The Movies is a documentary miniseries premiered on CNN on July 7, 2019. Produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's studio Playtone, the six-part series chronicles the cinema of the United States, ranging from the "Golden Age of Hollywood" to the present day. It is a spin-off of Hanks and Goetzman's retrospective miniseries for CNN (including The Sixties and its sequels).
Production Owing to the costs incurred with licensing the required film footage, episodes on cinema were not included in past Hanks/Goetzman miniseries projects such as The Sixties. In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Goetzman remarked that "it cost a fortune, and some is fair use, depending on how you guys talk about it, and some isn't, but within it, it's an insane undertaking because the licensing is a very tricky business in this type of thing, and you know, you set out thinking, hey, this is going to be great, right? And then you realize you have approvals, you know, beyond belief with estates in a lot of the situations, too."
He went on to explain that the episodes, in their opinion, would present a "pretty good outline of what those decades are", and that they had managed to obtain every interview they had aimed to include—including John Singleton prior to his death in April 2019, as well as Martin Scorsese and Robert Redford almost immediately before a production deadline. Mark Herzog explained that "most directors like Singleton are really historians of film, and they know film, they know the impact of films, they study it, and so it was like talking to historians, all of them."
Owing to their complementary nature, Variety stated that CNN planned to incorporate The Movies' respective episodes into its marathons of past Hanks/Goetzman miniseries in the future.
The episode "The Sixties" was intended to air on August 4, but was delayed for coverage of mass shootings which had occurred that day in El Paso and Dayton.
Episodes
List of films represented Each episode section below lists the film clips from the decade that are featured in that episode.
Episode 1: The Eighties
Raging Bull (1980) The Elephant Man (1980) Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) Cruising (1980) Ordinary People (1980) Blue Velvet (1986) The King of Comedy (1982) The Shining (1980) Heaven's Gate (1980) The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Poltergeist (1982) The Goonies (1985) Gremlins (1984) Back to the Future (1985) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) The Verdict (1982) The Big Chill (1983) Terms of Endearment (1983) Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Zelig (1983) Broadway Danny Rose (1984) The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) When Harry Met Sally... (1989) This Is Spinal Tap (1984) The Princess Bride (1987) Stand by Me (1986) Splash (1984) Airplane! (1980) The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) Police Academy (1984) Crocodile Dundee (1986) Three Men and a Baby (1987) The Blues Brothers (1980) Caddyshack (1980) Spies Like Us (1985) ¡Three Amigos! (1986) Vacation (1983) The Woman in Red (1984) Ghostbusters (1984) 48 Hrs. (1982) Trading Places (1983) Beverly Hills Cop (1984) Coming to America (1988) RoboCop (1987) Escape from New York (1981) Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) Brazil (1985) Blade Runner (1982) Aliens (1986) Fatal Attraction (1987) 9 to 5 (1980) Working Girl (1988) Broadcast News (1987) Tootsie (1982) Flashdance (1983) Footloose (1984) Dirty Dancing (1987) Purple Rain (1984) Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Say Anything... (1989) Sixteen Candles (1984) Pretty in Pink (1986) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) The Breakfast Club (1985) Risky Business (1983) First Blood (1982) Top Gun (1986) The Color of Money (1986) Rain Man (1988) Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) Rocky IV (1985) The Terminator (1984) Commando (1985) Missing in Action (1984) Bloodsport (1988) Conan the Barbarian (1982) Rocky III (1982) Predator (1987) Die Hard (1988) Scarface (1983) Wall Street (1987) Platoon (1986) Born on the Fourth of July (1989) Good Morning, Vietnam! (1987) Full Metal Jacket (1987) Hamburger Hill (1987) Sophie's Choice (1982) Silkwood (1983) Out of Africa (1985) A Cry in the Dark (1988) Ironweed (1987) Glory (1989) Reds (1981) The Right Stuff (1983) The Last Emperor (1987) Ragtime (1981) Gandhi (1982) Amadeus (1984) Stranger Than Paradise (1984) Drugstore Cowboy (1989) Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) Blood Simple (1984) Raising Arizona (1987) Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) Beetlejuice (1988) Batman (1989) Do the Right Thing (1989) Field of Dreams (1989) Dead Poets Society (1989) The Natural (1984) Witness (1985) Empire of the Sun (1987) Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) Hoosiers (1986) Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) My Left Foot (1989) On Golden Pond (1981) The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981) Moonstruck (1987) Diner (1982) Parenthood (1989) Mississippi Burning (1988) Bull Durham (1988) The Killing Fields (1984) Body Heat (1981) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Lethal Weapon (1987) The Untouchables (1987) Big (1988) Chariots of Fire (1981) Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987) The Abyss (1989) Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Return of the Jedi (1983)
Episode 2: The Nineties
