An old teahouse in Beijing serves as the stage for a drama that unfolds over several tumultuous decades of modern Chinese history, from the waning days of the Qing dynasty to the eve of the People’s Republic.Read More »
1980s
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Tian Xie – Cha guan AKA Teahouse (1982)
1981-1990ChinaDramaTian Xie -
Aleksey German – Proverka na dorogakh AKA Trial on the Road AKA Checkpoint (1971)
Aleksey German1971-1980DramaUSSRWar -
Bruce Robinson – Withnail & I (1987)
Comedy1981-1990Bruce RobinsonCultQueer Cinema(s)United Kingdom

Quote:
A darkly comic tale of desperation, writer/director Bruce Robinson’s post-mortem on the sixties plays out like one long hangover- its characters at the arse-end of a dying era, faced with the stark reality of their paltry existences and the inevitable onslaught of maturity, sobriety and worst of all, the seventies. The film moves with as little motivation as its protagonists, ambiently charting the exploits of its two out-of-work upper-middle class Londoners, their incessant boozing, their efforts to ward off unwelcome visitations from spaced-out dealer Danny (Ralph Brown), their ill-planned and largely accidental trip to the country, and their close encounters with Withnail’s outrageously queer relative Uncle Monty (Richard Griffiths). Grant’s central tragicomic performance is mesmerisingly unhinged, his beady eyes riveting around in his skull with absolute indignation, professing his own worth with completely unchecked arrogance.Read More » -
Mark Eisenstein – The Electric Chair (1985)
1981-1990ComedyCultMark Eisenstein

Description:A Bukowski-inspired tale from the New York underground. Victor Argo (Ghost Dog, Taxi Driver, True Romance) is a shoe store manager who attempts to revive a failed career as a stand-up comic by performing at a mysterious club where he finds himself sharing the stage with a looming, ready-to-shock electric chair… and performing before an audience of himself in the various stages of his life, and other friends, family and enemies – who are all subject to his cantankerous and biting routines on love, society, friendship and god. The Electric Chair features a stunning performance and rare leading role from the late, great Argo, one of New York City’s most prolific and memorable character actors. Never before released, The Electric Chair is a true lost treasure of New York City filmmaking at its most inspired, sarcastic and dark – laced with shades of both Scorsese and Jarmusch – and striking a chord somewhere between Lenny and The King of Comedy.Read More »
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Barbara Hammer – Audience (1982)
Barbara Hammer1981-1990DocumentaryQueer Cinema(s)Short FilmUSASynopsis
An incredible document of the LGBT film scene in the early 1980s (as well as artist Barbara Hammer’s off-the-charts charisma), AUDIENCE finds Hammer working in a more straightforward documentary mode than usual. Hammer interviews her largely lesbian audiences before and after screenings of her work, capturing their reactions to her radical, erotic, experimental films.Read More » -
Sohrab Shahid Saless – Anton P. Cechov – Ein Leben (1981)
Sohrab Shahid Saless1981-1990DocumentaryGermany -
Philip Kaufman – The Right Stuff (1983)
Philip Kaufman1981-1990AdventureDramaUSAThe story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts and their macho, seat-of-the-pants approach to the space program.Read More »
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Jack Saltman – Waldheim: A Commission of Inquiry (1988)
Documentary1981-1990Jack SaltmanUnited KingdomThis Documentary examines the wide- spread allegations that Kurt Waldheim committed war crimes during World War II.
Waldheim was an Austrian diplomat and politician. Waldheim was the fourth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and the ninth President of Austria from 1986 to 1992., The evidence is presented before a panel of five eminent judges who render a decision at the end of the program.Read More » -
Ettore Scola – Che ora è? aka What Time is it? (1989)
Ettore Scola1981-1990ComedyDramaItalyMarcello (Marcello Mastroianni) has worked hard all his life to achieve a certain standing and success as a lawyer in Rome. He is pleased to be able to offer the fruits of his success to his son Michele (Massimo Troisi), and is perplexed and distressed that his unambitious son has no interest in any of these things. Michele is serving a term in the Italian military in the port town of Civitavecchia, and Marcello is visiting him there. Here he meets Michele’s salty girlfriend Loredana (Anne Parillaud). The father and son share some meals and explore their differences.Read More »






