The Angry 80's
Movies between 1980 and 1989
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- DirectorDavid LynchStarsAnthony HopkinsJohn HurtAnne BancroftA Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.The Elephant Man makeup took seven to eight hours to apply each day and two hours to remove. John Hurt would arrive on set at 5.00am and shoot from noon until 10.00pm. Because of the strain on the actor, he worked alternate days.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.On the DVD commentary track for Making 'The Shining' (1980), Vivian Kubrick reveals that Shelley Duvall received "no sympathy at all" from anyone on the set. This was apparently Stanley Kubrick's tactic in making her feel utterly hopeless. This is most evident in the documentary when he tells Vivian, "Don't sympathize with Shelley." Kubrick then goes on to tell Duvall, "It doesn't help you."
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.Yoda's iconic manner of speech (i.e: "begun the war has" and things like this) has the parts of speech in Object Subject Verb order. Very few languages on Earth use this and most are based in the Amazon river basin.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.Originally filmed in German, all of the major actors could speak English. When the movie was dubbed into English for USA and UK distribution, all of the principal actors actually dubbed their own voices into English.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsEverett McGillRon PerlmanNicholas KadiThis story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.One of the principal reasons Rae Dawn Chong was cast as Ika was because she was completely comfortable with being nude. She remained nude on the set most of the time between scenes (while in full body makeup) to stay in character.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.During filming in Tunisia, nearly everyone in the cast and crew got sick, except director Steven Spielberg. It is thought that he avoided illness by eating only the food he'd brought with him: cans and cans of Spaghetti-O's.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.Joanna Cassidy (Zhora) was at ease with the snake around her neck because it was her pet, a Burmese python named Darling.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.At one point during filming, 'Drew Barrymore' was consistently forgetting her lines, annoying Steven Spielberg to the point where he actually yelled at her. He later found out that she had reported to work with a very high fever. Feeling guilty, he hugged her and apologized repeatedly as she cried and cried. He then sent her home - with a note from her director.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleJosé LewgoyThe story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.Klaus Kinski was a major source of tension on set, as he fought virulently with the crew and raged over trivial matters. The natives where very upset about his behavior. Herzog has claimed that it went so far that one of the chieftains offered, in all seriousness, to murder Kinski for Herzog.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.Richard Attenborough and his wife Sheila Sim owned a share of the rights in Britain's longest-running play "The Mousetrap" which they sold to fund the production of this movie.
- DirectorJimmy T. MurakamiDianne JacksonStarsDavid BowieRaymond BriggsMel SmithOn Christmas Eve, a young boy builds a snowman that comes to life and takes him to the North Pole to meet Father Christmas.When this program first aired on PBS stations in the United States, the introduction featured a newly filmed introduction by David Bowie instead of Raymond Briggs on the grounds that the animation needed a star.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.The film was originally banned when released in Finland.
- DirectorSerif GörenYilmaz GüneyStarsTarik AkanSerif SezerHalil ErgünWhen five Kurdish prisoners are granted one week's home leave, they find to their dismay that they face continued oppression outside of prison from their families, the culture, and the government.Yilmaz Güney was in prison when the film was made. He wrote a detailed screenplay and acted out some scenes in his jail cell and Serif Gören directed the film according to his strict instructions.
- DirectorYilmaz GüneyStarsTuncel KurtizAyse Emel Mesci KurayMalik BerrichiTeens in a Turkish prison struggle to survive under hideous conditions.Made by dying Yilmaz Guney in France, after he escaped from a Turkish prison, enabling him to accept his award at Cannes for Yol (The Road). Director/writer Guney's last film, Duvar (The Wall), was banned in Turkey for 17 years.
