MC Yearly Consensus - 1984

[Spinal]

Submit your five favorite films from this year and in a week I will give you a top ten. IMDb dates will be used.

The point system is as follows

1st Place-5 points
2nd Place-4 points
3rd Place-3.5 points
4th Place-3 points
5th Place-2.5 points

There will be no restrictions on short films. A minimum of three films must be listed. You may edit your post freely up until the time that the voting is closed, which will be in about a week. I will give at least 24 hours warning before tallying votes.

You may begin now.

IMDB Power Search (http://www.imdb.com/list)

[Spinal]

1. Amadeus
2. This is Spinal Tap
3. The NeverEnding Story
4. Blood Simple
5. 1984

6. Stop Making Sense
7. The Year of the Quiet Sun
8. After the Rehearsal
9. Broadway Danny Rose
10. Once Upon a Time in America

[Raiders]

1. Paris, Texas (Wenders)
2. Repo Man (Cox)
3. Next of Kin (Egoyan)
4. Stop Making Sense (Demme)
5. The Company of Wolves (Jordan)

---------------------------------

6. Comfort and Joy (Forsyth)
7. Blood Simple. (Coens)
8. Beautiful Dreamer (Oshii)
9. Ghostbusters (Reitman)
10. Birdy (Parker)

Kind of an overrated year for me considering I am not much of a fan of Once Upon a Time in America or Amadeus, the two films I expect to top this year.

[Philosophe_rouge]

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds
2. Amadeus
3. A Nightmare on Elm Street
4. Under the Volcano
5. The Terminator

[Russ]

1. Body Double
2. Repo Man
3. Amadeus
4. Blood Simple
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

I've got a copy of Paris, Texas that I need to watch..

[Yxklyx]

1. Blood Simple (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
2. Amadeus (Milos Forman)
3. Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme)
4. The Element of Crime (Lars von Trier)
5. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders)

6. Repo Man (Alex Cox)
7. Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch)
8. The Terminator (James Cameron)
9. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (W.D. Richter)
10. The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer (Keith Griffiths, Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay)

A lot of f*cked up and bizarre movies this year.

[MacGuffin]

1. Beverly Hills Cop (Martin Brest)
2. Body Double (Brian De Palma)
3. This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner)
4. Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch)
5. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielberg)

[Ezee E]

Amadeus FTW.

[Lazlo]

1. Amadeus
2. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
4. Ghostbusters
5. Blood Simple.

[Spinal]

With all due respect, if Temple of Doom makes this list, I will seriously consider a roll-eyes smiley.

[Ezee E]

1. Amadeus
2. Ghost Busters
3. Once Upon A Time in America
4. Blood Simple
5. Gremlins

[Stay Puft]

1. Stranger Than Paradise
2. Ghostbusters
3. Shanghai Blues
4. Amadeus
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds

[Pop Trash]

1. The NeverEnding Story
2. Revenge of the Nerds
3. Ghostbusters
4. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street

6. The Terminator
7. Repo Man
8. This Is Spinal Tap
9. Starman
10.Be Somebody...or Be Somebody's Fool!

HM: About 80% of everything else that came out this year. I love this year! Total nostalgia.

[Spinal]

1. The NeverEnding Story


:cool:

[Pop Trash]

:cool:
Love it.

[dreamdead]

1. Paris, Texas
2. Next of Kin
3. Amadeus
4. Blood Simple
5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

HM: Ghostbusters, Gremlins, This is Spinal Tap?, The Terminator

[Spinal]

Love it.

Have you seen it recently? It holds up pretty darn well.

[Pop Trash]

Have you seen it recently? It holds up pretty darn well.
Yeah, I own it. It does hold up well. I like that it isn't afraid to be dark and weird at times. Plus I used to have a huge crush on the Childlike Empress when I was a kid.:pritch:

[MacGuffin]

With all due respect, if Temple of Doom makes this list, I will seriously consider a roll-eyes smiley.

