The best movies of the 80s
By Never one to turn down an opportunity to make a meaningless list, I’ll take advantage of Matt Yglesias’s bleg and name my favorite 80s movies.
In the first edition of his Historical Abstract, Bill James pointed out that picking the best shortstop of all time is far easier than at any other position, but after that it’s desperate work, relying primarily on subtle distinctions of defensive ability that elude empirical analysis. I feel the same way about 80s films. My #1 choice is banal, but sometimes a critical consensus is correct, and since I’m neither Christopher Hitchens nor trying to sell magazines, I’m not going to deny the obvious. The 80s strike me as much weaker in truly great films than not only the 70s but also the 90s. I don’t have trouble coming up with lots of movies I like very much, but they’re either worthy but flawed works of art or solid entertainments that aren’t anything more. As a result, the vague order of preference might change significantly if I redid it next week, and there are at least a dozen movies I like about as much as most of those listed. Good decade for comedies, though: among others, Airplane!, A Fish Called Wanda, The Meaning of Life, The Naked Gun, and Planes, Trains and Automobiles are all movies I treasure.
1. Raging Bull
2. Crimes and Misdemeanors
3. This Is Spinal Tap
4. Blue Velvet
5. Lost In America
6. The King of Comedy
7. Once Upon A Time in America
8. Do The Right Thing
9. Bull Durham
10. Fanny and Alexander
Last cuts not already mentioned include: The Verdict, Drugstore Cowboy, The Thin Blue Line, Sex, Lies & Videotape, The Killing Fields. Blade Runner, Fast Times and The Terminator are all good pictures but not among my favorite movies. I prefer the first Die Hard to the latter. To be a little contrarian, I’ll also mention that I like Full Metal Jacket more than The Shining.