Movie The 80’s - the last great decade of Movies?

[Gasometer]

Raiders of the Lost Ark was on FTA last night and I caught the end and then next week there is a show in SBS about 1982 being the best year in movies.

So I googled and found this wonderful list below and reading through it I could only wonder if this decade was the last great movie decade for consistent original content?

The 100 Greatest Movies of the 1980s

Rolling Stone's The 100 Greatest Movies of the 1980s — from 'Raging Bull' to 'The Road Warrior,' 'Do the Right Thing' to 'The Terminator.'

www.rollingstone.com

 

[Kong]

50s, 60s, 70s, 00s and 10s were all better.

 

[WCErevival]

There's a load of classics from the 80s but I wouldn't say it's the last decade as there are plenty of decent movies post 80s too. A lot of it comes down to nostalgia.

 

[Gasometer]

50s, 60s, 70s, 00s and 10s were all better.

lol

 

[Roobs321]

then next week there is a show in SBS about 1982 being the best year in movies.

not quite, it is called The Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982, and the fifty or so films mentioned in the four part series seem just that, lot of cruddy videoshop relics, exceedingly American-centric popculture (Gandhi which swept the Oscars and became a stateside hit is the closest thing here to a foreign production).

 

[Ocha905]

As someone who has seen less than 100 films from the 80's I can categorically (jks) say no.

I suspect most would say their favourite decade is the one they came of age. For film it would be the same. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug right now.

I'm no different with the 2010's. That said I'm intrigued by what little films I've seen of the 30's, 40's and 50's.

 

[TheGreatBarryB]

80s well down the list for me, even more when you take away ‘80-82 when Shining, Bladerunner and Raging Bull were done. Rest of the decade quite ordinary

 

[GROTTO]

90s for me.

IMDB has 3 90s movies in the Top 10 of all time and 8 movies overall in the Top 20.

For the record, this Top 10 list has two movies from the 70s and a movie from the 60s and 50s.

IMDb Top 250 Movies

As rated by regular IMDb voters.

www.imdb.com

 

[Gasometer]

not quite, it is called The Greatest Geek Year Ever: 1982, and the fifty or so films mentioned in the four part series seem just that, lot of cruddy videoshop relics, exceedingly American-centric popculture (Gandhi which swept the Oscars and became a stateside hit is the closest thing here to a foreign production).

Sounds great; can’t wait

 

[GROTTO]

phantom13 your thoughts?

80s the last great decade?

Do you have a preference if you could only watch movies from only one decade for the rest of your life?

 

[phantom13]

phantom13 your thoughts?

80s the last great decade?

Do you have a preference if you could only watch movies from only one decade for the rest of your life?

I tend to think that everyone remembers whatever shaped their movie watching the most. When you came of age with movies as it were.

I was born late 80s so my renaissance was 90s and really, 97-99. If I’m watching for the rest of my life it’s probably 2000s (2000-2010).

The 80s are a pretty pivotal time in cinema, the rise of at home movies etc. there’s some great stuff in there. I’ve always sort of felt the 70s were probably the most capital I important, world cinema became a bit more available and there was a rise in independent cinema opposed to studio funded stuff becoming a bit more mainstream.

 

[phantom13]

MrsEddieBetts is doing the iconic 90s films right now she would likely have some very pertinent thoughts

 

[Gasometer]

I guess my point was that Movies back then were at their peak. The last decade before the impending Internet and shift to where we are today with diminishing big movie releases in favour of streaming blockbusters.

The Australian Film industry was prolific turning out a suite of classics, actors and film crew.

The franchise range started with original content like First Blood, Back to the Future, Terminator and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

CGI and Lucasfilm hadn’t become as dominant. Have a look at the tunnel scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. There are several seconds of footage that have the characters as tiny puppets in stop start motion. Film makers still had to visually create inventive ways to tell a story such as a Nightmare on Elm Street or ET or Top Gun.

The teen market exploded with the Hughes films, Pretty in Pink and the Breakfast Club amongst other comedies such as Beverly Hills Cop and other big film comedies. And music films like Flashdance, Footloose and Dirty Dancing.

Oscar’s Best Picture nominees and winners ranged from Gandhi, Out of Africa, Rainman and Amadeus with the last of the big Hollywood studios turning out the big Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep. And Streep, from Sophie’s Choice to Silkwood was the queen of cinema.

If you look at every decade since the 80’s there is a decline in quantity and influence. It’s staggering to think that DeNiro, the epitome of the 70-80’s big screen is appearing in a Netflix thriller this year that looks visually exciting that 40 years ago would have been a blockbuster 70mm release.

