CinemaInternational Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Donald Sutherland, John Marley, Jeff Goldblum, and Mare Winningham started 1983 with Threshold, a Canadian sci-fi film Barbara Hershey was pitted against a malevolent spirit in The Entity. Kate Nelligan was riviting as a mother of a kidnapped child in Without a Trace, with sterling support from Judd Hirsch and Stockard Channing. The ending could move a stone to tears. The King of Comedy has increased in reputation since 1983, and its look at the obsessions of modern day fame cut deeper now then they did then. Robert De Niro was very good, Sandra Bernhard was unforgettable, and Jerry Lewis was never better. Fox sponsored a rerelease of the 70s rock film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. As well as a Bill Cosby stand-up show Reuben Reuben received an Oscar nomination for Tom Conti as a troubled writer. Kelly McGillis made her film debut. Betrayal was unusual in the sense that it was a story (an affair and breakup) told in reverse. It was admired by many critics. It was the final production for veteran producer Sam Spiegel. Marsha Mason and Jason Robards were irresistible in the sweet, likable Neil Simon original Max Dugan Returns, also with Donald Sutherland and debuting Matthew Broderick. Bonnie Bedilia was a female race car driver in Heart Like a Wheel, an audience pleaser. Dennis Quaid was a country singer who moonlighted as an amateur boxer in Tough Enough, with Pam Grier, Wilford Brimley, and Warren Oates, who died a year before this was released. The original star Wars trilogy came to a close with 1983's biggest hit, Return of the Jedi. More raunch in Porky's II: The Next Day. Again, quite profitable, so another one would be incoming in 1985. Mr. Mom, a film with a self-explanitory title, established Michael Keaton as a popular screen lead. Michael Douglas fell in with an ominous vigilante group and then has second thoughts about it in The Star Chamber. Phar Lap was a horseracing drama from Australia. It wasn't as cheerful and feelgood as many American ones. Fire and Ice was animation for adults, a film involving prehistoric fantasy Sam Peckinpaugh directed for the last time with The Osterman Weekend, a thriller with Rutgar Hauer, John Hurt, Dennis Hopper, and Burt Lancaster. Tom Cruise played a Pennsyvania boy into sports and a provative relationship with Lea Thompson in All the Right Moves. Lesley Ann Warren played a college professor drawn into an affair with one of her students, a male stripper, in A Night in Heaven. The Bryan Adams rock song "Heaven" originated here. The leads of Grease were reunited again, but lightning failed to hit twice with critics or box office. Silkwood was brilliant. One of Meryl Streep's finest hours, the film also feauted sublime work from Kurt Russell, Cher, and a character actress named Sudie Bond and had a literate well-handled script that was touching in its urgency. Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft starred in a remake of Lu****'s To Be or Not To Be. Unlike many remakes of classics, this one worked and was a joy to watch, thanks mainly to a witty adaptation and a luminous comic performance from Bancroft. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 An interesting batch for sure. Of the ones I haven't seen, THE STAR CHAMBER looks most interesting. Of the ones I have seen, I'd say SILKWOOD is the best. I like MR. MOM, it's very much of its time. THE OSTERMAN WEEKEND is a mess, but I think there's a good film in there somewhere. It's poorly edited and needed retakes. I have a feeling they ran out of money. TWO OF A KIND is dire. Tom Cruise is already typecast as the sexy young stud in ALL THE RIGHT MOVES. My sister loved PHAR LAP. The Bill Cosby film was screened at my high school (a few years later, because I was not in high school yet in 1983). The principal was a Cosby fan and thought the students would enjoy it after a series of rigorous exams. We did not. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougieB Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 I agree with TB about Silkwood. I spent most of the 1980's working nights, so I missed a lot. I was much more likely to see a midnight show at the local revival house. I caught up on Dietrich while I was missing out on most of these, which I've never regretted. Thank God home video came along when it did, so I could see the ones I really felt a need to. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 I've seen quite a few. The King of Comedy Return of the Jedi Silkwood Reuben, Reuben I've also seen Mr. Mom, To Be or Not To Be, The Osterman Weekend, Fire & Ice, The Star Chamber, The Entity, Bill Cosby Himself, Max Dugan Returns, Heart Like a Wheel, All the Right Moves, Two of a Kind, and Porky's II. Two of a Kind was terrible, but I like this song: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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