Throughout history their have been a lot of great films that have had a big impact on our lives. They have either made us laugh, love and cry. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first full-length feature film The Birth of a Nation being released and without that film (no matter how racist it is) we wouldn't have the films we have today. With that being said I'm going to bring you my list for the best films from the 1920's all the way to 2009 (the current decade is not over so I cannot rate those films).
1920's- Nosferatu
This films seriously creeps me out and that's a credit to Max Schreck's performance. Real estate agent Hutter (played by Gustav von Wagenheim) has arrived to close a sale with the reclusive Herr Orlok (played by Max Schreck). Despite the feverish warnings of the local peasants, Hutter insists upon completing his journey to Orlok's sinister castle. While enjoying his host's hospitality, Hutter accidentally cuts his finger-whereupon Orlok tips his hand by staring intently at the bloody digit, licking his lips. Hutter catches on that Orlok is no ordinary mortal when he witnesses the vampiric nobleman loading himself into a coffin in preparation for his journey to the town Bremen. Nosferatu has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
1930's- Modern Times
This film is hilarious and IMO it is Charlie Chaplin's best work. The film tells the story of an assembly-line worker (played by Charlie Chaplin) driven insane by the monotony of his job. After a long spell in an asylum, he searches for work, only to be mistakenly arrested as a Red agitator. Released after foiling a prison break, Chaplin makes the acquaintance of orphaned gamine (played by Paulette Goddard) and becomes her friend and protector. He takes on several new jobs for her benefit, but every job ends with a quick dismissal and yet another jail term. Modern Times has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
1940's- Casablanca
This film is just absolutely fantastic and one of the most quotable films of all-time. It is the story of Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (played by Claude Rains), Rick's cafe has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (played by Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. Casablanca was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score while winning 3 (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
1950's- Roman Holiday
This films plot has been used and used time and time again, but it can never top this film especially with two of the greatest actors of all-time. A princess (played by Audrey Hepburn\) plays hooky from her royal duties for 24 hours with a reporter (played by Gregory Peck). Roman Holiday was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Story, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing while winning 3 (Best Actress, Best Costume Design and Best Story) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
1960's- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
One of the greatest films ever made comes to us from one of the greatest directors in history Stanley Kubrick. It follows several story arcs such as a United States Air Force General who has ordered a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, the President of The United States, his advisers and his Joint Chiefs of staffs and a Royal Air Force officer as they try to recall the air strike, and it also follows one of the air crews as they deliver the bomb. Dr. Strangelove was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Director, and Picture and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
1970's- The Godfather Part 2
In what is considered the greatest sequel of all-time and what is also a prequel as well, The Godfather Part 2 continues the story of Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) (the new Don of the Corleone crime family) trying to hold his business ventures together from 1958 to 1959. The prequel parts of the film are flashbacks to a younger Vito Corleone (played by Robert DeNiro), from his childhood in Sicily in 1901 to the founding of the Corleone crime family in New York City. I will admit that the film is a little over 3 hours long and for some people I can see why you might get bored or uninterested, but believe me when I say that the film needs to be that long because of the story they are telling. The Godfather Part 2 was nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, 3 for Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Costume Design, Art Direction and Music while winning 6 (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Art Direction and Music) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
1980's- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back
I am one of the biggest Star Wars fans in the world (but not to big in the sense I don't overly obsess over all of the merchandise). The film is set three years after Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, The Galactic Empire, under the leadership of the villainous Darth Vader (Played by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones), is in pursuit of Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) and the rest of the Rebel Alliance. While Vader chases a small band of Luke's friends (Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford), Princess Leia Organa (played by Carrie Fisher) and others) across the galaxy, Luke studies the Force under Jedi Master Yoda (played by Frank Oz). But when Vader captures Luke's friends, Luke must decide whether to complete his training and become a full Jedi Knight or to confront Vader and save his friends. This film s one of the first films that I ever saw and I absolutely love it. Star Wars Episode 5 was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing, Original Score and Production Design while winning 1 (Best Sound Mixing), it also has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
1990's- American Beauty
This film is magnificent and it really dives in the emotions of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey) is a gainfully employed suburban husband and father. Fed up with his boring, stagnant existence, he quits his job and decides to reinvent himself as a pot-smoking, responsibility-shirking teenager. What follows is at once cynical, hysterical, and, eventually, tragically uplifting. American Beauty was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score while winning 5 awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography) and it has a rating of 88% on rottentomatoes.com.
