05 January 2010

My Twenty Favorite Films of the Decade -- But it's Not What You Think



Anyone who's associated with film criticism has recently published their top ten films of the decade. Being an unabashed list maker myself one would fully expect me to join in with a top ten of my own. First of all I don't think ten is enough for a decade, you should have 20, ten is for individual years as per my recent 2009 list. So this must be my top 20 of the oughts, right?

No.

I tried.

There were some excellent films (No Country for Old Men (2007), The Aviator (2004)Inglourious Basterds (2009), Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001), Der Untergang (2004)) but for the back end of the list the pickings were pretty slim. Even when I cut the list in half and went with the more traditional ten, the last few seemed unworthy of the best of a decade. So... ever the iconoclast I am going ahead with a top 20 of a decade only from a different ten year period -- the Seventies. Folks, this one was easy. The Seventies were lousy with great films. Actually there was some difficulty associated with compiling this list -- limiting it to 20.  Was the Seventies the best decade of film? That honor may go to the Thirties and yes I may present a top twenty films from that decade later. But I'm in a Seventies kind of mood (anyone care to go to the disco?). If you love movies and there's a film on this list you haven't seen, suffice it to say that I strongly urge you to pop a copy in your DVD soonest.









Murmur of the Heart (1971) Pictured above.














Yes, Einstein, I realize that this list has 22 films in it. Sue me.

2 comments:

Martin Keller said...

Good list, nice and diversified. Only gripe: no French Conneciton or Get Carter or Serpico? That seventies grittiness? Maybe it's just personal taste creeping into my better judgment. Good post, as usual.

KC said...

I'm glad you included Small Change on your list. There's something about the cast full of kids that makes people write this off as a cutesy thing. There are cutesy moments, but no movie captures childhood, from the brutal to the beautiful so well!