1980s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 2)
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
1980s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 2)
I hereby declare that the 80s Are Totally Back!
Deadline for the 80s List is December 31 2008
PM your list of 50 films (no more, no less) from 1980-1989, ranked in order of preference, to zedz
When in doubt, IMDB's date is correct
Figured since everyone's winding down the 70s list, time to begin discussion on the next list. The above is a brief rundown of the basic Lists Project rules to prevent the inevitable questions about how this works. For more in-depth discussion of the rules, see the stickied Lists Project thread.
I for one plan to watch every single Brat Pack and tangentially Brat Packish film.
Deadline for the 80s List is December 31 2008
PM your list of 50 films (no more, no less) from 1980-1989, ranked in order of preference, to zedz
When in doubt, IMDB's date is correct
Figured since everyone's winding down the 70s list, time to begin discussion on the next list. The above is a brief rundown of the basic Lists Project rules to prevent the inevitable questions about how this works. For more in-depth discussion of the rules, see the stickied Lists Project thread.
I for one plan to watch every single Brat Pack and tangentially Brat Packish film.
- tavernier
- Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:18 pm
Re: 1980s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project)
So you're doing a worst list, then...domino harvey wrote:I for one plan to watch every single Brat Pack and tangentially Brat Packish film.
- Steven H
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:30 pm
- Location: NC
The big 80s films for me are the Taiwanese Hous and Yangs (most if not all of their stuff from this decade will make it onto my list). A few of my Japanese favorites are Miyazaki's Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind (top ten for me), Ishii's Crazy Family, Okamoto's At This Late Date The Charleston and Morita's Family Game (the last three are all totally absurd ATG films). Svankmajer's best work (in my opinion) is from this period, and I'll have his Alice high up there.
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
Re: 1980s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project)
Obviously you have not seen Sixteen Candles.tavernier wrote:So you're doing a worst list, then...domino harvey wrote:I for one plan to watch every single Brat Pack and tangentially Brat Packish film.
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Second the Hous and Yangs obviously. (And Svankmajer too - Alicewill be high for me, but Darkness Light Darkness will probably be top ten). The Terrorizer is not only one of the best films of the 80s, it's one of the best films about them as well. It's been a long time since I've seen the Japanese titles (never, in the case of Charleston), so I don't know if they'll figure, but Yanagimachi's incredible Himatsuri will. When is some smart DVD company (Eclipse?) going to release English subbed discs of this film, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Farewell to the Land?Steven H wrote:The big 80s films for me are the Taiwanese Hous and Yangs (most if not all of their stuff from this decade will make it onto my list). A few of my Japanese favorites are Miyazaki's Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind (top ten for me), Ishii's Crazy Family, Okamoto's At This Late Date The Charleston and Morita's Family Game (the last three are all totally absurd ATG films). Svankmajer's best work (in my opinion) is from this period, and I'll have his Alice high up there.
I just saw Claire Denis' S'en fout la mort for the first time, and it's pretty powerful, much more in line with her great works than her fine-but-not-brilliant debut Chocolat. So how come cockfighting has yielded two cinematic masterpieces when plenty of other sports have yielded none, despite much more extensive attention? Again, where's the English friendly version? There's a fine transfer out there begging for it.
Muratova's The Asthenic Syndrome, Ruiz's City of Pirates and probably Three Crowns of a Sailor (at least that one's available subbed), Tian's Horse Thief, a couple of Pialats, no doubt. Su Friedrich's Sink or Swim is fantastic (and available on DVD), and will probably be top ten, as will Ross McElwee's Sherman's March (and maybe Morris's The Thin Blue Line - it looks like my so-called 'top ten' will account for the entire list), but I don't think much Hollywood stuff will trouble my dreams.
Reitz's Heimat made a big impact on me at the time, but I should really revisit it the next time I have 15 hours up my sleeve.
- denti alligator
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 9:36 pm
- Location: "born in heaven, raised in hell"
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- Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:48 pm
- Location: hollywoodland, ca
The films Hou and Yang directed are at or near the top of the decade for me, but they also worked as excellent screenwriters for other directors as well. In particular I remember seeing the Hou-scripted Growing Up directed by Chen Kun-hou a few years ago; it's not a masterpiece like Taipei Story or A Time to Live and A Time to Die, but still a good addendum to the biographical films like Time, Dust in the Wind, and Summer at Grandpa's that Hou directed early on.Steven H wrote:The big 80s films for me are the Taiwanese Hous and Yangs (most if not all of their stuff from this decade will make it onto my list).
