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Few decades have produced the kind of legendary cinema as the 1980s. After the new Hollywood movement and the inception of the blockbuster in the late 70s, the 80s took things to the next level, with big-name hits like Back to the Future and Raiders of the Lost Ark still standing as some of the most influential movies of all time.
However, not all 80s fare has been given the treatment of Marty McFly or Indiana Jones. In fact, there are several masterpieces of the era that have been essentially lost to time, as modern-day audiences have turned their gaze towards the recognizable names that defined the decade. That does not mean these long-lost titles need to slip through the cracks forever. So, here are five 80s masterpieces that deserve a second look.
Thief Is a Crime-Driven Thrill Ride
Director Michael Mann is one of the most important figures in contemporary action and thriller cinema, and perhaps his finest achievement is 1995's Heat. The film is easily one of the most influential crime thrillers ever made. Without it, filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, David Fincher, and so many others would be completely different today. Mann has made a number of masterpieces over his long-running career, including The Last of the Mohicans, The Insider, Manhunter, and, of course, his severely underrated theatrical feature film debut, 1981's Thief.
Thief tells the story of James Caan's Frank, an ex-con and expert safe-cracker who finds himself trapped within a number of systems that refuse to let him go. With crime the only avenue to success left open for him, Frank embarks on "one last" heist to set himself up to have a family away from crime.
Thief explores ideas of unchecked greed, cogs in political and societal machines, and the fact that sometimes radical violence is the only way to break free of oppression in any form. It's also got one of the greatest synth scores of all time, an endless number of beautiful set pieces, and one of James Caan's greatest performances. Thief might be just as good as Heat, and it's a shame that so few people seem to ever really talk about it anymore.
Eastern Condors Delivers Action on a Silver Platter
Hong Kong has produced some of the finest action films of the last four decades, and though filmmakers like John Woo might be the biggest names from that corner of the action genre, director and actor Sammo Hung Kam-Bo is one of the most severely underrated figures in the entire action film industry.
Perhaps his finest achievement, and the kind of film that everyone should experience at least once, is 1987's Eastern Condors. The film is about a group of Chinese prisoners who are sent on a covert mission into Vietnam to destroy a secret depot of U.S. missiles.
What follows is one of the tightest-paced, most incredibly staged and expertly performed action epics ever produced. Each and every hand-to-hand duel, larger-than-life explosive battle, or intense gunfight is crafted with the utmost precision and gravity. It's a masterpiece in every sense of the word, and it might just be the best Hong Kong action film of the '80s. An unparalleled genre exercise, Eastern Condors has been generally forgotten, and it's time for action fans to revisit it.
Casualties of War Is Brian De Palma's Underrated War Epic
Director Brian De Palma was typically more known for his excellent erotic thrillers, most of which took major inspiration from the works of Alfred Hitchcock, his iconic gangster movies like Scarface and Carlito's Way, and the first Mission: Impossible film, but one of his single most impactful achievements was 1989's Casualties of War.
Starring Michael J. Fox as a U.S. Army private in Vietnam, Casualties of War sees Fox's character facing off against his fellow squad-mates as they attempt to kidnap and brutally assault a local Vietnamese woman.
Based on true events, Casualties of War is incredibly bleak, and that's one of the reasons that it didn't have the mainstream appeal as some other Vietnam-based pictures of the era. Michael J. Fox is at his very best, and Sean Penn's performance as the horrifyingly sadistic leader of the squad is nothing short of spectacular. Casualties of War gave a personal and intimate portrayal of the horrors and inhumanity of what took place during the conflict in Vietnam, and it's one of the best films to tackle that particular period of time.
However, to this day, it remains a forgotten gem overshadowed by more popular war movies like Platoon and Full Metal Jacket. It deserves just as much praise as those two, and it's one of De Palma's best works.
Excalibur Is The Arthurian Legend Like You've Never Seen It
John Boorman, the iconic director behind masterpieces like 1972's Deliverance and 1967's Point Blank, brought to life the single greatest adaptation of Arthurian legend in Hollywood history with his 1981 epic, Excalibur. A two-hour-and-twenty-one-minute extravaganza of dazzling production design, cinematography, and choreography, Excalibur is a dream-like masterclass in fantasy filmmaking.
Not only is it one of the most accurate adaptations of the fantastical legends, but it's also got such a unique and dynamic style. Every frame is dripping with texture and emotion, and the performances are all top-notch.
Boorman is one of Hollywood's most underrated directors, and Excalibur is easily his most forgotten masterpiece. He should've had a career as influential and legendary as figures like Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese, but for some reason, even his greatest works have generally remained acclaimed works "of their time." They haven't lived on quite as well as the works of his contemporaries, and that's a genuine shame.
Excalibur is unlike anything else from the 1980s, and arguably nothing like it has been made in the decades since. A bombastic, romantic, violent piece of fantasy filmmaking, Excalibur deserves to be remembered for what it is: a genuine masterpiece.
Matewan Is a Timeless Masterpiece That Feels More Present Than Ever
One of the most visually dazzling, genuinely emotional period pieces of the last fifty years, director John Sayles' Matewan is a transcendent piece of social and political commentary. Set in the coal country of West Virginia in the 1920s, Matewan tells the tale of a group of workers who come together on strike in order to protest working conditions and wages provided by a major business entity.
The film is about the importance of community, of coming together to take on systems too powerful for one single individual to battle against. It is also about the endless struggle for equality and class consciousness in America.
John Sayles is one of the most essential American filmmakers of the modern era, and Matewan might just be his masterpiece. Starring Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, and David Strathairn, Matewan is an undeniable masterpiece that is just as prescient today as it was in 1987. With sublime cinematography from director of photography Haskell Wexler, and some of the finest writing the medium has ever seen, the film deserves to be regarded amongst the very best films of the 20th century, and it's a crime that it isn't.
Matewan is a powerful, rousing viewing experience, and anyone who hasn't seen it is doing themselves a disservice. Not only is it one of the best forgotten films of the 1980s, but it's also one of the decade's very best films overall.
