Welcome to my continued journey through time as I watch every film that has won the Academy Award for Best Picture! We’re done with the most recent three decades, and now we’re looking at the 1980’s! Will I discover any new favorites? How will it stack up to powerhouse decades like the 90’s? Join me and find out!
1920’s-30’s | 1940’s | 1950’s | 1960’s |
1970’s | 1980’s | 1990’s | 2000’s | 2010’s
1980: Ordinary People (A+)
My god, what a beautiful film. A gorgeous meditation on grief, forgiveness and self-acceptance: Manchester by the Sea by way of Good Will Hunting. So much lies in the margins; the dialogue is often meaningless and trite while character desires and the things left unspoken inform the subtext. A brilliant screenplay that treats our characters as real people – imperfect, illogical, even objectionable at times. Even the editing informs the themes: messy, disjointed cuts reflecting the characters’ inability to connect with one another. There are no easy answers here, no attempts to shoehorn in a definitive and satisfactory resolution to the characters’ problems – just a bunch of lost souls trying to make sense of terrible emotions.
1981: Chariots of Fire (C)
I dare anyone to watch this and not get inspired. Seriously, how can you hear that incredible electronic score and not want to run right through a wall? The race scenes are infectious and the themes of religion and national pride in sports are fascinating, but the storytelling aside from the action sequences is rather bland. The pacing is far too slow and there are many repetitive scenes that serve to merely reinforce what we already know about our characters. It should have either been 20 minutes shorter or further developed the characters beyond the surface of their beliefs and motivations. I was never bored, but nor was I particularly enthralled.
1982: Gandhi (B+)
I put this one off for a while, daunted by the oppressive runtime and uninteresting subject matter. But as it turns out, the subject matter proved rather fascinating and I wasn’t as bored as I expected to be! This film explores one of history’s most impressive men but does not shy away from his faults, depicting his mistakes and moral dilemmas as they really were. The sheer humanity of India is on impressive display; I believe this film set a record for number of extras used, and it helps to convey the scope of India’s problem at the time. Unlike the many other lengthy historical epics of the decade, this one has an actual narrative to follow outside of the subject’s life, and a clear character arc demonstrating growth and moral ambiguity. It still could’ve been shorter IMO, but that’s just personal preference. Still impressive!
1983: Terms of Endearment (D+)
I couldn’t get into this one. Super melodramatic and overly-sentimental; the cutesy score feels like it belongs more in a family sitcom than a feature film. Speaking of sitcoms, the one thing certain scenes were missing was a laugh track to underscore the corny comedy that hasn’t aged all that well. The direction from James L. Brooks is obvious and on-the-nose, leaving little room for interpretation beyond the blatant emotions he wants us to feel. The final act starts to redeem the film a bit, but it comes too little too late. At least the acting is top-notch and the plot is worth following; the craftsmanship is just too questionable to ignore.
1984: Amadeus (A+)
This is one of the greatest biopics ever made. The decision to frame Mozart’s story through the eyes of his rival is a brilliant way to help the audience understand the man’s true genius. It manages to both celebrate the works of one of history’s greatest musicians and sympathize us with the struggles of his sworn enemy. I love that they did not hew strictly to the facts, instead using history as a loose guideline from which to craft drama; more biopics ought to take this approach. Gorgeous musical sequences, phenomenal acting, and a story that (while long) paints a compelling portrait of a remarkable man.
1985: Out of Africa (D+)
Okay, I guess? The production values are strong and the story is interesting enough. I found it difficult to sympathize with the main character (a rich privileged woman), as though I was watching Little Women from the perspective of Aunt March. I didn’t get the sense that the film had much to say, other than some generic commentary on the difficulties of women at the time. They did a fine job of telling this woman’s story, but not of translating it into something universal and relatable to our own lives. It’s nice to look at and Meryl Streep is great as always, but the film is far too long and slow-paced for such an inconsequential story.
1986: Platoon (B)
There are certainly things to criticize about this film – the obvious voiceover narration, the over-the-top action sequences – but it’s still a damn fine war film. It paints a realistic portrayal of war, one in which our protagonists are not heroes but flawed human beings trying to make sense of it all. It raises numerous moral questions without easy answers and does a fine job of exploring all their ramifications. I really cared about the characters and yearned for their survival, which is more than most war films can say. It’s not my favorite Vietnam War flick (Apocalypse Now holds that title with ease), but this is a more approachable mainstream take on the thorny issues the war brought to bear.
1987: The Last Emperor (D)
There’s a well-known cinematic concept that “the most impactful film image will always be the human face.” That phrase was on my mind a lot while watching this film, because while the production values are fantastic and the visuals are immersive, it’s all ruined by the acting. The child actors are cringy, the dialogue is clunky, and the broken English by non-native speakers made many scenes a chore to watch (why was this not made in Mandarin??). The film also had the blessing of the Chinese censure board, which automatically makes me suspicious of its intentions and accuracy. The story of Puyi is vaguely interesting, but I could not connect to anybody emotionally and therefore could not enjoy the experience.
1988: Rain Man (B)
I miss the days when movies like this were the highest-grossing films of the year: simple yet powerful character dramas for adults. The writing here is strong, aside from some clumsy exposition dumps, with endearing characters and a willingness to create a wholly-unlikable protagonist with room to grow. The dynamic between Cruise and Hoffman is fantastic and I loved watching them play off of one another, even if some redundant scenes drag the pacing in the second act. The filmmaking is nothing to write home about (Best Director? Really?), but I guess I have no major complaints about cinematography or framing. A sentimental good time that doesn’t feel overwrought, with strong performances that mostly paper over the minor issues I had with the script.
1989: Driving Miss Daisy (F)
I knew going in that the film was controversial, but even I didn’t expect this kind of mediocrity. Horrendous Southern accents, on-the-nose and tone-deaf racial discussions, and no real plot to follow. It makes sense that this was based on a play, given the copious dialogue scenes and lack of real visual appeal, but they failed to update the story to take advantage of the tools cinema can give you. Not only was I rolling my eyes at every other line and inflection, I was legitimately bored! The characters are flat and uninteresting, the direction is uninspired, the dialogue is clunky and unsubtle…even the normally-reliable Morgan Freeman failed to charm me! There’s very little to like here.
1980’s Rankings:
-
Ordinary People
-
Amadeus
-
Gandhi
-
Platoon
-
Rain Man
-
Chariots of Fire
-
Terms of Endearment
-
Out of Africa
-
The Last Emperor
-
Driving Miss Daisy
AVERAGE RATING: C-
Conclusion
All told, the 80’s were a mixed bag for Best Picture winners. It had some gems I truly loved, some less-than-ideal offerings, and some middle-of-the-road entertainment. Could’ve been worse, I suppose! Next time I’ll cover the 1970’s, which promises a much more diverse (and highly-acclaimed) slate of films! Hope you’ll join me for those soon.
In the meantime, head over to the home page for more film musings, and follow me on Letterboxd for my up-to-date thoughts on every new film I watch! Unfortunately with the coronavirus going around I’ll be skipping the theater for most new releases, but that won’t stop me from discovering older gems at home!
-Austin Daniel
All image rights belong to the films’ respective distributors.
Scriptophile 