Why Films From 1999 Are So Iconic

[@BroeyDeschanel]

Quick explanations: (1) I refer to the teens in 1999 films as Gen X when, by the end of the 90s, these people would belong to the early Millennial age group or "xennials". But frankly because there was so much overlap I think they still culturally embody many Gen X traits and utilize the teen tropes of earlier 90s movies. (2) Rushmore technically premiered in 1998 - but it received a wide release in 1999 which is why Raftery includes it in his book! Thank you for watching!

[@Doctor_Straing_Strange]

I just discovered your channel, you're great!

[@bennruda11]

I am not gen x or millenlial or whatever nonsense term they call my generation. Born 84, we are more the internet generation but can't stand these nonsensical name terms

[@Doctor_Straing_Strange]

@@bennruda11 you just said the most gen x thing I've ever heard lmao

[@kilgore_trout_37]

Came here for this- apologies for the narcissism of small differences but yeah, I’m an elder millennial or Xennial (terrible word but accurate description) - in 99 I was 18 going on 19, living on my own, and 100% one of those teens you described watching Being John Malkovich in the theater. But the American Beauty kids are 16, solidly millenials. The thing we have in common is coming of age as the millennium dawned, which may be vague but it is what it is when you draw these imaginary lines in the sand. I love Gen Xers, but I’m not one. I was home watching MTV while those kids were driving to school in their acid washed jeans. It’s painfully clear to me because I married a Gen Xer, and he gets none of my references, but a useful shorthand for remembering the difference- John Green: Gen Xer, Hank Green: Elder Millenial

[@kilgore_trout_37]

Pop Girly Edition; Elder Millenials: Britney(81), Christina Aguilera(80), Beyoncé (81), Pink (79) Nicki Minaj (82) Gen Xers - Mariah (69), Janet (66) Alanis Morissette (74), Sinead O’Connor(66) Shania Twain (65) Björk (65) Cuspy - Shakira (77) We’ll take her ¯\_(°ペ)_/¯

[@sksksks7533]

I feel like a24 is now the Miramax of the 2020s. Anyone else see the pattern? Being able to shove big names into quirky and thoughtful films like Everything Everywhere All at Once sweeping the Oscars. Also A24 branching into streaming with Euphoria and Beef.

[@LuisSierra42]

Yeah, was thinking exactly this, although i would say A24 is more "artsy" than Miramax

[@demonslayermk235]

Who's the new Harvey Weinstein then? 😢

[@sksksks7533]

@@demonslayermk235 hopefully no one 😭

[@Dm34421]

A24 was taking risks in the early 2010s: spring breakers, bling ring, ex machina, moonlight, Florida project

[@Nirax3]

Agree. While many (mostly film snobs) have declared the end of A24's risky and influential era, I for one am totally okay with a little more mainstream friendly movies and streaming shows. I even think the success of EEAAO can be compared to American Beauty in terms of shared feelings of generations: We have since moved past cynicism. We are faced with a globalized and digitalized world. We feel overwhelmed and might still be tempted to resort to cynicism, but like Jobu Tupaki, underneath that we crave genuine connection and empathy. EEAAO made me feel understood and I don't mind at all that it works as a spectacle popcorn movie too.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

Thank you to your Dad and the many other engineers who made Y2K into a joke instead of a disaster. It was a legit concern and because the engineers did their job so well, nobody ever really understood how important what they did actually was. My favorite Y2K error that actually happened was a 105 year old man in New York who got a letter telling him he needed to register for kindergarten.

[@LuisSierra42]

Everybody thought the world was going to end, those were good days

[@reflectsonlife]

I had the opposite happen to me! In 2000 after a weekend trip from Seattle to Vancouver BC, I wasn't allowed back into the USA because they could not find me in their records (this was pre 9/11 when you all you needed to drive across the border & back was a driver's license). After 6 hours of searching, they finally found me listed with my birth day and month, but birth year 100 years prior, in the mid 1800s. Hence I had been wiped from the list of living Americans!

[@davidbowman2001]

@@reflectsonlife Kind of presumptuous to assume you weren’t just really really really old!

[@reflectsonlife]

@@davidbowman2001 👵

[@xBINARYGODx]

@@LuisSierra42 mostly no one did, the media acted like that, and most people watching just thought it must be other people, but it was mostly no one.

[@squid7855]

I love video essays like this that combine history, culture, and philosophy!!

[@user-ux3vw6mb4k]

I know right.

[@eltonarthur1233]

Same

[@julianaxoxo6584]

Yess

[@Lksz-l9k]

From an extremely US-centric pov, sure...

[@mintrommovies]

Always thought 1999 was a great year for movies but never considered that the movies themselves had much in common. Even though magnolia, virgin suicides, American beauty and eyes wide shut have completely different creative visions, they’re all doing that same thing of peaking behind the veneer of middle class life. Great work Broey, I think this might be your best video yet :)

[@EmperorSmith]

It's difficult to discern trends while you are living through them, and it's usually only through hindsight that you can look back and examine how the zeitgeist of "then" differs so much from the zeitgeist of "now". It's fun to think what this years crop of moveis will reveal about the society that created them in a few decades time.

[@KrisBryant99]

@@EmperorSmith honestly I think what made 1999 great was that people couldn't stop talking about these films and that they were everywhere far as advertisement ..........Hell even Wild Wild West, a film Will Smith chose over the Matrix got promoted everywhere.....

