Randomness... 1987 (Part 1)
Friday, December 13, 2024 at 1:00PM by Nathaniel R
BROADCAST NEWS (1987)
Once we reached the late 80s young Nathaniel was fully immersed in Oscar passions so there are less glaring omissions in films screened. Why am I talking about myself in the third person? Nevertheless 1987 is now so long ago that I really wonder about my initial take on so many of the movies. For instance, a lot of people I respect think very highly of The Dead – and it even gets a very loving homage in Almodovar’s current film The Room Next Door. I remember it as a high minded, intermittently potent drama but also kind of dull. It’s probable I was too young for it at the time (I did see it in theaters…and went specifically because Anjelica Huston had won the Oscar the previous year for 1985’s Prizzi’s Honor so I was in the flushes of new fandom). But we’re jumping ahead of ourselves.
NATHANIEL’S TOP TEN OF 1987
Broadcast News (James L Brooks, US)
[Didn’t see until a year or two later, rental] I have only ever seen this movie once and remember it as extremely entertaining even if I thought 7 Oscar nominations was generous! Curious that I’ve never rewatched. Does it hold up? Do I undervalue it? What say you all?
Fatal Attraction (Adrian Lyne, US)
[Saw in theaters and at least three times since for various reasons] I swear everyone alive saw this movie in theaters in 1987 even though it was ostensibly for full grown not-to-mention sexually active adults only. The internet does tell us it was the second highest grossing release of 1987 so the conversational ubiquity tracks. If only people would get this excited about made-for-adults movies in the 2020s. Fatal Attraction is basically the reason for this two month 80s nostalgia but more on this one next week as a Christmas gift to a longtime reader.
I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (Patricia Rozema, Canada)
[Didn’t see until… 1989...1990?] The sense of discovery watching this sapphic quirky gem about an awkward woman who becomes an assistant to a lesbian gallery owner. I rented it from a Blockbuster or something. It's always been odd that so few Canadian titles make it to the US but this one did and enchanted its niche audience. Those who saw it remember it. Last year (or the year before?) I was able to attend a special screening of this again at NYC's Metrograph with the director present. It holds up. Even better that micro budget of the time helps clarify its ultra specific time capsule aesthetic.
Jean de Florette / Manon of the Springs (Claude Berri, France)
Though this two parter premiered in France in 1986, it was exported to great acclaim in 1987. I saw this French classic in two parts – just as everyone did – but it’s really one four-hour film. Jean de Florette hit the US in June and ‘part two’ Manon of the Springs arrived in November. I didn’t yet live in a movie hub so I saw them much further apart (both in theaters though). Let’s just say I was obsessed. I didn’t know until years and years later that this enthusiasm was not unique to me. The films were major international hits, winning 4 BAFTAs, 2 Césars, an NBR, some critics awards in the US and the UK, a Globe nomination, and big box office. Wikipedia even reveals that this two-parter provided a major boost to French tourism in the following years.
Claude Berri, who died in 2009, isn’t discussed much in cinephile circles but he had an impressive career. He won an Oscar for a short film in the 1960s and he was a multi-hyphenate acting, writing, directing, and producing. His directing peaked right here but as a producer he had a hand in bringing us the English language Oscar nominee Tess (1979), several popular French hits including The Little Thief (1988), The Bear (1988), the epic incredible Queen Margot (1994), and the Victoria Abril comedy French Twist (1995). He even co-produced Almodóvar’s Oscar winning classic All About My Mother (1999).
LAW OF DESIRE
Law of Desire (Pedro Almodovar, Spain)
[Didn’t see until two years later] Speaking of Almodóvar, this is my favourite of his utterly amazing filmography though, yes, maybe Talk to Her or All About My Mother are “better” but that’s not quite the same thing, is it? This marks the first time I ever heard of the legend who would later become my favourite auteur. As a kid I would devour every film review in the paper ( “Detroit Free Press”) no matter the movie and I surely clocked this one because of its queer content with a trans character and a fairly explicit (as cinema goes) gay romance. I think I managed to see this one on VHS, shortly after seeing Women on the Verge… in movie theaters.
