Best Films of The 80s (V2) [List] - Movies & TV

theblueboy

CA Dreamin wrote:

2. I didn't have enough dogs in the soundtrack race to make a list in that subcategory, but I was surprised Back to the Future was not in the Top 10. Alan Sylvester’s most iconic score, plus two great original songs by Huey Lewis and News...how did that not make it?

This is probably right. I forgot about the Huey Lewis songs (and never realised that The Power of Love was written for the film). Yep, should be in the top ten. Soundtracks were just hard because of memory issues. A lot of good stuff you just forget as it is in the background. Should have included Back to the Future though. I’d prefer to see it compared to Prince as those albums are just not really synonymous with cinema.

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5. Woody Allen has become a controversial figure in the years since the first 80s list, but didn't affect his inclusion. His movies jumped all over the place, but I totally dig the high placement for Purple Rose, my personal favorite of his, and it made my Top 5. And I actually haven't seen Crimes and Misdemeanors. I've seen over half of his movies, and C&M is the most highly regarded one I haven't seen. I really want to but it's never been available via disc rental, VOD, or streaming. I don't know why. One day, I might buy the disc online and have it delivered to me.

Basically the same thoughts here. I haven’t seen Crimes and Misdemeanours either. I almost included it, assuming I must have seen it, then realised I was thinking of Manhattan Murder Mystery Embarassed

I’ll put Crimes on my to do list.

Hayden

Location: CDMX

In a (slight) shock update, Come And See is now the #1 ranked film on Letterboxd.

https://letterboxd.com/dave/list/offici...ure-films/

AwaitingAndrew

Gender: Male

theblueboy wrote:

CA Dreamin wrote:

2. I didn't have enough dogs in the soundtrack race to make a list in that subcategory, but I was surprised Back to the Future was not in the Top 10. Alan Sylvester’s most iconic score, plus two great original songs by Huey Lewis and News...how did that not make it?

This is probably right. I forgot about the Huey Lewis songs (and never realised that The Power of Love was written for the film). Yep, should be in the top ten. Soundtracks were just hard because of memory issues. A lot of good stuff you just forget as it is in the background. Should have included Back to the Future though. I’d prefer to see it compared to Prince as those albums are just not really synonymous with cinema.

I didn't include BTTF in my score/soundtrack list despite it being my #1 film of the decade because some of its soundtrack is not original material, but I suppose it has enough original material to have qualified. Ah well.

Thanks for putting this together as always, Hayden.

cestuneblague
Edgy to the Choir

Location: MA/FL

Yeah great job as always Hayden, you are unquestionably The Man with all these polls, wunderbar. Yeah again it's a really good mix of blockbusters and art-house flicks, films that are so very eighties but also some more out-of-time classics as well. Some good films I guess left the original list and surprised about some omissions, the lack of hong kong (beyond Police Story) and taiwanese new wave films are admittedly a bit dissapointing and was definitely surprised Sans Soleil just barely squeaking in, but a lot of interesting new entries that has really come into higher conscious since I guess we did this list last. Given back in 2016 (?was that when the last poll was?) Come and See was only really available on mediocre DVD/streaming transfers but perhaps telling it still did really well, but now that it's had these great criterion re-issues and a lot of theatrical screenings the past few years it's immensely expanded it's audience, and no surprise that it would end up #2 this year. Given I have to accept that I'll never get into Blade Runner, but again next to maybe Robocop it probably is THE eighties movie so It makes perfect sense it's at the top. Again the 80s are definitely underrated, the decade that really is the first to the way we really watch, experience and consume movies now, going to the 70s it gets a bit more alien to what later-gen-x-onwards have been used to.

Skinny
birdman_handrub.gif

Good list. Shocked there’s no room for Near Dark, and only room for one Jarmusch. My personal list would also be considerably sillier than this. But it’s a very solid selection overall.
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.

Hayden

Location: CDMX

A little late, but I got around to Farewell To The Land (1982, dir Mitsuo Yanagimachi) yesterday, and it would have made my personal list (lower end, but regardless). Film's rough around the edges, but stands out from the crowd.

@AwaitingAndrew & Cestuneblague — thanks Smile

Missed your posts. I was also very surprised with Sans Soleil barely scraping by. For the majority of the poll it actually sat in the 150-200 range. (And yeah, all the V1 decade polls were in 2016).

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Again the 80s are definitely underrated, the decade that really is the first to the way we really watch, experience and consume movies now, going to the 70s it gets a bit more alien to what later-gen-x-onwards have been used to.

This is an interesting point (apologies if someone else already brought it up in the discussion). I do think the 80s had a long-lasting pivot in that sense. Films today are a lot closer in structure to the 80s than even just a few years prior.

theblueboy

Hayden wrote:

Quote:

Again the 80s are definitely underrated, the decade that really is the first to the way we really watch, experience and consume movies now, going to the 70s it gets a bit more alien to what later-gen-x-onwards have been used to.

This is an interesting point (apologies if someone else already brought it up in the discussion). I do think the 80s had a long-lasting pivot in that sense. Films today are a lot closer in structure to the 80s than even just a few years prior.

Yeah, interesting point. I’ve always found 70s films (and earlier) tougher to get into. I guess they liked their epics more back then or maybe there is just a more self-serious tone to this era (or they go to the other extreme with screwball/ slapstick comedy). I’m thinking the pivotal films were things like Star Wars, Jaws & Annie Hall, which seem to tee up the 80s and beyond.

Hayden

Location: CDMX

Indiewire, inspired by BEA, has released their top 100 films of the 80s: https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-80s-movies/

I like it, for the most part. Plenty of new titles to dig through too, particularly the African selections.

Hayden

Location: CDMX

And, today, Indiewire's 25 best scores of the 80s: https://www.indiewire.com/features/best...234895411/

Just remember.
We did it first.

Applerill
Autistic Princess <3

Gender: Female
Age: 30
Location: Chicago

Just saw Reassemblage a couple days ago at this list's request, and it was really extraordinary. I don't know if it necessarily succeeds at its goal of postcolonial praxis, but DANGGGG is it a bop.