‘The movies of 1999 aren’t mere nostalgia trips; they’re a part of people’s lives...’
1999 was famously a landmark year in cinema. Fight Club. The Matrix. American Beauty. Eyes Wide Shut. The Sixth Sense. Election. Being John Malkovich. Office Space… I could go on and on. And on. There is a strong argument that 1999 was the best ever year for the moving image. It marks the end of the second era of auteur-driven cinema after the ’70s but the ’90s had the added boon of the rise of independent cinema. Brian Raftery’s book Best. Movie. Year. Ever. (subtitled: ‘How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen’) takes us through many of the most iconic films from 1999 offering a mixture of production history, sociological treatise and showbiz gossip…
Raftery covers all the big hitters from 1999 in a way that is informative, often funny and just the right side of mythologising. It’s fascinating to hear about how The Blair Witch Project became one of the most profitable films ever released (and also one of the most influential) and how Fight Club and Office Space perfectly captured the dissatisfaction with working a humdrum office job to buy ‘shit you don’t need’. While Raftery never actually attempts to justify why 1999 is the best movie year ever, the sheer range of films released and the influence they have had makes his argument for him.
Best. Movie. Year. Ever. is a fascinating insight into a time in cinematic history that will never be repeated (for better or worse). Film nerds and ’90s survivors everywhere will eat it up.