An AFI (American Film Institute) list revived 1939’s biggest box office competition after 66 years — here is how. Since a total of 365 movies premiered in 1939, it is hard not to believe that the year was brimming with stiff competition between several renowned directors, production houses, movies, and even actors. The year later also came to be known as “Hollywood’s Golden Year” because it saw the release of epics like The Roaring Twenties, Stagecoach, and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, further intensifying the box office race between several movies.
In this race, two movies, which still rank among Hollywood’s best, raked in impressive box office numbers for the time and later went to compete with one another even during award functions. The rivalry between these two movies was long forgotten until AFI seemingly revived it in 2005 by highlighting how both fare in the “100 Years…100 Movie Quotes” list. While the rankings on the list may not be a well-rounded measure of a film’s overall quality, it shows how the past has its way of echoing into the present and the future.
The Wizard Of Oz & Gone With The Wind Tied In Second Place For Most Quotes On AFI’s 2005 List
AFI’s 2005 list of 100 greatest film quotes includes memorable lines from some of the greatest movies like The Godfather, Psycho, Scarface, and Forrest Gump, but Casablanca blows all competition out of the water by having six of its quotes featured on the list. After Casablanca, 1939’s The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind take second place, with three of their quotes ranking on the list. The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind’s second-place tie in AFI’s 2005 list may be purely coincidental, but it seems to be perfectly in tandem with a box office competition that ensued 66 years before the list’s creation in 2005.
Often touted as “the greatest year in Hollywood history,” 1939 marked the release of both The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind. While Gone With the Wind took to the highest spot for the year’s box office by raking in over $390 million, The Wizard of Oz was among the year’s top competitors with its box office of $29.7 million. Both films later competed at the 1940 Academy Award, where The Wizard of Oz was nominated in six categories while Gone With the Wind earned 13 nominations.
The two films also went head-to-head in the Best Picture and Best Original Song categories. While Gone With the Wind won the Oscar for Best Picture, The Wizard of Oz cemented as an iconic fantasy drama by landing a Best Original Song win. When the two films competed again in the 2005 AFI list for the best movie quotes, history seemingly repeated itself after 66 years.
AFI’s 2005 Poll Proves 1939 Was A Huge Year For Influential Movies
Apart from Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, another 1939 movie that made it to the AFI’s “100 Years…100 Movie Quotes” list was The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for its iconic line, “Elementary, my dear Watson.” With all three films in consideration, the list includes seven quotes from films that premiered in 1939, proving that the year rightfully earned its title as the most influential year for movies. Even when it comes to other aspects of movies and filmmaking, like iconography, musical scores, and performances, 1939 represents the epitome of artistic mastery in Hollywood’s golden era.
Sources: AFI
