1980s Movies - Tumblr Posts
Alternate poster art by Bob Peak for Excalibur (1981)
I'm sorry but how the fuck can y'all stay still while imagining edits, whenever im imagining an edit of one of my favourite characters i start pacing in a circle around my bed like a 50 year old detective from a 1980's murder mystery movie planning on how to catch the murderer
Jennifer Connelly in Étoile (Peter del Monte - 1989)
Jennifer Connelly in Étoile (Peter del Monte - 1989)
I dreamed that I, that I killed you and Danny. But I didn’t just kill ya. I cut you up in little pieces. Oh my God. I must be losing my mind.
THE SHINING (1980) dir, Stanley Kubric
HEATHERS (1989) dir. Michael Lehmann
Xanadu (1980)
The Village People's "YMCA" in their movie "Can't stop the Music" from 1980, this movie and "Xanadu" are the reason why we have the Golden Raspberry Awards.
THE DARK CRYSTAL (Dir: Jim Henson & Frank Oz, 1982).
Coming to Netflix on 30th August 2019 is The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance the prequel to Muppets creator Jim Henson’s original fantasy epic The Dark Crystal. My inner 8 year old can barely contain his wee wee at the thought of this so, in anticipation, I revisited the original.
Believing he is the last of his elf-like Gelfling race, Jen sets out to fulfill a prophecy which foretells that a Gelfling will one day defeat the malevolent Skeksis who rule his homeland of Thra. Jen must locate and replace a missing shard from the mystical crystal from which the Skeksis draw their powers. Learning of the quest, the Skeksis will stop at nothing to deter Jen, having already murdered his kind for their own evil gains.
Co-directed by fellow Muppeteer Frank Oz, The Dark Crystal was seen as a major departure for Jim Henson. Along with conceptual artist Brian Froud, they created a beautiful, intricately detailed alien world populated solely by their elaborate puppet creations. The puppets, or Muppets, are exquisite creations, grotesquely beautiful and believably brought to life by the talented Muppet performers.
The overall tone of the movie is decidedly darker than that of The Muppet Show. However, I think its reputation as nightmare fuel is unwarranted. There is a lot of light to offset the dark and ultimately this is a positive tale with a uplifting message. There is also much humor; granted, it's not the knockabout humour of the Muppets, but the movie does have a lightness of touch that helps make the more sombre moments much more palatable for the young. I first saw The Dark Crystal at age 8 and survived. I would have no qualms about showing it to children of a similar age.
For those who have never seen this magical movie I wholeheartedly recommend it. The eagerly anticipated prequel will, apparently, not require you to be familiar with the original, but I would suggest you give it a watch anyway, simply because it is a fantastic piece of fantasy filmmaking.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read a longer, more in-depth version of this review! Link below.
THE JOURNEY OF NATTY GANN (Dir: Jeremy Kagan, 1985).
Dating from an era when Walt Disney Pictures were pursuing edgier family entertainment, The Journey of Natty Gann is a road movie drama set during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In her movie debut Meredith Salenger stars as the titular Natty. Separated from her father (Ray Wise), she travels the length of Chicago to Washington to find him, accompanied by an unusual travelling companion in the shape of a wolf. She also strikes up a friendship cum chaste romance with a young drifter (John Cusack).
Director Jeremy Kagan delivers a thoughtful, intelligent movie that’s pulls no punches in its believable and affecting account of the hardships caused by poverty and mass unemployment. It also touches, albeit lightly, on subjects such as union activism and police brutality.
The movie treats it subject matter seriously, yet the tone is never too sombre and its uplifting moments offset the gentle melancholic mood which runs through it. Certainly, it is sentimental but it is never sticky and the sentimentality never seems false, while its female lead gives it a feminist slant not usually found in family films of the era.
While the performances are uniformly excellent, the standout is undoubtedly Salenger. Age just 14 during filming, her performance is both moving and charismatic. How she did not become a massive star is anybody’s guess. John Cusack also impresses in an early role as Natty's drifter friend Harry. It is beautifully photographed by cinematographer Dick Bush, capturing the crisp Canadian wilderness (standing in for the US) and the grimy back alleys with a cinematic grace rare in 80s Hollywood.
Although The Journey of Natty Gann won admiration from critics it was not, initially, a hit with audiences. It would eventually find a more appreciative audience on the burgeoning home video market. Still, the movie seems vastly underrated today. It is among the Disney Studios’ best live action releases and one of the most artful major Hollywood releases of the 1980s.
Check out my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com for a longer, more in-depth version of this review.
A BILLION FOR BORIS (Dir: Alex Grasshoff, 1984).
A Billion for Boris is the film adaptation of Mary Rodgers' sequel to her novel Freaky Friday.
Repairing an old TV set, Ben ‘Apeface’ Andrews (Seth Green) fixes it to show the next day’s programmes. He duly shares this information with his sister Annabel (Mary Tanner) and friend Boris (Scott Tiler). Seeing the money making potential, Boris heads off to bookies, but his winning streak attracts the unwanted attention of gangsters.
A movie version of Freaky Friday (Gary Nelson) was released by Walt Disney Productions in 1976. Although popular, Disney chose not to film either of Rodgers’ published sequels. A Billion for Boris was brought to the screen almost a decade later courtesy of independent Comworld Pictures.
As such, it is an adaptation of the sequel to the novel, rather than a sequel to the Disney feature. The setting, as in Rodgers’ books, is a New York apartment block, not the suburban Los Angeles of Disney’s Freaky Friday. The events of the earlier movie are not referenced, with the exception of the firing of the Andrews’ housekeeper for stealing liquor.
As a low budget production, A Billion for Boris lacks the polish of Freaky Friday. Also missing is Rodgers’ prose; as screenwriter of the original movie she captured much of the spirit of her book, even though significant changes were made to the plot.
Its largely unrecognisable cast doesn’t have the appeal of the previous movie. Of the adults, Lee Grant does a neat turn as Boris’ quirky mom. Future star Seth Green is standout among the kids as ‘Ape Face’.
In spite of this, it is still an entertaining movie. Some might question the theme of underage gambling and while it would raise a few eyebrows today, I doubt it did in 1984. Use it as opportunity to discuss with your kids the morality of betting if you will, but I wouldn’t let it put you off.
While A Billion for Boris doesn’t raise big laughs it does provides some chuckles. I am fairly certain I won’t revisit it as often as Freaky Friday, a childhood favourite that holds up as an adult. However, it does hold curiosity value to fans of that movie and is undemanding, lightweight fun.
Check out my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for more movie reviews!
Graphic design is my passion and 80’s movies are my vice
babe wake up, an enhanced picture of Stick just dropped
our enhanced photo of the bespectacled blondie and Richard Cameron (Dylan Kussman) in Dead Poets Society (1989)
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