ShrykeVerse Top Movies of the 80's Countdown

[Buscemi2]

Who's going to be the first person not to pick a Criterion title as their #1?

[transformers2]

John's #1
Bull Durham (1988)
More than any other film, Bull Durham is the movie that made me want to be a screenwriter. I was already a passionate movie fan, and I knew I wanted to find a way to make movies for a living, but Bull Durham was the first time I really focused on how the movie was constructed from the ground up, and the first movie I analyzed in great detail in an attempt to understand why it works so well.

You hear that it's a sports movie so you think you know how things are going to play out, and how the characters will behave, but Bull Durham is constantly defying your expectations. It's such an unusual film, with such distinctive characters and such a unique voice that even now, after seeing the film dozens of times in my life, I find it hard to articulate precisely why the film is so special to me.

It's a movie that couldn't have been made by anyone else or at any other time without losing some of its charms. It feels like the personal statement of an auteur, a snapshot of a time and place that no longer exists, and a film where everything came together in unexpected ways to create a unique and special chemistry.

On the surface, there's the obvious joy of the raunchy humour that appealed to me as a teenager, and the insider's look at minor league baseball that only could have come from a former player like Ron Shelton. There's that brilliant scene that shows what players really talked about during those long conferences on the mound, the way Crash Davis orchestrates a day off when his team needs a break on a long road trip, and the look and feel of the Durham Bulls' minor league ballpark, all of which feels utterly authentic.

And when you dig deeper, there's a lot of stuff that went right over my head as a kid but which I can appreciate more fully as an adult. As a teenager, Susan Sarandon's Annie Savoy mostly confused me because it seemed so obvious that she belonged with the older and wiser Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) but I can understand now that she was clinging to her youth and protecting herself from rejection by hooking up with a younger player (Tim Robbins) who she knew would never stay in Durham very long. Sarandon has often said that Annie is the best character she ever had the chance to play, and I won't argue with her on that point.

Maybe the biggest reason this movie sticks with me is Crash Davis' journey, which I find tragic yet noble at the same time, utterly relatable, and with a sense of optimism at the end. It's the journey of a man who's been oh-so close to achieving his dream for most of his adult life, yet reaching the major leagues was constantly just out of his grasp. He was a student of the game and worked as hard as anyone, but he always lacked the raw talent and unwavering self-confidence that would get him out of the minors and into The Show. Now, as he's reaching the end of his playing career, he's forced to mentor a cocky kid with oodles of talent who's about to have everything Crash ever wanted handed to him on a silver platter. Crash has to come to grips with the fact that he'll never achieve his dream of playing in The Show, but once he accepts that he decides to try to find happiness chasing a new dream, and one the audience understands he's better equipped to achieve.

In this clip from early in the film, Nuke Laloosh (Tim Robbins) is still naïve enough to think that the fastball that got him this far will let him dominate pro hitters, but Crash, still adjusting to his mentor role, knows that's not the case. He also understands that one at-bat in a minor league game is meaningless in the grand scheme of things, so the way he teaches Nuke a lesson flies in the face of the win-at-all-costs mentality of pro sports, and lets you know in no uncertain terms that Bull Durham is not your conventional sports movie.

[transformers2]

A note from John that I posted in the wrong order because I opened the #1 email prior:
Here's a list of honourable mentions, which is a much shorter list than it would have been thanks to all the other films that someone else already picked.

Altered States
Christine
Dead Calm
Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Local Hero
Lost In America
No Way Out
Ordinary People
Restless Natives
The Color Of Money
Time Bandits
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Out of all these, I'm most shocked no one picked Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, unless there's a surprise #1 pick coming soon. Time Bandits and Fast Times I also thought would get a mention at some point, but they'll have to settle for this shout out.

[transformers2]

John's Top 30:
30.Conan the Barbarian
29.Kagemusha
28.The Man with Two Brains
27.Dead Ringers
26.The Fabulous Baker Boys
25.When Harry Met Sally...
24.Ran
23.The Naked Gun!: From the Files of the Police Squad
22.The Right Stuff
21.Body Heat
20.Fright Night
19.Brazil
18.Dragonslayer
17.Little Shop of Horrors
16.The Living Daylights
15.The Thing
14.An American Werewolf in London
13.The Falcon and the Snowman
12.The Changeling
11.Full Metal Jacket
10.The Name of the Rose
9.Airplane!
8.Eight Men Out
7.Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
6.Angel Heart
5.Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
4.The Princess Bride
3.The Shining
2.The Breakfast Club
1.Bull Durham

[Buscemi2]

The omission that surprised me was Beverly Hills Cop. I don't think Midnight Run is as good and that was on a lot of lists.

[transformers2]

While both Ron and StarLord picked repeats, let's just say that Beverly Hills Cop's days of not appearing on any list are numbered... As for any further omission talk, I'll keep my mouth shut until Shryke's list, but there were several that really surprised me.

[transformers2]

Catching up on the 1's:
Boosh: Despite the striking cinematography and committed performance from Robert De Niro, Raging Bull is a movie that just doesn't work for me.

As for the rest of your list, we had 10 crossovers (it was especially cool to see The Killer on there since I figured there was no chance that it would show up anywhere else). I also watched Evil Dead II last week and was delighted by it. Sam Raimi's gift for horror comedy is truly unmatched. E.T., Brazil and Paris, Texas are the movies from your list that I intend to seek out soon.

six: Going through the Best Movies of All Time list to gather Shryke's Top 30 tipped this pick for me. Even if that weren't the case, I would've guessed this to be your #1 since you're such a big Lynch fan and Blue Velvet showed up earlier. It will come as a complete non-surprise when I say that I haven't seen it. One of these days I'll give Lynch another shot, but that day will not be today my friend.

