In the
1980’s the "Blockbuster" continued
to gain momentum by focusing on younger audiences.
Independent films also grew, often offering
more personal stories without relying on
a lot of special effects. Below are a selection
of the most influential films of this time
period.
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Blade
Runner - by Ridley Scott
Blade Runner Dekard is
brought out of retirement to find and
destroy a renegade replicant (human
clone) who's searching for the answer
to his short life span.
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Bird -
by Clint Eastwood
The story of Charlie Parker
a 40's jazz legend who was known for
his incredible talent but who eventually
fell victim to his self destructive
tendencies.
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Platoon -
by Oliver Stone
Chris Taylor has just joined
a platoon in Vietnam. He soon faces
the horrors of war and questions his
own morals as well as the morals of
his commanders.
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An
Officer and a Gentleman -
by Taylor Hackford
New to Navy flight school,
Zack Mayo is a recruit with an attitude.
It takes a tough drill sergeant to
break him down and help him reach
his true potential.
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Stripes -
by Ivan Reitman
John Winger convinces his
friend Russell to join the Army with
him. They figure it's the best place
to have some fun and meet some girls.
Before they know it, they're in a
top secret vehicle behind the iron
curtain.
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Raising
Arizona -
by Joel Coen
When ex--con H.I. and ex-cop
Edwing find out they can't have
children.In order to have a family
and to keep his
wife happy, H.I.
agrees to kidnap a child from a well
known
businessman.
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Good
Morning Vietnam
- by Barry Levinson
A new DJ is brought in to
boost morale of the troops.
His irreverent
humor becomes really popular but he
soon
is faced with the challenge of staying
funny
when the realities of
war take their toll on him.
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Full
Metal Jacket
- by Stanley Kubrick
Follow new Marine recruits
as they go the hell of boot camp.
Then in Vietnam, one of the recruits
known as
Joker is challenged to find
out if he really is a killer.
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Tin
Men -
by Barry Levinson
A car accident puts two aluminum
siding salesmen in a head to head battle.
But soon both of the men are facing
the same trouble when the IRS begins
investigating their sales practices.
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The
Elephant Man -
by David Lynch
Based on the true story of
John Merrick, who made a
living as
a sideshow freak because of his disfiguring
disease. A kind surgeon
tries to help him regain some sense
of dignity after being treated like
an animal.
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Blue
Velvet -
by David Lynch
After notifying the police
of a severed ear he found,
Jeffrey
Beaumont decides to investigate the
matter
himself. He
suddenly finds himself wrapped up in
the dangerous and seedy underworld
of his home town.
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The
Fly -
by David Cronenberg
A journalist named Veronica
investigates a brilliant scientist's
latest invention. Seth Brundle has
been
working on a teleportation device
but when he tests
it out on himself,
he is forever changed.
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Salvador -
by Oliver Stone
Combat journalist Richard
Boyle heads to El Salvador after hearing
rumors of war. The situation quickly
gets dangerous for Boyle as he tries
to not only get his
girlfriend to safety
but do his job in the process.
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Wall
Street
- by Oliver Stone
A green stockbroker looking
for a fast track to the top. When he
meets Gordon Gekko he learns everything
he needs to be a success and not all
of it is legal.
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Born
on the Fourth of July
- by Oliver Stone
An All-American wants nothing
more than to become
a Marine. After
surviving the horror of war and coming
home crippled, he soon becomes disillusioned
with the country he fought for and
becomes a war activist.
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Raiders
of the Lost Ark -
by Steven Spielberg
Archaeologist Indiana
Jones is on a quest to
find the
Ark of the Covenant. After
finding out old rival is helping
the Nazis, Indiana is determined not
to let the Ark get
into the wrong hands.
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E.T.
The Extra-Terrestrial -
by Steven Spielberg
An alien is left behind by
his mothership and must figure out
a way back home. Luckily he finds a
friend in a boy named Elliot who soon
becomes connected with him emotionally
as well as physically.
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Do
The Right Thing -
by Spike Lee
When the pizza place he works
for is accused of
prejudice, Mookie
is caught in the middle of erupting
racial
tension between Italians and African
Americans.
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She’s
Gotta Have It - by Spike Lee
Not wanting to be "owned"
by any man, Nola is dating three men
at the same time and won't commit to
any of them. Eventually she realizes
she has to make a choice.
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Time
Bandits -
by Terry Gilliam
Time-traveling
dwarves and a boy named Kevin make
their way through time looking for
treasure. Kevin and
the dwarves have
to overcome a number of obstacles escaping
an evil genius they stole a map from.
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Brazil -
by Terry Gilliam
Sam Lowry (a
civil servant) notices a mistake
in his paperwork that gets an innocent
man executed. Sam is sent to give the
deceased man's spouse a
refund check and finds the
girl of his dreams.
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Batman
- by Tim Burton
Batman inadvertently
gives birth to the Joker while
taking out some bad guys. When the
Joker turns out to be the same man
who killed his parents, Batman becomes
even more determined to stop
him.
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Dangerous
Liaisons -
by Terry Gilliam
The Marquise
de Merteuil challenges Vicomte de
Valmont
to seduce an innocent girl before she
weds. Without warning Valmont falls
in love with her making
the
Marquise de Merteuil dangerously jealous.
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Raging
Bull -
by Martin Scorsese
The story of middleweight
champion Jake LaMotta
who's aggressive
personality and rage get him far in
the
ring but also reeks havoc in his personal
life.
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Chariots
of Fire -
by Hugh Hudson
The story of two athletes
who run for Great Britain in the 1924
Olympics. Harold Abrahams, a Jewish
athlete, runs to overcome prejudices
and Eric Liddell runs because it makes
him feel closer to god.
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Gandhi
- by Richard Attenborough
The story of Gandhi an Indian
lawyer who became
India's biggest political
leader. His philosophy of
non-violent activism help free India
from British control.
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Das
Boot
- by Wolfgang Peterson
To experience life as a crew
member, a journalist joins
a German
U-Boat on their mission. But when the
ship is sent off on a suicide mission,
he soon finds himself at
the bottom
of the ocean fighting to survive.
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Ran -
by Akira Kurosawa
An old king divides his kingdom
up amongst his three sons. One of the
sons get greedy and starts a rivalry
against his brothers. With all the
sons fighting against
each other, the
old king loses his sanity.
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