Thursday 14 June 2012

My First 10 Years of Movies: The 80s


As I turned 30 last year year, here is the first of a three-part post.  Partly inspired by Cinematic Paradox’s 100 Film Facts About Me post and partly inspired by Front Room Cinema’s Born into Film series, I thought I’d try and give you a breakdown of my film loving life year by year.  As I was born in 1981, my first 10 years of the movies were mostly the glorious 1980s.  If you want to see my top 10 films of the 80s click here.  But for now, here's how the movies shaped, influenced and warped my impressionable young mind.


1981: I was born.  The top 5 rated films of the year according to IMDb are Raiders of the Lost Ark, Das Boot, The Evil Dead, Chariots of Fire and Escape from New York.  I do not recall going to the cinema or seeing any films yet (funnily enough!).  I still haven't seen the last two on that list.


1982: Rambo and E.T. first appeared on screens.  It would be a long time till I would see either.  My oldest sister was eight at the time and had a hard time at school with everyone calling her ET because they were her initials.


1983: The Star Wars saga should have ended this year with Return of the Jedi.  Unfortunately it didn’t.  The first Star Wars film I saw in the cinema was The Phantom Menace in 1999 at age 18.


1984: The Terminator, Ghostbusters and A Nightmare on Elm Street were released.  Fortunately at the age of three, I was not going anywhere near these films yet.  But soon, all three would scare the crap out of me and become three of my all-time favourites.


 1985: The Goonies was released.  I wasn’t old enough to catch this in the cinema but when I finally saw the film, it affected my imagination so much that whenever I was alone, I would pretend I was in the movie being chased by villains in an underground cave system.  I’ve always wanted to write a script as perfectly pitched at kids as this.  Back to the Future and Teen Wolf both also came out, resulting in my eventual Michael J Fox poster on my wall that I got from the magazine Smash Hits.


1986: Thanks to Chris in the comments below, I remember seeing An American Tail in the cinema.  Must have been age 5 so that's my excuse for crying a lot at the ending!   Aliens, Top Gun, Platoon and Labyrinth all released.  Didn’t see any in the cinema.  But the first CD I ever owned was the Top Gun soundtrack.  Still love that shit.  I remember thinking CD's were incredibly cool compared to crusty old cassette tapes.


1987: This was the year of getting to go on my first film set.  I was cast as Tom the Vicar’s son in a film called The Girl in a Swing and was on set for about three days.  I’ve still never seen the film the whole way through but my parents said I didn’t make it into the final cut and that the film is full of filthy sex scenes and nudity.  Bad start to my acting career but it opened my eyes to the wonder of filmmaking.  Predator and Robocop were released.  


1988: Die Hard released.  I vividly remember being with my Mum in a shopping centre and walking along behind a couple of guys and one guy was telling the other about the scene where John McClane wraps the fire hose around his waist and jumps off the top of the exploding building.  I was seven years old and I couldn’t wait to see it.


1989: My Dad took me to see Back to the Future Part 2 this year and I bloody loved it.  My Dad fell asleep and said he found it too confusing.  I also remember seeing Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Ghostbusters 2 in cinemas so my love of film was definitely kicking in.  I was too young for Batman apparently.  And on a cruise ship to Denmark, my older sisters got to see The War of the Roses (which I only wanted to see because it was rated 15) while I was stuck with seeing All Dogs Go to Heaven with my Mum.


1990: The year of Home Alone.  This film instantly became my new favourite.  I saw it at least twice in the cinema.  I desperately wanted to be Macaulay Culkin.  I also saw Edward Scissorhands and rfememver having to pull myself together before the lights came on at the end so my sister wouldn’t see I’d been crying.  At nine years old, I was also dribbling over everything Ninja Turtles (or Hero Turtles as they were called here in the UK) so the movie was a must-see in the cinema.  Still love it.  The Witches and Arachnophobia also warped my fragile little mind, giving me a fear of old women and spiders that, certainly in the latter case, has still not gone away.  This year I saw my first 18 rated films: Robocop (the scene where Murphy is tortured and repeatedly shot was too much for me to watch), The Terminator (loved every second) and somebody gave me a copy of A Nightmare on Elm Street that was taped off the TV.  My first proper horror scared me into having regular nightmares but again, I absolutely loved it.  Also Moonwalker was released on VHS this year and I think this is probably the first film my Mum ever bought for me.  She got sick of me wanting to rent it from the video store every week.


1991: I clearly remember people telling me about the film Silence of the Lambs that had a lampshade made out of skin in it.  I’m not sure there actually is but I remember being told that.  As my babysitter had rented Terminator for me, I was beyond desperate to see Terminator 2 in the cinema but it was a 15 so I couldn’t.  I had to wait for my older sister and her friend to buy the video because they were both besotted with Edward Furlong.  I was jealous of Macaulay Culkin for getting to be in My Girl where he had to do 17 takes of the kiss with Anna Chlumsky apparently.  Bryan Adams was dominating the UK music charts with Everything I Do (I Do it For You) from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves sound track.  I contributed to both the film and the single’s success by seeing the film in cinemas twice and buying the single on cassette tape.  I also saw Rocketeer and TMNT2: The Secret of the Ooze in cinemas.