[@chrisjfox8715]

​@@EmperorSmith i remember seeing an article at the time pointing out how 1999 cinema was going to go down in history. I can't remember the details of the article itself, but I think what's so great about that year is that so many films managed to be bold artistic endeavors yet mainstream at the same time

[@chrisjfox8715]

Magnolia was my favorite film for years, but I think it's merely convenient to label its purpose as to uncover the veneer of middle class life. Yeah sure those characters were middle class and were going through stuff - Donnie and Stanley weren't just the cute kids they were marketed to be, Jimmy Gator wasn't as wholesome as he let on, Frank Mackey was capitalizing off of his coping mechanism, Officer Kurring wasn't anywhere close to the tough guy he wanted that uniform to allow him to be, etc. But as much as, ok there's a bunch of unmasked veneers there, but I guess I don't put my focus on that layer because everyone having things going on in their life that they don't share with just anyone - the trauma that motivates them - is such an inherent element of life itself across all decades, not just that era.

[@nenriu]

how would u rate american beauty as a work of art ..? do u think the movie has redemptive qualities that help the human psyche or is it just a bunch of bullshit from poseurs who are being manipulated by secret service and the real magicians...

[@Pizzapartydad]

To me, 2019 was a phenomenal movie year: parasite, marriage story, portrait of a lady on fire, uncut gems, sorry we missed you, sound of metal, once upon a time in Hollywood, little women, the Irishman

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

It was also a great year for animated TV shows

[@grandtheftautov4874]

Yess. To me was a great year for cinema.

[@jellogirl2010]

Yes, Girl Interrupted had a huge impact on me. I watched it in 2006 when I was 16 and I went and cut my hair like Winona Ryder in it... which was a CHOICE with curly hair. I also dressed like her in that movie. I was struggling with an ED at the time. It was literally so impactful in my life at the time and I still love it now.

[@joshuaprice8501]

2019 is one of the greatest years for modern films: Parasite, Midsommar, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Waves, The Lighthouse, etc.

[@samr3140]

little women as well honestly

[@Whackadoo1]

In General, I think the last half of the 2010s had some banger films: The Favorite, Moonlight, Black KKKlansmen, Sorry To Bother You, Get Out, US, Ladybird, Parasite, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Call Me By Your Name, Hereditary, Midsommar, Raw, The Place Behind the Pines, Inherent Vice, etc.

[@Dm34421]

2016/2017 were the best modern years for movies: moonlight, get out, Lala land, fences, Florida project

[@adriangutierrez3196]

only parasite is above average with the movies you just listed

[@j.alice.gale.]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood! & Jojo Rabbit!

[@trinaq]

True, many of my favourite films happened to come out in 1999. Notting Hill, 10 Things I Hate About You, Election, Fight Club, Virgin Suicides... They're all iconic in different ways, and have left lasting legacies.

[@LuisSierra42]

I had been wondering for so long why so many great movies came out that year and this video helped clearing that up for me

[@KrisBryant99]

@@LuisSierra42 I could barely understand a word Broey was saying 😂

[@khurram2970]

1999 and 1994 both were the greatest years for Hollywood. Following are listed among all time greatest movies of Hollywood and they were all released in 1994. 1. Pulp fiction 2. Lion King 3. The Shawshank redemption 4. Forrest Gump. Plus, there were other 1994 movies that were really great which although not in same category as 3 above, still were better than most junk produced now. These include Speed, the Mask, True lies, Dumb and dumber, Ace Ventura, Leon, natural born killers, baby's day out, interview with vampire, legends of the fall etc.

[@ianwynne764]

Hello Broey: Thank you from the depths of my heart of not saying that the "millennium bug" was a hoax. I was one of the many thousands of people who worked on that problem. It was one of the hardest years of my working life. I worked for a very famous company and I had to sign a document saying that on New Years Eve, I would be fit and able to work, i.e. not drunk. Stay well and safe.

[@gaze5393]

Thank you for your work. Stay well and take care.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

So happy to see ‘Notting Hill’ included in the list because it’s great fun whenever I see it. Apart from the amazing lead pair, I love the group of friends.

[@Geo_Babe]

Same!!!!

[@allocater2]

1999: I have the feeling something is wrong with the country 2023: Oh, you have seen nothing yet.

[@KillFascistsNow]

That's the problem.... y'all aren't listening. Yes, we did see it. We warned that Regan would lead to Fascism. We warned that Bush's overt Patriotism would lead to Nationalism. Actual Leftists have been screaming for a century. Liberals just steal our credits and hate us and say "socialism" is bad word and shun us over and over. Libs are just slightly left of Repubs; they are not Leftists. They support Capitalism and are therefore right-wingers. What we warned of is what we live today. Blame the pacifists and bleeding-heart idiots that split their ticket in 2016 and let the spray-tanned comb-over walk in.

[@LemonTree9280]

I was 19 in 1999, worked at a video store. We had DVDs but still 50/50 VHS/DVD by 2002 when I quit (it was a summer/college job). It was just the best time to have access to free movies. I remember being soooo excited to show Fight Club to all my friends

[@peachy_lili]

1999 was such an incredibly wild year for me (senior year, Columbine, so much weirdness) I always forget so many killer movies came out. Rushmore alone, my god

[@BeautifulEarthJa]

I couldn't. Matrix and The Mummy. I was 19, going into 2nd yr of uni. Yea. Amazing year all round.

