Movies by Decade: 80s

A breath of fresh air with the 80s.  The biggest difference for me with the 80s is fun.  Much of the 70s is “gritty,” or really more dour, but the 80s is fun, and it’s a much better decade for it.  I truly believe that Spielberg/Lucas are the biggest reason for this, and, therefore, are even higher on my list of favorites.  Basically, the 80s are a massive bounce back decade, and sets up (spoilers) the greatest decade in film history.

Science fiction is really big in the 80s, again thanks to the success of Star Wars.  Even fantasy has a significant corner in the decade.  We see an even greater move towards blockbuster movies.  And, with Stallone and Arnold among others, the rise of action movies (culminating in the greatest of them all in ‘88).  Disney has another down decade, though The Little Mermaid kicks off the “Renaissance.”  And, of course, John Hughes is massive, which means Chicago is everywhere.  And he is part of a much larger collection of movies based around children/teens (it’s clearly the best decade of movies to be growing up).

Before my list (remember this is “best,” not necessarily “favorite”), a few notable movies not mentioned, because I have not seen them: The Elephant Man, Raging Bull, Gandhi (seen parts but not all), Terms of Endearment, Amadeus, Platoon, The Last Emperor, Driving Miss Daisy, Born on the Fourth of July. Add to this Ordinary People, which is incredibly depressing, Out of Africa, which is not good, The Color Purple, ditto, Blade Runner, which is overrated, or Full Metal Jacket, which is half a good movie, half tripe.

 

Honorable Mentions: First Blood, The Blues Brothers, Silverado, Rocky IV, Chariots of Fire, The Man from Snowy River, The Terminator, The Breakfast Club, Aliens, Stand by Me, Lethal Weapon, The Untouchables, Predator, The Princess Bride, Empire of the Sun, Willow, Big, Batman, Henry V, Glory, The Little Mermaid

 

Top 10 Countdown:

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

            Wow wow wow, a really good decade for movies, it’s really difficult to pick just 10.  Ferris in some way represents all of the teen comedies of this decade as the best of them.  It was also perhaps the first movie where you had to stay until the credits ended (got to see it in a theater once in college, and it caught off just as Ferris came back on the screen, people were NOT HAPPY).

 

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)

            A little more adult John Hughes comedy, and probably the best road trip comedy ever made.  I watch right around Thanksgiving every year, because it is the best (only?) Thanksgiving movie.  If not for one scene, it’s a remarkably clean comedy as well.

 

The Natural (1984)

            So much better than the novel.  I have had a roller coaster of thoughts about the Kim Basinger character.  I hate her, and for a while thought she shouldn’t be in it.  Then I realized that, if this story is a Greek hero’s journey just set in baseball (it is), then she does a great job as the siren you are supposed to hate.  I’m shocked when baseball people don’t like this movie.  “A father makes all the difference” gets me every time.

 

Die Hard (1988)

            Now we are really getting into the best of the best.  It’s not an overstatement to say that this movie set the mold for action movies for over a decade (Die Hard on a plane! Die Hard on a bus! Die Hard on…).  It’s fascinating to think that at the time people laughed at casting Bruce Willis because he was a “comedy actor.”  And Hans Gruber is one of the greatest villains of all time.  Yes, it absolutely is a Christmas movie.

 

Field of Dreams (1989)

            Probably the best baseball movie ever made.  Somehow it lost Best Picture to Driving Miss Daisy (no I haven’t seen it, but does anybody care about that movie any more, or make pilgrimages to see where it was filmed?).  Any red-blooded American man who can make it to the end without getting emotional is a psychopath or sociopath or something for sure.

 

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

            It’s not my favorite Star Wars movie (Return of the Jedi), but it is clearly the best.  On the one hand, you have a perfect hero’s journey taking place, on the other hand you have non-stop action of The Chase.  They brilliantly expand the universe to make you really feel like it’s a universe.  There’s iconic dialogue.  One of the greatest twists of all time.  And, it has a perfect cliffhanger.  Of course, there’s also John Williams continuing to be a genius by adding the best villain theme of all time.

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

            It is so hard to put this so low, because it is basically a perfect movie.  The cast is perfect, introducing the greatest movie hero of all time.  The story is phenomenal.  The score is amazing.  The cinematography, stunts…  Honestly, the sequences from the fight at the airplane through the desert chase may be the greatest action sequence ever.  There’s nothing to criticize.  That means the top three must be pretty special.