Moonstruck (Norman Jewison, US)
[Saw in theaters] Everyone loved this at the time but it wasn’t epic enough to beat The Last Emperor at the Oscars. Alas, it totally deserved to! This was not a film I watched on a regular basis but one I fell in love with all over again when Film at Lincoln Center did a Norman Jewison (RIP) retrospective with the director still in good chatting-with-the-public shape (was it 10 years ago?). He died in January this year. It’s a shame he never won an Oscar given that he directed so many classics many of which were also Oscar nominated in various categories: The Russians Are Coming! The Russians are Coming!, In the Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair, Fiddler on the Roof, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Soldier’s Story, and of course Moonstruck. This romantic comedy / Italian family comedy was not his last film but it was his greatest. At least the Academy gave him an Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award.
Raising Arizona (The Coen Brothers, US)
[Didn’t see until years later] Fargo (1996) was my first in-theater Coen Brothers experience. I cannot, for the life of me, remember when and where I first saw this movie though I believe it was after Barton Fink and before Fargo but I remember being pissed at myself for being late to the Coen Bros party. This movie is unhinged and so so funny. Holly Hunter’s line readings of “I want that baby, Hi!” and “I love him sooooo much” are two of the greatest comic line readings in history.
Shy People (Andrey Konchalovsky, US)
[Didn’t see until the 1990s] This strange drama premiered at Cannes in the summer and then got a one-week qualifying Oscar release – it was underseen then and remains so. It’s maddening that this one has remained so hard to find since it’s fanbase would surely have grown by now. As the most obscure title on this list let me just say that I remember it (memory is fallible, though!) as a potent and original experience for actress-minded cinephiles. Jill Clayburgh and Martha Plimpton (who received a Spirit nomination) play a journalist mother and her tetchy addict daughter, who travel to the bayous of Louisana for a story and to visit mom’s distant hard-knock cousin (Barbara Hershey who won Best Actress at Cannes… she’d win again the following year in the only consecutive Best Actress win at Cannes history!). I don’t remember much about it now other than a terrifying alligator sequence with Plimpton and being riveted the one time I managed to find a video of it to rent in the 1990s.
Some NYC repertory house or the Criterion Channel really need to program a Konchalovski retrospective because his career is fascinating and spans seven decades (!!!) including Soviet classics like Andrei Rublev (as co-writer), Siberiade and Uncle Vanya (as director), then ex-pat movies in the US (Runaway Train, Maria’s Lovers, and Tango & Cash of all thingss), and in recent years, a return to Russian cinema with recent Oscar-finalist titles like Paradise and Dear Comrades!
Wish You Were Here (David Leland, UK)
[Saw in theaters in 1988] “Up yer bum!” Everyone who saw this British indie in release fell hard for Emily Lloyd’s livewire screen debut which was also the directorial debut of then-screenwriter (David Leland) who was hot off the success of Mona Lisa (1986). Sadly this didn’t translate into a big movie career for either of them, but what a memorable double coming out party.
THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK
The Witches of Eastwick (George Miller, US)
[Saw in theaters in 1987] As a young Actressexual (albeit before Nick and I coined the term) this was naturally made for me and I waited for it with great anticipation. Today I recognize that it’s a mess in some ways. On actressexual terms, though, it’s a complete bullseye. Cher, Sarandon and my beloved Pfeiffer proved an unforgettable trio and Veronica Cartwright’s scene-stealing supporting work was like the demented cherry (spewed) on top. The set was reportedly tumultuous and very unhappy so it’s kind of a miracle that all four movie stars (the titular trio + Jack Nicholson) look like they’re absolutely relishing having naughty fun onscreen with each other.
Honorable Mentions?
The other films I’m most attached from this film year are probably (alpha order): Au Revoir Les Enfants (which I was probably too immature for the only time I’ve seen it… funny since it’s about kids), Housekeeping starring Christine Lahti in the days when she was an exciting (and frequent) movie presence, overrewarded but still impressive Best Picture winner The Last Emperor, Steve Martin’s charming Cyrano-riff Roxanne, and Kathryn Bigelow’s unnerving vampire western Near Dark which I didn't see until after Strange Days (1995) when I fell for Bigelow's muscular directorial gifts.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE FILMS FROM 1987?
