Randomness... 1983
Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 9:17PM
by Nathaniel R
RETURN OF THE JEDI
As noted last week we’ve been feeling some 1980s nostalgia of late. So we’re indulging in the "Totally Awesome 80s" this month. Most cinephiles I know keep their own top ten lists (those that don’t – weirdos! I kid I kid. To each their own.) Sometimes these lists aren’t beholden to the Oscars or release dates but to copyright dates or first screenings somewhere even if they weren't "premieres" (i.e. following letterboxd, imdb listings). We stick to calendar year of US releases when we can just because it’s more fun for us to compare to the Oscars. In the event that the release was spread over years and confusing or maybe never got a US release we pick a year (usually the premiere year).
Herewith a 'top ten list' from 1983 which was made in the early Aughts based on childhood memories and some adult screenings. It’s occasionally been updated or altered by rewatches or first time viewings since. So let’s keep that 80s party going and talk 1983...
NATHANIEL'S 1983 FAVOURITES
alphabetically... and when he first or law saw them
• The Fourth Man (Paul Verhoeven)
One of those movies that straddles release years. It premiered in a lot of places in 1983 and was submitted for the 1983 Oscars (but only in International Feature). When it was actually released in the US (in 1984) it made some top ten lists but was not submitted for Oscar consideration even though it would have technically been eligible in other categories if it had. I didn’t become a fan of Verhoeven until Showgirls (1995) and started looking back at the filmography. I wonder if this holds up or if I only loved it for the titillation factor since aggressively homosexual screen moments were super rare until the 2000s. Or later actually; they're still rare.
• The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese)
Most people consider this 1982 but that’s ONLY because they didn’t live through the 1980s and that's how websites list it. IMDb and Wikipedia suggest that this movie had one 1982 screening (in Iceland!) though I can’t find any references to that actually happening. All first-run reviews are from 1983 and it competed at Cannes in May of 1983 and was eligible in 1983 for all the big film awards (only BAFTA embraced it giving it 5 nominations and a screenplay win). It’s widely accepted that The King of Comedy was misunderstood in its time but it holds up well today. I don't remember when I first saw it but it remains one of my top five Scorseses. And bless the National Society of Film Critics, the only group wise enough to honor Sandra Bernhardt’s incredibly in-your-face performance.
NEVER CRY WOLF
• Never Cry Wolf (Carroll Ballard)
The only PG rated family film with full frontal male nudity! My parents took me and my brothers when it was released and we all loved it. Rewatched in college and still enjoyed. The beautiful cinematography won some critics awards at the time but somehow the film only scored with the Oscars in Best Sound. Carroll Ballard had a fairly unique career in that he was a serious quality director that almost exclusively worked in movies aimed at the whole family. See also: The Black Stallion, Nutcracker, Fly Away Home.
• The Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand)
One entire wall in my childhood bedroom was devoted to this sequel. It was the last year of totally pure Star Wars obsession (for me at least). As an adult the movie has a lot of obvious problems but the first act with Jabba the Hut and Princess Leia in the metal bikini still slays. Since The Empire Strikes Back was my earliest actually vivid moviegoing memory, Return of the Jedi became, quite naturally and sequentially, my earliest memory of the agonizing wait of knowing a movie is coming years before it arrives and then counting down to its release. Something that thankfully still happens to this day as love for the cinema has never waned.
• The Right Stuff (Phillip Kauffman)
I was too young for this in 1983 but when I finally got around to it in college --well, it's impressive. Great cast. Why did Philip Kaufman's career peter out so quickly at the turn of the century? He had rangey good run from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) through Quills (2000). People don’t talk about this astronaut drama today but it won half of its eight (!) Oscar nominations which is quite something.
SILKWOOD.
• Silkwood (Mike Nichols)
The best movie of 1983. Upsetting that this didn’t manage a Best Picture nomination along with its other five nominations in its day. Why were Academy members resistant? If anyone who was paying attention back then could enlighten us, that'd be lovely. I have seen it a few times but not in quite a long while (rewatch is due). It’s Meryl Streep’s best performance and Mike Nichols best film. Bold claims twice over, I know. Fight me.
