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Welcome to the Oscar Breach Awards: Best of the 1980s. I am including the best of all films that I have seen that were released between 1980 and 1989.

The '80s meant many things including the birth of yours truly. They were an age where budgets and box-office got higher than ever. Star Wars and Indiana Jones showed us that sequels can be better and more successful than the original. Films like Gandhi and The Last Emperor showed that it was a time the Academy loved epic period pieces that were no shorter than three hours. And the world fell in love with a squishy alien named E.T. I don't completely understand the '80s, especially since I disagree with many of the best picture choices of the decade. But the era certainly has its uniqueness.

By my count, I have seen at least 70 movies from the '80s and I managed to give almost all of them nominations or mentions. I've also seen every '80s best picture winner, most best picture nominees, and most acting winners. I tried to see as many '80s movies that I still hadn't seen this last year, but there are still lots of great films I'm sure I haven't seen. So if something seems to be missing from a category, it might be because I still have not seen it. With that in mind, I welcome both compliments and criticism, so feel free to email me here. Enjoy!

Best Picture

Winner

Dead Poets Society
Director Peter Weir		 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Director Steven Spielberg		 Gallipoli
Director Peter Weir		 Rain Man
Director Barry Levinson		 The Untouchables
Director Brian De Palma
This is one of the few films from the '80s that got me seriously attached and emotional. There's brilliance in the story about students with a teacher that encourages them to be whatever they want to be. Though it has tragedy, there are few finales that have greater uplift than this one. I've been watching E.T. since I was three years old, and despite all the nightmares it's given me, it has had more meaning in my life than any other film from the '80s. Not only do I see myself in Elliott, but I feel a bond with E.T. as well. I remember every scene, shot, line and musical note in this film because no other film has struck such an emotional chord in me. Thank you Mr. Spielberg for giving E.T. to the world. Though the middle-act may drag a little, of all the historical epic films of the '80s, I pick this as the best for its brutal portrayal of the trenches of World War I. It all leads up to one of the saddest but most powerful endings in cinema history. Of course, the strongest aspect of this film is Dustin Hoffman's brilliant performance, but I love it more for its original story about finding brotherly love. Not every film can make a man incapable of showing emotion actually show that he loves his brother. This film is bold in its style with its unique cinematography as well as authentic sets, costumes and music. But what sells it to me is recreating the world Chicago prohibition where the law is completely upside down. And it makes me proud watching an honorable team go through everything to turn it around.

Best Action Film

Winner

The Abyss Die Hard The Indiana Jones Trilogy Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
James Cameron had three great action films in the '80s, but I call this one the best. Not only is it the most innovative with its effects, but it has some of the most intense emotional scenes for an action film, and some of the most intriguing sci-fi concepts, like breathable liquid. They say Die Hard is the most American movie ever made, and I see why. It's about a New York cop who single-handedly takes down a group of thick-accented European thieves whose catchphrase is "Yippie Kay Yay, Motherf***er." You can't get more American than that, and that's why I love it. I seriously don't have a favorite among the original Indiana Jones films, so I'm going to recognize all three of them here. They were all great for the same reasons: exciting stunts, historical magic, and Harrison Ford as one of the greatest cinematic heroes ever. The Star Wars saga is most likely my favorite film series of all time and Empire Strikes Back is the best of the original three, and I think most of the credit goes to one line: "I am your father." Like never before has sci-fi become so dark and shocking. The cinematic revelations of this film make it the best action film of the decade. Before gaining more appreciation for Empire, Jedi was my favorite Star Wars film for its exploration of more imaginative worlds and for providing a fitting conclusion for the historic series. But in retrospect, I guess the Ewoks were a little annoying.

Best Comedy


Winner

Back to the Future A Christmas Story Dirty Rotten Scoundrels A Fish Called Wanda Raising Arizona
This film was the first flawless blend of sci-fi and comedy. Cracking cultural jokes about the '50s, squeezing through awkward social situations, and the comedic performances of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd make this the perfect comedy. I'm not a huge fan of It's A Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. To me, this is the perfect Christmas movie, embodying everything that makes the holidays wonderful and funny, not to mention the iconic comedic items like the bunny pajamas or the leg lamp. Though I admit I could see the twist ending coming, the well-written plot, the constant twists, and most notably the brilliant comedic performances of Steve Martin and Michael Caine make this a rather hilarious con caper. This is a comedy where it's all thanks to the performances. John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline are all brilliant in their drastically unique roles. It's the chemistry between these unusual characters that creates all the big laughs. Though it's not the best of the Coen Brothers' impressive career, it was a great start to their string of original dark comedies. You watch things in this film like the Lone Biker of the Apocalypse grenade a rabbit, and you think "That is so Coen Brothers."

Best Animated Film

Winner
The Land Before Time The Little Mermaid Who Framed Roger Rabbit
I haven't seen this in many years, but I watched it over and over again when I was a kid, therefore it must have had some sort of emotional impact on me, and this was before it became a low-effort direct to video franchise. This was the beginning of the new golden age for Disney films. Though it can't compare with those that followed it in the coming years, it was still an exemplary film of what made Disney great. Though it may not be considered completely animated, it is by far the winner for revolutionizing visual effects with its blend of animation and live action, and being one of the first animated films to have humor only adults would understand. Now, nearly every animated film does that.

Worst Oscar Film

Loser

Born on the Fourth of July Coal Miner's Daughter Out of Africa A Passage to India Reds
It's got a good performance from Tom Cruise, but that's it. I really don't want to see a movie that mocks our country's military and shames our politicians. I've given Oliver Stone a lot of criticism, but this is where I must call him one of the worst filmmakers ever. It may have had a couple of good performances, but it failed at doing what a biopic is supposed to do: telling us what made this individual unique. I didn't understand what was so great about Loretta Lynn, and I could care less for her. The '80s were full of epic romances in foreign countries whose running time exceeds three hours. This film's running was way too long as I sat there drowsy-eyed waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever did. David Lean's last film would have been better placed during Lean's career era in the '60s. But now there's just no place for an overrun drama that tries to tug at our hearts, but in the end just annoys us. Here's another example of a 3-hour plus film I barely lasted through, not only because of its slow pace, but because of the implications. I was waiting for the moment where the film would turn patriotic and dismiss communism, but it never happened.

Best Performance by an Actor

Winner

Kenneth Branagh
(Henry V)		 Tom Cruise
(Born on the Fourth of July)		 Daniel Day-Lewis
(My Left Foot)		 Dustin Hoffman
(Rain Man)		 Robin Williams
(Good Morning Vietnam)
I think this film is what establishes Branagh as the greatest Shakespearian actor of the modern day (except perhaps Ian McKellen). Though I rarely understand the meaning of Shakespeare's words, Branagh gives them such breath and vibrance through his soliloquies and battle cries that I can actually get the jist of them. Terrible film, but the best performance of Cruise's career. Seeing him go from a patriotic young soldier to a hate-filled disabled activist veteran was an amazing transformation, and reminds us all of the talent that Cruise apparently does have in him. Day-Lewis' performance as the cerebral palsy ridden Christy Brown started the new age of method acting, where actors remain in character 24/7 during filming, even if it means being brought to set in a wheel barrow like he did. But you can't argue with the amazingly convincing results. This might be the birth of turning a disabled character into an Oscar win, and it is still the gold standard. Hoffman's depiction of the autistic savant Raymond is both astonishing and emotionally engaging, and the best performance of Hoffman's impressive career. Barely beating out his equally memorable performance in Dead Poets Society, Williams' performance in Vietnam is a rare occurence of perfectly blending laugh out loud comedy with serious drama, and proving that Williams is the best actor who can tackle both these genres flawlessly.

Best Performance by an Actress

Winner

Glenn Close
(Fatal Attraction)		 Jodie Foster
(The Accused)		 Katherine Hepburn
(On Golden Pond)		 Jessica Tandy
(Driving Miss Daisy)		 Debra Winger
(Terms of Endearment)
Creating great female villains is rare, but the over-talented Close did it freakishly well as the obsessed stalker. Her character does many disturbing things, but it's more about the Kubrick-esque looks of intimidation that she performs that make her such a scary character. Forget Clarice Starling, this is the best performance of Foster's career, and even more impressive for doing it at still a young age. Playing a trampy rape victim is a difficult role that involves many layers and transformations, but Foster did it well enough to make the audience feel her pain. One of Hepburn's last film performances may in fact be her best. Her acting has always been a little over the top, but in this film she finds the right pitch of energy at such an old age. I must compliment the work of her costar Henry Fonda as well here. There's a good reason why Tandy became the oldest Oscar winner in history. It's because even at her ripe age, she was still able to transcend Miss Daisy several decades both physically and in her personality as she goes from discriminating to accepting. Shirley MacLaine was good, but I was more impressed by Winger for going through so many more stages of life, through happiness and unhappiness, and eventually through her own tragedy. Winger had several great films in the '80s, but her overshadowed performance here is clearly the best.

Best Performance by a Supporting Actor

Winner

Sean Connery
(The Untouchables)		 Timothy Hutton
(Ordinary People)		 Kevin Kline
(A Fish Called Wanda)		 Jack Nicholson
(Batman)		 Denzel Washington
(Glory)
Sure you can debate whether Connery was actually doing an Irish accent. What's really important about the performance is his powerful rage and violent methods. Then you contrast that with his nearly equally great performance as the mild-mannered father of Indiana Jones two years later and you'll see Connery's brilliant range. It's not so common that you get such a great performance out of a young newcomer like Hutton. But the grief and discomfort that his character goes through every day shows how committed he is to the role and how convincingly he pulls it off. I'm always happy to see when the Academy awards a great comedic performance, and Kline is a great one. He wins this award for his hilarious multi-dimensional assassin character, but also for an equally excellent performance earlier in the decade for Sophie's Choice. Up until last year, this was the best embodiment ever of the Joker, or even the best performance in a superhero film for that matter. Nicholson had many great performances in the '80s, but my favorite is his grinning slapstick evil performance as Batman's nemesis. Though not the finest performance of Washington's career, it is perhaps the most likable one. His sympathetic portrayal of a freed slave turned soldier drew tears for himself as well as the audience. It's not often that an actor is willing to fully embrace his own roots to make something important happen.

Best Performance by a Supporting Actress

Winner

Brenda Fricker
(My Left Foot)		 Teri Garr
(Tootsie)		 Frances McDormand
(Mississippi Burning)		 Sigourney Weaver
(Working Girl)		 Dianne Wiest
(Hannah and her Sisters)
Fricker's performance as the caring mother of a challenged child is a sympathetic inspiration. She showed signs of love even when those around her question it. In other words, she essentially played an ideal mother, and did a fine job. Many hail Jessica Lange as the best female performance in Tootsie, but I prefer Garr who portrayed such a nervous wreck of an obsessed woman, that she even comes close to upstaging Dustin Hoffman. McDormand's first of many fantastic performances was of the conflicted wife of a KKK member. Her role is small, but in that time she shows us a woman of inner torment and shame, more than enough for her to win this award. Weaver was one of the most talented and popular actresses of the '80s, and I think this is her finest performance as the back-stabbing egocentric working woman. It was also a great opportunity for her to show off her funny bone. There were a few good performances in Hannah and Her Sisters, but Wiest is probably the frontrunner for playing the character with the most discomfort and uncertainty. She's sort of like the female Woody Allen character.

Best Screenplay

Winner

Back to the Future Dead Poets Society Driving Miss Daisy E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Raising Arizona
This is the first sci-fi film to make the time travel paradox theory complex and realistic. The screenplay has written in it several clues and details that get twisted in the time plot, but all lose ends are tied up at the end. Lots of good jokes are written too. This is brilliant for an original screenplay, creating a story about a comical teacher who instructs his kids to seize the day, based on the ideas of several known poets. The philosophy written into this movie is clever, and the emotion written in is just touching. Though it's based on a play, the story is still a brilliant concoction of two characters as they progress through the civil rights movement, and how their attitudes change. Wrapping the history of the movement into the scenario of a car was a difficult task carried out well. A story about a boy who meets a friendly alien sounds easy. But filling it with emotion, style, and unintentional symbolism is a huge challenge, and the screenplay is the biggest contributor to why we all fell in love with Elliott and E.T. It's a prelude to the true brilliance of the Coen Brothers. It may not be the funniest or most clever of their works, but it has its originality. Concepts like robbing a convenience store for Huggies are the kinds of situations only the Coen Brothers could come up with.

Best Art Direction

Winner

The Abyss Amadeus Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom The Last Emperor Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Building large industrial aquatic sets that can instantaneously be flooded is certainly no easy task. Neither is it easy for the actors and crew to get around on those cramped sets, but thanks to their design, it was barely doable. These art directors faithfully recreated 1700's Austria, from the streets and homes to the magnificent opera house, with no detail left untouched. The buildings and interiors constructed are as beautiful as Mozart's music itself. The Indiana Jones films have always amazed audiences with their large haunting trap-filled sets. But I think the Temple of Doom is the Holy Grail of sets. It's humongous, its artistic, and it has its own sacrificial death machine. It's probably one of the most famous sets in movie history. I realize that much of this was filmed on site at the Forbidden City. But it needed a lot of dressing up, without damaging the history of it, and that was the challenge of the art directors, and challenge that they pulled off perfectly, making a city come back from the dead. Before being replaced by green screens, the sets of Star Wars were epic and wondrous with their style varying from squeaky clean new to falling apart. My favorite set: Yoda's house, complete with cut out floor for puppeteer Frank Oz to kneel in.

Best Cinematography

Winner

Empire of the Sun E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Raging Bull The Shining The Untouchables
I love tracking shots, and this has an impressive one (one take of which was famously ruined by Ben Stiller). But there's also great use of color as objects pierce the sun and smoke. In fact, all Spielberg films in this decade showed excellence in cinematography. I have every shot of this film imprinted in my head because each one was such an iconic use of backlighting, silhouettes, and darkness. Cinematography was used here to keep the mystery of E.T. concealed, as well as keep the film from a child's point of view. My favorite shot: the end where the spaceship door rotationally closes on the heart of a silhouetted E.T. Filming in black and white can create challenges for a cinematographer, but some use it to their advantage. Here it was used to create transparency between the glory of the boxing ring and the hardships of domestic life. And the montage sequences had some great shots to them. Lots of the freaky horror of this film can be attributed to the shots of long hallways, tall rooms and close-ups of Jack's insane face. My favorite shot: tracking Danny on his tricycle through the hallways. The shot leading up to Sean Connery's death is one of the best tracking shots in movie history, in my opinion. It also served as a rare but successful occurence of using hand-held camera as a person's point of view. There were some unique perspective shots of Al Capone as well.

Best Editing

Winner

Aliens Die Hard E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Platoon Raiders of the Lost Ark
James Cameron's action-packed films were always pioneers of great action editing, but I liked the job Aliens did the most for creating both horror and suspense without skipping on the explosions and death. Die Hard wins this for having the quickest but thoroughly-blended editing. It's the fasted-paced film of the decade which makes the editing difficult, but despite all the simultaneous scenarios, it didn't lose me for a second. Every scene in this film is perfect because they're not too long nor too short. The editors stuck in everything that it needed and nothing that it didn't, and chose the shots perfectly to get the right emotions from the right child characters. War films often do feature strong editing, but Platoon took it to a new level with chaotic cutting to the point at which I actually became confused at times. But I still enjoyed the style of it. The great editing of action sequences in the Indiana Jones films began with Raiders. There are several action set pieces, but no action is left overlooked because the editors got it all in there and made the effects look seamless.

Best Costumes


Winner

Amadeus Gandhi Henry V Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom The Last Emperor
They don't get much flashier than this. From the overdone pastel dresses, to the pink powdered wigs, Amadeus has everything traditional period costumes can offer. An epic film with hundreds of extras requires hundreds of costumes that fit the revolutionary period of Gandhi in India. The muddy veils of the poor are one thing, but the uniforms of the British elite make it double. Not only did Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptation bring to life the royalty of ancient England and France, but it build a whole silver army, with no detail to the wardrobe untouched. Of the Indiana Jones films, I believe this one features the most exquisite costumes for the poor villagers, the powerful leaders, and the evil religious sacrificers, all with Indian trademark styles. Asia triumphs in this category yet again, for designing the elegant costumes of the Emperor of China, from infantile stage to adulthood, as well as those who served in the Forbidden City as well.

Best Makeup

Winner
Batman Beetle Juice Driving Miss Daisy Elephant Man Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
If there's one thing every Batman movie excelled in, it's makeup, and this is the film that started the trend thanks to the Joker's unnaturally wide-spread grin. Sure Jack can strike a great grin, but the makeup takes it to a whole new creepy level. Makeup has also been an important staple of the Tim Burton franchise, and this is where it all began for making Michael Keaton into the demon himself, as well as creating a whole cast of weird dead or dead-like characters. Aging makeup has perfected itself repeatedly, but this might be the first case of makeup convincingly aging actors across several decades. Not to mention it's likely impossible to make Jessica Tandy look thirty years younger. It was after this film came out that the public demanded the Academy create an Oscar category just for makeup which they did, and you can see why. Elephant Man is one of the earliest achievements of using prosthetics to create unusual faces. Star Wars has repeatedly brought us imaginative creatures through the use of heavy makeup and costumes, but I think the scarred elderly Emperor Palpatine, and helmet-less Vader are the series' best achievements for giving these villains a face that can be read.

Best Visual Effects


Winner

The Abyss Aliens Return to Oz Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Who Framed Roger Rabbit
This is literally the birth of CGI effects on film thanks to the new software Renderman. The digital water sequence is considered the first CG lifelike character on film. Of course, only James Cameron could accomplish such revolutionary effects. Again, Cameron was the effects pro in the '80s (don't forget Terminator either). But this one was more due to complex practical special effects like making the giant Stan Winston-built alien mother. In the '80s, traditional special effects began to die as computer effects took their place, but Return to Oz was one of the last achievements for its creation of unique characters through traditional methods like stop motion. Empire Strikes Back was also great, but I think Return of the Jedi stepped it up another notch for the scene with the Rancor, the two-legged walkers, and the highly detailed large-scale space battle. It outdid anything else George Lucas had done up until that point. Robert Zemeckis' experiment with animated characters in a live action world was both a success as an entertaining film, but also a revelation in the blending of hand-painted cells onto film. It was so flawless, younger audiences actually believed it to be real.

Best Sound Mixing and Editing

Winner

Aliens Back to the Future Part 2 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back The Terminator
The sounds of Aliens were a big step up from the original. Most notable is the snarls of the creatures themselves, but there were also some unique effects involving weapons, acid, and the face-huggers. When we actually went into the future in this film, it was a futuristic world of new sounds and technologies, from the flying car to the auto-fit clothing. And the mixing of the action sequences was flawless. All Indiana Jones films were superb in their sound, but I give the most credit to Last Crusade. I mean this film had the sounds of a rapidly-decaying man, a tank going off a cliff, and hundreds of rats. Ben Burtt is the pro here. Again, Ben Burtt brought the Star Wars universe to life with his sound effects. He can do both technology sounds like cloud city and the attack walkers, as well as creature sounds like the Wampas and ice monster. When the T-800 crawls out of the firey wreckage as just a robotic skeleton, the effects are crazy real as the machine walks and punches its way to defeat. And the complex gun and explosion scenes weren't badly mixed either.

Best Musical Score

Winner

Danny Elfman
(Batman)		 Vangelis
(Chariots of Fire)		 John Williams
(E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial)		 Harold Faltermeyer
(Top Gun)		 Ennio Morricone
(The Untouchables)
On the shoulders of Tim Burton, Danny Elfman got his start in the '80s and his first great score was that of Batman, a memorable dark yet heroic composition that was kept as the theme for three more films. There's a reason why this music is used whenever somebody wants to parody this film with a slow-motion race scene accompanied by this melodic and triumphant score. It's because it's so memorable and iconic. Again it's hard to pick what John Williams' best composition of the decade is. Narrowly beating out Raiders of the Lost Ark, I choose E.T. for having so many memorable sequences such as the slow mystery sequence at the beginning, or the strong brass conclusion. Up until this point it was rare to include rock music as part of a film's score, but this composition did it perfectly by making electric guitar the primary rhythm to a patriotic American tune. It's very appropriate for a film about the Air Force. I think this is Morricone's best for creating a nostalgic '30s gangster score that fit the suspense and action of the film perfectly. Period scores always were after all Morricone's specialty.

Best Song

Winner

James Horner, Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
"Somewhere Out There"
(An American Tail) 		Chris Hayes, Johnny Colla, Huey Lewis
"The Power of Love"
(Back to the Future)		 Ray Parker Jr.
"Ghost Busters"
(Ghost Busters)		 James Horner, Will Jennings
"If We Hold On Together"
(The Land Before Time)		 Giorgio Moroder, Tom Whitlock
"Take My Breath Away"
(Top Gun)
This film may not be that well remembered, but I remember the song from my childhood. I think it's right up there with the song from Titanic as one of the great powerful love songs that came from a movie. I don't know a whole lot about music, but I think this is a song that is exemplary of '80s music, and in some ways '80s film. It's a smooth rockin' Huey Lewis love song for the kickin' back generation. Now THIS is what a movie theme song should be. Simple, loud, obvious, totally in your face, and capable being being sung by a bunch of drunk fratboys. One question: who you gonna' call? This is another great song from a forgotten animated film. I remember listening to it over and over in my childhood. It's a gentle emotional song of strength and friendship, just like the movie itself. Like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, this can be remembered for just four or five notes played over and over. And when the lyrics come in it becomes a memorable love song that stays in your head for hours.

Best Hero

Winner
Ellen Ripley (Aliens) John Keating
(Dead Poets Society)		 John McClane
(Die Hard)		 E.T.
(E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial)		 Indiana Jones
(Indiana Jones Trilogy)
Ripley is arguably the first badass female action hero. She's caring for others, and will risk her life for them, but at the same time she really kicks some alien butt. No wonder she got a rare acting nomination for an action film. Mr. Keating is an inspiration to teachers everywhere who don't just want their students to learn, but to live. And like many heroes, he sacrifices himself for his job, but we're all proud to see that his job leaves an impact on his students. He's the most American hero ever. A regular guy who just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and ends up saving the day. That's what living the American dream is all about, and John McClane makes it happen and takes out the Euro-trash. He came from the heavens and in peace. He died and was resurrected. Even though Spielberg meant no double-meaning for his pudgy little hero, the ugly little guy still does many great things. But like all great heroes, there's a dark side: he's an alcoholic. The joint efforts of Spielberg, Lucas and Ford come together to form one of the greatest heroes in cinema history: Indiana Jones. Professor by day, action star by night, risks his life to safe priceless artifacts, and when he's tired he just shoots the guy. Thrilling, hilarious and lovable, that's Indy.

Best Villain

Winner

Predator
(Predator)		 Jack Torrence
(The Shining)		 Darth Vader
(Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back)		 Emperor Palpatine
(Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi)		 T-800
(The Terminator)
This villain is all about the power and the design. Predator has lasers, bombs and even an invisibility cloak. And when he takes off his mask and you see that ugly face of snarling crab legs, you think it is such a bad villain, how did Schwarzenegger possibly kill it? Between this and the Joker, Jack did many great villains this decade, but I favor Torrence for going from a decent husband and father to an ax-wielding hallucinating psycho-killer in a matter of days. And "Here's Johnny!" is a nice touch to it. From A New Hope, Vader was already established as the most evil villain in the universe. But in Empire, he's taken to a new level of evil for freezing Han, torturing Chewie, and saying the most simple yet evil of all lines ever, "I am your father." No villain was ever so chilling. In Return of the Jedi we finally meet the puppeteer behind Vader, and he is one evil overlord. He's an old man sitting in a spinning chair, but that just means you don't want to go near him because he must be more powerful than he looks, and he is. Though I like the Terminator better as the hero than the villain, Schwarzenegger still does a great job creating a merciless killing machine. Ironic fact: O.J. Simpson was originally cast as the Terminator but the director went a different way for not being able to picture Simpson as a cold-blooded murderer.

Best Action Choreography

Winner

Batman Die Hard Raiders of the Lost Ark Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi The Terminator
Batman vs. the Joker in the bell tower, beating up clown thugs, the Batmobile chase, all of these are great sequences perfectly choreographed. They may not compare to the following Batman films, but it was a great start to the franchise. Die Hard was a breakthrough for guns and explosions action films. All the jumping off buildings, beating up baddies, and firing like crazy required some heavy stunt work. No action sequence was underwhelming thanks to the action design. One of the icons of the Indiana Jones franchise is its brilliantly choreographed action sequences, and it all started off with Raiders. The best of the best is the car chase sequence which has Indy jumping between vehicles and taking out the whole convoy. The lightsaber work in the Star Wars films keeps getting better and better. The final faceoff between Luke and Vader was brilliantly choreographed, and neither actor was shy of putting their full energy and emotion into it. Gun battles aren't that hard to choreograph, which is why I'm more impressed by the vehicle chase sequence near the end. Can't compare with future Terminator films, but it's an exciting sequence nonetheless.

Best Scene

Winner
Dead Poets Society
"Oh Captain, My Captain" 		E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
"I'll Be Right Here" 		Gallipoli
"Ending" 		Raiders of the Lost Ark
"Opening Sequence" 		Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
"I Am Your Father"
Rare scenes in cinema history that successfully make me cry must appear on this list, and this is one of them. After so much hardship and tragedy for this class, the fact that they will stand up and salute their captain is the most uplifting scene of the decade. Any scene in E.T. is brilliant, but I must pick the iconic scene where E.T. says goodbye before ascending into the stars. It's commonly parodied because it breaks everybody's heart every time, and John Williams' music doubles the effect. This film starts off light-hearted and fun, but it all comes down to this final scene where our hero is sacrificed, and his friend was just too late to stop it. The buildup and the carry-out make it the saddest but one of the most meaningful scenes of the decade. With this opening sequence, Spielberg did something that had never been done before: putting the biggest and best scene right at the beginning. In a matter of minutes we see Indy skipping over booby traps and out-running a giant boulder. It's the perfect way to get the audience hooked from the beginning. There are no other four words in cinema history as memorable as these. In one line, everything that Luke fought for and the audience believed gets turned around. It remains the greatest twist and most chilling scene in cinema history.

Actor of the Decade

Winner

Michael Biehn
The Terminator
Aliens
The Abyss 		Tom Cruise
Top Gun
The Color of Money
Rain Man
Born on the Fourth of July 		Willem Dafoe
Platoon
The Last Temptation of Christ
Mississippi Burning
Born on the Fourth of July 		Harrison Ford
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Blade Runner
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Witness
Working Girl
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 		Jack Nicholson
The Shining
Reds
Terms of Endearment
Broadcast News
Batman
Not only was he James Cameron's muse for three consecutive films, but he was able to play both courageous heroes like Kyle Reese in Terminator and Col. Hicks in Aliens, and shaky villains like the Marines Lieutenant in The Abyss. With the exception of Harrison Ford, he was the action guy of the '80s. While still relatively young, Cruise got his career off to a great start by getting fame from a blockbuster like Top Gun, doing more serious fare like Color of Money and Rain Man, and getting a well deserved first Oscar nomination for Fourth of July. Dafoe's career didn't get a jumpstart until the late-80's thanks to his nominated performance in Platoon, but then he couldn't stay away from the controversial roles like Mississippi, Fourth of July, and most notably Temptation of Christ, something few other actors would be willing to do. I doubt anybody would disagree that Harrison Ford is THE actor of the decade. Not only was he the big box-office draw from the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, but he took on sci-fi drama in Blade Runner, romantic comedy in Working Girl and even got an Oscar nomination for Witness. Nobody else this decade came close to accomplishing what Ford did. Though it's hard to find a decade without several great Nicholson performances, the 80's had the most variety, whether it be historical drama like Reds, comedy-drama like Endearment, freaky thriller like Shining or superhero film like Batman. In the '80s Jack did it all.

Actress of the Decade

Winner
Carrie Fisher
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Hannah and Her Sisters 		Barbara Hershey
The Right Stuff
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Last Temptation of Christ 		Kelly McGillis
Witness
Top Gun
The Accused 		Meryl Streep
Sophie's Choice
Out of Africa		 Sigourney Weaver
Ghost Busters
Aliens
Working Girl
Carrie Fisher was the heart of the Star Wars films for the last two in the series, and she kicked some Empire butt while she was at it. She then successfully made the transfer to Woody Allen comedy, but nothing will ever compare to her in the gold bikini. Back when she was still known, Hershey did a little of everything. She did historical drama in Right Stuff, Woody Allen comedy in Hannah and Her Sisters, and even controversial films complete with full-frontal in Temptation of Christ. She was clearly a bold actress. Runner-up for this category goes to McGillis who earned herself an Oscar nomination for her performance in Witness, became a heartthrob in Top Gun and went super serious in The Accused. Too bad her career didn't stay afloat after that either. Though I've only seen two Streep films from this decade, I know she's done plenty else that have earned her six Oscar nominations in these ten years, including her second win for Sophie's Choice. And her accents go on and on in Out of Africa and others. Weaver wins this for earning three Oscar nominations in the decade, and for doing everything: action-drama in Aliens, action-comedy in Ghost Busters, and even comedy-drama in Working Girl. Box-office and awards followed Weaver more than any other actress in the '80s.

Director of the Decade

Winner

Bruce Beresford
Tender Mercies
Driving Miss Daisy 		James Cameron
The Terminator
Aliens
The Abyss 		Martin Scorsese
Raging Bull
The Color of Money
The Last Temptation of Christ 		Steven Spielberg
Raiders of the Lost Ark
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
The Color Purple
Empire of the Sun
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 		Peter Weir
Gallipoli
Witness
Dead Poets Society
Beresford gets this spot because I know there are several great '80s films he directed that I haven't seen, but even directing Driving Miss Daisy I think is good enough to make him a top director. Tender Mercies was all right and it shows what range he has. Like in the '90s, Cameron was the guy for big special effects and action. With this trio of films, Terminator, Aliens and Abyss, Cameron brought several new technologies such as CGI, prosthetics and robotics to cinema, and made some thrilling action films at the same time. Scorsese mostly has one great film a decade and in the '80s it was Raging Bull for the style and drama. But he was also able to branch out from his usual gangster genre to create a smooth hustler drama Color of Money and a super-controversial piece Temptation of Christ. I know I gave him the '90s, but I have no choice but to give Spielberg the award to the '80s as well. He created one of the greatest hero trilogies ever with Indiana Jones, started off his period drama niche with Color Purple and Empire of the Sun, and brought to life the best film of the decade: E.T. The runner-up prize goes to Weir for his range of dramas. He tackled brutal WWI in Gallipoli, got his first picture and director nominations for the crime drama Witness, and made one of the most heart-warming and best films of the decade, Dead Poets Society.


Well, I hope that you enjoyed my Oscar Breach Awards: Best of the '80s. Next year I'll take on the 2000s which means I have a lot of films to start seeing. Thank you for reading.