The Eighties


Hey all,
I have been having a really hard time finding good movies from the 80s that I haven't already seen before. Like all the teen movies I've pretty much seen.. if anyone could recommend some movies from the 80s that are not horror movies that would be great!
Thanks!

reply

Amadeus! Who could forget that????
Stand By Me. Sorry... that's a teen movie.

reply

Stand by Me was a fave of mine though, I thought all the boys were so cute. haha. Haven't seen it in years! Poor River! And I have Amadeus and have been meaning to watch it for ages. I'm pretty sure it won best picture in its year, didn't it?

reply

I agree about the boys in Stand By Me. Very cute. Very sweet. I always get a little choked up when I see that scene near the end where they have all come back to town and Gordy is saying goodbye to Chris. You see Chris/River sort of disappear as he is walking away. It all seems so sad in hindsight.
I have Amadeus in my collection too. Along with The Big chill, it's at the top of my favorite 80's films. It made these great composers actually seem real to me for the first time. A wonderful film!

reply

In a twist of irony, River Phoenix’s character died later on in the storyline. At the end as Gordie is narrating the future, he mentions that Chris was involved in an altercation, and was fatally stabbed. Totally going off of memory here, but I’m pretty sure about it.

reply

Yes. You have that right. That is what makes that scene so sad.

reply

Wow, I don't remember that. I really need to watch that again. Totally sad, you're right.

reply

So far, you seem to have quite a list Daisy! I have been checking out all of the lists that people have provided. It looks to me as though we have a whole lot of movie watching ahead of us!

reply

Yes for certain, I have quite the list on the Classic Movie board too. That's pretty much all I've been doing lately is watching movies. haha :)

reply

There are so many wonderful people here who have recommended films in several threads. I am making a list and it just gets longer. It's nice to know that there is no shortage of entertainment. I will eventually enjoy many of these films. Winter is my best time.... like all of the little woodland creatures, I am saving them up for winter.

reply

You bet ! Hunker down with comfort food and good movies.

reply

River Phoenix reminds me of
Running on Empty

His parents are on the run because of some trouble they got into in the 60's
A really good film.

They just keep popping up.

reply

I liked that movie.. so i so can't remember it well though

reply

It did, but don't get your hopes up. I mean, whatever happened to Tom Hulce? His next movie was Slamdance, and then he deservedly vanished. The Oscar for this year should have gone to The Terminator.

reply

Yeah, I don't even recognize his name. I think the length of this one is what always keeps me from sitting down and watching it. I feel like its more a movie I 'should' see, rather than want to so much..so hard to commit to almost 3 hours. I'm sure it is excellent though

reply

Repo Man. Sid and Nancy.

reply

Sid and Nancy is one I've been meaning to watch for a long time too.
Has Repo Man been remade? I seem to remember watching one with Jude Law called that but I could be mistaken.

reply

They have similar titles (Repo Man/Repo Men), but the two have nothing in common. But this reminds me that I should finally watch Repo _Man_.

reply

Flight of the Navigator

reply

I loved this movie when I was a kid. I saw it so many times. :) Good pic for an 80s movie though.

reply

A few from me:

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Night of the Comet
The Quiet Earth
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
After Hours
Iceman

reply

Wow, I never even heard of any of these. ;)

reply

If you do see any of them, I hope you enjoy them! :)

This is a great thread BTW, I like 80's movies as well, so I'm always on the look out for recommendations.

reply

After Hours is Martin Scorsese's only comedy.

reply

I loved After Hours. It is a comedy, but it's dark comedy.

reply

Dark comedies are great. I will so check this one out soon.

reply

In that case, I think you're going to enjoy After Hours!

reply

I loved After Hours. Sadly I can't find it anywhere to rewatch (maybe I'm looking at all the wrong places). I have to say, it might be one of my favourite Scorsese movies.

reply

Loved

Night of the Comet
Iceman
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

reply

Our lists have some in common!
nobody ever knows Buckaroo Banzai. I loved that movie.

reply

I loved Buckaroo Banzai as well! And with that cast, I'm surprised it's not more well known. Maybe it's too "weird" for broader audiences?

reply

The Explorers, if it hasn't been mentioned already.

reply


In no particular order:

The Right Stuff
Die Hard
Blade Runner
Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Stand By Me
The Princess Bride
Back To The Future
Full Metal Jacket
Platoon
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Terminator
Ghost Busters
ET The Extra Terrestrial


😎


"That bad, huh?"

reply

I love Full Metal Jacket.. what an excellent movie. Good list though for sure! I'll be watching 80s movies forever..haha

reply


Thanks. Enjoy!



