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Best. Movie. Year. Ever.
Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen | Brian Raftery
8 posts | 4 read | 1 reading | 3 to read
From a veteran culture writer and modern movie expert, a celebration and analysis of the movies of 1999arguably the most groundbreaking year in American cinematic history. In 1999, Hollywood as we know it exploded: Fight Club. The Matrix. Office Space. Election. The Blair Witch Project. The Sixth Sense. Being John Malkovich. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. American Beauty. The Virgin Suicides. Boys Dont Cry. The Best Man. Three Kings. Magnolia. Those are just some of the landmark titles released in a dizzying movie year, one in which a group of daring filmmakers and performers pushed cinema to new limitsand took audiences along for the ride. Freed from the restraints of budget, technology (or even taste), they produced a slew of classics that took on every topic imaginable, from sex to violence to the end of the world. The result was a highly unruly, deeply influential set of films that would not only change filmmaking, but also give us our first glimpse of the coming twenty-first century. It was a watershed moment that also produced The Sopranos; Apples Airport; Wi-Fi; and Netflixs unlimited DVD rentals. Best. Movie. Year. Ever. is the story of not just how these movies were made, but how they re-made our own vision of the world. It features more than 130 new and exclusive interviews with such directors and actors as Reese Witherspoon, Edward Norton, Steven Soderbergh, Sofia Coppola, David Fincher, Nia Long, Matthew Broderick, Taye Diggs, M. Night Shyamalan, David O. Russell, James Van Der Beek, Kirsten Dunst, the Blair Witch kids, the Office Space dudes, the guy who played Jar-Jar Binks, and dozens more. Its the definitive account of a culture-conquering movie year none of us saw comingand that we may never see again.
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reading_rainbow
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Book mail 💌 1999 was a fantastic year for film and actually a year just in general I look back on with fondness ❤️ excited about this! I know it‘s going to make me want to binge a bunch of classics tho 😅

19 likes2 stack adds
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WanderingBookaneer
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Half day without students means I‘ll just read in my desk for 3 hours. #BookStack

MidnightBookGirl Great stack, might have to track down the tagged book for myself! 3y
Bookwormjillk Nice! 3y
61 likes2 comments
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WanderingBookaneer
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Today‘s hammock read. #HammockRead

Gissy Is that a mango tree? 4y
WanderingBookaneer @Gissy , Yup. In my backyard. 4y
Gissy @WanderingBookaneer La Mancha de plátano cruzó el mar🥰 4y
WanderingBookaneer @Daisey This is mine. 3y
53 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
RamsFan1963
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Pickpick

I don't know that I agree with the author's premise, that 1999 was the best movie year ever, for me it's probably 1982 or 1984, but his dissection of the movies of 1999 was insightful and entertaining. 3 💥💥💥 1/2

Leftcoastzen I have a fondness for 1981.On the basis of Reds and Ragtime.I‘m intrigued by your choice years , must go back and review , I may ultimately agree with you . 5y
Suet624 @leftcoastzen Of course you and I would like Reds. I can‘t tell you how many times I‘ve watched that movie and have cried every darn time. (edited) 5y
RamsFan1963 @suet624 @Leftcoastzen 1982 gave us Chariots of Fire, STII: The Wrath of Kahn, E.T., Blade Runner, An Officer and A Gentleman, Poltergeist and 48 Hours. 1984 gave us The Right Stuff, Splash!, Gremlins, Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid and The Terminator. 5y
See All 6 Comments
Leftcoastzen Those are 2 strong years!great picks for all tastes and styles . 5y
Leftcoastzen @Suet624 after the revolution, I‘ll buy you a new hat 🎩!💕💕😀It was a labor of love for Warren ,I believe . 5y
Suet624 @Leftcoastzen oh gosh. Don‘t make me cry. 5y
51 likes6 comments
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AMVP
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Mehso-so

While insightful in parts and often quite elegant in its structure, Raftery's book works better as a historical account of the late 20th century film industry than as a meditation on the films themselves.

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AMVP
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#riotgrams #day2 - #booksandsocks

Been cleaning my room this weekend, and found this pair of new socks in a forgotten drawer.

Add that to my stack of "current reads," and you've got yourself an update.

12 likes1 stack add
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balletbookworm
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Pickpick

A readable and very well researched look at some of the most memorable films from 1999 - including The Matrix, Fight Club, American Beauty (and Pie), Election, Office Space, The Phantom Menace, to name only a few - and how the culture and media of the late 90s and the end of the 20th century spoke to these film and filmmakers. Raftery also contrasts 1999 with 1969 (the Raging Bulls, Easy Rider film year) and 2019. A fun read for film fans.

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balletbookworm
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Twenty years later, movie studios are still pumping out unwanted remakes and sequels. Just with bigger budgets. From Brian Raftery‘s Best. Movie. Year. Ever. about the movies that came out in 1999 - this chapter is about the Wachowskis and The Matrix. Out on Tuesday #amreading