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‘Batman Begins’ – 15 Years
Warner Bros.
Released: June 15, 2005
Christopher Nolan kicked off a brand new trilogy with Christian Bale as Batman in 2005, heralding the arrival of the “elevated” superhero flick. Four years later, Heath Ledger would become the first actor to win an Oscar for playing a comic book character.
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‘Memento’ – 20 Years
Alliance
Released: September 5, 2000
If “Batman Begins” cemented Christopher Nolan as one of Hollywood’s top directors, “Memento” is where his buzz all began. Though the film wasn’t officially released until 2001, “Memento” made waves as the must-see movie on the festival circuit playing Venice and TIFF. The story about a man with short-term memory loss who attempts to track down his wife’s murderer was a truly unique cinematic experience.
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‘Toy Story’ – 25 Years
Disney
Released: November 22, 1995
Pixar’s first feature-length film was a complex and technical marvel that not only introduced audiences to what would become the company’s most-recognizable mascots, but it also tapped into a nostalgic nerve about toys, friendship and growing up. Spawning three sequels, a number of spin-offs and millions in merchandising, “Toy Story” became the first animated film in Oscar history to be nominated for Best Screenplay.
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‘Pretty Woman’ – 30 Years
Warner Bros.
Released: March 23, 1990
“Pretty Woman” may not have had the best reviews of the year, but it certainly had some of the biggest cultural impact of any other film released in 1990. Garry Marshall’s romantic drama about a businessman who falls for a call girl made Julia Roberts a major star.
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‘Goodfellas’ – 30 Years
Warner Bros.
Released: September 21, 1990
Martin Scorsese’s highly-quotable mob epic won raves from critics and audiences alike with Roger Ebert writing, "No finer film has ever been made about organized crime – not even ‘The Godfather.’" In a year where Joe Pesci also played a family-friendly burglar in “Home Alone”, the actor would go on to take home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work as the irredeemable criminal.
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‘The Breakfast Club’ – 35 Years
Universal Pictures
Released: February 15, 1985
A nerd, a princess, a jock, a basket case and a criminal forever changed the way we look at detention in John Hughes’ masterwork, one of the quintessential movies of the 1980s.
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‘Back To The Future’ – 35 Years
Universal Pictures
Released: July 3, 1985
Doc and Marty McFly’s rousing time travel adventure spent 11 weeks at the top of the box office, driving viewers to theatres en masse thanks to word of mouth and glowing reviews. Ronald Reagan, former actor and then-President of the United States, referred to it in his 1986 State Of The Union address: "Never has there been a more exciting time to be alive, a time of rousing wonder and heroic achievement. As they said in the film ‘Back to the Future’, 'Where we're going, we don't need roads'."
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‘The Shining’ – 40 Years
Warner Bros.
Released: June 13, 1980
“The Shining” is the stuff of legend – hated by source material author Stephen King, reports of director Stanley Kubrick terrorizing his actors on set, long and arduous rehearsals – but it all seems worthwhile for what is now considered one of the best horror movies of all-time. Opening to mixed reviews and Razzie Awards (for Worst Director and Worst Actress), later reappraisal of the film has heralded it a true classic of which every frame has been studied and interpreted for hidden meanings.
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‘The Empire Strikes Back’ – 40 Years
Disney
Released: June 20, 1980
Often regarded as one of the best sci-fi movies of all-time and the greatest in the “Star Wars” saga, “The Empire Strikes Back” opened to mixed reviews. The film contains some of the franchise’s most-iconic lines and moments including the reveal that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father.
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‘Jaws’ – 45 Years
Universal Pictures
Released: June 20, 1975
Considered the first summer blockbuster, Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” made generations afraid to go back in the water.
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‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ – 45 Years
20th Century Fox
Released: August 14, 1975
A total bomb upon release, subsequent midnight screenings propelled Dr. Frank N Furter and co. into cult icon territory.
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‘The Sound Of Music’ – 55 Years
20th Century Fox
Released: March 2, 1965
Nabbing five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, “The Sound Of Music” was a worldwide box office smash and became the highest-grossing film of all-time in 1966, surpassing “Gone With The Wind” which previously held the record for 24 years. A steady fixture in theatres for four and a half years, ABC paid $15 million to air the movie on TV once – that’s nearly double the film’s $8 million production budget.
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‘Psycho’ – 60 Years
Paramount Pictures
Released: September 8, 1960
Sixty years later and we will never look at a shower the same way. Mother would definitely not approve.
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‘Rebel Without A Cause’ – 65 Years
Warner Bros.
Released: October 26, 1955
James Dean was fresh off his Oscar-nominated role in “East Of Eden” when he landed the role in “Rebel Without A Cause”, a groundbreaking look at teen disillusionment and the cultural difference between generations. Tragically, Dean died in a car accident at age 24, less than a month before the film was released. He became the first actor to ever receive a posthumous Academy Award nomination.
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‘Cinderella’ – 70 Years
Disney
Released: March 4, 1950
“Cinderella” truly was Disney’s belle of the ball, rescuing the company from the verge of bankruptcy and becoming the studio’s first major hit since “Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs” in 1937. The movie marks the first time Disney’s now-famous group of core animators nicknamed the “Nine Old Men” worked together.
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‘Sunset Boulevard’ – 70 Years
Paramount Pictures
Released: September 29, 1950
Considered one of the greatest films of all-time, Billy Wilder’s masterpiece about a faded silent film star who fantasizes about a return to the big screen was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including nods in all four acting categories.
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‘Pinocchio’ – 80 Years
Disney
Released: February 23, 1940
The animated tale was a box office disaster thanks to WWII which had cut off the overseas markets, but it wasn’t until its 1945 re-release that the little wooden boy found success. Jiminy Cricket, the Blue Fairy and Pinocchio have since become some of Disney’s most-iconic characters.
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‘The Great Dictator’ – 80 Years
United Artists
Released: October 15, 1940
Though it didn’t get a wide release until 1941 (when the U.S. was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany), “The Great Dictator” is just as relevant today as it was 80 years ago. Directed, written, produced and starring Charlie Chaplin, the political satire brings comedy to its condemnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, fascism, Nazis, and anti-Semitism.
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‘The Bride Of Frankenstein’ – 85 Years
Universal Pictures
Released: May 6, 1935
Lauded as one of the finest examples of Gothic Horror, James Whale’s masterwork is an example of a rare sequel that surpasses the original both culturally and critically. With Colin Clive and Boris Karloff reprising their “Frankenstein” roles and Elsa Lanchester joining as the bee-hived bride, “The Bride Of Frankenstein” has been embraced by the LGBTQ+ community with a possible queer reading into the film and its relationships since Whale and a number of castmembers were openly gay.
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