The 80s

For many, the 80s meant the beginning of the end for serious movie fans. With the invention of the blockbuster in the mid-seventies, the studios figured out the best way to make money was in marketing. Movies weren't movies so much as they were franchises.

The 80s exploded with a new slur of special effects driven movies that brought new and younger audiences to the cinema, leaving the others high and dry searching for more challenging films.

Although that's not to say I'm putting down these effects driven films, some were very effective, such as George Lucas' continuation of the "Star Wars" franchise with "The Empire Strikes Back", and "Return of the Jedi". Then both Lucas and Spielberg's collaboration to bring Indiana Jones to life. James Cameron came onto the spotlight with his films "The Terminator", and his sequel to Ridley Scott's "Alien". Scott himself made the very impressive "Blade Runner" which has since become a cult classic.

But it was really Spielberg who owned the decade, making his masterpiece "E.T. The Extraterrestrial" which went on to become the most successful film of all time. The film brought about many imitators, some could be blamed by Spielberg himself who would produce some of them. This may have undermined his original classic, but the power of that film still holds up.

While all this was going on in the big studios, other filmmakers were struggling to get their serious films to be seen. Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios pretty much went belly up after a series of disastrous failures at the box office, however he still was able to make a few memorable films like "Peggy Sue Got Married", and "The Outsiders". Martin Scorsese had some more success than others beginning the decade with what many consider his greatest film "Raging Bull". After that film, Scorsese had to find ways to work within the studio system while maintaining his artistic integrity. He was able to find an outlet with independent film making such great work like "King of Comedy" and "After Hours", and he was then able to make his passion project "The Last Temptation of Christ".

There was still the occasional old war horse who stepped up to the plate. Ingmar Bergman made his autobiographical "Fanny and Alexander", while Akira Kurosawa came out of a long exile and directed his twilight masterpiece "Kagemusha", which was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. After the success of that film, Kurosawa would go on to make his Shakespearean epic "Ran" which gave him his only Oscar nomination for Best Director.

While blockbusters ruled the day, you could also say the 80s brought about a new wave of American independent filmmakers. Before the decade would end, we would see the first important films of Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, Steven Sodebergh, and The Coen Brothers.

By the time the 80s ended, I think movie goers were starting to look for something new, and the filmmakers themselves who were responsible for the new blockbuster fad, also seemed restless to try something new. By the time the 90s rolled around, it would prove a unique mixture of both an old and a new formula.