1980s

BABYLON: A Hidden Gem
BABYLON: A Hidden Gem

Director Franco Rosso’s film Babylon is a hidden gem when it comes to authentic explorations of institutional racism and the immigrant experience.

PERSONAL PROBLEMS: Everyday Life in Epic Form
PERSONAL PROBLEMS: Everyday Life in Epic Form

Personal Problems focuses on Black humanity in all of its highs and lows, hopes and fears, mistakes, and triumphs.

VIDEODROME: Its Prescience Still Reaches Beyond The Screen
VIDEODROME: Its Prescience Still Reaches Beyond The Screen

Videodrome’s feverish portrayal of the seductive allure and caustic bite of media indulgence and hyperreality remains to-the-minute.

THE GREY FOX: The Gentleman Bandit
THE GREY FOX: The Gentleman Bandit

The self-styled, atmospheric glow of The Grey Fox is brought back thanks to Kino Lorber, and the 4K restoration looks immaculate.

Queerly Ever After #19: MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985)

Not only is My Beautiful Laundrette a brilliant take on star-crossed lovers, it doesn’t take the twists and turns you’d expect a story like this to take.

LA BAMBA: The Rise Of Ritchie Valens
LA BAMBA: The Rise Of Ritchie Valens

La Bamba is a well-versed depiction of Ritchie Valens’ life and it is evident a tremendous amount of care was put into the production of this film.

Po-Chih Leong’s PING PONG: An Examination Of Language & Identity

Ping Pong (1986) directed by Po-Chih Leong is a Cantonese and English-language comedy-drama that examines aspects of the Chinese diaspora in Britain.

Fantastic Fest 2019: SON OF THE WHITE MARE
Fantastic Fest 2019: SON OF THE WHITE MARE

Beyond being historically significant and a truly gorgeous film, Son of the White Mare manages to connect with our most ancient arts and make them digestible for any viewer.

BETTER OFF DEAD: A Fantastic, Horrifying Masterpiece of Offensiveness
BETTER OFF DEAD: A Fantastic, Horrifying Masterpiece Of Offensiveness

Better off Dead uses the tropes and political incorrectness of many 1980s teen comedies but its absurdity is able to undermine these regressive areas.

Queerly Ever After 5: FUN DOWN THERE (1989) Part 2
Queerly Ever After #4: FUN DOWN THERE (1989) Part I

Fun Down There defies the conventions of storytelling through its radical depiction of a couple who is non-monogamous on screen – and to do it so calmly is unheard of.

THE BOSTONIANS: An Unconventional Love Triangle Centers a Merchant Ivory Classic
THE BOSTONIANS: An Unconventional Love Triangle Centers A Merchant Ivory Classic

Look past the frilly costumes and posh accents of The Bostonians, you’ll find a battle of the sexes that remains relevant into the 21 century.

9 TO 5: Women Make Things Better
9 TO 5: Women Make Things Better

9 to 5 has laughs from beginning to end, a catchy theme song, clever editing techniques, and inspirational characters who prove that we’re better united than divided.

REDS: The Forgotten Anti-Capitalist Epic of the 1980s
REDS: The Forgotten Anti-Capitalist Epic Of The 1980s

Warren Beatty’s Reds may be the final prestige picture that ideologically represents New Hollywood. Read our retrospective review of the 1981 epic.

THE 'BURBS & The Difficulty Of The Anti-Paranoia Film
THE ‘BURBS & The Difficulty Of The Anti-Paranoia Film

With conspiracies theories and boogeymen on the rise, Joe Dante’s The ‘Burbs may be more relevant now than ever before.

Revisiting PARIS, TEXAS: How Wim Wenders Deconstructs Fragmented Memories
Revisiting PARIS, TEXAS: How Wim Wenders Deconstructs Fragmented Memories

Wim Wenders’ 1984 cult classic Paris, Texas creates a convincing and melancholic pastiche of the frenetic nature of nostalgia.