by Frank Calvillo
Recently, IMDB paid tribute to The Goonies in honor of the movie’s 30th anniversary and its overall standing as a bonafide ’80s film classic.
While the anniversary of this iconic film didn’t make me feel my age (Clueless’ 20th anniversary this year might though), it did make me want to revisit the year of The Goonies’ release, 1985, for a look at what other beloved titles are celebrating their 30th birthdays as well.
I had generally thought of the 80s as a sort of on-going cheese fest when it came to movies, with a few noteworthy gems scattered throughout the decade. After all, this is the period of film history which gave us franchises such as Porky’s and Police Academy. However, looking at the many films released throughout 1985 which made an impact in the film culture, its almost hard to imagine a better year in film.
Box-office returns don’t always equal a legendary classic. Even though a film can score with audiences, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee a long afterlife once it disappears from theater screens. Yet in 1985, the box-office made way for a number of titles which were never destined to become anything BUT classics.
Despite behind-the-scenes-friction, Mask gave both Cher and director Peter Bogdanovich a true hit in this coming-of-age tale of love and acceptance, while St. Elmo’s Fire took an earnest look at post-college life in the 1980s. Elsewhere, John Hughes cemented his status as the king of the teen film when The Breakfast Club and Weird Science struck a major chord with the youth of America, while at the same time Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg gave birth to one of the most beloved movie franchises in history with the time traveling staple Back to the Future.
Prestige films are never in short supply, no matter what kind of year the movies are having. Yet in 1985, some of the most critically acclaimed films of the year were hailed as striking pieces of cinema which challenged preconceived notions of society and opened up people’s minds to a variety of philosophical ideas.
Spielberg’s The Color Purple and Sydney Pollack’s Out of Africa both represented the epitome of high caliber novel-to-film adaptations, bringing home a combined total of 22 Oscar nominations between the two of them. At the same time, films such as My Life as a Dog and Witness both offered American audiences probing and telling views into different worlds never thoroughly, nor poetically, explored on screen before.
The year 1985 also ushered in a new acting force by the name of Daniel Day-Lewis, with two different yet powerhouse roles in two distinct films. The gay-themed My Beautiful Launderette and the poignant A Room with a View both gave the young actor one of the greatest forays into the world of film acting.
If there’s one thing the ’80s as a whole did right in terms of film, it was providing an almost endless amount of cult classics. But for my money however, 1985 had some of the best.
Though adaptations of popular games and long-awaited sequels to classic films are considered common place nowadays, back in 1985, they were considered risky ventures,
Although failing to pay off at the box-office, the comedy/mystery film adaptation of the classic board game Clue, and the imaginative Wizard of Oz sequel, Return to Oz, have become staples for many an odd film lover.
At the same time, the year showed a number of female-driven films attaining cult status including the comedy/mystery Desperately Seeking Susan, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and the chick-on-the-run The Legend of Billy Jean. Each of these films showed the different facets of what being a young woman in the 1980s could be in stories rich with interesting female heroines, which have all enjoyed healthy afterlives.
Individual genres saw entries into their respective canons more than raise the bar in comparison to what had come before. Comedies such a Fletch, Spies Like Us, and Albert Brooks’ brilliant Lost in America perfectly showcased some of the decades freshest comedic voices while Tom Cruise’s Legend, Ron Howard’s elegiac Cocoon, and Michelle Pfeiffer’s spellbinding Ladyhawke gave audiences the kind of sci-fi fantasy that belonged in an era all its own.
Meanwhile, legends George A. Romero and Dario Argento proved their staying power with Day of the Dead and Phenomena, respectively, as the horror genre welcomed fresh talent such as Stuart Gordon and Re-animator.
Speaking of legends behind the camera, the year in question brought forth some of the finest work ever done by a collection of cinema’s most accomplished directors.
Martin Scorsese’s manic dark comedy After Hours and William Friedkin’s pulsating To Live & Die in L.A. both proved the directors could assimilate into the new decade with vibrant results. Similarly, Woody Allen’s comment on audience’s relationship with cinema, The Purple Rose of Cairo, and Terry Gilliam’s Brazil gave both unorthodox filmmakers renewed faith from cinephiles everywhere who considered both titles to be true masterpieces. Finally, in a year of great transition in film, 1985 saw the smash debut of Tim Burton with the imaginative Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and the last great offering of the one and only John Huston with the near-flawless comedy/crime tale Prizzi’s Honor.
Looking back on 1985, some may not remember much more than cartoons and cereal, and true, many may look upon the decade as one of garish excess and loud commercialism, particularly in the movies. However, to be fair, its pretty hard to find a year in film which gave as much as 1985 did. From every aspect of the medium, the year churned out one shining example of what makes the artform one of the most powerful in existence.
Each film has grown, and will continue to grow, in the 30 years since audiences first discovered them. Some may have been prestigious Oscar winners while others were proud popcorn-level entertainment. Yet each title connected with moviegoers from all walks of life; allowing them to not only exhibit empathy, but also truly discover the wide-ranging power of movies.