This is why to me the 80’s was the last great decade of film making that had begun 50 years earlier when sound and film blended together to create the magic.

 

[phantom13]

I guess my point was that Movies back then were at their peak. The last decade before the impending Internet and shift to where we are today with diminishing big movie releases in favour of streaming blockbusters.

The Australian Film industry was prolific turning out a suite of classics, actors and film crew.

The franchise range started with original content like First Blood, Back to the Future, Terminator and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

CGI and Lucasfilm hadn’t become as dominant. Have a look at the tunnel scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. There are several seconds of footage that have the characters as tiny puppets in stop start motion. Film makers still had to visually create inventive ways to tell a story such as a Nightmare on Elm Street or ET or Top Gun.

The teen market exploded with the Hughes films, Pretty in Pink and the Breakfast Club amongst other comedies such as Beverly Hills Cop and other big film comedies. And music films like Flashdance, Footloose and Dirty Dancing.

Oscar’s Best Picture nominees and winners ranged from Gandhi, Out of Africa, Rainman and Amadeus with the last of the big Hollywood studios turning out the big Hollywood stars like Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep. And Streep, from Sophie’s Choice to Silkwood was the queen of cinema.

If you look at every decade since the 80’s there is a decline in quantity and influence. It’s staggering to think that DeNiro, the epitome of the 70-80’s big screen is appearing in a Netflix thriller this year that looks visually exciting that 40 years ago would have been a blockbuster 70mm release.

This is why to me the 80’s was the last great decade of film making that had begun 50 years earlier when sound and film blended together to create the magic.

Don’t agree with this at all. Pure nostalgia lens stuff.

The DeNiro stuff in particular. Every decade of cinema had former stars churning out garbage for a paycheck, they just do it on streaming now opposed to off studio or direct to video.

 

[Gasometer]

Don’t agree with this at all. Pure nostalgia lens stuff.

The DeNiro stuff in particular. Every decade of cinema had former stars churning out garbage for a paycheck, they just do it on streaming now opposed to off studio or direct to video.

Outside of a 10,000 word exposition it’s about as much as I’m prepared to expand upon.

 

[Frank Bunn]

I tend to think that everyone remembers whatever shaped their movie watching the most. When you came of age with movies as it were.

I was born late 80s so my renaissance was 90s and really, 97-99. If I’m watching for the rest of my life it’s probably 2000s (2000-2010).

The 80s are a pretty pivotal time in cinema, the rise of at home movies etc. there’s some great stuff in there. I’ve always sort of felt the 70s were probably the most capital I important, world cinema became a bit more available and there was a rise in independent cinema opposed to studio funded stuff becoming a bit more mainstream.

There could be something in what you say about coming of age etc. I keep a top 100 list of my favourites. This is my count per decade.

1960s 2
1970s 3
1980s 6
1990s 26
2000s 31
2010s 30
2020s 2

Looking at the Rolling Stone list I might only make a couple of changes. I wouldn't class the 1980s as a great decade compared to others, and the article doesn't claim that.

I'm going to have more of a review of 2020s movies. We're halfway through the decade and I've only got two in my list. I've probably got quirky tastes compared to most but I like to think I'm consistent in my appraisals. Maybe I don't want to drop old favourites from my list, or perhaps the quality of movies has dropped off as money and talent has switched into TV productions.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

As phantom13 mentioned, I've been doing an Iconic Movies project to catch up on movies I've missed from the 80s and 90s purely through my own pigheadedness.

I definitely agree that the nostalgia lens comes into play into a discussion like this, but as someone who is diving into particular decades, for me the 90s wins - for both volume of great movies and the overall quality.

Funnily enough I started reading Tarantino's Cinema Speculation last night, and he claims that the 70s is the greatest, and most important, decade for film of all time.

 

[Gasometer]

As phantom13 mentioned, I've been doing an Iconic Movies project to catch up on movies I've missed from the 80s and 90s purely through my own pigheadedness.

I definitely agree that the nostalgia lens comes into play into a discussion like this, but as someone who is diving into particular decades, for me the 90s wins - for both volume of great movies and the overall quality.

Funnily enough I started reading Tarantino's Cinema Speculation last night, and he claims that the 70s is the greatest, and most important, decade for film of all time.

And that’s correct because there was a fair few 1979 and 1990 films that could have been thrown into that era

I guess my frustration (yes it’s holiday season) if I look at the Hoyts at Docklands near where we are staying, today there is absolutely nothing worth forking out $80 for; may have been the same in New Years Eve 1986 for all I recall; so down from a regional area where big screen entertainment is limited I started to think where has all the good stuff gone?

