MC Wednesday Inventory #9: The Best 1980s Films

[dreamdead]

So since this decade is traditionally lambasted as the decade that Hollywood put out formula and sequels after sequel and the death of the 1970s auteurism and directorial freedom, what are the films (Hollywood or foreign) that you champion as your favorites?

[Derek]

1. The Decalogue (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
2. Nostalghia (Andrei Tarkovsky)
3. L'Argent (Robert Bresson)
4. Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone)
5. Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies)
6. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
7. Raising Arizona (Joel Coen)
8. Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
9. El Sur (Victor Erice)
10. Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman)

[Raiders]

Films you probably haven't seen and by now, have no good excuse:

1. Crime Wave (Paisz, 1985)
2. Housekeeping (Forsyth, 1987)
3. Speaking Parts (Egoyan, 1989)
4. Paperhouse (Rose, 1988)
5. Chameleon Street (Harris, 1989)

[Gizmo]

The below get 9 or 10 out of 10 from me:

Airplane!(1980)
Amadeus(1984)
Glory(1989)
The Last Temptation of Christ(1988)
Raging Bull(1980)
The Shining(1980)
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back(1980)

[baby doll]

Passion (Jean-Luc Godard, 1982)
Sans soleil (Chris Marker, 1983)
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)
Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984)
Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985)
Mélo (Alain Resnais, 1986)
A Zed and Two Noughts (Peter Greenaway, 1986)
Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1988)
City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1989)
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)

[MadMan]

I'm going to go with 5 because its a lot easier:

1. Once Upon A Time In America (1984, Leone)
2. Blade Runner (1982, Scott)
3. The Long Good Friday (1980, Keeffe)
4. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989, Allen)
5. Brazil (1985, Gilliam)

[B-side]

Films you probably haven't seen and by now, have no good excuse:

I'll go with Raiders' theme, with the caveat that you've likely got several excuses why you haven't seen some/all of these (no repeats from previous lists & no particular order):

1. City of Pirates (Raoul Ruiz, 1983)
2. Where is the Friend's Home? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987)
3. Golem (Piotr Szulkin, 1980)
4. Blue Mountains, or Unbelievable Story (Eldar Shengelaya, 1983)
5. Imperative (Krzysztof Zanussi, 1982)
6. The Step (Aleqsandre Rekhviashvili, 1985)
7. China Girl (Abel Ferrara, 1987)
8. Pomegranate and Cane (Saeed Ebrahimifar, 1989)
9. Almanac of Fall (Béla Tarr, 1984)
10. The Wind (Souleymane Cissé, 1983)

[Skitch]

Geez, I could list about a hundred...

[Mysterious Dude]

1. The Elephant Man (1980)
2. The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
3. Testament (1983)
4. Come and See (1985)
5. Ballad of Narayama (1983)
6. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
7. Reds (1981)
8. The Return of Martin Guerre (1982)
9. The Sacrifice (1986)
10. Pixote (1981)

[Spinal]

1. Amadeus
2. The Vanishing
3. A Zed and Two Naughts
4. This is Spinal Tap
5. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
6. Raising Arizona
7. Ran
8. The Elephant Man
9. Brazil
10. Blue Velvet

[MadMan]

Geez, I could list about a hundred...That's why I just listed five. Coming up with a concrete Top 10 was just too hard. It was hard enough to make a Top 5. I almost could have just gone with my Top 5 for 1984.

[Yxklyx]

It would look something like this:

1. Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
2. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg)
4. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott)
5. Blood Simple (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
6. Brazil (Terry Gilliam)
7. Ran (Akira Kurosawa)
8. The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese)
9. Dangerous Liaisons (Stephen Frears)
10. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen)

[megladon8]

The '80s is one of the most unfairly maligned periods ever, when it comes to art and culture.

[D_Davis]

The '80s is one of the most unfairly maligned periods ever, when it comes to art and culture.

I agree. It's fantastic. So many good movies and bands.

I could list hundreds of films here; shoot, I could probably do 50 HK films.

[D_Davis]

All HK - all 10/10 films, a few being among the best films ever.

1. Peking Opera Blues
2. Don't Play With Fire
3. We're Going to Eat You
4. Duel to the Death
5. Project A
6. Boxer's Omen
7. Mr. Vampire
8. Spooky Encounters
9. The Prodigal Son
10. A Chinese Ghost Story
11. The Killer


This list could go on for days.

[Irish]

The 80s is one of the best decade for genre films. I swear you could pull titles from any genre save Westerns and go toe to toe with movies from any other decade.

