Pop Culture Update - More of Blue Skies at the Movies - 1981
Above: Promotional posters for
Das Boot;
Clash of the Titans; and John Carpenter’s
Escape from New York, three “cult classics” that were first released in 1981.
Das Boot - American/West German war film. Neue Constantin Film. Written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Robert Redford, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An adaptation of Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 German novel based on his experiences aboard German submarine U-96, the film is set during World War II and follows U-96 and her crew, as they set out on a hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. It depicts both the excitement of battle and the tedium of the fruitless hunt, and shows the men serving aboard U-boats as ordinary individuals with a desire to do their best for their comrades and their country.
During production, Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, the captain of the real U-96 during Buchheim's 1941 patrol and one of Germany's top U-boat “aces” during the war, and Hans-Joachim Krug, former first officer on U-219, served as consultants. One of Petersen's goals was to guide the audience through “a journey to the edge of the mind” (the film's German tagline
Eine Reise ans Ende des Verstandes), showing “what war is all about”.
Produced on a budget of DM (
Deutschmark) 32 million (equivalent to $18.5 million), this price tag was among the highest in the history of German cinema. The returns at the box office, however, more than made up for the hefty price tag. The film was picked up by Columbia Pictures for distribution in the United States (both the original German version with English subtitles and an English-dub, lead actor Robert Redford delivered his own lines in both versions). The film would gross $85 million internationally, and be nominated for six Academy Awards, including best director and best adapted screenplay.
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Clash of the Titans - Fantasy adventure. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Directed by Desmond Davis and written by Beverley Cross, loosely based on the Greek myth of Perseus. Starring Mel Gibson, Judi Bowker, Burgess Meredith, Maggie Smith and Laurence Olivier, the film features the final work of stop-motion visual effects artist Ray Harryhausen. Co-produced between the United States and United Kingdom, it was theatrically released on June 12th, 1981 and grossed $41 million at the North American box office on a budget of $15 million, making it the eleventh-highest grossing film of the year.
Critics largely praised the film (Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave it 3 and a half stars out of 4), calling it an “old-fashioned tale, a grand and glorious romantic adventure, filled with brave heroes, beautiful heroines, fearsome monsters, and awe-inspiring duels to the death. It is a lot of fun.”
The film’s star, 24 year old Australian actor Mel Gibson had only been featured in one prior leading role, in Peter Weir’s World War I drama
Gallipoli (1981). Sensing that Gibson (with his good looks and impressive physique) might be a star in the making, MGM scooped him up for a multi-film contract.
Clash of the Titans also represented the next step in the popular boom of sword & sorcery/fantasy films in the 1980s. Arguably, the trend began the year before with
Tristan & Isolde for Paramount, which launched that studio’s “Arthurian myth series”. 1981’s
King Arthur served as the second entry in that series, and was even more successful than the first from a box office standpoint. Given audiences’ desire for escapism (and the popularity of the nerd subculture, including games like Dungeons & Dragons), fantasy films continued to see success in cinemas.
The concept of a “cinematic universe” - a series of connected films all set in the same continuity or “shared universe” - was still in its infancy at the time. Arguably, Universal Pictures first pioneered the concept in the 1930s and 40s with their horror films about the “classic movie monsters” - Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Invisible man, etc. These characters could appear in one another’s films and interact, aiding or hindering the protagonists as needed (even if those protagonists happened to be Abbott and Costello).
Taking inspiration from Paramount, MGM decided to test out the concept for themselves. They would use
Clash of the Titans to “test launch” their own cinematic universe based on Greek Mythology. A second film in the franchise, based upon the ever-popular
Hercules, was slated for production in late 1981-1982, with a goal for a summer release in 1983. The first step was to have a script written, then to choose a director and cast a leading man. For the last of these, the studio turned to Lou Ferrigno, the former professional bodybuilder and star of
The Incredible Hulk television series. This, if executed well, could be Ferrigno’s big break in film.
