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best films of the 1980s So in my spare time lately (I'm underemployed at the moment) I've been tinkering a lot with my Film Viewing database. Basically what this means is "doing data entry"—entering and rating more and more films. It's fairly tedious work but somehow it's also engaging and engrossing. And the database as a whole is starting to get "robust"—it's starting to reach that sweet spot where I can command it to produce certain types of output, and get results that I feel are reasonably accurate. For instance, just as a test, I asked it to show me all the movies from the 1980s that I've given a rating of 8 or higher to (out of ten). I'm pretty pleased with the results, a list of 30 films which I think I could defend as the "best films of the 1980s." Anyone want to have a good-natured argument about it? Anything I've left out? Anything I've wildly over-rated? I chose the 80s more-or-less at random, and will happily present the results of a different decade upon request. Labels: filmographies, lists, media commentary, personal

Monday, March 02, 2009 1:50 PM   Comments: Dekalog - Kieslowski, yikes that would be my #1, right next to Do The Right Thing. You've got a lot of blockbusters up there that I really didnt enjoy, but you've got a lot of great ones too. Seventh Continent is a one-trick pony, and once you get the trick, its all a matter of endurance. 30 is probably too many for the 80s anyway, while its probably too few for the 70s. # posted by  Unknown : 6:01 PM   Ah, I still have to see Dekalog, that's a blind spot. As for the blockbusters: I can be pretty appreciative of a finely made genre flick (i.e. Die Hard). Just for laughs, here's my list of the 1970s, which is a little bare in spots. Suggestions welcome! Best of 1970s # posted by  jpb : 8:09 PM   My list would include plenty of films listed here, with Do the Right Thing ranked in the top five. Major differences: Less than Zero would be my only perfect 10 and Thin Blue Line would also be near the top, probably with an 8 or 9. # posted by  G.P. Edwards : 12:29 AM   "Just for laughs, here's my list of the 1970s, which is a little bare in spots. Suggestions welcome!" No Bergman? Cries and Whispers, Scenes From a Marriage, Autumn Sonata? Fellini's Amarcord also. Pretty good list though. I just recently saw Close Encounters on cable, and boy did that date badly, yow. Pretty unwatchable imo. # posted by  Unknown : 5:31 PM   I've seen Bergman films from the 50s, 60s, and 80s, but not a single film of his 70s output. # posted by  jpb : 4:01 PM   As ever, my film list is at film - deluge (split into 2 sections, and tv under that). My 80's list thinks yours is missing: The Dark Crystal The Big Chill Monty Python's The Meaning of Life Koyaanisqatsi Never Cry Wolf Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds Tampopo Ofelas / Pathfinder The Princess Bride Withnail and I The Adventures of Baron Munchausen Who Framed Roger Rabbit Cinema Paradiso The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover Dead Poets Society and from the second section Popeye (1980) Diva (1981) The Great Muppet Caper (1981) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) The King Of Comedy (1983) Local Hero (1983) Amadeus (1984) Ghostbusters (1984) The NeverEnding Story (1984) The Breakfast Club (1985) Cocoon (1985) Castle in the Sky (1986) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) Pretty in Pink (1986) My Neighbour Totoro (1988) Rain Man (1988) Driving Miss Daisy (1989) The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989) (unrelatedly, your blog's archive only goes up to Feb 2006.) # posted by  Unknown : 5:07 PM   Nice list, Q., although I don't agree with every choice. (I would, however, like to revisit Roger Rabbit). As for the blog archive problem... sigh. I maintain that archive by hand, which is kind of time-consuming and often gets ignored (for years at a time apparently). I'll fix it at some point. # posted by  jpb : 9:45 AM   Post a Comment