On the crossover front, we had 8(!) and you also included a couple of Scorsese flicks (The King of Comedy, After Hours) that I like quite a bit as well. The Thing, Akira and Brazil are the films I've yet to see that I'm most eager to check out.

John: Got to say, this is only the #1 that floored me. Your Eight Men Out pick indicated that you liked baseball movies, but a baseball movie that's also a romcom?!?! Guess the snark and cynicism didn't grab a hold of you until sometime after 1988

Anyways, I'm also a fan of Bull Durham. In fact, if this list had been stretched to 40, I would've included it. Costner, Sarandon and Robbins are great here, it's got plenty of charm and heart and like you said in your great write-up, it manages to subvert the typical sports movie formula every step of the way.

Our age difference really showed up in the crossover section. We 4 movies in common, which was easily the lowest total of the group but not a shock since I've only seen 7 films from your list (also the lowest of the group). That being said, your list excited me the most because the fact that you grew up during that decade made it the most unpredictable and diverse of the bunch. The Thing, Brazil and Conan the Barbarian top the list of films I've yet to see that I hope to watch soon.

[Buscemi2]

In other news, I found a way to get ad-free YouTube again without paying for it. Let's hope those hypocrites at Google don't detect this one.

[numbersix]

And the #1 Criterion curse continues.

John, I recall this being high up in your Top 100 so this doesn't come as a huge surprise, though I guess we're not doing this to shock anyone, otherwise Roundhouse would have topped my list. And my mother's.

I still haven't seen Bull Durham. It's not the easiest one to work myself up to watch, because it's baseball, because it's Costner, because it's by a film-maker who doesn't particularly interest me. I wasn't aware he was a baseball player, though, which is interesting. I know I should see Bull Durham, not just because it's your highlight of the decade, but it's considered by most as one of the best sports movies of all time. One day, when people just stop bothering making movies and get AI to generate MCU fan fiction, I'll have the time to sit down and watch this.

A fine list overall, and the one with the most I haven't seen, The Falcon and the Snowman being the most intriguing. It's a mix of films I love (Ran, The Shining, The Thing), like, and a few that weren't for me.

Nice to see Fast times at Ridgemont High feature in your longlist. I watched it for the first time recently and loved it, and it felt more authentic than most high-school movies, partly due to Crowe actually infiltrating school to understand its world better.

[StarLord123]

It probably won't come to much surprise, but my #1 film of the 80's is.....

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)


One of the best scripts ever written, with an abundance of emotional weight, a level of maturity and earnestness rarely seen in a blockbuster, and an endless amount of iconic quotable lines. As well as top notch action sequences that remain some of the best ever put to screen even 43 years later, and of course possibly THE most brilliantly executed plot twist ever in a film. It is a work of mastery, and it's indeed abundantly clear why this is generally considered to be not only the best Star Wars film, but also one of the best sequels of all time, and best movies of all time. This film will live on for centuries to come.

[StarLord123]

And here's my full list:

1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Back to the Future
6. Die Hard
7. Aliens
8. Lethal Weapon
9. The Terminator
10. Robocop
11. Ghostbusters
12. Predator
13. The Shining
14. Scarface
15. Batman
16. The Abyss
17. Lethal Weapon 2
18. Back to the Future Part II
19. The Blues Brothers
20. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
21. Full Metal Jacket
22. The Thing
23. The Road Warrior
24. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
25. Licence to Kill
26. Platoon
27. Midnight Run
28. Rocky IV
29. First Blood
30. The Living Daylights

[numbersix]

Starlord, for a long time I was convinced you were a Russian bot. Your list of 80s films doesn't help, but it was a fine list regardless. Almsot entirely mainstream movies, which does show that the 80s did blockbusters a lot better than the last decade or two. Nice to see Burton's Batman get some appreciation, plus the rather insane Mad Max 2: Road Warrior.

[JohnErle]

I was blocked from posting all day yesterday, but for some stupid reason it's all good today, so thanks Tranny for posting my #1 and my honourable mentions and also my top 30, which I forgot all about.

As for StarLord, your list was a pretty straightforward group of universally beloved blockbusters and award winners, which is hardly surprising considering your age, so nothing too shocking or controversial, expect maybe Rocky IV. It was nice to see both of Timothy Dalton's Bonds, Midnight Run, and Christmas Vacation on your list. Maybe someday you'll dig a little deeper into the movies of the 80s and try one or two from my list. Judging by your picks, I'd recommend Dragonslayer, An American Werewolf in London, and Conan The Barbarian.

[transformers2]

Ron's #1
Die Hard (1988)

[transformers2]

Ron's Top 30:
30.Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
29.Aliens
28.The Princess Bride
27.The Return of the Jedi
26.The Fourth Man
25.Videodrome
24.Field of Dreams
23.Hoosiers
22.See No Evil Hear No Evil
21.Rocky III
20.Midnight Run
19.Angel Heart
18.Once Upon a Time in America
17.Platoon
16.Das Boot
15.The Verdict
14.Mississippi Burning
13.Scarface
12.Amadeus
11.Blade Runner
10.First Blood
9.The Empire Strikes Back
8.The Thin Blue Line
7.Akira
6.Indiana Jones and The Lost Crusade
5.Planes, Trains & Automobiles
4.The Thing
3.The Shining
2.Predator
1.Die Hard