1999: The Year that Changed
Movies…Forever
1999 was a definitive year in many ways. Most saw it as the last year before the future kicked in, with the upcoming arrival of The Year 2000 on the horizon. Despite the fact the 21st century didn't technically start until 2001, the year 2000 had a better ring to it and most looked forward to it with huge anticipation.
As is always the way with a consumer driven society, the media and manufacturers looked to cash in on this year that was fast approaching. Apparently, the computers we had designed and depended on so much for the 20th century, would not be able to register the change in date the correct way. The computers would “think” it was 1900, and not 2000. What did this mean? Well apparently, all electrical equipment would fail and shut down so anything run by computers would be affected. This meant we were told the lights might go out at midnight, but worst of all, any planes flying through skies above would stop working and plummet to the ground. The fear and speculation around the Y2K Bug as it was called, went into overdrive and the more impressionable and gullible members of society got paranoid; rushing to their local K-Marts or supermarkets to stock up on everything from gas cylinders to bottled water and cans of food that would last a life time. Some even went as far to buld underground bunkers to live in, as the planet was supposedly heading for another stone age.
And what happened? Fuck all! The lights didn’t go out, no planes crashed, idiots who spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on preparing for the end of the world felt like suckers as they had a room full of bottles, cans and supplies they would never need. The revenue generated by consumers as a result of the Y2K Bug was estimated to reach about one billion dollars worldwide. The ones who orchestrated it all made money from the world’s stupidity and life continued as normal. January 1st 2000 came and many were shocked and surprised to discover it was just another day on the calendar.
So if you were old enough to remember this, which I’m assuming most of you were, you’ll recall the hype and build-up that surrounded us all in 1999 as the countdown to 2000 loomed. Besides all that silliness, 1999 was a very good year for movies, which brings me to this series of Special Reviews.
It’s often been called “The Year that Changed Movies” and if you consider the pictures that released in 1999, you would have to agree. I’m not sure it was a secret meeting of all the movie heavyweights in Hollywood, just a matter of coincidence or something in the stars, but this year in film churned out more than it’s fair share of original, ground-breaking and game-changing movies that are still impacting the world of cinema today.
Personally for me, 1999 was a good year. I was in Year 11 at high school. I was breaking in a new look, getting taller and getting more noticed by the girls in my class. Oh, memories. With my love for movies in full swing by the age of 17, I was a regular visitor to the local cinema. Usually in the company of my best mates from school, we went and saw “Star Wars Episode 1” the day it opened after school. We saw “The Matrix” on a Friday night, and discussed it for days the following week at school. And for my 17th birthday, a bunch of us went and saw “The Sixth Sense”, walking out of the theatre after the end of the film scratching our heads in bewilderment and confusion. It took a few of us a couple of days to work out what the ending meant. Okay, so we weren't the sharpest tools in the shed but we loved our movies, and we were blessed to be offered so many new, different and ground-breaking films in one year.
So in a tribute to the year that was 1999, I present what I believe are the Top 20 titles from that year. These reviews are a collection of special films that re-invented the way movies would be made, shown and experienced from then on. Check back here over the next nine days as I will post reviews for two films at a time. Please share your thoughts and comments either on this blog or on the Facebook link. Enjoy :)
Movies Reviewed Include...
Three Kings
The Limey
Boy's Don't Cry
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Being John Malkovich
Fight Club
American Pie
Magnolia
The Matrix
Toy Story 2
Run Lola Run
Eyes Wide Shut
Election
The Blair Witch Project
Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Ed TV
Go
The Sixth Sense
American Beauty
Dogma
Conclusion to these reviews...
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