Star-Studded Facts About The Best Films Of The 1980s
If there’s one way to describe the films of the 1980s, it was a time of contrasts.
On the one hand, it was a time of renewed patriotism in the US, leading to a renewal of action films which sold action and violence to millions of eager audience members.
On the other hand, the trends of the era led to a backlash from the art community, with films being made to protest corruption, blind patriotism, or war.
While all that was going on, adventure stories and sci-fi produced some of their most well-known and beloved films, which are still hailed as classics to this day. So who was responsible for all these films? What went into making them?
How did the times affect the art? Find out more with this list!
Best Films Of The 1980s Facts
45. Forced to Work Together to Make Money
One subgenre which really took off in the 1980s was the buddy cop film. The formula follows two wildly different men forced to work together, with at least one of them being a police officer. The '80s also added the detail that the buddies were often divided by their race, as was done with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in 48 Hrs. Shane Black later wrote the first Lethal Weapon film, featuring Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, and buddy cop movies were here to stay. Among the other successes of the buddy cop genre include Stakeout and Tango & Cash.
44. Box Office Kings
The 80s were a good time to be Harrison Ford, Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, and Sylvester Stallone. These men were the top highest grossing male actors in the 1980s.
43. That Sounds Great, Who Composed That?
One of the big Oscar pictures of the 1980s was the period musical Amadeus, which followed the life of Wolfgang Mozart as told by his rival, composer Antonio Salieri. In the film, Salieri claims that he was so jealous of Mozart’s brilliance that he conspired to kill him. Ironically, the success of the film led to a renewed interest in Salieri’s work—though it should be admitted that the movie portrayed a largely fictional version of their relationship.