To my closest recollection (and from piecing together what I've seen over the years), it seems to be the least xenophobic addition to the trilogy, and furthermore, contained the most archeology and exploring, which is where Spielberg is at his career best (even though I'm not exactly fond of the guy, I can't think of a director I'd rather have navigate Indiana Jones through some of the sickest caves).

[Sven]

To my closest recollection (and from piecing together what I've seen over the years), it seems to be the least xenophobic addition to the trilogy, and furthermore, contained the most archeology and exploring, which is where Spielberg is at his career best (even though I'm not exactly fond of the guy, I can't think of a director I'd rather have navigate Indiana Jones through some of the sickest caves).

I'm not normally one to say this, but this post is the exact opposite of truth. Not only are the cave explorings the worst part of the movies (seriously, guy wanders through damp hole in the ground for ten minutes... is there anything less exciting than that?), but Temple of Doom is quite easily the most explicitly problematic, racially.

[MacGuffin]

I'm not normally one to say this, but this post is the exact opposite of truth. Not only are the cave explorings the worst part of the movies (seriously, guy wanders through damp hole in the ground for ten minutes... is there anything less exciting than that?), but Temple of Doom is quite easily the most explicitly problematic, racially.

For the first part, I don't know about you (well maybe I do), but I sort of find that kind of stuff fascinating and perhaps that's why the first half of The Descent clicked with me real well, and the second half changed the tone and sucked. Spielberg creates a likable charismatic character, so of course when he goes into the caves it's compelling if only to see the outcome. But I also like the claustrophobic framings and the positioning of the actors in their environment.

Racially, I don't know if I've seen the first one all the way through and if I have it was years ago, but I still think it's more racist than the second. The first portrays all Germans as Nazis, whereas the second just takes a group of Indians (I think?) and puts them underground in the caves as if it were only a selective group. So at least it's not a group of people that stand for a symbol which says all Indians rip peoples hearts out underground and through them into pits of flames. Also, I think there's a sense of community and adaptation when Indiana and the group first discover the village.

[Pop Trash]

Racially, I don't know if I've seen the first one all the way through and if I have it was years ago, but I still think it's more racist than the second. The first portrays all Germans as Nazis, whereas the second just takes a group of Indians (I think?) and puts them underground in the caves as if it were only a selective group. So at least it's not a group of people that stand for a symbol which says all Indians rip peoples hearts out underground and through them into pits of flames. Also, I think there's a sense of community and adaptation when Indiana and the group first discover the village.
Yeah and from my readings, the Thugees were a real fringe Hindu group in India but were snuffed out by the British Empire/"regular" Hindus in the late 19th century or so. I think the story in this is if the Thugees were still around in the early 20th century but were way underground. Of course Spielberg/Lucas embelleshed things for dramatic effect but I like that it's the most dark/violent/weird/politically incorrect of all the IJ movies. Plus the movie just never lets up, especially in the second half. It's just one crazy ass thing after another.

[Watashi]

1. Starman
2. Once Upon a Time in America
3. Amadeus
4. Paris, Texas
5. The Neverending Story

Amazing year.

[Raiders]

The first portrays all Germans as Nazis

What? It certainly does not. He only deals with the Nazis because it is Hitler that wants the Grail. Why would regular Germans be out there? It doesn't take place in Germany.

[monolith94]

A film with a great many enjoyable films, but not as many really personal favorites.

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds
2. Stop Making Sense
3. Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer
4. Blood Simple
5. The Terminator

[Mysterious Dude]

1. Paris, Texas
2. The Times of Harvey Milk
3. The Neverending Story
4. The Terminator
5. The Killing Fields

[soitgoes...]

1. Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone)
2. My Friend Ivan Lapshin (Aleksei German)
3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds (Hayao Miyazaki)
4. Antonio GaudÃ* (Hiroshi Teshigahara)
5. The Killing Fields (Roland Joffé)
----------------------------------------------------------------
6. The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer (Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay)
7. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders)
8. The Terminator (James Cameron)
9. A Passage to India (David Lean)
10. The Company of Wolves (Neil Jordan)
11. Romancing the Stone (Robert Zemeckis)
12. A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven)

[Boner M]

Awesome year, mainly for these top 5.

