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002 – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (the best of a weak year)
2003 – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2004 – The Incredibles
2005 – Hustle and Flow
2006 – Casino Royale
2007 – 3:10 to Yuma
2008 – The Wrestler
2009 – Watchmen
2010 – Toy Story 3
2011 – Drive
2012 – Jack Reacher
2013 – Oblivion
2014 – Guardians of the Galaxy
2015 – Mad Max – Fury Road
2016 – Hell or High Water
2017 – Wind River
2018 – Leave No Trace
2019 – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Nice list! Great to see another Wind River fan out there! Loved it. It really should have done a lot better than it did. It seemed to slip through the cracks.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Nice list! Great to see another Wind River fan out there! Loved it. It really should have done a lot better than it did. It seemed to slip through the cracks.

Thanks, Thomas! Yes, agreed on Wind River, a terrific film that was definitely overlooked.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Well, here's my list. I tell you, I had some real difficulty even finding a favorite film in several years there in the 2000s. Some of those years were not overflowing with classics, so the pickings were slim, at least for me. Conversely, there were several years pre-2000 where the competition was brutal, and I had to skip over some real beloved titles (like 1946, for example, where The Best Years of Our Lives was narrowly beaten out by It's a Wonderful Life, or 1939, when I had to pass over Only Angels Have Wings in favor of Gunga Din).

Obviously, my tastes tend more toward genre and populist fare, so take that as you will. I haven't seen enough pre-1930s films to feel comfortable chiming in on those years, so I started at 1931.

This was fun...thanks for the much-needed diversion, Thomas!

...

Another solid contribution to this thread. Once again, lots to like in this list. Alien sure is popular. Jeff's list has a number of films that 'missed it by that much' from making my list. Absolutely love Local Hero along with The Right Stuff and Tender Mercies from 1983. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was another film that went missing from my list by the slimmest of margins. I've certainly viewed The Matrix from 1999 many times, so another difficult exclusion for me.

- Walter.

 

[Jeff Flugel]

Another solid contribution to this thread. Once again, lots to like in this list. Alien sure is popular. Jeff's list has a number of films that 'missed it by that much' from making my list. Absolutely love Local Hero along with The Right Stuff and Tender Mercies from 1983. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was another film that went missing from my list by the slimmest of margins. I've certainly viewed The Matrix from 1999 many times, so another difficult exclusion for me.

- Walter.

Thanks, Walter! Also, other than Thomas, all of us who contributed a pick for 2019 so far chose Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Lots of love for that film, too, which is nice to see.

 

[TravisR]

Thanks, Thomas! Yes, agreed on Wind River, a terrific film that was definitely overlooked.

I think time will be very kind to that movie.

 

[BobO'Link]

Thanks, Walter! Also, other than Thomas, all of us who contributed a pick for 2019 so far chose Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Lots of love for that film, too, which is nice to see.

I stopped at 2017 as I've just not seen many films past that year, frankly I'd just barely seen enough from 2015 on to make somewhat valid choices. Any of you who've read my past posts know I tend to eschew the majority of films nominated for "Best Picture" as most just are not in genres I typically watch or like, actually using that as a "Films to avoid" type list.

I *do* have Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ordered (BF sale) and may watch it shortly after it arrives which is not the norm for me. I tend to purchase things and let them sit on the shelf for months or years before watching. I generally like Tarantino's films, regardless of genre, so...

 

[Walter Kittel]

I don't watch as many current films as I used to in my younger years. Part of that stems from the fact that as one ages there is a lot more potential entertainment to view if one includes revisits of favorite films and television series. (Really, really looking forward to the new Blu-Ray of Mister Roberts in December.) So my choices for the last decade or so are probably more of an approximation vs. earlier years as there are leading contenders for the best film that have not been experienced. At least not yet.

Case in point, 2017's Wind River and 2016's Hell or High Water, two Blu-Rays that have been languishing in my collection, to name several of the more recent films that tend to garner high praise. Keep meaning to view them, but the umpteenth viewing of a favorite, a new television series, or yet another play through of Skyrim just gets in the way.

Having said that, I am reasonably comfortable with my picks for 2017 and 2016. (Dunkirk and Arrival.) But yes, there are still plenty of great works that I need to experience.

- Walter.

 

[Thomas T]

Case in point, 2017's Wind River and 2016's Hell or High Water, two Blu-Rays that have been languishing in my collection, to name several of the more recent films that tend to garner high praise.

Hell Or High Water was a disappointment for me after all the glowing reviews. I'd say why but it references political views which the HTF discourages. It was a great looking movie though thanks to Giles Nuttgens and another solid performance by Jeff Bridges.

 

[BobO'Link]

I *really* wanted to like 2017's Dunkirk. It's well made but suffers from music where none would be more appropriate and visuals that look like CGI and go on and on and on turning scenes that should be exiting and tense into repetitious boredom. It's the film that finally convinced me I just don't particularly care for the man's work and moved him to the list of "maybe but likely not" for watching future films he's written and/or directed.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I prefer the 1958 release of Dunkirk with John Mills and Richard Attenborough.

