I’ve been catching up on and rewatching some lately. Legend, Highlander, The Never ending Story. What are some others that are similar? And why do 80s movies seem to hit different than other decades?
You must log in or register to comment.
Lots of great ones here. The Witches came out in 1990, so I hope I can slip that in.
Screamers.
Krull
Star Wars Episodes 5 and 6
Labyrinth and The Last Unicorn were two that came to mind
It’s all about the babe. Labyrinth should be top comment!
What babe?
The babe with the power!
What power?
1982’s “Conan the Barbarian” is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s breakout role as an actor.
That Basil Poledouris soundtrack is amazing, too. I love that they still sample it for games.
I think it inspired Baldur’s Gate 1 theme composer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP7vWiaxw7Y
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=ZP7vWiaxw7Y
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
All the good ones that can think of have already been mentioned. I also remember enjoying Heavy Metal as a teen, but not sure if I’d enjoy it nowadays.
Willow
To answer the second question, Willow hit different because in the 80s they were totally fine with making fantasy movies that were meant to be watched by families but also had no problem traumatizing children. Willow had those creepy rat dog things straight out of a nightmare. Same way The Neverending Story has the horse/swamp scene and Gremlins turned fluffy cute animals into scary wicked creatures. Honestly, it’s a miracle any of us millennials survived without a serious case of PTSD every time we went to Blockbuster.
The 80s were a great time to be a kid but, yeah, no one cared if we got terrified to the point of not being able to sleep on a regular basis. :)
The threat of nuclear war wasn’t awesome either but we had punk rock, D&D, and it still made sense to buy comic books.
and not every good guy somehow had to survive. that blonde guy (Eric?) died pretty brutally, and even though off-screen the babies mum and the nanny clearly died brutal deaths (and it was heavily implied), I think you even hear the nanny being torn apart by wolves
Oh yes… I still remember the first time seeing that scene where everyone (almost) got turned into pigs in Willow. It really freaked me out at the time.
*shudders*I think the heavy reliance on physical props, models and scenery. Combined with a certain darker style of story telling really made those movies stand out.
And don’t forget those weird muppets in Labyrinth that pulled their heads off while singing.
Excalibur is a gorgeous film with a talented cast.
Dark Crystal is an amazing Jim Henson production.
Beastmaster is a fun romp with 80s stalwart Mark Singer. And as someone else mentioned, Ladyhawke is another fun adventure in the same vein.
Anáil nathrach orth bhais betha, do cheol déanta.
Krull, Wizards, and The Last Unicorn.
Similar to krull is the whole sword and sandals genre. Includes Conan, red Sonja, beast matter, etc…
Return to oz is decent enough!
It’s… inconceivable no one has said Princess Bride yet.
You best me to it. And while we’re on Cary Elwes, we should probably mention Robin Hood: Men in Tights as well.
I had to look it up, and that was 1993. Pay the cat tax.
I think that word means what you think it means
There can be only one!
Ladyhawke, Conan…
Can’t forget Krull!
Yes! And the 80s arcade game based on the movie!
