Movie Trends – Every Decade

How long does a movie need to be out before it’s a classic?  A year?  A decade?  I was with a group of friends discussing what we believed to be the ‘Classics’ of film.  Let me tell you that the opinions were across the board!  Someone’s ultimate favorite of all time is someone else’s ‘I hated that!’.  So I thought it would interesting to take a trip back in time and review some classics.  I’ve decided that I would hit the highlights of the last few decades.

1997
It’s hard to pick just a couple of movies from an entire decade so I’ve chosen the top grossing movies of this year.  The first is ‘Titanic’.

Titanic – release date December 19^th, 1997
Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Titanic was released.  It was such a huge movie that it’s still talked about and heavily rented.  There are the few people out there who haven’t seen this – the ones terrified of ocean tragedies, but really we all know what this one’s about.  The one point I want to make about this movie is the fact that all the critics hated it.  They all predicted it would ‘sink’.  But it didn’t. Word of mouth spread, and it was a hit.  Hey power to the people!  I liked the movie and I give it a solid B+ grade.

Men In Black – release date July 2^nd, 1997
I kind of felt like this movie introduced the world to the ‘computer’ age of movie making.  I know it was done before, but not at this level.  The chemistry between Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith is something that also made this movie great.  It was so perfectly cast.  And I always thought that for such a complicated plot line, it flowed easily and was not confusing at all.  I loved the movie and it gets a big A from me.

1987
I decided to not go with the top grossing movies of this decade because there was a couple that started a cult following and I want to look at these films.

Dirty Dancing – release date August 21^st, 1987
I can’t begin to tell you the number of ‘girls’ nights’ that have ended with this movie.  And the really sad part is that we can all basically quote it from memory.  I don’t know a single person that didn’t think about taking up ballroom dancing after watching this movie.  It was such a wonderful romance and more importantly a coming of age story.  We all know that line, “No one puts Baby in the corner.”  My heart flutters just thinking about it.  Yes, I know there are a lot of ‘haters’ out there, but let’s face – they’re guys who just don’t get it.  I own this one and am thrilled to give it an A+ grade.

Fatal Attraction – release date September 18^th, 1987
Talk about scary!  This movie set the bar for all ‘crazy ex-girlfriend’ movies to come.  I loved the rollercoaster of emotions this movie brings out.  First we hate Dan Gallagher, Michael Douglas, for cheating on his wife, then we empathies with him when Alex, Glenn Close, goes psycho and tries to kill his family.  And I think we all remember that final bathtub scene.  This movie is very fluid and never lacks for excitement.  A solid A movie here.

1977
There is one movie that most of America remembers from this decade: Star Wars.  Truly a classic so let’s start there.

Star Wars – release date May 25^th, 1977
There’s really no point in going into plot summary for this movie.  We’ve all seen it, and if you’re like my husband you’ve seen it 42 times.  And personally, if you haven’t seen it I need to ask, “What hole have you been living in?”  This film changed the way movies were made, marketed and merchandised.  It defined an entire generation of nerds and gave them a family to belong to – ‘Star Wars fans’.   Come on, admit it – we all know one.  A friend in his 30’s still collecting the figures, subscribing to the fan magazine, determined to name his first born ‘Luke’.  Oh yeah, I’m not stupid.  There’s no way I would ever give this movie anything less than an A+ grade.  (Those fans can be scary!)

Annie Hall – release date April 20^th, 1977
Annie Hall is a highly respected and discussed film.  Even if you’ve never seen the movie you know the name and you know the signature look created by Diane Keaton.  The vest, bowler hat & men’s pants.  Most people were drawn to the movie by the unbelievable writing talent of Woody Allen.  He created a believable romance with real depth.  In a day and age where we are bombarded by computer graphics and out of this world story lines, it’s nice to watch a movie that solely relies on character development and outstanding acting.  This movie won the Best Picture Oscar in 1977 and Best Leading Actress.  There’s a reason for that.  So if you have never given this movie a chance, rent it this weekend.  It might not be your cup of tea, but at least you’ll know what everyone is talking about. A+