[@adamant5550]

Wasn't Rushmore freleased in 98?

[@taeso0o]

1999 was a wild year for me too, i was born.

[@elixorvideos]

I read 'killer movies' and thought "there wasn't a killer in Rushmore... was there?" haha

[@nope5657]

1999 in film deserves it's reputation. Its insanely stacked. From the heavy hitters to even underrated gems. From what you mentioned and more - all genres: The Matrix, Fight Club, Eyes Wide Shut, Magnolia, The Sixth Sense, Arlington Road, The Virgin Suicides, The Iron Giant, American Pie, Election, Office Space, The Mummy, The Phantom Menace, Bringing Out the Dead, The Straight Story, Being John Malkovich, Galaxy Quest, The Talented Mr. Ripley, South Park The Movie, Big Daddy, 8mm, Three Kings, Deep Blue Sea, Toy Story 2, The Insider, Any Given Sunday...I could keep going. It's fucking nuts, lol.

[@carolineswn4]

I definitely think A24 I’d bringing that indie spirit back. Also just want to say how much I genuinely love your channel, content, and really just everything you put out there. You’re incredibly talented + I look forward to every video. Seriously my favorite channel.

[@marciomancono]

Magnolia stands out from this era of filmmaking. It BLEW MY MIND and I was moved and appalled in a way that I hadn't been before in a theater experience. I had no idea going in that it was 3 hours long and I remember having to pee and refusing to leave my seat because I just couldn't look away or miss anything. Rushmore, American Beauty, Fight Club and The Sixth Sense were also memorable movie going experiences that a cherish and remember fondly...

[@BetterWithBob]

There's something about the Y2K Era that I've only really come to appreciate in the last couple of years. From about 1998 until 2001. The Y2K hysteria wasn't really a panic, most of us were hopeful and excited about the idea of going into a new millennium, especially with the improvements technology was making. From what I remember, there was the impression that we were on the verge of something great. An exciting new world. Then 9/11 happened and the 2000s just felt like an especially bleak and cynical era.

[@mikfhan]

Maybe we will see a resurgence when the Y2K38 "epochalypse" happens :D that will probably be my target for early retirement so I can avoid all the annoying refactor/doublechecking of time/date variables - or maybe by then ChatGPT will just do it for us - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmLcp4VrlLSEq7M

[@jasonblalock4429]

Yeah, the 90s were my teen / college years and even at the time, I had a sense of being around for something special. I'd been a movie fan all my life, but the late 90s seemed like it was just one amazing film after another, nonstop. As an aside, the rise of DVD probably helped as well. Not just for being a visually superior format to tape, but because of the inclusion of extras. BTS videos and director's commentaries and such brought film analysis and technique into the mainstream in a way that really hadn't happened before. (Yes, there were Laserdiscs, but those were expensive and for serious collectors only.)

[@apertureinfog]

I cannot overstate how fantastic this channel is. Thank you for your thoughtful and thorough analysis coupled with such high production value 👏🏻

[@diegowushu]

It was an insane year, indeed. It's a shame that the indie auteur midbrow film is not that common these days... I remember being a high-school social outcast, actively looking for Todd Solondz, Jim Jarmusch, Hal Hartley movies about weirdos, freaks and failures so I didn't feel that alone.

[@ZoWonderfull]

I’ve always loved 1999 and felt like it got semi revitalized in 2019. But 2017 was amazing and I found myself in the theater constantly for both years.

[@developingtank]

Crazy to me how hard it is for me to come by channels like yours when half of what I watch is film video essays. Not sure why the algorithm plays me like that. But, glad to have come across your channel now.

[@emmakatemae5934]

I truly cant express how much your podcast got me to finally understand the podcast craze. Now I binge yours and Mina lees podcast on repeat. Thank you for making such interesting and unique content in an easy to access way.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

I was graduated high school and started college that year. I was about 3 years into discovering good movies. I saw most of the films you listed in theaters and more. Films I saw that year (looking at a list and trying to remember which I saw in theaters, sometimes two or three a week): She's All That At First Sight Blast from the Past Analyze This Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels True Crime The Matrix 10 Things I Hate About You Go All About My Mother Life Election Existenz The Mummy Star Wars Episode I Notting Hill Inherit the Wind Austin Powers 2 Run Lola Run Big Daddy South Park Wild Wild West Summer of Sam Vendetta American Pie Blair Witch Project The Haunting Twin Falls Idaho Iron Giant Mystery Men The Sixth Sense Thomas Crown Affair Love Stinks Stigmata Blue Streak Double Jeopardy American Beauty Fight Club The Story of Us Boys Don't Cry Being John Malvovich House on Haunted Hill Princess Mononoke Dogma Sleepy Hollow The World is Not Enough Toy Story 2 Sweet and Low Down Cradle will Rock Green Mile Bicentennial Man Fantasia 2000 Magnolia Stewart Little Girl Interrupted Man on the Moon Talented Mr. Ripley Virgin Suicide But I'm a Cheerleader And probably a few small films I missed. This was from a list of wide releases. Though some probably are on here by mistake that I actually saw later.

