I've been going through my watchlists in chronological order for a while now, I'm in the 50's now and was going to start posting in these threads but I forgot we started with the 60's. If we do these threads again we should start earlier.
The 20s and 30s deserve threads. I know the further back you go the less widely seen some of the movies get, but if it’s done again, maybe the 20s, 30s, (even the 1910s) should get their own decade lists, then the 40s and 50s can start narrowing the focus.
How about a decade per month? We are almost to June. We can start at the Tens if you want but other than arguing on the merits of still watching The Birth of a Nation I don't know how much more there is. Maybe it will be The 1910's (and earlier).
Pre-1920s can probably get its own thread, then maybe one thread for the 20s. I’d love to go year by year starting in the 30s but I understand going by decade until the 60s
I like decade per month, we won’t be treading the exact same ground after the 60s and well have more time to watch films while the thread is active
Happy to see these threads again in some form, but is there much interest in a month for pre 1920s cinema? Maybe this is just my ignorance talking, but is that basically just Melies shorts, some DW Griffiths films that most people are a little wary of watching and maybe some early Chaplin? Maybe that says more about me though!
Thief and road warrior are my favorites, but decline of western civilization, all three of the parts, are some of the most important films ever made
I think Chaplin and Melies pre-1920 work is well worth delving into, and there's also Abel Gance, but general interest in pre-1920s (and even the 20s at all) is a realistic concern. I guess I didn't remember the threads were monthlong dedications, in which case a month of discussion on pre-1920s stuff would probably peter out quickly. I do think taking the time to actually watch something like Monkeyshines No. 1 or the early Lumiere's stuff is worthwhile for appreciating the medium. There are also interesting cultural artifacts like the 1894 Japanese Imperial Dance and the 1899 Arabian Gun Twirler, which show how cinema/film from the beginning were built on opening one to the other parts of the world in a more immediate, visceral way. James Williamson's The Big Swallow from 1901 is also worth watching and thinking about, from levels of technique to theory. That being said, this post mostly covers the pre-1920 stuff I was thinking about, so a whole month doesn't seem necessary.
Being familiar with Ferrara and the premise, I expected this to be bleak but holy shit man. Off to a fucked up start
You have twenty-four hours to name a worse decade for film (other than cheating with something like the 1870's) and if you fail I will meet you as a gentleman.
The 2010s very easily. I would also put the 80s neck and neck with the 90s and 00s. There is so much to love
Sure it did. My favorites are spread across decades and maybe 1 out of the top 10 comes from the 80s. The decade has an incredibly deep bench coming from every genre. Some of the music by year thread dorks also wrote off the entire decade as weak.
My favorite film of this year is probably Das Boot. That's in my all time top 5. There is one 1981 classic though that nobody in this thread has mentioned and I am kinda shocked by it's omission