…in American cinema, journalism, politics…
I just watched “All The President’s Men.” Chilling. And inspiring, to see Redford and Hoffman before they were bloated with (possibly still righteous) self importance. And they sure don’t make movies like they did in the 1970s. I think that was the best era of American film. Ben Bradlee says it best (from the film):
“You know the results of the latest Gallup Poll? Half the country never even heard of the word Watergate. Nobody gives a shit. You guys are probably pretty tired, right? Well, you should be. Go on home, get a nice hot bath. Rest up… 15 minutes. Then get your asses back in gear. We’re under a lot of pressure, you know, and you put us there. Nothing’s riding on this except the, uh, first amendment to the Constitution, freedom of the press, and maybe the future of the country. Not that any of that matters, but if you guys fuck up again, I’m going to get mad. Goodnight.”
Rebecca Kuder 
Offhand, I’d say Bernstein and Woodward (especially Woodward) became more bloated with self-importance than Hoffman and Redford.
OK, so the 70s has Animal House, Harold and Maude (in my all-time top 5), Annie Hall, this ^ movie (never seen) and Rocky Horor.
But the ’80’s? We’ve got Caddyshack, Airplane, Ordinary People, BreakSfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, About Last Night, Amadeus, The Lost Boys, The Big Chill, Blue Velvet, This is Spinal Tap, Dangerous Liaisons, Diner, The Dead Poets Society, The Hunger, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ghostbusters, and for the love of G-d HEATHERS, all came out in the 1980s. (Not to mention one of YOUR faves, Raising Arizona.)
You can have the 70s – I’ll take the 80s, and if you are lucky you can borrow some of my dvds. :)
ardenm, you’re on. We can swap anytime. (I was not dismissing any other era, just saying there’s a certain je ne sais quois about the stuff of the 1970s…I bet you would find “All The President’s Men” engrossing. I dare you. And yes, as you know, I love plenty of those that you mentioned, though have never seen “Caddyshack.”)