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The Ringer: Top 50 Movies of 1999 + Fight Club Oral History

5,290 Views | 38 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Furlock Bones
TCTTS
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It has somehow been 20 years since 1999, one of the greatest years in film history. The Ringer has a pretty awesome breakdown of their top 50 films of that year, culminating in a fantastic retrospective of Fight Club, their number one, and probably mine as well (being the Fincher fanatic that I am). All definitely worth the read..



TCTTS
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AG
Can't wait for the book as well...

redd38
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Interesting that Best Picture winner didn't even make the top half.

The people voting on those awards need to get their act together.
PatAg
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I'm not sure I'd call their bit on Fight Club fantastic.

I feel like over the past 3-4 years I have read Ringer articles less and less. The people I enjoyed reading on there either don't write as often or are out on their own now. They seem to have been replaced by people doing poor imitations of Bill Simmons, or they just have personalities/ways of writing I don't find interesting. That's probably not just a Ringer thing, I'm not looking for every single thing in life to be tied back to being woke.

Obviously a lot of people do, as they seem to still be doing well. It's just unfortunate for me.
PatAg
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That being said, I agree with a lot of their rankings, though I think I would have had American Pie in the top 5. They made a great point about The Matrix, and this happens a lot. Just because a lot of crappy movies have come along after it trying to imitate it or blatantly steal from it, doesn't make The Matrix less amazing.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Direct link
https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/3/25/18274634/1999-movies-ranking-top-50
TCTTS
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Legit asking - do the direct links not show up in the tweets for some people?
Max Power
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1999 was an awesome year for movies indeed, was in College Station at the time. Remember going to many midnight showings for discounted tickets considering I was 19. Several of my all-time favorites on the list, pretty staggering to see them all in a list like this.
Brian Earl Spilner
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I knew this going in, but after making my way through this list, holy hell, 1999 was a HELL of a year for movies.

And it's kind of insane how many of the teen movie classics were from the same year.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Just easier. And many have twitter blocked at work.
TCTTS
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Good to know. I like that a tweet adds imagery and a little more context, but I didn't realize they were blocked in some instances. Will try to provide both going forward.
tk for tu juan
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Any list that has October Sky ranked lower than Episode I should be ignored.

Also, my life has been turned upside down learning there is a movie with Melissa McCarthy in it that I like, Go.
John Matrix
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1999 was the year that made me a movie nerd. The Matrix, Fight Club, Eyes Wide ****, etc. I was s freshman in high school, and seeing some of these films in theaters really made me think deeper about movies on general.

On a related note, how would some of y'all feel about compilinga top 50 films of the last twenty years list? It'll take a while, but I think it would be fun to think about.
Bruce Almighty
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Top 3 is dead on, though I'd have a different order.

1. Office Space
2. Matrix
3. Fight Club

That's a great top 3 though, one of the best ever.
Philo B 93
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Great movie years come along on average every 7.5 years. We're about 2 years away from another one, and we'll never see it coming.
John Matrix
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While not quite as insane as 1999 in terms of great films, 2007 is no slouch in terms of great film years:

No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Zodiac
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Superbad
Knocked Up
Sweeney Todd
Ol Jock 99
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American Beauty doesn't hold up? Because Spacey is a creep?
Brian Earl Spilner
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Yeah, that confused me too. Great movie.
Zombie Jon Snow
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1999 is pretty good. Among the best. But I actually think 2000 is better - not the top 3 maybe, but the next several at least in the top 12 to 15. Maybe not as deep overall though.

Best of 2000:

Gladiator
Traffic
O' Brother, Where Art Thou?

That's a big 3. Gladiator was a big big film winning Best Picture and that puts it way ahead of 1999 (American Beauty) in that consideration at least. Traffic was groundbreaking - Soderbergh 2nd huge film of the year and the one he won best director for. those 2 might not be as mind bending as The Matrix and Fight Club but they are better films overall. And more repeat watchable for me. And "O' Brother" is more cult worthy than even Office Space and one of the Coen Brothers best.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - 1999 does not have a foreign film to rival this. It's a work of art.

I actually loathe 4-6 on the 1999 list - Magnolia tries too hard, Talented Mr. Ripley is boring, Election was blah.

These 2000 films are all better:

Cast Away - a big tom Hanks vehicle
Remember The Titans - feel good movie, great sports movie and quotable
The Patriot - decent period piece, historically inaccurate but America!!!
Almost Famous - very well done critically acclaimed Cameron Crowe pic
Erin Brokovich - the other Soderbergh pic that year did really well and won Roberts an Oscar

and as for horror- Frequency was wayyyy better than Blair Witch (over hyped garbage).

Meet The Parents - maybe not quite the level of American Pie but a solid comedy film franchise for Stiller and co.