- DirectorCostas FerrisStarsSotiria LeonardouNikos KalogeropoulosMichalis ManiatisThe story of a group of Rembetes, singers and musicians of the Greek equivalent to the blues, in the early decades of the 20th century, seen through the eyes of a young female singer.The story of a group of Rembetes, singers and musicians of the Greek equivalent to the blues, in the early decades of the 20th century, seen through the eyes of a young female singer
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.When director Brian De Palma submitted the film to the MPAA, they gave it an "X rating". He then made some cuts and resubmitted it a second time; again the film was given an "X rating" (one of the reasons apparently being that Octavio the clown was shot too many times). He yet again made some further cuts and submitted it a third time; yet again it was given an "X". De Palma refused to cut the film any further to qualify it for an R. He and producer Martin Bregman arranged a hearing with the MPAA. They brought in a panel of experts, including real narcotics officers, who stated that the film was an accurate portrayal of real life in the drug underworld and should be widely seen. This convinced the 20 members of the ratings board to give the third submitted cut of the film an "R rating" by a vote of 18-2. However, De Palma surmised that if the third cut of the film was judged an "R" than the very first cut should have been an "R" as well. He asked the studio if he could release the first cut but was told that he couldn't. However since the Studio execs really didn't know the differences between the different cuts that had been submitted, De Palma released the first cut of the film to theaters anyway. It wasn't until the film had been released on videocassette months later that he confessed that he had released his first unedited and intended version of the film.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.The biggest grossing film of 1983.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.The rope bridge used during the final fight scene was actually suspended up a couple of hundred feet across a gorge on location in Sri Lanka. Acrophobic Steven Spielberg would never walk over it, and had to drive a mile and a half to reach the other side. Harrison Ford on the other hand had no such fear, and would run across it at full speed.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.Robert De Niro requested a private meeting with renowned crime boss Meyer Lansky to prepare for his role as Noodles. The request was denied.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.One afternoon during a break in filming, Arnold Schwarzenegger went into a restaurant in downtown L.A. to get some lunch and realized all too late that he was still in Terminator makeup - with a missing eye, exposed jawbone and burned flesh.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsKaren MeagherReece DinsdaleDavid BrierlyThe effects of a nuclear holocaust on the working class city of Sheffield, England and the eventual long-term effects of nuclear war on civilization.While shooting the movie, the BBC got in trouble with local police when they detonated a large smoke bomb in order to simulate a nuclear explosion. Members of the public, who were not aware that a movie was being shot, panicked and thought that a real explosion had occurred.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.Apparently Ronald Reagan was amused by Doc Brown's disbelief that an actor like him could become president, so much so that he had the projectionist stop and replay the scene. He also seemed to enjoy it so much that he even made a direct reference of the film in his 1986 State of the Union address: "As they said in the film Back to the Future (1985), 'Where we're going, we don't need roads.'"
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.In the Christmas shopping scene, a woman is carrying a banner outside the store with a cross that says "Consumers for Christ".
- DirectorElem KlimovStarsAleksey KravchenkoOlga MironovaLiubomiras LauceviciusAfter finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.The film's closing epilogue states: "The Nazis burned down 628 Belarusian villages together with all the people in them."
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsTatsuya NakadaiAkira TeraoJinpachi NezuIn Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.Akira Kurosawa's wife of 39 years, Yôko Yaguchi, died during the production of this film. Kurosawa halted filming for just one day to mourn before resuming work on the picture.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.Johnny Depp recalled that during one particularly stressful scene, he was so intimidated by Oliver Stone's aggressive behavior that he came close to vomiting. Stone still insisted on a second take.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWil WheatonRiver PhoenixCorey FeldmanA writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.At the insistence of director Rob Reiner (an avid non-smoker who campaigned for anti-smoking laws in California), the cigarettes smoked by the boys were made from cabbage leaves.
- DirectorJimmy T. MurakamiStarsPeggy AshcroftJohn MillsRobin HoustonA naive elderly British rural couple survive the initial onslaught of a nuclear war.Both main stars of this film Peggy Ashcroft and John Mills won their Oscars while appearing in David Lean epics.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.One of the scenes cut from the movie was a scene that showed a group of soldiers playing soccer. The scene was cut because a shot revealed they were not using a soccer ball, but a human head.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsBruno GanzSolveig DommartinOtto SanderAn angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.Filming the actual Berlin Wall was prohibited, so a replica of the wall twice had to be built close to the original. The first fake wall warped in the rain because the contractor cheated the producers and built it from wood.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsCary ElwesMandy PatinkinRobin WrightA bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.The giant rodents were created with diminutive actors inside rat suits. On the day Westley was supposed to battle the giant rat, the "rat actor" was pulled over for speeding and subsequently arrested, and actually had to be bailed out of jail by the filmmakers so the scene could be filmed.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.The Nakatomi tower is actually the headquarters of 20th Century Fox. The company charged itself rent for the use of the then unfinished building.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.In South Korea, the release of the movie was postponed indefinitely because of the concern that the movie somewhat justified Japan's role in World War II.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsWillem DafoeHarvey KeitelBarbara HersheyThe life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.Some historians claim Pontius Pilate was born in Scotland, where his father was posted as a Roman Centurion guard. On knowing this, Scottish comedian Billy Connolly tried to convince David Bowie to play Pontius Pilate "as a Scotsman." (Bowie did not.)
- DirectorGiuseppe TornatoreStarsPhilippe NoiretEnzo CannavaleAntonella AttiliA filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.By the end of 1956, it was Italy which had the largest network of cinemas in the whole of Europe. A total of 17,000. This was the highest ever reached in the "old world".
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsDustin HoffmanTom CruiseValeria GolinoAfter a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.During filming, Dustin Hoffman was unsure of the film's potential and his own performance. Three weeks into the project, Hoffman wanted out, telling director Barry Levinson, "Get Richard Dreyfuss, get somebody, Barry, because this is the worst work of my life." Hoffman would nab his second Best Actor Academy Award for his work.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMartin LandauWoody AllenBill BernsteinAn ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.One-third of the film had Woody Allen's character shooting a documentary on old vaudevillians, with Mia Farrow as the head of the institute to which they belonged. Allen didn't like the scenes in the final cut. During postproduction he cut an entire third of the film, then rewrote and re-shot that section from scratch. As a result, Sean Young's scenes were cut out, and Daryl Hannah's role was reduced to a brief cameo.