On August 1 1981 MTV aired its first video. That video was Video Killed The Radio Star, directed by Russell Mulcahy and featuring a youthful Hans Zimmer on keyboards. MTV would change the pop culture landscape, comfortably landing its bootprint in the realm of cinema along the way, and there could be no surer sign that the eighties were coming for our films than this video featuring two people who, in very different ways, would make their stamp on movies over the next decade and beyond.

Elsewhere in the world NASA finally launched its first space shuttle, Columbia, into space following a series of test flights. I vividly remember being at school and having a routine ‘medical’ but being able to watch the launch from the surgery. Talking of medical matters, the first case of HIV/AIDS was identified in the USA—the virus became a biological boogeyman which would haunt us throughout the eighties, would claim around 100,000 lives before the decade ended, and become a vicious political hot potato causing horrific antipathy towards gay people.

I turned 10 years old in 1981 (erroneously thinking this made me a teenager until my mother pointed out that I still had a few years to go) and was just starting to get a sense of myself. I would watch Top Of The Pops every week, and particularly enjoyed Adam And The Ants at the time, and was starting to get a clearer sense of where my film tastes lay too. The eighties were waiting, and so was I.

I’m not sure we’ve seen such a difference to date between the worldwide top ten and the IMDB ranking. Raiders of the Lost Ark and, oddly, Cannonball Run are the only two crossovers. We are probably starting to see some of the challenges of distribution in the blockbuster age shunting one year’s release into the next year (more screens means more prints means more cost, so studios have no choice but to stagger release dates geographically in order to reuse existing prints). We are also seeing a handful of films that might have been commercially successful at the time (Arthur, On Golden Pond) but perhaps haven’t stood the test of time as well belated classics like The Evil Dead.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

When I was growing up my Dad used to pick me up on Fridays and take me to his place for the weekends. One Friday (let’s assume this was in August 1981) he picked me up earlier than usual and we stopped off at the cinema to see Raiders Of The Lost Ark. At least that’s the way I remember it. At the time I had very little awareness of the movie. It starred Han Solo and, because the TV commercials said so, it was made by the people who made Star Wars and Close Encounters.

Outside of that it’s hard to look back and pull my first impressions from that early viewing. I remember going to see it a second time with my good friend Rik (*waves*) and being a bit more attuned to what was going on but my strongest memories of the movie, as with so many of these older titles, are from my VHS off-air recording. I remember the intertitles card they used between commercial breaks, and the snatch of the soundtrack that played over it. I even remember when some of the breaks happened. That was genuinely the version that I grew up with (and given Raiders debuted on UK TV on Christmas Eve 1984, these obsessive, low resolution, pan and scan viewings would have been happening in 1985).

In truth I’m pretty sure the whole movie stuck with me right from that first viewing. It was like a James Bond movie but fresher; an old fashioned adventure, but one that was actually entertaining and where the fun wasn’t constrained by the limitations of special effects technology. Indeed, giant rolling boulders and melting faces were a big part of the wonder.

The movie was so huge that they even screened a programme covering the special effects on TV (the kind of thing that gets buried on your DVD menu now). It showed how several of the effects were done (the exploding truck that rolls over was one I particularly remember) and, rather than destroying the illusion, it did more to show me that there really is magic in the movies—in the form of illusion. When we’re invested in a story we’ll see what we want to see: we’ll miss the log shooting out from the bottom of the truck to topple it over because we’re invested in whether Marion’s in there or not; we won’t see the glass protecting Harrison Ford from the snakes because we’re feeling Indiana Jones’ mortal fear at the moment. That’s the real magic of movies.

I still love this movie. My kids love it. What greater gift can you ask for from cinema?

An American Werewolf in London

I was, obviously, too young to see this when it first came out but I remember the posters. I’ve made reference before to how cryptic posters used to be decades ago. They would sell the mystery of a movie, the mood. Literally all you could tell from this poster was that there was a werewolf in the movie, and that was already a given thanks to the title. But the pain in that wolf’s face tells the real story—you know, after seeing the film, that this is David Keppler in agonising mid-transformation (and, really, what better selling point is there). The movie is hilariously funny, but it’s scary and it is about the devastating choice the lead protagonist has to make, once he’s gone though the equally painful journey of accepting the truth of who he has become.

