Great pick, Keith. Don’t forget, 1984 also has THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION! I didn’t get to see that one in theaters (even if I was aware of it, 11-year-old me wasn’t going to be able to convince my parents to take the family to see it), but it left a deep impact on me when I caught up with it on television.
it seems pretty silly to call out critics for not appreciating BLADE RUNNER 1982 when the film's own director did not think BLADE RUNNER 1982 was a great movie, right?
I think you can talk about the movie's flaws, but I think you also have to question critics for not being able to recognize the groundbreaking look of the film alone. If you have eyes and ears, you should be able to notice something you haven't quite seen before.
Like critics reevaluated BLADE RUNNER, they should reevaluate STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, which has always been seriously underrated. While many of the others became campy or silly, ST:TMP mostly maintains a mature level of seriousness. The conflict is set up early. Kirk gets command of the Enterprise from Decker who resents it. The concept of an aging Kirk who laments his glory days being behind him and wants to get that back is carried into WRATH OF KHAN. ST:TMP is clearly heavily influenced by 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and like that film, it takes its time. Flying around the Enterprise in drydock or exploring the interior of the V’Ger cloud, we are allowed to dwell on the special effects visuals, a rarity in today’s sci-fi films which is all about fast-paced editing. While other Star Trek movies deal with conflicts with Klingons or the Borg or Romulans, ST:TMP thinks bigger. It’s less space combat fantasy but actual science fiction from the mysterious crafts captured by V’Ger to the Ilia probe powered by nanotechnology to V’Ger’s origin, all the while ruminating on what separates humans from machines. More than any other Star Trek movie, this one most captures the spirit of the original series, its spirit of exploration and what lies on that final frontier.
It was also perhaps the biggest-budget ‘70s movie that gave a glimpse into a utopian, non-apocalyptic future Earth, inhabited by a humanity that was still recognizable. The original series sent a signal that we somehow figured it out, and now we could see it for the first time, realized on the movie screen. This meant a lot to a child growing up in the shadow of the Cold War.
1981 was another year for notable genre films, albeit not all during the summer. THE HOWLING came out in March and EXCALIBUR in April. But then June was pretty insane. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was released on June 12, SUPERMAN II on June 19, and DRAGONSLAYER, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, and STRIPES all came out on June 26. Not a good movie, but quite popular at the time was THE CANNONBALL RUN, which came out on June 19.
And I now have an idea as to what to give many people for Christmas. Thanks for a great interview!
Great pick, Keith. Don’t forget, 1984 also has THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION! I didn’t get to see that one in theaters (even if I was aware of it, 11-year-old me wasn’t going to be able to convince my parents to take the family to see it), but it left a deep impact on me when I caught up with it on television.
Ooh, I did see that in a theater, a couple of times, and it became an instant favorite. Made me feel smart, and those closing credits!
Those credits are iconic. I’d love to own that soundtrack.
it seems pretty silly to call out critics for not appreciating BLADE RUNNER 1982 when the film's own director did not think BLADE RUNNER 1982 was a great movie, right?
I think you can talk about the movie's flaws, but I think you also have to question critics for not being able to recognize the groundbreaking look of the film alone. If you have eyes and ears, you should be able to notice something you haven't quite seen before.
I was 22!
(Yes, you can touch me)
I turned 15 that summer! (Please don’t touch me.)
"And I knew that the first Star Trek movie wasn't good because I've seen it. I have eyes."
Nashawaty and I are in complete agreement, as STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE indeed wasn't good: it was GREAT.
Like critics reevaluated BLADE RUNNER, they should reevaluate STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, which has always been seriously underrated. While many of the others became campy or silly, ST:TMP mostly maintains a mature level of seriousness. The conflict is set up early. Kirk gets command of the Enterprise from Decker who resents it. The concept of an aging Kirk who laments his glory days being behind him and wants to get that back is carried into WRATH OF KHAN. ST:TMP is clearly heavily influenced by 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and like that film, it takes its time. Flying around the Enterprise in drydock or exploring the interior of the V’Ger cloud, we are allowed to dwell on the special effects visuals, a rarity in today’s sci-fi films which is all about fast-paced editing. While other Star Trek movies deal with conflicts with Klingons or the Borg or Romulans, ST:TMP thinks bigger. It’s less space combat fantasy but actual science fiction from the mysterious crafts captured by V’Ger to the Ilia probe powered by nanotechnology to V’Ger’s origin, all the while ruminating on what separates humans from machines. More than any other Star Trek movie, this one most captures the spirit of the original series, its spirit of exploration and what lies on that final frontier.
It was also perhaps the biggest-budget ‘70s movie that gave a glimpse into a utopian, non-apocalyptic future Earth, inhabited by a humanity that was still recognizable. The original series sent a signal that we somehow figured it out, and now we could see it for the first time, realized on the movie screen. This meant a lot to a child growing up in the shadow of the Cold War.
1981 was another year for notable genre films, albeit not all during the summer. THE HOWLING came out in March and EXCALIBUR in April. But then June was pretty insane. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was released on June 12, SUPERMAN II on June 19, and DRAGONSLAYER, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, and STRIPES all came out on June 26. Not a good movie, but quite popular at the time was THE CANNONBALL RUN, which came out on June 19.
Good points all. There might be room for others to make cases for other years in Friday’s Open Question.