“Go that way, really fast. If something gets in your way, turn.” – Better Off Dead
People with babies can be really rude at the movie theater. One kid was crying so loudly that I could barely hear the person I was talking with on the phone.
I was recently looking at some graphs that showed, by birth year, what time people thought were the “best” for various things. For example, most people thought music peaked about the time where they were stupidest and going through puberty, say, 12-14. I recall reading that one “dealmaker” would always put on music that would have been popular when the person he was trying to influence would have been in that age range.
Worked like a charm for him.
Movies are different. For most people, surveyed, regardless of birth year, movies peaked in the 1980-1990 era. Why? They were creative, not afraid to take a risk, and great new movies were coming out almost weekly. My initial cut at this list of movies had 25 movies on it. And I thought of including at least 10 more.
It was an embarrassment of cultural riches that we had at that time. Well, at least we have Marvel™ Movie Product #432 now.
As always, the list isn’t in any particular order, and feel free to toss your favorites in the comments.
Witness – What I like best about this movie is that I’m fairly certain that it inspired Weird Al to do Amish Paradise. Other than that, just a fish out of water movie about a crusty cop pretending to be Amish and an excuse to put Harrison Ford in something that wasn’t Indiana Jones® or Star Wars™.
If you see an Apple™ store get robbed, does that make you an iWitness®?
The Breakfast Club – I really didn’t like this movie. It tried to make as if teens were angsty and filled with self-loathing and/or had bad relationships with pushy parents. Most of my friends were fairly well-adjusted, so I just didn’t relate to any of the characters. Of note: I think people are complaining now that the characters were all white. Imagine how it would fly if they were all BiPOC? Regardless, it makes the list because it’s a cultural touchstone for so many other people.
Vision Quest – Now this character I could identify with – a teen who has a vision, and goes on a quest. Okay, it’s about wrestling, girls, and life, and features a great soundtrack and lots of wrestling. Oh, and Linda Fiorentino.
When two silkworms wrestle, how often are the results a tie?
The Sure Thing – 1985 was Peak John Cusack. Sure, now he is an uber-Leftist on XX, but back then he was just another actor who could put in a great performance as a teen everyman. Of note: this was the first time I ever saw a cordless phone in a non-science fiction movie.
Lost in America – This is a movie about yuppies who decide to retire and go around the country in a big camper. On their first stop, the wife gambles away all of their money. Low-key hilarity ensues. My favorite line? “You are not allowed to use the words ‘nest’ or ‘egg’ ever again.”
Brewster’s Millions – Richard Pryor has to spend $30 million in 30 days and have nothing to show for it to inherit $300 million. John Candy plays the sidekick. Good times.
Rambo: First Blood Part II – This movie transformed the brooding John Rambo into something closer to Batman® in a bandana. Normally I wouldn’t put a sequel on the list, but this is a very different movie in every way from First Blood.
First PEZ™, Part II
The Stuff – What if your ice cream was eating you? Yes, that’s the plot. Yes, it’s played for laughs.
Back to the Future – Ever daydream about making sure your parents had sex? Well, no, not until I saw this movie. Time travel showed up in quite a few 1980s films, but this and Terminator probably top the list back when it was still a “new” movie concept.
Day of the Dead – Yes, a sequel, but, wow. It was considered very, very gruesome for the time and place of release, but now this stuff is on TV all the time. Interesting plot that could have had a much better script.
Fright Night – What if vampires were cool, suave, your next-door neighbor, and looking to bang and drain your girlfriend? Better call a washed-up TV horror movie host to help!
The Amish do not approve.
Weird Science/Real Genius – People were optimistic that science could solve our problems in the 1980s, such as getting a girlfriend or popping a lot of popcorn all at the same time.
Summer Rental – Who wouldn’t want John Candy as a neighbor? Well, I wouldn’t, since he’s dead. But he also got in a feud with Richard Crenna (also dead) and Rip Torn (also dead) comes to the rescue by turning his restaurant into a pirate boat. Okay, it’s essentially exactly the plot to Caddyshack, but who cares? It’s funny.
The Return of the Living Dead – Is it a floor wax? Is it a dessert topping? If Shimmer™ could be both, why can’t The Return of the Living Dead be a comedy and a horror movie? It is. It cost $3 million, made $14 million, and though it was a very stupid movie, was certainly not brainless.
Volunteers – John Candy, again, but this time as a Tom Hanks sidekick who is brainwashed by the communists and teaches them the Washington State fight song. Again, fun, and no Asians were killed in the filming of this movie.
Fight, fight, fight for Washington State . . . .
Better Off Dead – John Cusack again, 1985 was really his year. In this movie where teen suicide is played for laughs, and I loved every minute of it. Savage Steve Holland’s career was too short in movies, but lived on in animation. The humor is mainly focused on the absurd, like the two Japanese brothers, one who speaks no English, and the other learned by listening to Howard Cosell. I liked it.
