Three of my favourite movies are here: Repo Man, Brazil and Blade Runner. I loved them as they came out, stunning, new, more realistic in their social commentaries than main stream junk. Thanks for celebrating these movies.
Although not sci-fi, one of my favorite cult movies of the '80's is a French movie called Diva (1981). It's basically an action thriller that follows a young man who makes an illegal high quality recording of an opera diva who refuses to have her voice recorded. The criminal underworld want the recording and pursue him to get it. Amazing movie.
My brother and I saw The Hidden in the theaters, not knowing anything about it (we didn't even see its poster) and we loved it. I saw Brazil in the theaters, too, not knowing anything about it, and was blown away by the experience. The most memorable movie experiences I've ever had were the ones I went into the theater totally clueless about what I was about to see.
God. I was driving home from work down the freeway today and as I passed by all the billboards blocking the view I thought of how it’s been decades since I last saw Brazil. Amazing film. And repo man! I watched that movie so many times on vhs the tape burned out. But yeah, Bladerunner tops the list. I saw it in an almost empty cinema when it came out and was blown away. I have honestly watched it hundreds of times since then. It’s probably going to be the movie I watch on my deathbed tbh… an absolute masterpiece
In the 80's I watched in the theater, Road Warrior, RoboCop, and The Hidden and Blade Runner, too. I thought, "here we go! Action movies with some punk!" HOllywood is going to make some great stuff. Weird movies, fun broheim. Little did I know, it was a peak. None others would be better.
I made the same comment- I don't know how anyone could make a list titled iconic cult classics that changed cinema forever without recognizing Carpenter's classic cult underground hit movie... that film has probably been seen & talked about by everyone at some point in their lives & yet is has always been an underground cult fav & hit... it literally defines that list & every other film that made the list has at least a few things that I could argue make it FAIL in the creators set-up and a few better lists that they could be included on... NOT THEY LIVE tho- it is definitively that... even the low budget special effects are still awesome & hi-light the concepts that will live forever >>> at least as long as exploitation & secret/elite societies are the most significant & substantive characteristic of society which is like always! REICHSTAG911 literally ushered in the THEY LIVE take over of the USA and YES- they are aliens... aka = alien to human empathy understanding & morality etc etc so who cares where they were born & if they are "human" they act like aliens so aliens is what they are & YES THEY LIVE! Turn on any 24 hr "news" broadcast, look at who is running for POTUS
Blade Runner is a masterpiece. A perfect movie. I had this feeling the first time i saw it, back in the early 80's, and i still have it. Alien and Blade Runner are Ridley Scott's best movies. He's a master of complex visuals, fantastic sets and incredible imagery. Funly enough, i read recently that Harrison Ford had a bad time filming it, he argued with Ridley very often in the set. Maybe that's why he looks bored and not having a great time, on many parts of the movie. Rutger Hauer delivered the performance of his lifetime on it. It's a movie that will always be seen and re-seen through time. Masterpiece.
Where in the world is Scanners? The single best scene of bodily destruction, a head exploding, and a very real storyline, the Thalidomide crisis. My name is Bicycle Bob and I approved this message.
I like your pre-revisionist take on Blade Runner. It was a fantastic but difficult watch back in 1982; Fantastic because of the incredible world-building and score; Difficult because it was so ambivalent about its characters; are they good or are they terrible, are they just part of the machine or are they transcendent? It's our role as an audience to decide, I guess, and that's what made it perpetually memorable. I dunno, all the latest Blade Runner chatter seems to miss the point. It was very good, and history seems to agree, despite all the arguments. Likewise all the films on your list (although I haven't seen The Hidden), 80's cinema was the best!
The problem with denouncing revisionism is that it’s basically advocating that a work of art should be pinned and mounted to a wall and promptly forgotten. It’s an approach that advocates nostalgia rather than inspection. It ensures that a work will forever belong to a specific generation and will die out with that generation. That’s why revision is importance; it’s the continuation of a discussion.
@@wellesradio Thanks for your comment. As you'll notice from mine, I didn't 'denounce' anything, I merely admired the OP's take on the movie, as released. Whether or not that denies 'inspection' I'll leave for others to comment, but my intention was not to'promptly' forget any aspect of the movie. The revisionist take is as valid as any other, but the movie I watched in 1982 was as profound and compelling as any of the subsequent iterations. Can we at least agree on that?
