cinecrazydc Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 I'm going to have to say I disagree with virtually all his choices on this decade, especially with regard to Chariots of Fire, Gandhi, and Body Heat (which, let's face it, was just a remake of Double Indemnity). But I'll put this up and let the message boards throw darts, as with previous posts ! In part seven of this series we look at the movies that should have won the Best Picture Oscar between 1980 and 1989. Like the fifties, because a Republican president very much defined the era, the eighties continue to be unfairly maligned as a terrible decade for movies by foo foo critics. As you will see below this is an outrageous and anti-science lie. Let’s begin… 1980 What Did Win: Ordinary People Because everyone believes Raging Bull and only Raging Bull should’ve won Best Picture, Robert Redford’s Oscar-winning directorial debut is constantly attacked as something along the lines of a subpar movie of the week. Well, it’s not. This is a deeply moving story about violence, emotional violence from a mother who cannot forgive her son for surviving the accident that killed her favorite son. A brutal and shocking theme told through subtle, insightful, and brilliant performances, most especially from Mary Tyler Moore. What Should’ve Won: Atlantic City Director Louis Malle’s tender examination of the destruction of a city and a way of life gets better with each viewing. Burt Lancaster is equal parts dazzling and heartbreaking as an aging, full-time loser who refuses to act like one. Susan Sarandon is his equal as a woman determined to improve her lot in a life weighed down by her own bad choices. They make the unlikeliest of lovers and then comes one of those knock-out endings you should have seen coming from a mile away and didn’t. See also: Coal Miner’s Daughter, Bronco Billy, Stir Crazy, Dressed to Kill, Blues Brothers, My Bodyguard, Gloria, Out of the Blue, Empire Strikes Back, The Final Countdown, The Shining, Urban Cowboy, Stardust Memories, and The Big Red One. 1981 What Did Win: Chariots of Fire One of those movies I really want to like and can’t. What Should’ve Won: Body Heat Screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan made his debut with this sweaty thriller about an idiot lawyer (William Hurt) who falls for the sexiest woman to ever stroll through his **** little town (a never more beautiful Kathleen Turner). Kasdan adds all the steamy sex we knew was going on in Double Indemnity without making it sleazy. A sexy movie for adults that plays as well today as it did 40 years ago. See also: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Wolfen, Escape from New York, Superman II, For Your Eyes Only, Nighthawks, On Golden Pond, The Road Warrior, An American Werewolf in London, Reds, Sharky’s Machine, Das Boot, Blow Out, and Zorro, the Gay Blade. 1982 What Did Win: Gandhi An obvious piece of Oscar bait that succeeded; Gandhi is a terrific film everyone should see once. Once is quite enough. What Should’ve Won: The Verdict Paul Newman delivers a performance for the ages as an aging, alcoholic, ambulance-chasing lawyer up against a City Machine that protects the elite at all costs. He’s hand-picked to defend a woman put into a coma by negligent doctors because everyone knows he will take the settlement money and run. And then he doesn’t… Look at the titles below. What a year to turn 16, which I did. Man, I thought movies were always going to be this good… See also: E.T., An Officer and a Gentleman, Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Tootsie, Poltergeist, Rocky III, First Blood, Night Shift, Blade Runner, The Grey Fox, Death Wish II, The Thing, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Pink Floyd – The Wall, and My Favorite Year. 1983 What Did Win: Terms of Endearment An eccentric and funny movie about disparate people brought together by terminal cancer. What Should’ve Won: The Right Stuff In another year filled with cinematic gold, The Right Stuff is an easy choice. This hilarious, moving, perfectly offbeat look at the early days of the American space program does everything right. See also: Return of the Jedi, The Dead Zone, King of Comedy, Local Hero, Trading Places, D.C. Cab, A Christmas Story, Monty Python’s Meaning of Life, Eddie and the Cruisers, Tender Mercies, WarGames, Scarface, Silkwood, Gorky Park, Zelig, The Big Chill, and Risky Business. 1984 What Did Win: Amadeus Another obvious piece of Oscar bait everyone should see at least once, if only for the performances of its two leads, Tom Hulce and Murray Abraham. The story of Mozart’s undeserved natural talent and early death also delivers a fascinating theme about the sins of envy and ambition at the hands of a man who had everything but just couldn’t be satisfied. Nope, he had to have it all, and it destroyed him. What Should’ve Won: Once Upon a Time in America Unforgivably butchered by the studio or its American release, director Sergio Leone’s epic gangster tale is one of the first movies to be “saved” by home video and, ever since, its reputation has improved with each passing decade. You’ve never before seen a gangster movie like this one, and you never will again. See also: Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Karate Kid, Footloose, Splash, Romancing the Stone, Moscow on the Hudson, Sixteen Candles, The Natural, Purple Rain, Red Dawn, A Soldiers Story, All of Me, Garbo Talks, Body Double, Goonies, Paris, Texas; The Terminator, and The Killing Fields. 