Even with decades and decades of hindsight, it’s not always clear which film holds up as the “best” in a given year. In 1954, for...

We’ve reached the mid-1950s, and everything is changing. In Hollywood, the domination of the Hays Code is cracking as the film industry...

The American film industry rose to prominence and dominance in the 1930s and 40s, aided in part by the collapse of the industry in...

In 1951, the nation fell in love with An American in Paris, a lighthearted romantic musical comedy featuring Gene Kelly and his buddies...

With 1951, we enter a period of transition in cinema history. In America, Marlon Brando bursts onto the scene in A Streetcar Named...

The year 1950 is known for one of the most talked-about, long-debated Oscar races in history: not just the battle for Best Actress, where...

We’ve reached the end of our second decade, and what an eventful one it’s been. Despite a brief dip in quality in the midst of World War...

When last we met, we were talking about 1947 - arguably the worst year ever for motion pictures. Luckily for us, though, 1947 was just a...

When it comes to movie history, some years are better - and worse - than others. 1939 had The Wizard of Oz, The Rules of the Game, and...

The year 1946 was the first full year of the post-war era, and Hollywood must have been ready for it, because they cranked out several of...

Okay, so where were we? It’s been a few months since we last posted (thanks, 2020!), but we’re finally back! And still in the mid-1940s,...

In world history, 1944 is all about World War II, but in cinema history, it’s all about noir. We’ve already encountered several great...

Blame it on the war if you like, but in terms of “films that have stood the test of time,” 1943 was one of the worst years in cinema...

When it comes to the Oscars, the year 1942 is unique in cinema history: Mrs. Miniver won Best Picture for that year, but 1943’s Best...

We won’t leave you in any suspense this time around: it’s almost universally recognized that the best picture of 1941 is Citizen Kane,...

So far in our journey through movie history, we’ve only agreed with the Oscars once: in 1934, when It Happened One Night won both the...

I was chatting recently with a friend about this project and we got to talking about specific years. “Oh, 1939,” he said, “that’ll be an...

The Oscars loved Frank Capra in the 1930s: just four years after honoring It Happened One Night as the year’s best picture, they honored...

The year 1937 was a pivotal one in cinema history, with film’s first-ever animated feature and the first color film to be Oscar-nominated...

There are a few years in movie history where one particular film stands out among all the rest: Citizen Kane in 1941, Bicycle Thieves in...