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Escape from New York - Science fiction/Action. AVCO Embassy Pictures. Co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter. starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, Adrienne Barbeau and Harry Dean Stanton.
The film's storyline, set in the near-future world of 1997, concerns a crime-ridden United States, which has converted Manhattan Island in New York City into the country's sole maximum security prison. Air Force One is hijacked by anti-government insurgents who deliberately crash it into the walled borough. Ex-soldier and current federal prisoner Snake Plissken (Russell) is given just 24 hours to go in and rescue the President of the United States, after which, if successful, he will be pardoned.
Carpenter wrote the film in the mid-1970s in reaction to a number of social issues including: the assassination of President George Romney; the Cambodian Conflict; the Hoover Affair; and most notably, the near financial collapse and dissolution of New York City. After the success of
Halloween (1978), Carpenter had enough influence to begin production and filmed it mainly in St. Louis, Missouri, on an estimated budget of about $6 million. The film was co-written by Nick Castle, who had previously collaborated with Carpenter, portraying Michael Myers in
Halloween.
Released in the United States on July 10th, 1981, the film received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing more than $25.2 million at the box office. The film was nominated for four Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film and Best Direction.
The film also helped Kurt Russell finally begin to shed the “squeaky clean” image he was saddled with as a former child star who spent almost his entire career up to that point with Walt Disney Productions, appearing in toothless, bland family-friendly comedies. Russell engaged in a strict diet and training regimen to “get in shape” for the role. The film’s popularity ensured that Russell would be a go-to star for action films in the years to come.
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Arthur - Romantic comedy. Orion Pictures/Warner Bros. Written and directed by Steve Gordon. The film stars John Belushi as Arthur Bach, a drunken New York City millionaire who is on the brink of an arranged marriage to a wealthy heiress - Susan Johnson (Jill Eikenberry) but ends up falling for a common working-class girl from Queens - Linda Marolla (Liza Minneli). It would be the sole film directed by Gordon, who tragically died in 1982 of a heart attack at age 44.
The film received critical acclaim - particularly the performances of Belushi and Minneli, who were said to have “excellent chemistry and comedic timing”. Though it underperformed at the box office per Warner Bros. expectations (probably due to a muddled and ill-conceived marketing campaign), its returns improved throughout the course of its run thanks to strong word of mouth. It would end up raking in just over $100 million at the box office against a budget of just $10 million, making it the fourth-highest grossing film of 1981 and one of the most profitable.
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Cheech & Chong Join the Army - War comedy. Columbia Pictures. Directed by Ivan Reitman. Starring Cheech Martin and Tommy Chong, as well as numerous actors including John Larroquette, John Diehl, Conrad Dunn, Judge Reinhold, Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, Timothy Busfield, and Bill Paxton, who appear in their very first on-screen roles. Reitman wrote the film with Len Blum and Dan Goldberg, the latter of whom also served as producer alongside Reitman. Cheech & Chong wanted “complete creative control”, but eventually learned to collaborate successfully with Reitman. A summary of the film’s plot follows:
In the course of one day, Los Angeles cab driver (and stoner) Cheech loses his job, his apartment, his car, and his girlfriend Anita (Roberta Leighton), who has grown tired of his immaturity. Realizing his limited prospects, he decides to join the Army and persuades best friend Chong, a vocational ESL teacher, to join as well. The two visit a recruiting office and are soon sent off to basic training.
Upon arrival, they meet their fellow recruits and their drill sergeant, Sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates). Following in-processing, the recruits introduce themselves and explain their reasons for enlisting. One of them, the overweight Dewey "Ox" Oxberger (John Candy), wants to slim down and be respected by his fellow trainees and women in general. Cheech irritates Hulka with his slacker attitude, and he and Chong become romantically involved with MPs Louise Cooper (Sean Young) and Stella Hansen (P.J. Soles).
