My Favourite films from the ’80s

Hey pals,

I know lots of people love ’80s films, but tend to name things like The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, or a range of horror films… These are my favourite three iconic films.

 

The Karate Kid (and spin offs)

One of my first recalled crushes was on the Karate Kid. Daniel LaRusso fucked me up, I wanted to be him and be in love with him. One of the best underdog films, in my

opinion. Mr. Miagi was a true icon and I spent my time practicing the winning crane kick. This was the film that got me interested in other sports drama films even though Idon’t like sports. It was wonderful to see Japan through these characters in the sequel and the life/people Mr. Miyagi left behind, but the plot isn’t that far different from the first one, as Daniel pisses off the local bad boy by flirting with the girl he wants. The sequel after, with a new karate kid, was more different because it was a young woman in high school with an attitude problem and Mr. Miagi had to learn how to be around a teenage girl vs. teenage boy. Some nice comedic moments, and generally is a sweet film.

 

 

Dead Poets Society

I practically lived this society at university, we even watched it at one of our socials. I’m asucker for Robin Williams characters and his character Mr. Keating is the literary teacher we all deserve. His passion for literature but also to help spark passion in the kids he taught is so admirable and makes it hard to hate this film, even with the dark ending. He brings a group of boys, who are hardly anything alike, together to enjoy being a group and to make their lives extraordinary. 

 

 

Anne of Green Gables trilogy

The first television drama was released in 1985, the follow up sequel was released in 1987, and then the final film (The Continuing Story) was released in 2000 but I’m going to ignore that and just include it here. It all starts with Anne at 12 years old, an orphan who loves to read, in a terrible family. She is adopted by two siblings, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert. They wanted a boy to help with the farm and Marilla told Matthew to take her back, I think they attempted to take her back a few times but Matthew never wanted to and eventually convinced Marilla they should keep her. Anne was always the oddball and never did things the ‘right’ way and was a dreamer. She stood up to boys being horrible and was an incorrigible show off, but I always loved that about her. She went to university, became a teacher, taught at an awful private school full of upper class priss bitches, and eventually published a book and married the boy who used to pick on her. She has numerous love affairs (not in a bad way, but she was always lusted after by men wherever she went because she wasn’t prone to their advances and chased after her). He life was always crazy and adventurous. She made such an impression on young me that I too went to university, studied writing and stood up to horrible boys and bosses. She helped turn many horrible characters into more likable people with her unending kindness and she also parallelled Mr. Keating from The Dead Poet’s Society and tried to spark something in the children she taught. I think you can tell which of the three I have the most passion about (also there are three films that span a character’s lifetime, whereas the others aren’t so extensive.)

 

I hope i can spark an interest in these film for you, and if you have any you think I should reconsider, leave a comment down below.

 

~ Artie

 

 

see other film related posts here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.