• Star 80 (Bob Fosse)
Utterly shocking when I first rented it but I was probably too young (at least the first time). But this thing lingers and Eric Roberts is amazing in it. He wasn’t Oscar nominated though he did score two honors: a Globe nomination and a Best Actor win from the Boston Society of Film Critics. Bob Fosse was such an incredible director and a couple images from this remain embedded in the memory though I’ve only seen this twice and the last time was in the mid 1990s. Time for a rewatch!
• Terms of Endearment (James L Brooks)
I have almost no memory of this one – which was the second biggest blockbuster of the year (after Return of the Jedi) back when non-genre stuff could still fascinate the moviegoing public in droves and droves. I loved it when I first saw it a couple years after its release. Just that once! People seem to have a low opinion of it now. Is it not good or is the fall from critical grace purely based on the fact that it’s so female focused?
How incredible is this poster?
• The Year of Living Dangerously (Peter Weir)
Another film like The King of Comedy that is considered 1982 online but no one actually saw it then beyond (in this case) select lucky Australians who hit the movie theater in late December. It spread to the rest of the world including Cannes competition and US movie theaters in 1983. I have only two memories having only seen it once in (I think, the early 90s?): One, being mesmerized by but undecided about how much I actually liked Linda Hunt’s Oscar winning performance; Two, the scorching onscreen chemistry between Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver who were each just a short step away from superstardom when this film arrived.
• Yentl (Barbra Streisand)
This is the last of three movies on this top ten list that I actually first saw in movie theaters (the others being ROTJ & Never Cry Wolf). My family were never movie people per se but being Mormons they did like musicals. It was a treat to revisit Yentl for an episode of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” two years ago. It holds up well! It's 100% Streisand’s best self-directed effort even if critics are weirdly most deferential to Prince of Tides (I've never understood that - explain it to me if you can, seriously). I was surprised to discover in 2022 that it felt less like a soaring romantic epic (how I'd remembered it!) and more like an intimate quiet drama of self-realization.
Finis.
All that said, I’m admittedly weak on the early 80s. A lot of “gold” to still discover, surely, including a few key Oscar titles. I'd love to hear your favourites from 1983 in the comments. Have at it.
Reader Comments (18)
1983 Top Films
The Bill Chill
That opening scene was revolutionary in 1983. Sarah (Glenn Close) watches while her husband Harold (Kevin Kline) washes their kid in the bathtub. Men then simply didn't do that parenting task in movies. Our eyebrows rose as we realized this was a movie that was going to nonchalantly blow up our preconceptions. No joke landed harder that the organ at the funeral service playing You Can't Always Get What You Want as the exit music. A classic film that simply doesn't have the cultural power it had in 1983.
Fanny and Alexander
The finest film ever made. Watch it for the mysticism or the tip of the hat to classic theater or the pain of the loss of childhood innocence or the beauty of a Scandinavian Christmas.
Risky Business
That classic dance moment is the clip of 1983. They will play it when Tom Cruise is given his honorary lifetime Oscar.
Silkwood
Cher tells the story of attending a screening of the trailer in Westwood. Audiences laughed at her name in the credits. She weepily called the film's director Mike Nichols. He listened and replied, "They won't be laughing when they see you in the movie." And we didn't.
Terms of Endearment
Every actress in Hollywood was mentioned as a lead in this James L. Brooks classic. Jennifer Jones originally owned the property. At one point I recall a fuss for Elizabeth Taylor and Sissy Spacek. Burt Reynolds declined the role of Garrett Breedlove to make Stroker Ace. Can anyone imagine this melodrama without the comedic levity brought by Jack Nicholson, Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger to lighten the mood?