 

[Gasometer]

January 1986

Domestic Box Office For January 1986

www.boxofficemojo.com

 

[Roobs321]

There could be something in what you say about coming of age etc. I keep a top 100 list of my favourites. This is my count per decade.

1960s 2
1970s 3
1980s 6
1990s 26
2000s 31
2010s 30
2020s 2

just to compare with me (born late 80s fwiw, same as phantom)

pre60s 10 (+10)
1960s 8 (+6)
1970s 22 (+19)
1980s 21 (+15)
1990s 17 (-9)
2000s 15 (-16)
2010s 5 (-25)
2020s 2 (=)


The 80s make up about 11% of what I’ve seen overall. 1987 might be my personal fave and 1986 is just as strong, feel those years had a lot of diversity and depth with a decent strikerate (from what I’ve seen).

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

Where do you guys keep your fave movies info? This looks like an interesting exercise.

 

[spinynorman]

Funnily enough I started reading Tarantino's Cinema Speculation last night, and he claims that the 70s is the greatest, and most important, decade for film of all time.

He’s probably right. I think you can point to any year of the 1970s and find numerous films amongst the best ever, probably moreso than any other decade (and certainly moreso than any other decade since). For example, go to 1974 and there's The Godfather Part II, Chinatown, A Woman Under the Influence, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, The Conversation, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Je tu il elle, Young Frankenstein, Lancelot du lac, Phantom of the Paradise, Blazing Saddles, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, The Parallax View, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Hearts and Minds etc.

I think from the 1950s to 1970s you had this great movement, originally in Europe and Japan (not coincidentally some of the countries hardest hit by the war) and then in the late 1960s to the US, that dared to ask great questions and sought to provoke global debate. New realms of artistic expression were explored and struggled with, to quote the question posed by the German philosopher Theodor Arno, “can there be poetry after the Holocaust?”

Then, in 1977, George Lucas answered “Yep!” and we’ve never looked back.

That said, I do think the blockbuster era of the 80s and 90s had some pretty fun stuff! Inventive sets and miniatures (think of the wild looks of the two Michael Keaton Batman movies) gave a lot of inventiveness and fun. If Lord of the Rings was the peak of these blockbusters, its enormous CGI budget and episodic nature were a warning of what was to come.

By the 2010s, most blockbusters were bloated, over-CGIed and over reliant on intellectual property. Playing it safe was more important than inventiveness. And now with streaming, movies have significantly lost their cultural importance, becoming something to have on in the background while we do other things (the recent report that Netflix has told its screenwriters to have characters announce what they’re doing to make it easier for viewers to half follow along is a new low).

So dunno the last great decade. There are still great films being made, of course, and no shortage of great talent, but the system doesn’t reward it. Celebrated directors such as John Waters (last film: 2004) and David Lynch (last film: 2006) have spoken of their frustration in getting any studio to fund their medium budget work, let alone people starting out who don’t even have that name recognition.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Where do you guys keep your fave movies info? This looks like an interesting exercise.

I keep mine on an Excel spreadsheet. In a way, it's arbitrary to set a limit like 50 or 100 on your top movies but humans like lists and round numbers. One drawback of having a top nnn is that if you watch a movie that deserves to go in the list then one of your favourites has to drop out. Like if you had another child you would have to kick one of your other children out of the house.

 

[MrsEddieBetts]

I keep mine on an Excel spreadsheet. In a way, it's arbitrary to set a limit like 50 or 100 on your top movies but humans like lists and round numbers. One drawback of having a top nnn is that if you watch a movie that deserves to go in the list then one of your favourites has to drop out. Like if you had another child you would have to kick one of your other children out of the house.

Interesting! How do you decide what makes the favourites list? Is it something you'd rewatch, or did it make you feel some big feels, or you think it's 'great'?

I've been avoiding doing real work today so I went on Letterboxd and ticked the movies I've seen so I can work out what my faves are.

Apologies for the tangent but this is really interesting to me.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Interesting! How do you decide what makes the favourites list? Is it something you'd rewatch, or did it make you feel some big feels, or you think it's 'great'?

I've been avoiding doing real work today so I went on Letterboxd and ticked the movies I've seen so I can work out what my faves are.

Apologies for the tangent but this is really interesting to me.

There's some interesting discussion about that topic here. Clearly, different people have different ways of ranking their favourites. There's no right answer. The IMDB top 250 list gives you an idea of the consensus of opinion but it might have little correlation to your list of favourites. Maybe start with your top 10 and see how you go.