What was the best year in movie history?

Several experts defend their choices.

1974 was a foolish choice. It was such a bad year for films that they couldn’t come up with five respectable Oscar nominees. The Towering Inferno was nominated as Best Picture. People remember the year fondly because three of the iconic films in history appeared then: Godfather II, Blazing Saddles and Chinatown. Those were genuine stars, but there was no supporting cast.

2 thoughts on “What was the best year in movie history?

  1. 1939 is indeed a watershed year. The fact that it was almost 80 years ago and the films live on says a lot. You can put down GWTW, but it remains the box office champ adjusted for inflation. But also:
    Stagecoach
    The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
    The Hound of the Baskervilles
    Mr Smith Goes to Washington
    The Wizard of Oz
    Dark Victory
    Wuthering Heights
    Destry Rides Again
    Ninotchka
    Beau Geste
    Young Mr Lincoln
    Only Angels Have Wings
    Drums Along The Mohawk
    Goodbye Mr. Chips
    Gunga Din
    Babes in Arms
    Love Affair
    The Women
    The Hunchback of Notre Dame
    Another Thin Man
    Dodge City
    Of Mice and Men
    Son of Frankenstein
    The Roaring Twenties
    The Four Feathers
    Stanley and Livingstone
    The Little Princess
    At The Circus
    Each Dawn I Die
    Rules of the Game
    The Flying Deuces
    The Man in the Iron Mask
    Union Pacific
    Gulliver’s Travels
    Idiot’s Delight
    Jesse James
    In Name Only
    Allegheny Uprising
    The Gorilla
    They Made Me a Criminal
    The Cat and the Canary
    Confessions of a Nazi Spy
    The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
    Made For Each Other
    The Three Musketeers
    It’s a Wonderful World
    Golden Boy
    Jamaica Inn
    Five Came Back
    The Oklahoma Kid
    Believe it or not, there are many more. This was the height of the studio system era.

  2. I agree there are much more clear cut great years, but ’74 is still pretty good. I love “The Parallax View” and “The Conversation.” Two great, beautifully-shot paranoid thrillers. “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” is as entertaining a crime thriller as any I’ve seen. And all three have memorable scores. I like “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and would’ve given it the “Towering Inferno” Best Picture nomination.

    The next year has such a ridiculously great five Best Picture nominees. Its easily my favorite year in that regard.

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