BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby fange » 02 Nov 2012, 10:04

algroth wrote:Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 1989) – 3 votes – 11 points (T. Willy Rye (1), Jim Jarmusch (5), martha (5),


:lol: Unless Jarmusch has joined BCB, i'm guessing those 5 points are mine.

algroth wrote:Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988) – 2 votes – 14 points (Davey Avon PattyMelt (5), algroth (9),


For fuck's sake, i can't believe i forgot 'Grave of the Fireflies'! What a beautiful film. I find it hard to watch these days though, like 'Sophie's Choice'.

Cheers for all the hard work, algroth!
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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby Qube » 02 Nov 2012, 13:15

algroth wrote:
Matt Wilson wrote:
There's three Evil Dead movies.


Yes, but only two from the 80s. :)


A minor detail... :lol:

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby algroth » 02 Nov 2012, 14:44

Fangedango! wrote:
algroth wrote:Mystery Train (Jim Jarmusch, 1989) – 3 votes – 11 points (T. Willy Rye (1), Jim Jarmusch (5), martha (5),


:lol: Unless Jarmusch has joined BCB, i'm guessing those 5 points are mine.


Yep! Sorry. :oops:

algroth wrote:Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988) – 2 votes – 14 points (Davey Avon PattyMelt (5), algroth (9),


For fuck's sake, i can't believe i forgot 'Grave of the Fireflies'! What a beautiful film. I find it hard to watch these days though, like 'Sophie's Choice'.


It's a devastating film, so I understand that. Personally, I find it one of the finest films I've ever seen.

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby algroth » 02 Nov 2012, 14:47

the masked man wrote:
Bleep wrote:Well the 70's are surely when Tarkovsky will shine - Mirror and Stalker are two of the best movies ever made.



The problem is that his vote could be split heavily, as he also directed Solaris in the 70s; all three films could get votes but not enough to make the top fifty.


Of course, there is also the chance that some users will vote for two or three of them at the same time (I know I would :)).

But yeah, here's hoping he won't be ignored again. Stalker did do very nicely at the all-time poll, though, so there's a strong chance that at least that film will make it.

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby algroth » 02 Nov 2012, 14:50

My list:

Black Rain (Shohei Imamura, 1989) - 10
Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985) - 9
Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988) - 9
Angel's Egg (Mamoru Oshii, 1985) - 8
Offret (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986) - 8

My Neighbour Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988) - 8
Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983) - 8
Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 1980) - 8
Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog, 1982) - 7
Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) - 7

The Elephant Man (David Lynch, 1980) - 6
Caravaggio (Derek Jarman, 1986) - 5
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Hayao Miyazaki, 1984) - 5
Blood Weddings (Carlos Saura, 1981) - 5
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987) - 5

Akira (Katsuhiro Ohtomo, 1988) - 4
Come and See (Elim Klimov, 1985) - 4
Possession (Andrzej Zulawski, 1981) - 2
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981) - 1
Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987) - 1

Forbidden Zone (Richard Elfman, 1982) - 1
Kiki's Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989) - 1
Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983) - 1
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984) - 1
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989) - 1

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby The Modernist » 02 Nov 2012, 16:23

Many thanks for this Al, it's been a pleasure following it.

My own list.

NINE points for the first five.

Withnail and I (Robinson 1987)
Diva (Beineix 1981)
Angel (Jordan 1982)
Blue Velvet (Lynch 1986)
Jesus of Montreal (Arcand 1989)

*
FOUR points for the remaining twenty.
Rumble Fish (Coppola 1983)
Jean de Flourette (Berri 1986)
Bladerunner (Scott 1982)
After Hours (Scorcese 1985)
Raging Bull (Scorcese 1980)
Once Upon a Time in America (Leone 1984)
Angel Heart (Parker 1987)
Betty Blue (Beineix 1986)
Diner (Levinson 1982)
This Is Spinal Tap (Reiner 1984)
Eureka (Roeg 1983)
Meantime (Leigh 1984)
The Shining (Kubrick 1980)
Salvador (Stone 1986)
The Vanishing (Sluizer 1988)
Local Hero (Forsyth 1983)
Paris Texas (Wenders 1984)
Legend of the Holy Drinker (Olmi 1988)
Southern Comfort (Hill 1981)
Stranger Than Paradise (Jarmusch 1984)

A great decade for film!

