93 articles
Swing Shift (film)
Swing Shift is a 1984 Jonathan Demme comedy-drama starring Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti, and Ed Harris about WWII aircraft-factory workers; it was famously re-edited after Hawn's reshoots and grossed $6,650,206.
Taboo (1980 film)
Taboo (1980) is an American adult drama directed by Kirdy Stevens, written by Helene Terrie, starring Kay Parker as Barbara Scott; an X-rated hit that spawned a long sequel series and entered the XRCO Hall of Fame.
Taipei Story
Taipei Story (青梅竹馬, Qingmei zhuma) is Edward Yang's 1985 Taiwanese drama, his second feature, starring Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Chin as a couple drifting apart in modernizing Taipei; a New Cinema landmark, Locarno FIPRESCI winner, restored by the World Cinema Project.
Tender Mercies
Tender Mercies is a 1983 American drama directed by Bruce Beresford, written by Horton Foote, starring Robert Duvall as recovering country singer Mac Sledge; it won Oscars for Best Actor and Original Screenplay.
Teri Meherbaniyan
Teri Meherbaniyan (तेरी मेहरबानियाँ) is a 1985 Hindi action drama by K.C. Bokadia, directed by Vijay Reddy, a remake of Kannada Thaliya Bhagya, starring Jackie Shroff, Poonam Dhillon, Amrish Puri, and the avenging dog Moti (Brownie).
The Angelic Conversation
The Angelic Conversation is Derek Jarman's 1985 British experimental film: Judi Dench reads 14 Shakespeare sonnets over Super-8 imagery of a gay love affair, with music by Coil, produced by the BFI.
The Ballad of Narayama (楢山節考) (1983 film)
The Ballad of Narayama (楢山節考, Narayama bushikō) is Shohei Imamura's 1983 Toei drama, the second adaptation of Fukazawa Shichiro's 1956 novel about ubasute, the abandonment of 70-year-olds on a mountain; it won the 1983 Cannes Palme d'Or.
The Color Purple (1985 film)
The Color Purple (1985) is Steven Spielberg's drama adapting Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize novel, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, and Margaret Avery; 11 Oscar nominations, no wins, $94 million initial domestic gross.
The Elephant Man (1980 film)
The Elephant Man (1980) is David Lynch's black-and-white biographical drama, produced by Mel Brooks, starring John Hurt as Joseph Merrick and Anthony Hopkins as Frederick Treves; eight Oscar nominations, no wins, about $26 million US box office.
The Green, Green Grass of Home (在那河畔青草青)
The Green, Green Grass of Home (在那河畔青草青, Zai na he pan qing cao qing) is Hou Hsiao-hsien's 1982 Taiwanese film about a Taipei substitute teacher in Neiwan, his romance with a colleague, and the river-protection campaign that earned Hou his first Golden Horse Best Director nomination.
The Herdsman (牧马人)
The Herdsman (牧马人) is a 1982 Shanghai Film Studio drama directed by Xie Jin, adapted from Zhang Xianliang's story 灵与肉, starring Zhu Shimao and Cong Shan; it drew over 130 million admissions, won Hundred Flowers and Golden Rooster awards, and went viral again in 2019.
The Illegal Immigrant (非法移民)
The Illegal Immigrant (非法移民) is a 1985 Hong Kong drama, Mabel Cheung's NYU thesis debut funded by Shaw Brothers, written by Alex Law, first of her migration trilogy, and Best Director winner at the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards.
The Last Metro
The Last Metro (Le Dernier Métro) is François Truffaut's 1980 French drama about a Paris theater troupe under Nazi occupation, starring Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu; it won ten César Awards and was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
The Legend of Billie Jean
The Legend of Billie Jean is a 1985 American drama directed by Matthew Robbins and starring Helen Slater as a Texas teen who becomes a fugitive folk hero.
The Legend of Suram Fortress
The Legend of Suram Fortress (Ambavi Suramis tsikhitsa, 1984) is a Soviet Georgian tableau-style drama by Sergei Parajanov and Dodo Abashidze, adapted from Daniel Chonkadze's novella about a fortress that stands only when a young man is walled alive into its collapsing walls.
The Outsider (1981 film)
The Outsider (Hungarian: Szabadgyalog) is a 1981 Hungarian drama film directed by Béla Tarr, his second feature, about an irresponsible violinist played by András Szabó.
The Ploughman's Lunch
The Ploughman's Lunch (1983) is a British political drama directed by Richard Eyre, written by Ian McEwan, starring Jonathan Pryce as a BBC journalist rewriting Suez history during the Falklands War.
The River (1984 film)
The River (1984) is a Mark Rydell drama starring Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek, and Scott Glenn about Tennessee farmers fighting floods and a dam scheme; Universal release, John Williams score, Oscar for sound effects editing.
The Sandwich Man (儿子的大玩偶)
The Sandwich Man (兒子的大玩偶) is a 1983 Taiwanese omnibus film by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wan Jen, and Tseng Chuang-hsiang, adapting three Huang Chun-ming stories; regarded as the founding work of Taiwan New Cinema.
The South
The South (El sur) is Víctor Erice's 1983 Spanish-French drama, adapted from Adelaida García Morales's novella, about a girl uncovering her father's secrets; production was halted 48 days into an 81-day shoot, leaving it famously unfinished.
The Verdict
The Verdict (1982) is Sidney Lumet's courtroom drama, scripted by David Mamet from Barry Reed's novel, starring Paul Newman as alcoholic Boston lawyer Frank Galvin in a medical malpractice trial against the Archdiocese of Boston; five Oscar nominations including Best Picture.
The Woman Next Door
The Woman Next Door (La Femme d'à côté) is François Truffaut's 1981 French drama starring Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant as former lovers turned neighbors near Grenoble, ending in a fatal embrace.
The World According to Garp (film)
The World According to Garp (1982) is George Roy Hill's Warner Bros. comedy-drama adapting John Irving's novel, starring Robin Williams, Glenn Close, and John Lithgow; screenplay by Steve Tesich, released July 23, 1982.
The Year of Living Dangerously (film)
The Year of Living Dangerously is a 1982 Peter Weir film, adapted from Christopher Koch's novel, starring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, and Oscar winner Linda Hunt, set in 1965 Jakarta and banned in Indonesia until 2000.
They Don't Wear Black-Tie
They Don't Wear Black-Tie (Eles não usam black-tie) is Leon Hirszman's 1981 Brazilian political drama, adapted from Guarnieri's 1958 Teatro de Arena play, about a father-son split during the ABC metalworkers' strikes; it won Venice's Special Jury Prize.
Vagabond (1985 film)
Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi) is Agnès Varda's 1985 French drama starring Sandrine Bonnaire as Mona, a drifter found frozen in a ditch; it won the Venice Golden Lion and the Best Actress César.
Veronica Voss
Veronika Voss (Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss), 1982 Fassbinder drama, second film of the BRD trilogy, based on Ufa star Sybille Schmitz; won the 1982 Golden Bear.
Victory (1981 film)
Victory, also released as Escape to Victory, is a 1981 sports war film directed by John Huston, in which Allied prisoners of war play a German team in a propaganda soccer match.
Vision Quest (film)
Vision Quest is a 1985 American coming-of-age wrestling drama directed by Harold Becker, starring Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino, based on Terry Davis's novel, with a hit soundtrack featuring Madonna's Crazy for You.
Wend Kuuni
Wend Kuuni (Wênd Kûuni, "God's Gift") is Gaston Kaboré's 1982 Burkinabe feature in Moré about a mute orphan adopted by a Mossi village who regains speech after a shock; it won the 1985 César for Best French-language Film.