What’s in a year? We all can recall the defining moments in history, where we were, what we were doing, etc. But did cinema, the most popular medium, join us in those thoughts and feelings? Was cinema able to represent its times, or was it too far behind? Below is a list of possibly the five greatest years in cinema, not just in terms of money but in aesthetic quality, and a look into the events at the time to ask at that age-old question of whether art reflects life or not.
1939
In 2000 a survey amongst film experts and fans discovered that most felt 1939 was the best year in cinema’s history, the start of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Indeed, Gone With the Wind is not only a household name, but it remains the best selling film of all time, adjusting for inflation of course, making an equivalent of 1.4 billion dollars in the US alone. The Wizard of Oz barely looks its age, as it’s so ingrained in our collective consciousness. Plus, three of the USA’s most enduring and liked actors were becoming huge by this year, with Cary Grant’s Only Angels Have Wings, John Wayne’s Stagecoach, and Jimmy Stewart’s rousing tale of one man inspiring the government, in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. But perhaps the true highlight of the year was Jean Renoir’s La Regle du Jeu, a pointed satire on the insincerity of upper classes, which remains unequalled in its biting satire. Read the rest of this entry »
Top 5, Turtle and the Arcade staff put together a list of the top 5 selections in a given category. These lists have ranged from “Top 5 Zombie Games” to “Top 5 Metal Gear Character”, but in this episode Turtle explores the Top 5 films that are just brimming with over-the-top brand integrations. It’s interesting to watch these clips because you realize how much films actually to brand integrations.
Weekend Estimate at the box office offers kudos to Coen brothers’ Burn After Reading. Bangkok Dangerous, which held first place last week, took a dangerous drop to number eight. The Women came in fourth.
September 12, 2008 - September 14, 2008 (*millions)
No surprises for this week’s box office tally. Tropic Thunder is first, then The House Bunny and Death Race. Quite a few movies are opening this weekend. To name a few: Traitor, Babylon A.D., Hamlet 2 and College.
Tropic Thunder took the top box office draw this weekend taking in an estimated $26 million with a five-day opening total of $37 million. It’s an R-rated film, which means the bulk of the audience is over 25 – that’s quite a draw.
Batman sequel The Dark Knight became the second highest grossing movie of all time domestically, passing up the original Star Wars. The Batman movie took in an estimated $16.8 million with a total of $471.5 million in just 30 days.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which opened to an estimated $15.5 million, came in third.
Mirrors being a horror film, the only one currently, took that market and the number four spot with $11.1 million.
Vicky Cristinia Barcelona opened in only 692 screens took the number ten spot with an estimated $3.7 million.
The Dark Knight came back Saturday and ended up winning the top box office spot for the fourth straight week.
Pineapple Express on Friday beat Dark Knight barely $7.9 million to $7.6 million margin. However, on Saturday the superhero movie gained the lead of the comedy, winning the day with $10.5 million to $7.6 million. Then, Sunday the box office climbed a little higher for the cape crusader ending the weekend comfortably at the top with $26 million
The Batman movie has now totals $441.5 million, surpassing Shrek 2 as the third highest domestic box office of all time. The movie most likely will beat the number two spot Star Wars $461 million total in the next week resting behind Titanic.
Final weekend box office for Pineapple comes to $22.4 million.
I should have the complete tally of the top ten box office spots for this weekend tomorrow.
It’s Sunday morning and I am writing about Friday box office because it has just been brought to my attention that comedy Pineapple Express top the domestic box office Friday as it brought in $7.8 million while The Dark Knight was close with $7.5 million.
For three days Pineapple brought in $25.9 million to set at the number one spot for domestic box office for a continuous three days. Even though Dark Knight slumped 41% from the preceding Friday, it could take the weekend, which we will find out later today. So, stay tuned.
What’s in a year? We all can recall the defining moments in history, where we were, what we were doing, etc. But did cinema, the most popular medium, join us in those thoughts and feelings? Was cinema able to represent its times, or was it too far behind? Below is a list of possibly the five greatest years in cinema, not just in terms of money but in aesthetic quality, and a look into the events at the time to ask at that age-old question of whether art reflects life or not.