 

[Thomas T]

I *really* wanted to like 2017's Dunkirk. It's well made but suffers from music where none would be more appropriate and visuals that look like CGI and go on and on and on turning scenes that should be exiting and tense into repetitious boredom. It's the film that finally convinced me I just don't particularly care for the man's work and moved him to the list of "maybe but likely not" for watching future films he's written and/or directed.

I quite liked Dunkirk but totally agree with you about Hans Zimmer's score! Easily the worst thing to happen to film music since Vangelis! Apologies to fans of the two gentlemen

 

[Thomas T]

Thanks, Walter! Also, other than Thomas, all of us who contributed a pick for 2019 so far chose Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Lots of love for that film, too, which is nice to see.

2019 had three films at the top: Parasite, 1917 and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and I easily could have picked any one of the three for my top spot but I went with my gut.

 

[JohnRice]

Here's mine - and it was an incredibly tough list to make. For many years I struggled with what I'd call my "favorite" as there were many. Other years I struggled to actually *find* a "favorite" as I just didn't consider them to be very good years. As always, I totally ignored popularity, Oscars, and what are considered "good" movies, totally focusing on what *I* liked best. One of my toughest choices was selecting 1968's Planet of the Apes over 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the end, Planet won simply because I find parts of 2001 to be something of a slog. It was also difficult selecting 1956's Invasion of the Body Snatchers over Demille's The Ten Commandments and 1931's Frankenstein over Monkey Business. And those weren't the only tough choices.

1929 - The Cocoanuts
1930 - Animal Crackers
1931 - Frankenstein
1932 - Tarzan the Ape Man
1933 - King Kong
1934 - The Thin Man
1935 - Captain Blood
1936 - After the Thin Man
1937 - Topper
1938 - The Adventures of Robin Hood
1939 - The Hunchback of Notre Dame
1940 - His Girl Friday
1941 - Buck Privates
1942 - To Be or Not to Be
1943 - Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon
1944 - Arsenic and Old Lace
1945 - Christmas in Connecticut
1946 - My Darling Clementine
1947 - Miracle on 34th Street
1948 - The Three Musketeers
1949 - Ma and Pa Kettle
1950 - Treasure Island
1951 - Day the Earth Stood Still
1952 - Monkey Business
1953 - The War of the Worlds
1954 - Gojira!
1955 - Mister Roberts
1956 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1957 - Bridge on the River Kwai
1958 - The Fly
1959 - Journey to the Center of the Earth
1960 - Spartacus
1961 - Pit and the Pendulum
1962 - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
1963 - Charade
1964 - My Fair Lady
1965 - The Sons of Katie Elder
1966 - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
1967 - In Like Flint
1968 - Planet of the Apes
1969 - Paint Your Wagon
1970 - M*A*S*H
1971 - A Clockwork Orange
1972 - What's Up Doc?
1973 - The Three Musketeers
1974 - Blazing Saddles
1975 - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
1976 - In the Dust of Stars
1977 - Star Wars (aka Star Wars IV: A New Hope)
1978 - Animal House
1979 - Alien
1980 - The Shining
1981 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982 - Blade Runner
1983 - The Right Stuff
1984 - This is Spinal Tap
1985 - Fright Night
1986 - The Fly
1987 - The Princess Bride
1988 - A Fish Called Wanda
1989 - Batman
1990 - Total Recall
1991 - The Addams Family
1992 - Army of Darkness
1993 - Dazed and Confused
1994 - The Legend of Drunken Master
1995 - Twelve Monkeys
1996 - Rumble in the Bronx
1997 - Gattaca
1998 - Rush Hour
1999 - Galaxy Quest
2000 - The Chronicles of Riddick: Pitch Black
2001 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2002 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2004 - Shaun of the Dead
2005 - King Kong
2006 - Black Sheep
2007 - Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End
2008 - Journey to the Center of the Earth
2009 - Moon
2010 - Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
2011 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2012 - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
2013 - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
2014 - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
2015 - The Martian
2016 - Deadpool
2017 - Wonder Woman

Perspective or priorities are always a factor. What's "Best" or "Favorite" and what those words mean. If I was to make a "Fun" list, a lot of yours would be on my list. But then the snob factor plays in, usually in these lists, and those movies don't make it based on that priority.

 

[PMF]

2019 had three films at the top: Parasite, 1917 and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and I easily could have picked any one of the three for my top spot but I went with my gut.

Whenever I go with my gut, I find myself looking inside of my refrigerator.

But seriously, these lists are great for steering me towards films not yet discovered. I trust the collective tastes of my fellow HTF’s and am looking forward to viewing these newer surprises. Indeed, I’ve been given a definite run for my money; and gladly so.