1985 What Did Win: Out of Africa Director Sydney Pollack won a long overdue Oscar for a lush, beautifully filmed, if somewhat staid romance. What Should’ve Won: Runaway Train A Cannon film…? You would award the Best Picture Oscar to a Cannon film? Well, have you seen it? A thrilling, suspenseful work of existentialism from director Andrei Konchalovsky about two desperate convicts (a brilliant Jon Voight and Eric Roberts) who escape from an Alaskan prison’s sadistic warden (the great John P. Ryan) and jump aboard a runaway train with no engineer. A majestic, exciting look at what it means to be truly alive. See also: Back to the Future, Day of the Dead, Purple Rose of Cairo, Falcon and the Snowman, Silverado, Twice in a Lifetime, Witness, Brazil, Pale Rider, Vision Quest, The Jagged Edge, Mask, Rambo: First Blood Part II, The Color Purple, Prizzi’s Honor, and Code of Silence. 1986 What Did Win: Platoon Director, write Oliver Stone announced his arrival with one of the best anti-war movies ever made. What Should’ve Won: Blue Velvet Director David Lynch’s masterpiece about the dark underbelly of small town America lifts what should have been a cliché into a twisty, sexy, dream-like thriller filled with stunning scenes, most of which are delivered by way of a startling and Oscar-worthy Dennis Hopper performance. See also: Top Gun, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Hannah and Her Sisters, Salvador, At Close Range, Cobra, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Running Scared, Ruthless People, Sid and Nancy, Three Amigos, Hoosiers, the Mosquito Coast, Big Trouble in Little China, Aliens, the Fly, Manhunter, and Stand By Me. 1987 What Did Win: Last Emperor As long as it is forgettable. Full Metal Jacket Director Stanley Kubrick’s unforgettable look at the Vietnam War is two movies in one. We open with a cold, clinical but oddly comforting basic training sequence anchored by an astonishing performance from R. Lee Ermey. Then we’re shocked out of our comfort after being thrown into the thick of jungle battle where Adam Baldwin (full disclosure: a friend of mine) picks up where Ermey leaves off as Animal, who’s part Papa Bear and part sociopath. See also: Fatal Attraction, Moonstruck, The Untouchables, Stakeout, Lethal Weapon, The Stepfather, Outrageous Fortune, Radio Days, Angel Heart, Evil Dead II, Hollywood Shuffle, Extreme Prejudice, Three Men and a Baby, Predator, Witches of Eastwick, Roxanne, RoboCop, La Bamba, Monster Squad, Dirty Dancing, The Princess Bride; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Wall Street, Eddie Murphy: Raw, and Good Morning, Vietnam. 1988 What Did Win: Rain Man Dustin Hoffman won the Oscar that should have gone to Tom Cruise. What Should’ve Won: Colors Director Dennis Hopper was years ahead of the curve with his unsparing look at the LAPD and urban gang life. Unfortunately, it has not aged a day. See also: A Fish Called Wanda, Big, Die Hard, Action Jackson, Shoot to Kill, Stand and Deliver, Biloxi Blues, Beetlejuice, Colors, Shakedown, Bull Durham, Midnight Run, The Blob, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Eight Men Out, Running on Empty, Alien Nation, The Accused, Another Woman, They Live, Mississippi Burning, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Working Girl. 1989 What Did Win: Driving Miss Daisy One of the most unfairly maligned movies in Oscar history is a perfectly acted and achingly sentimental look at beautiful friendship. If you remember that’s what the movie is actually about, you will forget all the purely political and unfair crybabying over it. What Should’ve Won: Crimes and Misdemeanors An astonishing year for movies, especially blockbusters, and one I spent at the drive-in… Anyway, Woody Allen’s examination of a cruel natural world where God removes Himself and injustice reigns is a legitimate work of art; a hilarious, infuriating, suspenseful, and tragic look at the endless complications of the human condition, most especially the conscience. The way in which Allen co-opts you to root for a cold-blooded killer (Martin Landau) to get away with it is only the icing on a mesmerizing and unforgettable cake. See also: Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon II, Born on the Fourth of July; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids; Parents, Parenthood, Cousins, The ‘burbs, Dead Bang, Dead Calm, Major League, Field of Dreams, Pet Sematary, Road House, License to Kill, The Abyss, Uncle Buck, Casualties of War, The Package, Sea of Love, Black Rain, My Left Foot, Steel Magnolias, Do the Right Thing, Christmas Vacation, Do the Right Thing; Enemies, A Love Story, and Glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 My list: 1. 9 TO 5 (1980) 2. CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) 3. MISSING (1982) 4. THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) 5. AMADEUS (1984) 6. WITNESS (1985) 7. RUTHLESS PEOPLE (1986) 8. HOPE AND GLORY (1987) 9. THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988) 10. THE WAR OF THE ROSES (1989) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 As you can see by looking at my list above, the 80s gave us some great satire. Of course, Oscar doesn't like to reward comedy...which is a shame. 