So that’s my movie life from birth to the age of ten.  Coming soon: 1992-2001 the next 10 years of my movie life.  If you like the idea, I hope you will all feel free to nick it and try it for yourself but please leave a link to little old I Love That Film!  

And while you're here, what were your first experiences of the cinema?

44 comments:

  1. How awesome! The 80s had some amazing films. Films that still stand up now and I can happily go back to and watch them over and over again.

    I can't remember my very first trip to the cinema. I think it might have been Duck Tales. But the first really amazing cinema experience wasn't until Jurassic Park.

    Looking forward to the next 10 years!

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    1. Thanks Jaina! Indeed the 80s were a great time for movies, especially kiddie-aimed blockbusters!

      Interesting you can't remember your first trip to the cinema. I'm sure BTTF2 wasn't my first but I have no recollection of any before this. Maybe a Care Bears Movie possibly?

      Yeah Jurassic Park was huge! God the hype around that was incredible. Wierdly I didn't enjoy it that much on first watch but then it's grown and grown on me.

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    2. Funny... you mentioning Care Bears has sparked a bit of memory in me - think I might have experienced some of those bears on the big screen!

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    3. Gotta love the care bears. The green one with I think a shamrock on him was always my favourite!

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  2. My favourite period of films. Glad to read you loved Teen Wolf! But Ninja Turtles is being ruined again by Michael Bay.... in his reboot he's gonna make them aliens. So I guess it'll be Teenage Alien Ninja Turtles then...

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    1. Yeah I could tell you are a big 80s fan from your own 100 facts post! Bay needs to stay the hell away from the Turtles, why make them aliens? We all love the ooze and Splinter and the sewers! Somebody needs to stop him!

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  3. Great post. My initials are E.T.N so I experienced a very small amount of what your sister did, never used to bother me. Only teachers and my parents actually call me 'Elliot' these days...

    My mum went to see Silence of the Lambs while I was still in the womb, does that count? Luckily it has had no affect on my personality. The earliest film I remember seeing was Toy Story 2 in 1999 at seven years old. I also remember seeing Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, one of my best experiences in the cinema, it captured the imagination of a nine (or ten) year old for three riveting hours. Second I got home I picked up a plastic sword and pretended to be Aragorn. Must’ve seen other films, but for the life of me I can’t remember. Oh Monsters Inc, that was cool, I also MUST of saw Star Wars, MUST of done, but have no memory of it whatsoever.

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    1. Oh dear! no I don't think my sis was that bothered either, there are far worse nicknames! LOTR must have been fantastic as a kid, it was bloody incredible to most adults!

      I only remember seeing Star Wars on TV and trying to watch Empire Strikes Back loads of times but finding it too boring! I could be shot for saying that. Finally got round to watching it all the way through when I was about 16!

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    2. In fact I share the same name as the main boy in E.T.

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    3. Did people do ET impressions and say Eeeeelliiiiioooot and point their fingers at you?

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    4. Don't think so, sorry to dissapoint.

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  4. Must have been a cool experience as a 6-year-old, too bad you were cut from The Girl in a Swing. Just curious, are you actually an actor in anything else?

    My first experience in cinemas was An American Tail (1986), on TV may have been Wizard of Oz. Love the 80s, as you, I didn't get to those classics until later.

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    1. Holy shit! Thanks Chris you've just reminded me of an earlier experience in the cinema! I definitely saw An American Tail in the cinema too! I thought I had a vague memory of crying in a film about a mouse but I couldn't figure out what it was. I'll have to edit this post now!

      Yeah Wizard of Oz was one I definitely saw a lot of on TV or recorded on VHS. Great film!

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    2. Oh and no I never took up acting. I got to be in a billboard poster advertising a kids clothing shop and a TV advert in Australia but other than that, fame escaped me.

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    3. @Pete: it's a small world! I actually went on that ferry to Denmark in the 80s too, so maybe I saw you there ( :
      I vividly remember walking past the cinema area on the boat and being fascinated by poster of "The Last Emperor" with the little kid with the hat on. I ended up seeing Big (1988) with my mum on the cruise, and loved every minute of it. Glad to have refreshed your memory!

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    4. No way! Freaky! I reckon Big would have been better than All Dogs Go to Heaven. My Mum just wanted to stop me pestering her for money for the arcade games!

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  5. Awesome post, Pete! Cool that you're born when Raiders of the Lost Ark was released, LOVE that movie.

    I think my first movie-going experience was Superman: The Movie. I was obsessed with it even as a wee girl, I think I went to the cinema half a dozen times, my mom even bought me a Superman suit, ahah. A few years later I was still crazy for it that I have rented the VHS from the rental store sooo many times my uncle finally just bought it for me.

    P.S. What did you think of Rocketeer? I saw that with my brother at the cinema and LOVED it, to this day!

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    1. Thanks Ruth, you just reminded me of another film I watched a lot of, so much so that my Mum decided to buy it for me instead of repeated rentals: Moonwalker! Going to have to put that in now!