1. Love Streams (Cassavetes)
2. Paris, Texas (Wenders)
3. Stranger Than Paradise (Jarmusch)
4. Once Upon a Time in America (Leone)
5. Blood Simple (Coen)

6. This is Spinal Tap (Reiner)
7. Repo Man (Cox)
8. Boy Meets Girl (Carax)
9. Amadeus (Forman)
10. Gremlins (Dante)

[ledfloyd]

1. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
2. Once Upon a Time in America
3. This is Spinal Tap
4. Stop Making Sense
5. Blood Simple

[origami_mustache]

1. This Is Spinal Tap
2. My Friend Ivan Lapshin
3. Stranger Than Paradise
4. Blood Simple
5. Voyage to Cythera

6. Ghostbusters
7. Gremlins
8. Nightmare On Elm Street
9. The Neverending Story
10.Terminator

need to see:
Paris, Texas
Amadeus

[Weeping_Guitar]

1. Ghostbusters
2. Blood Simple
3. Paris, Texas
4. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
5. The Natural

[Ezee E]

I think we should make Temple of Doom the new Rick Astley and vote it to #1. Ha.

[Grouchy]

1. Once Upon a Time in America
2. Paris, Texas
3. In the Company of Wolves
4. This is Spinal Tap
5. Nightmare on Elm Street

[Dead & Messed Up]

1) Ghostbusters
2) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
3) This is Spinal Tap
4) Amadaeus
5) A Nightmare on Elm Street

As for the racism in Temple of Doom, I don't worry much about the Indian treatment, because Indiana's putting himself in harm's way for an Indian village (chock-full of Indians). I can understand people's complaints about Short Round's pidgin English, which apparently made life tough for a lot of young Chinese-Americans at the time.

Regardless, the final forty minutes count as the high point of action cinema I've seen. Geography, timing, humor, effects, and pace all come together effortlessly.

[MadMan]

I rather like 1984. Some really cool movies were made this year.

1. Gremlins
2. This is Spinal Tap
3. The Terminator
4. Repo Man
5. Ghostbusters
6. Blood Simple
7. The Brother From Another Planet
8. The Temple of Doom
9. Secret Honor
10. Top Secret!

[Yxklyx]

1984 - The Cubs just needed to win ONE of the next THREE games...

[MadMan]

1984 - The Cubs just needed to win ONE of the next THREE games...Heh another year in the long, sad and pathetic history of one of my favorite sports teams. This or next season has to be their year. Right? RIGHT? I can only hope and pray :sad:

[Yum-Yum]

1. Repo Man (Balgobin)
2. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (Barkin)
3. Night of the Comet (Maroney)
4. Angel (Wilkes)
5. Heavenly Bodies (Dale)

6. Revenge of the Nerds (Meyrink)
7. Savage Streets (Blair)
8. Streets of Fire (Daily)
9. Perfect Timing (Scarabelli)
10. Blame It on Rio (Johnson)

[Spinal]

1. Repo Man (Balgobin)
2. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (Barkin)
3. Night of the Comet (Maroney)
4. Angel (Wilkes)
5. Heavenly Bodies (Dale)


Yes, but what about the schlocky cult films?

[Yum-Yum]

Yes, but what about the schlocky cult films?

I don't have time for unsophisticated crap like that.

[Spinal]

I don't have time for unsophisticated crap like that.

Elitist.

[Pop Trash]

Yum Yum's lists are always alot of fun. I've been tempted to rent Night of the Comet a few times. I'll get around to it someday.

[MadMan]

From what I remember, Night of the Comet is gloriously cheesy, trashy cult movie entertainment. I'm not sure if the creatures featured in the movie were mutants or zombies though.

[SirNewt]

I think we should make Temple of Doom the new Rick Astley and vote it to #1. Ha.

Are you crazy?!


With all due respect, if Temple of Doom makes this list, I will seriously consider a roll-eyes smiley.

