Best movies from each of the Star Wars years

[djross]

x

[ShogunRua]

While I fundamentally agree with the thesis of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, it wasn't just Star Wars that was responsible for shifting the economics of the film industry. Jaws played an equally large role.

[Pickpocket]

Oh good, another "let's post a list" thread

[djross]

x

[VinegarBob]

Interesting idea. Here's mine (although I haven't done reviews for any of the Star Wars movies):

1977:

The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko) Score: 95
The Chess PLayers (Satyajit Ray)
That Obscure Object of Desire (Luis Bunuel)
Annie Hall (Woody Allen)
Eraserhead (David Lynch)
An Average Little Man (Mario Monicelli)

A New Hope (70)

1980:

The Shining (Stanley Kubrick) Score: 90
Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
The Elephant Man(David Lynch)
The Empire Strikes Back (Irving Kershner) Score: 85
Stardust Memories (Woody Allen)
Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa)

1983:

Videodrome (David Cronenberg) Score: 90
Nostalgia (Andrei Tarkovsky)
Local Hero (Bill Forsyth)
The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese)
The Ballad of Narayama (Shohei Imamura)
Crime and Punishment (Aki Kaurismaki)

Return of The Jedi (60)

1999:

Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson) Score: 95
The Wind Will Carry Us (Abbas Kiarostami)
Peppermint Candy (Lee Chang-dong)
The Straight Story (David Lynch)
The Matrix (Wachowski Brothers)
Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)

The Phantom Menace (0)

2002:

Ten (Abbas Kiarostami) Score: 90
Irreversible (Gaspar Noe) Score: 90
Man Without A Past (Aki Kaurismaki) Score: 90
Oasis (Lee Chang-dong) Score: 90
Punch Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson) Score: 90
The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman) Score: 90

The Clone Wars (0)

2005:

Cache (Michael Haneke) Score: 90
Paradise Now (Hany Abu-Assad) Score: 90
Bab' Aziz (Nacer Khemir) Score: 90
A Bittersweet Life (Kim Jee-woon)
Our Daily Bread (Nikolaus Geyrhalter)
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu)

Revenge of The Sith (0)

[snallygaster]

Well, okay. I guess I'll add to the list as I'm one of those people who love the original trilogy, although I'm fully aware it's largely due to nostalgia.

1977:
Tier 10
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) 91
Eraserhead (1977) 83
Last Chants for a Slow Dance (1977) 83
Tier 9
Annie Hall (1977) 81
Iphigenia (1977) 79
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 77

1980:
Tier 10
The Shining (1980) 92
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 84
Airplane! (1980) 83
Tier 9
The Blues Brothers (1980) 76
Tier 8
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) 71
The Elephant Man (1980) 67

1983:
Tier 9
A Christmas Story (1983) 78
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 78
Tier 8
Never Cry Wolf (1983) 67
Tier 7
Born in Flames (1983) 65
Vacation (1983) 65
Tier 6
Scarface (1983) 58

1999:
Tier 10
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) 86
Pelísky (1999) 85
Tier 9
Being John Malkovich (1999) 81
Beau Travail (1999) 80
Kikujiro (1999) 78
Magnolia (1999) 76
Tier 1
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
23

2002:
Tier 10
25th Hour (2002) 91
Blissfully Yours (2002) 88
Spirited Away (2002) 82
Tier 9
Oasis (2002) 80
Morvern Callar (2002) 75
Tier 8
Ten (2002) 71
Tier 1
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) 14

2005:
Water (2005) 94
The Squid and the Whale (2005) 93
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005) 86
Tier 9
The Wayward Cloud (2005) 81
Caché (2005) 79
Linda Linda Linda (2005) 78
Tier 1
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) 17


While djross and I have different estimations of the Star Wars films, it's clear we both see 1983 as an exceptionally weak year. I think my only repeat director is David Lynch, whose two best movies (IMHO) happen to appear.

[djross]

x

[VinegarBob]

Of the 534 films I've seen from the 1980s, only ten do I consider masterpieces, and only three of those were American: Blue Velvet, Raging Bull, Crimes and Misdemeanors. Apart from Lynch, Scorsese and Allen, it was, in my view, not a good decade for Hollywood movies, probably the worst (2000 to 2009 was a pretty bad decade, too, though).

I'd never really thought about it this way before. Looking at my own ratings by decade (Tier 10 only) I found:

Tier 10 American movies by decade:

1970-1979

100: 0
95: 5
90: 14

1980-1989

100: 1 (Crimes and Misdemeanors)
95: 2
90: 15

1990-1999

100: 0
95: 5
90: 16

2000-2009

100: 1 (There Will Be Blood)
95: 3
90: 11

Which would make the 2000s the worst decade for me for US movies. If someone had asked me to predict which was the worst decade for film I'd have said the 1980s without too much thought. However, I think that's because sometime in the early 2000s I gave up on US films for the most part and was enjoying a much wider range of movies from other countries. If I do the same search here but only restrict my ratings by decade the results are very different, and the 2000s is the best decade for me:

Tier 10 movies by decade:

1970-1979

100: 1 (Stalker)
95: 9
90: 30

1980-1989

100: 2 (Crimes and Misdemeanors, Ran)
95: 4
90: 24

1990-1999

100: 0
95: 5
90: 33

2000-2009

100: 3 (There Will Be Blood, Werckmeister Harmonies, The White Ribbon)
95: 5
90: 42

Making the 1990s not look so hot.

[AAAutin]

1977
Annie Hall (T10)
The Duellists (T10)
Slap Shot (T10)
The Kentucky Fried Movie (T8)
Roots (T8)
Short Eyes (T8)

Star Wars (T6)

1980
Raging Bull (T10)
The Shining (T9)
Used Cars (T9)
The Long Good Friday (T9)
Airplane! (T8)
Where the Buffalo Roam (T8)

The Empire Strikes Back (T7)

1983
Style Wars (T10)
The King of Comedy (T10)
The Right Stuff (T10)
Risky Business (T10)
The Outsiders (T9)
Richard Pryor Here and Now (T9)

Return of the Jedi (T3)

1999
Fight Club (T10)
One Day in September (T10)
The Insider (T10)
Ravenous (T10)
RKO 281 (T10)
Election (T10)

The Phantom Menace (T2)

2002
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (T10)
24 Hour Party People (T10)
The Rules of Attraction (T10)
Bus 174 (T10)
Adaptation (T10)
The Kid Stays in the Picture (T10)

Attack of the Clones (T1)

2005
The Proposition (T10)
Brick (T10)
The Squid and the Whale (T10)
Why We Fight (T10)
Inside Deep Throat (T10)
Caché (T10)

Revenge of the Sith (T1)

[lisa-]

tier tens in alphabetical order with best film. i haven't seen the PT. tl;dr star wars is shit, in accordance with the point of the thread.

1977
analogies: studies in the movement of time
annie hall
ascent
eraserhead
news from home
stroszek

a new hope: T2

1980
journeys from berlin/1971
poto and cabengo
raging bull
shining

empire strikes back: T3

1983
ballad of narayama
king of comedy
merry christmas mr lawrence
nostalghia

return of the jedi: T1