As graduation approaches, Hulka is injured when the haughty and dull-witted Captain Stillman, the recruit company's commanding officer, orders a mortar crew to fire without first setting target coordinates. Later, members of Hulka's platoon sneak off base and visit a mud wrestling bar, where Cheech persuades Ox to compete with a group of women. When MPs and police raid the club, Stella and Louise help Cheech and Chong escape. The rest of the platoon are returned to base, where Stillman reprimands them for being arrested and threatens to report them to the base commander, General Barnicke (Robert J. Wilke), and make them repeat basic training.
Cheech and Chong have sex with Stella and Louise, then return to base. John motivates the disheartened platoon with a speech and begins preparing them for graduation. After a night of practice, they oversleep and wake up an hour late for the ceremony. They rush to the parade ground, where Cheech leads them in an unorthodox but highly coordinated drill display. Impressed upon learning that they completed their training without a drill sergeant, Barnicke assigns them to a secret project he is overseeing in Italy.
Upon arrival in Italy, the platoon is reunited with a recovered Hulka and tasked with guarding the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle, an armored personnel carrier disguised as a recreational vehicle. Cheech and Chong steal it to visit Stella and Louise, who are stationed in West Germany. When Stillman finds the vehicle missing, he launches an unauthorized mission to retrieve it, against Hulka's objections.
Stillman inadvertently leads the platoon across the border into Czechoslovakia. Hulka jumps from their truck before the Soviet Army captures it, and sends out a radio distress call that Cheech and Chong hear. Realizing that their platoon is in danger, Cheech, Chong, Stella, and Louise take the EM-50 and infiltrate the Soviet base where the platoon is being held, and rescue them with aid from Hulka.
Upon returning to the US, Cheech, Chong, Louise, Stella, and Hulka are hailed as heroes, and are each awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Hulka retires and opens a restaurant franchise; Cheech, Chong, Ox, Louise, and Stella are featured in various magazines; and Stillman is reassigned to a weather station near Nome, Alaska.
Cheech & Chong Join the Army was well-received by both the duo’s die-hard fans and by general audiences. Though critics were divided on the film, with the consensus generally being that it was “lazy, but amiable”, the film’s box office success largely spoke for itself. Join the Army made $86 million on a budget of just $10 million.
It also represented, in its own small way, a major step forward for the portrayal of interracial relationships on screen in Hollywood. Cheech, who identifies as Chicano, is shown in a romantic relationship with Sean Young’s character, a white woman, while Chong, who is of mixed Chinese and Scottish/Irish ancestry, does the same with P.J. Soles, another white woman. When the initial casting decisions were announced by Reitman and the producers, the studio executives at Columbia privately pressured them to recast Soles and Young. Reitman wouldn’t budge. When Cheech and Chong caught word of the attempted move, they threatened to walk out of the production as well. In the end, Young and Soles would retain their roles, and contrary to the expectations of Hollywood bigwigs, the sky did not in fact fall.
Some conservative groups denounced the film, but as Cheech and Chong pointed out, these groups probably would have anyway.
“We’re a couple of guys of color who make stoner comedies.” Chong later said of the “controversy”. “They’re not exactly our target audience.”
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Mad Max; The Road Warrior - Australian post-apocalyptic/dystopian/action. Kennedy Miller Entertainment/Warner Bros. Directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the
Mad Max franchise, with Geoffrey Rush reprising his role as "Mad Max" Rockatansky. The film's tale of a community of settlers moved to defend themselves against a roving band of marauders follows an archetypical “Western” frontier movie motif, as does Max's role as a hardened man whose decision to assist the settlers helps him rediscover his humanity. Filming took place in locations around Broken Hill, in the Outback of New South Wales.
Following the release of
Mad Max, director George Miller received a number of offers from Hollywood, including one to direct the Rambo film
First Blood, but he instead decided to develop a rock and roll movie, the working title of which was
Roxanne. After working together on the novelization of
Mad Max, Miller and novelist Terry Hayes teamed up in Los Angeles to write
Roxanne, but the script was ultimately shelved. Miller then became intrigued with the idea of returning to the world of
Mad Max, as a larger budget would allow him to be more ambitious.