He'll fucking do it!

1. This is Spinal Tap
2. Amadeus
3. Never ending Story (childhood fav FTW + Milo and Otis)
4.
5. Indie 2

[Melville]

1. Paris, Texas
2. A Passage to India
3. Amadeus
4. Broadway Danny Rose
5. Ghostbusters

[thefourthwall]

1. Amadeus
2. Ghostbusters
3. The Natural
4. Dune (I have a feeling this won't be popular here.)
5. This is Spinal Tap

[balmakboor]

1. Paris, Texas
2. This is Spinal Tap
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
4. Stranger Than Paradise
5. A Nightmare on Elm Street

[Boner M]

where b the love streams at

[Spinal]

Are you crazy?!

He'll fucking do it!


Yeah, I don't mean to hold the thread hostage, but you gotta know I'm not dicking around here.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

1. Paris Texas
2. Blood Simple
3. Repo Man
4. Antonio Gaudi
5. 1984

[Qrazy]

1. My Friend Ivan Lapshin
2. Amadeus
3. This is Spinal Tap
4. Paris, Texas
5. Broadway Danny Rose

6. Once Upon a Time in America
7. Nausicaa and The Valley of the Winds
8. Blood Simple
9. Terminator
10. Neverending Story

Need to See: Love Streams, Antonio Gaudi, A Passage to India

[Kurosawa Fan]

1. Amadeus
2. Blood Simple
3. Ghostbusters
4. The Terminator
5. Johnny Dangerously

[Spinal]

One more day.

[Spinal]

#10 (tie)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/1100.jpg

Stranger than Paradise

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Country: USA

A New York hipster is paid an unwelcome visit by his pretty 16-year-old Hungarian cousin. Out of boredom, they decide to visit their aunt in the wastelands of Cleveland and then proceed to sunny Florida.

Won the Golden Camera award at Cannes. Named Best Film by the National Society of Film Critics. Won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance. In the scene where Willie and Eddie pick up Eva from the hot dog stand, Jim Jarmusch can be seen in the background eating a hot dog and wearing a beanie.

"It's filmmaking stripped down to the bare essentials, and it's where Jarmusch found his signature style, a deadpan approach that gives him room to maneuver from comedy to tragedy without blinking." - Keith Phipps

[Spinal]

#10 (tie)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/neverending.jpg

The Neverending Story

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Country: West Germany/USA

An unhappy boy is bullied by older youths and seeks sanctuary in a bookstore. The owner gives him a magic book in which he is able to follow the adventures of a boy who is everything he believe he is not, brave, strong, successful.

Author Michael Ende was unhappy with the film's version of his story, and refused to have his name placed in the opening credits. A small credit appears at the end with his name. During filming in the Swamps of Sadness, a faulty platform mechanism caused the death of one of the horses portraying Artax. Noah Hathaway (Atreyu) was so upset he didn't return to work for two weeks.

"The idea of the story within a story is one of the nice touches in The Neverending Story. Another one is the idea of a child's faith being able to change the course of fate. Maybe not since the kids in the audience were asked to save Tinker Bell in Peter Pan has the outcome of a story been left so clearly up to a child's willingness to believe." - Roger Ebert

[Spinal]

#9

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/repoman460.jpg

Repo Man

Director: Alex Cox

Country: USA

A frustrated punk rocker quits his supermarket job after slugging a co-worker, and is later dumped by his girlfriend at a party. Wandering the streets in frustration, he is recruited in the repossession of a car by a repo agent.

Awarded Best Screenplay by the Boston Society of Film Critics. All the repo men (except Otto) are named after beers. All of the cars (plus the police motorcycle) have pine tree air fresheners.