Yentl
The stories of on set sexual harassment by Mandy Patinkin toward Barbra Streisand in her recent autobiography were so shocking. I rewatched the classic and found that the knowledge of the unacceptable behavior did not dim Streisand's achievement. I now wonder how the film would feel if Patinkin's had not prompted Streisand to rewrite a key moment in the film.
Zelig
Before the worldwide fervor for Forrest Gump, Woody Allen inserted his image into vintage footage to tell the story of Leonard Zelig, a human chameleon. This mockumentary is a throughly entertaining comedy exploring identity.
I scanned through the films released in 1983 and there’s, surprisingly, nothing I’d like to rewatch or revisit from that year. In no particular order, here’s my Top Ten of ‘gold’ that I never got around to renting at my neighborhood video store, but still want to see. I couldn’t even round up 10 selections from that year…
-The Dresser (BP nominee, two BActor nominations),
-The Hunger (Susan Saradon, Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie),
-Jaws 3-D (had the original Jaws been re-formatted as 3-D, who wouldn’t want to see a shark with its mouth open pop out of the water, stomach content tossed at you when a shark’s belly is getting sliced open, underwater beach footage of ‘Jaws’ scoping out a victim or that cage scene where a head appears). Jaws-3/D probably would’ve lured me into the movie theater with false promises. Still want to see what I missed and how the franchise derailed.
-Bad Boys (Sean Penn-still never saw his follow-up to Fast Times),
-Without a Trace (Kate Nelligan) and
-The Lonely Lady (Pia Zadora). Just reading the logline of this Razzie (?) nominee/winner, made me curious about the entire plot….
Sticking to movies that were Oscar-eligible in ‘83, my top 10 would be:
Christine
A Christmas Story
Fanny and Alexander
The Hunger
The King of Comedy
Koyaanisqatsi
Psycho II
Rumble Fish
Valley Girl
Videodrome
I think this is handily the weakest year of the ‘80s, although granted, I still have yet to see Silkwood.
I tend to go with the first public screening as the arbiter of a film's year because I watch many festival films, especially Portuguese ones, whose only public screening is that singular world premiere. And I'd like to count such films just the same. So, I had THE KING OF COMEDY on my 1982 top ten. Still, I understand why you go by Oscar eligibility. Indeed, on the giant "My Oscars" Excell spreadsheet, I have three columns: the ballot according to Oscar eligibility, the ballot according to American release (basically Film Bitch or Team Experience Awards), ballot by year of world premiere.
Anyway, going by world premiere, my top ten for 1983 would be...
BORN IN FLAMES, Lizzie Borden
CARMEN, Carlos Saura
L'ARGENT, Robert Bresson
MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE, Nagisa Oshima
NOSTALGIA, Andrei Tarkovsky
PAULINE AT THE BEACH, Éric Rohmer
SANS SOLEIL, Chris Marker
SUGAR CANE ALLEY, Euzhan Palcy
THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA, Shohei Imamura
VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg
Honorable mentions to THE TERENCE DAVIES TRILOGY, Kurys' ENTRE NOUS, and Nichols' SILKWOOD.
However, if I go by Oscar eligibility, I guess my top ten would look like...
CARMEN, Carlos Saura
FANNY AND ALEXANDER, Ingmar Bergman
KOYAANISQATSI, Godfrey Reggio
MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE, Nagisa Oshima
PAULINE AT THE BEACH, Éric Rohmer
QUERELLE, Rainer Werner Fassbinder
SILKWOOD, Mike Nichols
THE KING OF COMEDY, Martin Scorsese
THE NIGHT OF VARENNES, Ettore Scola
VIDEODROME, David Cronenberg
This list making and others lists are hitting me in all the right places to quote a 90's Lisa Stansfield hit.
My top 10 is in no particular order but i'll answer a few questions you posed Nat.
