Years Of Endearment

Jesse Walker has returned to 1983.  If I were a shallow critic, I'd say movies of the time were a reaction to Reagan (and Thatcher in England).  But those sorts of correlations are cheap.  Do you really think James L. Brooks wouldn't have made Terms Of Endearment (the big Oscar-winning film of the year) if Jimmy Carter were still in office?

Jesse, by the way, says Terms Of Endearment is "fine," but it doesn't make his list.  I say that's probably too kind.  But what made the list?

The Perpetual Three-Dot Column (jessewalker.blogspot.com)

1983 Top Ten:

1. Sans Soleil

2. Videodrome

3. The King Of Comedy

4. Tender Mercies

5. Zelig

6. Pauline At The Beach

7. The Meaning Of Life

8. El Sur

9. El Norte

10. A Christmas Story

I barely remember Sans Soleil, which is interesting, since it's a documentary about memory.

If you want to see a film about David Cronenberg's obsession with sex, violence, politics and technology, I don't know if you could do better than Videodrome. But I wouldn't say this is a great film. Certainly not top ten.

The King Of Comedy is fascinating and creepy (though not funny).  It's memorable, but I can't say that makes it good.

I found Tender Mercies boring.  I can't imagine watching it again.

The pseudo-documentary Zelig is an enjoyable oddity from Woody. I don't love it like I love his best comedies, but at the very least it's a highwire act he pulls off.

Pauline At The Beach is a Rohmer classic.

The Meaning Of Life is like a long, expensive TV episode of Monty Python and thus deserves its place in the top ten.

Haven't seen El Sur. El Norte I recall as being pretty good.

I liked A Christmas Story, though I don't quite see why people are calling it a classic.

Here are Jesse's honorable mentions:

11. A Nos Amours

12. John Cage

13. Carmen

14. Trading Places

15. Possibly In Michigan

16. The Store

17. Risky Business

18. Local Hero

19. Rockit

20. Smorgasbord

11 is fine. Haven't seen 12, 13 or 15 (who would have guessed Frederick Wiseman would have a new film out in 2023?).  14 would make my top ten, and really showed what Eddie Murphy could do. 15 is a short (that I saw for the first time this year). 17 would make my top ten or twenty, as would 18. 19 is a music video (we're at the height of music video mania in the early 80s). 20 is a weird Jerry Lewis film, and it sure was good to have him back.

:

Here are a few other films that would make my top ten:

Baby It's You 
The Fourth Man
Project A


Other films I enjoyed in 1983:

The Big Chill, Bill Cosby: Himself, Educating Rita, Koyaanisqatsi, Liquid Sky, Lianna, The Man With Two Brains, Max Dugan Returns, National Lampoon’s Vacation, The Outsiders, Return Of The Jedi, Reuben Reuben,  Rumble Fish, Strange Brew, Twilight Zone: The Movie (the second half), WarGames
 

Other films of interest:

All The Right Moves, And The Ship Sails On, Another Time Another Place, L’Argent, Bad Boys, Betrayal, Between Friends, Blue Thunder, Brainstorm, Breathless, Can She Bake A Cherry Pie?, Chained Heat, Christine, Class, Class Of 1984, Confidentially Yours, Cracking Up, Cross Creek, Curse Of The Pink Panther, Cujo, Curtains, D. C. Cab, Daniel, Danton, The Dead Zone, Deal Of The Century, Doctor Detroit, The Dresser, Easy Money, Eddie And The Cruisers, Eddie Macon’s Run, First Name: Carmen, Flashdance, Get Crazy, Good Guys Wear Black, Gorky Park, Hanna K, Heart Like A Wheel, The House On Sorority Row, The Hunger, Jaws 3-D, Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads, Joysticks, Krull, Let’s Spend The Night Together, Lone Wolf McQaude, Losin’ It, Lovesick, Lucien Brouillard, The Man Who Loved Women, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Moon In The Gutter, Mr. Mom, My Breakfast With Blassie, Never Cry Wolf, Never Say Never Again, Nighthawks, Nostalghia, Octopussy, The Osterman Weekend, Phar Lap, The Pirates Of Penzance, The Ploughman’s Lunch, Private School, Psycho II, The Right Stuff, Romantic Comedy, Scarface, Sheer Madness, Silkwood, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Space Raiders, Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone, Spring Break, Star 80, Stacy’s Knights, The Star Chamber, Staying Alive, Still Smokin, The Sting II, Strange Invaders, Streamers, Stroker Ace, Sudden Impact, Superman III, The Survivors, Sweet Sixteen, Testament, A Time To Die, To Be Or Not To Be, Trenchcoat, Two Of A Kind, Uncommon Valor, Under Fire, Valley Girl, The Wicked Lady, The Wind In The Willows, Without A Trace, Yellowbeard, Yentl, Yor: The Hunter From The Future