My favorite podcast, The Movies That Made Me, has a new feature. Cinema luminaries are guests who discuss their favorite year of the movies. There's no way a little blogger and small press author like me will ever be invited, but I love the idea.
I'm doing my own favorite year at the movies. For me it is, without question, 1986.
I always loved horror, but I truly came alive as a fan in '86. Like a casual Christian who finds the Lord in a born-again epiphany, I realized that horror was not only the genre for me, but that it would be a defining factor in all aspects of my life from then on. And so it was.
I couldn't limit a phenomenal year like 1986 to a mere ten films, as the podcast usually does. I had to double the number, and I still have to leave crucial movies off the list.
These are movies not only born and bred in the hallowed year of 1986, but ones I watched in the twelve-month period. Hence Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is absent.
Without further ado, and in no particular order, my favorite year of the movies.
1: The Fly-I would be surprised to hear that The Fly isn't David Cronenberg's most successful movie. It's the perfect amalgamation of his singular vision of body horror and popular filmmaking. Jeff Goldblum is magnificent in the lead, and Geena Davis is appealing and sympathetic. It's that rarity: An artistic Saturday afternoon monster picture.
2: The Mosquito Coast-I owe this movie so much for introducing me to the work of a great writer: Paul Theroux. Harrison Ford has never been better. Fans of his heroic performances hate The Mosquito Coast. It's my favorite Peter Weir movie, and one of my favorite movies, period. The cinematography is stunning and composer Maurice Jarre somehow managed to use a synth score to evoke the wild South American jungle. This movie is too much of a bummer for a lot of people. They should avoid the Theroux novel. It's even worse.
3: Stand By Me-Stephen King has been fortunate to receive a lot of good movies based on his writing. None capture the essence of his work as well as Stand By Me. It's by far Rob Reiner's best picture. He even managed to coax a brilliant performance out of Corey Feldman. The themes readers love about Stephen King are all present: Wonder, childhood, mortality, the nature of evil.
4: Ferris Bueller's Day Off-'86 was the peak of the teen movie craze that defined the 1980s. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a warm, funny, sentimental fantasy about a day we all dream about, but few achieve. It's a parable, a farce, and a great ride. The museum scenes always choke me up.
5: River's Edge-Ferris Bueller is a sunny movie, but River's Edge is dark as the grave. It foreshadows the Nihilistic Nineties in a disturbingly convincing way. It isn't Keanu Reeves' first role, but it's the one that made me sit up and notice him. He's fantastic in this film, as is Dennis Hopper, Crispin Glover, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck, and that creepy-ass kid from Near Dark, Joshua Miller.
6: Something Wild-Jonathan Demme's road movie thriller is a celebration of music and life itself. Jeff Daniels has never been better, and Melanie Griffith is a knockout, but Ray Liotta steals the show in his breakout role. Funny cameos by John Waters, John Sayles, Charles Napier, and Tracy Walter keep the movie moving along, as does music by The Feelies, David Byrne, and others. Still fresh and wild all these years later.
7: Blue Velvet-No one has made dreamlike movies as well as David Lynch, and Blue Velvet is his masterpiece. A nigthmare version of The Hardy Boys, Blue Velvet is more of a conventional story than a lot of Lynch movies, but it's still wildly surreal and utterly terrifying. Dennis Hopper wasn't quite sober when it was made, and that propelled his ferocious performance.
8: Big Trouble in Little China -John Carpenter made urban legend movies and political satires, but Big Trouble is pure popcorn cinema. Sure, as an American version of an Asian fantasy/action movie it's a little weak, but who can resist Kurt Russell channeling John Wayne? It's irresistible.
9: Night of the Creeps-Fred Dekker seemingly came out of nowhere with this beautiful confection for horror fans. Everything about it works. Tom Adkins made film history as hardboiled Detective Cameron and the rest of the cast is in on every joke. The best of its kind.
10: At Close Range -Director James Foley won acclaim for later movies like After Dark, My Sweet and Glengary Glen Ross, but At Close Range is by far my favorite of his films. Sean and Chris Penn are great as two poor teen brothers living in hardscrabble rural Pennsylvania. They meet their long lost father, a career criminal. I always liked Christopher Walken, but he is stunning as the oily charismatic thief. Stronger on drama and performance than action, At Close Range is emotional, disturbing, and darkly humorous. Plus it's always good to see Mary Stuart Masterton.
11: Back To School-I love no comedy more than this one. Rodney Dangerfield's shtick was always raunchy, but he comes off almost wholesome in this one. He is charming, funny, and even a little touching. The one-liners are nonstop and a lot of them work. Keith Gordon is great as his son, and he shows the same range he employed in Christine. There's also Robert Downey Jr, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, M. Emmett Walsh, and unforgettable appearances by Oingo Boingo and Kurt Vonnegut. Back to School never gets old. I'm smiling now just thinking about it.