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby the masked man » 02 Nov 2012, 16:34

My choices, and I'm even unsure of the lower points-scoring movies.


Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986) 10
Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)10
Come And See / Idi i smotri (Elim Klimov 1985) 10
Fanny & Alexander (Ingmar Bergman 1982) 9
Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg 1980)8
Eureka (Nicolas Roeg 1983) 8
The Sacrifice / Offret (Andrei Tarkovsky 1986) 8
A Short Film About Killing / Krótki film o zabijaniu (Krystztof Kieslowski 1988) 7
The Purple Rose Of Cairo (Woody Allen 1985) 7
Drowning By Numbers (Peter Greenaway 1988) 6
Sans Soleil (Chris Marker 1983) 6
This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner 1984) 6
Yeelen (Souleymane Cisse 1987) 5
Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee 1989) 4
Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch 1984) 4
Repo Man (Alex Cox 1984) 3
The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris 1988) 3
Wings Of Desire / Der Himmel über Berlin (Wim Wenders 1987) 3
The Vanishing / Spoorloos (George Sluizer 1988) 2
After Hours (Martin Scorsese 1985) 1
Ariel (Aki Kaurismäki 1988) 1
Back To The Future (Robert Zemeckis 1985) 1
Tampopo (Jûzô Itami 1985) 1
Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson 1987) 1
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown / Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (Pedro Almodóvar 1988) 1

Not much to get excited about in this decade - the high number of tired mainstream films in the top 50 shows how disastrous the 80s were for cinema. Still, thanks for organising this.

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby Davey the Fat Boy » 02 Nov 2012, 17:36

I went with the lazy method of 5 points each, but here are the films I picked:

Dead Ringers
Heaven's Gate
Tucker: The Man and his Dream
Prince of the City
The Shining 
Love Streams
They Live
The Stunt Man
Atlantic City
Bad Timing, A Sensual Obsession
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Oblomov
Cutter's Way
Fitzcarraldo
Once Upon a Time in America 
Sophie's Choice
Fanny & Alexander
The Right Stuff
El Norte
Radio Days
This Is Spinal Tap
Mephisto
Lost in America
Grave of the Fireflies
House of Games
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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby copehead » 02 Nov 2012, 17:56

never/ever wrote:
Copehead wrote:Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982) - 2 votes – 14 points (never/ever (9), Polishgirl (5),

Totally forgot that, and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Not that my vote would have made a difference.


Had you voted for Koyaanisqatsi and given it more than 5 points, it would have been in. :(





Damn, considering the impact it had, and still has on me, it would have been a nailed on 10pt film
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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby Matt Wilson » 02 Nov 2012, 18:03

How come no love for:

Cobra & Over the Top - Stallone at his best
Ishtar - Mindlessly underrrated
Yentl - Babs should've won an oscar!
The Pirate Movie - Kristie McNichol, anyone remember her?
Grease 2 - So much better than the original.

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby copehead » 02 Nov 2012, 18:16

10 points x 7

Withnail and I
This is Spinal Tap
Brazil
Repo Man
Betty Blue
Paris Texas
Blue velvet

4 points x 1

Revenge of the Nerds

3 points x 17

Trading Places
Uncle Buck
Bill & Ted's excellent adventure
48 hrs
Heathers
Time Bandits
Sid and Nancy
The Empire Strikes back
Return of the Jedi
Platoon
Once Upon a Time in America
Arthur
Gregory's Girl
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Blade Runner
Terms of Endearment
Airplane

There are a whole load there I expected to do better

Terms of Endearment, Gregory's Girl, Time Bandits, Heathers

Even Bill and Ted was a pretty big and popular film at the time and only I voted for it- bogus.

That people forgot about Betty Blue is baffling, it had one of the greatest film soundtracks of the 80s, as did Sid and Nancy.

