The 80s Movie Podcast

This week, we look back at one of John Carpenter's lesser appreciated works, which was released 35 years ago this week.

On this episode, we dive into the deep end of the 8th Dimension to talk about how one of the best movies of the 1980s was able to escape from the minds of writer Earl Mac Rauch and director W.D. Richter and into our consciousness, 1984's The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.

We complete our miniseries on the 1980s movies of Alex Cox by looking at his most controversial film.

On this episode, we continue a look back at the 80s movie of iconoclastic British filmmaker Alex Cox with his wacky 1987 movie Straight to Hell.

On this episode, your humble host talks about one of his favorite movies of the decade, and apologizes for a chance in plans.

On this episode, we reflect on the recent unfortunate late summer release of an Easter-themed movie by looking back to the 1987 unfortunate late spring release of a Christmas-themed horror movie, Silent Night, Deadly Night: Part 2.

On this episode, we take a look back not at the career of an actor or director, nor about a specific movie or a distributor, but at a movie theatre that opened forty years ago today, that would change the course of the theatrical exhibition industry forever: The Cineplex Beverly Center. ----more---- The Beverly Center and its flagship movie theatre, the first theatre in America to have a double-digit number of screens under one roof, opened on July 16th, 1982, and the theatre would quickly become one of the busiest movie theatres in the country, and whose success would help drive an astounding wave of new builds and acquisitions that would take Cineplex from a single theatre complex in Toronto to the biggest exhibitor in North America in less than ten years. In addition to the host's personal recollections of working at the theatre in the 1990s, the 2000s and the 2010s, we also talk to film historian, author and UCSB professor Ross Melnick about the impact the theatre had on the entire film industry.

On this episode, we speak with film historian, author and UCSB professor Ross Melnick about his new book, his 80s cinema class, and five films from the decade he thinks you should watch again. ----more---- Ross Melnick was also named as a 2017 Academy Film Scholar, one of only two film scholars who were bestowed this honor by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. His new book, Hollywood Embassies: How Movie Theatres Projected American Power Around the World, has just been released by Columbia University Press, and it has been a great honor to have him guest on the show. The movies we discussed on this episode include: A Better Tomorrow (1986, John Woo) Cruising (1980, William Freidkin) El Norte (1983, Gregory Nava) Escape from Liberty Cinema (1990, Wojciech Marczewski) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, John Hughes) Moscow on the Hudson (1984, Paul Mazursky) Radio Days (1987, Woody Allen) Reds (1981, Warren Beatty) Soul Man (1986, Steve Miner)* To Live and Die in L.A. (1985, William Freidkin) *Although discussed during the episode, neither Mr. Havens nor Mr. Melnick condones the viewing of Soul Man.

From distributors barely remembered and films long forgotten, to the biggest actors and filmmakers of the decade, The 80s Movies Podcast is your ticket to the movies.

On this episode, your host, film historian Edward A. Havens III, delves deep into the 80s film vault to visit one of the movies from the 1980s he had known about for forty years but had never gotten around to seeing: Nick Castle's 1982 directorial debut, The Assassination Game. ----more---- Castle would go on to a career that included writing and/or directing such films as The Boy Who Could Fly, Dennis the Menace, Hook, and The Last Stafighter, but his first stop as a writer and director would be on this lower-budgeted comedy which would be the first major film for such actors as Bruce Abbott, Linda Hamilton, Michael Winslow, and future Oscar winner Forest Whitaker. Distributed by New World Pictures in 1982, the film would be known by several monikers over its lifetime, including The Assassination Game, TAG, TAG: The Assassination Game, Kiss Me Kill Me, and Everybody Gets It In the End. The opening day Los Angeles Times quarter-page ad for TAG, April 23rd, 1982 The one-sheet for the renamed TAG: The Assassination Game The one-sheet for the renamed Everybody Gets It In the End! The one-sheet for the renamed Kiss Me, Kill Me

On this episode, we discuss one of the biggest hit films ever in Australian cinema, that was pretty much ignored in the rest of the world, Yahoo Serious' Young Einstein. ----more---- Yes, you read that right. Yahoo Serious was the name of the director of Young Einstein. And its main star. And it's co-writer, co-producer, supervising editor, and he even wrote and sang a song or two on the soundtrack. A true modern renaissance man. We also have a brief history of Australian cinema, the 1970s New Wave of filmmakers like Gillian Anderson, Bruce Beresford, George Miller and Peter Weir who would put Australia on the global cinematic map once and for all, and a scrappy art school student would make, and then remake, himself and his debut movie.

On this episode, film historian and host Edward A. Havens III briefly talks about one of the quintessential 80s movies, that didn't actually come out until May 1990. Mel Damski's Happy Together. ----more---- We talk about the creation of the movie, its two lead stars (Patrick Dempsey and Helen Slater), and the one supporting actor who would go on to become one of Hollywood's most successful actors for the next thirty years. Patrick Dempsey in a scene from Happy Together Dan Schneider in a scene from Happy Together

On this episode, we take a look back at the history of the First Blood movies. ----more---- From its beginnings as an idea by Penn State English student David Morrell in 1968 to its publication as a novel in 1972, First Blood would spend nearly a decade in development in hell, attracting filmmakers like Richard Brooks (The Blackboard Jungle, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Elmer Gantry, In Cold Blood), John Frankenheimer (The Birdman of Alcatraz, Black Sunday, The Manchurian Candidate), Sydney Pollack (They Shoot Horses Don't They?, Three Days of the Condor, The Way We Were), and Martin Ritt (Hud, The Long Hot Summer), before it would finally go into production in Canada in 1981. The films discussed in this episode, in order of release: First Blood (1982, Ted Kotcheff) Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985, George P. Cosmatos) Rambo III (1988, Peter MacDonald) Rambo (2008, Sylvester Stallone) Rambo: Last Blood (2019, Adrian Grünberg)