😎

reply

I worked at a theater playing this movie when it was new. I have watched the first half of it probably 100 times. This and Blue Velvet, that also played at our theater and I would start the movie and then stay in the booth to watch to the first 10 minutes as often as possible.

reply

How good would you say Blue Velvet is? This is one I consider a must-see movie, yet I haven't watched it yet.

reply

It's a 10/10 for me. It's got iconic lines. it's got Dennis Hopper at his craziest.

reply

It's not nearly as well-remembered as The Princess Bride, but I quite like another 80s fantasy, Willow. It stars Warwick Davis as the title character, Willow Ufgood, who is, of all things!, a dwarf: a dwarf charged with protecting a child from an evil queen. Imagine a modern remake, starring Peter Dinklage, who is five times the actor that Davis is.

Turning to a different movie that is also from the 80s, but also OF the 80s: Staying Alive, the sequel to Saturday Night Beaver, I mean, Fever. Tony Moreno is now dancing in a Broadway show, stripped to the waist, wearing a gymrat sweatband and boasting a ripped and cut (but not shredded) body. 80s fitness fever combined with a sound track by those singing mice, the Bee Gees. It's hard to get more 80s than that.

But there is one way. Daisy, if you want to inhale US 80s culture, you need to watch the primetime soap operas of the era: Dallas, Dynesty, Falcon Crest, The Colbys. You will learn what "big hair" means. You will see wealthy women in designer gowns with shoulder pads ripped from the NFL. You will watch paroxysms of greed and treachery that would embarrass even Donald Trump. You will lose sleep over who shot JR. You will learn the 80s, and be changed forever.

reply

Don't forget Knot Landing or Perfect which Travolta is also in. I'm sure it's a coincidence.

reply

I loved Willow too, its there in my memory but just barely. I remember Staying Alive as well... had already had a crush on John Travolta from Welcome back Kotter re-runs, I'm sure the movie wasn't new when I saw it either.
I know you were joking about the Dynasty and watching soaps, but I actually have checked out some of the first season of Dynasty out of pure curiosity and because I can remember my mother watching it.
Talk about shocking! The abuse is insane, I was in shock that they got away with that on television. And it was considered normal.....wow. Anyways, just thought I would mention that.

reply


Okay....this is kind of embarrassing because it's somewhat cheesy....but I remember liking MASQUERADE (1988) much more than I thought I would. It's a romantic thriller with Rob Lowe and Meg Tilly.

I went over to a friend's house back in the day, and they had rented it, and I was like, "Oh, PLEASE!"

Either it was all the hash we then smoked, or the movie itself...but I found it kind of engrossing!

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4RpoT-Lps8
.

reply

When you said Rob Lowe it made me think of

Youngblood with him and Swayze
Oxford Blues with Ally Sheedy

Hash definitely helps a lot of his films.

reply

The only thing that hash DOESN'T help with is operating machinery. Adam Sandler MUST owe his inexplicable career to hashed-out audiences. "Mmm . . . Nepali temple balls . . . mmmmmm . . ."

reply

Let's be fair. I think Sandler found his stride with Grown Ups 2. The scene where he did the goofy look, then
did the goofy voice then immediately did the stupid look again was brilliant.
Comparable only with the opening scene in Touch of Evil.

Let's put this in perspective.
Would this also make Bieber sound like Tchaikovsky?

reply

I'll try it after smoking some ;)

reply

Please report back! Maybe it's actually dated trash...but I thought ir was kind of GOOD. And for my money, it had a rather erotic sex scene!

reply

I will for sure :)
I think there are way less sex scenes now a days in movies, just an observation LOL

reply

Dirty Dancing (my fav)
Top Gun
The Karate Kid
Tron
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Ghostbusters




reply

I think I have seen all the movies in your list multiple times except for tron. I def saw Dirty Dancing too many times. At the end of it we knew it word for word. (My sister, my cousin and I).

reply