Monday, August 22, 2011

Movie Monday: 80's Vintage

Okay, so at ArmadilloCon this coming weekend, I'm leading a panel about 80's SF/F movies, which I totally volunteered for, because there are some amazingly awesome (and awesomely awful) science fiction and fantasy movies in the 80's. It was the advent of computer animation, the Sword and Sorcerer epic, and when we first met the Terminator, and Ellen Ripley uttered the immortal words "Get away from her, you bitch!"

For me and my friends, and SOME of my readers, these are also the first science fiction movies we saw. Even if I wasn't old enough to see some of them in the movie theater, because of the VCR and cable TV, I got to see them at home, as long as I didn't tell my mom they were R rated.

So I thought I'd ask you guys, so I can have a list of not just MY favorites. What are YOUR favorite science fiction and fantasy movies from the 80's? How do they hold up? Anything you loved as a kid that makes you howl with laughter now?

Posted by at 10:04 AM

14 comments:

  1. Okay, here's a list of some of my favorite 80s movies:

    1) The Last Starfighter--I love this movie because my dad loves this movie. Yay for bonding!

    2) Jetsons: The Movie

    3) Spaceballs

    4) Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

    5) The Dark Crystal

    6) Akira--because my older brother loves this movie. More bonding happiness.

    7) The Terminator--my aunt once told me this is her favorite movie because of the beautiful love story. I chuckled, but can understand.

    8) The Princess and the Goblin--I was obsessed with this movie when I was younger. Love it. Still remember most of the songs, too.

    9) The Black Cauldron

    10) Castle in the Sky

    11) The Princess Bride

    12) Beetlejuice

    13) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

    14) Kiki's Delivery Service

    15) Who Framed Roger Rabbit

    ...I just realized my list is a little lengthy. *shrugs* I seem to get carried away when I make lists like this.

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  2. Oh, excellent list. See, this is why I posted this. Because I forgot about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and I totally forgot that Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (which is my favorite of all of them) came out in the 80's.

    The Last Starfighter is on my list for the same reason! My dad loved that movie.

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  3. The person above me made a great list! The only one I can think of not already mentioned is Labyrinth. Loooove Labyrinth.

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  4. Oh man! This hits me where I live! :D
    (in no particular order!)

    Beastmaster (which I always have to sit down and watch)
    Robocop
    Solarbabies
    Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
    Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Vere are your nuclear wessels?)
    Dune (Well, hello there Sting.)
    Legend!
    The Last Unicorn (Be still my heart!)
    Willow (Embarrasingly enough, the only movie I found Val Kilmer hot in...)
    Flight of the Navigator
    Neverending Story
    Starman
    Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (I remember going HOLY CRAP! Is that Molly Ringwald?!)
    Dragonslayer <---I swear was on early HBO all the dang time!

    I saved the cheese for last...Megaforce!

    (I feel like I'm leaving something out though...)

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  5. Hmm, lesse. There's The Labyrinth, The Witches (I THINK that was 80s), Legend, Willow, The Neverending Story (only the first one), Ladyhawke, Excalibur, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Conan the Barbarian (and Destroyer), Highlander, Time Bandits, Dragonslayer, Highlander, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi (came out in 80 and 83 respectively), Scanners, Blade Runner (!!!), The Thing, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Dune, Firestarter, Ghostbusters, The Ice Pirates (it is AWFUL but hilarious...), Repo Man, The Terminator, Back to the Future, Brazil, Cocoon, Explorers, The Mad Max movies, Real Genius (I think it sorta counts... plus it's awesome), Re-Animator, Howard the Duck, Predator, Akira, Earth Girls Are Easy, My Stepmother is an Alien, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Tetsuo. Aaaaaand, I am an uber-nerd. Lol.

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  8. Remember Nomads? That was a great "ghost" story.

    And for a love story, how about Somewhere in Time

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  9. Oh, heavens, I can't believe I forgot about Labyrinth! My friend and I were singing the songs to each other the other night. We each remind each other of the babe with the power.

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  10. Have y'all seen all the stuff they're doing for the 25 anniversary of Labyrinth? Cleolinda (on Twitter) posted a link that I can't find now that I want it. That movie is so freaky awesome and disturbing. (I'm going to wear my "Babe with the Power" tee-shirt to this panel.)

    Ladyhawke!! Willow!! ICE PIRATES!! I'm so glad I asked this question.

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  11. Pete--was Nomads the one with Pierce Bronsan? Also, how many times did we have to watch Somewhere in Time? I think Mom had it on every time it came on cable. (That and The Thornbirds.)

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  12. I think everything is covered, but just in case they weren't mentioned: Back to the Future and Goonies.

    I watched Willow recently after having not seen it since the lat '80s and it's still a good movie. Even the effects weren't that awful considering the time. Labyrinth is just so, so weird. I can't believe I liked that movie so much as a kid.

    Wanted to mention I was at Chicago's ComicCon a few wks ago and the actor who played Atreyu in Neverending Story was there promoting a new project. I blinked a few times and felt my life flash before my eyes.

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  13. Oh my gosh! These are some great lists! Some of them I totally forgot about. Willow will always have a fuzzy place in my heart.

    Princess Bride for the Win!

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  14. Aliens
    The Thing
    The Terminator
    Night of the Comet (hardly anyone saw, but great!)
    Highlander
    The Empire Strikes Back

    Wow, memories!

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