My Favorites of the Decade - the 1980's

Even though it's the decade of my birth, I consider the 1980's to be the weakest decade for filmmaking. There are some great movies, no doubt, but not as many as other time periods, for me. 

Don't forget to check out Kyle's lists at his blog, Enter the Movies.
  

My Top 10 Favorite Films of the 1980's, in alphabetical order:

Year: 1983

Director: Bob Clark

As a kid, I'd watch A Christmas Story at least once - and sometimes much more often - every year, to the point where I could pretty much recite the film verbatim. I don't watch it that often now, but I still try to sneak it in every other December or so and I'm looking forward to introducing my son to it soon. It's just such a funny film. The writing is top notch - there are so many memorable lines and scenes - and all the performances are solid. Peter Billingsley is fantastic as the young lead, a boy who desires a Red Rider, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle more than anything else in the world. Darren McGavin is just as good, if not better, as the boy's cantankerous father. Both characters - and pretty much all the supporting characters, as well - were instantly relatable, and that's probably a big reason as to why the film has remained so ingrained in pop culture after all these years. My favorite individual aspect of the film is probably the voice over narration, provided by Jean Shepherd, who also wrote the original novel and the film's screenplay. Shepherd has impeccable comic timing and his lines perfectly compliment the action on screen. I love quite a few Christmas themed movies, but this one is probably my favorite. 

Year: 1988

Director: John McTiernan

When I was a kid, I thought Die Hard was the best action movie ever. In the years since my opinion hasn't changed. It has everything a great action movie needs - awesome set pieces, fantastic characters, witty dialogue, and suspense, not to mention some terrific acting, superb direction, and wonderful technical aspects. It has one of My Favorite Movie Heroes (John McClane) and one of My Favorite Movie Villains (Hans Gruber), plus a host of memorable side characters. Bruce Willis, known then as a comedic television actor, and Alan Rickman, hardly known at all in the States, combined for one of the best and most memorable duos of the 80's. Die Hard may have spawned countless knock-offs and a few underwhelming sequels - the third installment, Die Hard with a Vengeance is nearly as good as the first, but the other three range from good to downright terrible - but the original will live forever as the epitome of the perfect action flick.

  

Year: 1980

Director: Irvin Kershner

I pretty much grew up with the Star Wars films as part of my life. One of my older brothers was a huge fan, so we had the VHS tapes, toys, and video games constantly in the house. I'm not an obsessed fanboy or anything, though, so I can admit that the series has a lot of problems. The Empire Strikes Back is easily my favorite of the series, for a multitude of reasons - Luke and Han's adventure in the snow, the battle on Hoth, Yoda, Boba Fett, Lando's betrayal of Han, Darth Vader and Luke's light saber duel, and the darker tone all contribute to my love of the film. In comparison to Star Wars, I think Empire has the better writing, acting, and action set pieces, plus by the second film, I had grown to love the characters even more. As the franchise has grown - with a new film in each of the last two years and many more on the horizon - it has yet to reach the high water mark that Empire Strikes Back set all those years ago. I'm not sure if it ever will, either.

Year: 1984

Director: Ivan Reitman

Ghostbusters is a timeless comedy classic. A pretty dire sequel couldn't hurt it and an awful looking remake - that I haven't seen and can't imagine liking if I did - couldn't take away from its charm or sully its reputation. Since my son became enamored with the film about two years ago, I've seen bits and pieces of it more often than I ever did before, but that hasn't lessened my love for Egon, Ray, or Venkman one bit. I still laugh just as hard throughout. Bill Murray is the standout - like he is in pretty much all of his films - but every single notable actor in the cast ranges from solid to brilliant. The screenplay from Aykroyd and Ramis does a great job of setting up the main characters and premise and then supplies hilarious jokes and compelling action throughout. Even the special effects, which do seem dated at this point, are still entertaining and effective. I'm sorry that the world never got a Ghostbusters 3 - it would have been nice to redeem themselves after the first sequel - but I'm happy that the original will live on forever, like the classic it is.

Year: 1982

Director: Martin Scorsese

Unlike with most of the films on these "Favorites of the Decade" lists, I've only seen The King of Comedy once. That one viewing was more than enough, though, to realize that I really liked the film and I think it's one that will benefit from multiple viewings. Robert DeNiro turns in a fantastic performance as the lonely and deranged Rupert Pupkin - a man obsessed with becoming a comedy star - but it was Jerry Lewis' work as Pupkin's hero and reluctant mentor that really impressed me. Lewis is able to convey a level of depth that I never would have guessed possible and he's responsible for the film working the way it does. Scorsese is a master behind the camera and The King of Comedy is a nice counterpoint to show people who only think he can handle mobster movies. 