2000's- The Dark Knight
Batman is my favorite superhero and a Batman film tops my list. In this film Batman raises the stakes on his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordan (played by Gary Oldman) and D.A. Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart), Batman (played by Christian Bale) sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind know to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker (played by Heath Ledger). The Dark Knight was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Make-Up, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects while winning only 2 (Best Supporting Actor and Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are your favorite films of each decade and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
1920's- Nosferatu
This films seriously creeps me out and that's a credit to Max Schreck's performance. Real estate agent Hutter (played by Gustav von Wagenheim) has arrived to close a sale with the reclusive Herr Orlok (played by Max Schreck). Despite the feverish warnings of the local peasants, Hutter insists upon completing his journey to Orlok's sinister castle. While enjoying his host's hospitality, Hutter accidentally cuts his finger-whereupon Orlok tips his hand by staring intently at the bloody digit, licking his lips. Hutter catches on that Orlok is no ordinary mortal when he witnesses the vampiric nobleman loading himself into a coffin in preparation for his journey to the town Bremen. Nosferatu has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
1930's- Modern Times
This film is hilarious and IMO it is Charlie Chaplin's best work. The film tells the story of an assembly-line worker (played by Charlie Chaplin) driven insane by the monotony of his job. After a long spell in an asylum, he searches for work, only to be mistakenly arrested as a Red agitator. Released after foiling a prison break, Chaplin makes the acquaintance of orphaned gamine (played by Paulette Goddard) and becomes her friend and protector. He takes on several new jobs for her benefit, but every job ends with a quick dismissal and yet another jail term. Modern Times has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
1940's- Casablanca
This film is just absolutely fantastic and one of the most quotable films of all-time. It is the story of Rick Blaine (played by Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (played by Claude Rains), Rick's cafe has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (played by Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. Casablanca was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score while winning 3 (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay) and it has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
1950's- Roman Holiday
This films plot has been used and used time and time again, but it can never top this film especially with two of the greatest actors of all-time. A princess (played by Audrey Hepburn\) plays hooky from her royal duties for 24 hours with a reporter (played by Gregory Peck). Roman Holiday was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Story, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing while winning 3 (Best Actress, Best Costume Design and Best Story) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
1960's- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
One of the greatest films ever made comes to us from one of the greatest directors in history Stanley Kubrick. It follows several story arcs such as a United States Air Force General who has ordered a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, the President of The United States, his advisers and his Joint Chiefs of staffs and a Royal Air Force officer as they try to recall the air strike, and it also follows one of the air crews as they deliver the bomb. Dr. Strangelove was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Director, and Picture and it has a rating of 100% on rottentomatoes.com.
1970's- The Godfather Part 2
In what is considered the greatest sequel of all-time and what is also a prequel as well, The Godfather Part 2 continues the story of Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) (the new Don of the Corleone crime family) trying to hold his business ventures together from 1958 to 1959. The prequel parts of the film are flashbacks to a younger Vito Corleone (played by Robert DeNiro), from his childhood in Sicily in 1901 to the founding of the Corleone crime family in New York City. I will admit that the film is a little over 3 hours long and for some people I can see why you might get bored or uninterested, but believe me when I say that the film needs to be that long because of the story they are telling. The Godfather Part 2 was nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Adapted Screenplay, 3 for Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Costume Design, Art Direction and Music while winning 6 (Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Art Direction and Music) and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
1980's- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back
I am one of the biggest Star Wars fans in the world (but not to big in the sense I don't overly obsess over all of the merchandise). The film is set three years after Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope, The Galactic Empire, under the leadership of the villainous Darth Vader (Played by David Prowse and voiced by James Earl Jones), is in pursuit of Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) and the rest of the Rebel Alliance. While Vader chases a small band of Luke's friends (Han Solo (played by Harrison Ford), Princess Leia Organa (played by Carrie Fisher) and others) across the galaxy, Luke studies the Force under Jedi Master Yoda (played by Frank Oz). But when Vader captures Luke's friends, Luke must decide whether to complete his training and become a full Jedi Knight or to confront Vader and save his friends. This film s one of the first films that I ever saw and I absolutely love it. Star Wars Episode 5 was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Sound Mixing, Original Score and Production Design while winning 1 (Best Sound Mixing), it also has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.
1990's- American Beauty
This film is magnificent and it really dives in the emotions of romantic and paternal love, sexuality, beauty, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. Lester Burnham (played by Kevin Spacey) is a gainfully employed suburban husband and father. Fed up with his boring, stagnant existence, he quits his job and decides to reinvent himself as a pot-smoking, responsibility-shirking teenager. What follows is at once cynical, hysterical, and, eventually, tragically uplifting. American Beauty was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay and Best Original Score while winning 5 awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography) and it has a rating of 88% on rottentomatoes.com.
2000's- The Dark Knight
Batman is my favorite superhero and a Batman film tops my list. In this film Batman raises the stakes on his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordan (played by Gary Oldman) and D.A. Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart), Batman (played by Christian Bale) sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind know to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker (played by Heath Ledger). The Dark Knight was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Make-Up, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects while winning only 2 (Best Supporting Actor and Best Sound Editing) and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are your favorite films of each decade and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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