Comment: A difficult list to compile, as again I look to the films that gave me the most enjoyment and satisfaction, not necessarily what a critic would consider "best". I am aware that RAGING BULL has appeared at the top of compilations of important critics, and while I saw and enjoyed it, it is not on my list because I simply did not get from it the same satisfaction that other films gave me. Ambigous, perhaps, but that's how I do this.
My records indicate that I watched at least 620 movies in the 1980s, for an average of 62 movies a year; the figure is probably closer to 650, as I have learned that I occasionally forget to record a movie I've seen. Of this number I would estimate that approximately 50 were repeats.
It is also a reflection of age, or something: as I scanned the list of films I saw over the decade, there were at least 20 titles that simply didn't register. I read the title, and couldn't remember anything about the movie...
Here is a list, by year in which I saw the film for the first time, of my favorite movies of the 1980s. I acknowledge that I missed many important films of the decade, especially foreign films likeFANNY AND ALEXANDER, DAS BOOT, RAN, SALAAM BOMBAY, BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ, DIVA, etc.
1980:
Breaking Away 1981:
Raging Bull 1982:
Atlantic City 1983:
Ghandi |
1984:
Testament 1985:
Amadeus 1986:
Hannah and Her Sisters |
1987:
The Decline of the American Empire 1988:
Moonstruck 1989:
Field of Dreams |
Aliens
Blade Runner
Desert Bloom
Diner
E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial
Field of Dreams
The Killing Fields
The Last Temptation of Christ
Local Hero
Testament