1980s in film

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The decade of the 1980s in Western cinema saw the return of studio-driven pictures, coming from the filmmaker-driven New Hollywood era of the 1970s. [1] The period was when the "high concept" picture was established by producer Don Simpson, [2] where films were expected to be easily marketable and understandable. Therefore, they had short cinematic plots that could be summarized in one or two sentences. Since its implementation, this method has become the most popular formula for modern Hollywood blockbusters. At the same time in Eastern cinema, the Hong Kong film industry entered a boom period that significantly elevated its prominence in the international market.

Contents

The cinema of the 1980s covered many subgenres, with hybrids crossing between multiple genres. The course strengthened towards creating ever-larger megahit films, which earned more in their opening weeks than most previous movies due in part to scheduling releases when there were less competition for audience interest.

Content

The decade saw an increased amount of nudity in film, as well as the increasing emphasis in the American industry on film franchises; especially in the science fiction, horror, and action genres. Much of the reliance on these effects-driven movies was due in part to the Star Wars films at the advent of this decade and the new cinematic visuals they helped to pioneer.

With the release of 1984's Red Dawn , the PG-13 rating was introduced in the U.S. to accommodate films that straddled the line between PG and R. Which was mainly due to the controversies surrounding the violence of the PG films Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Gremlins from earlier that same year. [5]

Some have considered the 1980s in retrospect as one of the weaker decades for American cinema in terms of the qualities of the films released. Quentin Tarantino (director of Pulp Fiction ) has voiced his own view that the 1980s was one of the worst eras for American films. [6] Film critic Kent Jones also shares this opinion. [7] However, film theorist David Bordwell countered this notion, saying that the "megapicture mentality" was already existent in the 1970s, which is evident in the ten highest-grossing films of that decade, as well as with how many of the filmmakers part of New Hollywood were still able to direct many great pictures in the 1980s (Martin Scorsese, Brian de Palma, John Carpenter, etc.). [8]

Highest-grossing films

List of worldwide highest-grossing films
RankTitleStudio(s)Worldwide grossYearRef
1 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Universal Pictures $792,942,069 1982
[9]
2 Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back 20th Century Fox$538,375,067 1980
3 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Paramount Pictures $474,171,8061989
4 Batman Warner Bros. $411,348,924 1989
5 Back to the Future Universal Pictures$381,109,762 1985
6 Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi 20th Century Fox $374,593,074 1983
7 Top Gun Paramount Pictures$357,463,748 1986
8 Rain Man Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer $354,825,435 1988
9 Raiders of the Lost Ark Paramount Pictures$353,988,025 1981
10 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Paramount Pictures$333,080,2711984
11 Back to the Future Part II Universal Pictures$331,950,0021989
12 Who Framed Roger Rabbit Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures $329,803,9581988
13 Crocodile Dundee Paramount Pictures$328,203,5061986
14 Fatal Attraction Paramount Pictures$320,099,9971987
15 Beverly Hills Cop Paramount Pictures$316,300,000 1984
16 Rambo: First Blood Part II Carolco Pictures $300,400,0001985
17 Rocky IV Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer$300,373,7161985
18 Look Who's Talking TriStar $296,999,8131989
19 Ghostbusters Columbia Pictures $296,578,7971984
20 Coming to America Paramount Pictures$288,752,3011988
21 Tootsie Columbia Pictures$241,000,0001982
22 Crocodile Dundee II Paramount Pictures$239,606,2101988
23 Dead Poets Society Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures$235,860,1161989
24 Lethal Weapon 2 Warner Bros.$227,853,9861989
25 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Buena Vista/Disney $222,724,1721989
26 Twins Universal Pictures$216,614,3881988
27 Ghostbusters II Columbia Pictures$215,394,7381989
28 Dirty Dancing Vestron Pictures$214,600,000 1987
29 The Gods Must Be Crazy C.A.T. Films$200,000,0001980
30 Rambo III Carolco $189,015,6111988
31 The Little Mermaid Buena Vista/Disney$184,155,8631989
32 A Fish Called Wanda MGM$177,889,0001988
33 Cocktail Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures$171,504,7811988
34 Three Men and a Baby Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures$167,780,960 1987
35 Born on the Fourth of July Universal Pictures$161,001,6981989
36 Beverly Hills Cop II Paramount Pictures$299,965,0361987
37 Gremlins Warner Bros.$153,083,1021984
38 Big 20th Century Fox$151,668,7741988
39 Die Hard 20th Century Fox$140,767,9561988
40 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Paramount Pictures$140,000,0001988
41 Platoon Orion Pictures $138,530,5651986
42 The Karate Kid Columbia Pictures$130,000,0001984
43 The Karate Kid Part II Columbia Pictures$130,000,0001986
44 An Officer and a Gentleman Paramount Pictures$129,795,5541982
[9]
45 Gandhi Goldcrest Films / NFDC India $127,767,8891982
46 Rocky III Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer$124,146,8971982
[9]
47 Good Morning, Vietnam Buena Vista / Touchstone Pictures$123,922,3701987
48 On Golden Pond Universal Pictures$119,285,4321981
49 Shaolin Temple Chung Yuen Motion Picture Company$111,851,4391982
[a]
50 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Paramount Pictures$109,713,1321986

In the list, where revenues are equal numbers, the newer films are listed lower, due to inflation making the dollar-amount lower compared to earlier years.

Lists of films

See also

Notes

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Ebert, Roger; Bordwell, David (2008). Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert (Paperback ed.). Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. p. xvii. ISBN   978-0226182018. In his pluralism, [Roger] Ebert proved a more authentic cinephile than many of his contemporaries. They tied their fortunes to the Film Brats and then suffered the inevitable disappointments of the 1980s return to studio-driven pictures.
  2. Fleming, Charles (1998). High concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood culture of excess . Doubleday. ISBN   978-0-385-48694-1.
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  6. Shamsian, Jacob (24 August 2015). "Here's why Quentin Tarantino isn't worried about the influx of franchise films". Business Insider . Retrieved 27 June 2016. Back in the '80s, when movies sucked—I saw more movies then than I'd ever seen in my life, and the Hollywood bottom-line product was the worst it had been since the '50s—that would have been a great time [for Superhero films].
  7. Jones, Kent (2004). The Last Great American Picture Show: New Hollywood Cinema in the 1970s: "The Cylinders Were Whispering My Name". Amsterdam University Press. ISBN   9789053566312 . Retrieved 27 June 2016 via Google Books. This was the beginning of the 1980s, the worst decade ever for American movies...
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