Commando – I didn’t wear underwear to this movie, thus leading the expression “Commando” meaning not wearing underwear. Okay, that’s not the case, but Commando could almost be titled Generic Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Movie because it is mainly just Arnie blowing things up and making bad puns. And that’s okay.
In an Arnie voice: “Well, at least my hat is purr-fect.”
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins – Until getting writing this post, I had no idea that this silly movie was based on a book series called The Destroyer that lasted for over 150 novels. Yup. But this is Fred Ward in a humorous movie that never takes itself too seriously, and has the production values of a TV movie, including Joel Grey as an ancient Asian master.
Re-Animator – I’m a sucker for great H.P. Lovecraft movies, and there are very, very few of those because Lovecraft built a wonderful world but didn’t write all that well. This one involves a medical student who invents a reanimation fluid that make the dead walk again, which was a big 1985 theme, apparently. This is Lovecraft, done right.
White Nights – Very much a Cold War movie, Gregory Hines and Mikhail Baryshnikov are dancers who plot to escape the Soviet Union. It’s a spy thriller with sand dancing. It’s the closest to a drama on the list, so, it’s got that going for it.
Brazil – No, still haven’t seen it. Yes, I will at some point.
Does this capture the spirit of the movie Brazil?
No, your AI poster for Brazil is in no way related to the film, other than the fact that both include images of human beings. The film takes place almost entirely indoors, in an urban setting, except for a few scenes set on a highway totally lined with advertising billboards.
Lathechuck
I promise to watch it soon.
Why does Stallone rate multiple PEZ dispensers in his movie posters but Arnold gets none?
*deleted because my reading comprehension is low*
Well, because he got the cat.
I’m confused by the Pez dispensers in the Brazil posters (well I think those are Pez dispensers). What exactly are they supposed to be?
The one on the right looks like some sort of sex toy. Or if I tilt my head a bit, they could be chess pieces (a row of knights in the back and a somewhat flaming bishop in the front).
I know! When the A.I. created it, I said, “Well, that’s odd, but okay”. This was the worst A.I. image of the batch.
I remember being curious as to why “Day” was strictly 17+ when it was released. Then I saw the scene where “Torrez” meets his demise and was like, “Isn’t this against Interpol or something?”
Ha! Yeah, the series “Walking Dead” has shown far worse.
Ahh, the nostalgia beckons. Summer of ‘85 I was 16 and worked as a projectionist at the local twin cinema. That place was so groady (hey it was a word then) that I told my friends and family that no way would I let them go there. I saw the first few minutes and the credits of most of these listed from the booth, in between looking out for the rats that infested the place and chatting up the snack bar girls. I think I did actually watch Fright Night in it’s entirety there, the others eventually watched on VHS at home or a friends as nature intended.
The movies would come from the distributor on several reels and you had to splice them together to make the whole movie. These splices were done with white or yellow tape so you could find them when it was time to unsplice and return the movie to the distributor. Sometimes the film would break and we had to do a repair splice with clear tape. Guess who missed out on that part of job training and used the colored tape for every splice on a film that must have broken at least a half dozen times?
And yes, the projectionist can see you from the booth and you should be ashamed.
PS, Fletch didn’t make the cut? My fave from 85.
Soooo very many good movies. I did like Fletch Too better, though.
Death Wish 3 just screams 1985 to me. First movie I think of, if not Rocky IV. Both sequels I know but it’s ultimate Bronson.
A couple of flawed box office flops stuck in my memory—The Heavenly Kid and The Legend of Billie Jean. Flaws are obvious but they take me back to that time.
Flawed movies can be wonderful. I love ’em, like Remo Williams. Very flawed. Silly.
I refuse to be ashamed! Those girls were hot!
Actress Yeardley Smith from The Legend of Billie Jean is the voice actress for Lisa Simpson(?!)
Haven’t seen The Legend of Billie Jean . . .
I always thought First Blood Part 2 should have been called Second Blood. . .
Ha! Love it!
I was 14 in 1985 and some of those are still favorites but about half the list I never saw and have yet to see. I did like Breakfast Club, at least at our school there still were those very clear distinctions between the groups like the jocks, burn-outs and nerds.
I ran in both the jock and nerd circles, and even brought jocks to nerd parties, and nerds to jock parties. They got along really well.
That’s interesting – and adds to my suspicion that the ‘nerds/jocks’ dichotomy was more a ‘made up construct’ than a *real* thing (although, I’m sure there were exceptions). I was ‘cross group’ (not to be confused with any other sort of ‘cross’ things) in that I was not only jock (due to being a cross-country runner), nerd (yep, I loved me my science and math classes), and also, strangely enough – theater/drama, because I was on the photography staff and so hung out at all the theatrical productions. Yeah, it was strange at times – but it’s good to be able to ‘fit in’ just about anywhere – and to be able to ‘bridge gaps’, as it were, between groups.
Turns out – that’s a useful and too often overlooked life skill. 😉
It is made up. Both groups got along fine. In fact, one nerd (who had been really reluctant) was greeted with, a “Hey, great to see you here! Have a beer!”