The Prince of Tides is pure Hollywood but contains a great performance from Nick Nolte which would have prevailed if not for Hopkins and a great score,pure schmaltz with too many lingering shots on La Babs finger nails/hands but I love it's campiness whilst still felling rooted in real emotions,what an eclectic cast to Danner,Carlin,Krabbe,Gould,Nelligan,Dillon
I stand by your feelings on Streep in Silkwood,her single greatest dramatic or comedic performance and Nichols direction is perfect and this film lead Cher to beat this Oscar nommed performance with Mask & Moonstruck.
Terms of Endearment is a bit dated in it's themes about women and Jack is less impressive esp since he gave this turn many more times,rinsing and repeating the same mannersims.
Star 80 is a biopic that works,by focusing on a certain time in those two people lives,compare this with Roberts turn in Raggedy Man and wonder how come he has only played villains since 1985.
Claudio once again a very what i'd call academic list,i' like to see you embrace something light hearted or uncool sometime,it's ok to like silly stuff.
My own Top 10 in no particuar order
The King Of Comedy my fave De Niro performance
Return of the Jedi love the Jabba opening and that final duel,the music the emotion
Silkwood Streep's very best,Kurts best,strangely underrated
Christine one of the best King adaptatons and one of Carpenters best
Psycho II better than any sequel to the classic original had any right to be
Jaws 3 an enjoyably bad film,the Shark still looks fake
Terms of Endearment top performances esp Debra Winger,who is my runner up to Streep in 83
Yentl I think Babs should have had Director/Actress noms
Trading Places one of the best comedies of the 80's,JLC stepping out of scream queen mode
Brainstorm simply cos it's Natalie Wood's final film.
I've only seen 17 1983 movies, but of those my top ten would be
Return of the Jedi -- like Nathaniel, my first memory of anticipating a movie and I still remember exactly where my seven year old self saw it
Flashdance - for the soundtrack alone
Easy Money - it's no Back to School, but I love Rodney Dangerfield
Terms of Endearment - for MacLaine's slap of the grandson
Silkwood - Cher
Entry Nous - early Hupert!
Nostalgha - gorgeously shot
Risky Business - More riskee on rewatch than I remembered
The King of Comedy - always love to see a Charlie's Angel getting her due (Shelley Hack)
Springbreak - I don't know how this film was introduced to me at such a young age, but the nudity, sex, and "I Want to Do It" musical number meant I wore out this VHS tape completely.
Mr Ripley79 -- I like silly movies, but I also like these types of movies. This is a blog comments section and I have got nothing to prove so believe me that I'm not trying to appear cool or whatever. I'm simply sharing my cinematic favorites.
From your list, I really love CHRISTINE and YENTL. Indeed, I've written multiple times about my affection of YENTL on the site. Afraid I don't care for TRADING PLACES much beyond the performances - Murphy and Curtis are fantastic. Haven't seen BRAINSTORM, PSYCHO II or JAWS 3 yet. From Nathaniel's list, I still haven't seen NEVER CRY WOLF.
Wow.... everyone here misses the mark. The best film of 1983 is and always will be...
National Lampoon's Vacation. It's the best road film I had ever seen. It's quotable. It's got moments that are memorable. Chevy Chase at the top of his game. It never fails to make me laugh. It is a staple in my family for years. Here is my list of the best films of 1983. Fuck Terms of Endearment, that film was overrated as fuck with many of the films of James L. Brooks except for Broadcast News which is the only film he did that was any good.
Hi,Claudio,try watching those horror movies,they are greats of the genre,I wasn't implying you are trying to be cool with your choices,I just wanted to know if you do embrace the silly side of films.
Love to see your picks,wish i'd seen some so I could discuss them,i'm not a big fan of foreign movies,subtitles put me off,I can't read and watch faces so quick,takes me out of the story.
Fassbender I really don't like though,i've tried Querelle and Maria Braun and I could barely get through either of them.
I like Videodrome a lot from your list and of course Silkwood and King of Comedy.
Great lists and fun comments!
Here’s a few more:
Something Wicked This Way Comes
A superb Jason Robards broke my heart as the dad in this story about the love between a father and a son, and the son’s longing to leave childhood behind and become “older”. One of the best adaptations of master storyteller Ray Bradbury.