"Repo Man is full of throwaway sight gags - odd bits of business seen at the corner of the film frame - and its soundtrack is sometimes as dense with bizarre non sequiturs as the sound track on a Robert Altman film. All of the performances are good, but those of Mr. Stanton and Mr. Estevez are excellent. " - Vincent Canby

[Spinal]

#8

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/temple.jpg

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Director: Steven Spielberg

Country: USA

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees, and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Also nominated for Best Original Score. An open casting call was put out to elementary schools to find a young Asian actor to play Short Round. Jonathan Ke Quan arrived with his brother, not to audition, but merely to provide moral support. He caught the casting director's attention because he spent the entire time of his brother's audition telling him what to do and what not to do.

"Spielberg has since distanced himself from Temple of Doom's unfettered anti-P.C. overtones ... but the reality is that this is the film that comes closest to reflecting the racism, sexism and jingoism that fueled most of the serials that originally sparked Spielberg and George Lucas's impressionable young imaginations. Thereby, Temple of Doom can be viewed as an exorcism of sorts." - Eric Henderson

[soitgoes...]

:|

[Spinal]

#7

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/onceuponatimeinamerica2vj4.jpg

Once Upon a Time in America

Director: Sergio Leone

Country: Italy/USA

A tale of the life of New York gangsters from the period of the early 1900's through prohibition, and climaxing in their subsequent reunion in the 1960's. Loyal childhood friends enter a life of crime together that inevitably leads to tragedy.

Sergio Leone printed 10 hours of film to assemble as the initial cut of the movie, which he pared down to a 6-hour cut that he was satisfied with. For a time, he strongly considered releasing the movie in two three-hour parts before cutting it down to its four-hour version. However, the studio still wasn't happy with this, and hired editor Zach Staenberg to further shorten the movie. The U.S. distributor reportedly failed to file the proper paperwork so that Ennio Morricone's score could be put up for nomination for an Academy Award.

"This epic is a compendium of kitsch, but it's kitsch aestheticized by someone who loves it and sees it as the poetry of the masses. It isn't just the echoing moments that keep you absorbed--it's the reverberant dreamland settings and Leone's majestic, billowing sense of film movement." - Pauline Kael

[Spinal]

:|

Indeed.

[Grouchy]

#8

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/temple.jpg

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Excellent. Glad this movie slowly earns the recognition it deserves as an adventure classic.

[Spinal]

#6

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/373546.jpg

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Country: Japan

In the future, man has destroyed the Earth. Now, there are small pockets of humanity that survive. One pocket is the Valley of Wind where a princess named Nausicaä tries to understand, rather than destroy the Toxic Jungle.

After the original, heavily re-written and edited 1980s release of this film in the US (as Warriors of the Wind), Miyazaki demanded that any new licensor for his films be contractually bound to do no edits whatsoever aside from a straight translation and dub.

"All the Miyazaki hallmarks are in place: rapturous explorations of natural vistas, a fascination with flight and flying machines, and a spunky female lead out to change the world, or at least hold her corner of it together through sheer love ... Part epic adventure, part environmental tract, part early testing ground for the themes and characters of Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä is in some ways a grim and serious film, but it mixes a sweet optimism into its horror-filled lessons." - Tasha Robinson

[origami_mustache]

I guess I should get around to Miyazaki's films sometime.

[Spinal]

#5

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/ghostbusters-1.jpg

Ghostbusters

Director: Ivan Reitman

Country: USA

Three odd-ball scientists get kicked out of a New York City university where they studied the occult. They decide to set up shop in an old firehouse and become ghostbusters, trapping pesky ghosts, spirits, haunts, and poltergeists for money.

Earned Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song. Dana's apartment building actually exists at 55 Central Park West in New York City. The building is really only 20 stories high. For the film, matte paintings and models were used to make the building look bigger and with more floors.

"Ghostbusters is one of those rare movies where the original, fragile comic vision has survived a multimillion-dollar production ... and when that, ahem, monster marches down a Manhattan avenue and climbs the side of a skyscraper ... we're glad they spent the money for the special effects because it gets one of the biggest laughs in a long time." - Roger Ebert

[Spinal]

#4

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/spinal_tap1.jpg

This is Spinal Tap

Director: Rob Reiner

Country: USA

In 1982, legendary British heavy metal band Spinal Tap attempt an American comeback tour accompanied by a documentary film-maker. The resulting film, interspersed with powerful performances of Tap's pivotal music and profound lyrics, candidly follows a rock group heading towards crisis.