This was one of the first videos I rented (it came out in June 1982) and I think it was one of those ‘have a friend for a sleepover and watch horror movies you’re far too young to see’ type deals. It was properly scary in parts: the scenes where our American travellers get lost on the Moors probably made me lose some sleep, and the nightmare sequence a little later in the movie is definitely therapy-worthy.

One performance that always stuck out for me was Griffin Dunne as the dead friend, steadily decaying as he pops up intermittently to warn his still-living friend that he’s now a killer. I thought he was great and brought a unique combination of levity and gravity to his scenes. I mention this because I recently read Griffin Dunne’s autobiography, The Friday Afternoon Club, and it’s an incredible read with some very dark twists that I don’t want to spoil here. Highly recommended if you have any passing interest in what it’s like to grow up in the world showbiz.

The Evil Dead

The Evil Dead got caught up in the video nasties scare back in the UK before I got a chance to watch it. One the one hand it’s a league apart from most of the other movies that got branded as video nasties; but it does feature a woman essentially being raped by a demonically possessed tree, so …

It finally got certified for UK video release later in the 1980s so, of course, I watched it. I’m not sure I was overly impressed on that first viewing. It’s what I often think of as a ‘muddy’ film—one where its ambitions are obscured by low budget, or a bad script, or studio interference, and so on. Needless to say my view of the movie has completely revised itself in the ensuing years. I watched both this and Evil Dead II with my eldest son a few years back and the heady blend of comedy, gore and terror definitely did its job for us. An imperfect, fumblesome movie, but one that earns its place among the pioneers of modern horror cinema.

Clash Of The Titans

When this movie first came out it was everywhere. Seriously, you couldn’t get away from it. There was even a comic strip (I think it was a one-pager published in the reboot of The Eagle) to promote its release. Even then it had the sense of something passing—the last hurrah for an art form that had powered movies since the 1940s. Possibly it might have been the last sword and sandals movie for a while too. Ray Harryhausen was a genius and I remember seeing his work in the Sinbad movies in the cinema, and probably some of his earlier movies on TV. At the time he was special effects—a man who could bring the impossible to life. (Side note: I had the opportunity to interview him many years later and he was absolutely lovely as well).

For all its flaws and misplaced ambition there is some tremendous visual design here. The kraken is amazing, and Medusa is terrifying. Both deserve to be resurrected (and not opposite Sam Wood-ington).

It’s fun having this movie and Raiders Of The Lost Ark arriving in the same year—both movies taking the adventure formats of the past but spinning them in completely different ways. One movie capped off a dying sub-genre; another reinvented it for the future.

Blow Out

I may have mentioned that I ‘discovered’ Brian de Palma while doing my film studies degree and went though a brief period of chasing down his movies. Blow Out is probably his most critically acclaimed movie and its easy to see why—it combines all of de Palma’s craft as a filmmaker with a gripping story and a great performance from one of the biggest stars of the day. Of all the movies on this list, this one belongs the most in the 1970s: it’s a classic conspiracy thriller and only really updates that playground by moving it out of the halls of power and down onto the streets.

I watched this again very recently and, if you’ll pardon the unintentional not-quite-pun, I was blown away by it. The first few times I watched it I largely saw it as a bit of a horror movie. This latest viewing was in the context of a series of classic 1970s thrillers and it absolutely belongs in that specific pantheon of conspiracy / paranoia thrillers. While I haven’t looked ahead, there’s a good chance this (like Clash Of The Titans) could be the last of its kind … at least for a while. The conspiracy thriller made a healthy comeback in the 1990s, but it never really returned to the dirt and grime of the films that made the genre. 

Excalibur

My Dad used to love this film so I saw it a few times growing up (possibly after it screened on TV and we had the opportunity to record it). As a growing lad I certainly appreciated the occasional nudity, but it was the overall bizarreness of the movie that truly captivated me. It was a historical film, but with magic and a strong sense that the director wasn’t necessarily playing by the rules. It was also that rarest of breeds: a British movie (at least it seemed that way based on the cast) but with enough budget to actually look like a Movie.

I haven’t seen this for quite a few years. It’s due out on 4k this year and I’m pretty excited about checking it out again.

