ShrykeVerse Top Movies of the 80's Countdown

[Buscemi2]

I'm not sure if most Letterboxd users are aware of anything made before Lady Bird.

[Buscemi2]

I forgot I was up today.

Anyway, my Number One of the 1980's.

Raging Bull (1980)



In December 1976, United Artists would release the film Rocky. Rocky, the story of a palooka who is chosen to be the opponent in a tune-up fight against the heavyweight boxing champ and goes the distance, would strike a chord with critics and audiences and not only became the year’s highest-grossing film but would also win three Oscars, including Best Picture. It also spawned five sequels and three spinoff films that also continue the story of one Robert Balboa.

Less than four years later, United Artists would release the film that can easily be seen as the anti-Rocky but is so much more. Raging Bull was seen as a bit of a comeback for Martin Scorsese, who after a box office flop with New York, New York and a cocaine addiction that nearly killed him, needed a project to get him back on track with not only his career, but his life as well. Scorsese, who is not a sports fan in real life, turned down the project multiple times but only agreed after Robert De Niro talked him into adapting Jake LaMotta’s life into a film and Scorsese soon began to see the parallels between the boxing ring and life itself, notably how the boxing ring is “an allegory for what you do in life”.

The film Raging Bull was, and in a way is still, unlike any sports film you’ve ever seen. It’s brutal, mean, unapologetic, stark, and is very much real. Jake LaMotta is not a sympathetic man and the film does not shy away from the unsavory elements of his life. But you also feel for him as he is a man who reflects on what went wrong in his life and how he’s trying to atone for his past as he tells his story as an entertainer years after his prime. Robert De Niro is among his best as he plays LaMotta over the span of 1941 to 1964, punishing his body as commits to the role at all aspects of the story, managing both an Oscar and a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records at the time of release for the most weight gained for a film role, a record later broken by Vincent D’Onofrio for his performance in Full Metal Jacket. Raging Bull also introduced audiences to Joe Pesci, who immediately makes a presence as Jake’s brother, Joey. Cathy Moriarty is also solid as Vickie, Jake’s long-suffering wife.

In addition to the acting, Raging Bull is one of the most technically perfect movies ever made. In addition to Scorsese’s direction, accomplishing things few boxing movies had done then, mixing the brutalism of the Sweet Science with allegory and imagery showing how in Jake’s mind, boxing is more than winning a prize but a game of life and death, we have Michael Chapman’s incredible black-and-white cinematography, which mixes a style that harkens to the films of the time frame with a grimy but realistic feel that shows you this isn’t your average boxing film. There is Thelma Schoonmaker’s editing, who can make just about anything exciting with her penchant for pacing and hooking the viewer with her weaving of images and action. There’s the use of pieces from Pietro Mascagni’s works, most notably Cavalleria rusticana, which gives the film a gravitas that puts the soundtracks of other boxing films like Rocky IV to shame. And there’s the general feel of the movie, which gives us a general, lived-in feel that doesn’t feel artificial at all. Scorsese recreates the world of Jake LaMotta and makes us feel like we are there.

Even though the film was not the most popular when it was released, managing a lot of criticism for its dark, often unpleasant tone, reputation grew not longer after and now, it is viewed as one of the greatest films ever made, even managing to be inducted in the second year of the National Film Registry in 1990, also making it the first film be inducted in its first year of eligibility. And it absolutely deserved it. Sports films look different without Raging Bull. Scorsese might have never gotten to make some of his later successes, such as The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Casino, or The Irishman, without Raging Bull. And I wouldn’t be writing this article right now if we’d never gotten to see Raging Bull. The greatest film of the 1980’s.

Additional videos:




By the way, YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers so if anyone can find a way to watch YouTube without ads without paying for Premium, contact me.

[transformers2]

Buscemi's Top 30:
30.Koyaanisqasti
29.Full Metal Jacket
28.The Terminator
27.Manhunter
26.Ran
25.Labyrinth
24.Glory
23.RoboCop
22.Airplane!
21.The Killer
20.Grave of the Fireflies
19.Return of the Jedi
18.Paris, Texas
17.Evil Dead II
16.Aliens
15.Brazil
14.Die Hard
13.Once Upon a Time in America
12.Blade Runner
11.Cinema Paradiso
10.E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
9.The Shining
8.The Last Temptation of Christ
7.Raiders of the Lost Ark
6.Scarface
5.Do the Right Thing
4.Blue Velvet
3.Back to the Future
2.The Empire Strikes Back
1.Raging Bull

[transformers2]

Shit, it just dawned on me that I forgot to make a new thread for the #1's. Since Boosh already posted his, we'll just keep everything contained in this one. Sorry for the oversight gang.

