Movies 1980s Films vs. 1990s Films

[emefer]

 

[Deleted member 449757]

 

[StonedLemur]

This is inspired by posters like @The Good The Bad The HBK and @MXZT. Plus I was born in the (early) 1980s but remember the 1990s better because I was a teen in the '90s, so I figured this would be fun. I'm using Rolling Stone readers polls as the source and listing what were voted as the top 25 films for both decades. Not necessarily my personal choices but pretty comprehensive.

Top 25 films of the 1980s:

1. The Breakfast Club
2. Back to the Future
3. Star Wars Episode 3 - The Empire Strikes Back
4. Blade Runner
5. Stand By Me
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
7. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
8. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
9. Ghostbusters
10. Amadeus
11. Repo Man
12. Sixteen Candles
13. The Goonies
14. Purple Rain
15. The Lost Boys
16. UHF
17. The Outsiders
18. The Shining
19. Die Hard
20. Full Metal Jacket
21. Scarface
22. Pretty in Pink
23. St. Elmo's Fire
24. Big Trouble in Little China
25. Weird Science

Top 25 films of the 1990s:

1. Pulp Fiction
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Goodfellas
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Fight Club
6. Forrest Gump
7. Trainspotting
8. Reservoir Dogs
9. American Beauty
10. The Usual Suspects
11. Dazed and Confused
12. Se7en
13. True Romance
14. Fargo
15. The Silence of the Lambs
16. The Matrix
17. Schindler's List
18. Saving Private Ryan
19. Boogie Nights
20. Heat
21. Clerks
22. Jurassic Park
23. Unforgiven
24. Braveheart
25. Dumb and Dumber

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-mov...s-of-the-1980s-10686/25-weird-science-215232/

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-mov...of-the-1990s-20319/25-dumb-and-dumber-221191/

I could call a tie here and not be mad

 

[Deleted member 110072]

Honestly I find the 90's is the era were my taste and what gets talked up vary more than almost any other era, most obviously all those self important mainstream Hollywood dramas like Shawshank, Gump. Braveheart, etc never did much for me. They seem convinced their making the greatest most important films ever but to me their mostly pretty bland and very shmaltzy, ditto for fratboy grossout comedy and CGI heavy blockbusters.

My top 25 from the 90's would be something like...

Terminator 2
Goodfellas
King of Newyork
Millers Crossing
The Double Life of Veronique
La Belle Noiseuse
Basic Instinct
Porco Rosso
Groundhog Day
Three Colours Blue
Pulp Fiction
Ghost in the Shell
12 Monkeys
Bound
Crash
Perfect Blue
Rushmore
The Game
Princess Mononoke
The Big Lebowski
Lost Highway
Khrustalyov, My Car!
Ronin
Eyes Wide Shut
The Matrix

 

[The Big Yin]

80s as the film just felt purer. Get to the 90s and a lot had that cynical or pretentious edge to them.

Still... True Romance and Event Horizon.....

 

[Madmick]

Easy win for the 90's, but the 80's was fantastic, and at least better than the 90's for action/macho culture and pulp cinema. I didn't realize how spoiled I was growing up. At least I appreciated the golden age of television drama while it lasted in the 00's up until the kickoff of the 10's. I knew I was spoiled as that was happening. And comedy in movies and television was spectacular from the 80's through the 90's through the 00's.

I appreciate it all now so deeply after finding myself in the shitshow wasteland that cinema (and TV) have become in the past decade. Comedy and drama, it all fucking sucks. They can't even get adaptations of classic literature right. Doesn't even matter if it's fantasy or sci-fi. There's no focus on storytelling, anymore, just a political agenda. The relentless soapboxing is more exhausting than the church sermons I was forced to hear as a child.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

I love the 80s a lot for many reasons, but 90s is the king when it comes to movies.

Just so many strong, incredible films that came out that decade. Probably because everyone thought the world would end by the end of the decade.

I don't think the decade of 1990s will ever be surpassed even 100 years from now.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

So tough to choose with this one.

I think 90s is edging out my beloved 80s.

 

[Natural Order]

80s is fantastic but 90s edges it out imo. Things got a bit darker and more cerebral in general. 80s had a whiff of goofiness to almost everything. Two great decades for film and music, all comes down to preference.

 

[Hollywood Jack]

I love the 80s a lot for many reasons, but 90s is the king when it comes to movies.