 

Back to the Future (1985)

            If anyone were to ask me to pick the “quintessential 80s movie,” I would pick Back to the Future.  It’s got science fiction, comedy, the main character is a teen, it takes place in the 80s and 50s, a great score and songs, pretty much everything you think of when you think “80s.”  It also has one of the greatest scripts of all time.  And while both Robert Zemeckis and Alan Silvestri had some success with Romancing the Stone the year before, this movie essentially made them as one of the great directors and composers (as a set and individually) ever.

 

The Mission (1986)

            Undoubtedly this is the least “popular” of the top 10, but it is a beautifully haunting movie about the Jesuits in South America.  Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro are fantastic, and they continue to make me think “which one am I more like”?  It’s not an easy watch, but it is truly one of the most important religious movies ever made.  Especially poignant is the scene of De Niro carrying his armor up the waterfall, which is the perfect example of penance and forgiving ourselves.  And while I often struggle with Ennio Morricone, this is his masterpiece.  This is yet another Best Picture nominee that was robbed.

 

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

            It’s debatable whether or not this is Spielberg’s best.  I don’t think it is debatable that it is the best movie of the decade.  Once again, it was nominated but did not win Best Picture, but supposedly even Richard Attenborough, who director the winner Gandhi, said that it should have won.  The genius of Spielberg is filming it from a child’s perspective, which really allows the audience to enter into the story and get swept up by everything that happens.  It’s funny, sad, exciting, and most of all uplifting.  And again, John Williams is there to make it even better.  We just won’t mention the botched 20^th anniversary “update” that was smartly thrown away.

 

Extra fun: the best movie scores of the decade (Once again, John Williams dominates this decade, and James Horner gives him a run for his money, I am going to choose just one to represent them.  The 80s also sees a number of other composers breaking out: Alan Silvestri, Hans Zimmer, Michael Kamen, Danny Elfman, Basil Poledouris, and even Patrick Doyle.  The only big problem with this decade is the overuse of electronics in scores, even when they don’t fit – Chariots of Fire.)

 

Indiana Jones trilogy (John Williams) (also: E.T., Star Wars V and VI, Empire of the Sun)

Field of Dreams (James Horner) (also: Aliens, The Land Before Time, Star Trek II and III, Cocoon, Willow)

Batman (Danny Elfman)

Die Hard (Michael Kamen) (also: Highlander, Lethal Weapon, License to Kill)

Conan the Barbarian (Basil Poledouris) (also: Red Dawn, RoboCop)

The Mission (Ennio Morricone)

Predator (Alan Silvestri) (also: Back to the Future, The Abyss)

Silverado (Bruce Broughton)

 

 

Other music from the decade: I love 80s music, and there’s so much to point to, from hair bands to metal to pop to hip hop.  Like the movies, the music is fun.  Lots of “one hit wonders.”  But also some truly iconic bands come out of this decade like U2 and Metallica and Beastie Boys.  The other thing to point out is that unquestionably the greatest soundtracks of all time come from the 80s: Top Gun, Rocky IV, Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing (though that’s greatly aided by the 50s).

The Best of 90s Scores (Top 10)

Without further ado (hehe), here is the Top 10 to complete this list.  As I said before, there are many great scores that did not make this list, but these are my picks for the very best.

10.  Much Ado About Nothing - Patrick Doyle, 1993

            So this is Doyle twice in a row.  Much Ado gets a slight advantage due to its more highly theatrical sound, appropriate for a Shakespeare movie.  It starts very strong with the Overture and never really lets up.  Doyle can kill you with strings, like "You Have Killed A Sweet Lady," or he can use horns like few others like "The Gulling of Benedick."  He has the hauntingly beautiful "Pardon Goddess of the Night" and he ends like he began with the triumphal "Strike Up the Pipers."  Branaugh knew what he was doing paring with Doyle.

9.  Tombstone - Bruce Broughton, 1993

            There is no better Western sound in the last 50 years than Broughton.  He has a few good ones, but this is definitely his best.  It's epic, violent, dramatic, thrilling, and beautiful.  It starts off strong with the old piano sound, then goes straight into the full orchestra that blows you away.  The love theme is great, but of course you come here for the gunfights.  It doesn't get any better than the montage music "Wyatt's Revenge."  I could listen to this all day.

8.  The Hunt for Red October - Basil Poledouris, 1990

            One of the real strengths of this score is that, while there is a sound, each cue is individual, so there is little chance for it to be repetitive.  The Hymn is one of the best of the decade.  "Chopper" is still one of my favorite cues, those strings going a mile a minute.  The whole score makes you feel like you're underwater, trying to figure out what exactly is happening and trying not to die.  There are a lot of good Poledouris scores, but this is the best.

