[squarejawhero]

Hey, well, let's hear for the decade of CHEESE!

Labyrinth, The Breakfast Club, Say Anything, Ridgmont High (still not seen it, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Amadeus, Chariots of Fire, Empire of The Sun, Top Gun, The Goonies, Indiana Jones, Blue Velvet, Ghostbusters, The Empire Strikes Back... what's your fave eighties flick? Why - does it hold any special meaning to you?

Me?

Well...

Okay, who brought the dog?

[stepurhan]

Originally Posted by squarejawhero

Okay, who brought the dog?

Not

When someone asks you "if you're a god?" you say, "Yes!"

So tricky to choose. So many classics. The original Indiana Jones film was one of my favourites. Good all-out actioner with a sense of humour. Harrison Ford carried off the lead part with style and Karen Allen made a good foil for him as the feisty female lead (much better than that wimpy woman they got in the sequel.)

My favourite part must be when the guy in the marketplace does the fancy work with the sword to challenge Indy and then Indy shoots him. Aparently the original script called for a big fight scene but Harrision Ford was tired after a long day of filming. He improvised, the stunt man had the presence of mind to go down and a classic movie moment was born.

[Once A Villain]

I think the 80's were a bit disappointing overall for movies, though some greats did emerge. The 80's were a wonderful time for longer, epic length films that usually premiered on television as miniseries. As far as theatrical, feature length films are concerned, my favorites of the 80's were:

Raging Bull - Along with Goodfellas, this is probably Martin Scorsese's greatest triumph.

The Ballad of Narayama - Shohei Imamura's masterpiece. Hard to watch at times, but very rewarding.

L'Argent - One of Robert Bresson's greatest works.

Grave of the Fireflies - Arguably the most emotionally powerful animated film ever made.

Jean de Florette & Manon of the Spring - These two Claude Berri films are among the greatest French films of the last 25 years.

Once Upon a Time in America - Not exactly feature length, but this was a theatrical film, and a true epic that spanned many years.

Ran - Kurosawa's best work from his late period as a filmmaker.

Hannah and Her Sisters - A very funny and human Woody Allen picture.

Crimes and Misdemeanors - Another great Allen. One part comedy, one part drama. All parts character study.

Do the Right Thing - Spike Lee's best film.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by stepurhan

My favourite part must be when the guy in the marketplace does the fancy work with the sword to challenge Indy and then Indy shoots him. Aparently the original script called for a big fight scene but Harrision Ford was tired after a long day of filming. He improvised, the stunt man had the presence of mind to go down and a classic movie moment was born.

I read somewhere that they were all feeling ill (stomach bug, I think)...

Same difference, though.

[natalia]

If we're going for cheese, I'll take Say Anything. I didn't think it was cheesy, actually. I really loved it.

[SakSquash]

Milo and Otis
The Falcon and the Snowman
Savanah Smiles
Anything with Wilford Brimley
Anne of Green Gables
The Road Warrior
Trading Places
Mad Max
The Thing
Little Monsters
Coming to America
Lord of the Flies - 1990? Oh well.
Indiana Jones
Robocop

There are others, but whatever good enough.

[Melanie68]

Ladyhawke - Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer.

[insane_cobra]

The Last Starfighter!!!!! The Wizard!!!!!! The Secret of NIMH!!!! Critters!!!! Young Warriors!!!! American Ninja!!!!! Delta Force!!!!! Flight of the Navigator!!!! Akademia pana Kleksa!!! Tennis Court!!! Ghostbusters!!!! Bloodsport!!!! etc!!!

I loved those as a kid. Well, except for Young Warriors and Tennis Court, they just gave me nightmares, but that's precisely why I could never forget them.

I disagree with Once A Villain, I think many, many truly great movies got made in the 80s. I'm not a huge film buff, but even I could come up with at least several dozens that ended up being either very important, very influential or just plain excellent.

I can't choose my favorite, though, but I'll mention Miracle Mile cause it's one of those precious little (and little-known) gems that just sneak their way into your heart and refuse to ever leave.

[Starflux]

I've always viewed Ghostbusters as the ultimate 80s blockbuster. And I also have that feeling that those kinds of movies just aren't really made anymore. Come on, name a comedy that had the kind of wit that Ghostbusters had.

,,Print is dead."

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

I disagree with Once A Villain, I think many, many truly great movies got made in the 80s. I'm not a huge film buff, but even I could come up with at least several dozens that ended up being either very important, very influential or just plain excellent.

Well, I named some brilliant ones. But other decades produced a lot more greatness. That's the only way to compare. I'm not saying the 80's didn't have great films, but compared to the 70's, 60's, 50's? It's no contest.

EDIT: I forgot to mention Amadeus, but squarejaw covered that, so it's ok.

Howard the Duck

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

Akademia pana Kleksa!!!

*gasp* You've just made my day!


That's so eighties (particularly the songs). Do you know the sequels, too?