It looks like a few people were following my story from here. I posted two mini-chapters this week. This is the first, and you can follow the next chapter link at the bottom.
It turns out Edmund was not as alone as he’d thought.
https://zaklog.wordpress.com/2023/05/11/june-2-2018-3/
If you’re new to the story, start here and follo the “Next chapter” links at the end of each page.
https://zaklog.wordpress.com/2023/08/09/april-9-2010-arrival/
Argh! The W key is sticking! Ah well. You know what I meant.
Thanks for posting these!!!
It is interesting John: Of those movies you list, I would likely only watch Witness (which I rather enjoyed) and Back to the Future again. Some of the others I have fond memories of, but not fond enough to go back. Another interesting note: while Breakfast Club never grabbed me the way it seemed to grab the era (although I was smack in the target audience) the soundtrack was and is amazing and has aged well to this day.
Based on the year, I had to go back and look at other movies that were released: The Goonies (oddly enough, Sean Astin and Josh Brolin were in it, although I remember neither of them), Ladyhawke (R.I.P. Ruger Hauer), Red Sonya (Sigh. Robert E. Howard has never been successfully adapted), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Silverado (which, with Pale Rider that also came out that year, likely reinvigorated the Western franchise), E.T., Weird Science – this is a list of the ones that, looking at them, I go “Yes, I might watch that again”.
But to your point (and the list), that is just a smattering of what came out that year. There was a great deal of experimentation and different genres. Now, not so much.
That said, if the current year box office trend is any indication, people are making their opinions known with their wallet.
To have great movies, you have to tolerate bad ones. Now we Create Product for Consumption.
I will not even begin to add anything to your list for 1985, because the list would pretty much be Movies Made In 1985.
The proof that this year was the greatest year for American movies since 1939 is offered thusly, in the spirit of the opening of the post:
“Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?”
“Driving with the load not properly tied down?”
“When this baby hits 88MPH…you’re gonna see some serious shit!”
“Why are we wearing bras on our heads?”
“Wait! You said you’d kill me last!”
“I lied.”
“What happened to Sully?”
“I let him go.”
“He is always trying to put his…testicles on me!”
“Tentacles.”
“Can you hammer a 6-inch spike through a board with your penis?”
“Not right now.”
“A girls gotta have her standards.“
Time is opium – er, money.
So many great movies.
Just by looking at those movie posters (fauxsters?), I’d say that 1985 was a bad year for the Amish.
I watched Commando, but I don’t remember the scene with the cat in the hat.
It was only in the Director’s Cut.
The best movie of 1985 wasn’t American. It was Kurosawa’s samurai epic RAN – one of the best films ever made.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4Nb5SiYvQ4
Yep, outstanding film, plot and artwork.
Is it good? I saw Throne of Blood and was utterly not impressed.
Ran was derivative.
Still an awesome flick, mind you.
But it was simply Shakespeare’s King Lear with samurai swords.
Just as The Magnificent Seven was just The Seven Samurai with Colts and Winchesters.
Still enjoy some of the older ones, less tainted with p.c. and feminism. Some even devoid of those cancers. But I can’t pretend that Cusack or Ah-nulled or DeNiro etc. are heroes. Even pretend heroes. Their IRL kinda precludes ‘willful suspension’.
Cucksack and DuhNiro? bah ha ha
As for Ah-nulled, all those muscles can’t disguise his greed and simpiness. This is the boy who — unsatisfied with vast wealth and stardom — married into the mondo-connected Shriver family so he could Power Up his life into elite circles. Where be dragons.
Lives in Ms. Maria’s purse. The princess who once gloated ‘I like to think of America as a Woman’s Nation’. Ahnie does what he’s told. No I ain’t watching his movies.
Yup, they should really just shut up and act.
There’s a lovely youtube modern parody of The Breakfast Club. Same character casting, costumes, dance numbers, scenes, and music. Except that in 202x they’re all looking at their phone full time, and therefore unlike the original movie don’t talk and become friends.
Don’t you forget about me
I’ll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby
Going to take you apart
I’ll put us back together at heart, baby
Go see Brazil, you [expletive]!
Ha! That’s hilarious, but true!
I’m thinking this week. Gotta finish The Prisoner first.
Hello Mr Wilder. You are one funny guy.
Brazil is an isteresting movie. Is the rogue plumber
a goody or a baddy? Hmm, anyway love your insights.
but you are way ahead of the curve for a simple nobleman
like me(Still can’t get my head round that). To/too be honest
i am still pondering the “Mandela Effect, John McAfee, And Whale Sex”.
Is that still a thing? I like to think so, Johnny boy(You can;t kill me) out there cruising the seven seas. Thanks.
Yeah, I’d like to see McAfee surface again. Too much of a pirate to have died like that.
Anyone who liked “The Breakfast Club” had a f%ck#d up childhood.
How did I like it?
Best film of the decade!!
Hahahahaha!