80 From the 80s: March 2015

Sunday 15 March 2015

48 Hrs.

The Boys are Back in Town

Studio: Paramount Pictures ---------- Release Date: 10th December 1982

Director: Walter Hill ---------- Starring: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy

Budget: $12M ----------2015 Equivalent: $29.9M

U.S Box Office: $78.8M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $196.8M

Jack Cates is on the trail of escaped convict and cop killer Albert Ganz, and his partner Billy Bear. After a hotel shootout leaves two more officers dead, Cates seeks the help of Ganz' former partner, Reggie Hammond, currently serving time for armed robbery. Released into Cates' custody for 48 hours, the duo might just be able to catch Ganz - if they don't kill each other first.

Dragnet

‘Just the facts’

Studio: Universal :::::::::: Release Date: 26th June 1987

Director: Tom Mankiewicz :::::::::: Starring: Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks

Budget: $20M :::::::::: 2015 Equivalent: $42.5M

U.S Box Office: $57.3M :::::::::: 2015 Equivalent: $121.7M

Summer. 1987. Joe Friday is an old school, by-the-book cop and something is rotten in the City of Angels. Working with new laid back partner, Pep Streebeck, he has to investigate a series of bizarre crimes orchestrated by P.A.G.A.N - People Against Goodness And Normalcy. It doesn't take Joe long to realise that if wants to deal out justice, he's going to have to take a leaf out Streebeck's book, even if it means putting his precious job on the line.

Young Sherlock Holmes

Before a lifetime of adventure, they lived the adventure of a lifetime

Studio: Paramount Pictures ---------- Release Date: December 6th 1985

Director: Barry Levinson ---------- Starring: Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox

Budget: $18M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $40.1M

U.S Box Office: $19.7M ----------- 2015 Equivalent: $43.9M

Meeting for the first time at college, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson soon find themselves investigating a series of mysterious deaths. Discovering a link between the victims, the would-be detective uncovers an even greater danger, and will need to rely on all his powers of observation and deduction if he and Watson are to survive the Pyramid of Fear.

The Secret of My Success

There’s no such thing as an overnight success. Brantley Foster took two weeks.

Studio: Universal Pictures ---------- Release Date: 8^th April 1987

Director: Herbert Ross ---------- Starring: Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater

Budget: $12-18M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $25.4 – 38.2M

U.S Box Office: $66.9M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $142.1M

Brantley Foster has dreams of making it big in the world of business. Coming to New York, he gets a rude awakening and ends up having to call upon a distant relative for a job. But starting in the mail room might not be such a bad thing, especially when he starts leading a double life as executive Carlton Whitfield. If he can survive the advances of his aunt, the corporate sharks and his suspicious boss, he might just make it to the top.

The Lost Boys

Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire

Studio: Warner Bros. ---------- Release Date: 31st July 1987

Director: Joel Schumacher ---------- Starring: Jason Patric, Keifer Sutherland

Budget: $8.5M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $17.9M

U.S Box Office: $32.2M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $67.4M

When Michael and Sam move to Santa Carla with their mother, they’re all hoping for a new start. But when Michael falls in with a bad crowd who have a taste for blood, it’ll be left to Sam and the Frog Brothers to battle the creatures of the night and save Michael’s soul before its too late…

Fletch

Meet the only guy who changes his identity more often than his underwear.

Studio: Universal ---------- Release Date: 31st May 1985

Director: Michael Ritchie ---------- Starring: Chevy Chase

Budget: $8M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $17.7M

U.S Box Office: $50.8M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $111.9M

Posing as a beach bum while investigating the local drug trade, journalist Irwin 'Fletch' Fletcher is approached by a well dressed man with a proposal. All Fletch has to do is show up at the man's house, shoot him dead and he'll be rewarded handsomely. Intrigued, and with his drug story stalled, he agrees to the deal and begins to investigate, little suspecting the danger he's about to put himself into. He'll have the story of his career, all he has to do is live long enough to write it.

Heathers

Best Friends, Social Trends and Occasional Murder

Studio: New World Pictures ---------- Release Date: 31st March 1989

Director: Michael Lehmann ---------- Starring: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater

Budget: $3M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $5.8M

U.S Box Office: $1.1M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $2.1M

Veronica Sawyer is a reluctant member of the most powerful clique in her high school. Heather Duke, Heather Chandler and Heather McNamara are unrelenting in their judgement of others. But when loner J.D joins the school, Veronica may have just found her ticket out of the popularity game, even if it means murder.

Gremlins

Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous

Studio: Warner Brothers ---------- Release Date: 8th June 1984

Director: Joe Dante ---------- Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates

Budget: $11M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $25.3M

U.S Box Office: $148.1M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $347.3M

Billy’s new pet, a Mogwai, comes with three simple rules. Never expose it to bright light, never get it wet and most importantly of all, never, ever feed it after midnight. But when all three rules are inadvertently broken, it’s down to Billy, Kate and Gizmo to save the picturesque town of Kingston Falls from the chaos unleashed by Gremlins.

