Movies of the 80s
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We love the 1980s. Everything on this page is all about movies of the 1980s. Starting in 1980 and working our way the decade, we are preserving the stories and movies of the greatest decade, the 80s. https://www.youtube.com/@Moviesofthe80s
Stories (122)
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Sphinx (1981) — Inside the $10M Disaster That Bombed at the Box Office
A Costly Gamble in the Desert In 1981, director Franklin J. Schaffner — the Academy Award–winning filmmaker behind Patton — turned to pulp adventure with Sphinx. Adapted from Robin Cook’s bestselling novel, the film seemed poised to cash in on the public’s appetite for archaeological thrillers. Instead, it became one of Hollywood’s most memorable flops.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
Two Miners, Two Valentines: Comparing My Bloody Valentine (1981) and My Bloody Valentine (2009)
Throwback vs. Remake — the bottom line (budget & box office) George Mihalka’s original My Bloody Valentine (1981) was a modest Canadian slasher shot on location in Nova Scotia. Its production budget is commonly listed at about $2.3 million, and it grossed roughly $5.7 million in the U.S., giving it a small theatrical return but the beginnings of a cult reputation.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Horror
Windwalker (1980): The Forgotten Western Told in Cheyenne and Crow
A Western That Broke the Rules When people think of 1980s Westerns, they usually recall revisionist works like Heaven’s Gate or nostalgic star vehicles. Few remember Kieth Merrill’s Windwalker (released in 1980, though often grouped with early 80s films), a modestly budgeted historical drama with one extraordinary claim: with the exception of an English-language narration, every line of dialogue is spoken in Cheyenne and Crow. Subtitled for mainstream audiences, Windwalker dared to put Native voices front and center — a choice virtually unheard of in Hollywood at the time.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
Walker v. Time Life Films: The Forgotten Lawsuit Behind Fort Apache, The Bronx
New York City’s South Bronx. Critics debated whether the film captured reality or exaggerated it for shock value. What’s less remembered is that the film sparked a lawsuit by a former cop-turned-writer who believed Hollywood stole his story. The case, Walker v. Time Life Films, Inc. (784 F.2d 44), went all the way to the United States Court of Appeals and has since become a frequently cited copyright decision.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
The Incredible Shrinking Woman (1981): Behind the Chaotic Comedy Starring Lily Tomlin
A Forgotten 80s Comedy That Deserves a Closer Look If you were a kid in the 80s flipping through cable and Superstation TBS, chances are you saw The Incredible Shrinking Woman once or twice. Maybe you remember Lily Tomlin getting smaller by the minute, or maybe you just recall the poster where she’s perched on a gorilla’s shoulder. Either way, for most people, that’s the beginning and end of this movie’s legacy: a middling box office hit, mediocre reviews, and a quirky footnote in early 80s Hollywood.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
James L. Conway’s Wild 1980–81: From UFOs to Family Aliens to Monster Mines
Three Films, Two Years, Three Different Worlds Not every director in the 1980s had a blockbuster trilogy or a string of box office smashes. Some carved out their corner of the decade in stranger, scrappier ways. James L. Conway is one of those names. Between 1980 and 1981, Conway delivered three movies from three wildly different genres — a paranoid UFO thriller, a warmhearted alien family comedy, and a subterranean monster flick.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
Buried Alive: How Blood Beach (1981) Went From Flop to Cult Classic
There are horror movies that slip neatly into the genre’s canon, and then there are movies like Blood Beach. Released in 1981 with a tagline that screamed drive-in thrills — “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, you can’t get to it!” — the film promised sunny terror and delivered something stranger. Critics hated it. Audiences shrugged. And yet, four decades later, Blood Beach refuses to die.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Horror
The Rise of Telekinesis in Movies: From Carrie to Scanners and Beyond
Scanners and the Head Explosion That Shocked the World Everyone remembers the head explosion. You don’t even have to be a horror fan to know it. In 1981, David Cronenberg’s Scanners gave audiences one of the most infamous movie moments of all time, a practical effects showstopper that has lived on in GIFs, memes, and “most shocking moments” lists for decades.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Horror
Cowboys in a Ghost Town: The Forgotten Horror Oddity Scream (1981)
Before Wes Craven, There Was Another Scream When horror fans hear the title Scream, they think of Wes Craven’s 1996 classic that revitalized the slasher genre. But 15 years earlier, in 1981, there was another Scream—a forgotten, low-budget curio with a premise that should have been a slam dunk. A group of rafters stranded in a ghost town, stalked by an unseen killer, sounds like perfect midnight-movie material. Instead, it became one of the strangest entries in the early ’80s slasher boom, remembered today less for scares and more for its unlikely cast.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Horror
Jan-Michael Vincent in 1980: Stardom, Struggles, and the Long Shadow of The Return
In 1980, Jan-Michael Vincent was still one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men. Blond, handsome, and blue-collar charming, he’d come through the 1970s with a string of notable credits — The Mechanic opposite Charles Bronson, Big Wednesday with Gary Busey, and even Disney’s World’s Greatest Athlete. He looked like the guy who could carry a studio’s mid-budget drama or a high-octane thriller. But 1980 would prove to be a crossroads.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
The Lost Ending of First Family (1980) — Hollywood’s Quiet Rewrite
A Political Satire That Never Landed In 1980, Buck Henry — the sly wit behind The Graduate and co-creator of Get Smart — stepped behind the camera to direct First Family. On paper, it looked like a surefire hit: Bob Newhart as a hapless President, Madeline Kahn as his First Lady, Gilda Radner, Harvey Korman, Fred Willard, and Richard Benjamin filling out the ensemble. It was an SNL-era comedy dream team dropped into a White House farce.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
Altered States (1980): When Paddy Chayefsky and Ken Russell Went to War
The Battle of Egos: Chayefsky vs. Russell On paper, Altered States looked like a prestige project: a screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky, the Pulitzer-winning writer behind Network and Marty, adapting his own novel about psychedelic science and cosmic regression. In practice, it was like locking a scientist in a room with a carnival barker and asking them to build a spaceship together.
By Movies of the 80s4 months ago in Geeks