      I haven't seen Rocketeer since but I remember loving it at the time! Might have to hunt it down for a re-watch one day!

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    2. Oh, Moonwalker w/ Michael Jackson? Heck yeah, who weren't obsessed w/ the King of Pop!

      I just rewatched The Rocketeer a few months ago when it was released on Blu-ray, I still LOVED it as much as I did the first time! Mostly for Timothy Dalton as Sinclair ;)

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    3. Wow didn't even know Timmy Dalton when I saw it, Don't even know who the star is!!! Definitely tempted to re-watch!

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  6. Cool Post Pete I saw a lot of those films at the theater as I have about ten years on you.

    One of the first films I remember seeing was Jaws that my folks took us to see at the drive in when I was 5. :-(

    thanks for that mom and dad

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    1. hahaha Id love to have seen Jaws in the cinema, perhaps I should see the re-release!

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  7. I quite enjoyed that post. I couldn't remember my years 0-10 that well and it was a long time till I saw my first R rated movie (I think the age of 11). Then again I was born in 86 so our lists would be different anyways.

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    1. No my memory is very shoddy! 86-96 would would be a very cool ten years I bet!

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  8. What great nostalgic post! I used to go to a lot of films (still do!) with my aunts, and I definitely remember going to see An American Tale, The Land Before Time and virtually every Disney film made during those years. Two of my most anticipated films however were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (I was sooo excited!) and Batman, which I saw at the drive in. Both lived up to my expectations, of course. Great list.

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    1. It's weird, I have no memory of seeing ANY Disney films in the cinema! So lucky to have seen films in a drive in. still have yet to have that experience!

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  9. Wow, you're definitely a child from the '80s. Watched some of their best movies there. Me, I'm not too aware of movies until the 90s although I was born in 1984. Though I did watched some of them in TV like Karate Kid and Robocop, Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire. Very nice post, Pete!

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    1. Yeah I didn't even really touch on any films I saw on TV. There's probably too many to remember! I guess that's what most of us remember from early ages. We had so many taped off the TV films that I used to watch a lot of films over and over again once we had taped them.

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  10. This is an amazing series idea Pete, and I am very happy to have been an inspiration to you... there goes the chance of me asking you to come and do a born into film list.... LOL

    This period of your life was my formulative years. I love every film you mention for so many different things.

    Thanks for the trip down memory lane

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    1. Thanks Scott! Would love to contribute to the Born into Film series but 1981 just really fails to get me excited. Might still try though!

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  11. Home Alone was a totally awesome movie if you grew up in the 80's and early 90's. Loved that flick and all the kids comedy like Beethoven, Mrs Doubtfire and what not I grew up watching.

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    1. Yeah loved Mrs Doubtfire! Good call! Wasn't as bifg a fan of Beethoven... more of a Free Willy fan myself!

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  12. Nice post, Pete! Somehow I missed out on a lot of 80s flicks growing up, so lately I have been going back and revisiting some of the more obvious omissions (i.e. Back to the Future, Predator, The Terminator). It has been a blast!

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    1. Thanks Eric! I bet it has! Three absolute classics listed there! I feel unbelievably lucky to have been born in this decade, shame I wasn't a bit older though and could have seen more of these on the big screen!

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  13. Fantastic post. Our childhoods were very similar. The first films I remember seeing in a theater were Jurassic Park and The Addams Family.

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    1. JP must have been a jaw dropper, I kinda wish I was a bit younger for that cinema release!

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  14. This is a wonderful list of films and the 1980's were a nice time for cinema. One thing I enjoyed about this era were the make-up effects, VFX and SFX that were done in such films like The Fly and Back to the Future. Good list of films!

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    1. A greta time for blockbusters certainly! I'm not sure about the rest of the film industry! Yeah the special effects in so many of these films are still great and very watchable, often far better than some modern CGI!

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  15. Great list of films, Pete!
    1980s a great decade for films of all sorts :) I think I am also very forgiving of the decade because that is the one that I primarily grew up in. So most films I saw during this time (even something like the remake of Invaders from Mars) is a part of my childhood and holds a nostalgic sentiment in my heart :)

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    1. Yeah I'm sure there's a few films I love far more than I should but when they were such a big part of your early years, they obviously have a big impact!

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  16. Oh my word, this is one of the coolest posts I've read in ages! Very awesome, Pete. And dude, quite the memory you have - I definitely can't recall all that I saw when I was that young and I am younger than you are! So many good movies from the 80s. Nice - someone else saw TMNT2: The Secret of the Ooze. I loved that as a kid! Haha.

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    1. haha yeah gotta love them Turtles. I wish I could remember more and when I first saw lots of films on video and when they came on TV but unfortunately this will have to do!

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  17. I love personal posts like this. And with Evil Dead, ET, Ghostbusters, Die Hard, etc, you really took in all the ‘80s had to offer as a kid. Love it. T2 was one of my first R-rated movies. Changed my life.

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    1. Yeah T2 Was gobsmacking. Anytime I got on bike, I had the urge to pretend the T1000 was after me in a huge truck! Twas a great decade to be a film loving kid!

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