I think that Phillip K Dick SPECIFICALLY wrote his Sci-Fi novel with the intent to demonstrate the manifestation of that ambiguity in human nature. That ambiguity in his mind is totally what makes us HUMAN & it is something that cannot be REPLICATED [important that the descriptor is replicant just like the word reptile- many reptiles CHANGE & can re-grow body parts by the way] > as GOD already created him a priori and anything else is a PERVERSION of that work of GODS'... The PREMISE of PKD in his novel- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? A HUMAN can believe that the Moon is to the Earth... as an apple is as to the earth... therefore the moon is an apple & then by describing an apple falling to the earth reveal how the moon falls in exactly the same way... whereas a machine can NEVER do that- to be able to understand a metaphor/ simile is NOT to simply have the capacity to LIE
In a way, Videodrome kind of predicted the future. In the movie, Videodrome is presented as a TV broadcast showing people being tortured and killed. At the time the idea was shocking and Max even asks "Who'd watch that?" Today, there are sites on the internet where you can watch recorded and even live BDSM shows. Granted, they're all consensual and don't go as far as the scenes portrayed in the movie, but still, who would have thought such things would ever exist? And for those who want more, there are even sites offering fake snuff videos. They don't hide the fact that the videos are fake, but that doesn't change the fact that they're sites devoted to videos depicting people dying in various ways.
Not just fictional either. It used to be that you would never see people actually dying. News wouldn't think of showing videos like that. I remember the first time there was a video that actually showed someone's death posted online. It was absolutely shocking.
Except for The Hidden, I was lucky enough to see all these, first run in the Cinema, back in the days of wide screed and surround sound. All remain in my top ten and lucky enough to have all on DVD as well. Great choices and well done.
4 out of 5 of these were already on my favorite list. So I really need to check out "the Hidden!" Don't forget that Brazil was part of a trilogy by Terry Gilliam!
Fantastic list. As a teenager in the 80's I can remember when Videodrome was strictly an under the counter rental from my local rental shop. Thanks for the upload.
@@EchoesofAnalog You are welcome. Blade Runner is my favourite movie and your description of the core of the movie is one of the best I have every seen.
I have not seen any of these particular films, but your writing is exceptional and your insights are thoughtful. I would love to hear your opinions on other movies, too, whether through RU-vid or another source.
Repo Man = Best. Movie. Ever. Of course I’m kidding, but I saw it in the theaters and found it wildly entertaining. Another movie that has the right vibe to be on this list, is “A Boy and his Dog”, which stars a very young Don Johnson, and is hilariously bizarre (yes, I know it’s from 1975).
It also has one of the saddest most beautiful lines ever uttered by a villain. On contemplating his end, the baddy Batty wonders if all of his memories will just disappear like tears in the rain.
But of course Brazil. Genius Also, how the studios repressed a movie about bureaucratic repression remains one of the most obvious forms of Art fiction becoming reality. The system works
I haven't seen Repo man, but every other film on this list I would definitely fall into my, highly recommended list. The hidden in particular, a lot of fun, and aged like a fine wine.
Outstanding commentary provides legitimacy to what are often ignored works of serious art, which also inform and entertain. Picasso is wonderful, but can't do that.
5 for 5. Saw all of these in the theater, and have since kept VHS/DVD/BluRay copies of these. Shared them with my son (when age appropriate) Was hoping you'd point me to something I'd missed, but no. Good job.
Interesting list. I remember as a young man having trouble with some of these movies. The Hidden was campy fun and I liked that one a lot. But Repo Man, which I saw in the theaters and Brazil, kind of depressed me. I've gained more respect for them since.
I'd add Return of the Living Dead to the list - first movie with fast zombies as well as the first where they specifically sought brains, and it was somewhat self-aware, not to mention having a great punk rock soundtrack.
Excellent selection of films! I watched The Hidden many years ago and seem to recall its open ending made it feel like a pilot episode for a tv series that never followed?
