A
reader named Gene writes:
“Hello. Long-long time
reader here. I know that you stated before what your favorite decade for films
are. The 70's I recall?? But can you narrow it down to your favorite year for
releases?
For instance, I realized that the year 1995 was
a banner year for my personal best list....'Heat', 'Se7en', 'Usual Suspects',
all in 1 year! ....what is yours?”
That is a great
question, Gene. I love thinking about years in cinema history that I
experienced, and remember fondly.
As usual, however, I am
going to be evasive, and not name just one “great” or favorite year, but three
favorite years. (Yes, I find it difficult to choose)
Here goes:
My favorite year for
film is….1982.
Why?
Take a look at this incredible
release roster for that year:
Star Trek II: The Wrath
of Khan
John Carpenter’s The
Thing
Blade Runner
Tron
Firefox
Swamp Thing
Poltergeist
E.T.
The Road Warrior
Conan: The Barbarian
The Secret of NIMH
Q
The Dark Crystal
Creepshow
And (lest we forget….) Megaforce!
It’s
amazing to me that the impact of these films is still being felt thirty-five
years later.
Star Trek is still going strong, Blade Runner 2 is due out
in just months, 2015 gave us another Mad Max sequel, Fury Road, and a Dark
Crystal TV series is on the way.
Accordingly, I would nominate 1982 as the greatest year for genre movies
in the 20th century, and one that carried the most impact and
influence, as well.
My
second choice is 1979. This is a personal (and affectionate) choice. I was
nine/ten that year, and the first wave of great post-Star Wars genre movies
came to movie theaters…and thrilled me.
Here’s the
roster for 1979:
Alien
Star Trek: The Motion
Picture
Moonraker
The Black Hole
Buck Rogers in the 25th
Century
Time After Time
The Warriors
Mad Max
Last
but not least, I am very fond of the year 1999.
Perhaps
I look back at 1999 so warmly because of what was happening in my life at the
time. This was the year my wife and I bought and moved into our first house together, a
historic home in Monroe, N.C. I was
writing full-time, two or three books a year, and everything seemed to be going
swimmingly. The same year, we adopted our two kittens, Lila, who died in 2014,
and Ezri, who is still going strong.
There
was some amazing films released that year, including the following landmarks:
The Blair Witch
Project
The Matrix
The Sixth Sense
South Park: Bigger,
Longer, and Uncut.
Stir of Echoes
Eyes Wide Shut
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
I would
love to hear from readers on this subject. What is your favorite year in
movies, and why?
Don’t
forget to send me your questions at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com
John: 1982 was a landmark year for Sci-Fi no question. However if I had a time machine, 1983 would be a cool destination:
ReplyDeleteReturn of the Jedi
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Christine
Cujo
Dead Zone (quite a Stephen King trifecta!)
Videodrome
Blue Thunder
War Games
Trading Places
Psycho II
Mr. Mom
National Lampoon's Vacation
Scarface
And two Bond films of course - Octopussy and Never Say Never Again
National Lampoon's Vacation
Risky Business
The Right Stuff
A Christmas Story
John,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that '82 was a banner year for movies.
In fact, I'd list the years from 1981-87 as producing some of the most lasting and memorable films that are still being recalled (and re-made) today.
We're pretty lucky, because I feel like we're in a similar age today. In spite of reboots and re-imaginings, there are many great films to look forward to and the effects are truly wonderful. Present day movie-going and the anticipation of seeing the latest genre offerings feels very similar now to how it did back then.
Steve
Great choices. 1982 still staggers my mind and would be my choice by a mile. It seemed every week that summer a new movie would be opening that would go on to be a classic. Plus there were plenty of great non-genre films like Rocky III, An Officer and a Gentleman, Tootsie, 48 hours, The Verdict, etc.
ReplyDeleteA few of my other favorite years:
1984 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, Purple Rain, Dreamscape, The Last Starfighter, 2010, Supergirl, Dune)
1987 (Robocop, Innerspace, Harry and the Hendersons, Batteries Not Included, non-genre Empire of the Sun, No Way Out, The Untouchables).
1994 (Forrest Gump. Pulp Fiction, Speed, The Lion King, Interview With The Vampire, Ed Wood, The Shawshank Redemption)
2002 (Minority Report, Jason X, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Spider-Man, Catch Me If You Can, The Road to Perdition, One Hour Photo, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
2011: Mainly for two reasons, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Super 8.
2016: I know, it's way too early but hey it's a favorite list and I really loved Rougue One, The Neon Demon, The Legend of Tarzan, Arrival, Nocturnal Animals, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Shallows, Nerve, and Star Trek Beyond.