Requiem For a Dream - is waayyy freakier and more disturbing than Eyes Wide Shut (which was tiresome and monotonous and I'm a huge Kubrick fan).

U-571 is better than Three Kings for a war entry.

Miss Congeniality - might not be Julia Roberts but it's a funner movie than Notting Hill for romantic comedy.
High Fidelity - another cult classic

Lots more - although I admit it falls off a bit here:

Unbreakable
X-Men
Mission: Impossible 2
Chocolat
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Finding Forrester
Dinosaur
Thirteen Days
Bounce
Proof of Life
Malena
The Perfect Storm
28 Days
Shaft
Pay It Forward
Legend of Bagger Vance
Hollow Man
Coyote Ugly
Red Planet
What Women Want
Space Cowboys

Anyway - to each his own - but I'll take 2000 over 1999 even though 1999 top 3 are probably more impactful from a pop culture point of view at least.

Brian Earl Spilner
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Valiant effort, but still think 99 wins easily.
Brian Earl Spilner
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2001 is no slouch either.

Fellowship of the Ring
A Beautiful Mind
Mulholland Drive
Donnie Darko
Training Day
Black Hawk Down
Ocean's Eleven
Vanilla Sky
Zoolander
The Royal Tenenbaums

And of course, The Fast and the Furious.
Bruce Almighty
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Brian Earl Spilner said:

2001 is no slouch either.

Fellowship of the Ring
A Beautiful Mind
Mulholland Drive
Donnie Darko
Training Day
Black Hawk Down
Ocean's Eleven
Vanilla Sky
Zoolander
The Royal Tenenbaums

And of course, The Fast and the Furious.


And the first Harry Potter movie and Shrek.
redd38
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1994 is the GOAT
Bruce Almighty
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Agree, followed closely by 1984.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Man, I always forget that 1994 had True Lies on top of all the other great movies.

That really was an insanely good year.
zgood10
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"What had seemed so fresh in The Matrix quickly became clichd, which makes it more difficult for first-time viewers decades later to appreciate the impression The Matrix made on unsuspecting audiences in 1999."

So true. Going into the theater in '99 not really knowing what to expect and THEN being totally blown away by the movie was an amazing experience.
GiveEmHellBill
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I'm old, so I remember the summer of 1984 and it was possibly the greatest summer movie season ever. However, I do admit that 1994 was as good if not greater a year.
Ol Jock 99
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The rest are up. Fun list. American Beauty should be Top 5 though.
Zombie Jon Snow
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Yes agreed 1984 and 1994 were insane.

From a quality and groundbreaking point of view the top end of 1994 is better. But from a pop culture and depth point of view 1984 had much more.

1984 had:
Terminator
Ghostbusters
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Footloose
Red Dawn
Gremlins
The Karate Kid
Beverly Hills Cop
Sixteen Candles
Romancing the Stone
Splash
Star Trek III
This is Spinal Tap
Conan the Destroyer
Bachelor Party
Purple Rain
Top Secret!
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Firestarter
Police Academy
Revenge of the Nerds
All of Me
The Killing Fields
The Natural
The Neverending Story
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Starman
Dune
2010
The Woman in Red
Blame it on Rio
The Razor's Edge
The Flamingo Kid
Moscow on the Hudson
Teachers
Hot Dog The Movie
Breakin'
Amadeus
Repo Man
Body Double
Paris, Texas
A Passage to India
The Bounty



And 1994 had:
Shawshank Redemption
Pulp Fiction
The Usual Suspects
Forrest Gump
The Lion King
True Lies
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Clear and Present Danger
Speed
Dumb and Dumber
The Hudsucker Proxy
Interview with the Vampire
Legends of the Fall
Maverick
Stargate
Beverly Hills Cop III
The Santa Clause
Natural Born Killers
The River Wild
Quiz Show
Wyatt Earp
Star Trek Generations
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Clerks
Airheads
Angels in the Outfield
The Mask
Ed Wood
Timecop
Major League II
Naked gun 33 and 1/3
Blown Away
The Client



TCTTS
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Wow. How crazy would this have been?

jackie childs
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live look at the studio after she said no:

Cinco Ranch Aggie
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1984 was great, but consider 1982 - within about two month's time, we saw the release of

Conan the Barbarian
The Road Warrior
Rocky III
Poltergeist
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Firefox
Blade Runner
The Thing
TRON

with other releases from that year including

Das Boot
Porky's
Pink Floyd: The Wall
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
First Blood
Creepshow
48 Hours
Gandhi
The Dark Crystal
Tootsie
Zombie Jon Snow
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TCTTS said:

Wow. How crazy would this have been?



would have made me more interested in Neo and Trinity love scenes.
MSFC Aggie
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Galaxy Quest at 43??
Duncan Idaho
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TCTTS said:

Wow. How crazy would this have been?




This movie was made.

You don't remember "the net"

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113957/
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