7.  Waterworld - James Newton Howard, 1995

            I've mentioned a number of good action scores in the 90s, and while others might have a better action sound, this is the best of the bunch.  Newton Howard creates a sound that shows why he was the best of the decade.  He kept getting matched up with Costner, which meant he got a few chances for hugely epic scores, and each one was great, but Waterworld stands out.  For setting up a final clash, nothing is better than "Deacon's Speech."  For action, you can't go wrong with "Escaping the Smokers" or "Smokers Sighted" or "The Skyboat."  If I could only take one action score from the 90s, this would be it.

6.  Dances with Wolves - John Barry, 1990

            This movie has such a great sound, for a long time this was the only John Barry for me (I didn't discover his Bond scores until much later).  It's perfect for driving on open highways, transporting you back to a different time.  The Buffalo Hunt is especially good, either the film version or the album version.  And any time the Pawnees show up, the drums create an atmosphere unlike in any other movie. 

5.  Apollo 13 - James Horner, 1995

            One of the things I love about Apollo 13, and why it might be Horner's best, is that each cue is unique but there's an amazing thread that runs throughout.  "The Launch" is one of the great lengthy pieces in cinematic history, and you can't listen to it without feeling the awe and wonder, and triumph, of spaceflight.  "Dark Side of the Moon" has always been one of my favorite reflective sounds.  Then there is the anticipation building to triumphal success in "Re-Entry and Splashdown."  And, just when you think you know what this movie sounds like, Horner throws in the completely different, electronic End Credits, where most reuse cues from the movie, he wrote a new and amazing conclusion.  How this did not win Best Score I'll never know.

4.  The Shawshank Redemption - Thomas Newman, 1994

            Ok, I'll start with this, it's impossible to think of this and not hear the cue as Andy exits the sewers and has his Christ-moment in the pouring rain.  It's one of the most iconic scenes ever, and Newman lets the orchestra sound off.  While that is clearly the highlight, this movie is full of great music and it's Newman's masterpiece.  I say that with the belief that Newman is one of the top 5, at least, composers of the last 30 years.  There are so many emotions in this movie, it's hard to describe how meaningful this score is without tying it to what's on the screen.  It's probably the most serious score Newman has written, and it's dominated but the "Stoic Theme" appropriately enough.  And when Red shows up in Zihuatanejo, the release is felt by the audience as well as the orchestra.  Again, how this did not win Best Score is beyond me.

3.  The Fugitive - James Newton Howard, 1993

            Slight spoiler alert, but I love that I unintentionally did not choose any duplicates for composers in the Top 10, save this guy.  There were a lot of great composers in the decade, but he really took the reins (he ended the decade with his first collaboration with Shyamalan, one of the best composer/director collaborations of all time).  Regarding this score, it's the perfect blend of cop action score and a jazzy sound.  It's a big reason why The Fugitive is, in my opinion, one of the most perfect movies.  The back-to-back of "Helicopter Chase" and "The Sewer" is one of the best nine minutes of score anywhere.  But this score is more than just action, which it does brilliantly, it's also thoughtful, like "No Press" or "Memorial Hospital."

2.  Jurassic Park/The Lost World - John Williams, 1993/1997

            How do I convey my love for Jurassic Park?  Before there was Star Wars (for me) there was Jurassic Park.  It was the movie that made me want to be a paleontologist (until I realized how much science was involved).  And, like most Spielberg movies, Williams creates the iconic sound.  Now it's nearly impossible to think of dinosaurs and not hear that horn theme.  There's the awe and grandeur of the "Journey to the Island" and the shear horror of "The Raptor Attack."  He has the lullaby of "Remembering Petticoat Lane" and the jungle madness of "Dennis Steals the Embryo."  Oh, and of course there is the impending doom leading to the improbable savior of "T-Rex Rescue & Finale."  The Lost World is kind of up a notch with quite a bit more frenzy, most particularly with "Rescuing Sarah," but the best of the movie has to be "The Hunt" and the creepy sounds as raptors pick them off one by one in "The Long Grass."  As much as I love this music, somehow it's not #1.