Local Hero.
Fresh, spritely, and endearing. With Burt Lancaster and Peter Reigert. Scottish director Bill Forsyth had a run of fun movies: Gregory’s Girl (1981), Local Hero (1983), Comfort and Joy (1984).
Heat and Dust
Merchant/ Ivory with Ruth Prawer Jhabrala writing the screenplay from her Booker Award winning novel. With Julie Christie in India. The success of this movie enabled the trio to make their subsequent series of classics.
Confidentially Yours
Director Francois Truffaut’s last movie. A mystery/ romance in black and white with Fanny Ardant and Jean-Louis Trintignant.
Entre Nous (also mentioned by Kelly Garrett above)
Diane Kurys (“Peppermint Soda”) directs a story of female friendship with Isabelle Huppert and Miou-Miou.
The Dresser
Utterly theatrical backstage tale of an aging actor (Albert Finney) and his longtime dresser (Tom Courteney). Both actors in top form.
Tender Mercies
Robert Duvall, one of the greatest American actors ever, gets a Best Actor Oscar for this movie.
El Norte
Directed by Gregory Nava. Harrowing and sad. Oscar nomination for best screenplay.
A Christmas Story
Ralphie wants a special Christmas present. The film became more popular in subsequent years, and is now considered a Christmas classic.
The Dead Zone
I saw this one for the first time a few years ago. I had totally the wrong impression of what it was about before that. Whoa. So sad, with a great central performance by Christopher Walken.
Educating Rita
Mutual education between professor Michael Caine and working class heroine Julie Walters. Walters has been eloquent in recent years about the acting profession becoming increasingly inaccessible to the working class, who cannot afford expensive drama schools, long periods of unemployment, etc.
@Nathaniel: Yeah, I’ve seen The Fourth Man, and the traffic accident burnt a hole in my brain. Even now, when driving on the highway, if I see that vehicle up ahead, I change my route to not go close.
Nat, regarding TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, i was obsessed with that movie when i was young and for at least a decade thought it was probably my favorite movie ever.
watching it with adult eyes, it's incredibly mawkish and cartoon-y (while purporting to be "real"). since james l brooks came from TV, the entire movie feels like a bloated sitcom. the acting by MacLaine and Nicholson has quotation marks around it at all time...you almost expect them to add "badabing!" to the end of their lines.
but Debra Winger's performance still kills. she was such a glorious actress in the 80s...one of our best, i think. she eschews the sentimental hogwash that everyone else (and the movie) serves up and creates a full, rich character and i think single-handedly saves the film.
it's still a sweet, funny movie. it just really hasn't aged well.
PS...i also adore STAR 80. i made my mom take me to see it when i was 14 years old.
I just want to start a little discussion here:
Debra Winger > Shirley MacLaine
(Yes, Streep was the best of the best actress line-up, but if we had to give this prize to Terms of Endearment, Winger was the MVP. Shirley should have won earlier - The Apartment - or some years after - Postcards from the Edge)
(I have a suggestion for a miniseries after the Oscar season. You could take a look at the films with two best actress nominations and discuss who was the best - it happened to Shirley twice!)
From 1980, Can’t Stop the Music (The Village People movie) is PG and also has male full frontal nudity (a musical scene with men in the showers if I recall correctly).
The '80s - ugh.
Anyway, of the films released in 1983:
L'homme blessé
Edith's Diary
Videodrome | The Dead Zone (two Cronenbergs?!?)
The King of Comedy
Betrayal
Tender Mercies
The Hunger | Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (two Bowie vehicles?!?)
Silkwood
The Dresser
To Be or Not to Be
1. Terms of Endearment
2. To Be or Not to Be
3. The Dresser
4. Fanny and Alexander
5. The Year of Living Dangerously
6. Silkwood
7. Testament
8. The big Chill
9. WarGames
10. The Right Stuff