It’s undoubtedly a cliche, but also an indisputable fact of life, that timing is everything. That applies to the movie industry more often than not, with history having delivered what could be described as cinematic perfect storms on a regular basis since the advent of the moving image.
Looking at today’s landscape, it’s impossible to imagine that as recently as a couple of decades ago, nobody was interested in making superhero blockbusters because they were too risky, before Bryan Singer’s X-Men led into Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which ultimately paved the way for Iron Man to change Hollywood forever.
On a similar note, Redditors have been praising films that could best be described as lightning in a bottle. Coming along at the right moment at the right time, with the ideal concept and the perfect execution, everything was working in perfect sync to ensure the end product was the best possible version of itself, which may not have been true had they arrived much earlier or later.
The top-voted comment at the time of writing praises The Matrix for coming along right at the beginning of the internet boom, with the Wachowskis’ sci-fi action extravaganza proving itself to be one of the most important and influential releases at the turn of the millennium.
Back to the Future is also getting plenty of love given its near-perfect status and eminent rewatchability, Saturday Night Fever seized the zeitgeist in a stranglehold to become a genuine cultural phenomenon, while Britain’s low budget comedy The Full Monty struck a nerve that led all the way to a Best Picture nomination, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Movies are made at all times of year every single year, but it takes a special kind of project to make real magic.