  

Year:1989

Director: David Ward

Movies and baseball are two of my favorite things, so it's no surprise that I love some movies set in the baseball world. Two of the best are Major League and its sequel. They're both very funny and entertaining throughout, but the original is the better film. Like most comedies, Major League's strengths are its writing and performances. The plot, characters, and dialogue are all very well handled and most of the performances are solid. Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Rene Russo, Wesley Snipes, Dennis Haysbert, and James Gammon all contribute mightily to the appeal for me - they all have well defined, funny, and memorable characters and their performances back up the writing nicely. Charlie Sheen - as he normally is - is the worst actor in the main group, but his character of Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn is so great that even his childlike line readings can't hurt the film too much. Bob Uecker, the great real life baseball announcer, is the MVP of the film, though. Uecker benefits from having a lot of great lines, but his own natural charisma and charm play a big part in why I love his character of Harry Doyle so much. About once a year, I watch a bunch of You Tube videos featuring Doyle and his many, many great moments.

Year: 1987

Director: John Hughes

John Hughes is more widely known for his teen comedies from the 80's like The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, but I love his work on this great Steve Martin and John Candy "buddy" comedy. Hughes wrote and directed the epic road trip comedy where Martin's unlucky Neal Page has to endure the aggravation of traveling alongside Candy's bombastic but lovable Del Griffith. Both characters seem like real, living, breathing people - a bit of a rarity in most comedies - and that's the charm of the film. These people are instantly believable and odds are you know some people who are quite similar to either Neil or Del. Martin's deadpan delivery and ability to explode into fits of rage are skillfully used throughout the film to balance Candy's broader and more well meaning comedy style. The two make for an excellent pair. The screenplay also allows for a fair amount of genuine emotion, especially at the end. Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a movie that I've revisited many times throughout my life and I can't imagine ever finding it anything less than hysterical, heartwarming, and exceptionally well made.

Year: 1981

Director: Steven Spielberg

I've recently written about the Indiana Jones series quite a bit - in My Favorite Movie Heroes (Indiana Jones, of course) and in a piece detailing my thoughts on the whole series. Raiders of the Lost Ark is definitely my favorite of the four films and one of the best action/adventure movies of all-time. Spielberg - with help from George Lucas, before he became what he is now - crafted pretty much a perfect film and Harrison Ford is outstanding as Indy. There are far too many great moments to mention, so I'll highlight something the film does so well where other films fail - it handles all the exposition in such a way that it's exciting and interesting. The scene where Indy explains what the Ark of the Covenant is could have been boring and clunky, but it's not. There are several scenes like that throughout, where necessary information has to be conveyed, but it's done gloriously well. Everything from the writing, acting, and direction to the score, cinematography, and special effects combine to make this film much more than what Spielberg and Lucas could have ever dreamed imaginable.

  

Year: 1980

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick had the special gift of working in all sorts of different genres and making some of the best films in each of them. Film-Noir (The Killing), Historical Epics (Spartacus), War (Paths of Glory), Dark Comedy (Dr. Strangelove), Science Fiction (2001: A Space Odyssey), Mystery/Thriller (Eyes Wide Shut), and, of course, Horror. The Shining is not only my favorite horror film, it's also my favorite film of the 80's. I first saw The Shining when I was about 12 and it terrified me then. Now, after having seen it probably a dozen or more times, it doesn't actively scare me, but it does always fill me with a sense of dread and a lasting, creepy feeling. Jack Nicholson has long been my favorite actor and he's very good as Jack Torrance, but Shelley Duvall is the real star of the film. Her portrayal of Wendy Torrance - Jack's long suffering yet supportive wife - is simply marvelous and I ranked it among My Favorite Supporting Actress Performances and it's something I appreciate a tiny bit more with each viewing, just like the film itself. Kubrick's construction of the film - from shot selection, set design, and music to casting, writing, and editing - is nothing less than stellar. I can sit down and watch The Shining at any time and I'm always immediately enthralled and captivated.

Year: 1982

Director: John Carpenter

I first saw The Thing almost two years ago and wasn't too terribly impressed. I liked it but had several rather large complaints about the writing and cinematography among other things. If you'd like, you can read my full review from that initial viewing. As the days, weeks, and months passed, though, I kept coming back to it - thinking about the film, reading reviews, and watching videos - so I gave it another watch. I was much more involved with the characters this time and my rating went up. After getting the Blu-ray for Christmas last year, I watched it again and liked it even more this time. I'm still listening to podcasts about it and watching making-of documentaries and I look forward to my fourth viewing sometime soon. It remains the only John Carpenter movie I really like - all the rest that I've seen have either been interesting concepts with lackluster results or out and out disasters - but I respect the man as a filmmaker and musician. An interesting bit of personal trivia related to The Thing: it was released in theaters just two days before my birth!

There's my list! Do you love or hate any of my picks? Did I miss any of your favorites from the 80's? Let me know in the comments!

Up next, my list of Favorite TV Shows!