I think one of the most challenging thing in movies is trying to set the time frame earlier than the present time. Virually EVERYTHING has to be changed. Cars, clothes, phones, etc.

Here are some great ones that capture the vibe of the period.

ALMOST FAMOUS - Totally feels like a 70's movie. The hairstyle/clothes are perfect.
DAZED AND CONFUSED - Another good 70's film.
BACK TO THE FUTURE - Spielberg did a great job of capturing the essence of the 1950's.

Some bad one (imho):
WEDDING SINGER - Felt like it was Adam Sandler trying to scream out - look at me, this is the 1980's - I am wearing 1980's clothes.

IN AMERICA (not a huge film). I had no idea it had even taken place in 1983. They didn't even try that hard.

Even the GODFATHER had some mistakes.
From IMDB
When Michael is arriving in Las Vegas, supposedly set in the very early 1950s, when he, Fredo, Tom and others are getting out of the car in the hotel driveway, two long-haired, bearded "hippie types" from the early '70s can be seen through the window in the lobby. (In the DVD commentary, Coppola admits that he is embarrassed by this oversight, but that the shot was done on the cheap by the second unit)

agree with Dazed and Confused, I think Boogie Nights is another good example

.

Boogie Nights rocks! Grew up not far from there and during that time period.

Still can't believe PTA did that movie when he was in his 20's.

Oops. Zemeckis.


They have companies that specialize in looking at movies and finding errors.

yes i know it isn't a movie but Mad Men does an excellent job of this

Saving Private Ryan
The Doors
American Gangster

Back to the Future 2 did a terrible job of capturing 2015.

Road to Perdition

From a 45 year old's perspective Dazed and Confused always blows me away as to how it recreates the small town mid 70's.

The Flintstones

Band Of Brothers
Braveheart
Gangs Of New York

Children of Men.

Star Wars

7 years to go man; you can't possibly know that for sure. jeez.


The thing is, since the vast majority of us only really remember the '90s and '00s, we're not really going to be able to say for sure whether, say, Gangs of New York was an accurate depiction of the 1850s. Maybe LFS remembers that far back and can tell us.

Forrest Gump.

Schindler's List

Caveman

The Great Escape

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

I guess you appreciate it more if you were alive during the era being reproduced, because it does nothing for me.

Someone mentioned madmen. Their advertising campaign during the first season really focused on how accurate it was, as if seeing people from a bygone era sit at a desk and do office work was amazing because: "it was just like that!". I know it's supposed to be really solid, but I still can't watch the show because of this. It made me hate it with a passion I haven't felt since a Steven Segal movie.

History of the World, Part I

lol. My Physics teacher showed us this in Grade 11.

I would say Mad Men, which isn't a TV show, but still does an incredible job capturing the era, eventhough I wasn't a live for it so I can't be that sure..

Clerks

I assume its alright to choose movies that were set in their own era

Good Night and Good Luck. Although it did help to have it in black and white. I like how they didn't pander to the anti-smoking Nazis.

Dances with Wolves

Stand by Me