[Jeysie]

What, no love for Back to the Future 1 & 2? (3 came out in the 90s, IIRC.)

Those movies were funny and intelligent, and the chemistry between the actors was a lot of fun. Oh, and when I was a little girl I had a big crush on Michael J. Fox. *blushes*

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was quite good as well... that well-crafted blend of toon animation and live acting is still a joy to watch for me.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by Jeysie

What, no love for Back to the Future 1 & 2? (3 came out in the 90s, IIRC.)

Those movies were funny and intelligent, and the chemistry between the actors was a lot of fun. Oh, and when I was a little girl I had a big crush on Michael J. Fox. *blushes*

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was quite good as well... that well-crafted blend of toon animation and live acting is still a joy to watch for me.

Peace & Luv, Liz

I liked all of those. Funny, they're all Robert Zemeckis films.

[insane_cobra]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

Do you know the sequels, too?

No, but I've read Podróze pana Kleksa, it's one of my favorite children's books! It's begging for an adventure game treatment, don't you think?

[AFGNCAAP]

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

No, but I've read Podróze pana Kleksa, it's one of my favorite children's books! It's begging for an adventure game treatment, don't you think?

Oooh, yes. It'd be great. Also, I've always dreamt of a game made entirely in the visual style of Jan Marcin Szancer, who was an outstanding graphic artist, most famous for his children books illustrations - and, yes, he did Mr Kleks series, too.

Anyway, Podróże were adapted into film two years after Akademia - the movie was very similar in spirit, but with more departures from the book's plot, especially in the second half (no wicked ending this time), and was generally brighter and more colourful, as you may gather (exotic locations, etc.). Lastly, there was Pan Kleks w kosmosie ("...in Space"), an entirely original script (despite the fact that they had one more book left in the trilogy - Tryumf Pana Kleksa) which combines campiness of the previous two with the feel of an outdated sci-fi movie. Fun stuff. Although the books are the best.

[insane_cobra]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Well, I named some brilliant ones. But other decades produced a lot more greatness. That's the only way to compare. I'm not saying the 80's didn't have great films, but compared to the 70's, 60's, 50's? It's no contest.

I don't think so, the 80s in general are underappreciated. I know judging movies has become a complex science and I definitely don't have enough knowledge to be competent in that field, but I can extrapolate from my experience with other art forms. I think the problem is in critics, not in movies - it's way too early to judge the 80s, not to mention the 90s. Once this generation grows old, the general (critical) opinion is going to change quite a bit. Maybe the 80s won't lose its tag of the worst decade for movies, but I bet the margin is going to become a lot narrower.

[Once A Villain]

Originally Posted by insane_cobra

I don't think so, the 80s in general are underappreciated. I know judging movies has become a complex science and I definitely don't have enough knowledge to be competent in that field, but I can extrapolate from my experience with other art forms. I think the problem is in critics, not in movies - it's way too early to judge the 80s, not to mention the 90s. Once this generation grows old, the general (critical) opinion is going to change quite a bit. Maybe the 80s won't lose its tag of the worst decade for movies, but I bet the margin is going to become a lot narrower.

I'm sure many people think the 90's were a better movie decade than the 80's (not me neccessarily), and those movies are already more recent. It's not that the 80's were bad, I'm just thinking numbers here. More quality films could have been made in the 80's than in the 70's actually, but "quality" is different from "masterpiece". I'm going by which movies are the kind that could stand with the best of all time, regardless of decade, and the 70's had more of those than the 80's did, in my view. Other people may not judge like that, and I can accept that.

For instance, Back to the Future has been mentioned. Roger Rabbit as well. Are they quality movies? Actually yes. But is anyone going to ever say their name in the same breath as Citizen Kane? Ummm...no. Heh. I can actually admit that I don't even know which decade (70's, 80's, 90's) had better films overall. I can simply say that I believe the 70's had more truly great films than the other two. Oddly enough though, the 80's did have a lot of great stuff though when I really think about it... Perhaps it wasn't such a weak decade afterall.

[Kolzig]

Originally Posted by Jeysie

What, no love for Back to the Future 1 & 2? (3 came out in the 90s, IIRC.)

Well, the third one was filmed in at the same time as the second one, so in a way it makes the third one also an 80's movie.


My favourites from the rockin' eighties:

Indiana Jones movies, the two Star Wars movies, Ghostbusters, Scrooged, Blade Runner, Robocop, all Arnold's 80's movies, Batman, Platoon, Romancing the Stone, Highlander, The Untouchables (I cried so much in that one elevator scene when I first saw this movie. I was a young boy then...), Beverly Hills Cop, Crocodile Dundee (I used to watch that movie like five times a year when I was younger), Die Hard, The Blues Brothers

Well, those are the ones that I can remember right now.

[Melanie68]

I saw Beverly Hills Cop three times the year it came out. In the theater in the US, on the plane when I went to Germany (I was 16) and dubbed in German in Berlin.