[@rejunshane]

Wow go is my favorite film ever and I love film! It’s just got amazing aesthetic and cinematography that made me obsessed with it. Great film. Not many people know about it which is upsetting because it’s really a good movie. I know it’s not the first to do what it did but I still love it.

[@allenrubinstein3696]

You've got most of them. Adding: Bowfinger Bringing Out the Dead Cider House Rules Eyes Wide Shut Galaxy Quest Hurricane Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai American Movie Dick Happy, Texas The Minus Man Mansfield Park Limbo The Limey The Insider Jesus' Son The Red Violin A Midsummer's Night's Dream Show Me Love Illuminata The Straight Story Three Kings Titus Topsy-Turvy The Winslow Boy An Ideal Husband God Said "Ha" 8 1/2 Women

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

@@allenrubinstein3696 This was the list of what I saw that year. Not everything that came out. I didn't see any of those movies in theaters. MAYBE Hurricane, but I think I didn't see that until later.

[@allenrubinstein3696]

@@Sam_on_KZbin Oh, I know. Just contributing the remaining films you might look up.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

@@allenrubinstein3696 Thanks. Seen most of them. Since I had kids, my movie consumption greatly decreased. But in 1999 I was watching just about everything.

[@fkacoolgrl]

i just know it’s gonna be good

[@evildead373]

HOLY COW!!!! I'm stunned by this essay. Thank you for eloquating what my limited brain function could not. I have always held this turn of the millennium film making in high esteem, but was never fully capable of expressing it, or understanding it. This video did what I could not. Bravo!

[@passenger128]

Excellent video! 1999 has brought me my two favourite films - The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Ninth Gate. I was 15 then, thus many of these films here have left a significant impact on me. Also, seeing James Spader is always a sweet bonus

[@isaacthomas6544]

1999 is still my favorite year for movies, like it's kind of insane how many well-known bangers came out during that year. And they still hold up extremely well for the most part.

[@gustavohernandeza.890]

Thanks for the excellent video, Broey. Glad you mention the rise of the multiplex in 1995. In 1995, the first multiplex theater opened in my home town and changed everything. In a few years, all traditional cinema theaters closed down.

[@Ykoz2016]

The last time I felt that same Indy film feel, the last year for me (a teenager from the mid to late nineties) was 2004. It was the year of Garden state (though people have turned against it at the time it was beloved) before sunset (a sequel to a movie from the 90s heyday) and eternal sunshine (still Miramax). That year was the swan song for me. I haven’t felt that feeling in a theater again until VERY recently with everything everywhere (and also Parasite a few years back).

[@MangaMarjan]

I was born 99' and it's so interesting to me, how much these movies resonated with my teenage self. The whole 90s, with Nirvana, the early internet, Spongebob Squarepants: It holds a very special place in my heart. It's the period that most feels like "past", although I never really lived it. I have an older sister and she showed me a lot of stuff from the 90s, my parents used VHS for well after the DVD became mainstream, all the cartoons I watched are from the turn of the Millennium. It's crazy to me, to know that my younger brother (2008) doesn't know a world without smartphones, youtube and tikitok. I don't want to sound like a boomer but the now feels way different. I wasn't even capable of understanding what's going on but I still feel that all these big changes that happened around the 90s and early 20s still echo in me longer after.

[@paulwgibson]

I was in college in Dallas in 1999. I saw a lot of these in the theater and still count 2 of them as amongst my favorites. Thanks for the look back. It was a good year!

[@Dm34421]

I think it’s because studios were willing to take risks on fresh ideas back then. Nowadays, studios invest in marvel and sequels to make a profit And studios were probably scared of the Y2K crash and pushed out so many movies

[@AT-rr2xw]

I feel like 9/11 changed things a little more than audiences merely wanting escapism, but perhaps there was a little bit of disdain for the types of movies coming out in 1999. A lot of those movies mentioned and featured (though not all, of course) seemed to appeal to men and boys looking around at their lives and wondering if this was all there was. Y2K would somewhere between the end of the universe or nothing, but, except for Daddy Deschanel, there was nothing that they could do about it. So, all they had left were their humdrum lives, boring suburbia, an unfulfilling office job, little annoyances that pile up, no sense of direction or purpose or meaning. If the end came, it would come either before they could do anything with their lives, or it would turn all of their accomplishments into nothingness. When Y2K passed, those feelings may have stuck around, but the sense of urgency was no longer there. In Fight Club, Brad Pitt's character said that they had no great war, save for a spiritual one. 9/11 put an end to all that. Suddenly, these little problems seemed so petty in the face of 3,000 deaths, with more maybe to come. In less than a month, the United States began "military operations" in Afghanistan. For the men looking for adventure, to feel like they part of something bigger, to feel like they were bigger, to feel like the were doing something that actually mattered, this was a great opportunity. For those who were going through real psychological turmoil, eh, maybe not so much. But I guess that people had less patience and sympathy for these men wandering around musing about the meaning of life and plotting the downfall of American society. This was no longer the time for mopey philosophizing; this was a time for action and for unity, and persecuting those deemed suspicious. I myself had been scouted by the army just months before 9/11. Despite me being really short and not really in shape, they flattered me greatly, saying that I could work in intelligence, and I sheepishly turned them down. I feel kind of lucky that I had been raised in a rather liberal household and was attending a somewhat liberal university, because I cannot imagine how much pressure there would have been for me to "volunteer" for the armed forces.