12: Combat Shock-I'm going deep into the gutter with this one. Buddy Giovizanno's post Vietnam shocker is one of the last gasps of the NYC grindhouse era. A numbing, harrowing descent into the hell of PTSD, desperation, and poverty. Packaged by Troma as a war picture, I hate to think of the poor fools who rented it hoping for another Rambo clone.
13: Sid and Nancy-This punked-up biopic plays fast and loose with the facts, but Gary Oldman is brilliant as Sid Vicious, and Chloe Webb played Nancy Spungeon to the hilt. It's as true as it needs to be.
14: Jake Speed-Wayne Crawford may be a low rent Harrison Ford, but I'll take this over any Indiana Jones movie. A rousing homage to the pulps and a delightful action-adventure yarn in its own right. John Hurt is great as the bad guy. Endless fun.
15: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2-Genre purists howled in outrage at the humorous tone of this long-awaited sequel, but I always loved it. Tobe Hooper knew he could never match the intensity of the nail-biting original, so he made it a farce. The gore is plentiful, the music is great, and the humor works. Dennis Hopper, still not quite sober, was on the verge of a comeback and did some of the best work of his career in '86.
16: Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI-Again, shrewd filmmakers took a genre legend and used humor to make a highly entertaining movie. Tom McLaughlin did a wonderful job with this, and he made the dying franchise fresh again. Alice Cooper provides the should-be hit song, "He's Back (the Man Behind the Mask)". This is the favorite entry in the series for many fans.
17: The Color of Money-Paul Newman owns every scene he's in and his confidence as Fast Eddie is a wonder to behold. Tom Cruise's image as a screen hotshot wasn't completely disgusting yet, and he hits every note. Richard Price's script is sharp and literate, and Scorsese's visuals are letter perfect.
18: Heartbreak Ridge -Clint directed better movies in the eighties, like Bird and White Hunter, Black Heart, but Heartbreak Ridge is great old fashioned entertainment. He has never growled lines better.
19: Pretty in Pink -The styles, the music, the attitudes. John Hughes captured the era to perfection. With oustanding performances by Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, James Spader, and Harry Dean Stanton. I even forgive the compromised ending and whiny-ass Andrew McCarthy.
20: From Beyond -Stuart Gordon takes things a few steps further than his triumphant Re-Animator debut. Combs and Crampton return and bring Ken Foree with them. This is how it's done, folks.
Honorable mentions to April Fool's Day, Deadly Friend, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Mountaintop Motel Massacre, Maximum Overdrive, Demons, Cobra, Black Moon Rising, and of course, Critters.
There you have it. Indisputable evidence that 1986 was a milestone for movies. Some nimrod wrote a book claiming 1999 was the best year ever. That's when things started to go bad. '86 is the one for me.
Written by Mark Sieber
I'm doing my own favorite year at the movies. For me it is, without question, 1986.
I always loved horror, but I truly came alive as a fan in '86. Like a casual Christian who finds the Lord in a born-again epiphany, I realized that horror was not only the genre for me, but that it would be a defining factor in all aspects of my life from then on. And so it was.
I couldn't limit a phenomenal year like 1986 to a mere ten films, as the podcast usually does. I had to double the number, and I still have to leave crucial movies off the list.These are movies not only born and bred in the hallowed year of 1986, but ones I watched in the twelve-month period. Hence Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is absent.
Without further ado, and in no particular order, my favorite year of the movies.
1: The Fly-I would be surprised to hear that The Fly isn't David Cronenberg's most successful movie. It's the perfect amalgamation of his singular vision of body horror and popular filmmaking. Jeff Goldblum is magnificent in the lead, and Geena Davis is appealing and sympathetic. It's that rarity: An artistic Saturday afternoon monster picture.
2: The Mosquito Coast-I owe this movie so much for introducing me to the work of a great writer: Paul Theroux. Harrison Ford has never been better. Fans of his heroic performances hate The Mosquito Coast. It's my favorite Peter Weir movie, and one of my favorite movies, period. The cinematography is stunning and composer Maurice Jarre somehow managed to use a synth score to evoke the wild South American jungle. This movie is too much of a bummer for a lot of people. They should avoid the Theroux novel. It's even worse.
3: Stand By Me-Stephen King has been fortunate to receive a lot of good movies based on his writing. None capture the essence of his work as well as Stand By Me. It's by far Rob Reiner's best picture. He even managed to coax a brilliant performance out of Corey Feldman. The themes readers love about Stephen King are all present: Wonder, childhood, mortality, the nature of evil.
4: Ferris Bueller's Day Off-'86 was the peak of the teen movie craze that defined the 1980s. Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a warm, funny, sentimental fantasy about a day we all dream about, but few achieve. It's a parable, a farce, and a great ride. The museum scenes always choke me up.
5: River's Edge-Ferris Bueller is a sunny movie, but River's Edge is dark as the grave. It foreshadows the Nihilistic Nineties in a disturbingly convincing way. It isn't Keanu Reeves' first role, but it's the one that made me sit up and notice him. He's fantastic in this film, as is Dennis Hopper, Crispin Glover, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck, and that creepy-ass kid from Near Dark, Joshua Miller.