Just so many strong, incredible films that came out that decade. Probably because everyone thought the world would end by the end of the decade.

I don't think the decade of 1990s will ever be surpassed even 100 years from now.

It was pretty awesome, sir.

I experienced it firsthand but in hindsight it's also interesting. There are things you know or can find as an adult, and with technology, EVERYTHING is available pretty much. So certain stuff I missed or barely noticed/remembered from the '90s, I've discovered and rediscovered in more recent years. I'm looking forward to more '90s nostalgia stuff coming out...

 

[I Am Legion]

The 90s was amazing, I just do not know it can come up with a resume to beat this grouping:
ET-Best Family movie of all time
Raiders-Top Adventure movie of all time
Empire Strikes Back-Best Star Wars movie
Back To The Future-Best Adventure of all time
The Terminator-Best Sci Fi of all time
Die Hard-Best Action of all time
Aliens-Best action horror Sci Fi of all time
The Shining--Top 3 Horror of all time
Full Metal Jacket-Top 5 War Movie of all time

 

[therealdope]

The 90s was straight up better, even though I love the 80s. 1994 and 1999 were all time great movie years. Comedies and Animated movies in the 90s were way better. 80s did have good fantasy/Sci-fi and coming of age stuff. However that Rolling Stone list of best 80s movies has some weird ass picks. No Terminator, Last Crusade, Aliens, Predator, The Thing, and ET but UHF, Repo Man?, Lost Boys, and St Elmo's Fire? Weird boner for obscure Emilio Estévez movies.

Agreed. There are single years in the 90s who's top movies of the year list is better than the entire 80s combined.

 

[Halifax]

This is inspired by posters like @The Good The Bad The HBK and @MXZT. Plus I was born in the (early) 1980s but remember the 1990s better because I was a teen in the '90s, so I figured this would be fun. I'm using Rolling Stone readers polls as the source and listing what were voted as the top 25 films for both decades. Not necessarily my personal choices but pretty comprehensive.

Top 25 films of the 1980s:

1. The Breakfast Club
2. Back to the Future
3. Star Wars Episode 3 - The Empire Strikes Back
4. Blade Runner
5. Stand By Me
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
7. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
8. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
9. Ghostbusters
10. Amadeus
11. Repo Man
12. Sixteen Candles
13. The Goonies
14. Purple Rain
15. The Lost Boys
16. UHF
17. The Outsiders
18. The Shining
19. Die Hard
20. Full Metal Jacket
21. Scarface
22. Pretty in Pink
23. St. Elmo's Fire
24. Big Trouble in Little China
25. Weird Science

Top 25 films of the 1990s:

1. Pulp Fiction
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Goodfellas
4. The Shawshank Redemption
5. Fight Club
6. Forrest Gump
7. Trainspotting
8. Reservoir Dogs
9. American Beauty
10. The Usual Suspects
11. Dazed and Confused
12. Se7en
13. True Romance
14. Fargo
15. The Silence of the Lambs
16. The Matrix
17. Schindler's List
18. Saving Private Ryan
19. Boogie Nights
20. Heat
21. Clerks
22. Jurassic Park
23. Unforgiven
24. Braveheart
25. Dumb and Dumber

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-mov...s-of-the-1980s-10686/25-weird-science-215232/

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-mov...of-the-1990s-20319/25-dumb-and-dumber-221191/

Your source list fucking sucks and leaves a lot of good movies off the list for the 80's

No Top Gun, Aliens, Terminator, the Thing, Roadhouse, Highlander, Nightmare on Elm Street? That's just off the top of my head.

And they put entries like UHF on the list? That movie is funny. but on a top 25 list of the 80's it should not be supplanting movies like Aliens. neither should sixteen candles

 

[Hollywood Jack]

Your source list fucking sucks and leaves a lot of good movies off the list for the 80's

No Top Gun, Aliens, Terminator, the Thing, Roadhouse, Highlander, Nightmare on Elm Street? That's just off the top of my head.

