Best significant 80's films

[MrSilly]

I have no fond reminiscence of the 80's (before my time) but from my point of view the decade had plenty of terrific cinema, unfortnately the general consensus is to remember all the big-budgeted, manufactured drivel. I had this idea sorta-proved a couple years back when Channel 5 were showing a 'greatest 80's films' dealie, and it was stuffed with exactly the crap you'd expect. Dirty Dancing in the Top 10, yet Amadeus was nowhere to be seen. The hugely overrated Scarface getting cited by near everyone, and not a single person has apparently seen Once Upon A Time In America. Even more popular brilliance like Robocop was overlooked, the whole thing was a farce.

The term itself seemingly leads to negative connatations. When I and those around me hear "80's" we're immediately thinking towards the garish fashions, badly aged effects and reckless amounts of pop music on soundtracks. There's plenty of good stuff in there, but an awful lot of shit too (like most decades).

[morris]

Originally Posted by MrSilly

unfortnately the general consensus is to remember all the big-budgeted, manufactured drivel.

Exactly. And nothing has changed. They'll always give priority to the films Joe and Jane Public remember best and those are going to be the crowd pleasers like Dirty Dancing, Officer and a Gentleman etc. It's not going to be challenging and intelligent films is it. Lowest common denominator. By the way the person who named Cocktail as a significant film should be quietly taken out the back and shot.

Originally Posted by MrSilly

The hugely overrated Scarface getting cited by near everyone, and not a single person has apparently seen Once Upon A Time In America.

TV people will just show what the masses want to see. You need a specialist film channel to show anything off the beaten track.

The term itself seemingly leads to negative connatations. When I and those around me hear "80's" we're immediately thinking towards the garish fashions, badly aged effects and reckless amounts of pop music on soundtracks.

Who are those around you? You mean, your peers? Rightly or wrongly a decade is remembered for the popular conceits, fads and trends which most defined and encompassed it, not for the core of tasteful or refined cultural exceptions and little pockets of taste that may have existed.

[MrSilly]

Yeah, my peers generally. However, as I know most of these people through university where we analyse film academically, I would imagine that more of them would be interested in the more refined output of the era. I still get a kick out of the likes of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure but I'll never rate it above the likes of Ran.

I guess the main difference is that with prior decades the popular stuff actually happened to be good. How I wish that modern output could have the kind of quality witnessed in Hollywood's golden age. Instead we get Resident Evil: Afterlife. Blergh.

[morris]

Originally Posted by MrSilly

I guess the main difference is that with prior decades the popular stuff actually happened to be good.

That's it, there was some good stuff in the eighties but you had to dig a little for it. But overall it wasn't a rich decade in film output.
It's true that the general standard of film in the seventies and earlier was more inventive, or was it just more original? We're having a creativy recession this decade, from Hollywood. There are quality films out there but they seem to be coming from independent or world cinema sources more than mainstream where it's all sequel, remake and re-bloody-boot. There are exceptions of course, there always are but generally speaking I can't recall a year when I've been so rarely tempted to the cinema.

Your post about Bette Davis on another thread got me thinking: Who is there around now who can hold the screen like she did, or like Clint ? The Golden Age was golden, now it's plastic. It's disposable and most so-called stars are forgettable, they simply don't have the style or power to carry them through one decade after another.

[Ancient One]

Who can hold a screen like Bette Davis. Hmm. At her best I would say Helen Mirren oR Dame Judy Dench. Granted both have made some sub par stuff but then again so did Davis.
BTW. I think Bette Davis was far better in All About Eve but thats a personal opinion.
Male wise I dont know. I genuinly think that there is nobody who can hold a penny to the old male stars. There are a few who, on occasion, come close such as Ray Winston ( The War Zone, Nil By Mouth ) and Gary Oldman but they are still far more dependent on a good script rather than sheer charisma.

[morris]

Originally Posted by Ancient One

BTW. I think Bette Davis was far better in All About Eve but thats a personal opinion.

So do I, if you mean better than in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Both excellent performances.

[whitezombie]

Hang on, i thought were naming films that represented the Zeitgeist of the 80's, not just good films from the 80's. Hence me naming films that captured the 'feel' if the 80's. In which case, good call on Top Gun.

If we're just naming 'good' films from the 80's, fuck, there are loads of films deserving of mention above the big money, big studio outputs.

The Empire Strikes Back?
Return of the Jedi?
The Fly?
Videodrome? (though this was very much of the 80's I think. Is it me or does it kinda capture the 80's "Video Nasty" hysteria pretty well? Then again, The Fly as a comment on the then new AIDS issue?).

I've not sat and watch all of Cannibal Holocaust, but does anyone think that this also riffs on consumer culture, and the want, want, want of the developed world, regardless of what giving people what they want entails?

Oh, talking about deeper meanings in films, how about Scanners as a counterpart piece to The Men Who Stare at Goats?

[Cropsy]

i'm surprised no-one unless i have missed it has mentioned 'Manhunter', this film screams 80's nostalgia and set a template for other serial killer flicks.

Not only that but is far superior to any of the lector films and pretty much any other serial killer film (se7en on par).

One of my favourite films of all time.

[vivid]

My personal fav's from the 80's have to be:

The Lost Boys
Breakfast Club
The Goonies
Labyrinth
Back to the Future
Predator
Running Man

but I have to pay homage to less obviously popular titles such as:

Bad Taste
The Dark Crystal
An American Werewolf in London

wow...the more I think about it the more I realise I could keep adding to this list all day :]