Vote: Best Movie by Year (1930- 2012)

[baumer]

I'll do mine from 1970 and on, because I've seen most relevant films from those years.  

[Plain Old Tele]

"3) The year of release will be what is listed on IMDB."

 

Casablanca is a 1942 movie according to IMDb.

In the vast majority of cases that rule is fine, since the premiere and release are within the same calendar year. CASABLANCA is an anomaly not only because the delay between premiere and general release, but also because the Academy considered it a 1943 film for the purposes of awards. It did not compete in the 1943 Academy Awards (like all 1942 films), it competed in the 1944 Oscars (with the other 1943 films). That's why I think there should be an exception here.

[Plain Old Tele]

This is interesting but how can many of us determine what films were the best in years where we have seen 1 or 2 films?  Can you guys really give your opinion as to what the best film of 1935 was?  Have you really seen that many films from that year?

No, but there's a self-correcting factor (somewhat). For really old films, most of us have only seen what's well-known, famous, and stood the test of time..... in other words, what's generally considered the best of that particular year. For my list, anyway, I wouldn't put a film on it unless I thought it was very good and entertaining.

[Jake Gittes]

Personally I prefer to think a movie is from the year it originally premiered in. That's why I also think Memento is a 2000 film (even though it was released in the US in March 2001) and Mud, Spring Breakers and The Place Beyond the Pines are, officially, 2012 films. The only exception I'm willing to make is for when a movie sat on the shelf for 2 or more years after its original premiere (a good example is Paranormal Activity, first screened in 2007 and commercially released in 2009). 

[Plain Old Tele]

That's great for everyone who goes to festivals, and technically correct, but kinda pointless for everyone else. I think a limited release is a better target (even just a couple theaters in NY and LA, say to qualify for the Oscars).

[Walt Disney]

Personally I prefer to think a movie is from the year it originally premiered in. That's why I also think Memento is a 2000 film (even though it was released in the US in March 2001) and Mud, Spring Breakers and The Place Beyond the Pines are, officially, 2012 films. The only exception I'm willing to make is for when a movie sat on the shelf for 2 or more years after its original premiere (a good example is Paranormal Activity, first screened in 2007 and commercially released in 2009). 

 

To make things easier, we adopted Lisa's idea of using the year listed on IMDB. Without that rule, it would create too many debates for winter releases that flowed into the next year.

 

So for our purposes, Memento counts for the year 2000 and Casablanca is 1942.

[Walt Disney]

This is interesting but how can many of us determine what films were the best in years where we have seen 1 or 2 films?  Can you guys really give your opinion as to what the best film of 1935 was?  Have you really seen that many films from that year?

 

 

The chances are that if you've only seen 1 or 2 movies from a particular year, then you probably saw the best 2. That's how the movies became classics in the first place, which is the reason we knew to see them. Especially here, where we watch all the all-time award shows from different publications, we are all aware of the classic movies to see.

[Sims]

To make things easier, we adopted Lisa's idea of using the year listed on IMDB. Without that rule, it would create too many debates for winter releases that flowed into the next year.

 

So for our purposes, Memento counts for the year 2000 and Casablanca is 1942.

 

Well then you also have to consider Crash a 2004 film, The Hurt Locker a 2008 film, Spirited Away a 2001 film, etc. even though these films won awards for years that came after their "original" release.

[Walt Disney]

Well then you also have to consider Crash a 2004 film, The Hurt Locker a 2008 film, Spirited Away a 2001 film, etc. even though these films won awards for years that came after their "original" release.

 

Yes, all of the years that you listed are correct for their respective films.

[baumer]

1968:  Planet of the Apes

1969: Easy Rider

 

1970: Patton

1971: Straw Dogs
1972: Last house on the Left
1973: Enter the dragon
1974: Texas Chainsaw Massacre
1975: Jaws
1976: Rocky
1977: Star Wars
1978: Halloween
1979: Apocalypse Now
1980: Empire Strikes Back
1981:  Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982: E.T.
1983: Return of the Jedi
1984: A Nightmare on Elm Street
1985: The Breakfast Club
1986: Aliens
1987: Angel Heart
1988: Mississippi Burning
1989: When Harry Met Sally
1990: Dances With Wolves
1991:  JFK
1992: A Few Good Men
1993: Tombstone
1994: Pulp Fiction

1995:  Seven

1996:  Scream
1997: Titanic
1998: Rounders
1999: American Beauty
2000: Gladiator
2001: Fellowship of the Ring
2002: The Ring
2003: Mystic River
2004: Man on Fire
2005: Batman Begins
2006: Rocky Balboa
2007: The Bourne Ultimatum
2008: The Dark Knight
2009: Watchmen
2010: Inception
2011: Crazy Stupid Love
2012: Perks of Being a Wallflower

[luna]

what's the difference between IMDB and academy dates? they're both entirely arbitrary, but the first is far easier to determine, especially for films that didn't appear on the academy's radar.

[Plain Old Tele]

what's the difference between IMDB and academy dates? they're both entirely arbitrary, but the first is far easier to determine, especially for films that didn't appear on the academy's radar.

