Randomness... 1983

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...

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Streaming Roulette, July 2022

We never know which films to cover since there are so many channels so please note that we welcome comments and requests for more in-depth coverage of new-to-streaming titles. 

Okay, time for this month's streaming roulette. You know the rules. We highlight new-to-streaming movies and an occasional TV series by freezing them on the scroll bar at entirely random places and just sharing what pops up. No cheating*!

Okay, we're going to have a nice CALM talk like we discussed, right?

LOVE, VICTOR (SEASON 3) on Hulu
Sad this show is ending but also relieved since so few high school shows wrap up at their natural ending point (senior year) before they've overstayed their welcome. Have you started watching the final season yet? Ana Ortiz (who is completely Emmy worthy for season 2) and James Martinez as Victor's parents are both so terrific and not at all the afterthoughts parents so often are in teen soaps...

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Yentl (1983) and Ex Machina (2014)

In Hit Me With Your Best Shot we choose a favourite images from selected films. Click on the images herein to be taken to the corresponding article from the participants.

Bronze - a star very much in control of her own image and its various crescendos into iconography

by Nathaniel R

Is there any generation that was so deprived of the movie musical as Generation X? The eighties and nineties were so bereft of live action musicals that whenever one did arrive it felt like both an anachronism and an event. Yentl (1983), as it turns out, still feels like both...

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Cláudio's Best Shot Pick: Yentl (1983)

The next episode of our series, 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot,' arrives Thursday night. This week's film is Barbra Streisand's directorial debut, Yentl. In 1983, she was infamously snubbed for a Best Director Oscar nomination after winning the Golden Globe. You still have time to participate! Here's Cláudio's entry:

This isn't the first or second time I've explored the wonderful world of Yentl on The Film Experience. First, when writing about two instances when the same performance got nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie, I defended Amy Irving's work, concluding she deserved the former rather than the latter. Then, when revisiting all of Babs' work as a director, Yentl emerged as her most passionate project as well as the best showcase for the star's behind-the-camera talents. Check out those other articles if you're interested.

My positive feelings about Yentl haven't changed with this Hit Me With Your Best Shot-prompted revisit. In other words, I'm still a fan…

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Showbiz History: Streisand makes history and Elijah Wood turns 40

6 random things that happened on this day, January 28th, in showbiz history...

1973 The 30th Golden Globes with The Godfather and Cabaret both winning Best Picture setting up their nail-biting historic Oscar night. Also on this night Diana Ross won the "New Star of the Year" award for playing Billie Holliday in Lady Sings the Blues for which she'd also be Oscar-nominated. Will Andra Day be as awards-lucky in the forthcoming United States vs. Billie Holliday?

1978 The 35th Golden Globes with The Turning Point and The Goodbye Girl winning the Best Picture prizes...

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