One final order of business regarding the collective list-which I will post shortly after we wrap this up next week: Do you want me to factor Shryke's picks into the point totals (I went through his picks in the Top Movies of All Time countdown we did in 2011 and there were 31 80's films on it between the main top 100 list and the 10 film pre-countdown thread) or just simply note which films from the list also appeared on his?

[numbersix]

It would be nice to include Shryke's fav films in the collective Top 10

Boosch, it's an excellent choice for your favourite film, and your love for it is very well articulated. It appeared on my list, so clearly I'm a fan, although it's dropped a little over the years. I'm not sure why. I guess Goodfellas is more dynamic and fun, King of Comedy is more daring, Taxi Driver is pure perfection. I think what Raging Bull did best is improve Scorsese's visual style, which only got better after this. De Niro is incredible too. I'm going to have to rewatch it once I import the Criteiron 4k.

Overall, you list was great, with plenty of crossover with mine. Beyond the obvious classics, it's additionally great to see some Lynch loving, and Do the Right Thing, with Cinema Paradiso and Manhunter being the only films I'm not crazy about.

[transformers2]

His picks will be acknowledged either way, it's just a matter of whether or not you want them to be factored into the point tally for the collective list. Also, the collective list will be a Top 30, not top 10. We all chose 30 films and there was enough overlap in our lists to fill 30 slots, so it only makes sense.

[JohnErle]

You might as well factor them in if you've gone this far, and posting his top 30 would be nice too.

[transformers2]

You might as well factor them in if you've gone this far, and posting his top 30 would be nice too.

Yep, I'll be doing that as well immediately after his #1 is posted on Tuesday.

[transformers2]

Just wanted to thank you guys again for partaking in this countdown and six and John for pushing to do this in honor of Patrick. It was a blast and I know he'd be delighted by the fact that we celebrated his memory with the art of a decade that meant so much to him.

My #1....

Do the Right Thing (1989)
I was introduced to Do the Right Thing in my junior year of high school in 2008/09 by my history teacher Mr. Schwartz. Through sheer randomness and a desire to make my senior year as painless as possible by taking electives in subjects that I was interested in and/didn't suck, I actually ended up having him as a teacher in all 4 years. Of all the great experiences I had in Mr. Schwartz's classes, his decision to include Do the Right Thing as part of the curriculum proved to be the most valuable.

What made Do the Right Thing so impactful to me was how it completely reshaped my idea of what racism looked like. As a 16-year old who grew up in an overwhelmingly white community, I was naïve enough to believe that racism could be boiled down to slurs and slavery and was mostly a problem of the past. Spike Lee showed me through his examination of (approximately) one day in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood of Brooklyn that racism is not only baked into the very fabric of our society and institutions, but can also serve as a powder keg that is capable of going off at anytime and leaving tremendous devastation in its wake. Would I have learned this lesson once I got older? Definitely, but I'm glad that I had a teacher that had the wherewithal to expose me and my classmates to this painful truth at a formative age through a powerful, purposeful piece of art that was able to articulate this sometime mundane, sometimes overt evil so effectively by simply exploring its influence over the course of a regular summer day in New York City that just happens to end in unspeakable tragedy brought on by racial violence. As much as I enjoy some of his other work , this is my clear favorite of Lee's films and I don't expect that to ever change.

[transformers2]

My Top 30:
30.Over the Top
29.Caddyshack
28.Field of Dreams
27.Top Secret!
26.Lethal Weapon
25.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
24.The Breakfast Club
23.Lethal Weapon 2
22.Planes, Trains and Automobiles
21.They Live
20.Heathers
19.When Harry Met Sally...
18.Midnight Run
17.Road House
16.Raising Arizona
15.This is Spinal Tap
14.Return of the Jedi
13.The Shining
12.Better Off Dead....
11.RoboCop
10.The Untouchables
9.The Terminator
8.The Killer
7.Raiders of the Lost Ark
6.Airplane!
5.First Blood
4.Predator
3.Die Hard
2.The Empire Strikes Back
1.Do the Right Thing

[numbersix]

Tranny's #1 film of the 80s is in my Top 30

Taylor Swift is one of the most popular musicians in the world.

Something very strange is going on in the world.