He said: “Making
Mad Max was a very unhappy experience for me. I had absolutely no control over the final product”, but “There was strong pressure to make a sequel, and I felt we could do a better job with a second movie.” Inspired by Joseph Campbell's
The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the work of Carl Jung, as well as the films of Akira Kurosawa, Miller recruited Hayes to join the production as a scriptwriter.
The film was released on Christmas Eve 1981 to widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise given to Rush's performance, the musical score, cinematography, action sequences, costume design and sparing use of dialogue. It was also a box office success (generating more than $36 million against a budget of just $4.5 million), and the film's post-apocalyptic and punk aesthetics helped popularize the genre in film and fiction writing.
The Road Warrior is widely hailed as both one of the greatest action movies of all time and one of the greatest sequels ever made; fan clubs for the film and “road warrior”-themed activities continue well into the 21st century.
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My Bloody Valentine - Canadian Slasher. Canadian Film Development Corporation/Paramount Pictures. Directed by George Mihalka and written by John Beaird. It stars Paul Kelman, Lori Hallier, and Neil Affleck. The plot tells about a group of young adults who decide to throw a Valentine's Day party, only to incur the vengeful wrath of a maniac in mining gear who begins a killing spree.
Conceived and produced entirely over the course of around a year, the film was shot on location in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, in the fall of 1980. It was theatrically released on February 11th, 1981 by Paramount Pictures, coinciding with the Valentine's Day holiday. Despite a mixed response from critics (Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel both gave the movie a “thumbs down” and wrote it off as “yet another cheap rip-off of
Halloween), and grossing $5.7 million at the box office (barely enough to break even on its nearly $3 million budget), the film has developed a large cult following over the years since its release.
Influential writer/director Quentin Tarantino has called
My Bloody Valentine “[his] favorite slasher”, and other subsequent evaluations have been kinder than Ebert and Siskel were. My Bloody Valentine differentiates itself from other slashers of the era (
Halloween; Friday the 13th; Prom Night; Black Christmas; etc.) by shifting the setting away from suburbia and the victims away from teenagers or college students and toward a working class mining town. Some see
My Bloody Valentine as a commentary on the state of the Canadian and North American economy in the early 1980s.
The Shining - Horror. Warner Bros. Directed by David Lynch, produced by Richard Kobritz, from a script by Stephen King and Mark Frost, based on King’s novel of the same name. Already covered earlier in this chronicle,
The Shining, as directed by auteur David Lynch was surreal and terrifying.
Jack Nance stars as Jack Torrance, a writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a new position as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. Debuting child actor Sean Astin plays his young son Danny, who has psychic abilities ("the shining"), which he learns about from head chef Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers). Danny's imaginary friend Tony warns him the hotel is haunted before a winter storm leaves the family snowbound in the Colorado Rockies. Jack's sanity deteriorates under the influence of the hotel and the residents, and Danny and his mother Wendy (Meryl Streep) face mortal danger.
Though not as immediately successful as some of the other early King adaptations (
Carrie and
Salem’s Lot),
The Shining has since undergone a critical reevaluation and is now widely considered one of the greatest and most influential horror films of all time. Lynch’s dark, nigthmare-fueled vision of the Overlook Hotel works perfectly with King’s macabre sensibilities and Mark Frost’s sincere dialogue and the cast’s grounded performances. Quite simply, it’s a horror masterpiece.
King would eventually write a sequel -
Doctor Sleep - in 2014, which tells the story of Dan Torrance as an adult, coping with his own past, traumas, and alcoholism. A film adaptation of the sequel, with Sean Astin reprising his role as Dan Torrance, was made by writer/director Mike Flanagan in 2019, opening to rave reviews.
Next Time on Blue Skies in Camelot: A Few More Films from 1981