Goodfellas (1990) The Usual Suspects (1995) L.A. Confidential (1997) Heavenly Creatures (1994) Out of Sight (1998) Basic Instinct (1992) The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Thelma & Louise (1991) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Casino (1995) Apollo 13 (1995) JFK (1991) Quiz Show (1994) Malcolm X (1992) Philadelphia (1993) Forrest Gump (1994) The Thin Red Line (1998) The End of the Affair (1999) The English Patient (1996) Saving Private Ryan (1998) Schindler's List (1993) Groundhog Day (1993) Rushmore (1998) Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) Happy Gilmore (1996) The Wedding Singer (1998) Wayne's World (1992) The Mask (1994) Dumb and Dumber (1994) Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) There's Something About Mary (1998) L.A. Story (1991) Dr. Dolittle (1998) Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) Office Space (1999) Waiting for Guffman (1996) Boyz n the Hood (1991) Juice (1992) Poetic Justice (1993) New Jack City (1991) Higher Learning (1995) Friday (1995) House Party (1990) Crooklyn (1994) The Best Man (1999) Daughters of the Dust (1991) Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1992) Dead Presidents (1995) Set It Off (1996) Boomerang (1992) Soul Food (1997) Waiting to Exhale (1995) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) Six Degrees of Separation (1993) Bad Boys (1995) Independence Day (1996) Men in Black (1997) Pretty Woman (1990) My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) Runaway Bride (1999) Notting Hill (1999) As Good as It Gets (1997) While You Were Sleeping (1995) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Sleepless in Seattle (1993) You've Got Mail (1998) Jerry Maguire (1996) Clerks (1994) Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991) Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) The Brothers McMullen (1995) Poison (1991) To Sleep with Anger (1990) Gas Food Lodging (1992) Trust (1990) Fresh (1994) The Basketball Diaries (1995) Slacker (1990) Dazed and Confused (1993) Reservoir Dogs (1992) Pulp Fiction (1994) Swingers (1996) The Little Mermaid (1989) Beauty and the Beast (1991) Aladdin (1992) The Lion King (1994) Toy Story (1995) Toy Story 2 (1999) The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Edward Scissorhands (1990) Ed Wood (1994) Dances with Wolves (1990) Little Man Tate (1991) Braveheart (1995) Unforgiven (1992) The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Heat (1995) Fargo (1996) The Big Lebowski (1998) Miller's Crossing (1990) Barton Fink (1991) The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) Boogie Nights (1997) Hard Eight (1996) Magnolia (1999) The Piano (1993) Little Women (1994) Grace of My Heart (1996) How to Make an American Quilt (1995) Point Break (1991) Awakenings (1990) Rambling Rose (1991) Walking and Talking (1996) Clueless (1995) A League of Their Own (1992) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Jurassic Park (1993) Romeo + Juliet (1996) Titanic (1997) The Matrix (1999) The Sixth Sense (1999) The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) The Blair Witch Project (1999) Man on the Moon (1999) The Cider House Rules (1999) The Hurricane (1999) American Beauty (1999) Girl, Interrupted (1999) The Insider (1999) Election (1999) Boys Don't Cry (1999) The Virgin Suicides (1999) Three Kings (1999) Being John Malkovich (1999) Fight Club (1999) Ghost (1990) Trainspotting (1996) Contact (1997) Rosewood (1997) Blue Steel (1990) The Prince of Tides (1991) Se7en (1995) Home Alone (1990) Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) A Few Good Men (1992)
Episode 3: The 2000s
Gladiator (2000) A Beautiful Mind (2001) Erin Brockovich (2000) Ocean's Eleven (2001) Legally Blonde (2001) Miss Congeniality (2000) The Devil Wears Prada (2006) The Departed (2006) Cast Away (2000) Minority Report (2002) Ali (2001) Training Day (2001) Almost Famous (2000) Moulin Rouge! (2001) Chicago (2002) Dreamgirls (2006) Mamma Mia! (2008) La La Land (2016) Shrek (2001) Monsters, Inc. (2001) WALL-E (2008) The Incredibles (2004) Up (2009) Something's Gotta Give (2003) The Holiday (2006) It's Complicated (2009) My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) Lost in Translation (2003) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Brokeback Mountain (2005) There Will Be Blood (2007) Gangs of New York (2002) Lincoln (2012) No Country for Old Men (2007) True Grit (2010) Slumdog Millionaire (2008) The Social Network (2010) Black Swan (2010) Boyhood (2014) The Master (2012) The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Moonrise Kingdom (2012) The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Inglourious Basterds (2009) Django Unchained (2012) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) American Sniper (2014) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) Twilight (2008) Casino Royale (2006) Transformers (2007) The Bourne Supremacy (2004) Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) The Hangover (2009) Men in Black II (2002) Fast & Furious 6 (2013) Little Miss Sunshine (2006) Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) Old School (2003) Elf (2003) Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) Knocked Up (2007) Superbad (2007) Step Brothers (2008) Bridesmaids (2011) The Heat (2013) Spy (2015) Avatar (2009) The Hurt Locker (2009) Zero Dark Thirty (2012) Winter's Bone (2010) The Hunger Games (2012) Silver Linings Playbook (2012) American Hustle (2013) Joy (2015) Memento (2000) Batman Begins (2005) The Dark Knight (2008) Iron Man (2008) The Avengers (2012) Thor (2011) Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Ant-Man (2015) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Doctor Strange (2016) Spider-Man Homecoming (2017) Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Birdman: or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) Pan's Labyrinth (2006) The Shape of Water (2017) Gravity (2013) Children of Men (2006) The Revenant (2015) 12 Years a Slave (2013) Selma (2014) Good Deeds (2012) Mudbound (2017) Straight Outta Compton (2015) Precious (2009) Moonlight (2016) Fruitvale Station (2013) Creed (2015) Black Panther (2018) The Kids Are All Right (2010) Lady Bird (2017) Tangerine (2015) The Florida Project (2017) Get Out (2017) Crazy Rich Asians (2018) Roma (2018) Wonder Woman (2017) Fences (2016)