1980s

  • Christopher Sykes – Fun to Imagine – with Richard Feynman (1983)

    1981-1990Christopher SykesDocumentaryUnited Kingdom

    It’s basically just Feynman sitting in his armchair (in his Pasadena, CA, home), talking on different topics in his fascinating inimitable way.

    Topics include: jiggling atoms, fire, pushing and pulling, rubber bands, ice, magnets, electricity … and others.Read More »

  • John Carpenter – They Live (1988)

    1981-1990CultJohn CarpenterSci-FiUSA

    Quote:
    John Nada (Roddy Piper) is a quiet loner, a drifter who gets work where ever he can find it. While working on a construction site in L.A. and sleeping in a vagrant community at night, John stumbles upon a secret society of alien beings who pose as wealthy and powerful people in human society. John joins a rebel group commited to exposing this conspiracy, and becomes their reluctant leader and the only hope of the human race. Former wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper is outstanding as the unassuming hero, playing the role with understated shock at what he uncovers and stubborn courage when he confronts it.Read More »

  • Diane Kurys – Cocktail Molotov (1980)

    1971-1980ArthouseComedyDiane KurysFranceThe Films of May '68

    Synopsis by Sandra Brennan
    This youthful drama centers on a group of teens struggling to become adults without losing their youthful aspirations. It begins as Caron leaves the pressure of her home life for Venice in hopes of finding spontaneity and fun. She is followed by her boyfriend Lebas and his friend Cluzet. Lebas hopes that he will convince her to go home. Trouble begins after his car and her stuff are stolen in Italy. When they learn that workers and students have been rioting in Paris, they quickly return, eager to join the fray.Read More »

  • Nobuhiko Ôbayashi – Haishi AKA The Deserted City (1984)

    1981-1990DramaJapanNobuhiko Obayashi

    Quote:
    After reading a newspaper article about a town being destroyed in a fire, Eguchi begins to recall the summer he spent there writing his thesis. It’s a beautiful canal town, the “Venice of Japan.” As he arrives, he is greeted by the daughter of the Kaibara household, Yasuko. The rest of her family seems mysteriously absent. On his first night, Eguchi hears the stifled sound of crying. He attempts to find the source, and is soon drawn into the conflict that is tearing the family apart. While he likens the town to a dream, some of the inhabitants do not share his feelings. There is a sense of being stuck in time, with ruin and death the only future.Read More »

  • Jesus Franco – Las Últimas de Filipinas (1986)

    1981-1990AdventureExploitationJesus FrancoSpain

    Fleeing a U.S. attack during the war, 2 sisters and their governess are shipwrecked on a (not so ) deserted island. Believe it or not Lina appears to have only one brief nude scene. Who’d a thunk it? As you can see there is some flesh on display so thank god for that. Another Franco jungle “masterpiece”. Enjoy!Read More »

  • Max Kalmanowicz – The Children (1980)

    1971-1980HorrorMax KalmanowiczUSA

    Quote:
    “The Children”, a movie that contains a single wacky idea so absurd and outrageous that you are almost entertained for the entire length of the feature. Created for the drive-in/exploitation circuit, “The Children” remains engaging enough until somewhere near its conclusion, where the director seemingly loses the movie’s feeble sense of logic and goes strictly for laughs.Read More »

  • Percy Adlon – Céleste (1980)

    1971-1980ArthouseDramaGermanyPercy Adlon

    Quote:
    In 1914, with men gone to war, Marcel Proust hired Céleste Albaret as his attendant. More than eight years later, she was at his side when he died. During this entire time, she only entered his room when he rang for her, sleeping from 9 AM to 3 PM to wait during the night while he wrote. Marcel uses her as more than a servant: she is his muse, telling stories of her childhood to stir his remembrance of things past; she’s in cahoots with him as he manipulates those he wants to draw on for his writing; she listens appalled to his descriptions of the underside of Paris. Hers is a life of love and sweet devotion as he races time to finish his work before death.Read More »

  • Jim Jarmusch – Mystery Train (1989)

    1981-1990ArthouseDramaJim JarmuschUSA

    Quote:
    A Japanese couple obsessed with 1950s America goes to Memphis because the male half of the couple emulates Carl Perkins. Chance encounters link three different stories in the city, with the common thread being the seedy hotel where they are all staying.Read More »

  • Nobuhiko Ôbayashi – Tenkôsei AKA Exchange Students (1982)

    1981-1990ComedyFantasyJapanNobuhiko Obayashi

    This hilarious movie catapults two youngsters hitting puberty into the opposite sex after a fall from which they recover in each other’s bodies. The timid sensitive girl becomes the effeminate insecure boy, and the unredeeming prankster becomes the loud clumsy girl with a chip on her shoulder. Both lead actors do tremendous jobs portraying the opposite sex, and often do so delivering more than a laugh. It ends in a bittersweet tone, but it is a really cute movie with hilarious moments.Read More »

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