1.  Edward Scissorhands - Danny Elfman, 1990

            Elfman's score for Edward Scissorhands is perfect, the best example of the second best collaboration between director and composer in film history.  "The Ice Dance" is, of course, the stand-out cue and the one that his most aped by other movies/commercials.  I also love the quirky suburbia that is created, the almost absurd perfection of these people's lives.  It can be heard best in the clockwork "Ballet de Suburbia" but also in the phenomenal "Edwardo the Barber."  There's also the mechanical "The Cookie Factory" which movies into the entirely sweet "Etiquette Lesson," and of course you really feel for Edward when his maker dies and he is left alone.  It all builds up to the almost overpowering "Grand Finale" before the bedtime story sound of the End Credits.  It's hard to choose a best score of the decade, but this is Elfman at the height of his powers, sandwiched right between the equally laudable Batman and the great Dick Tracy.  And somehow, it didn't even get nominated for Best Score.  It's an iconic sound that any story book-type movie or commercial has tried to copy.  It's fun, it's sweet, it's weird, it's emotional, it speaks for Edward, and it set the tone for the best decade in movie music history.

The Best of 90s Scores (40-11)

I've been fighting a bad flu, so it's taken me some time to get back to this.

40.  Sneakers - James Horner, 1992

            It's hard to say any Horner score is underrated, but I'd say this is one.  It fits the suspense of the movie perfectly.  If you haven't seen this one, you really should.  It's a great cast in a fun movie.

39.  Bram Stoker's Dracula - Wojciech Kilar, 1992

            This is probably my favorite horror score ever.  There's not much to compare it to.  The hunters music is so great.  I just wish the movie was half as good.

38.  The Matrix - Don Davis, 1999

            In some ways this score was as revolutionary and mind blowing as the movie was when it came out.  It's hard to beat the epic-ness of everything from the scene where they're picking out weapons through the lobby shooting scene (not Davis) through to the end.  Non-stop action.  And the sequel scores were just as good if not better, unlike the movies.

37.  Speed/Speed 2 - Mark Mancina, 1994, 1997

            If I could only have one score to drive to for the rest of my life, Speed would be my choice.  The only problem is it makes me speed (get it).  I still can't believe Mancina did so little after this.

36.  Tomorrow Never Dies/The World is Not Enough - David Arnold, 1997, 1999

            Why are these so high?  In a way I'm giving Arnold credit for being the second greatest Bond composer (after Barry, of course).  He made the Bond scores fun, and had no qualms with using the theme to make a statement.  The Backseat Driver cue in Tomorrow Never Dies might be the best Bond action cue in the series.

35.  Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - John Williams, 1999

            A score from my favorite franchise this low?  What's the deal?  I was trying to base it just off the newer stuff, and while some of it is good (Duel of the Fates, Darth Maul stuff in general) it's not one of the best of the franchise.  Plus, we're getting into some really good music.

34.  American Beauty - Thomas Newman, 1999

            I think this is the first score of his that I ever listened to, and it still sticks with me.  It's haunting and beautiful and a bit quirky.  It's only this low because it's a bit repetitive.

33.  Good Will Hunting - Danny Elfman, 1997

            One of my all-time favorite movies, the score has great highlights but not a ton of substance.  The final cue, "Weepy Donuts" on the soundtrack, has huge emotional impact still.

32.  For Love of the Game - Basil Poledouris, 1999

            A great baseball score from the fanfare Main Titles to the explosive last out.  It also has some of the great relationship music of any film.

31.  Darkman - Danny Elfman, 1990

            We're getting firmly into the Elfman section of this list.  Even a "lesser" Elfman superhero score is better than what most people can do.  Yes, it's very weird with the carnival stuff, but the theme and the final action cues are right up there with his Batman.

30.  Mission: Impossible - Danny Elfman, 1996

            Elfman smartly did not shy away from the fantastic theme of the show, using a few cues here and there to ground the score.  It's a move that Giacchino continued expertly in the later films of the series.  The scene on the train might be my favorite Elfman action cue, especially when the theme kicks in.

29.  Michael Collins - Elliot Goldenthal, 1996

            My favorite Goldenthal, it's also probably his least Goldenthal-y (which is probably why I liked it best).  It still has some of his quirk, but it's mostly appropriate for a good movie about the Irish revolt.  The building strings in Funeral/Coda and the Irish flair throughout are what really make it for me.

28.  Independence Day - David Arnold, 1996

            As the filmmakers said, only a Brit could write such patriotic music.  The president's speech, while great on its own, became classic partly due to his bombastic theme.  That's not a criticism.

27.  Batman: Mask of the Phantasm - Shirley Walker, 1993

            The best Batman movie ever, the score is second only to Elfman's original, which it is heavily influenced by.  I love everything about it, the choir in the theme, the love story stuff, the creepy Phantasm stuff, the action cues, and the Joker tidbits. 