The Last Starfighter

He’s got one extraordinary chance at the dream of a lifetime

Studio: Universal Release Date: 13th July 1984

Director: Nick Castle :::::::::: Starring: Lance Guest, Robert Preston

Budget: $15M :::::::::: 2015 Equivalent: $34.5M

U.S Box Office: $28.7M :::::::::: 2015 Equivalent: $66M

When trailer park resident Alex Rogan breaks the high score on a Starfighter arcade machine, he doesn't realise he has just proved his worthiness to be a real Starfighter pilot. Visited by the mysterious Centauri, Alex soon finds himself in the middle of an intergalactic war that'll require more than just his skills to win.

Mannequin

When she comes to life, anything can happen!

Studio: Fox ---------- Release Date: 13th February 1987

Director: Mike Gottlieb ---------- Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall

Budget: $7.9M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $16.6M

U.S Box Office: $42.7M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $90M

In one of his many jobs, failed artist Jonathan Switcher creates the perfect mannequin. Fired yet again, he later sees his creation in a shop window and sets about getting a job at the store. Much to Jonathan's amazement, he discovers that when he is alone with the mannequin, she comes to life. But the path of true love is never a smooth one, and soon the duo are dealing with an obsessed night watchman, a hostile takeover and Jonathan’s colleagues, who are getting concerned with him talking to a shop dummy....

Romancing the Stone

She's a girl from the big city. He's a reckless soldier of fortune. For a fabulous treasure, they share an adventure no one could imagine... or survive.

Studio: 20th Century Fox ---------- Release Date: 30th March 1984

Director: Robert Zemeckis ---------- Starring: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner

Budget: $10M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $23M

U.S Box Office: $76.5M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $175.9M

Joan Wilder is a timid, lonely romance novelist, but a panicked phone call thrusts her into a deadly South American adventure. Teaming up with smuggler Jack Colton, she has to contend with all manner of dangers while trying to recover a fabled jewel and save her sister. She'll have the story of a lifetime, if she lives long enough to tell the tale.

Wargames

Is it a game, or is it real?

Studio: United Artists/MGM ---------- Release Date: 6th June 1983

Director: John Badham ---------- Starring: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy

Budget: $12M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $28.6M

U.S Box Office: $79.5M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $189.8M

David Lightman is curious to play a series of new computer games, and sets about hacking into the company's system. However, unbeknownst to him, he's actually found his way into a US military war simulator and he's about to discover that this is one game that could turn very deadly - for everyone.

Flash Gordon

He'll Save Every One of Us!

Studio: Universal ---------- Release Date: 5th December 1980

Director: Mike Hodges ---------- Starring: Sam Jones, Melody Anderson

Budget: $27M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $82M

U.S Box Office: $27.1M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $82.3M

When the plane carrying football star Flash Gordon and journalist Dale Arden crash lands into the house of Dr Hans Zharkov, the duo find themselves coerced into travelling to the plant Mungo, the apparent source of a series of bizarre weather phenomenon that Earth is experiencing. Once there, they discover Mungo is ruled with an iron fist by Ming the Merciless, and its up to Flash to put a stop to his plans before Earth is destroyed.

Krull

A world light-years beyond your imagination

Studio: Columbia Pictures ---------- Release Date: 29th July 1983

Director: Peter Yates ---------- Starring: Kenneth Marshall, Lysette Anthony

Budget: $26M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $62M

U.S Box Office: $16.5M ---------- 2015 Equivalent: $39.3M

On the eve of a wedding meant to unite two rivals kingdoms, The Beast's army attacks, slaughtering many and kidnapping the bride to be. Prince Conwyn must join forces with a wise man, a magician, a Cyclops and a band of thieves in order to locate the only weapon capable of destroying the Beast. With time and the many forces against him, can Conwyn save his bride and the kingdom?

Welcome to 80 From the 80s

Welcome to the first chapter in a new project 80 From The 80s. The idea is to take 80 movies released in the 1980s and chart their production and release history, adding background details and facts, along with analysis of their box office performance.

The series will take in all manner of movies, covering a variety of genres, actors and directors. The ultimate goal is to create a brand new book that takes in all 80 essays. Not every film choice will make sense, and there will surely be classics that wont make the cut, but I hope everyone will find something of interest. This isn't a best of the 1980s, rather a collection of movies that entertained.

The idea came about when I was watching Beverly Hills Cop at the Astor Theatre recently. It occurred to me that unlike today, when every single detail is known about a film prior to its release, little was generally known about the stories behind movies back in the 1980s. Only the bigger releases generally got a 'making of' and they were rarely seen outside of Starlog, Cinefantastique and the like. 80 From The 80s hopes to go some way towards rectifying that situation.

The project is anticipated to take around three years to complete, and I aim to try and finish a new essay every couple of weeks. At the end they'll be compiled into a book - hopefully both print and digital versions.

80 From The 80s won't be a film review guide, but will offer an insight into the films you loved and a desire to see those you haven't.