The challenge is to go through your life and list the best movie from each year of your life. You can have a tie once per decade.
I found this idea challenging and interesting. What I found the most interesting is how little interest I had in most of the movies that came out just before I was born, but I have a strong affection for movies from my early childhood. I wonder if that is common to most people who do this?
Anyway, here is my list. For the sake of anonymity, I have started my list with the decade of my birth rather than my birth year (maybe).
| 1970 | Julius Caesar | Heston and Marc Antony is cinematic gold. |
| 1971 | The Big Boss | Bruce Lee's first starring feature. A bit violent, but you can see the star power |
| 1972 | The Godfather | An unquestionable masterpiece that changed cinema. |
| 1973 | American Graffiti | The influence of this movie is unnoticed but powerful, especially on television |
| Enter the Dragon | The gold standard of modern martial arts movies | |
| 1974 | The Godfather Part II | Darker and a bit overly long, but the best movie of this year |
| 1975 | Jaws | A nearly perfect film |
| 1976 | Rocky | Despite being sequalized repeatedly, it is still raw and strong |
| 1977 | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope | Movie magic. |
| 1978 | Superman | The best superhero movie ever. |
| 1979 | Time After Time | A tense and clever thriller. Malcolm McDowall's best performance |
| 1980 | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back | Even better than the original Star Wars |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | For the sword fight alone |
| 1982 | ET: Extra-Terrestrial | One of the most transcendentally child-like films |
| 1983 | Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | The best of the Star Wars Saga |
| 1984 | Ghostbusters | Unrepeatable comedy/action/adventure/horror |
| 1985 | Back to the Future | Extreme laughs, thrills, and nostalgia all at the same time |
| 1986 | Aliens | The greatest action movie ever made. |
| 1987 | The Untouchables | Brian DePalma's best film. Powerful. |
| Predator | Manliest movie of the 1980's. | |
| 1988 | Young Guns | It has one of the strongest last lines of any film |
| 1989 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | The greatest adventure movie off all time. |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | The best legal drama of all time. |
| 1991 | Dead Again | The best thriller of all time. |
| 1992 | Noises Off! | One of the funniest films I have ever seen. |
| 1993 | Schindler's List | Every frame, every angle, every cut is genius. |
| 1994 | The Shawshank Redemption | Overlooked when released, it has stood the test of time. |
| 1995 | Braveheart | Epic in scope, action, and human spirit |
| 1996 | Hamlet | Visually stunning and enveloping |
| Swingers | A small, indie comedy with confidence and cool | |
| 1997 | Titanic | Despite the haters, this is actually a fantastic, moving film. |
| 1998 | Life is Beautiful | A unique film that uplifts with laughs and tears |
| 1999 | The Green Mile | Sad and profound. It sticks with you long after its over |
| 2000 | Memento | One of the best films ever made. Unlike anything else. |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | A fantasy with some real gravitas |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Improves upon the first |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | One of the most emotionally satisfying movies. |
| 2004 | The Passion of the Christ | The greatest film ever made. |
| 2005 | Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith | The best of the prequels. |
| 2006 | Casino Royale | The bond reboot works on so many levels. Best of the Bond films. |
| 2007 | Juno | Simple premise with lots of heart. Sneaks into your heart like a child's laugh. |
| Lars and the Real Girl | A strange movie that should be filthy but is richly innocent | |
| 2008 | The Dark Knight | The best Batman movie ever. |
| 2009 | Up | Devastating, hilarious, and uplifting. |
| 2010 | Inception | A puzzle wrapped in an enigma |
| 2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 | The best of this franchise |
| 2012 | Les Miserables | Pure emotional power |
| 2013 | Man of Steel | Visually and thematically mature take on Superman |
| 2014 | Captain America: The Winter Soldier | Taught political thriller and action film |
| Interstellar | Amazingly bold in concept and emotion | |
| 2015 | Cinderella | A colorful, visually rich film of sweetness. |
A few observations on my own list:
-5 movies directed by Steven Spielberg
-4 movies directed by Christopher Nolan
-3 movies directed by Peter Jackson
-3 movies directed by George Lucas
-3 movies directed by Kenneth Brannagh
-only 4 movies are comedies (not to be confused with drama-dies)
-only 6 are tragedies (in the sense that they do not have a "happy ending")
-4 of the 6 Star Wars movies are represented
-4 of the movies are superhero films
-2 movies based on Shakespeare plays
-2 movies not in English
-only 1 Western
-only 1 Musical
-3 movies involve time travel
-only 4 of the movies have a woman as the lead.
-7 Harrison Ford movies
Thoughts?
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