Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Movies for Mike (80s Movies You Should Have Seen)

This is topic Movies for Mike (80s Movies You Should Have Seen) in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 03-21-2006, 12:56 AM:

I was just informed that our very own Olpin8er hasn't ever seen Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Weird Science, or Real Genius.

I am truly heartbroken.

Lucky for him, he's seen The Breakfast Club and Better Off Dead!

Please help this poor child by suggesting your favorite 1980s movies for him to watch (sadly, on video). For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you might just save his life.

... Or mine. Yes, Mike, Raiders of the Lost Ark is the one with the boulder. [uhoh]

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 03-21-2006, 01:00 AM:

Actually, I've never seen breakfast club either.

But Better Off Dead is possitively one on my favorate movies ever.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-21-2006, 01:38 AM:

80s movies don't get much better than License To Drive. With the dueling Coreys, how could you possibly go wrong?

If that doesn't float his boat, surely a more mainstream 80s movie such as Planes, Trains & Automobiles would do it. (Of course Adam hates the movie because he is weird. [Razz]

)

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 03-21-2006, 02:04 AM:

Well, the REAL 80s ended in June 1986, when the CED videodisc format was shut down for good. The Coreys appeared separately on a few CED titles but the format was dead before they appeared onscreen together.

One essential 80s movie that is available on CED videodisc, is The Last American Virgin. It's especially recommended for people who love movies with happy endings.

Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 03-21-2006, 03:11 AM:

Seen "Cinema Paradiso" yet?

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 03-21-2006, 07:42 AM:

Well, nothing sez the 80's like the film that ushered in the 1980's, Xanadu...

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-21-2006, 09:05 AM:

As far as coming of age 80's go, I'll put in a vote for Risky Business.

Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 03-21-2006, 09:07 AM:

Don't forget any of the early Patrick Dempsey catalog such as Loverboy or You can't buy me Love ...

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 03-21-2006, 09:36 AM:

Dirty Rotten SCoundrels or the Burbs are always good for laughs

Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 03-21-2006, 10:52 AM:

If it weren't so obvious, I'd include Ferris Bueller's Day Off as among the requisite 80's film canon contenders ... but then, mentioning it is just as fair game, considering that the original suggestions were necessary in the first place!

Another one I'm not quite as comfortable admitting to is Adventures In Babysitting ... in no way truly essential, but full of 80's goodness, nonetheless. [Big Grin]

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-22-2006, 12:23 AM:

How did I forget The Goonies??? [Eek!]

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-22-2006, 01:00 AM:

..or any of the John Hughes pictures - outside of "Ferris Bueller"

..or the three "Back to the Future" fliks.

...ROBOCOP series.. we can't forget these.

Then, the Swarzenegger campy action fliks - Predator, Running Man, et.al..

"That Night in Rio", "Lady in Red","Mr. Mom","Young Sherlock Holmes","Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome","Project X", "LADYHAWKE"

..and the two "Cocoon" movies..

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit". The "Porky" movies.

..and if we can get Mike to be in the liberal arts of the cinema, there was the great - "AMADEUS", "Out of Afica" and "The Last Emperor" ...

..but, he'll probably fit into Spicoli's "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." - the one that made Sean Penn a household name with Mr. Hand.

..then the campy beach movies..."Hard Bodies" and others..

The first "BATMAN" movie - the one where Jack Nicholson stole this one away from Michael Keaton...

..the invention of the CD.

The decade that Disney started to pull its head out the sand and being a big (now,too big of a) company with "Oliver and Company" and "the Little Princess"

the decade of Eddie Murphy being Axel Foley and "Beverly Hills Cop" with Glen Frey singing "the Beat Goes On" .. with the "Annoying Thing" doing the techo version of "Axel's Theme"

..and the list goes on...the 80's was a good decade. The conception of the mall cinema with shoebox auditoriums.

..no friggen rap crap thumping music.

Hairbands coming out with their rock ballads. V8's were still the engines to have instead of these little "rice burning street racers." and drivers who want to be from 'south of the Rio Grande
'

- Monte

Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 03-22-2006, 01:27 AM:

Most of my picks have been accounted for, but I'll suggest:

The Cannonball Run
Blue Thunder
Bachelor Party (with its multiplex joke that is now a reality)
Ghostbusters
Revenge Of The Nerds
Ladyhawke (I know, a period piece, but it had that rock score that screamed '80s!)
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Top Gun
Lethal Weapon
The Lost Boys
Die Hard

quote: Monte L Fullmer
"Beverly Hills Cop" with Glen Frey singing "the Beat Goes On"

I think that song is "The Heat Is On."

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-22-2006, 05:16 AM:

whoops..yes 'the HEAT is on.' Got the '60's mixed in there..

Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 03-22-2006, 06:43 AM:

Spinal Tap
St. Elmos Fire
Caddyshack
Croc Dundee
Cocktail
Full Metal Jacket
Poltergiest
ET
Anything with Traci Lords(New Wave Hookers) or Ginger Lynn(Kinky Business)
Friday the 13th
Beetlejuice
Footloose
Bill and Ted
Flashdance
Airplane, and sequels
The Karate Kid

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-22-2006, 12:34 PM:

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
The Ballad of Narayama
Barfly
Bladerunner
Brainstorm
Brazil
Cinema Paradiso
The Competition
The Dark Crystal
Doctor Detroit
ET
Eating Raoul
Five Corners
Full Metal Jacket
The Hidden
Himatsuri
Hope and Glory
Housekeeping
Kagemusha
Little Shop of Horrors
MacArthur's Children
The Makioka Sisters
Malcolm
Mishima
My Life as a Dog
9 1/2 Weeks
Permanent Record
Promised Land
Raging Bull
Ran
The Right Stuff
S.O.B.
Shy People
Silverado
Somewhere in Time
Stand and Deliver
Tampopo
This is Spinal Tap
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The World According to Garp

And since Mike's into animation:

Chie the Brat
Grave of the Fireflies & My Neighbor Totoro (the greatest animated double-bill ever)
Kiki's Delivery Service
Laputa - Castle in the Sky
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
The Secret of NIMH
Wings of Honneamise

[ 05-16-2006, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: Paul Mayer ]

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 03-22-2006, 05:51 PM:

Also Naked Gun 1, and Fish Called Wanda are both great ones

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 03-22-2006, 07:20 PM:

Lets see

Porkys
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
First Blood
First blood part 2
Running Scared (Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines)
Pink Floyd The Wall
Stripes
The Big Chill
Nightmare On Elm Street Part one
Creator
The Right Stuff
D.C. Cab
Inerspace
The Blues Brothers
Top Secret
Any Cannon Film with Chuck Norris in it for a good laugh and sometimes a good action sequence.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 03-23-2006, 07:19 PM:

Somebody else mentioned "The Lost Boys", which is about the only one of the movies listed thus far I still find enjoyable to watch. Except for the Star Trek movies and the Zucker/Zucker/Abrahams flicks. But I probably haven't watched "The Breakfast Club" SINCE the 80's, so...

If they were ever going to have an excuse for a Breakfast Club sequel, wouldn't it be the 20-year high school reunion? I don't care if they weren't necessarily in the same class, that's just creative writing. And NONE of those actors are exactly busy these days. All of those crappy sequels, remakes, and TV shows into movies they're doing anymore and nobody thinks of this...

Say! Remember all those little three-minute movies they used to show on that music television channel? That Pat Benetar was SUCH a slut...

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-23-2006, 08:38 PM:

Another vote for "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." It has a Greco factor of about a million.

Most of my other faves from the decade have been covered above.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-23-2006, 09:23 PM:

"To Live and Die in L.A.", soundtrack by Wang Chung.

Posted by Paul Trimboli (Member # 1509) on 03-24-2006, 03:36 AM:

National Lampoons Vacation/ European Vacation
Coming to America (a classic!)

Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 03-24-2006, 05:23 PM:

A Zed & Two Naughts ;-) ... ok so Peter Greenaway may not be the epitome of the 1980s ... for that, perhaps some Rob Reiner flicks:

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Stand by Me (1986)
The Princess Bride (1987)
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

as for my favorites ... there are just too many to even think of making a list (I went from aprox. age 4 - 14 in that time period ... so it was a very influential time for me) so I'll try to limit it to 4 or 5 films ... back then, in the 80s, it was probably Gremlins or Flight of the Navigator, until the end of the decade when Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure came out ... now it's probably Die Hard or Clue.

Honorable mention for Star Trek IV where they actually time travel to 1986 ... so some good commentary about the time.

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 03-31-2006, 02:10 AM:

Pretty in Pink
Sixteen Candles
One Crazy Summer
The Outsiders
Mannequin
Youngblood
Bachelor Party
Airplane!
Weekend at Bernie's
Say Anything
The Untouchables

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 04-12-2006, 12:18 PM:

I can't believe that no one has mentioned Tank Girl yet?

Ciao

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 04-12-2006, 01:26 PM:

Tank Girl was not an '80s film.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-12-2006, 08:29 PM:

It was also a godawful movie!

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 04-12-2006, 09:01 PM:

Wow. The 1980's. What an awesome era that was for me. Well, a whole lot of movie mentioned here so far I like, especially The Goonies. What a classic. Anyway, here are a few more that I will add to the list: The Stuff, Serpent & The Rainbow, Dune (1985), Gorillas In The Mist, The Quiet Earth & Raise The Titantic (80's version). Those are a few more of my favorites.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 04-13-2006, 08:32 PM:

Wow, The Quiet Earth that's a blast from the past. I liked that movie when I ran it.

Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 04-13-2006, 08:56 PM:

How about Wargames? Talk about 80's! How about a movie with Henry thomas and Dabney Coleman called Cloak and Dagger? Gotta love that Atari 5200!

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 04-15-2006, 01:40 AM:

Yeah, The Quiet Earth is a definate blast from the past. I loved that movie with all of it's simplistic style. It's truly a unique movie. And, then, there is War Games. Man, the 80's were great. Neat movies, awesome music and fantastic dress styles, including Hair Styles of the time.

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 04-15-2006, 12:09 PM:

All three "Back to the Future" movies came out in the eighties.

Also, all three "Indiana Jones" movies came out in the eighties.

Reading all these posts made me feel my age today. I keep forgetting that I worked in theatres - in the last part of the eighties. Great memories from those days. Remember "Weekend at Bernies"? "Uncle Buck" with John Candy?

I remember most films from building them in the projection booth and then having the Thursday late night screenings. When you were still in your teens - those screenings were a lot of fun. Wow - the memories........

[ 04-15-2006, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: Dennis Benjamin ]

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 04-15-2006, 01:52 PM:

Just to make Dennis feel older ... [Big Grin]

Those 16-year-old employees we're all hiring this year weren't even alive in the 1980s.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 04-15-2006, 02:56 PM:

quote: Dennis Benjamin
All three "Back to the Future" movies came out in the eighties.

Back to the Future 3 came out in May of 1990.

quote: Adam Martin
Those 16-year-old employees we're all hiring this year weren't even alive in the 1980s.

That's why I can say I was doing this job before you were an itch in your daddy's pants. [Big Grin]

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 04-15-2006, 04:48 PM:

1990 - that year was really 1989 1/2. [Wink]

Those two years run together for me. But you guys got my point.

Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 04-16-2006, 03:26 AM:

Big Trouble in Little China. Kurt Russells BEST! Star Trek II.

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 04-18-2006, 10:26 AM:

Oh yeah, I did indeed forget about Star Trek II. WOW, what an awesome movie. I plan on seeing that movie at Landmark Theatres La Jolla 4, which will be the last movie of their Midnight Madness film series. [Big Grin]

Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 04-20-2006, 12:13 AM:

quote: Paul Mayer
Tank Girl was not an '80s film.

You are quite right. I actually got that movie crossed with another film of equal value and quality.

I was actually thinking of Cherry 2000. I always get those two mixed up.

Both were post apocolyptic type films that had no quality whatsoever... Totally B...

Yet, as awful as they were, I still enjoyed them..

Ciao

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 04-20-2006, 12:59 AM:

Heh heh, my favorite for that genre would have to be Damnation Alley. Just loved how Circus Circus was about the only recognisable thing left of Las Vegas. [Big Grin]

Added a few more titles to my list for Mike. Gads I like the quirky ones.

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 04-20-2006, 05:42 PM:

Secret Of My Success reaks of the '80s. Not really a great movie. Has some twisted Oedipus Rex type shit g*ing on.

Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 04-20-2006, 08:30 PM:

quote: John Lasher
... shit g*ing ...

The selective self-censorship there made me laugh! [Big Grin]

Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 04-23-2006, 06:23 PM:

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Stand By Me! Just watched this last night, probably one of my all time fave films.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 04-24-2006, 01:02 PM:

That took place in the 50s, which means that it's time for someone now to make a movie like that which takes place in the 70s.

Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 04-24-2006, 01:16 PM:

So Mike, have you started on catching up on watching 80's movies yet?

Anyone mention Dark Crystal?

Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 04-28-2006, 07:16 PM:

quote: Andy Muirhead
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Stand By Me!

look at page 2

quote: Jeremy Jorgenson
Stand by Me (1986)

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 04-28-2006, 08:47 PM:

quote: Jeff Arellano
Anyone mention Dark Crystal?

Me, on page 2. [Big Grin]

Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 05-02-2006, 09:43 PM:

Can someone explain to me why so many period piece movies are being chosen? I thought we were supposed to suggest movies from the '80s. Meaning, contemporary (at the time) so that '80s style, slang, fashion, music, etc. would be on display.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-02-2006, 11:11 PM:

No no, "80s" as in made in the '80s. Nothing more than that. At least that's how I read the suggestion. Still, many of the films on my list have contemporary '80s settings. But even period or fantasy films made in the '80s have '80s pop culture influences. Just have to look for them amidst all the dressing.

Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 05-03-2006, 07:32 PM:

USED CARS (1980)

What a way to start the decade. "Look out Marshall Lucky! It's High Prices!"