# (semi-) Oldies but Goodies: Movies from the 1970s and 1980s that are good to re-watch **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249 "2010-02-01T15:49:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/41 "2010-02-02T03:25:50Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I have a 3-DVD boxed set of _Brazil_ which includes the so-called “Love Conquers All” version. I’ve never watched it. Same here, and me neither. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/42 "2010-02-02T03:59:06Z")
The Lost Boys! Still the best vampire movie out there, speaking as someone who loves non-sparkly vampires The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai All the best Woody Allen films, especially Manhattan, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Hannah and her Sisters and Radio Days ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/43 "2010-02-02T07:58:26Z")
Alien American Graffiti Annie Hall Apocalypse Now Badlands The Black Stallion Blazing Saddles Cabaret Chinatown Close Encounters of the Third Kind The Conversation Days of Heaven Deliverance Dog Day Afternoon Eraserhead Five Easy Pieces The French Connection The Godfather The Godfather, Part II Harold and Maude The Hospital Jaws Killer of Sheep MASH Manhattan Mean Streets Nashville Network One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Patton Rocky Shaft The Sting A Woman Under the Influence Young Frankenstein ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/44 "2010-02-02T11:01:51Z")
I’ve pulled these from the recesses of my mind, and did a quick search to see if anyone else came up with them. It looks like I chose movies that didn’t appear on anyone else’s master list. HA! The Longest Yard (original version) Marathon Man Bronco Billy The Eiger Sanction Dirty Harry Slapshot Smokey and the Bandit Thunderbolt and Lightfoot The Bad News Bears The Outlaw Josey Wales The Boys in Company C Enjoy! (oh, and I’ve got more…) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/45 "2010-02-02T11:45:49Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > I have a 3-DVD boxed set of _Brazil_ which includes the so-called “Love Conquers All” version. I’ve never watched it. I was blown away when I saw **Brazil** in the theater. Saw it at least twice. A few years later I watched it on TV, and it was completely different. It was a few years after that that I read _The Battle of Brazil_ and realized it was the “Love Conquers All” version that had been broadcast. > [@Equipoise](#): > > I’m glad somebody else likes it too. I’m glad I saw it in the theater because the opening credits are breath-taking, following Hawn’s car as she drives up Hwy. 1 in California, with mountains on one side and the crashing sea on the other. I should watch it again and see if it’s as funny to me now. I sure did think it was funny then. Someone recommended **Silverado** to me with a similar caveat. It starts with Scott Glenn in a tiny cabin. People are outside trying to kill him, but he can see their shadows through slats in the walls and manages to kill them instead. It’s very claustrophobic, until the end of the scene when Glenn walks out of the cabin and it opens up to an incredible western vista. (I did manage to see it on a big screen, at a Jeff Golblum film festival, no less.) There’s a lot that’s great about that movie; casting, dialog, and the grand themes of an epic Western. And I concur with everyone who has mentioned **Network**. It was great when it came out, and it’s even better now. This movie showed us tabloid and reality TV before we even knew what to call them. Satires should never come true. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/46 "2010-02-02T15:12:40Z")
I liked Dangerous Liaisons Planes Trains and Automobiles Pope of Greenwich Village Ghostbusters Sixteen Candles Miami Blues This Is Spinal Tap hh ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/47 "2010-02-02T15:20:39Z")
> [@CircleofWillis](#): > > Are you kidding me? Gil Grisson and the dude form Mad About You (No, not him, the other one) vs. Willem Dafoe? What’s not to like? Great soundtrack, too. Everybody Wang Chung tonight! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/48 "2010-02-02T15:53:41Z")
Some that may not have been mentioned yet. _Atlantic City_ (1980) - Burt Lancaster in his last great role along with Susan Sarandon. _Blazing Saddles_ (1974) - One of the funniest movies ever made. _Blood Simple_ (1984) - First movie by the Coen brothers and they started out good. _Broadcast News_ (1987) - Comedy/drama with William Hurt, Albert Brooks, and Holly Hunter. Great script and great performances. _Caddyshack_ (1980) - Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase at their comedy peak. _Escape From New York_ (1981) - Great SF action thriller with Kurt Russell. _A Fish Called Wanda_ (1988) - Excellent screwball comedy _Get Carter_ (1971) - A classic British gangster movie. Michael Caine plays a bastard looking for revenge against bigger bastards. _The Getaway_ (1972) - Starring Steve McQueen, directed by Sam Peckinpah, written by Walter Hill, from a book by Jim Thompson. How can you go wrong? _Near Dark_ (1987) - A great vampire movie. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who directed _The Hurt Locker_. _One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest_ (1975) - A Jack Nicholson classic. _Raging Bull_ (1980) - May be Robert DeNiro’s and Martin Scorsese’s best movie. _Reds_ (1981) - An old-fashioned historical epic about the Communist movement in America. _Roxanne_ (1987). Nice romantic comedy with Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah. _Slap Shot_ (1977) - Great performance by Paul Newman. A sports movie but about more than sports. _Sleeper_ (1973) - Woody Allen’s science fiction comedy. _This Is Spinal Tap_ (1984) - Classic improv pseudo-documentary comedy. _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_ (1971). A children’s film but worth watching by adults. _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_ (1988) - Film Noir/Cartoon crossover. Sounds crazy but it works. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/49 "2010-02-02T16:01:11Z")
Regarding _This is Spinal Tap_ - if you’re a fan of commentary tracks, get hold of an anniversary edition of this film. There is a “15 years later” (IIRC) commentary by Guest, Shearer, and McKean **in character** as the band members, watching the film, talking about how their lives have changed, and what they think of the film/if they remember the scenes/what was going on during that time. It adds a whole new layer to the film. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/50 "2010-02-02T16:18:51Z")
> [@zagloba](#): > > Great soundtrack, too. Everybody Wang Chung tonight! It is a great soundtrack. I’m far from a Wang Chung fan, but I snapped up the soundtrack right quick. ---
**Author:** ![davey77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@davey77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davey77)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/51 "2010-02-02T17:50:09Z")
Bizarre. I debated whether to suggest David Lynch’s _Dune_, due to its bad reputation and here I find myself thirding the suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/52 "2010-02-02T18:26:04Z")
Forgot to mention “All of Me” - Steve Martin & Lily Tomlin are hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249/53 "2010-02-02T18:59:38Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > _The Frisco Kid_ (1979) bought this on DVD for 3 bucks at Big Lots. Made my fiance’ watch it with me. She just did not like it or care. It was very sad for me as I love that movie. I think any of the Savage Steve Holland comedies are still great- Better off Dead, One Crazy Summer, etc. “How I got into College” was his last feature and it’s pretty good with a nice ensemble cast. Anyone a fan of “White Palace” with Susan Sarandon and James Spader? He’s a young upperclass 80s businessman and she’s a middle aged hamburger stand waitress. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/semi-oldies-but-goodies-movies-from-the-1970s-and-1980s-that-are-good-to-re-watch/527249.md?page=2)