[@megahnw]

I'm quickly becoming a huge fan of you - Rehash is one of my favorite podcasts out there right now!

[@angrynerdgirl]

Thank you so much for this insightful take! I always thought movies this year were iconic to basically me specifically, bc it was my first year of high school. It's nice to know I'm not just looking at them with nostalgia goggles and that they really were iconic to a bunch of folks and learn the history of why!

[@D34DParadise]

I'm hoping a cultural shift is coming soon to film and music, i can't help but feel the films and music that receive large scale distribution and attention nowadays doesn't speak to me at all and surely i can't be the only one

[@Nirax3]

I feel like a cultural shift is already happening and has been happening for some time. I don't care for big franchises (especially the MCU), but many of my faves have been produced during the last 10 years: Parasite, Midsommar, Get Out, Ex Machina, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Whiplash, Annihilation, Her, The Nightingale, mother!, Tár, Saint Maud, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Only Lovers Left Alive, Bones and All, ... I could go on and on. Maybe it's a generational thing - I'm only 27 years old - but I feel like there are much more interesting films being produced now than when I was a teenager (late 2000s) and used to believe that if I wanted to see cinematic masterpieces my only option was to catch up on pre-y2k DVDs because there would be no more great films to come. I'm glad to have been wrong.

[@salyx]

I hadn’t even realized how many of my favorite movies are from 1999. Very interesting conversation!

[@gregorsamsa2271]

This was fantastic ❤ Damn good job, and analysis. I often talked with my brother and cousin, who are also huge cineasts, how great 1999 was, in terms of movies. And the amount of it. And how connected they actually all were. You really dived deep into it.

[@thetalentof]

Agree but arguably some equally iconic movies popping up in most years of this decade: 1993 - Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Age of Innocence, Three Colors: Blue, Falling Down, The Piano, True Romance, Carlito's Way, Remains of the Day, Philadelphia, Tombstone. 1994 - Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption, Ed Wood, Leon: The Professional, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Interview with the Vampire, Speed. 1995 - Heat, Before Sunrise, Casino, Seven, Dead Man Walking, Nixon, The Usual Suspects, 12 Monkeys, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Leaving Las Vegas, The Bridges of Madison County. 1996 - The English Patient, Trainspotting, Michael Collins, A Time to Kill, Jerry Maguire, Scream, Ransom, Independence Day, The Rock. 1997 - Good Will Hunting, Titanic, Life is Beautiful, Amistad, The Fifth Element, L.A. Confidential, Contact, Starship Troopers, Cop Land, Lost Highway, Face Off, The Edge, Gattaca. 1998 - Saving Private Ryan, Elizabeth, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Out of Sight, Dark City, The Truman Show, Blade, The Big Lebowski, The Thin Red Line. and even 2000 gave us - Requiem for a Dream, Snatch, In the Mood for Love, Gladiator, Memento, American Psycho, Malena, Unbreakable, Billy Elliot, Meet the Parents, Erin Brokovich, Chocolat, Traffic, Quills, The Patriot, Cast Away.

[@simianinc]

I agree. The 90s felt a magical time to live in if you were a movie buff. There was always something magical to see at the cinema - for both art-house and mainstream.

[@thetalentof]

​@@simianinc Yes absolutely, on-location filming or built sets if filming in a studio, more shooting time and higher budgets given from WB, Fox, Disney, Universal, Paramount, original and unique screenplays being greenlit at enormous budgets from all major studios, real stunts, explosions, helicopters and squibs so that action sequences were thrilling to watch, movie stars that had screen presence or if a studio preferred to use an actor instead, it was usually an actor skilled at the craft, orchestral scores and superior image quality shooting on 35mm (we do thankfully still get this today from Nolan, PTA, Snyder, Guadagnino, Anderson, Shyamalan, Scorsese, Abrams, Spielberg, Tarantino, Bradley Cooper, Robert Eggers, Jordan Peele, John Krasinski, Cary Fukanaga, Colin Trevorrow and Marc Forster who still understand this). I don't blame studios for going the cheaper route today though because if they can rush movies out faster and at less expense then they can get more movies produced in a year and if they are all IP movies, casual audiences will still flock to go and see them, even though they're paying for less quality in return, it is a business after all. But if the numbers keep coming in, studios won't change this approach unless they're forced to become more creative again. A24 are keeping the ship afloat in addition to the auteurs mentioned above. Chris Stuckmann does a much better job of explaining why this change happened (basically the arrival of streaming preventing a huge 2nd opening that would normally come from DVD releases allowing the studios to take more risks) in his 'Why Don't they Make 'Em Like They Used To' video here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnulZWmLpbKKjcU&ab_channel=ChrisStuckmann

[@looney1023]

When I was a cringey high school senior my favorite movie of all time was American Beauty. Since then my opinion has only gotten sourer and sourer on it to the point that I'm afraid to rewatch it at risk of dying from my own cringe nostalgia. I'd love to see you tackle it in a separate essay because that film is BIZARRE.

[@angrynerdgirl]

I'm scared to rewatch it knowing what we know about Kevin Spacey now. It's too close to reality.

