1980’S 1980’S The decade of the 1980s tended to consolidate the gains made in the - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

1980’SSlide2

1980’S

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.Slide3

1980’S

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superceded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

)Slide4

1980’S

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).Slide5

1980’S

Paul Brickman's satirically funny Risky Business (1983) (with its oft-quoted 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 call-girl 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.Slide6

1980’S

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, crudely-

cliched

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.Slide7

1980’S

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 film-makers 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).