- Blade Runner
- The Road Warrior
- Aliens
- Altered States
- The Terminator
- Predator
- Robocop
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Escape from New York
- The Wrath of Khan
- Back to the Future
- Akira
- Tron

And, of course, every teen boy's favorite: Lifeforce

[D_Davis]

And, of course, every teen boy's favorite: Lifeforce

Mathilda May.

Best nudity in a rated-R film of all time.

[D_Davis]

The 80s is one of the best decade for genre films. I swear you could pull titles from any genre save Westerns and go toe to toe with movies from any other decade.


I might argue that no other decade can touch the '80s in terms of genre cinema.

[Irish]

I might argue that no other decade can touch the '80s in terms of genre cinema.

Yeah, that was my first thought too -- but then I remembered the 10,000 genre films made in the 1930s and 1940s, and all the crazy small B-pictures and serials and thought maybe not.

[Pop Trash]

1. Blue Velvet
2. The Shining
3. My Life as a Dog
4. The Neverending Story
5. Platoon
6. Sex, Lies, and Videotape
7. Ghostbusters
8. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
9. Poltergeist
10. Raising Arizona

something like that...

[Grouchy]

1. Raging Bull
2. Ran
3. Blue Velvet
4. Brazil
5. Once Upon a Time in America
6. The Shining
7. Dead Ringers
8. Wings of Desire
9. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
10. Do the Right Thing

[D_Davis]

US Films:

The Thing
Raiders of the Lost Arc
Aliens
Die Hard
Evil Dead 2
Bill Cosby Himself
Re-Animator
Pee Wee's Big Adventure
Poltergeist
Return of the Living Dead
Robocop
American Werewolf in London

All from my top 100.

Man, the '80s ruled.

[Russ]

Man, the '80s ruled.

Yep, they sure did.

[Spinal]

Bill Cosby Himself


As a kid, the dentist bit nearly killed me. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

[D_Davis]

As a kid, the dentist bit nearly killed me. I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

I like the part about ordering food while high.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMktzmxGu5Y

[Spinal]

Director of the decade? I'll nominate Peter Greenaway:

The Falls
The Draughtsman's Contract
A Zed And Two Naughts
The Belly of an Architect
Drowning By Numbers
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

Plus, the lesser seen:
26 Bathrooms
Death in the Seine

Extraordinary expression of a singular cinematic aesthetic.

[Spinal]

I like the part about ordering food while high.

Last line is brilliant. :lol:

This is a discussion for another thread, but Cosby's probably the best stand-up of all time. I'll take him over Carlin, Pryor, anybody.

[Skitch]

Since we're discussing 80's...I never heard of Miami Connection before yesterday, but it might be the greatest and 80's-est movie I've ever seen. Seriously, watch this shit immediately. Thank you, Netflix.

If the next hour is as good as the first 15 minutes...best movie eveah!

[Derek]

Last line is brilliant. :lol:

This is a discussion for another thread, but Cosby's probably the best stand-up of all time. I'll take him over Carlin, Pryor, anybody.

Good thread (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?3375-Stand-Up-Comedy).

There's definitely an argument to be made for Cosby. I probably wouldn't put him in my top 5, but he certainly deserves to be up there. He's one of the best storytelling comedians of all time.

[Derek]

The '80s is one of the most unfairly maligned periods ever, when it comes to art and culture.

I think it's because the worst stuff from the 80s is just SO fucking bad that it leaves a bad taste. A lot of films from that era in particular have an ugly look to them (a gritty griminess that worked much better for 70s cinema) and much of the music was godawful as well. And you know, the fashion...yeesh. That said, the best of that decade is really, really fantastic. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

[Sycophant]

Going to eleven, just to give #11 some love (though the ordering here isn't terribly precise).

1. Sans Soleil
2. My Neighbor Totoro
3. Grave of the Fireflies
4. The Purple Rose of Cairo
5. Do the Right Thing
6. Lost in America
7. The Fly
8. Crimes and Misdemeanors
9. Ballad of Narayama
10. Ran
11. A Better Tomorrow

It has also been demonstrated that if I hear this song, I will instinctively walk toward it:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0XX3eBfp0I

[Mr. Pink]

Since we're discussing 80's...I never heard of Miami Connection before yesterday, but it might be the greatest and 80's-est movie I've ever seen. Seriously, watch this shit immediately. Thank you, Netflix.

If the next hour is as good as the first 15 minutes...best movie eveah!

I posted this in the B-movie thread a few months back, but since you brought it up, I'm posting it again (and also because it's amazing).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVtyOwcQo-w