The Top Films of the Decade - Results Thread

[LMP]

After about a month of voting, decade threads, and procrastination, here's the final tally of the best films of each decade, from the 1930s to the 2000s (so far). Voters submitted lists of 15 films, where they were given point values (#1 got 15 pts, #2 got 14 pts, etc...). To make the final list, the film had to appear on at least 2 lists. You'll see the films listed below with their placement, title, total points, and appearances on the list. The number of appearances was used as a tie-breaker, if further tie-breaking was needed, it just went to alphabetical order. Due to the few entries pre-1970, those were broken into Top 10s, while the others had Top 25s.

Without further ado, here's the lists and I hope there's a lot to talk about:

The 1930s (4 lists)

1. The Wizard of Oz – 41 (3)
2. Bringing Up Baby – 39 (4)
3. The 39 Steps – 35 (3)
4. Gone with the Wind – 31 (4)
5. All Quiet on the Western Front – 28 (3)
6. It Happened One Night – 24 (2)
7. M – 22 (3)
8. Bride of Frankenstein – 21 (3)
9. Duck Soup – 20 (4)
10. King Kong – 18 (2)

1940s (4 lists)

1. Citizen Kane - 45 (3)
2. It's a Wonderful Life - 37 (4)
3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - 37 (3)
4. Notorious - 32 (3)
5. The Third Man - 31 (2)
6. The Maltese Falcon - 23 (2)
7. White Heat - 22 (2)
8. Brief Encounter - 18 (2)
9. The Philadelphia Story - 17 (2)
10. The Big Sleep - 15 (2)

The 1950s (4 lists)

1. Rear Window - 50 (4)
2. The Searchers - 36 (3)
3. Touch of Evil - 32 (3)
4. 12 Angry Men - 26 (2)
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai - 20 (3)
6. Some Like It Hot - 19 (3)
7. Vertigo - 19 (2)
8. Paths of Glory - 10 (3)
9. Rio Bravo - 10 (2)
10. The Night of the Hunter - 7 (2)

The 1960s (4 lists)

1. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb - 45 (4)
2. Once Upon a Time in the West - 35 (3)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird - 34 (3)
4. Lawrence of Arabia - 30 (2)
5. The Manchurian Candidate - 25 (2)
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey - 23 (2)
7. Psycho - 19 (2)
8. A Hard Day's Night - 18 (2)
9. Jules and Jim - 14 (2)
10. The Graduate - 13 (2)

The 1970s (12 lists)

1. Taxi Driver - 102 (10)
2. Star Wars - 91 (9)
3. A Clockwork Orange - 82 (7)
4. Jaws - 76 (7)
5. The Godfather - 72 (7)
6. Alien - 65 (7)
7. Chinatown - 64 (7)
8. The Godfather, Part II - 63 (5)
9. Apocalypse Now - 57 (7)
10. Annie Hall - 54 (6)
11. The French Connection - 38 (5)
12. Manhattan - 38 (3)
13. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - 38 (3)
14. Last Tango in Paris - 28 (3)
15, All the President's Men - 25 (2)
16. The Exorcist - 20 (2)
17. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 19 (3)
18. Network - 19 (3)
19. Monty Python's Life of Brian - 16 (3)
20. Days of Heaven - 16 (2)
21. Blazing Saddles - 14 (2)
22. The Conversation - 13 (2)
23. Rocky - 13 (2)
24. Serpico - 13 (2)
25. The Deer Hunter - 11 (2)

The 1980s (13 lists)

1. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back - 89 (9)
2. Raging Bull - 86 (6)
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark - 61 (8)
4. The Shining - 52 (6)
5. Once Upon a Time in America - 41 (4)
6. Blade Runner - 40 (5)
7. Back to the Future - 39 (4)
8. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial - 34 (4)
9. Hannah and Her Sisters - 28 (3)
10. Das Boot - 27 (2)
11. Witness - 26 (3)
12. Do the Right Thing - 25 (3)
13. Gandhi - 25 (2)
14. Ran - 25 (2)
15. When Harry Met Sally... - 24 (3)
16. Reds - 24 (2)
17. Terms of Endearment - 23 (2)
18. Die Hard - 22 (2)
19. Amadeus - 21 (2)
20. Dead Poets’ Society - 20 (2)
21. The Right Stuff - 18 (3)
22. The Blues Brothers - 17 (2)
23. Fast Times at Ridgemont High - 17 (2)
24. Mississippi Burning - 17 (2)
25. The Thing - 17 (2)

The 1990s (14 lists)

1. Fight Club - 54 (5)
2. Schindler’s List - 51 (6)
3. Magnolia - 50 (5)
4. Boogie Nights - 49 (5)
5. American Beauty - 46 (5)
6. Fargo - 46 (5)
7. The Insider - 45 (4)
8. GoodFellas - 44 (5)
9. Trainspotting - 44 (4)
10. Pulp Fiction - 41 (4)
11. L.A. Confidential - 38 (5)
12. Groundhog Day - 37 (5)
13. The Shawshank Redemption - 37 (4)
14. Eyes Wide Shut - 37 (3)
15. The Silence of the Lambs - 31 (3)
16. Ed Wood - 29 (4)
17. Unforgiven - 28 (2)
18. Rushmore - 27 (4)
19. Saving Private Ryan - 26 (2)
20. Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 25 (3)
21. Contact - 25 (2)
22. The English Patient - 24 (2)
23. The Age of Innocence - 22 (2)
24. Se7en - 22 (2)
25. Forrest Gump - 21 (2)

The 2000s (15 lists)

1. Lost in Translation - 62 (6)
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 61 (6)
3. United 93 - 55 (4)
4. Mystic River - 48 (5)
5. Memento - 42 (4)
6. Spirited Away - 42 (4)
7. 2046 - 39 (3)
8. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - 39 (3)
9. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - 37 (3)
10. Brokeback Mountain - 35 (4)
11. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 35 (3)
12. Kill Bill Vol. 2 - 35 (3)
13. The 40-Year-Old Virgin - 34 (4)
14. Children of Men - 34 (3)
15. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - 34 (3)
16. Batman Begins - 31 (5)
17. Gangs of New York - 31 (4)
18. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence - 29 (3)
19. Sideways - 28 (4)
20. In America - 27 (3)
21. City of God - 27 (2)
22. Almost Famous - 25 (3)
23. Gladiator - 25 (2)
24. The Man Who Wasn't There - 24 (3)
25. The Royal Tenenbaums - 23 (4)
---

Alright, there were problems with people using both Kill Bill movies in one spot, so I just bumped their last film off and added Kill Bill whichever in accordingly. And thanks to everyone who submitted lists, especially the ones who did in the format I provided earlier, you guys made it easy... some others didn't.

 

[Dalton]

especially the ones who did in the format I provided earlier, you guys made it easy... some others didn't.

That's right, eat it!


BTW - any "best of" list that doesn't include Red Dawn is instantly null and void in my mind.

 

[LMP]

I was hoping someone else would put that movie on a list, too. Same with Big Trouble in Little China.

Or is Lo Pan too much to handle?

 

[Dalton]

Man, I want some Lo Pan noodles.

 

[Zoots]

Holy mother of movie threads batman!

Cool lists!

 

[lazarus]

Nice work, YLB.

A shame that Spielberg just edged out Kubrick for director with most mentions (7 to 6, if I'm not mistaken). Thank god Schindler's List was trumped for the #1 90's spot by Fight Club, which was probably in my Top 3 for the decade. I can also take comfort that Scorsese's greatest labor of love just edged out Spielberg's, and that Taxi Driver received the most votes of any film on this list.

Very pleased to see the love for The Shining, but I never would have guessed it was placed as high as 4.

Love how high Leone placed in the 70's and 80's.