[@ripwednesdayadams]

Idk, I watched it a few years ago and thought it was still pretty good. I enjoyed the critical look at the myth of the “American dream”, suffocating suburban life, the negative impact of toxic masculinity and the dissolution of the American nuclear family right before 9/11.

[@Solarexistence]

So many people are missing the boat with American Beauty. It has nothing to do with the middle class or some midlife crisis or a creepy manchild, but realizing the beauty in the smallest mundane things and appreciating reality for what it is. The storyline is just a silly entertaining ride to get us to that point

[@udishomer5852]

It is a really great movie, I personally watched it 3-4 times and always enjoyed it. But there were plenty of other great classics in 1999, Fight Club, The Matrix, Green Mile, The Sixth Sense, Noting Hill...

[@KaceyRepublic]

Same. I was 17 and I loved it when I watched it enough to go see it again at the cinema. The moral of this story is the 17 year olds are idiots.

[@bleeneo101]

1999 as a 19 year old there for all these movies was one of the greatest years in time. I am Gen X

[@thingslaurasays9995]

I love the history lessons you give us with each video! Juicy!

[@amber6329]

Amazing video ❤ Can't believe how many legendary movies came out in 1999. I think I need to make a 1999 movie watchlist

[@babywah3290]

Dogma was a film I anticipated and was not disappointed. Fight Club was amazing and the Phantom Menace was also great.

[@sorscha1308]

I remember being very grateful for an amazing cinema year in '99. I had stupidly decided to do a uni exchange in an upstate NY campus for a semester and literally the only thing good about those 4 months was the 'trapped together' friendships i made with the other exchange students, that we managed to escape to Canada a few times and the fact that there was a (very small) cinema in the town, showing a new movie every week. Aside from American Beauty and Sixth Sense, there were also Sleepy Hollow, The Green Mile and House on Haunted Hill while we were there. They also showed South Park the movie on campus for some reason. There were only a few students there to watch it though, which surprised us in such a boring, one horse town and our entire row were pretty much the only ones cackling with laughter all the way through.

[@kildogery]

Yes, finally a video essay about movies where I've seen them all. It's a tiny pedantic victory.

[@chloelyyy]

Brilliant work as usual! Incredibly insightful video, I really appreciate how it really contextualizes the year and gives reasoning for why everything happened exactly as it did. Keep up the fantastic stuff!

[@fredo1070]

For me 1987 was one of the best years for movies, The Untouchables, Lethal Weapon, Evil Dead 2, Raising Arizona, Withnail and I, Predator, RoboCop, Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride, Full Metal Jacket, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street. On the downside 1987 had Jaws III The Revenge and Superman IV Quest for peace which sort of evens things out.

[@TheListenerCanon]

Also, 1987 had The Garbage Pail Kids Movie.

[@spaceo8568]

I think it was Edward Norton who said something like, it was the last year of that century and so many directors, screenwriters and such were all cramming to get there works in before the new millennium began that, that year was just a banger for movies. He said something like that, more articulate.

[@elizabethharper547]

Big love for 1999! 'The Virgin Suicides' is one of my favourite films ever. And I completely agree with the comments about a24: surely the antidote we all need to the over-hyped passable films we are constantly bombarded with.

[@rebeccag8589]

This was great! 1999 was a phenomenal year for movies. 1939 will always be #1 for me (GWTW, Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Dark Victory, Stagecoach, Gunga Din, The Women, Love Affair, Of Mice and Men, Each Dawn I Die, Babes in Arms, etc.), but 1999 is a very close #2 in terms of the best years for films.

[@line4169]

End of Evangelion literally embodies whole 90s broody melancholic experimental indie vibes into a film culminating anime serialisation.

[@KalmanW]

Fantastic video. Never heard of your channel but it was extremly informative and entertaining.

[@oc2538]

I cannot say which year had the best movies. As a xennial movies were my obsession. Every Friday we went to the cinema or rented movies. I never realised that most of my favourite movies are from 1999. I saw these movies in the cinema, some twice. The Talented Mr. Ripley, Girl Interrupted, Virgin Suicides (saw it on my 16th birthday), Election, Cruel Intentions, 10 Things I hate about you, American Beauty and the sixth sense. I remember thinking American Beauty was a masterpiece. I saw it twice at the cinema. The Virgin Suicides soundtrack by Air was my study soundtrack. I had it on winamp along with the Talented Mr. Ripley soundtrack. I have never seen the Matrix in it's entirety, the boys in my school repeating i know kung fu, which made me not want to see it. It is also my husband's favourite movie, somehow we make it work.

[@devdanferguson7616]

Quick shout out to Dogma as well, not discussed as often as Kevin Smith's other movies (primarily because pretty much the only way to watch it is piracy), but its certainly one of the most open-minded and thought-provoking discussions about religion in film from the era. Plus its just got an icon cast... Alan Rickman as Metatron is flawless casting. Edit: wanted to mention Mystery Men too. A weird, cult-classic superhero parody of the Schumaker Batman movies starring most of the indie circuit actors from the time and made at the tail end of the superhero rush that churned out so many awful films studios like Marvel would like to forget (Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD starring David Hasselhoff, anyone?). Definitely hits different with how superhero movies are now, it’s almost ahead of it’s time in its deconstruction of the genre. Crazy that it’s Kinka Usher’s only movie, too.

[@marciomancono]

And Alanis Morrisette as G-d...

[@jordanlavender-smith1781]

This is terrific. I'm going to show this to my students today. Thank you!

[@ahobimo732]

American Beauty is a masterpiece. It exposed the American dream for the lie that it really is. Lester's wife played by Annette Benning was one of the most heartbreaking characters in any film ever.

[@michaeladkins6]

When she opens his closet door at the end.

[@Krwler]

It’s a Leftists wet dream. Beautiful propaganda.

[@angrynerdgirl]

Her "I will sell this house today" scene reminded me SO much of my best friend's mom. She broke my heart.

[@TheListenerCanon]

Love that movie despite Kevin Spacey. Actually, I still love Spacey as an actor but I can't support the guy anymore.

[@dewolf123]

​@Listener Canon We don't know if anything said about him is legit, they are rumors for now till proven true.

[@mrbinky7]

Damn very great work, please keep this up. Refreshing, New and Insightful. I was 29 in 1999 and this was a piece of art.

[@seanward]

What are the things I love talking about most at parties and get-togethers is how 1999 was the best year ever four movies. As soon as I start going down the list, everyone starts nodding in agreement

[@Jada_RE]

As always, you deliver so well, Broey! Luv ya, girl! 🎉

[@rogercase6205]

Thanks for the interesting, informative, and enjoyable trip back to 1999! It reminded me of how I didn't know anyone overly freaked out by the impending doom of y2k, but it was all over the news, of course.

[@funky35791]

2007 is my personal favourite year of movies. So many masterpieces like Zodiac, ratatouille, there will be blood, no country for old men, assassination of Jesse james

[@DanaJaneWriter]

good choice 👌

[@eddiemc86]

Also 1994. Shawshank, pulp fiction, NBK, dumb and dumber, swimming with sharks, shallow grave, lion king, Ace Ventura . Not as good as 07 which is for me the best film year ever but 94 was definitely a cut above normal

[@kostajovanovic3711]

And that's only the north American mentions

[@kostajovanovic3711]

​@@eddiemc86 one of those is not surviving the cultural shifts

[@jld4444444444]

Bloody hell- what a great video! I was glued to my screen from start to end

[@NatBKyiv]

Interesting video. I think your thoughts may be applied to music as well. 1999 was a turnpoint. I started listening to trance only year later and it had huge impact on me I think it may be connected because both music and cinema made transition from expensive productions to relatively cheap. It allowed more artists to pop up

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

I think its notable that while these movies spoke to a certain socioeconomic angst, by virtue of the neoliberalism in which they were made, they wouldn't do anything to change it and in some ways, create false outlets for those feelings and dull the collective urge for change. Whether these movies led people to imagine Sisyphus happy or not, we are all still stuck with our boulders.

[@avillianchillinskrillian]

How did movies in other decades/eras change the status quo?

[@satyasyasatyasya5746]

@@avillianchillinskrillian they didn't. movies can't

[@KrisBryant99]

WHAT?????????

[@nathanjones8667]

I wish you made a new video 2-3x’s a week. One of the top 5 creators on the platform, ong.

[@jaffa4242]

Holy shit i did not know how many beloved movies came out that year. I'm reeling

[@alexandrumircea]

I was thinking recently about the music videos of that era and the same vibe is at play in many of my favourites, from Perfect by Smashing Pumpking to Lady by Modjo. Btw the former was directed by the future directors of Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Edit: amazing to realize via Wiki that they also came up with the 1999 video for K0rn's Freak On A Leash, the one with the bullet creepily piercing from the cartoon through many instances of conformist everyday life, yikes

[@j.alice.gale.]

Yo 2019 was amazing (Parasite, Jojo Rabbit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Little Women, The Lighthouse, etc.,

[@ronmackinnon9374]

While it was omitted from your initial rundown, I'm glad you later included mention of 'Election.'

[@desallis]

I'd argue 1984 was a pretty significant year for releases, Temple of doom, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Star Trek 3, The Last StarFighter, the gods must be crazy, Purple rain, Red Dawn, Once upon a time in america, Firestarter, Sixteen Candles, Romancing the Stone, Splash, This is Spinal Tap, Repo Man, Footloose, Buckaroo Banzai, Amadeus, The Terminator, 2010, Dune, Starman, A passage to India, Beverly Hills Cop, Muppets take manhattan, Top Secret! Birdy and of course Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo

[@denisaboomtown4199]

Fight Club, Boys Don't cry and The Virgin Suicides are pure gold. I couldn't compare them with one another, but I could watch them at absolutely any one of them at any time.

[@Pining_for_the_fjords]

Although being from 1998, Happiness by Todd Solondz also fits into this category of movie in my opinion. It's ultimately about a group of tragic and miserable characters and their misguided pursuits of love, fulfillment, acceptence and happiness. It's also a darkly comical critique of the "American dream".

[@peach_total]

12:49 so basically “life is unfair, kill yourself or get over it” but honestly i don’t know if it’s more that i’ve gotten more consciously into movies over the past few years but i feel like right now is an amazing time for cinema. crimes of the future, the northman, everything everywhere all at once, infinity pool, i’ve seen so many films in the last year or so that were amazing and i was surprised got as wide of a release as they did

[@judsongaiden9878]

9:41 I'd like to know how they define "ease." I bet not a single one of them has ever worked a "real" (read "miserable") job in their lives, unlike the rest of us. And they never tell us exactly how miserable they want our lives to be when they criticize the notion of "ease." 9:53 The youngest Boomers in 1999 were 35 years old. 10:46 Fun fact: Billy Idol, a Boomer (born in 1955), was the frontman for a band called Generation X in the '70s, before that term was part of the popular lexicon. 10:50 Interesting how they characterize us as a cross between Billy Idol and Tears for Fears. I kinda dig that.

