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80's Movies


NoRagrets

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2 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:
21 minutes ago, South Austin said:
Michael Knight's favorite movie is The English Patient.

That movie sucked and wrong decade, the best 2 movies from the 80's are Raging Bull and Do the Right Thing. That's not to say I don't enjoy watching Die Hard and Raiders of the Lost Ark and think they are great movies, but Porky's and police academy give me a fucking break. I'm sure in 20 years someone on surly will be waxing nostalgic about the merits of American Pie and Eurotrip.

Yes, I know in what decade your favorite movie was made.

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There's much more to the greatness of John Hughes movies (which Michael Knight thinks suck, unlike his favorite movie The English Patient) than just nostalgia.  He was one of the first filmmakers to produce movies for the teen market in high school settings.  Before then, it was a largely underserved tweener market caught between kids movies (e.g., Disney, Star Wars, Superman) and adult movies.  I'd agree with someone who argues that his films were wildly over-dramatic and at times portrayed an exaggerated version of teen angst.  But he really opened the doors to a genre of films in the high school/teen settings, and deserves serious recognition for that.

And you can watch a movie like Planes, Trains and Automobiles (which is 10 times better than Michael Knight's favorite movie, The English Patient), and it's still a quality movie by today's filmmaking standards. 

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1 hour ago, Michael Knight said:

There's a whole bunch of stranger things nonsense going on in this thread.  Seriously take off the nostalgia glasses for a moment and try to think of these movies critically.The same people complaining about formulaic movies today are the ones praising the 80's for originality, literally the decade where the blockbuster formula was established. What you liked at age 12 is not a valid measure of greatness.  The fake processed plastic decade produced plenty of pop culture but little in the way of lasting art.

Go read the beginning of the thread again.  In the fourth post, the OP clearly states "list your favorite."  If your favorites also happened to be the most critically acclaimed, then great, but those don't have to be one and the same.  Obviously, a lot of moves we loved as kids and teens aren't going to withstand serious scrutiny.  It doesn't change the fact that they are some of our most loved.  Some people just happen to express "I really enjoyed that movie as a kid" as "That film is a cinematic masterpiece, and it should have won 6 Academy Awards."  

In short, I agree with your point, but I have no idea why you're making it.  Enjoy the thread for what it is...oh, that's right, we don't do that.  Never mind.    

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53 minutes ago, South Austin said:

There's much more to the greatness of John Hughes movies (which Michael Knight thinks suck, unlike his favorite movie The English Patient) than just nostalgia.  He was one of the first filmmakers to produce movies for the teen market in high school settings.  Before then, it was a largely underserved tweener market caught between kids movies (e.g., Disney, Star Wars, Superman) and adult movies.  I'd agree with someone who argues that his films were wildly over-dramatic and at times portrayed an exaggerated version of teen angst.  But he really opened the doors to a genre of films in the high school/teen settings, and deserves serious recognition for that.

And you can watch a movie like Planes, Trains and Automobiles (which is 10 times better than Michael Knight's favorite movie, The English Patient), and it's still a quality movie by today's filmmaking standards. 

Yeah he really gave a voice to all the white upper middle class teens from suburban chicago 

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1 hour ago, Michael Knight said:
1 hour ago, South Austin said:
Michael Knight's favorite movie is The English Patient.

That movie sucked and wrong decade, the best 2 movies from the 80's are Raging Bull and Do the Right Thing. That's not to say I don't enjoy watching Die Hard and Raiders of the Lost Ark and think they are great movies, but Porky's and police academy give me a fucking break. I'm sure in 20 years someone on surly will be waxing nostalgic about the merits of American Pie and Eurotrip.

Michelle Trachtenberg FTW. Unfortunately, she was not in The English Patient (your favorite movie)

Edited by Cheeseweasel
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I think the thing that makes a lot of 80's movies so fun is they were made with conviction. Sure, one of the greatest movies to come out of this decade is about how a bouncer saves the whole town, but they told the story with such conviction that it is halfway believable. I think Point Break is the last great 80's movie even though it was made in the 90's. It still has that all in feeling where they are going to tell this ridiculous story like it is serious despite how ridiculous the story is. Now we can't seem to make a movie like that without breaking the fourth wall and winking at the audience.

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2 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

I think the thing that makes a lot of 80's movies so fun is they were made with conviction. Sure, one of the greatest movies to come out of this decade is about how a bouncer saves the whole town, but they told the story with such conviction that it is halfway believable. I think Point Break is the last great 80's movie even though it was made in the 90's. It still has that all in feeling where they are going to tell this ridiculous story like it is serious despite how ridiculous the story is. Now we can't seem to make a movie like that without breaking the fourth wall and winking at the audience.

Well put.

millenial movie snob asshole while watching "one crazy summer" would say "no one would ever steal someone's Ferrari and put it in the back of a sail boat to win a yacht race to save Demi Moore's grandma's house!  After the race, they'll be arrested for like 10 felonies!"

but in 80's movies, if you're the good guy, it's just assumed that everything works out.

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On 4/6/2018 at 10:41 PM, DoobieWah said:

action Raiders

 

Your post had me just rewatch probably the best character establishing sequence in cinema history. 

 

But it what was Jacques doing there?  Indy hiked in on a multi person expedition.  Comes out and in running distance has a buddy in a two person plane.  Plus didn’t know about mah pet snake Reggie.  

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35 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Heathers was absolutely great and no way in hell would it get made today.  Not a chance and not just because of the smoking and blowing up schools.

 

Have not watched it but there is a Heathers TV series on Paramount Network(used to be Spike), that just recently started.

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On 4/6/2018 at 8:37 PM, NoRagrets said:

"Commando" is how I'll teach him about the dirty wars of South America

Watched this a couple of years ago w/ the kids when they were in elementary school.  They laughed their ass off when Arnie chopped the dudes arm off, right before the toolshed scene started.

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On 4/9/2018 at 12:17 PM, South Austin said:

There's much more to the greatness of John Hughes movies (which Michael Knight thinks suck, unlike his favorite movie The English Patient) than just nostalgia.  He was one of the first filmmakers to produce movies for the teen market in high school settings.  Before then, it was a largely underserved tweener market caught between kids movies (e.g., Disney, Star Wars, Superman) and adult movies.  I'd agree with someone who argues that his films were wildly over-dramatic and at times portrayed an exaggerated version of teen angst.  But he really opened the doors to a genre of films in the high school/teen settings, and deserves serious recognition for that.

And you can watch a movie like Planes, Trains and Automobiles (which is 10 times better than Michael Knight's favorite movie, The English Patient), and it's still a quality movie by today's filmmaking standards. 

Sixteen Candles and Ferris Beuler's Day Off infinitely rewatchable. 

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  • 5 years later...

80s was a great decade for teenager movies. There was a paradigm shift in advertising that focused on teenagers as well. That said these are my favorite 80s movies. 

This is Spinaltap - one of my all time favorites

Do the Right Thing - entertaining as hell

Raising Arizona - my type of humor

Shoah - I expected to be bored , but the conversations were enthralling

Koyaanisqatsi - really good to see while stoned at the Varsity theater in the 80s and enjoyed it watching stoned in the 20s. 

A great decade for foreign films introduced to the American market as well. 

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