Tuesday, February 21, 2017

5 Off My Head: Siri Says 1983

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I was kind of hoping that Siri would give us a year a little bit closer to our current this week when I asked her for a number between 1 and 100, and for once she cooperated - 83 she said, and so today we celebrate The Movies of 1983. I was five going on six that year so most of these movies (another dark bunch of movies) I didn't see until much later -- there's only one film among the runners-up that I probably saw at the time. (And you probably can guess which one.) We've already done our five faves from the year before (right here) and the year after (right here) - the early 80s are almost gone altogether! - but this time around here are...

My 5 Favorite Movies of 1983

(dir. David Cronenberg)
-- released on February 4th, 1983 --

(dir. Mike Nichols)
-- released on December 10th, 1983 --

(dir. Martin Scorsese)
-- released on February 13th, 1983 -- 
 
(dir. Robert Hiltzik)
-- released on November 18th, 1983 --

(dir. Paul Verhoeven)
-- released on March 24th, 1983 --

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Runners-up: Return of the Jedi (dir. Marquand), Risky Business (dir. Brickman), Scarface (dir. Brian De Palma), The Hunger (dir. Tony Scott), Terms of Endearment (dir. Brooks), A Christmas Story (dir. Bob Clark), Zelig (dir. Woody Allen), Of Unknown Origin (dir. Cosmatos), Something Wicked This Way Comes (dir. Jack Clayton), Cujo (dir. Teague)

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 What are your favorite movies of 1983?
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6 comments:

Pierce said...

This was around the time when the VCR first became available commercially, so I saw a lot of these movies on tape. I went to see Terms of Endearment on a below zero Sunday and just hated it. I thought it was a nasty movie about nasty people. Then I had to wait almost an hour for a bus home in frigid weather. However, here are the ones I liked:

WarGames - smart little movie with a good cast.
National Lampoon’s Vacation - No masterpiece, but a very funny movie.
Trading Places - Terrific cast. One of the few things I can stand Eddie Murphy in. I love Jamie Leigh Curtis, too!
Octopussy - Louis Jourdan as the villain and a good script, this is one of Roger Moore's best Bond pictures.
Right Stuff - Outstanding. I watch this every Memorial Day, and when it's on disc, will watch it with Hidden Figures.
Big Chill = I related to a lot of this, because these were the people I knew in college.
Life of Brian - Anything with Monty Python.
Local Hero - A little gem. I bought this in London for 3 pounds, and can stream it from my computer.
Silkwood - Can't stand Streep, but both Kurt Russell and Cher are especially good in it.
Zelig - Marvelous, inventive Woody Allen
Yentl - I still cry when I watch this heartfelt movie what was a dream project for Streisand.
Strange Brew - Hamlet set in a brewery. There really is Elsinore Beer, but you have to get it at Elsinore, Denmark. I had it at Hamlet's Castle.
Tender Mercies - Robert Duvall deserved his Oscar for this film. Betty Buckley's great in it, too.
The Dresser - Brilliant acting. I watched this several times, because I wound up directing the play.
Star 80 - Eric Roberts and Marial Hemingway in a Bob Fosse movie. Superb.

Joel said...

The 4th Man is SO GOOD! I recently bought it on DVD and promptly forgot about it, so thanks for that.

Apparently I haven't seen many movies at all from this year for some reason, though out of movies not yet mentioned I really like The Dead Zone, Educating Rita and Psycho II (which is a lot better than it has any right to be).

MTMSLG said...

Wow, great to see The 4th Man here. I was mesmerized by that movie! Sexy, thrilling, I felt like a voyeur of something taboo!

joel65913 said...

THE 4TH MAN!!!! Amazing movie with an incredible performance by Renee Soutendijk. It doesn't make my top five but would be in my top 10. I don't have as many favorites this year as I usually do with the 40's-my favorite film decade-but there were many wonderful films this year.

Top 5:

A Christmas Story
The Right Stuff
The Year of Living Dangerously
Terms of Endearment
War Games

Runner-ups:

To Be or Not to Be-Love the original and love this one. Mel Brooks & Anne Bancroft interact do charmingly and what a great supporting cast.
Educating Rita
Mr. Mom
Under Fire-A woefully underrated drama with a trio of great performances from Joanna Cassidy, Gene Hackman and Nick Nolte
The 4th Man
The Outsiders
Heart Like a Wheel-A great Bonnie Bedelia performance!
Max Dugan Returns
Eddie and the Cruisers
Phar Lap
The Dresser
The Pirates of Penzance-Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury and George Rose all plunge into their roles with such brio, Rex Smith is adorable and it's so great that Linda Ronstadt-in glorious voice was able to perform her Broadway role.


Rob91316 said...

It's a guilty pleasure, for sure, but "Flashdance" would definitely be on my list. And "Risky Business" remains one of my favorite movies of all time. I can still watch it in the context of: "Before Tom Cruise became a wackadoo."

Forever1267 said...

"The Big Chill" is one of my all-time favorite movies. That's what I wanted my life and friends to be like, and have weekends like those (funerals notwithstanding). Not to be alas.