Some Random Favourite 80s Films Part 2

Das Boot 1981

La Traviatta 1982 (Zeffirelli of R&J fame. Opera fans only please!)

Au Revoir Les Enfants 1987 (Louis Malle)

Kagemusha 1980 (Akira Kurosawa)

My Life as a Dog 1985 (Lasse Hallstrom)

Coup de Torchon 1981 (Tavernier) You gotta see this ... talk about "black comedy" afterwards!)

Carmen 1983 (Carlos Saura's modern dance version of the story. FABULOUS FILM!)

Pathfinder (1987) Gaup

Sauve Qui Peut (1980) Jean-Luc Godard

Ran (1985) Akira Kurosawa

Wings of Desire (1987) Wim Wenders

Decalogue (1989) Krystoff Kieslowski

Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring (1986) Claude Berri ... must see both films in order ... superb!

Babette's Feast (1987) Axel. Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Film

Tampopo (1985) Juzo Itami

Pelle the Conqueror (1987) Billie August

Jesus of Montreal (1989) Dennis Arcand

Red Sorghum (1987) Zhang Yimou

Camille Claudel (1988) Nuytten

Pixote (1981) Hector Babenco

Yellow Earth (1985) Chen

A Taxing Woman (1987) Juzo Itami

And many more. Now, you know why I say that "progressive music" never died ... in the arts, and film in this example, the 80's were just as valuable and important as the 70's and the 60's ... and the only difference is that we saw some films from this group and not from the other ... and the same thing happened in music, specially in Europe where it always lives!

Special mentions ... 

A TAXING WOMAN and the follow up A TAXING WOMAN RETURNS ... and then one more something about SUPERMARKET ... were heck on wheels and funny. And the main roles is a husband and wife team, and they are both hilarious and off their rocker ... and the "lies" to get around the taxes, are funny as heck.

Claude Berri's pair of films, need to be seen to be believed. And you do not really know what is actually going on until the very end of the second film, and it is a stunner.

The 80's is the time that PEDRO ALMODOVAR kinda made his name in film making, though he already had a few films done by then ... but he became a darling of the Film Festival scene (specially Portland!) and his films got a lot of attention, and by the 90's his light was not as bright, but his films were fine, though not as crazy as his earlier stuff.

ZHANG YIMOU also made his name in this ear, and towards the end of the decade, folks that had been with him, were now also doing their own films, suggesting that the film industry in China had opened up somewhat to not be as oppressive in its ideas and oppressive matters. I can not, compare this to today, though to tell you more.

WIM WENDERS comes alive in Germany with his film, though he had started earlier and his collaboration with PETER HANDKE becomes major. Peter had been involved in theater, and writing novels and many other works, and the mix of the two became very strong, in WINGS OF DESIRE and then their next film together which was even bigger and better. Peter Handke is probably one of the folks that helped define what DAMO SUZUKI ended up doing it, although it is possible that both started up at the same time ... and Peter went to theater and Damo to the streets busking. A couple of Peter's plays are just words, and no sentences, and these words are used as "dialogue", and you and I will never find a connection for anything, and yet on stage, well directed, it works! The same with Damo ... he's on about whatever ... and it works, and we like it.