Reader Comments (10)
Totally with you on Almodóvar, but otherwise my top films of 1987 are very different. In alpha order:
84 Charing Cross Road
Barfly
Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll
Empire of the Sun
La ley del deseo
Dirty Dancing
The Last Emperor
The Lost Boys
Maurice
No Way Out
Prick Up Your Ears
Sign ☮️ the Times
The Untouchables
Broadcast News is a classic. Definitely rewatch.
Nathaniel,
Where's "Empire of the Sun" and "The Untouchables"? 😲😲😲
No EMPIRE OF THE SUN, WINGS OF DESIRE, or THE LAST OF ENGLAND???
The Last of England would have been on my list, but it was only at festivals in ‘87, wasn’t in theaters until ‘88 and ‘89
Hats off to the finest guilty pleasure, the addictive Dirty Dancing.
Sorry to see the omission of the indie classic Barfly, my choice for Faye Dunaway's best performance.
Still can't watch Moonstruck without speculating what the film would be with the originally cast Sally Field in the lead role.
This is such a great film year and a really great one for mainstream actresses.
I've always paired Law of Desire and Fatal Attraction together. They're quite different, but the obsessive lover piece really works.
Law of Desire is also one of my favorites by Almodovar. It's certainly one of his sexiest films, but there's so much there with the relationship between the three leads. It also features Antonio Banderas' best performance during his peak beauty era. He's so menacing, but also plays his own version of love and neediness really interestingly. Of course, he's asked to do more here than most directors would ask of him for the next 20 years.
Glenn Close and Michael Douglas are such a good pairing in Fatal Attraction. I wish we'd gotten them in something together again. They're very different actors and stars, but I think that's what works so well in the film.
Broadcast News still holds up, but I think Holly Hunter was equally deserving of a nomination for her performance in Raising Arizona that year. Just an actress firing on all cylinders.
1987 movies that I want to revisit:
Sign o’ The Times (Prince), Anna (Sally Kirkland was the original ‘To Leslie’ Oscar crasher, Raising Arizona (still the funniest movie of all time-my favorite Holly Hunter line reading, after smacking Cage, was ‘Everything’s channnnnnnged’ and Eddie Murphy: Raw (remember when we were allowed to laugh?).
Movies I rented that left no impression on me:
Overboard (Goldie Hawn), Outrageous Fortune, The Last Emperor and (tie) Nuts/Rent-A-Cop (Streisand is a high-end hooker?, Liza Minnelli is a prostitute?)
Movies that I wanted to rent, but never got around to:
Baby Boom (Diane Keaton), Who’s That Girl? (Madonna ‘comedy’ bomb,’ The All-nighter (Susanna Hoffs in a movie?!?), Gardens of Stone, Barfly, The Dead and Light of Day (Michael J. Fox/Joan Jett?).
No Full Metal Jacket?
Here is my list.
Love the films of 87 so much good stuff,here's my own top 20 in no order except for number one.
1 Fatal Attraction a classic and kickstarter of the erotic thriller genre,Close/Douglas flawless
2 The Lost Boys a load of fun and Dianne Wiest in a lovely mum role.
3 Master of the Universe lots of fun for nostalgia purposes
4 No Way Out filled with tension and Will Patton Wow
5 The Witches Of Eastwick loads of fun,peak actresses and Veronica stealing it and should have had an Oscar nomination
6 Throw Momma From The Train I still think it's hilarious esp Ramsey,my own Supporting Actress winner
7 The Whales Of August my beloved Bette Davis in her last great role,should have been Oscar nominated
8 Predator Arnold's best ever,great action and one liners
9 Hellraiser gore at it's very best,iconic villain
10 Suspect Because of Cher,she was very particular about how she was lighted in this
11 Who's that Girl because Madonna,I was obsessed with the woman in 87
12 A Nightmare on Elm St the best of the series
13 Rita Sue and Bob Too if you are British and Northern this was a rites of passsage movie
14 Adventures in Babysitting a constant rental in the latter half of the 80s'
15 Wish You Were Here Lloyd touching and hilarious
16 Moonstruck Cher deserved her Oscar internet be damned
17 Broadcast News I thought this was how grown ups behaved at work when I was 11
18 Black Widow Peak Debra Winger,a wonderful twist at the end
19 Withnail and I Richard E Grant never did it better than here.
20 Jaws The Revenge even trash has it's fans.