6: Something Wild-Jonathan Demme's road movie thriller is a celebration of music and life itself. Jeff Daniels has never been better, and Melanie Griffith is a knockout, but Ray Liotta steals the show in his breakout role. Funny cameos by John Waters, John Sayles, Charles Napier, and Tracy Walter keep the movie moving along, as does music by The Feelies, David Byrne, and others. Still fresh and wild all these years later.
7: Blue Velvet-No one has made dreamlike movies as well as David Lynch, and Blue Velvet is his masterpiece. A nigthmare version of The Hardy Boys, Blue Velvet is more of a conventional story than a lot of Lynch movies, but it's still wildly surreal and utterly terrifying. Dennis Hopper wasn't quite sober when it was made, and that propelled his ferocious performance.
8: Big Trouble in Little China -John Carpenter made urban legend movies and political satires, but Big Trouble is pure popcorn cinema. Sure, as an American version of an Asian fantasy/action movie it's a little weak, but who can resist Kurt Russell channeling John Wayne? It's irresistible.
9: Night of the Creeps-Fred Dekker seemingly came out of nowhere with this beautiful confection for horror fans. Everything about it works. Tom Adkins made film history as hardboiled Detective Cameron and the rest of the cast is in on every joke. The best of its kind.
10: At Close Range -Director James Foley won acclaim for later movies like After Dark, My Sweet and Glengary Glen Ross, but At Close Range is by far my favorite of his films. Sean and Chris Penn are great as two poor teen brothers living in hardscrabble rural Pennsylvania. They meet their long lost father, a career criminal. I always liked Christopher Walken, but he is stunning as the oily charismatic thief. Stronger on drama and performance than action, At Close Range is emotional, disturbing, and darkly humorous. Plus it's always good to see Mary Stuart Masterton.
11: Back To School-I love no comedy more than this one. Rodney Dangerfield's shtick was always raunchy, but he comes off almost wholesome in this one. He is charming, funny, and even a little touching. The one-liners are nonstop and a lot of them work. Keith Gordon is great as his son, and he shows the same range he employed in Christine. There's also Robert Downey Jr, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young, M. Emmett Walsh, and unforgettable appearances by Oingo Boingo and Kurt Vonnegut. Back to School never gets old. I'm smiling now just thinking about it.
12: Combat Shock-I'm going deep into the gutter with this one. Buddy Giovizanno's post Vietnam shocker is one of the last gasps of the NYC grindhouse era. A numbing, harrowing descent into the hell of PTSD, desperation, and poverty. Packaged by Troma as a war picture, I hate to think of the poor fools who rented it hoping for another Rambo clone.
13: Sid and Nancy-This punked-up biopic plays fast and loose with the facts, but Gary Oldman is brilliant as Sid Vicious, and Chloe Webb played Nancy Spungeon to the hilt. It's as true as it needs to be.
14: Jake Speed-Wayne Crawford may be a low rent Harrison Ford, but I'll take this over any Indiana Jones movie. A rousing homage to the pulps and a delightful action-adventure yarn in its own right. John Hurt is great as the bad guy. Endless fun.
15: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2-Genre purists howled in outrage at the humorous tone of this long-awaited sequel, but I always loved it. Tobe Hooper knew he could never match the intensity of the nail-biting original, so he made it a farce. The gore is plentiful, the music is great, and the humor works. Dennis Hopper, still not quite sober, was on the verge of a comeback and did some of the best work of his career in '86.
16: Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI-Again, shrewd filmmakers took a genre legend and used humor to make a highly entertaining movie. Tom McLaughlin did a wonderful job with this, and he made the dying franchise fresh again. Alice Cooper provides the should-be hit song, "He's Back (the Man Behind the Mask)". This is the favorite entry in the series for many fans.
17: The Color of Money-Paul Newman owns every scene he's in and his confidence as Fast Eddie is a wonder to behold. Tom Cruise's image as a screen hotshot wasn't completely disgusting yet, and he hits every note. Richard Price's script is sharp and literate, and Scorsese's visuals are letter perfect.
18: Heartbreak Ridge -Clint directed better movies in the eighties, like Bird and White Hunter, Black Heart, but Heartbreak Ridge is great old fashioned entertainment. He has never growled lines better.
19: Pretty in Pink -The styles, the music, the attitudes. John Hughes captured the era to perfection. With oustanding performances by Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, James Spader, and Harry Dean Stanton. I even forgive the compromised ending and whiny-ass Andrew McCarthy.
20: From Beyond -Stuart Gordon takes things a few steps further than his triumphant Re-Animator debut. Combs and Crampton return and bring Ken Foree with them. This is how it's done, folks.
Honorable mentions to April Fool's Day, Deadly Friend, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Mountaintop Motel Massacre, Maximum Overdrive, Demons, Cobra, Black Moon Rising, and of course, Critters.There you have it. Indisputable evidence that 1986 was a milestone for movies. Some nimrod wrote a book claiming 1999 was the best year ever. That's when things started to go bad. '86 is the one for me.
Written by Mark Sieber
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