Though I'll always preach the gospel of Hollywood's golden age, wax rhapsodic over the wonders of film noir or a Busby Berkeley dance number, the truth is my movie roots are traced not to Bogie and Bacall, but rather the decade that gave us a time-traveling DeLorean and the gang at Porky's.
Often remembered for sticking to the credo that bigger is better, the 1980s were when the blockbuster, the super-size summer movie, found its footing. Just ask anyone who caught Top Gun.
Still, there are substantial substance and quality to be found in the films of the '80s. Here are 10 favorites:
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): This big- action thrill ride continues to serve as a Hollywood template. Remarkable in its ability to blend humor, peril and surprisingly complex characters, Steven Spielberg's original Indiana Jones adventure stands up well against its latter-day, big- budget brethren and often surpasses them.
Raging Bull (1980): Based on the true story of self-destructive boxing legend Jake La Motta, this Martin Scorsese film is as artful as it is uncomfortable, beautiful as it is brutal. Although much has been made of Robert De Niro, who packed on the pounds to play the aging middleweight, the emotional pivot of the film is a young Joe Pesci.
Das Boot (1981): Under- appreciated in America, this taut drama about a World War II U-b oat crew eschews the politics of the conflict, choosing instead to use the claustrophobic quarters and constant sense of peril as a microcosm for the nature of man. Jürgen Prochnow plays the stoic commander, but the true star is the boat and director Wolfgang's Petersen's effective communication of space and atmosphere.
The Terminator (1984): A true success story, Terminator was made on a B-movie budget, with its equity coming from an expansive vision imaginatively executed. Its simple story, original style and genius casting - this is the movie that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star - make the time travel thriller not only entertaining but also important .
This Is Spinal Tap (1984): Say what you will about the 1980s, but it was a very good decade for comedy. Rob Reiner, who went on to direct When Harry Met Sally... and The Princess Bride, all but invented the comic "mockumentary" with this timeless look at a faltering British metal band. Perhaps the most effective use of the fake English accent ever devised.
Do The Right Thing (1989): An unabashed political polemic, Spike Lee's look at race relations is incendiary, insightful and laden with the sly humor, strong vision and bright writing that personify the director's best work. Framed by a single day on a single street, Do the Right Thing uses the finite to ask big questions without easy answers.
Blue Velvet (1986): Compulsively watchable and unbearably painful, director David Lynch's dystopian look at the American Dream might be the most courageous film of the decade. In full knowledge of the dichotomy it is presenting, the film presents a laundry list of unsympathetic characters and psychotic scenarios saturated with color and shot like a love letter to cinema. The result is a film that perfectly balance life's unbearable and beautiful - an art house masterpiece.
A Fish Called Wanda (1988): This caper movie thrives not on the machinations of its cross-and-double-cross plot, but the imaginative, and masterfully realized, characters that inhabit it. Be it the idiot assassin (Kevin Kline), the bumbling barrister (John Cleese) or a stuttering accomplice with a thing for fish, these personalities are unique to the film and are wholly effective.
The Last Emperor (1987): Although told on an epic scale, this biography of China's final emperor is, at its core, a small and simple story of a man caught up in issues he can't understand. It's a credit to director Bernardo Bertolucci that, although 19,000 extras were employed, the film's scope never undermines the sincerity of the story. A breathtaking achievement.
Platoon (1986): Oliver Stone's Vietnam film certainly wasn't the first movie made about the controversial conflict, but it might be the most riveting. Observing the mud, bugs, drugs, deceit and odd bouts of heroism through the eyes of a young grunt, Mr. Stone's film is at once epic and extremely personal .
Movies painfully excised from this list include The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining, Blade Runner, E.T., Ghandi, Tootsie, The Right Stuff, Amadeus, Witness, Ran, The Color Purple, Aliens, The Princess Bride, The Untouchables, Full Metal Jacket, Raising Arizona, Die Hard, Rain Man, Beetlejuice, The Killing Fields and, against my better judgment, Brazil.
Posts: 5319 | From: KANSAS | Registered: Sep 2003 | Site Updates: 2
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I found this article in my local paper and thought you might find it interesting!
Posts: 5319 | From: KANSAS | Registered: Sep 2003 | Site Updates: 2
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There are some terrific films on that list.
When people think about the 80's they often just picture films like 'Crocodile Dundee'. But those of us on this website know, 80's cinema had something good for everyone, regardless of their tastes.
Posts: 3383 | From: England | Registered: May 2003 | Site Updates: 21
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I would've put "Blade Runner" on the list itself. I haven't seen the whole thing, but what I have seen, I've been stunned at its' atmosphere and dark beauty...And on top of that, you have Daryl Hannah, Sean Young and Joanna Cassidy all looking very pretty.
Sincerely,
John Kilduff
Posts: 1545 | From: Greenwood Lake, New York, USA | Registered: Jul 2002 | Site Updates: 0
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Yeah I have to agree Devo, but I guess to each his own, right!
Posts: 5319 | From: KANSAS | Registered: Sep 2003 | Site Updates: 2
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