What 3 films from the 1980s best describes the US in the 1980s?

[apnu]

I'll say:

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
Ice Pirates
Big Trouble in Little China

With an honorable mention for any film by Terry Gilliam.

[BostonTeaParty04]

1. I'll take another tact....

St. Elmos Fire

the Breakfast Club

**trying to come up with a 3rd that describes the soul-lessness and crass-ness of the young people coming of age during the big spending, jordasch jean-wearing, BMW-driving times of the S&L crisis frauds.....

[Kathy in Cambridge]

2. Wall Street, Heathers, any John Cusack movie

and all of the brat pack movies.

[sir_captain]

3. Wall Street and ET come to mind first for me

and maybe Rambo

[KissMyAsscroft]

4. Iron Eagle.

Lame.

[central scrutinizer]

5. "River's Edge"

very disturbing since it seems so close to the truth

[XNASA]

6. Porky's, Ghostbusters and Top Gun

[Fenris]

7. They Live, Wall Street, and Muppets Take Manhattan

;)

[apnu]

10. "They Live" and Muppets ... LOL

Nice Fenris!

[bluestateguy]

8. I name three

Wall Street
Risky Business
Rocky IV

[Amerpie]

9. Try these

Desperately Seeking Susan
Wall Street
Fatal Attraction

[tom_paine]

11. The 90s: Bob Roberts

The 80s:

Wall Street
They Live
Pink Floyd: The Wall (with a strong foreshadowing of Bushevik Imperial America at the end).

[izzie]

12. I can not recall the 80's Reagan was President.

So that is that.

[demon67]

13. Some films to consider

1. Wall Street (Captures "greed is good" mentality.)

2. Valley Girl (Functions as a perfect time capsule. The clothes, the music and the dialogue are just perfect.)

3. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Having lived through this era, this movie sometimes feels like a documentary.)

Also, choose your favorite John Hughes film (Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, etc.).

[Kathy in Cambridge]

33. I forgot about "Valley Girl"

great movie!

[Delano]

14. Wall Street, Salvador, & King of New York

NT

[Loonman]

15. New Jack City

"there'll be another one, after me"

[apnu]

16. so may Wall Street posts... very interesting. n/t

[terrya]

17. "The Bonfire of the Vanities"...a hideously bad movie, but..

it did capture what the United States was like in the 1980's.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

18. Spies Like Us, Stripes & Ghostbusters

[apnu]

19. are you a closet Bill Murry fan?

'Cuz he's a comic genius! Or maybe it's an S&L thing... Murry, Ackroyd, Chase... heh.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

21. I'm out of the closet on that one

Specially with Lost in Translation - dear God that was good

Plus Scarlet Johansen in her undies for hours!!!

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

22. Goonies!!! Goonies!!! Goonies!!!

'Nuff said

[apnu]

24. yeah... that was a good one...

"Chunk!"

on edit: another good line...
"If God made you that way, you'd all be pissing in your face!"

[apnu]

26. Lost in Translation... nice!

There's a toss up between that, "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Rushmore" as best Murray role. (OK, I'm a Owens brothers fan... I admit it ;-) )

[Nailzberg]

20. You people are forgetting RED DAWN

Perfect example of all that "There's a Bear in the Woods" commie scare that Reagan relied upon to keep America in fear and him in power.

[apnu]

28. good call!

My original list of movies was making as statement about the nonsense preoccupation with triviality in the 80s that I believe was/is a huge forgotten cancer today.

Red Dawn and Wall Street are really good choices as a description of the general character in America's public character in the era.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

23. Weird Science, Sixteen Candles & Real Geniuses

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

25. Breakin' 2 Elctric Bugalloo, Beat Street, Disorderlies

Disorderlies, btw is one of the worst pieces of filth ever commited to celluloid IMO!

[iorg]

27. Goonies

said a lot about the '80s. (Then I look up and it was already mentioned). How about Three Amigos and America's attempt to bolster "democracy" throughout Latin America

[Superfly]

29. Hiding Out...

about a crooked stockbroker who has to go on the lam from the people he owes money to.

[tjwash]

30. Wall Street, The Breakfast Club, Fast times at Ridgemont High

nt

[U2Shark]

31. Repo Man, Ferris B's Day Off, & any of the Missing in Action movies.

[moof]

32. Empire Strikes Back, Wargames, Rainman

Empire strikes back - Regan & Bush steal the election & take power

Wargames - Libya, Lebanon, East Timore, Panama, on & on & on

Rainman - Regan checks out mentally

[BigMcLargehuge]

34. Salvador, Wall Street, and Do the Right Thing

those are my choices

[Susang]

35. Blue Velvet, Brazil & After Hours

Special nods to Desperately Seeking Susan or any other flick with Ann Magnuson in it! She was the 80s for me.

on edit: Whoops! How could I forget Sid and Nancy?!?!?

[WoodrowFan]

36. any Molly Ringwald

or is it ringwalL?? whatever.

[CanuckAmok]

37. Red Dawn, Heathers, Harlan County USA

n/t

[voter x]

38. World according to Garp

History of the World - Mel Brooks

Airplane!

[Braden]

39. The Legend of Billie Jean, War Games, Rocky III

[Whitacre D_WI]

40. The Secret of My Success

Anything else is gravy.

[Deja Q]

41. Repo Man, Dirty Dancing, RUTHLESS PEOPLE

:thumbsup:

[Nailzberg]

42. Bill Pullman was HILARIOUS in Ruthless People!!!

:thumbsup: