Awesome to the
Max: My Top 25 Movies That Made Growing Up in the 1980s Exceptional – Part 4 of
4
5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Where to begin how much I love
this movie? It was a movie where real life actors seamlessly interacted with
cartoons. Not just any cartoons, all of the Disney and Warner Brothers
characters! What kid didn’t want to see this?! But on a more personal love,
this was probably my introduction to mystery movies and I quickly discovered
that I LOVED them!
As the title
suggests, a toon named Roger Rabbit is framed for the murder of beloved toon
creator Marvin Acme (yes, that Acme, the one who gives Wile E. Coyote all those
defective contraptions) and it’s up to toon hating private investigator Eddie
Valient to find out who the real murder is. Exciting, funny, thrilling and
consistently brilliant, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a movie that kids enjoy, but
their parents get a whole other appreciation for. It was one of those movies
like Big or Dick Tracy that skirted the risqué line of whether it was a movie
for kids or a movie for their parents. Honestly, it’s both, but I definitely
felt like I was watching a more mature movie whenever I watched it. Why? Well,
for starters, Judge Doom is one of the scariest family movie villains ever, if
not the scariest.
He created that horrifying weapon for killing toons called
Dip, remember that poor squeaky shoe? Simply cold hearted, but then came the
ending and if you were young, you definitely covered your eyes out of terror. I
left the theater and had to come back. But the other thing that made this movie
feel like it was more mature was the VERY mature wife of Roger Rabbit.
Yes, my
friends, I speak of the infamous Jessica Rabbit, the character that made every
adolescent boy in the audience sit up and stare at the screen like a meercat.
As I got older, I found that the movie’s story contained multiple nods to
Chinatown, which is considered one of the greatest movie mysteries of all time.
(Jessica Rabbit’s car is the same make and model of Faye Dunaway’s, the movie’s
main mystery centers around a greedy form of land development, the use of
extra-marital blackmail, etc.) Who Framed Roger Rabbit is not just a brilliant
family movie, it is flat out a brilliant movie. This is a pure marvel of
filmmaking on every level.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFCIaMyMORg
You know, I
always wondered if the fact the two women who introduced me into the world of
noticing the opposite sex were Madonna and Jessica Rabbit had any effect on me
growing up…I’m not gonna delve too much into that, but something I wondered
when the thought crossed my mind.
4. Ghostbusters: Yes, my Halloween costume was a
huge clue as to how high up on the list this movie was, but can you honestly
tell me if you weren’t making a list of your favorite movies as a child,
Ghostbusters wouldn’t rank that high up there? We all know the story: a group
of scientists develop a way to capture and incarcerate ghosts and use this
technology to create a business that deals with the “professional paranormal
investigations and eliminations”. As they get started, they realize that an
ancient spirit is looking to re-enter the earth and bring about the end of the
world. Who ya gonna call?
That’s
right, Dr. Peter Venkmen, Dr. Ray Stanz, Dr. Egon Spengler and Winston
Zeddmore, the Ghostbusters. Now, I will admit, I was probably introduced to
this at an age where I couldn’t appreciate it as much as I should have. When I
first saw Ghostbusters, I was four years old and let me tell you, this was the
first time that I could recall vivid nightmares, so technically, this was the
first scary movie I ever saw. But I loved it. I loved the scientific coolness
of the proton packs and the gadgets and I loved how they were fighting the
other side. As I got older, I began to realize it was a comedy and I really
began to appreciate the humor. Then I got to be a teenager and I REALLY
appreciated the humor. I finally got all of the jokes and let me tell you,
getting older with Ghostbusters is a wonderful thing. Ghostbusters grows with
you as you mature and begin to understand the world around you. And let’s be
honest, Peter Venkman is probably one of the best movie characters of all time.
This is the guy you want with you while you’re fighting the Armageddon because
he will have the best thing to say no matter what the situation is. Personally,
my favorite was always Egon.
He was the
one who was the most scientific and professional. Sure, his one liners may not
have been as memorable as Venkman’s, but his presence was one that you just
knew he had an equation for every situation, from this universe or the other.
The dialog is endlessly creative, the visual effects are some of the best of
time and the performances are just spot on. I’m not gonna go into the second
one. I really wanted to like it as a child, but it just wasn’t as much fun to
enjoy as much as the original, which is probably the best way that you can
describe the first part: original.
3. The Indiana Jones trilogy: All three of these movies were
part of our childhood, whether you watched them or not. Action movies were
forever changed with the introduction of Indiana Jones to the movie world. The
first part, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
is probably still the best because of how fresh and relentless of an action
movie it is, all without losing its sense of humor as to how implausible it is.
Archeologist Indiana Jones is called on by the US Government to find the Ark of
the Covenant before the Nazis do and use it as an occult weapon. And the rest
is history.
What kid
didn’t love this movie growing up, you had action, you had cool settings, you
had When Raiders of the Lost Ark
debuted, everything about action adventure movies changed, the use of stunt
work, the scale to which action sequences were choreographed, the breakneck
pacing of the story, this became the new standard for action. And how cool of a
hero was Indiana Jones? He wasn’t a superhuman that just shook off the abuse he
went through, he had every bruise, cut and gunshot from when the adventure
started. And much Kudos to Harrison Ford for giving Indy those moments where he
takes brief reflections on what he just did. This movie does not let up. When
the action and story get going, it doesn’t stop to reflect, it exists in the
chase and you can’t help but get caught up in the chase.
It’s
exciting, it’s thrilling, it’s everything that every other summer movie ever
since wants to be but will always fall short of. And as I grew up, I found out
that Spielberg approached Raiders as homage to one of his favorite movies:
Lawrence of Arabia. If you’ve seen that, you can definitely see the inspiration
in Raiders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZOcoxjeUYo
Continuing
with his trend of inspiration from previous movies, Spielberg and Lucas used
Gunga Din for the inspiration for their next outing, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. In this sequel, which
is actually a prequel, Dr. Jones goes in search of three ancient stones along
with a village’s children. Sound exciting enough, that’s just what everyone
else thought, but what we would see in the theater would be one of the darkest
experiences we can probably recall from our youths.
Indiana
Jones and his companions run afoul of the cult that captured the children and
they try to make Indiana Jones possessed by drinking a blood concoction. Oh,
and there’s a firepit sacrifice and someone has their heart torn from their
chest a la Kano in Mortal Kombat. Of course, we should have expected this after
seeing the end of Raiders and seeing what happens when the Ark of the Covenant
was opened. Now, this is the one that everyone is at opposite ends of the
spectrum on and there are parts to it that I can understand. For instance, the
entire country of India refuses to show it because they feel it is offensive in
that it portrays them as sacrificing barbarians that worship an evil god. Yeah,
I can kind of see that, but then again, you can apply that argument to a lot of
other nationalities in other movies. But then there are Indy’s travelling
companions, Willie and Short Round, who only exist to get in trouble or get
captured. Sure, Short Round helps a couple of times, but then you have Willie,
who just screams and complains about how she’s not living in the lap of luxury
consistently.
Yeah, that’s
the character you want in an Indiana Jones movie. But for the most part, the
action is intense, there are some pretty funny moments and the visuals are
pretty unforgettable and it’s actually a very clever nod to Gunga Din, which is
a reference that is pretty lost on a good portion of the viewers. We mostly
remember it as that movie, alongside Gremlins, that was the cause of our
parents demanding a PG-13 rating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwWfns4qqw
And that
rating was bestowed upon the third part in the series, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Now, while people are
pretty divided about whether they liked Temple of Doom or not, other people are
divided as to whether Raiders is the better film or Last Crusade is. That’s how
friggin’ good this entry was, people began saying it was as good as the first
part. Our globetrotting, intrepid archeologist hero, Indiana Jones, is
literally looking for the Holy Grail, again, racing against the Nazis to make
sure they don’t get it.
But in order
to find it faster, Indy needs the help of his father, Henry Jones. Now, who
could portray the man that fathered Indiana Jones? Why, none other than the
original man of action, James Bond himself, Sean Connery. The banter between
father and son is the most sweetly satisfying exchange of dialog between two
beloved characters. The action is top notch, the settings are fantastic and,
again, seeing Indiana Jones reunited with his father on the big screen is just
one of the most satisfying moments in a movie.
That’s how
you know you’ve made a truly timeless film, when two characters can simply talk
to each other and it’s fondly remembered. Indiana Jones is timeless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7TaY8HWYd8
I won’t talk
about Crystal Skull. I won’t. There are three Indiana Jones movies and they
forever exist in the memories of pleasant nostalgia. There was no fourth part.
It’s a trilogy.
2. ET – The Extra Terrestrial: Okay, right off the bat, I’ll
admit it: I cried. I didn’t just cry, I bawled. Probably more than I ever have
in any other movie. Everyone I watched it with bawled. I still bawl for
probably the last half an hour of this movie. In fact, this movie has one of
the most indelible theater experiences I can ever remember. I first saw this
movie on a military base in Twentynine Palms California, which was eerily
reminiscent of the suburb setting of this movie.
An alien
gets accidentally left behind by his crew and is taken in by a boy named
Elliott. The two form a mutual bond as Elliott tries to explain his world to
the alien, who he names ET, and eventually tries to help him get back home.
This is probably the best movie about kids that looks at the world at their
level and through their eyes. It never panders to them and it never talks down
to them, it simply embraces the youthful purity they have and uses that to
propel the story. The emotionality of ET is so genuine and pure that it goes
beyond being a movie for kids, beyond being a movie about friends and beyond
being a movie for adults, it becomes a movie that actually reopens the door of
being a child to adults. The beauty that this movie captures is truly the
embodiment of what movie magic is. Now, about that ending… If you haven’t seen
it, I’ll try not to spoil it, but if you have seen it, you know what I’m
talking about.
I’ll just
say this, if I agree to watch this movie around you, I am totally and
completely comfortable around you because I will not watch this movie around
just anybody. It opens up some really deep emotional responses from me. What
power does this ending have that I won’t see it around just anybody? Well, I’ll
just say this, remember how I said seeing this movie had one of the most
indelible theater experiences and how I saw it on a military base? I remember
every soldier sitting around me doing everything they could to try and keep
from being seen crying. This movie made an entire theater of grown Marines cry.
From someone who has grown up around Marines his whole life, THAT is a huge
emotional impact. ET – The Extra Terrestrial has a special place in my heart
and will forever have that place in my heart that goes beyond a mere movie and
part of my emotional psyche.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJf6XMfw2Ng
1. The Star Wars trilogy: What, would you expect anything
else? I can’t begin to count the days of my childhood that wasn’t spent
watching these movies, trying to collect the action figures and vehicles,
getting together with my friends who had the action figures I wanted and having
our own Star Wars battles, using the wooden posts as lightsabers and standing
on top of the retaining wall on the side of my house and pretending it was the
bridge over a bottomless chasm. The Star Wars movies for many people my age was
the beginning of our imaginations.
Far away
planets, cool technology, lasers, space ships, mystic knights with ethereal
powers, this was a galaxy that we wished wasn’t so far away. It was also the
movie for many that knew they wanted to go into filmmaking, myself included.
I’ll never forget being four years old, seeing these movies on HBO a couple
times already, but then seeing a special right afterwards about how they made
these movies. I saw the actors behind the puppets, I saw the cameras being
moved into place, I saw the actors practicing their lines and I saw the special
effects being set up. It was like seeing a world of magic unspooling before
your eyes, almost inviting you to come play in this world.
It all began
in 1977 (way before I was born) with Star
Wars, the story of a princess who is taken captive, but not before
sending battle plans with two droids to a remote planet. The droids are picked
up by a farmboy, who, with the help of a Jedi Knight and a rogue pilot, journey
to recover the princess and deliver the battle plans. If you need to know who
their names are, just stop reading right now and start watching them (but start
with the 1977 Star Wars and go Episode IV, V & VI, as they were meant to be
seen).
Like I said
before, this movie opened up an entire universe of aliens, far away planets,
cool space ships, lasers, nothing like this had ever been seen in a movie
before and it was completely welcome. Not only that, but it brought back a
sense of heroism to movies in the classic Arthurian sense, something that had
been well ignored in the 1970s because of the cynicism over the Vietnam War and
the Nixon era. This movie gave people something to root for and imagine themselves
in and frankly, what’s wrong with a little escapism after being so entrenched
with the real world and how bitter it can be. We need to know there’s a world
out there where the good guys win and evil gets punished.
That’s what
I also connected with, the sense of heroism that this movie centered around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gvqpFbRKtQ
The sequel
came out three years later (again, still before I was born), The Empire Strikes Back, and
continued the battle between the Rebels and the Empire. Also, the characters
each went on their own individual journey of discovery, Luke travelled to
Dagobah to be trained as a Jedi by Yoda while Han and Leia escaped the Empire
and discovered they had feelings for each other.
This movie
is actually pretty dark when you look at it. The Rebels lose their battle in
the beginning of the film and the plot twists it takes from there are pretty
dark for a movie that was remembered for being the voice of optimism amidst the
bitter cynicism of the 1970s. But the twists exist to help the characters’ journey
of maturity reach their peak as well as raise the stakes for the sequel. As I
got older, I began to appreciate this movie on an incredibly mature level and
soon realized, this was my favorite movie. The Imperial Walker battle scene is
impressively exciting, the love story between Han and Leia is surprisingly very
mature and Luke’s training on Dagobah is deeply rooted in philosophy and
self-examination. Not only that, but Cloud City is my favorite setting.
I loved
seeing the polished look of a futuristic city and how the towering buildings
seemed to be all around. So, yes, I will still stand behind The Empire Strikes
Back as being my favorite movie of all time. As for the sequel it sets up…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxLR_27ASpc
Yes, I was
finally born by the time that the sequel, Return
of the Jedi, was released. By this time, anticipation for this movie
was at a fever pitch! The final battle between good versus evil would take
place, Rebels versus the Empire, Luke versus…(see plot twist in Empire) and for
the first time, we get to see Darth Vader’s master, the Emperor. But first, we
settle Han Solo’s debts with Jabba the Hut in a very exciting, if needlessly
elaborate, opening scenes.
Then from
there, we regather where we are with the battle and prepare for the end. And
what and ending. The entire last half of the movie is a gigantic battle, both
on Endor, in space and a lightsaber duel in the Death Star. This is the
exciting ending that we were waiting for, even if the movie does reveal another
plot twist that kind of hints that George Lucas was winging the last two
stories. These movies are timeless adventures that many people my age as well
as kids today cherish and why not? They’re stories of heroism amidst dark
times, they’re exciting, they’re surprisingly philosophical and they’re all
kinds of fun.
They aren’t
as serious and mature as a Merchant Ivory film would be, but they aren’t
supposed to be. They’re just meant to have fun with and give yourself over to a
universe of wonder and awe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOy8JRogT-c
What it was
about the Star Wars trilogy that had such an impact on me, beyond simply
wanting to make movies, was that these were worlds that never changed. When so
much in my life was being uprooted and changing, I could always count on
Tatooine to be a desert planet, Hoth to be an ice and snow planet, Dagobah to
be a swamp planet and Endor to be a forest moon. No matter what TV I watched
them on, they were as familiar to me as any home I lived in.
I then
realized the power of creating a fantasy world and how it could bring stability
and familiarity to the people watching it, even if it was as farfetched as
planets having the same eco-system on both sides of the hemisphere. These
movies inspire me to this day and I fondly remember all those times spent sitting
on my living room couch or wherever I was as a kid watching these movies and
being transported to a galaxy far, far away from my own world and welcoming
every minute of it.
So, okay,
looking back, I see that I’ve had a lot of movies that either unintentionally
scared the ever loving crap out of me or broke me down into a quivering pile of
tears. And you know what? I’m completely fine with it. In fact, for us kids
that did live in our bubbles, we had these movies to give us a sense of second
hand trauma. They made me not as scared of the monsters hiding in my room and
made me more emotionally aware of the world around me. I hope movies like that
still exist for the kids of this generation. But, with movies like The Iron
Giant, Pixar’s library, The Lord of the Rings movies, Hugo and all the cool
superhero movies out there, it does seem like there are plenty out there to
choose from. Hopefully, there’s that one starry eyed kid out there like me that
gets to see them and gets to be taken away for a short time to live in that
fantasy playground that they create.
But what of those movies you had to sneak away from your parents? The ones that you would see and always work to not let it slip that you saw this awesome movies until you were around your friends to prove how mature you were for having seen them? Well, that will be for another list, the top ten movies we loved as kids that we were not allowed to watch (or shouldn’t have been allowed to). If I grew up watching movies that set up for sequels, why shouldn’t I leave this list off with setting up one myself?
But what of those movies you had to sneak away from your parents? The ones that you would see and always work to not let it slip that you saw this awesome movies until you were around your friends to prove how mature you were for having seen them? Well, that will be for another list, the top ten movies we loved as kids that we were not allowed to watch (or shouldn’t have been allowed to). If I grew up watching movies that set up for sequels, why shouldn’t I leave this list off with setting up one myself?