I would have gone for The Wall, alongside Koyaanisqatsi and Dead men..., if I'd remembered it was an 80s film, I don't know why I thought it was from the 70s.
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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby Goat Boy » 02 Nov 2012, 18:56

If I voted The Vanishing would have made it :oops:
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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby The Write Profile » 02 Nov 2012, 22:36

D'avey wrote:Other than Spinal Tap, I think I actively dislike the entire top 5.


I'm surprised you would feel that way about Withnail & I. I actually thought that film would be right up your street- particularly considering what the film has to say about the 1960s, class, alcoholism and music. And of course it's bloody funny. There's no argument that Richard E Grant's entire reputation rests on this one film, but it was the performance of a lifetime. I think if there is a flaw it's that it belongs to that British tradition of relying heavily on its acting and script at the expense of its direction, which, a couple of scenes excepted (mostly notably when Withnail and Marwood hitch a joyride to the strains of "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" or the hilariously claustrophobic situation when they first arrive at the cabin), was more functional than impressive- although it certainly does the job. But it's a very warm and funny film, and the final sequence set to that Hamlet soliloquy is oddly heartbreaking.

Question for those who have seen the film- the original script ended with Withnail hanging himself- but instead they went for the more bittersweet ending. Do you think they got the tone right? I think it was the right decision, in the end- Withnail is ultimately a Falstaffian character who Marwood has to eventually shred ties with if he is going to move forward. Incidentally, Roger Ebert'sessay on the film is well worth reading.


Anyway, here was my 25, with the bolded ones making the final 50.


13 points
BLUE VELVET (Lynch, 1986)

8 points
ROBOCOP (Verhoven, 1987)
BLADE RUNNER (Scott, 1982*)

DRUGSTORE COWBOY (Van Sant, 1989)
FANNY & ALEXANDER (Bergman, 1982)

6 points
WITHNAIL & I (Robertson, 1987)
WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (Zemeckis, 1988)
THE THIN BLUE LINE (Morris, 1988)
PARIS, TEXAS (Wenders, 1984)
BRAZIL (Gilliam, 1985)


4 points
THE KING OF COMEDY (Scorsese, 1983)
THE KILLER (Woo, 1989)
DO THE RIGHT THING (Lee, 1989)
A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (Kieslowski, 1988)
WINGS OF DESIRE (Wenders, 1987)

3 points
THE TERMINATOR (Cameron, 1984)
FITZCARRALDO (Herzog, 1982)

THE VERDICT (Lumet, 1982)
THIS IS SPINAL TAP (Reiner, 1984)
THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (Mackenzie, 1980)

SCARFACE (DePalma, 1982)
THE SHINING (Kubrick, 1980)
REPO MAN (Cox, 1984)
DIE HARD (McTieran, 1988)
AIRPLANE! (Abrahams, 1980)




*My preference would be for "the Director's Cut", obviously!



About what I expected, but I agree with maskedman that it was a seriously directionless decade for mainstream cinema. The ones I picked were those I have watched the most-rather than any claims for "greatness" as such. The right film was number 1 in my book- Blue Velvet portended a whole lot of dreadful and rote "indie" cinema and television, for that matter, but it also remains a hugely singular viewing experience- so many different elements and so much force to it. And not all of its influence was bad by any stretch.
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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby algroth » 02 Nov 2012, 23:46

I think I prefer my 80s list over the one I presented for the 90s poll. I also prefer the final results overall.

I don't know, I feel that this is all the same matter we always discuss, and that in the end it simply boils down to the films we have actually seen. I'm sure there's a whole lot of films from the 90s I have not seen that might just as well turn it into my favorite decade of cinema, but I simply haven't found them yet.

I firmly believe that the 25 films I listed are genuinely great and I'd be actively willing to defend any of them.

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby T. Willy Rye » 03 Nov 2012, 00:47

My list:

1. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Allen 1989) 12
2. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986 Allen) 11
3. Blade Runner (1984 Scott) 10
4. This is Spinal Tap (Reiner 1982) 9
5. Drugstore Cowboy (Van Zant 1989) 8
6. Blue Velvet ( Lynch 1986) 7
7. The Empire Strikes Back (1980 Kershner) 7
8. Raising Arizona (Coen 1987) 7
9. Raging Bull (Scorcese 1980) 7
10. Broadway Danny Rose (Allen 84) 5
11. River's Edge (Hunter 86) 5
12. Brazil (Gilliam 85) 5
13. Withnail and I (Robinson 87) 5
14. Thin Blue Line (Morris 88) 4
15. Sweetie (Campion 89) 4
16. Blood Simple (Coen 84) 3
17. Wings of Desire (Wenders 87) 3
18. Do the Right Thing (Lee 89) 3
19. After Hours (Scorcese 85) 2
20. Roger and Me (Moore 89) 2
21. Sherman's March (McElwee 86) 2
22. Mystery Train (Jarmusch 89) 1
23. Something Wild (Demme 86) 1
24. World According to Garp (Hill 82) 1
25. Stranger than Paradise (Jarmusch 84) 1

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby Qube » 03 Nov 2012, 02:01

My list, nothing deep or intellectual for the most part, just a fun set of movies that I enjoy very much.

Aliens - 15
Evil Dead 2 - 10
The Goonies -9
Ghostbusters - 9
Back to the Future -8
This Is Spinal Tap -7
Armour of God -7
The Empire Strikes Back -6
Back to the Future 2-5
Evil Dead - 5
Airplane -4
Withnail and I -4
Shogun Assassin - 4
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home -4
Weird Science -3
Predator -3
The Thing -3
Naked Gun - 3
Gremlins -3
Roger Rabbit -3
Killer Clowns From Outer Space -3
The Dark Crystal -3
Tron -2
An American Werewolf In London -1
Dune - 1

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby The Modernist » 03 Nov 2012, 08:42

The Write Profile wrote: I think if there is a flaw it's that it belongs to that British tradition of relying heavily on its acting and script at the expense of its direction, which, a couple of scenes excepted (mostly notably when Withnail and Marwood hitch a joyride to the strains of "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)" or the hilariously claustrophobic situation when they first arrive at the cabin), was more functional than impressive- although it certainly does the job.


I wouldn't even say it's a flaw to be honest. Does the film need lavish visual sequences? I don't think so. The strength of the direction is the way it captures the performances.

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby the masked man » 03 Nov 2012, 09:29

We've had this argument before regarding the visual sense (or lack of it) in British film. The fact is, we're just not a visual culture - we can do literature and music, but we generally distrust flair in our cinema. (Also there are very few great British artists - after Turner and Hockney, you'd struggle to name any significant British painters.) Those filmmakers who dare to dream (Powell, Roeg, Greenaway...) have all faced huge barriers in their careers because of their bad luck in being born in a puritan country. The best modern British director, Lynne Ramsey, set her last film in the USA - which may be a good move for her. The British either go for the middlebrow blandness of the Richard Curtis school or the social realist drabness of the Loach / Leigh school.

As for Withnail, I did give it a vote as it's genuinely funny and insightful. But the cinematography is incredibly amateurish - it looks like a student film. Surely a little more visual brio could have turned a good film into a great film? I'm not suggesting that the stylisation that, say, Sacha Vierny or Christopher Doyle might have added is entirely appropriate, but sharper images would have definitely helped.

I'd turn Moddie's question on its head - what is wrong with lavish visuals?

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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby Goat Boy » 03 Nov 2012, 09:48

Nothing wrong with lavish visuals at all obviously but they would be a bit silly in a movie like Withnail. I actually like the cinematography. I think its bleached out, gray drabness really captures that fag end of the 60s feel. None of that swinging London, Austin Powers crap. The dream is over, the hangover has kicked in and the 70s are on the horizon.
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Re: BCB's Top Films of the '80s poll (FULL RESULTS).

Postby the masked man » 03 Nov 2012, 09:49

TWP - I didn't know about the original ending in the Withnail script, and must say the bittersweet ending in the finished film works better; the ending you described sounds overly melodramatic.


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