[Buscemi2]

Taylor Swift's been popular for years. It was strange when Old Town Road was the biggest song in the world.

[numbersix]

1.
The Elephant Man (1980)





There are so many biopics out these days, and they play it so safe. Pick someone famous, tell their story, often from soup to nuts, and wait for the lead actor to get an Oscar nomination while everyone quickly forgets about how poor a story is. The idea of David Lynch doing a biopic makes little sense, despite the fact that he’s done two (and tried to do a Marilyn Monroe film). It’s the story of John Merrick, a many suffering from such an extreme form of Proteus Syndrome to an extent that he was ridiculed as a freak and exploited in a circus.

Lynch’s take was to make it as close to German Expressionism as he could, while also weaving through it a thread of humanity, as the people around him gradually realise that he’s far from a half-wit, but instead a sensitive young man. Lynch captures the ups and downs of his life, as even the safe sanctuary of his hospital room is violated by corrupt, abusive individuals. But that humanity is preserved by Anthony Hopkins’ outstanding and compassionate performance as the doctor who befriends Merrick. And of course the incredible John Hurt excels as Merrick, his tender voice showing us the person behind the deformities.

Despite being a relatively linear film, Lynch still imbues the film in his distinct style, with dream-like moments (such as Merrick’s “birth”) and the breathtaking closing scene of Merrick imagining his mother reciting the beautiful words of Tennyson’s poem Nothing Will Die to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The cinematography is incredible, just watch this clip for one of the most perfectly executed shots in movie history.

I revisited the film recently, and given this era of extremity and strife, it’s heartening to watch something that’s so warm, so empathetic, to remember what we’re capable of. And in a strange coincidence, my apartment is in the part of London where Lynch filmed some of this Oscar-nominated (and Oscar-changing, as it prompted the Best Makeup award), Mel Brooks-produced, hugely successful arthouse masterpiece.

[numbersix]

Some Honorable Mentions

Walker
Rumblefish
Another Woman
Stardust Memories
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Jean de Florette
Au Revoir Les Enfants
White Dog
Ghosbusters
Dead Ringers


My Top 30

30. After Hours (1985)
29. Ran (1985)
28. Back to the Future (1985)
27. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
26. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
25. Vagabond (1985)
24. Withnail and I (1987)
23. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
22. Blood Simple (1984)
21. My Left Foot (1989)
20. Predator (1987)
19. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
18. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
17. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
16. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
15. Akira (1988)
14. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
13. Raging Bull (1980)
12. Brazil (1985)
11. Die Hard (1988)
10. Do the Right Thing (1989)
9. The Terminator (1984)
8. The King of Comedy (1982)
7. The Thing (1982)
6. Blade Runner (1982)
5. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
4. The Shining (1980)
3. Blue Velvet (1986)
2. Aliens (1986)
1. The Elephant Man (1980)


I also need to give a special mention to a film I utterly forgot about, Stop Making Sense. It should have been in my Top 30, and quite high up too. It’s the greatest concert movie of all time. I’ve watched it countless times in cinemas (though sadly missed the restored version that came out this month), and find it endlessly fun and rewatchable.





Finally, thanks to Tranny for stepping to Shryke’s shoes and organising this countdown. You did a great job, pal. I can’t wait for the next one, even if it always hurts that our good friend and gamesmaster Patrick can’t partake.

[JohnErle]

Tranny – Look at you, picking a critically acclaimed film from the Criterion Collection for your #1 instead of some sweaty, blood-splattered, testosterone-soaked action pic. And you even had a foreign language pic in your top 10! We'll make a snob out of you yet.

I should probably revisit this film some day, despite worrying that it would be hard to separate Spike Lee the person from the character he's playing in the movie. If he'd cast anyone but himself in the lead role, I'd be more willing to re-watch it.

And like Six said, thanks for stepping up and doing all the dirty work to make this happen.

Six – When this all started, I had three films in mind as your possible #1: Raging Bull, Blue Velvet, or The Elephant Man. My money was on Blue Velvet, since my impression of the Elephant Man was that it's more conventional than the typical David Lynch film, so probably not the full-on, surreal Lynchian extravaganza you so obviously adore.

I totally forgot about Stop Making Sense as well, but I probably wouldn't have included it anyway. It was one of my go-to picks to play in-store when I was selling boutique home video for a living, but at the end of the day it's still just a concert film, so the lack of narrative means I probably wouldn't have included it. I'm glad you thought to mention it, though.