Ophelia, I accept your challenge! Here is my list of films/directors that represent each decade from the 50s to the present.... This list strictly represents the opinions of this eternal intern Rose.
The 50s goes to Akira Kurasawa and in particular his film Rashomon (1950). This revolutionary Japanese director went on to direct an exorbitant amount of spectacular cinema that influenced directors in the decades to follow. His most popular film is Seven Samurai (1954), but I believe that Rashomon is more groundbreaking in terms of its unique narrative.
The 60s is split between two extraordinary directors and their works: Jean Luc Godard and Federico Fellini. Fellini is most famous for his La Dolce Vita (1960) and rightfully so. Jean Luc Godard is a personal favorite. I adore his work and for the purposes of this challenge I will note his work in A Boute de Souffle aka Breathless (1960). Godard and his unconventional group of film-makers (Nouvelle Vague) went on to push the boundaries of cinema at the time.
The 70s rocked (Star Wars, Jaws) and this was a close call, but I have to give it to Francis Ford Coppola for his Godfather (1972), Godfather II (1974). These movies continue to make people's top 10 list to this day!
The 80s, of course, were defined by the brat pack and their coming of age stories. My favorite being: The Breakfast Club (1985). Jon Hughes was a legend that touched many persons through his film making and it was a sad day in 2009 when he passed away.
It was difficult to decide what defined 90s cinema. I am going with Terminator 2 (1991)! James Cameron is a Canadian born writer/director/producer and this movie set new standards for the use of special effects. The 90s continued to explore the use of effects as an integral part of story telling, without which Terminator 2 would not have been a possibility and subsequently neither would have Cameron's biggest success Titanic (1997).
As for the last decade (2000-2009)... The Harry Potter movies! This decade is all about sequels, remakes, adaptations and so on. Harry Potter (alongside Lord of the Rings) is the greatest fantastical world created in the last decade and probably the only that I am comfortable noting here. This decade does not have the same kind of Auteurs of the past, of course there are a couple of exceptions, but I am speaking in general terms. Some of these exceptions include Tarintino and Cameron that manage to make up for the studio disasters that have come our way in the past decade!
Ophelia, this challenge was a grueling process and I fear I neglected great works that I believe have influenced cinema throughout the decades (particularly the dominance of Pixar, Studio Ghibli , and animation in general over the last decade).
So tell me, DID I SUCCEED IN THIS CHALLENGE?
Wow! Rose, you are more than succeeded! That is a phenomenal list! I am super impressed! As I have seen maybe 5 of the movies you listed I know what I'll be doing this weekend! xoxo O.
Wow! Rose, you are more than succeeded! That is a phenomenal list! I am super impressed! As I have seen maybe 5 of the movies you listed I know what I'll be doing this weekend! xoxo O.
ReplyDeleteThanks O! I really enjoyed it :)
ReplyDeleteLet me know what think of any of the movies you watch
xxx Rose