1980’s Movies

1. 1980’s Movies

2. 1980 Openings • Ordinary People: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton • Coal Miner’s Daughter: Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones • The Elephant Man: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt

3. Ordinary People • Teen-aged brothers and best friends Buck and Conrad Jarrett were involved in a boating accident which claimed Buck's life. Shortly thereafter, Conrad tried to commit suicide. After a four month hospitalization, Conrad is back in his upper middle class suburban Chicago home with his parents, Calvin and Beth Jarrett. The Jarretts collectively are publicly trying to get on with their lives, Conrad who is back at high school in his senior year partaking in his old activities such as the swim team and choir. But things in the Jarrett household are not all right. Although stating he is unsure why he decides to do so, Conrad restarts his psychiatric therapy outside of the hospital with a Dr. Berger. This therapy may be able to uncover the reasons for the Jarrett's collective unhappiness, and leads each to examine not only the overall family dynamic but the individual relationships with each of the other two. Written by Huggo

4. Coal Miner’s Daughter • At only thirteen years of age, Loretta Webb marries Doolittle Lynn and is soon responsible for a sizeable family. Loretta appears destined to a life of homemaking, but Doolittle recognizes his wife's musical talent, and buys her a guitar as an anniversary present one year. This gift sets Loretta Lynn on the grueling, tumultuous path to country music greatness.

5. The Elephant Man • Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick, a 19th-century Englishman afflicted with a disfiguring congenital disease. With the help of kindly Dr. Frederick Treves, Merrick attempts to regain the dignity he lost after years spent as a side-show freak. Written by Scott Renshaw

6. Raging Bull: Robert De Niro • The Empire Strikes Back: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams • Urban Cowboy: John Travolta, Debra Winger

7. Urban Cowboy • Bud Davis is a country boy who moves to the city to visit his uncle. He starts hanging out at Gilley's, owned by Mickey Gilley himself. He takes a job at the refinery where his uncle works. He also meets Sissy, a cowgirl, and they fall in love and suddenly get married. And then their marriage is shattered when Bud sees Sissy allegedly seeing con man Wes, who teaches her how to ride the mechanical bull...and plans to rob Gilley's. When a bull-riding contest is announced, Bud decides to sign up. Can he win the contest and save his marriage to Sissy?

8. Raging Bull • When Jake LaMotta steps into a boxing ring and obliterates his opponent, he's a prizefighter. But when he treats his family and friends the same way, he's a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Though LaMotta wants his family's love, something always seems to come between them. Perhaps it's his violent bouts of paranoia and jealousy. This kind of rage helped make him a champ, but in real life, he winds up in the ring alone. Written by alfiehitchie

9. The Empire Strikes Back • Fleeing the evil Galactic Empire, the rebels abandon their new base on Hoth. Princess Leia, Han Solo and the droids R2-D2 and C-3P0 escape in the damaged Millenium Falcon, but are later captured by Lord Darth Vader on Bespin. Skywalker, meanwhile, follows Ben Kenobi's posthumous command and receives Jedi training by Yoda on Dagobah. Will Skywalker manage to rescue his friends from the dark lord? Written by James Pearce

10. Private Benjamin: Goldie Hawn, Eileen Brennan • Airplane: Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves • The Shining: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall

11. Private Benjamin • When her husband dies in the wedding night Judy decides to join the army. What looks like a bad decision at first, turns out not so bad at all. That is, until her superior makes sexual advances. She is transferred to NATO headquarters in Europe and (re)meets the Frenchman Henri. Judy and Henri decide to marry, but will they ? Written by Berend Meijer

12. Airplane • This is a spoof of the airport disaster movies. When the crew of an airplane are struck by some form of virus, the fate of the passengers depends on an ex-war pilot who is the only one able to land the plane safely! The passengers represent a selection of interesting wacky characters who seem to take every word for its literal meaning. Written by Sami Al-Taher

13. The Shining • A novelist - Jack Torrance take a job interview as winter caretaker of the isolated, old, huge and beautiful Overlook Hotel. In the interview, Jack is told by the manager himself, that the previous caretaker - Grady, chopped his family and later killed himself with a shotgun. Ignoring the story, Jack brings his wife - Wendy and his son Danny. It happens that Danny, has a mysterious power known as "The Shining" that shows him things from the past and future. Some of the visions come from Tony - "the little boy who lives in Danny's mouth". Danny meets Hallorann - the hotel cook in their first day arriving at the Overlook, who also has this "Shining" and he warns him about the hotel and the sinister Room 237. As the days go by, Danny has visions of previous guests and employees who died at the hotel years before, meanwhile Jack starts driving into insanity, turning more and more aggressive, at the point that Danny and Wendy gets convinced that Jack might try to do the same thing, Grady did. Written by matheus marchetti

