{"id":21005,"date":"2018-10-22T13:26:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-22T12:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/?p=21005"},"modified":"2018-10-22T13:31:28","modified_gmt":"2018-10-22T12:31:28","slug":"the-definitive-guide-to-the-best-1980s-films","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/index.php\/the-definitive-guide-to-the-best-1980s-films\/","title":{"rendered":"The Definitive Guide to the Best 1980\u2019s Films"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of us reading this article weren\u2019t even alive during the 1980\u2019s, but that doesn\u2019t mean a 22-year-old who always gets Steve Harrington in personality quizzes can\u2019t take a stab at compiling a list of the best 80\u2019s movies!<\/span><\/p>\n

Back To The Future (1985) \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an obvious choice, but how could you have an article about the best 80\u2019s films and not include the most 80\u2019s movie of them all?<\/span><\/p>\n

It has the look, the sound, the fashion, the aesthetic and the feel of the mid-1980\u2019s, something that the 1989 sequel didn\u2019t quite stick the landing on. <\/span><\/p>\n

The story is timeless, the script is endlessly quotable, the plot is planned out with the care and precision of a master architect, and the film is anchored by a fantastic lead performance from Michael J Fox.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It is hard to imagine anyone but Michael J Fox in the lead role (which makes the initial casting and initial month of filming with original star Eric Stolz that much more weird) but for all intents and purposes, he will always be Marty McFly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ditto with Christopher Lloyd \u2013 he will always be Doc Brown despite the fact he was part of the ensemble in One Flew Over The Cuckoo\u2019s Nest and won two Emmy\u2019s for his work on Taxi.<\/span><\/p>\n

And of course, the film is directed by the great Robert Zemeckis. Back To The Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit Forest Gump, Cast Away, Polar Express, all the works of a great director who is never mentioned in the same breath as your Spielberg\u2019s or Scorcese\u2019s, but really should be. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Breakfast Club (1985)<\/b><\/p>\n

Was John Hughes the greatest ever filmmaker to never be nominated for an Oscar? <\/span><\/p>\n

Based on this film alone, he should have been as decorated as Billy Wilder.<\/span><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need another 20-something guy telling you that The Breakfast Club is a great movie, but I\u2019ll try anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of us reading are at least five months separated from the confines of the tedium of secondary school life, but this movie will transport you back to those days like John Hughes is a magician.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every single flavour of secondary school life is represented in this movie, and you\u2019ll be amazed at how quickly you\u2019ll latch onto the cast of characters \u2013 were you the John Bender of your year, the Claire Standish, the Brian Johnson or the Allison Reynolds?<\/span><\/p>\n

Some dated social values notwithstanding, The Breakfast Club absolutely stands the test of time, and there\u2019s a reason that every teen-oriented film these days is compared to The Breakfast Club. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Princess Bride (1987)<\/b><\/p>\n

Did you know that The Princess Bride was considered a financial disappointment when it first came out?<\/span><\/p>\n

Fatal Attraction eviscerated any movie it was up against at the box office in its 8weeks atop the box office but the irony being that Princess Bride is arguably the movie that has stood the test of time and more well-remembered. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film has become a Christmas classic in recent years, and it\u2019s hard not to see why; it\u2019s incredibly charming, whimsical, sweet and like any good movie, it\u2019s script can be quoted in any context, and it\u2019s still funny.<\/span><\/p>\n

The secret to the movies enduring charm is the fact that original novel writer William Goldman adapted his work and turned it into one of the great American screenplays.<\/span><\/p>\n

This shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise \u2013 this is the same man who won two Oscars for writing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All The Presidents Men \u2013 but it\u2019s that extra level of detail behind the scenes that make the film sing. <\/span><\/p>\n

Brazil (1985) <\/b><\/p>\n

A Monty Python member and Britain\u2019s greatest living playwright walk into a script. <\/span><\/p>\n

What follows is arguably the best film of the 1980\u2019s. <\/span><\/p>\n

Brazil tells the tale of a world where bureaucracy has gone mad and is now the judge, jury, and executioner. <\/span><\/p>\n

People will be quick to tell you that Blade Runner or The Thing was the 80\u2019s sci-fi movies that greatly influenced how the genre turned out in the following decades, but Brazi\u2019s influence is much more noticeable \u2013 without Brazil, there is no Black Mirror, no Tim Burton Batman, no Snowpiercer or whatever dystopian sci-fi fiction you care to name.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Blade Runner and The Thing are two other tremendous films, Brazil edges it, and it\u2019s in one simple category \u2013 casting.<\/span><\/p>\n

British stage legend Jonathan Pryce is impeccable in the lead role of Sam Lowry, Robert De Niro gives gravitas to his small, but impactful part of Harry Tuttle, and the late, great Bob Hoskins is in top form as Spoor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mix all those key ingredients together, and you get a film that will stay with you long after the harrowing ending sequence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Robocop (1987)<\/b><\/p>\n

The 80\u2019s was a vintage decade for the action movie.<\/span><\/p>\n

I could have easily listed Die Hard, The Terminator, Rambo First Blood, Roadhouse or Aliens in this slot but I\u2019m going for the movie I\u2019ll always watch when I need reminding that the genre can transcend into high art. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s right; I\u2019m talking about the film where a Dutch director who\u2019s a self-proclaimed Jesus scholar decided to take what would on paper sounds like a film conceived by an 8-year-old (\u201cA robot cop!\u201d) and spins it into the most biting satire of corporate America ever put on screen.<\/span><\/p>\n

The genius of Robocop is that it\u2019s an amazing movie if you\u2019re in it for the action and over-the-top violence, or you\u2019re in it for a sly and winking satire of boardroom politics. <\/span><\/p>\n

Robocop works whether you\u2019re an 11-year-old who\u2019s watching it on TV late at night when your parents are asleep, a 20-something college student who wrote an academic essay about it for a film studies class, or 50-something who\u2019s wistful for the days when they used to make action movies as good as Robocop.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Most of us reading this article weren\u2019t even alive during the 1980\u2019s, but that doesn\u2019t mean a 22-year-old who always gets Steve Harrington in personality quizzes can\u2019t take a stab at compiling a list of the best 80\u2019s movies! Back To The Future (1985) \u00a0 It\u2019s an obvious choice, but how could you have an […]<\/p>\n

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