While we're on the subject of great directors writing scripts, another excellent example would be Abbas Kiarostami, who wrote and edited The Key for director Ebrahim Forouzesh (I've never seen anything else by this guy, so don't know whether he should be notable in his own right). There's very little dialogue, so I guess scenario rather than script might be the best descriptor of Kiarostami's contribution: basically, a resourceful 7-year old gets locked in a flat with an infant brother where he has to solve various problems, not least of which is how to deal with an overheated gas stove. It's an intrepid child film like Kiarostami's own Where is the Friend's House?, but in my opinion even better, both as entertainment and as a child-eye's view of the world.[/i]
- Steven H
- Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 3:30 pm
- Location: NC
Thanks vivahawks, and yeah zedz I have a TON of Ruiz to see for this decade (some unsubbed if I get my druthers). Actually, I'm excited about the 80s list. The 80s were a barren wasteland of film experience for me, so I'm geared up for some good suggestions. I have to admit, unlike the previous lists, writing down 50 80s titles that I *love* will be hard (easy enough to come up with 50 I respect/admire, but that's not the point of this list.) The eighties were a bad year for Crumb comics too... just sayin.vivahawks wrote:The films Hou and Yang directed are at or near the top of the decade for me, but they also worked as excellent screenwriters for other directors as well. In particular I remember seeing the Hou-scripted Growing Up directed by Chen Kun-hou a few years ago; it's not a masterpiece like Taipei Story or A Time to Live and A Time to Die, but still a good addendum to the biographical films like Time, Dust in the Wind, and Summer at Grandpa's that Hou directed early on.
How about 80s sci-fi? We know Blade Runner will be top five on the thing, but am I the only person who's going to be throwing some John Carpenter on the list?
- Dr Amicus
- Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 10:20 am
- Location: Guernsey
- Awesome Welles
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:02 am
- Location: London
Yes suggestions needed here!Steven H wrote:The 80s were a barren wasteland of film experience for me, so I'm geared up for some good suggestions.
The Thing will also figure highly on my list! Other high placers will be Svankmajers Dimensions of Dialogue, Ran, The King of Comedy, Pauline at the Beach, Fanny and Alexander, Fitzcarraldo, Repo Man, A Fish Called Wanda, Ferris Beuler's Day Off, Decalogue? Will that be allowed as one?Steven H wrote:am I the only person who's going to be throwing some John Carpenter on the list?
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
Absolutely seconded! It's one of the most suspenseful films I've ever seen. Forouzesh's subsequent film, The Jar, is another children-problem-solving film, but it doesn't have the same intensity. Kiarostami's other scripts are similarly taut (e.g. using real time as a structuring device) and generally much more commercial than his own stuff. The recent Men at Work is superb and should also be tracked down.vivahawks wrote:While we're on the subject of great directors writing scripts, another excellent example would be Abbas Kiarostami, who wrote and edited The Key for director Ebrahim Forouzesh (I've never seen anything else by this guy, so don't know whether he should be notable in his own right). There's very little dialogue, so I guess scenario rather than script might be the best descriptor of Kiarostami's contribution: basically, a resourceful 7-year old gets locked in a flat with an infant brother where he has to solve various problems, not least of which is how to deal with an overheated gas stove. It's an intrepid child film like Kiarostami's own Where is the Friend's House?, but in my opinion even better, both as entertainment and as a child-eye's view of the world.
The Key was released, with English subs, in France. I don't think the transfer was all that flash, but it's better than nothing.
It was last time (and it's probably more often screened as a single work than as component parts). The two 'Short Films' are eligible as standalones too.FSimeoni wrote:Decalogue? Will that be allowed as one?
The 80s are no cinematic wasteland for me - it's just that the old standby sources (Hollywood, France, Italy) were comparatively weak and an awful lot of really good films from elsewhere are unavailable (oh, for a subtitled disc of Rogozhkin's The Guard).
- Cash Flagg
- Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:15 pm
- sidehacker
- Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:49 am
- Location: Bowling Green, Ohio
- Contact:
- zedz
- Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm
That's what this project's all about. I was underwhelmed by The Beekeeper when I first saw it (my highly anticipated first Angelopoulos), but obviously I need to look again. Is this out in a good subbed edition?sidehacker wrote:...or The Beekeeper. As of now, my list looks like that on top followed by a bunch of Hou films.
- SoyCuba
- Joined: Tue Jul 24, 2007 3:30 pm
- Location: Finland
I didn't take part on the 70s project as I didn't have time to see enough films to make a list that would have satisfied me. I will take part on the 80s project though. Too bad that I didn't join this forum earlier since I'm much more interested in older cinema nowadays...