There is a deleted subplot which explains the cold sores on the band members' lips: the band takes on an opening act for the tour and the lead singer sleeps with each member of Tap, giving each one herpes in turn. During the "Big Bottom" sequence, all three front men are playing bass.

"It holds up, but not, surprisingly, because it skewers the pretensions of rock stars so hilariously. No, This Is Spinal Tap endures because it makes those pretensions more seductive than real rock stars do ... Who wouldn't want to be a rock titan, even a ludicrous and stupid and fading one? It's the supreme pipe dream of our era. Way down deep, Guest and McKean probably wish they could have stayed Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins for all time." - David Edelstein

[Qrazy]

I watched Stranger than Paradise with a girl once, bad idea.

[Spinal]

#3

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/dan_hedaya2.jpg

Blood Simple

Director: Joel Coen

Country: USA

A saloon keeper suspects his wife of cheating with one of his bartenders. He hires an unscrupulous detective to kill them. But the detective has more lucrative plans of his own.

Won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Won Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Male Lead (M. Emmet Walsh). Holly Hunter had auditioned for the role of Abby, but turned it down because she was performing a play in New York at the same time. So she encouraged her roommate Frances McDormand to go and audition for the role.

"Blood Simple stands as a high watermark in American independent cinema, a brilliantly plotted and scabrously funny thriller that tweaked the noir genre for a more knowing modern sensibility. With few characters and limited means, the Coens crafted a model of low-budget efficiency and ingenuity, but what makes Blood Simple so enduring is how it mingles the messy business of crime with ordinary, desperate people who don't have a knack for it." - Scott Tobias

[Spinal]

#2

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/Kinski.jpg

Paris, Texas

Director: Wim Wenders

Country: France/West Germany

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to remind him of the life he led before he walked out on his wife and son four years before. As his memory returns, he makes contact with various people from his past.

Won three awards at Cannes including the Palme d'Or. Named Best Film by the London Film Critics Circle. During the scene in the Texas airport, Dean Stockwell's character is on the phone with his wife. The PA announcer can be heard saying "A message for Joy Stockwell, Joy Stockwell. Austin will arrive at any minute." Joy was Dean's wife and Austin, his son, was born during production of this film.

"This isn't a movie about missing persons, but about missing feelings. The images in the film show people framed by the vast, impersonal forms of modern architecture; the cities seem as empty as the desert did in the opening sequence. And yet this film is not the standard attack on American alienation. It seems fascinated by America, by our music, by the size of our cities, and a land so big that a man like the Stanton character might easily get misplaced." - Roger Ebert

[Ezee E]

Once Upon a Time In America being that low is certainly frown-worthy.

[Spinal]

#1

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/joel_harmon/amadeus2.jpg

Amadeus

Director: Milos Forman

Country: USA

Antonio Salieri longs to be as good a musician as Mozart so that he can honor God through his composing. Salieri's envy builds as he sees God instead fill the vulgar Mozart with greatness. He sets out to take revenge.

Won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (F. Murray Abraham) and Best Adapted Screenplay. According to Milos Forman's autobiography, one studio offered to provide funding for Amadeus on the condition that Walter Matthau was cast in the role of Mozart.

"Amadeus is beautiful to behold, a sensuous recreation of 18th century Vienna, from its outdoor markets to its palace halls. The story of composer Antonio Salieri and his jealous obsession with Mozart is a showcase for some of Mozart's greatest music ... Milos Forman directs actors in roles that allow their talents to take wing -- probably the juiciest roles they will ever get." - Mick LaSalle

[Spinal]

1. Amadeus (61)
2. Paris, Texas (50)
3. Blood Simple (42.5)
4. This is Spinal Tap (41.5)
5. Ghostbusters (37)
6. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds (25)
7. Once Upon a Time in America (24.5)
8. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (22)
9. Repo Man (19.5)
10t. The NeverEnding Story (18)
10t. Stranger than Paradise (18)

Not quite:
The Terminator (14.5)
Stop Making Sense (13.5)
A Nightmare on Elm St. (13.5)
My Friend Ivan Lapshin (13)

[Grouchy]

Once Upon a Time In America being that low is certainly frown-worthy.
Yeah, that and Terminator.

WHERE THE FUCK IS TERMINATOR ON THIS LIST?

[soitgoes...]

Yeah, that and Terminator.

WHERE THE FUCK IS TERMINATOR ON THIS LIST?It's spot was taken by Temple of Doom.

[soitgoes...]

I figured OUaTiA would fair better. Is it generally seen as not list worthy by most? Or just under-seen?

[dreamdead]

I figured OUaTiA would fair better. Is it generally seen as not list worthy by most? Or just under-seen?

I've not seen it, no. E had it listed in his top 50, and the underwhelming response that the majority showed it kind of put it on the "someday I'll see this... but no rush" category.

[Mysterious Dude]

Temple of Doom is garbage.

[Grouchy]

I've not seen it, no. E had it listed in his top 50, and the underwhelming response that the majority showed it kind of put it on the "someday I'll see this... but no rush" category.
You couldn't be more wrong. It's an epic masterpiece worth watching not once, but many times. Probably Leone's most personal and heartfelt film, and the musical choices are incredible.

Think Godfather II with a dream-like quality and a riskier, more creative directing style.

[balmakboor]

1. Amadeus (61)
2. Paris, Texas (50)
3. Blood Simple (42.5)
4. This is Spinal Tap (41.5)
5. Ghostbusters (37)
6. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds (25)
7. Once Upon a Time in America (24.5)
8. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (22)
9. Repo Man (19.5)
10t. The NeverEnding Story (18)
10t. Stranger than Paradise (18)

Not quite:
The Terminator (14.5)
Stop Making Sense (13.5)
A Nightmare on Elm St. (13.5)
My Friend Ivan Lapshin (13)

I remember vividly all the debate at Cannes that year being who made the better film, Wenders of Jarmusch. Cannes spoke. And now MC is singing the same tune 24 years later. I guess it's official now.

For what it's worth, I think it's a draw and I own both.

[Raiders]

Man, more people really need to see Stop Making Sense.

[balmakboor]

Man, more people really need to see Stop Making Sense.

I saw it in a theater when it first came out and not a soul remained seated. It was like a real rock concert with everyone dancing and jumping about. What a crazy fun memory.

[Qrazy]

I remember vividly all the debate at Cannes that year being who made the better film, Wenders of Jarmusch. Cannes spoke. And now MC is singing the same tune 24 years later. I guess it's official now.

For what it's worth, I think it's a draw and I own both.

I don't think there's even a question.

[balmakboor]

I don't think there's even a question.

Yeh, I know. Stranger is the better, more consistent piece. But damn, that Ry Cooder score and those long peepshow monologues are incredible. And I'm still drooling over Kinski all these years later.

;)

[MadMan]

Man, more people really need to see Stop Making Sense.Considering over the past year I became a new found fan of The Talking Heads I think it would be right up my alley. Alas I only heard of the film recently thanks to Criticker, which recommended it to me.


It's spot was taken by Temple of Doom.The fact that such a thing is the case sort of annoys me. But I have quickly gotten over it. Temple is a good film, but its not even in the same class as "Terminator."

I really want to see #1, and I'm sure its awesome. But come on could there have been a more predictable and certain #1? I'm kind of bored by that. Some of these lists are more fun to read than others.

Great to see that Blood Simple received a lot of love, considering its a great film and is one of the best of the 1980s. I really must see more of the Coens Brothers work, especially their 80s and early 90s movies.

[Grouchy]

Temple of Doom is garbage.
No.

[ledfloyd]

You couldn't be more wrong. It's an epic masterpiece worth watching not once, but many times. Probably Leone's most personal and heartfelt film, and the musical choices are incredible.
the only time i can recall being moved to tears by a score.