Best 20 Films of the 80's
Submitted by ash_campbell on Mon, 06/02/2003 - 04:07
Tags:
- This decade gets an additional list of five honorable mentions, as I felt it would be rude to diss them completely.
- 1. Amadeus (1984). Fascinating fiction that looks at the fine line between genius and madness. Told from the viewpoint of Mozart’s biggest enemy Salieri (F. Murray Abraham is excellent).
- 2. Blade Runner (1982). Dark and dreary, saturated colors, and the best adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story. Add in a rising star (Ford), and you have a classic.
- 3. Blood Simple (1984). The Coen Brothers’ first feature is a gritty film noir with a great conceptual story and some wrenching visuals. M. Emmett Walsh has always been one of my favorites.
- 4. Breakfast Club (1985). Defined a whole genre of comedy, and even if it unleashed the Brat Pack on us, this one shows what good writing and a lot of teen angst will do for you.
- 5. Chariots of Fire (1981). Great theme music helps a lot here, but the interesting mix of religious and athletic themes is a potent one. Ian Holm scores a major victory here as the Jewish coach.
- 6. Das Boot (1981). Those who have only seen Jurgen Prochnow in his American releases don’t really have a sense of how much depth and power he has as an actor. In this totally depressing war film, Wolfgang Petersen shows how the Germans got constrained during the end of the war, using a submarine as a metaphor.
- 7. Driving Miss Daisy (1989). Many think of it as being trite and emotionally manipulative. Thing is, you can’t deny the bond between Freeman and Tandy.
- 8. The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Best one in the group. No arguments on this one please.
- 9. Ferris Beuller’s Day Off (1986). From its deft use of locations in Chicago, to the perfect tones that each of the major characters hits, this one is hysterical.
- 10. A Fish Called Wanda (1988). John Cleese represents the repressed Brits, Kevin Kline the obnoxious Americans, Jamie Lee Curtis the hot babe. Brits: 1, Americans: 0.
- 11. Full Metal Jacket (1987). The first half is all about R. Lee Ermey; the second is about the idiocy of war.
- 12. Gandhi (1982). Ben Kingsley is spot-on as the pacifist, and this is just great from start to finish.
- 13. The Killer (1989). Gun fights as ballet.
- 14. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Dafoe gives the performance of a career, and Scorcese continues to riff on religious themes.
- 15. Little Mermaid (1989). Disney re-invented itself and the animation genre with this smash hit that also happens to be very touching. Yes, I’m man enough to say I like this.
- 16. Platoon (1986). Lots of up-and-comers in this cast, including Depp and Whitaker. Oliver Stone is a little more than crazy and his revisionist history can be annoying, but here, he’s dead on.
- 17. The Princess Bride (1987). My favorite movie. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this. I just know it’s magic.
- 18. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Witty, action-packed, and it makes archeology look sweet. Now that’s make believe.
- 19. Ran (1985). Kurosawa uses primary colors in this film like no one else ever has.
- 20. The Terminator (1984). I’ve had to sit through a lot of schlock from Arnie as a result of this, so it says something good about this since it ends up on this list.
- Honorable Mention
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Die Hard (1988)
- Elephant Man (1980)
- The Killing Fields (1984)
- Terms of Endearment (1983)
I find it interesting that the 80s is the only decade you've given five honorable mentions to. I've seen several posts on Listology lamenting the weakness of that decade. I'm not saying you shouldn't, mind you, just that I find it interesting. Perhaps that says the movies near the top are comparable to other decades (and perhaps more uniform), but that the decade's bench isn't as deep.
I think that's pretty much right. Moreover, in the 80's (and to some extent the 70's), you start to see the real emergence of several genres (fantasy sci-fi, horror, action films) that really are on par with the more acceptable 'great' genres (comedy, drama, etc). After Jaws, you start to really put a budget and great writing into these formally B level pictures. My take is that there isn't an equivalent great Star Wars pre 1970's.
I think the other reason that the 80's are considered such a weak decade is because the ratio of great films to total films seems so low. I think part of this is real, and part of it is that every stupid movie made in the last thirty years is still around, while tons of the crap from earlier has disappeared. This is an instance in which preservation has actually weakened the overall impact of 80's movies.
I notice your like of The Breakfast Club. Whilst interesting, I much preferred St. Elmo's Fire, but for the same reasons. And similarly, but considerably better - on a different plane - one of my all-time favoutites - The Outsiders (1983).
Great cast, great story, fabulous photography, Francis Ford Coppola as Director, and the best ever theme song (Stay Gold - Stevie Wonder - over the closing credits). Highly recommended.
- -
the
professor - -
I,too thought that the bond between Tandy and freeman was wonderful.