Quite intelligent commentary on five boffo films, though I've not yet seen The Hidden. Far better than all those other "ten forgotten films of the eighties" videos where the narrator sounds like an AI hired by a film company to promote films to a disengaged public. If your order means anything, I would rate Blade Runner first, as you do, but Videodrome second, both for their complex and interesting plots and for their influence on later cinema.
That's an interesting perspective. Scanners might be the least body horror-focused of Cronenberg's films from that era. However, multiple respected sources like Criterion, Wikipedia, and CBR classify it as body horror. So what do you think leads them to that conclusion?
I really think that Robocop should be in that list. And despite me enjoying a lot Brazil I do think its influence isn't that great compared to Robocop which really capture the cyberpunk genre perfectly. The movie emphasizes so much on important topics like masculinity, gentrification, corruption, death... that almost any cyberpunk movie coming after it is influenced by Robocop.
Thank you... also note that THEY LIVE did not make this list which is laughable & telling... here are my views of BR novel vs hellywood production... I think that Phillip K Dick SPECIFICALLY wrote his Sci-Fi novel with the intent to demonstrate the manifestation of that ambiguity in human nature. That ambiguity in his mind is totally what makes us HUMAN & it is something that cannot be REPLICATED [important that the descriptor is replicant just like the word reptile- many reptiles CHANGE & can re-grow body parts by the way] > as GOD already created him a priori and anything else is a PERVERSION of that work of GODS'... The PREMISE of PKD in his novel- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? A HUMAN can believe that the Moon is to the Earth... as an apple is as to the earth... therefore the moon is an apple & then by describing an apple falling to the earth reveal how the moon falls in exactly the same way... whereas a machine can NEVER do that- to be able to understand a metaphor/ simile is NOT to simply have the capacity to LIE
Have no idea why Blade Runner flopped years ago. Ridley Scott, you did not do do the sequel for a REASON, Clashed with something else, it had its schedule you had yours, get over it
I think that Phillip K Dick SPECIFICALLY wrote his Sci-Fi novel with the intent to demonstrate the manifestation of that ambiguity in human nature. That ambiguity in his mind is totally what makes us HUMAN & it is something that cannot be REPLICATED [important that the descriptor is replicant just like the word reptile- many reptiles CHANGE & can re-grow body parts by the way] > as GOD already created him a priori and anything else is a PERVERSION of that work of GODS'... The PREMISE of PKD in his novel- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? A HUMAN can believe that the Moon is to the Earth... as an apple is as to the earth... therefore the moon is an apple & then by describing an apple falling to the earth reveal how the moon falls in exactly the same way... whereas a machine can NEVER do that- to be able to understand a metaphor/ simile is NOT to simply have the capacity to LIE
what was the point of that movie exactly? that a toilet scrubbing maid is a secret queen of the universe & that humans can be morphed with animals & fall in love with other humans & that is "heart=warming"
blade runner never got me...boring plot. plot totally unrelated to sci fi. only sci fi thing there is environment and that's all. it's like watching time machine used to turn back in time to grocery store before the closing time...and that's all. nothing more. no time paradoxes, no plot twist. nothing. you get your grocery. thanks time machine. nothing more.
Your pronunciation of Vangelis is wrong. You claim these films have influenced many filmmakers but quote or name few of them. Has Tim Burton gone on record to say Brazil influenced him? Who knows because you just made the claim because it is “dark”.
Sorry... The quote about Tim Burton comes from the Criterion Collection essay on the film: "Brazil has set a high bar for fantasy, science fiction, and social satire ever since, and you can see its influence in everything from Tim Burton’s Batman (1989)..." It's written by David Sterritt (feel free to direct your ire at him). And the claim wasn't that they were simply 'dark'; it's that they are both works heavily influenced by German Expressionism that came out in the 1980s.
So.... Blade Runner is more mainstream and does NOT belong in this list, unless you wanted to include the Empire Strikes Back and RoboCop. You totally skipped Buckaroo Bonzai which was easily the king of cult classic sci-fi from the 1980's. Blade Runner? really?
Great video essay...your synopsis is outstanding and your examination lucid and concice Perhaps more than anything your forethought regarding the films significance to film history and culture are expressed very well.
