•
The decade of the 1980s tended to consolidate the gains made in the seventies rather than to initiate
any new trends equal to the large number of disaster movies, buddy movies, or "rogue cop" movies
that characterized the previous decade. Few 80s films became what could be called 'classics'.
•
The era was characterized by the introduction of 'high-concept' films - with cinematic plots that could
be easily characterized by one or two sentences (25 words or less) - and therefore easily marketable
and understandable.
•
Simpson was the first producer to understand and exploit the significance of MTV. His action-packed,
loud, flashy, simplistic, and tightly-structured films brought crowds to the multiplexes every summer. His
lowest common-denominator films reflected the MTV generation, such as in his debut film Flashdance
(1983) - with its pop soundtrack and iconic 'freeze-frame' ending. Other successes followed in the 80s:
Beverly Hills Cop (1984) with its 'fish-out-of-water' high concept, the sexy Thief of Hearts (1984), the
high-flying Top Gun (1986
•
After the innovations of the 70s, films in the 80s were less experimental and original, but more
formulaic, although there was a burst of films eager to capitalize on new special effects (CGI)
techniques - now available. Predictions were grim for the industry - production costs were soaring
while ticket prices were declining. The average ticket price at the beginning of the decade was about
$3, and over $4 by the end of the decade, while the average film budget was over $18 million.
However, fears of the demise of Hollywood proved to be premature.
• The personal cinema of 70s auteur directors such as Francis
Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin
Scorsese and Steven Spielberg was now superceded by the
advent of the "blockbuster" phenomenon that they had created
(with The Godfather (1972) and Jaws (1975)).
• Steven Spielberg's and George Lucas' names have often been
associated with the term "blockbuster" - and their films
inevitably continued to contribute to the trend during this
decade, such as The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the great and
exhilarating escapist-adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981), Return of the Jedi (1983), and the childhood fantasy hit
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
• One of the earliest youth-oriented films was actually
responsible for also launching the teen-sex film – “Porky's”
(1982) (followed by its sequels: Porky's II: The Next Day (1983)
and Porky's Revenge (1985)). The R-rated film was typical of
sex-drenched, lame films (with lots of female nudity)
• Further exploitative comedies were released, such as
Screwballs (1983), Revenge of the Nerds (1984), and Hot Dog:
The Movie (1984).
• Paul Brickman's satirically funny Risky Business (1983) (with its oftquoted line: "What the f--k?") commented on the decade's
materialistic greed by portraying a conservative teen named Joel
Goodson (Tom Cruise in an early starring role) - noted for dancing in
his underwear to "Old Time Rock & Roll" - who held an outrageous
party in his house, and set up a profitable hooker-business (with callgirl Rebecca DeMornay) as a school project during his parents'
absence.
• One of the best teen movies ever made was Rob Reiner's second
feature film -- the romantic comedy The Sure Thing (1985), with 17
year-old John Cusack (as Walter "Gib" Gibson) searching for
romance with beautiful, white-bikinied and California-tanned
Nicollette Sheridan ("The Sure Thing") while finding real love with
prim student Alison Bradbury (Daphne Zuniga) on the roof-top by
film's end.
• Sixteen Candles (1984) - with Molly Ringwald (in a star-making role)
as sensitive, teen Samantha "Sam" Baker (with a clueless family)
awkwardly turning sixteen and having a horrible birthday, upstaged
by her older sister's wedding week. Geeky freshman (Anthony
Michael Hall) - to satisfy a bet - incredulously asked Sam: "Can I
borrow your underpants for 10 minutes?“
• The Breakfast Club (1985) told a story of five disparate, crudelycliched and stereotyped high-school teens forced to be together (a
teen version of an encounter group) during a Saturday detention, and
struggling with issues of conformity and parental values.
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) defined a teenage rebel of the 80s
- a risk-taking, spirited high-school prankster and malingerer Ferris
(Matthew Broderick), and his friend (Mia Sara), who ditched school
(and Principal Rooney) for a day in downtown Chicago.
• Before 1980, there were very few sequels - maybe two or three each year.
Beginning in the early 80s (and from then on), however, a mind-staggering,
steady stream of mindless, crude sequels were produced each year, usually
inferior to their originals - with some notable exceptions. Remakes and
sequels, with the 'same story, different title' principle, were designed to
defray the monetary risks of Hollywood film-making.
• John Carpenter's highly-successful, low-budget slasher Halloween (1978)
sparked a revival of horror films in the 80s and forever since. Other filmmakers attempted to cash in on its success at the box-office with similar
story-lines. A large percentage of the films in the 80s (and later) were
nightmarish slasher films (e.g., The Evil Dead series, the very successful
Friday the 13th franchise and series, and A Nightmare on Elm Street films
(the first one by director Wes Craven) with a new villain - the terrifying burn
victim Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) with knives on his fingers who
appeared in bad dreams as a child molester).