Ten Best Films of the 80's
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- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.This is about the perseverance and conviction of the human spirit.
Perfect film with the combined talents for an incredibly poignant experience. - DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsBen KingsleyJohn GielgudRohini HattangadiThe life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.For the lack of a better expression: Epic.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.Essence of tension-pulsating horror thriller with love story and sci-fi storytelling grit. One of the most iconic films representing the decade.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.No singular word can be said about this movie. Impeccably directed.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMatthew ModineR. Lee ErmeyVincent D'OnofrioA pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.Ties with THE SHINING but this list generator does not allow for the tie. Essential Kubrick, confirmed by Vietnam veterans as unnervingly accurate in its unflinching and haunting depiction of coarseness and brutality.
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsRobert De NiroJeremy IronsRay McAnallyEighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.No word can be said about this movie, except for unfortunate dodgy-looking final battle scenes. Emotionally taut and ambivalent that shock, uplift and finally devastate.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community get rid of a horde of bandits.One of the finest pure action films ever made. High octane action with the simple and sparse but lean storytelling, as Hitchcockian as can be.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJerry LewisDiahnne AbbottA passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.Dark and bleak without pushing the envelope by resorting to heavy language and violence, this is a taut but strangely depressing picture to immerse in.
Martin Scorsese rebounds with this unapologetically dark movie following attempted assassination of President Reagan by a fanatic that made his previous film infamous and left him shaken to the core. - DirectorJim SheridanStarsDaniel Day-LewisBrenda FrickerAlison WhelanChristy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.Tour de force performance by Daniel Day Lewis. One of the best male performances ever filmed.
A bleak, courageous and devastatingly moving picture, but Lewis's deserved Oscar win unfortunately inspired the glut of Oscar-baiting performances by other actors and actresses playing the disabled or afflicted for the next quarter century including "The Theory of Everything." - DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.While the first Star Wars movie was the watershed that revolutionized special effects meshed with good storytelling, this sequel raises the bar slightly. Better than the first in some respect because of the strong and dark script and tight direction.