[@alannahmayes7169]

Always love your video essays! They are extremely well thought out and insightful… my Millennial self appreciates… I wonder if you’d explore the “golden age” of tv HBO in its height and it’s downfall of content (deleting series like Westworld because of low ratings) - Six Feet Under or more underground shows like the Leftovers 🎉

[@NelsonStJames]

Although films from the past may undergo re-examination, this only tends to happen to films that at their core are actually about something. A film that is made for it's generation, or culture may not have relevance in the future, but a creator making art for their time can't be worried about that. This is something current filmmakers ( in the industry at least ) have foregone as now because of exorbitant budgets studios want movies to appeal to everybody. Now for me to hear someone say that a film is problematic or "questionable" for its ideas is a recommendation that I'm going to be challenged to think and feel something when the film is over.

[@vteknique]

Your videos are super high quality 🙏 thank you

[@MustafaAlmosawi]

I really miss the AMC presence here in Canada, while we had it, the smaller more interesting movies had a chance to still get a fairly big screen experience outside the art-house theaters downtown, by using their smaller more intimate screens. These smaller pictures could screen for 6-7 weeks giving you a chance to catch them. Also at 5.88 on a Tuesday you could risk it on a picture which didn’t have huge marketing budget but had an intriguing premise. These types of films have morphed into streaming films, or mini-series but the experience is much reduced.

[@wellsleythewizard]

I would also argue that 2004, 2007, and 2014 were standout years with some very iconic and timeless movies too.

[@_ariudite_]

I was a junior in high school. What a year. Thanks for the nostalgia trip.

[@ros9922]

aaaah your videos are always so captivating & hopeful ! 💗 amazing job

[@creativechau]

This is the level of detail I need in my life 🙏🏼 Great Job.

[@Devilinlimbo]

This one is a legit banger. I was about 9 years old when I snuck in to watch baseketball; parent trap; saving private ryan (left early bc ya that shit was too surreal in 35 mm - although I'd love to see it again in 35mm). And then my older brother snuck me in to watch Matrix and Fight Club. Ya, it's the reason I love movies so much...

[@SirNotAppearing]

Morpheus tells Neo that The Matrix looks like 1999 because humanity kind of peaked then. Our host says, after 1999, the film industry kind of went off a cliff. COINCIDENCE!? "I think not." 😀

[@holiday07]

1998 - 1999 there were so many great films that I was watching a new film in cinemas at least thrice a week, then I would wait for at least one year so that I could see them again on cable.

[@poposterous236]

This was the year that made me fall in love with movies

[@eryan1419]

The Mummy (1999) of course

[@kayp89]

This along with more experimental shows, indie/alternative music(metal/rock, rap, etc) shows the 90s was a true time of introspection on a mass lrvel imo. One we haven't gotten back to since. Its starting to come back a little tho prob since 2016/2017.

[@istolethec00kies69]

i think this may be the best video ive watched from you.... 10/10 huge fan!!!!! 1999 crafted my movie taste and i have felt so strongly that we can never get back to that, but after watching this i have the language and hope that it'll be okay and not all new movies suck haha also, i would LOVE to see a nymphette video from you!!!

[@seanward]

The indie spirit went online. The indie creator doesn't need Miramax to help them get in front of an audience, they can go direct to consumer.

[@thedudeabides3138]

Great essay Broey, thank you.

[@alexandrumircea]

That year I "got" cinema with the help of Todo Sobre Mi Madre, the film that as time passes shows more and more staying power compared to any of my other favourites

[@enigmasept927]

Despite three of my favorite films coming out in 1999 (Fight Club, The Matrix, American Pie), I didn't watch most of them until after the year ended. Most of them I watched in 2000. Sidenote: 1999 was the year I graduated from high school.

[@icedoatmilklatte910]

Babe, wake up! A new Broey Deschanel video just dropped

[@danpecora2668]

Great video! I found Best Movie Year Ever in 2021 and I've been on a 90's movie kick ever since. I did a double feature of Fight Club and American Beauty one night and reached the same conclusion. I am so torn on American Beauty. I was 12 in 1999 and remember seeing the posters and the VHS at the video store and thinking; "Oh, that's for sophisticated people. Someday I'll be able to watch those movies." My parents weren't taking me to American Beauty in 1999. Haha. When I finally saw it a couple years ago I was oddly nostalgic for that time period but I also understand the criticism. I has its moments of being fast ball down the middle mid-life crisis story. Then it also feels like it's film student's senior year project and it tries too hard. Love the channel.

[@michaeladkins6]

The best thing about going into the new millennium was that Smooth was the No. 1 song. 1999 was a great year for movies. My favorite movie scene is the restaurant scene from Being John Malkovich.

[@eeaaoooo]

Not gonna lie when ive been listening to ReHash so frequently and I forgot that you did youtube, so I thought I was losing my mind when I heard ur voice here