I see that Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer wasn't in the previous list. No fans here? It will be placing very high on my list as I consider it one of the finest serial killer films I've seen only beaten by Lang's M.
I see that Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer wasn't in the previous list. No fans here? It will be placing very high on my list as I consider it one of the finest serial killer films I've seen only beaten by Lang's M.
- Michael
- Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm
Movies that will definitely reign my 80s list:
The Dead, Mala Noche, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Veronika Voss, The Green Ray, They All Laughed (sorry Woody Allen, this is the New York I remember best from my pre-teen days), Vagabond, Star 80, Law of Desire, Possession, The Changeling, Mommie Dearest, Polyester, Taxi Zum Klo, A Christmas Story, Sixteen Candles (no 80s list is complete without at least one Brat Pack movie and this is the best and the funniest of the Brat Pack), Hairspray (Ricki Lake is so adorable!), Xanadu (is there a movie that defines 80s more than this one? if so, tell me!), Blue Velvet (not my favorite Lynch film but it's The Night of the Hunter of the Reagan era, a crazy film coming out of nowhere, hitting multiplexes of all places), Poltergeist (admit it, it's really awesome fun.), A Wedding, Maurice and My Beautiful Laundrette (as a teen struggling to accept my sexual orientation in the midst of the Reagan era with AIDS scare at its highest peak, it was a revelation to watch those truly beautiful films that found a miraculous way to calm my soul and paved the path for me to celebrate myself for good.)
The Dead, Mala Noche, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, Veronika Voss, The Green Ray, They All Laughed (sorry Woody Allen, this is the New York I remember best from my pre-teen days), Vagabond, Star 80, Law of Desire, Possession, The Changeling, Mommie Dearest, Polyester, Taxi Zum Klo, A Christmas Story, Sixteen Candles (no 80s list is complete without at least one Brat Pack movie and this is the best and the funniest of the Brat Pack), Hairspray (Ricki Lake is so adorable!), Xanadu (is there a movie that defines 80s more than this one? if so, tell me!), Blue Velvet (not my favorite Lynch film but it's The Night of the Hunter of the Reagan era, a crazy film coming out of nowhere, hitting multiplexes of all places), Poltergeist (admit it, it's really awesome fun.), A Wedding, Maurice and My Beautiful Laundrette (as a teen struggling to accept my sexual orientation in the midst of the Reagan era with AIDS scare at its highest peak, it was a revelation to watch those truly beautiful films that found a miraculous way to calm my soul and paved the path for me to celebrate myself for good.)
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm
- sidehacker
- Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2007 2:49 am
- Location: Bowling Green, Ohio
- Contact:
All the New Star Angelopolous DVDs come with English subtitles.zedz wrote:That's what this project's all about. I was underwhelmed by The Beekeeper when I first saw it (my highly anticipated first Angelopoulos), but obviously I need to look again. Is this out in a good subbed edition?
Usually, I'm not too fond of Angelopolous. I admire his technical capabilities but most of his films are usually filled with orchestral cues and monologues about Greek history and whatnot. That stuff, I don't really care too much for. The Beekeeper, though, is a bit more of a "relationship" film, I suppose, in the sense that the characters and their psychology is the focus. My second favorite cinematic favorite love story; The Wayward Cloud is #1.
- colinr0380
- Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
- Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK
- Awesome Welles
- Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:02 am
- Location: London
- Lemmy Caution
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:26 am
- Location: East of Shanghai
Jeez, I'm blanking on the whole decade.
Guess my 80's dope smoking habit managed to leak the Reagan years right out of my brainpan.
Did see Ruiz's Three Crowns of a Sailor recently.
Some genius in that.
Zelig & Purple Rose of Cairo
Blood Simple & Raising Arizona
Repo Man
Veronika Voss
Spinal Tap
48 Hours
The Blues Brothers
Desperately Seeking Susan
The Big Chill
an Eddie Murphy comedy
Karate Kid
Risky Business
Guess my 80's dope smoking habit managed to leak the Reagan years right out of my brainpan.
Did see Ruiz's Three Crowns of a Sailor recently.
Some genius in that.
Zelig & Purple Rose of Cairo
Blood Simple & Raising Arizona
Repo Man
Veronika Voss
Spinal Tap
48 Hours
The Blues Brothers
Desperately Seeking Susan
FlashdanceXanadu (is there a movie that defines 80s more than this one? if so, tell me!)
The Big Chill
an Eddie Murphy comedy
Karate Kid
Risky Business
- domino harvey
- Dot Com Dom
- Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm