1980s Films

The 1980s were quite an eclectic mix of Hollywood offerings. Sequels were made of every blockbuster in this decade, including The Empire Strikes Back, The Evil Dead, Chucky (Child's Play), Raiders of the Lost Ark and Superman. Many franchises hit the screens, such as:

• Back to the Future I and II (BTTF III just missed the 80s, and was released in 1990).

• Brat Pack, a.k.a. "rite of passage" films: Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles

• Chucky the homicidal doll: Child's Play

• Friday the 13th

• James Bond

Extremely violent films emerged under the umbrella title of 'action,' many of them starring the future governor of California: Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator. The Die Hard franchise began in the late 80s. Audiences began to expect an action extravaganza to have a somewhat tongue in cheek tone, and to contain lots of things blowing up, minimal dialogue and many stunts.

Other firsts and trends were:

• The first sophisticated blending of live action and animation in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

• Fantasy, including swords and sorcery: Dragonslayer, The Princess Bride and Excalibur.

• Sexy thrillers became popular, and more daring than in previous years: Blue Velvet, Body Heat and Fatal Attraction.

An interesting genre of horror and science fiction comedies emerged, that included Ghostbusters I and II and Back to the Future. The Ghostbusters franchise began in 1984 with the original film, penned by Harold Ramis and Dan Ackroyd. The unlikely premise depicts three men ousted by academia, trying to apply real-world parapsychology concepts to their field of study.

Bill Murray, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver costarred in both the original and the sequel, which was released in 1989. The franchise also spawned two animated series, Slimer and Extreme Ghostbusters.

The Hollywood rumour mill has been churning for over a decade on whether the public can expect a third in the Ghostbusters sequence. The plot involves the original trio training a new generation of ghostbusters. The American Film Institute deemed Ghostbusters to be the 28th funniest movie of all time.

In a class all by itself, Back to the Future is a humorous sci fi time travel film, in which Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly arrives in 1950s to interact with his parents. His mother becomes infatuated with him, and almost fails to get together with his father.

The top grossing film of 1985, Back to the Future yielded two sequels that came out in 1989 and 1990. The franchise created a motion simulator attraction at Universal Studios and a cartoon series. The three films were nominated for five Oscars, and won one.

In fashion, let's not forget those 80s shoulder pads that made women look like they had three heads.