With 'Flashdance,' '9 1/2 Weeks,' and 'Fatal Attraction,' the director's back-to-back-to-back hits aroused mainstream audiences and told a story about the decade.
Ahhh, good stuff. In my head, I'd completely forgotten Lyne did Flashdance, because I associate it so strongly with Bruckheimer et al--really feels like that group of filmmakers (Bruckheimer, then Michael Bay, leading into i wanna say Zack Snyder) took the visual fetish language of Lyne's style and just removed the sex out of the fetish, if that makes sense?
Absolutely. I was surprised myself to learn that Flashdance was such an early, pivotal film for Simpson-Bruckheimer, coming along before Beverly Hills Cop and their Tony Scott movies. Lyne really did provide a visual template for their brand of commercial cinema, and you're right that the sex was replaced by fetishization of other sexy things like fighter jets and race cars. (And thanks for subscribing, bud. Glad to have you on board.)
Elizabeth Peña is something in that one. I haven't seen it since it came out, though ,when I was a freshman in college. Hated it then, but its rep has certainly improved since.
Has that movie really been rehabilitated? Me can only associate it with How Did This Get Made's running gag of Mantzoukas' excited and baffled "Is this Jacob's Ladder scenario?!?" every time that particular dumb-but-think-it's-smart plot twist come up.
I also saw it freshman year of college when it came out, and for years it was my go-to "scariest movie of all time". Rewatched it recently and it doesn't remain at the top of that list, but that trip through hell on a gurney and the party scene with Peña are still brilliant.
really nice write up, Scott. and I really had to do a double-take and check wikipedia because I remembered the alt-ending of Fatal Attraction being the real one
Ahhh, good stuff. In my head, I'd completely forgotten Lyne did Flashdance, because I associate it so strongly with Bruckheimer et al--really feels like that group of filmmakers (Bruckheimer, then Michael Bay, leading into i wanna say Zack Snyder) took the visual fetish language of Lyne's style and just removed the sex out of the fetish, if that makes sense?
Absolutely. I was surprised myself to learn that Flashdance was such an early, pivotal film for Simpson-Bruckheimer, coming along before Beverly Hills Cop and their Tony Scott movies. Lyne really did provide a visual template for their brand of commercial cinema, and you're right that the sex was replaced by fetishization of other sexy things like fighter jets and race cars. (And thanks for subscribing, bud. Glad to have you on board.)
Jacob's Ladder, the sexiest movie of somebody's nightmares.
Elizabeth Peña is something in that one. I haven't seen it since it came out, though ,when I was a freshman in college. Hated it then, but its rep has certainly improved since.
Has that movie really been rehabilitated? Me can only associate it with How Did This Get Made's running gag of Mantzoukas' excited and baffled "Is this Jacob's Ladder scenario?!?" every time that particular dumb-but-think-it's-smart plot twist come up.
In another world we would have gotten Lyne's Bonfire of the Vanities instead of DePalma's in place of Jacob's Ladder!
interesting. I loved it at the time, but I don't know if I've ever revisted
I also saw it freshman year of college when it came out, and for years it was my go-to "scariest movie of all time". Rewatched it recently and it doesn't remain at the top of that list, but that trip through hell on a gurney and the party scene with Peña are still brilliant.
really nice write up, Scott. and I really had to do a double-take and check wikipedia because I remembered the alt-ending of Fatal Attraction being the real one
Scott brothers? Oh, right. Somehow I always conflate Tony Scott (a brother) with Ted Demme (a nephew), both of whom died untimely deaths.