There's probably something really sad about Empire Strikes Back (second highest vote-getter overall with 9) beating Raging Bull for #2, but at least the latter scored that high.

Lost in Translation #1 of the 00's? Wow. I liked it, but wow.

Appropriate that The Two Towers, the least of the 3 rings films, scored the lowest (I wouldn't even have it on here, but whatever).

And you would have thought The Departed was well received enough to make the 00's list, especially over Gladiator. Maybe next year.

No Thin Red Line for the 90's? I can't believe it didn't get more than 2 mentions, or enough points to surpass Gump. Hope to god it was on my list...

Lastly, I hate when people write "Seven" with a 7 instead of a V. Just sayin'.

 

[LMP]

I didn't know how many people loved United 93.

 

[lazarus]

4 people?

It's a little surprising that we couldn't even get more people to post lists from the 90's and 00's. Do people even come in here? Do they just ignore threads that you start?

 

[LMP]

4 people, but they all ranked it extremely high. If I do another one of these contests, I'll have to re-do the tallying process. I don't know.

Probably both. Or maybe since they did the Favorite Films list a while back, they didn't wanna do another one?

Some just come here to see how delicious Johnny Depp is, too.

 

[lazarus]

True. At least Edward Sissorhands and Pirates didn't show up.

 

[LMP]

or Fear & Loathing.

 

[lazarus]

I wouldn't have minded Don Juan DeMarco, but only because Brando reading off cue cards still manages to out-act Depp in every scene they have together. It's the difference between natural genius and someone who has to try really hard.

 

[Dalton]

Fuck you both! Johnny Depp was on 21 Jump Street. AND he has wispy facial hair.

Fuckers.

 

[lazarus]

So was Richard Grieco:

...we would all be dead right now.

 

[Dalton]

Those are some nice kicks.

 

[lazarus]

I like how the rifle is lying across his junk. As if one needs to make the gun/penis metaphor any clearer.

 

[Dalton]

"gun/penis metaphor"? Never heard of it.

 

[lazarus]

Good. Then you won't mind holding my gun for a minute, will you?

 

[Dalton]

Probably not a good idea. I'm a democrat.

 

[lazarus]

Fine. I'll get Lance's Mom to hold it. I hope she knows not to put those things in her mouth. Dangerous.

 

[Dalton]

I think they are ok to put in your mouth as long as you haven't oiled'em up. Apparently that stuff has a terrible taste.

 

[lazarus]

Especially where one would be likely to oil it.

 

[Dalton]

Wait a second ... you're not talking about guns are you ...

 

[lazarus]

It's kind of hard to talk with one of those in your mouth.

 

[monkeyskin]

ANYWAY

Good lists overall, especially as for the most part no one film dominated a decade and the spread of films for the more recent decades was pretty wide.

I was one of those who voted United 93 highly, I think. And good to see that all four of Copolla's 70s films got in the final list.

Cheers for doing this LMP.

 

[lazarus]

And good to see that all four of Copolla's 70s films got in the final list.

I don't know how I failed to notice that.

It may be the most impressive stat of all.

 

[No spoken words]

Nicely done, YLB.

The biggest shocker to me was Lost in Translation, a film I definitely liked a lot, but, that seems a tad high.

I LOVE Empire Strikes Back, but, yeah, it's not better than Raging Bull.

Am I the only one that loves Unforgiven????

 

[LMP]

For the '00s list, I'm just glad an LOTR film didn't win, even if Lost in Translation is a little overrated here as well.

The '90s List is probably my favorite from top to bottom, even if Forrest Gump is on it.

 

[monkeyskin]

I just can't get into Lost In Trabslation. I'm not bashing it, just don't get the appeal as much as other obviously do. The again...

But even with that tasty piece of ass I greatly prefer Broken Flowers, brilliant film.

I'm also pretty sure I ranked Unforgiven quite highly on my list.

 

[lazarus]

Well, Broken Flowers has full frontal from its young starlet, so maybe that's what gives it the edge for you?