The 80’s were a good decade, if you ask me. I was talking to my cousin about this last night. She wanted to watch Sponge Bob, a cartoon that baffles me, and I asked if she had ever heard of the Thundercats, Voltron, Danger Mouse. Classic, timeless, television. With thoughtful, classic, ass-kicking.
Apparently not. Which is so wrong. Because honestly, you can’t get much better than alien warrior cats, robots, and super-secret-agent mice with British accents. Unless you’re into Gargoyles, but that’s a whole different decade.
Anyway. It also got me thinking about movies. Favorite fantasy and sci-fi movies from the 80’s, to be specific. Some better than others, but every one of them sharing the love. And I’m trying to figure out what it is about these flicks, as stories and visual entertainment, that continue to appeal (to me, anyway). The list of my favorites is below, though I left out Indiana Jones and Star Wars on purpose. Icons. Of course I love them.
What these seem to have in common, though, in varying combinations, is this:
a) big crazy action and adventure
b) big crazy romance
c) big crazy child-like wonder
d) big crazy fun
And I’m thinking, good books are just the same.
So, because I love these films just that much, I’m giving away any one of them from the list below to three lucky people (winner’s choice, with the exception of Blade Runner, which is only available used, I think).
All you have to do is tell me in the comments what you think gives these, or any movie that you love, that lasting power to entertain, mystify, and make you feel flat-out good. I’ll draw the winners on Saturday.
And now, bed. Tomorrow I’m off on a two-day business trip across state lines—my very first photoshoot with a major newspaper. I’ll see you guys when I get back. Stay safe, and be bad.
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Conan the Barbarian (do you want to live forever?)
Conan the Destroyer (grab him! and take him!)
Masters of the Universe (i have the power!)
Red Sonja (no man may have me, unless he’s beaten me in a fair fight)
The Beastmaster (i’m dar)
Krull (power is fleeting; love is eternal)
Highlander (there can be only one)
Ladyhawke (she loves you more than life itself…she’s had to)
The Princess Bride (as you wish)
The NeverEnding Story (in the beginning, it is always dark)
Willow (all that you require is your intuition)
Labyrinth (how you turn my world, you precious thing)
Legend (what is light without dark)
The Last Unicorn (i have forgotten that men cannot see unicorns)
The Dark Crystal (all right…alone then)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (it’s just a flesh wound)
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (us loners got to stick together)
Barbarella: Queen of the Galaxy (an angel does not make love, an angel is love)
The Terminator (come with me if you want to live)
The Transformers – The Movie (one shall stand, one shall fall)
Spaceballs (i bet she gives great helmet)
The Ice Pirates (i have no intention of facing this sober)
Flash Gordon (i like to play with things a while before annihilation)
E.T. – The Extra-Terrestrial (phone home)
Jaws (this shark, swallow you whole)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (he says the sun came out last night)
Starman (shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you?)
Short Circuit (number five, alive!)
*Batteries Not Included (i think we got elves)
Flight of the Navigator (ooh, a threat…look, I’m really shaking!)
Explorers (shut up, heinlein!)
Solarbabies (get out, you creature of filth!)
Night of the Comet (you were born with an asshole, doris, you don’t need chuck)
The Last Starfighter (woo! all right! we’re being invaded! )
Heavy Metal (a shadow shall fall over the universe)
Alien (i like to keep this handy for close encounters)
The Evil Dead (hail to the king, baby!)
Army of Darkness (you ain’t leading but two things: jack and shit, and jack left town)
Blade Runner (they don’t advertise for killers in the newspaper)