For Your Eyes Only

More Bond. My Dad took me to the cinema to see this and the only bit I really remember is the opening sequence. I used to—and still do—love the opening sequences to the Bond movies (and the Indiana Jones ones: I love the idea that we’re seeing the very end of a previous story and all we have are those few minutes to piece everything together). At the time I may have had the vaguest sense that the man in the wheelchair, who Bond drops down a chimney, was intended to be Blofeld. I might have recognised the cat.

What I definitely didn’t appreciate at the time was the symbolic shedding of the old Bond franchise and the attempt to step into something new. A lot of people like this movie because it drops the gags and showpieces and returns to something approaching gritty realism (at least the Bond version of it). Maybe this is why it didn’t particularly stick with me—and, in truth, I’ve only watched it once or twice since and never found it particularly memorable. 

Once again, however, we see this shift happening. While it’s not quite the last hurrah for Bond, the franchise was definitely careening past its best by this time and this, at least, is a bold attempt to try and fresh life into one of cinema’s fading pillars.

Escape From New York

Given I’ve professed a great love for several John Carpenter movies on this blog before, it might come as a surprise to find out that I’ve only seen this film once or twice. I think, if anything, it’s just a bit too eighties for me, but the early kind when the tools in the box weren’t quite ready yet. John Carpenter was always ahead of his time and this may well be the template for the archetypal eighties movie, but I find the disconnect between the ambition of it and the cheap and cheerful assembly somewhat jarring. Definitely needs a rewatch.

On Golden Pond

I was on holiday in the US in the summer of 1981 (you will find this a recurrent theme of my childhood) and ended up going to the cinema to see this one. If I remember correctly the daughter of the person we were staying with took me along one afternoon. I have to assume that she wanted to check out the movie and had little choice but to take me along for babysitting reasons. It wasn’t done begrudgingly; it was just something done to pass the time.

Just about the only thing I remember about the movie is Henry Fonda asking Katherine Hepburn if she wanted to “suck faces” (and, honestly, it does resolve one of the key emotional beats of the story). While I’ve never really been tempted to check it out again, the movie did land with me as a bit of a coming of age tale. The parallel theme was Henry Fonda’s stuffy old man being taught to loosen up—a cliched tale for the ages, but well enough handled. I was also just enough of a cinephile at the time to appreciate that I was seeing two screen legends delivering some classy twilight performances,

Unseen

This year’s unseen list comes in three parts: the films I have no idea why I haven’t seen yet; the films that I probably have seen and don’t really remember well enough to claim having seen then; the films I’m not much interested in seeing.

Right at the top of the shame list are Possession and Das Boot. I’ve no idea why Possession hasn’t crossed my radar to date but it’s going straight onto the watch list. Das Boot is even more curious. I’m well aware of its existence and critical acclaim, and I’ve even owned it on several formats (I currently have the director’s cut blu-ray sitting unwrapped on my shelf) but for reasons unknown I’ve never made the time to watch it.

I’ve seen Time Bandits but I’ve not watched it, not properly. I enjoy a bit of Terry Gilliam so this one’s another slightly curious lapse, but I’ll get back to it one day. Meanwhile Cannonball Run, Arthur and Stripes are all films I’m pretty sure I’ve seen, most of them many many years ago, but don’t particularly remember and have little intention of revisiting.

I do remember Chariots of Fire. I remember the music being everywhere. I remember it being proclaimed as the return of the British film industry. I remember it being something to do with … running? None of this made it interesting enough for me to want to see it. I couldn’t even tell you what Four Seasons is about, but if it were me making the film I would make it a version of the four horsemen of the apocalypse trying to destroy the world with extreme weather. Naturally I would get Roland Emmerich to direct.

Note: it appears the Four Seasons is “a character study of three couples who vacation together after each season.” That just sounds like an excessive amount of vacations to me.

Others

In the wake of Alien I had a massive crush on Sigourney Weaver and immediately became interested in all of her other films (of which there were very few, given that Alien was her big screen debut). What this ultimately led to was a comparatively unknown movie from 1981 becoming one of my most watched movies (a few years later, following its VHS release and TV premiere). Eyewitness starred William Hurt as a janitor (in the UK the movie was released as The Janitor) who has a massive crush on Sigourney Weaver’s newsreader. You can see how this might have resonated with me. It’s a perfectly decent thriller with James Woods and Christopher Plummer rounding out the cast and even though I haven’t seen it in decades I could probably still recite every line.

