The Eighties was a landmark
decade for Hollywood, and Stealth Media films believes that there are five
movies that defined the cinematic landscape of the eighties.
The Eighties, Big Hair, Big Shoulder Pads and Even Bigger Aspirations
The Eighties were an amazing time
to be alive. It was the decade of big hair, big shoulder pads and even bigger
aspirations. The social angst of the Sixties and Seventies was dead, and in its
place stood the American Dream, as everybody tried to make as much money as
humanly possible.
That’s what Hollywood became in
the Eighties; a machine dedicated to squeezing as much cash out of movie goers
at the box office as it could. All of a sudden, budgets got bigger, plugging
your latest project on talk shows became a thing, and star power became more
important than acting talent.
Top Five Films of the Eighties
For better or worse, there are
five movies that Stealth Media Films believe came to make the cinematic
landscape of the Eighties what we now it as today. These are:
Raging Bull: Released in 1980, Raging
Bull in fact became one of the best-selling films of the decade, and is
regarded as one of the best of all time. A project Martin Scorsese was initially
reluctant to direct, Raging bull is a biographical film about Italian
Middleweight boxer Jake La Motta. A simple human interest story, Raging Bull touched hearts cross the
world.
E.T: E.T was a standout
film for many reasons. It became the highest grossing film of all time, shot
Steven Spielberg’s career to new heights and introduced a young Drew Barrymore.
It is ultimately remembered though, as the film that showed the power of
friendship, a trope hat Hollywood has repeated many times since its original
debut back in 1982.
Empire Strikes Back: Following on from the success of the original Star Wars film, Empire Strikes Back had a to prove. It rose to the occasion,
becoming more successful than the original and immortalising the line ‘Luke, I
am Your Father.’ This has to be the most parodied line of all time, and
practically reinvented the cliff hanger for a modern audience.
Top Gun: Everyone remembers the Top
Gun soundtrack. This film practically established the film soundtrack as a
cinematic staple, and is one of the highest selling of all time. Oh, and it
also popularised Aviators, really big hair for men and Tom Cruise. Stealth
Media Films isn’t sure we can forgive it for the latter.
Breakfast Club: How many times have we seen high school shenanigans
play out on screen? This theme was a staple of the Eighties, and has remained a
Hollywood mainstay ever since. However, the Breakfast
Club is arguably the film that defined the high school movie as a Hollywood
classic. Even now, it’s our ultimate guilty pleasure.
The Eighties was a Landmark Decade for the Silver Screen
For different reasons, these five
films not only defined the cinematic landscape of the Eighties, but of Hollywood
as we know and love in the modern day. Whether you like that or not, you cannot
deny that the Eighties was a landmark decade for the silver screen.