14. Top Box Office Stars • Burt Reynolds, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Jane Fonda, Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Sally Field, Sissy Spacek, Barbra Streisand, Steve Martin

15. 1981 Openings • Chariots of Fire: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson • Reds: Diane Keaton, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson • On Golden Pond: Henry Fonda, Katherine Hepburn, Jane Fonda

16. Raiders of the Lost Ark: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen • Arthur: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud • Superman II: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder

17. Chariots of Fire • The story, told in flashback, of two young British sprinters competing for fame in the 1924 Olympics. Eric, a devout Scottish missionary runs because he knows it must please God. Harold, the son of a newly rich Jew runs to prove his place in Cambridge society. In a warmup 100 meter race, Eric defeats Harold, who hires a pro trainer to prepare him. Eric, whose qualifying heat is scheduled for a Sunday, refuses to run despite pressure from the Olympic committee. A compromise is reached when a nobleman allows Eric to compete in his 400 meter slot. Eric and Harold win their respective races and go on to achieve fame as missionary and businessman/athletic advocate, respectively. Written by Joe Jurca

18. Arthur • Arthur is a happy drunk with no pretensions at any ambition. He is also the heir to a vast fortune which he is told will only be his if he marries Susan. He does not love Susan, but she will make something of him the family expects. Arthur proposes but then meets a girl with no money who he could easily fall in love with. Written by John Vogel

19. Superman II • Picking up where "Superman: The Movie" left off, three criminals from the planet Krypton are released from the Phantom Zone by a nuclear explosion in space. They descend upon Earth where they could finally rule. Superman, meanwhile, is in love with Lois Lane, who finds out who he really is. Lex Luthor escapes from prison and is determined to destroy Superman by joining forces with the three criminals. Written by Keith Howley

20. Top Box Office Stars • Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Dudley Moore, Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, Harrison Ford, Alan Alda, Bo Derek, Goldie Hawn, Bill Murray

21. 1982 Openings • Gandhi: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud • Tootsie: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange • The Verdict: Paul Newman • E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore

22. Gandhi • Biography of Mahatma Gandhi, the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British through his philosophy of non-violent protest

23. E.T. • Elliot is your normal boy, until one day, when he meets a little lost alien. Elliot decides to keep the alien, in which he gives the name E.T. Elliot works with E.T. in trying to find him a way to get back home. Elliot must make the difficult sacrifice. Whether to help his new friend or to lose him? Whatever the decision is, Elliot must keep him hidden, as someone else is out to look for him. Written by simon

24. The Verdict • Frank Galvin is a down-on-his luck lawyer, reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing. Former associate Mickey Morrissey reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit that he himself served to Galvin on a silver platter: all parties willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, he suddenly realizes that perhaps after all the case should go to court: to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients, and to restore his standing as a lawyer. Written by Murray Chapman

25. Tootsie • Michael Dorsey is an unemployed actor with an impossible reputation. In order to find work and fund his friend's play he dresses as a woman, Dorothy Michaels, and lands the part in a daytime drama. Dorsey loses himself in this woman role and essentially becomes Dorothy Michaels, captivating women all around the city and inspiring them to break free from the control of men and become more like Dorsey's initial identity. This newfound role, however, lands Dorsey in a hot spot between a female friend/'lover,' a female co-star he falls in love with, that co-star's father who falls in love with him, and a male co-star who yearns for his affection. Written by Bryan Kuniyoshi

26. Victor/Victoria: Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston • An Officer and a Gentleman: Richard Gere, Debra Winger • Poltergeist: JoBeth Williams, Heather O-Rourke

27. An Officer and a Gentleman • Zack Mayo is a young man who has signed up for Navy Flight School. He is a Navy brat who has a bad attitude problem. GySgt Foley is there to train and evaluate him and will clearly find Zack wanting. Zack meets Paula, a girl who has little beyond family and must decide what it is he wants to do with his life. Written by John Vogel

28. Sophie’s Choice: Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy • 48 Hours: Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte

29. Sophie’s Choice • Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live in Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust. They befriend Stingo, the movie's narrator, a young American writer new to New York City. But the happiness of Sophie and Nathan is endangered by her ghosts and his obsessions. Written by Reid Gagle

30. Conan the Barbarian: Arnold Schwarzeneggar • Rocky III: Sylvester Stallone, Mr. T

31. Rocky III • Boxer Rocky Balboa enjoys the wealth he has as world-champion. He only fights against easy opponents. Then he is challenged by the arrogant Clubber Lang. Rocky accepts the challenge to proove once more that there is only one world-champion. But Lang wins and becomes the new champion. Nobody believes in Rocky anymore, except one man: former world-champion Appolo Creed. And Creed tries to the stimulate his fighting spirit and get Rocky back in top-form. Written by R. Kessen