One of my (or everyone’s) favourite werewolf movies, The Howling was one of my earliest movie rentals (along with such luminous peers as American Werewolf in London and Monty Python And The Holy Grail) and it scared the crap out of me. I was too young to pick up on the dark humour, but a scene in the middle of the movie where a journalist is being stalked through a forest—in the middle of the day—by an unseen werewolf was one of the scariest things I’d seen at that time. Making a forest scary at night is easy, but do it in the middle of the day and it brings the monster right to your door. We’re used to staying inside at night, where we’re safe, but you don’t expect the monster to come for you in the middle of the day.

As a horror movie fan I was, of course, intensely aware of David Cronenberg even if I hadn’t seen many of his movies. Scanners is probably the first one I did see and even before then I was pretty familiar with its set pieces. The film didn’t quite land with me in those early days but I watched it again a few years ago and found it far more engaging despite some questionable acting. Good enough that I picked up the 4k release earlier this year and am looking forward to another viewing soon!

I think I might have been aware of Southern Comfort through the Walter Hill (Alien) connection, or maybe it was simply being covered in magazines at the time. I didn’t particularly seek it out but I did make a point of watching it when it arrived on TV. I loved it. A dark riff on masculinity that echoes Deliverance, most of the deeper meaning would have been lost on me but the desperation of a group of somewhat mismatched characters stuck in an inescapable, horrific scenario certainly would have appealed to the part of me that loved Alien. It became one of my favourite ‘hidden gem’ type movies and I would continue to watch it lots and lots during my teen years. I watched it again not too long ago and still loved it—perhaps even more—and now this one’s out in 4k too. What a time to be alive (and not hunted by cajuns)!

Mad Max 2

I was quite late to the Mad Max 2 party and, for the life of me, I can’t remember when I first managed to see it. It might well have been as part of the Moviedrome series in 1992. Until Fury Road came along this was easily my favourite of the series—I don’t think it’s particularly contentious to state that it’s better than the third one, and more solidly entertaining than the first one. There are some … eccentric creative choices made and some questionable acting but it’s a wonderful example of a movie stripped right down to the basics. Curiously this one I have yet to introduce the kids to, so that might need to be remedied pronto!

Outland

I haven’t actually seen Outland (well, not quite true: it was on the TV once and I was in the same room) but I include it here because it was such a presence at the time. I’ve talked about the large format Alien photonovel that I had (and still own)—sitting alongside it on the sci-fi bookshelves of the day would be a similar photonovel of Outland. I was never tempted to buy it, which is a bit of a shame, but the mere fact of it always being there made it a big part of my life at the time. Recently it’s gained a reputation as a slightly obscure, forgotten gem. It hasn’t quite received the critical appraisal that some of its peers have received, but it’s good to see it bouncing in and out of online conversations again. One day I’ll actually get around to seeing it.

UK Top 10

1. Superman II
2. For Your Eyes Only
3. Flash Gordon
4. Any Which Way You Can
5. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
6. 9 to 5
7. Chariots of Fire
8. An American Werewolf in London
9. The French Lieutenant’s Woman
10. Private Benjamin

The UK top ten, for once, has quite a bit in common with our other top ten lists. It’s interesting as a marker of the slightly different tastes of the UK audiences: a lot of time for gentle comedies like 9 to 5 and Any Which Way You Can.

The interesting addition here is The French Lieutenant’s Woman; one of the films that secured Meryl Streep’s reputation as a modern acting legend (while also introducing Jeremy Irons as a leading man). I did see this once and it’s both a slightly tedious melodrama and also a fascinating post-modern work of art. The novel is a historical piece, but the movie choose to tell two parallel stories: one being the romance of the novel; the second being the story of the two actors bringing cinematic life to the novel’s characters while also embarking on an illicit affair themselves. I wouldn’t mind watching it again sometime, but it probably sounds more interesting than it actually is.

Join us next year for the battle of the extra-terrestrials.