26.  Schindler's List - John Williams, 1993

            This was nearly much lower on the list because, like Saving Private Ryan, there simply isn't a lot of music in the movie.  That being said, when it is used, it really pulls at the heartstrings.  The theme might not be Williams' most memorable, but it might be his best (lovingly played by the incomparable Itzhak Perlman).

25.  The Ghost and the Darkness - Jerry Goldsmith, 1996

            Not one of Goldsmith's most famous scores, it stands out to me because it has a lot of the same sound of his other 90s scores mixed with the sound of a turn-of-the-century safari.  I can't listen to it and not want to go there myself, without the man-eating lions of course.

24.  As Good As It Gets - Hans Zimmer, 1997

            The best non-action Zimmer score (slightly better than The Holiday).  It's playful yet serious, like the movie.  Yes it's a bit repetitive, but that's expected in a rom-com.

23.  Contact - Alan Silvestri, 1997

            Back in the day when I was studying space, this was on the top of my list of go-to scores while reading/researching/writing.  This is Silvestri at his best, caring about the movie and not just using generic action beats like the rut he got into shortly after this movie.

22.  Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Brad Fiedel, 1991

            One more example of a highly electronic score that I still love because it fits the movie.  He took what was good in the first and ramped it up to create probably my favorite sci-fi action score (to go along with the best sci-fi action movie of all time).  From the SWAT team attack to the end it does not give up, just like the terminators.

21.  Backdraft - Hans Zimmer, 1991

            There was a time when this was my most-listened-to score.  It really showed what Zimmer was capable of this decade.  It has a great love theme but also fantastic action cues.

20.  Patriot Games/Clear and Present Danger - James Horner, 1992/1994

            Something about these scores, especially Patriot Games, really holds onto me.  The long action cues in both are nearly perfect for on the edge of your seat scenes, but the rest are just so darn good as well.  The somewhat subdued Electronic Battlefield and Laser-Guided Missile really hit the mark as well (no pun intended).  Plus you get the little Irish flair in Patriot Games that together makes it one of my favorites.

19.  The Last of the Mohicans - Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones, 1992

            Everybody knows "The Kiss," but this score is so much more than that.  The Fort Battle is epic, and The Courier has always been a favorite of mine.  The two composers, with very different sounds, somehow work pretty well together (though Jones clearly has the better contributions).

18.  Braveheart - James Horner, 1995

            Truly one of the best Horner scores.  How can you not get pumped by "Revenge?"  Or wrecked by the execution music? 

17.  Sleepy Hollow - Danny Elfman, 1999

            I might get chastized for this, but Sleepy Hollow is one of the underrated brilliant scores by Elfman.  He goes full-on old-school horror (though he even trumped this later with Wolfman, the best "classic" horror score).  The Chase is one of the best Elfman action cues anywhere, with the strings going 100 mph.

16.  The Rocketeer - James Horner, 1991

            One of the all-time best superhero scores.  In the theme, you can really hear Horner's love for flying.  It really transports you to another age.  It doesn't get much more fun than "The Flying Circus."

15.  Dick Tracy - Danny Elfman, 1990

            Coming right off has Batman score the year before, and the same year as Darkman, Elfman was clearly king of the comic book movies of this era.  I love Dick Tracy because there are three major themes, each of which are gold.  My favorite is the theme for Tess, particularly when it explodes in the finale.  There were good comic book movies before the 2000s.

14.  Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - Michael Kamen, 1991

            I mentioned before this was the score that really got me into them, but yet it's this low?  Yes, that's how great this decade was.  A recently released (nearly) complete recording reminded me just how great this score was.  Yes, the Marian theme is beautiful.  I will always gravitate to the action cues.

13.  Legends of the Fall - James Horner, 1994

            As much as I love some of his other stuff, if I want to listen to peak Horner, this often is where I go.  It's a very emotional movie, it explores a lot of human territory, and the score goes right along with it.  But when that main theme is played on piano, my goodness.  It might be the most beautiful of his career (way better than Titanic).

12.  The Rock - Hans Zimmer and friends, 1996

            You want your Zimmer 90s action?  It does not get any better.  Of course, it helps that at least a half-dozen other guys were working on it as well, but that's another story.  Throw this in and hop on the highway, you'll be speeding in no time!

11.  Sense and Sensibility - Patrick Doyle, 1995

            A surprise, maybe, more for me because it's this low.  Doyle is clearly the best composer for this type of movie, and he destroys it with this score.  It's light, beautiful, fun, and serious exactly where it needs to be.  My only complaint is that it is so scarce in the film!  It's a 136 minute film with only 41 minutes of music.  Oh well, it's absolutely one of the best in the best year for film music, as well as movies, ever.