9 TO 5 is a brilliant feminist satire on the gender wars that (still) occur in corporate America. RUTHLESS PEOPLE is a wicked take on elitism and exposes everything that was wrong (greed) in the Reagan era. Meanwhile THE WAR OF THE ROSES is an excellent black comedy about divorce. When the movie came out, Kathleen Turner told an interviewer that she felt she and Michael Douglas were a modern-day version of Katharine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 4 hours ago, cinecrazydc said: What Should’ve Won: Runaway Train Man! I LOVE that movie! My old VHS of it went AWOL and I'm still looking to replace it. To be "truly alive"? Yep. And too, that freedom isn't really free, and hero worship can be hard for both the worshiper and the hero being worshiped. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Det Jim McLeod Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 My favorites from the actual nominees: 1980: Ordinary People 1981: Chariots Of Fire 1982: Gandhi 1983: Tender Mercies 1984: Amadeus 1985: Witness 1986: The Mission 1987: Fatal Attraction 1988: Rain Man 1989: Driving Miss Daisy As you see, I agreed with most of the winners, most of my favorites were not nominated. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TopBilled Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 Glad to see Jim mention TENDER MERCIES. A quiet, understated gem. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 1. Raging Bull (1980) 2. Das Boot (1981) 3. Koyaanisqatsi (1982) 4. Educating Rita (1983) 5. Amadeus (1984) 6. Ran (1985) 7. Platoon (1986) 8. Raising Arizona (1987) 9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) 10. sex, lies and videotape (1989) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmnoirguy Posted April 24, 2021 Share Posted April 24, 2021 Here are the movies of the '80s I would have voted for, nominated or not: 1980: Ordinary People 1981: Body Heat 1982: My Favorite Year 1983: Terms of Endearment 1984: A Passage to India 1985: Out of Africa 1986: Hannah and Her Sisters (Favorite of decade) 1987: Moonstruck 1988: The Accidental Tourist 1989: Driving Miss Daisy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vidor Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 This might be the worst decade ever for picks. I think Oscar might have gone 0-10. You could maybe make an argument for "Platoon" in that five-movie field, but the real winner should have been "Blue Velvet". You could also argue for "Rain Man" in that five-movie field but the actual best movie that year was "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?". Yep, I'm gonna say 0-10. A complete whiff for the entire decade for AMPAS. Boo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swithin Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 The best films of the 1980s: 1980: Raging Bull 1981: Reds 1982: Veronika Voss 1983: Pauline at the Beach 1984: A Passage to India 1985: Out of Africa 1986: A Room with a View 1987: The Dead 1988: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 1989: Enemies, A Love Story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Two of my favorite films of the decade probably wouldn't have been eligible because they were first seen on British TV, then later released as feature films: 28 Up (1984) and Experience Preferred . . . But Not Essential (1982). 1980: The Empire Strikes Back 1981: Body Heat 1982: Experience Preferred . . . But Not Essential or Diner 1983: A Christmas Story 1984: 28 Up or Choose Me 1985: My Beautiful Laundrette 1986: Jean de Florette 1987: Broadcast News 1988: Dangerous Liaisons 1989: Henry V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allhallowsday Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 On 4/24/2021 at 7:36 AM, cinecrazydc said: What Should’ve Won: Crimes and Misdemeanors I absolutely agree. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allhallowsday Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 On 4/24/2021 at 3:33 PM, filmnoirguy said: Hannah and Her Sisters (Favorite of decade) Ah! Ditto! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allhallowsday Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 12 hours ago, kingrat said: My Beautiful Laundrette For a moment there in the mid-80s that movie got a lot of buzz. I haven't heard anyone talk about it in decades. That is a wonderful film. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CinemaInternational Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 I'm bringing out the top 20s...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LsDoorMat Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 1980 - Empire Strikes Back 1981 - Raiders of the Lost Ark 1982 - Blade Runner 1983 - A Christmas Story 1984 - Amadeus 1985 - Come and See 1986 - Aliens 1987 - Princess Bride 1988 - Cinema Paradiso 1989 - Crimes and Misdemeanors 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimpole Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 My favorites, with my favorite of the Oscar nominees in second: 1980 Tess 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1982 Pink Floyd: the Wall/Gandhi 1983 Fanny and Alexander/The Right Stuff 1984 Splash/The Killing Fields 1985 Shoah/Out of Africa 1986 Aliens/The Mission 1987 Angel Heart/The Last Emperor 1988 A Fish Called Wanda/Dangerous Liaisons 1989 Henry V/Born on the Fourth of July 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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