32. Top Box Office Stars • Burt Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor, Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, Richard Gere, Paul Newman, Harrison Ford

33. 1983 • Terms of Endearment: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson • The Big Chill: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, JoBeth Williams, Jeff Goldblum

34. Terms of Endearment • Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora's interludes with Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking. In the end, different people show their love in very different ways. Written by John Vogel

35. The Big Chill • A seminal Thirty-Something movie in which a group of old college friends who are now all grown up and hardened by the big wide world come together for the funeral of Alex, a barely glimpsed corpse, who was at one time the brightest and the best of them, and yet who never managed to achieve half as much as any of the others. The friends use the occasion to reacquaint themselves with each other and to speculate as to what happened to their idealism which had been abundant when they were younger. Written by Mark Thompson

36. Return of the Jedi: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher • Flashdance: Jennifer Beals • Mr. Mom: Michael Keaton • Yentl: Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin

37. Flashdance • Alex Owens is a female dynamo: steel worker by day, exotic dancer by night. Her dream is to get into a real dance company, though, and with encouragement from her boss/boyfriend, she may get her chance. The city of Pittsburgh co-stars. What a feeling! Written by Stewart M. Clamen

38. Mr. Mom • Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living When Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It's just that he's never done it before, and really doesn't have a clue... Written by Murray Chapman

39. Return of the Jedi • Darth Vader and the Empire are building a new, indestructible Death Star. Meanwhile, Han Solo has been imprisoned, and Luke Skywalker has sent R2D2 and C3PO to try and free him. Princess Leia - disguised as a bounty hunter - and Chewbacca go along as well. The final battle takes place on the moon of Endor, with its natural inhabitants, the Ewoks, lending a hand to the rebels. Will Darth Vader and the dark side overcome the rebels and take over the universe ? Written by Colin Tinto

40. War Games: Matthew Broderick

41. War Games • A young computer whizz kid accidentally connects into a top secret super-computer which has complete control over the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It challenges him to a game between America and Russia, and he innocently starts the countdown to World War 3. Can he convince the computer he wanted to play a game and not the real thing ? Written by Colin Tinto

42. Top Box Office Stars • Clint Eastwood, Eddie Murphy, Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Chevy Chase, Tom Cruise

43. 1984 Openings • Amadeus: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce • The Killing Fields: Sam Waterston, Haing S Ngor • Places in the Heart: Sally Field, John Malkovich

44. Amadeus • Antonio Salieri believes that Mozart's music is divine. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. But he can't understand why God favored Mozart, such a vulgar creature, to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is set to take revenge. Written by Khaled Salem

45. Places in the Heart • Edna Spalding finds herself alone and broke on a small farm in the midst of the Great Depression when her husband the Sheriff is killed in an accident. A wandering black man, Moses, helps her to plant cotten to try and keep her farm and her kids together. She also takes on a blind border, Mr. Will, who lost his sight in the first World War. She must endure storms and harsh labor to try and make her mortage payment on time. Written by Susan Southall

46. Beverly Hills Cop: Eddie Murphy • Ghostbusters: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: Harrison Ford

47. Beverly Hills Cop • Axel Foley is a Detroit cop who after the murder of his friend travels to California to investigate and track down the killer, who he believes operate an arts dealership as a cover in Beverly Hills. He teams up with two reluctant detectives from the Beverly Hills police force who were supposed to keep a watch on him, especially after seeing Foley's different approach to tackling the situations which is not acceptable by the chief of the local police. Written by Sami Al-Taher

48. Ghostbusters • Three odd-ball scientists get kicked out of their cushy positions at a university in New York City where they studied the occult. They decide to set up shop in an old firehouse and become Ghostbusters, trapping pesky ghosts, spirits, haunts, and poltergeists for money. They wise-crack their way through the city, and stumble upon a gateway to another dimension, one which will release untold evil upon the city. The Ghostbusters are called on to save the Big Apple. Written by Greg Bole

49. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom • Set in 1935, a professor, archaeologist, and legendary hero by the name of Indiana Jones is back in action in his newest adventure. But this time he teams up with a night club singer named Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott and a twelve-year-old boy named Short Round. They end up in an Indian small distressed village, where the people believe that evil spirits have taken all their children away after a sacred precious stone was stolen! They also discovered the great mysterious terror surrounding a booby-trapped temple known as the Temple of Doom! Thuggee is beginning to attempt to rise once more, believing that with the power of all five Sankara stones they can rule the world! Now, it's all up to Indiana to put an end to the Thuggee campaign, rescue the lost children, win the girl and conquer the Temple of Doom. Written by Anthony Pereyra

50. The Natural: Robert Redford • Romancing the Stone: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner • The Terminator: Arnold Schwarzeneggar • The Karate Kid: Ralph Macchio, Noriyuki (Pat) Morita