Modern day moviegoers will tell you that 1999 and 2007 were the two best movie years of their lifetime. However, one can make the case that older years such as 1939, 1967, and 1973 could easily contend as the best.
Then there’s 1974. There have already been essays written about this incredible year in cinema, from media such as Uproxx, Film School Rejects, and The A.V. Club. Just look at the classics released that year:
“The Godfather Part II,” “The Conversation”, “Chinatown”, “Badlands,” “A Woman Under the Influence”, “Don't Look Now”, “The Parallax View”, “California Split”, “The Gambler”, “Blazing Saddles”, “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Ali: Fear Eats Soul,” “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”, “Death Wish”, “Young Frankenstein”, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”, “The Sugarland Express”, “The Towering Inferno,” “Phantom of the Paradise”
1974 was quite the year for movies. And so, 50 years later, Netflix will be celebrating the golden jubilee. In recognition of the anniversary, the streamer has announced a new, dedicated content row: “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection”.
Netflix has selected 14 films from 1974 that will be streaming on the platform this month, by way of Warner Bros, Paramount, and Sony:
“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” “Black Belt Jones,” “Blazing Saddles,” “California Split,” “Chinatown,” “The Conversation,” “Death Wish,” “The Gambler,” “The Great Gatsby,” “It’s Alive,” “The Little Prince,” “The Lords of Flatbush,” “The Parallax View,” and “The Street Fighter”
Netflix will also be screening the collection at the Paris Theater in New York City, as well as Los Angeles’ Egyptian and Bay theaters. Those screenings start in March.
It doesn’t end there. In April, Netflix will celebrate films from 1984 (turning 40); July will celebrate 1994 movies (turning 30); and in October films from 2004 (turning 20). If 1999 is more your thing then the Alamo Drafthouse has curated a series of 15 films from that year.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.