And they put entries like UHF on the list? That movie is funny. but on a top 25 list of the 80's it should not be supplanting movies like Aliens. neither should sixteen candles

Fair enough. They’re not my personal picks. I was trying to find a good consistent source for both decades. That one was the best one I could find. If you have a different source, please post it. Also make a list of your favorites that aren’t on their list if you want to. I plan on doing that later…

 

[Halifax]

Fair enough. They’re not my personal picks. I was trying to find a good consistent source for both decades. That one was the best one I could find. If you have a different source, please post it. Also make a list of your favorites that aren’t on their list if you want to. I plan on doing that later…

Oh I get that. Im just saying. UHF? over any of the movies I listed? Who wrote that shit? lol. When you think 80s, Top gun, Terminator and Aliens are some of the first movies that come to mind. Nobody goes "wow, St. Elmo's Fire, Repo man and Pretty in Pink are the blockbusters of the era and knock top gun out of the top 25"

its like some dude started a list and got his action hating wife to fill in some blanks to get a femme opinion

If I find time to look for a source, sure ill post one. im not going to go out of my way looking unless i get bored later.

 

[Hollywood Jack]

Oh I get that. Im just saying. UHF? over any of the movies I listed? Who wrote that shit? lol. When you think 80s, Top gun, Terminator and Aliens are some of the first movies that come to mind. Nobody goes "wow, St. Elmo's Fire, Repo man and Pretty in Pink are the blockbusters of the era and knock top gun out of the top 25"

its like some dude started a list and got his action hating wife to fill in some blanks to get a femme opinion

If I find time to look for a source, sure ill post one. im not going to go out of my way looking unless i get bored later.

I like Weird Al, but I literally haven't seen UHF. I can't comment on it one way or the other. The Terminator merits inclusion of course. Top Gun, Angel Heart, Wall Street, etc.

It was voted on by Rolling Stone readers. I was seeing if I could find IMDb lists or whatever. I didn't want it to just be based on a single critic or something like that. I didn't want it to be just my personal picks (although there is some overlap). I figured feedback from a wide swath of people would be best.

Yeah, no worries. I had some apprehension about the source I used, but it was the best I could find and I did put some time and effort into it. Not the type of time and effort I put into my professional or personal life of course, but...

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

90s by a significant margin. The fact that Burtons Batman didn't make the cut for top 25 movies from the 80's is also a bit fucky

Will say 80's movies were more "fun"

 

[Madmick]

Agreed. There are single years in the 90s who's top movies of the year list is better than the entire 80s combined.

This is what we're talking about, boys.

1994

Domestic & English Language
The Shawshank Redemption
Pulp Fiction
Forrest Gump
Léon (aka "The Professional")
The Lion King
Hoop Dreams
Crumb
Clerks
Quiz Show
Dumb and Dumber
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Legends of the Fall
Interview with the Vampire
Bullets Over Broadway
Ed Wood
Trial by Jury
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Madness of King George
Don Juan DeMarco
Natural Born Killers
The Crow
True Lies
Speed
Stargate
No Escape
Timecop
Blue Chips
The Mask
Airheads
Clear and Present Danger
The Hudsucker Proxy
Exotica
Little Women
It Could Happen to You
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Reality Bites
The War
The Client
In the Mouth of Madness
Immortal Beloved
Fresh
Blue Sky
The Last Seduction
Once Were Warriors
Heavenly Creatures
Vanya on 42nd Street
Muriel's Wedding
Death and the Maiden
Priest
Nobody's Fool
Shallow Grave
Red Rock West
The Blue Kite
The New Age
32 Short Films About Glenn Gould

Foreign
Sátántangó
Il Postino [The Postman]
Chung Hing sam lam [Chungking Express]
Trois couleurs: Rouge [Three Colors: Red]
Trois couleurs: Blanc [Three Colors: White]
Pred dozhdot [Before the Rain]
Yin shi nan nu [Eat Drink Man Woman]
Utomlennye solntsem [Burnt by the Sun]
Jing wu ying xiong [Fist of Legend]
Jui kuen II [The Legend of Drunken Master]
Huo zhe [To Live]
La Reine Margot [Queen Margot]
Una pura formalità [A Pure Formality]
Il Mostro [The Monster]
Nattevagten [Nightwatch]
Heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko [The Raccoon War]

Bollywood
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa [Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No]
Andaz Apna Apna [Everyone Has Their Own Style]
Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! [Who Am I to You?]
Krantiveer [Revolutionary]

 

[freakroor]

whichever decade it was when they made Big Lebowski, that’s the best decade. So 90’s i guess.

 

[Starck]

Tough call. Enjoyed pretty much all the movies I've seen on both lists. Gotta go with 90s based on having aged less.