IMDB actually lists all dates, you just need to go to "release dates" to see when the festival release was and when the general (public) release was. The Academy rules specify you must have a public release to qualify for the Oscars, so many films will get a one- or two-week limited release in December in order to qualify before expanding wider in January.

[luna]

IMDB actually lists all dates, you just need to go to "release dates" to see when the festival release was and when the general (public) release was. The Academy rules specify you must have a public release to qualify for the Oscars, so many films will get a one- or two-week limited release in December in order to qualify before expanding wider in January.

 

for recent films it is fairly easy. for older films, and especially older foreign films, it isn't.

[Plain Old Tele]

for recent films it is fairly easy. for older films, and especially older foreign films, it isn't.

It's pretty easy, period. It just requires a bit more effort (which I understand can be annoying).

[Walt Disney]

It's pretty easy, period. It just requires a bit more effort (which I understand can be annoying).

 

I don't want Lisa to take the blame for this. This was my decision and I take full responsibility for it. Also, I respect the arguments that everyone has made on both sides of this debate. Each side has merit to their respective argument.

 

My original rule was going to be to use the year of the U.S. premier. Casablanca would have still been listed in 1942 under this old rule. However, it seemed to do a dis-service to foreign films which were already being shown in their native countries, but weren't released in the United States until years later. Since I wanted to include foreign films, the rule change seemed to promote that.

 

I know from previous votes that we had lots of problems determining if Studio Ghibli films even had a U.S. release, forget about pinning down the actual year. Therefore, the rule change seemed like a good idea at the time. I still believe that it is a good idea, as it makes this more of a voter friendly activity. I just wanted a simple rule of thumb that would make it easy for people to check a release year if needed, which I believe that we have with this rule.

[lab276]

How about go with when they were first released in theatres anywhere in the world? So Princess Mononoke is a 1997 film, Crash is a 2005 film and so on.

[Walt Disney]

How about go with when they were first released in theatres anywhere in the world? So Princess Mononoke is a 1997 film, Crash is a 2005 film and so on.

 

Because we already have had people voting under the IMDB rule. I don't want to make people have to change their ballots now. IMDB has Crash listed as a 2004 film, so we'll stick with that.

[Plain Old Tele]

I don't know if it makes sense to change things at this point. If we want to use festival dates for the purposes of our list, that's cool.

[mahnamahna]

1930: All Quiet on the Western Front 

1931: City  Lights

1932: Scarface - Shame of a Nation

1933: King Kong

1934: It Happened One Night

1935: Captain Blood

1936: Swing Time 

1937: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1938: Bringing Up Baby

1939: The Wizard of Oz

1940: The Grapes of Wrath

1941: Citizen Kane

1942: Bambi

1943: Casablanca

1944: National Velvet

1945: The Lost Weekend

1946: It's a Wonderful Life

1947: Miracle on 34th Street

1948: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 

1949: Bicycle Thieves

1950: Sunset Boulevard

1951: A Streetcar Named Desire

1952: Singin' in the Rain

1953: Roman Holiday

1954: On the Waterfront

1955: Rebel Without a Cause

1956: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

1957: The Bridge on the River Kwai

1958: Vertigo

1959: Ben-Hur

1960: Psycho

1961: Breakfast at Tiffany's

1962: To Kill a Mockingbird

1963: The Great Escape

1964: Dr. Strangelove

1965: The Sound of Music

1966: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1967: The Graduate

1968: 2001 - A Space Odyssey

1969: Easy Rider

1970: Patton

1971: Dirty Harry

1972: The Godfather

1973: The Exorcist

1974: Blazing Saddles 

1975: Jaws

1976: Network

1977: Star Wars

1978: Halloween

1979: The Muppet Movie

1980: Raging Bull 

1981: Raiders of the Lost Ark

1982: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

1983: A Christmas Story

1984: Ghostbusters

1985: Back to the Future

1986: Stand by Me

1987: Fatal Attraction

1988: Grave of the Fireflies

1989: Dead Poets Society

1990: Goodfellas

1991: Boyz in the Hood

1992: Unforgiven

1993: Schindler's List

1994: Forrest Gump

1995: Toy Story

1996: Fargo

1997: Titanic

1998: Saving Private Ryan

1999: The Matrix

2000: Memento

2001: The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring 

2002: The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers

2003: The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King

2004: The Incredibles

2005: Brokeback Mountain

2006: The Departed

2007: No Country for Old Men

2008: The Dark Knight

2009: Inglorious Basterds

2010: Toy Story 3

2011: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2

2012: The Avengers 

2013 (as of now): Star Trek Into Darkness 

Edited September 16, 2013 by mahnamahna

[Walt Disney]

 

1942: Bambi

1943: Casablanca

 

 

Great ballot.

 

We're using 1942 as the year for Casablanca. Do you want to vote for Bambi or Casablanca for your 1942 movie. Also you get to submit another movie for 1943 if you would like to.

 

Also IMDB has Bicycle Thieves as a 1948 movie. Would you like to vote for Bicycle Thieves or the Treasure of Sierra Madre for 1948? Also, you can choose another 1949 film if you would like to.

Edited September 17, 2013 by Walt Disney