The Blogger Herein Answers the Question: What are the Best Decades Enjoyed by Films Directors

Woody Allen directing Radio Days (1989).

In my last blog post I checked in with my favorite active U.S. directors to see how their careers were doing. In doing so I noted what a terrific output Woody Allen had in the 1980s directing no less than eight excellent films. This inspired to me compile a list of the ten best decades enjoyed by film directors. There are several caveats, the most important being that my definition of a good or great film is based solely on my own tastes. I'm sure anyone else taking on the same task would have very different lists. Also I'm not going by ten-year periods but specific decades. Thus a director cranking out seven great films between, say, 1974 and 1983 is of no help.

This sort of list penalizes those directors who go or went years between films such as Stanley Kubrick, Charlie Chaplin or Quentin Tarantino.

Chance plays a huge factor. Two of the people on the list (Preston Sturges and Hal Ashby) made no other outstanding films outside the decade in question and happened to start their string of greats at the beginning of the decade. Still, I thought it a worthy exercise.

It's also interesting to note that other than Allen in the '80s all the other great director decades were in the '40s through the '70s. Not sure what to make of that. 

Hitchcock and Allen -- all notably prolific directors, each made the list twice.

One criteria I established was that a director had to have at least five qualifying films in the decade. This eliminated Francis Ford Coppola who had four great films in 1970s.

Final note: I lied in the first paragraph in saying that this is a list of ten as it includes 11 different decades. I winnowed down an original list of 20 by counting how many films I loved from the director's output that decade, how many made my list of great films and how many are in my top 100. I came up with a three-way tie for the final two spots and rather than spilt hairs decided to include them all.

I offer the eleven in no particular order, within the lists all films are in chronological order.

Woody Allen the 1980s
1. Stardust Memories (1980)
2. Zelig (1983)
3. Broadway Danny Rose (1985)
4. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
5. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
6. Radio Days (1987)
7. Another Woman (1988
8. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1988)
Note: Eight excellent films in one decade is outstanding.

Ingmar Bergman the 1960s
1. The Virgin Spring (1960)
2. Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
3. Winter Light (1963)
4. The Silence (1963)
5. Persona (1966)
6. Shame (1968)
7. The Passion of Anna (1969)
Note: This includes three films in my top 100.

Hal Ashby the 1970s
1. The Landlord (1970)
2. Harold and Maude (1971)
3. The Last Detail (1973)
4. Shampoo (1975)
5. Bound for Glory (1976)
6. Being There (1979)
Note: As said in the intro, this was the extent of it for Ashby, but oh what a decade.

Michelangelo Antonioni the 1960s
1. L'Avventura (1960)
2. La Notte (1961)
3. L'Eclisse (1962)
4. Red Desert (1964)
5. Blow-Up (1966)
Note: Those first four in five years represent a great four-picture run.

Robert Altman the 1970s
1. MASH (1970)
2. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
3. The Long Goodbye (1973)
4. California Split (1974)
5. Nashville (1975)
6. 3 Women (1977)
Note: Although he made very good films for the next 30 years, this was his peak.

Howard Hawks the 1940s
1. His Girl Friday (1940)
2. Ball of Fire (1941)
3. To Have and Have Not (1943)
4. The Big Sleep (1946)
5. Red River (1948)
Note: Hawks also had excellent output in the '30s and '50s.

Hitchcock directing Rebecca

Alfred Hitchcock the 1940s
1. Foreign Correspondent (1940)
2. Rebecca (1940)
3. Mr. And Mrs. Smith (1941)
4. Suspicion (1941)
5. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
6. Lifeboat (1945)
7. Spellbound (1945)
8. Notorious (1946)
Note: If I were ranking the decades this would likely be first or second (to Allen's '80s)





Luis Bunuel the 1960s
1. The Young One (1960)
2. Viridiana (1961)
3. The Exterminating Angel (1962)
4. Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)
5. Simon of the Desert (1965)
6. Belle de Jour (1967)
7. The Milky Way (1969)
Note: Some might say I cheated here because Simon is a short film.

Woody Allen the 1970s
1. Bananas (1971)
2. Love and Death (1975)
3. Annie Hall (1977)
4. Interiors (1978)
5. Manhattan (1979)
Note: Bananas and Interiors couldn't be more different.

Preston Sturges the 1940s
1. The Great McGinty (1940)
2. The Lady Eve (1941)
3. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
4. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
5. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1943)
6. Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
Note: Not only did Sturges do all his great work in one decade, he did it all in a five-year span.

Alfred Hitchcock the 1950s
1. Strangers on a Train (1951)
2. I Confess (1952)
3. Dial M For Murder (1954)
4. Rear Window (1954)
5. The Trouble With Harry (1955)
6. Vertigo (1958)
7. North by Northwest (1959)
Note: He'd just had a great decade and had more to come in the Sixties staring with Psycho in 1960.