On this episode of The 80s Movie Podcast, we work our way through the history of American movie censorship, the creation of the MPAA rating system, what lead to the creation of the PG-13 rating in 1984, and examine how little has changed in the battle for morality in entertainment has changed in the past 100 years. ----more---- Movies discussed during this episode include: The Flamingo Kid (1984, Garry Marshall) Gremlins (1984, Joe Dante) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984, Steven Spielberg) The Man with the Golden Arm (Otto Preminger, 1955) The Moon is Blue (Otto Preminger, 1953) The Outlaw (Howard Hughes, 1943) The Pawnbroker (Sidley Lumet, 1964) Red Dawn (1984, John Milius) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966, Mike Nichols)

This episode, we take a look back at the short-lived production and distribution company American Cinema Releasing, pioneers of two ways of finding financing for independent films and releasing them into theatres, and the company responsible for making Chuck Norris a star. ----more---- Movies discussed on this episode include: Beatlemania (1981, Joseph Manduke) Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981, Clive Donner) Cheaper to Keep Her (1981, Ken Annakin) Dirt (1979, Eric Karson) The Entity (1983, Sidney J. Furie) Fade to Black (1980, Vernon Zimmerman) A Force of One (1979, Paul Aaron) Force: Five (1981, Robert Clouse) Good Guys Wear Black (1978, Ted Post) High Risk (1981, Stewart Raffill) I, the Jury (1982, Richard T. Heffron) The Late, Great Planet Earth (1978, Robert Amram and Rolf Forsberg) The Octagon (1980, Eric Karson) Silent Scream (1979, Denny Harris) Tough Enough (1983, Richard Fleischer)

On this episode, we discuss the history of 3-D movies, and take a look at the ones that were made and released during the 1980s. ----more---- The titles discussed during this episode include: Amityville 3 (1983, Richard Fleischer) Bwana Devil (1952, Arch Oboler) Chain Gang (1984, Worth Keeter) Comin' At Ya! (1981, Fernandino Baldi) Dial M for Murder (1954, Alfred Hitchcock) Friday the 13th Part III (1982, Steve Miner) Hit the Road Running (1987, Worth Keeter) Hot Heir (1984, Worth Keeter) House of Wax (1953, Andre DeToth) Hyperspace [AKA Gremloids] (1984, Todd Durham) Jaws 3 (1983, Joe Alves) The Man from M.A.R.S. (1922, Roy William Neill) The Man Who Wasn't There (1983, Bruce Malmuth) Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983, Charles Band) Parasite (1982, Charles Band) The Power of Love (1922, Harry K. Fairall) Rottweiler [AKA The Dogs of Hell] (1983, Worth Keeter) Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983, Lamont Johnson) Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985, Steven Hahn) Tales from the Third Dimension (1984, Todd Durham, Worth Keeter, Thom McIntyre, Earl Owensby) The Treasure of the Four Crowns (1983, Fernandino Baldi)

In time for the start of the baseball season, we talk about the numerous baseball movies that were made for movie and television screens during the 1980s. ----more---- Movies discussed during this episode include: Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987, Mike Newell) Blue Skies Again (1983, Richard Michaels) Brewster's Millions (1985, Walter Hill) Bull Durham (1988, Ron Shelton) The Comeback Kid (1980, Peter Levin) Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige (1981, Richard A. Colla) Eight Men Out (1988, John Sayles) Field of Dreams (1989, Phil Alden Robinson) Long Gone (1987, Martin Davidson) Major League (1989, David S. Ward) The Natural (1984, Barry Levinson) Night Game (1989, Peter Masterson) Only the Ball Was White (1981, Ken Solarz) The Slugger's Wife (1985, Hal Ashby) Stealing Home (1988, Steven Kampmann and William Porter [as Will Aldis]) Tiger Town (1983, Alan Shapiro) Trading Hearts (1988, Neil Leifer) A Winner Never Quits (1986, Mel Damski)

On this episode, we take a look back at the life and career of director Peter Bogdanovich, with a focus on his forgotten 1981 comedy They All Laughed, and the love affair with one of the film’s leading ladies, Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten, which would lead to her murder at the hands of her estranged husband, Paul Snider.

On this episode, your host, film critic and historian Edward A. Havens III, talks about the late, great Dennis Hopper, his mostly forgotten 1980 film Out of the Blue, and how it is getting a new lease on life in 2022. ----more---- The original 1983 theatrical one-sheet for Out of the Blue Dennis Hopper in a scene from Out of the Blue

On this episode, film critic and historian Edward A. Havens III concludes his two-part look back at the 1980s films of one of cinema's truly gifted storytellers, John Sayles. ----more---- We talk about his three movies from the second half of the decade, as well as many of the films he would make after the end of the 1980s. The movies discussed in this episode, all directed by John Sayles, include: Brother from Another Planet (1994) City of Hope (1991) Eight Men Out (1988) Limbo (1999) Lone Star (1996) Matewan (1987) Men with Guns (1998) Passion Fish (1992) The Secret of Roan Inish (1994) Silver City (2004)

On this episode, film critic and historian Edward A. Havens III begins a two-part look back at the 1980s films of one of cinema's truly gifted storytellers, John Sayles. ----more---- We talk about his beginnings in upstate New York, his college years, where he would meet several of his regular future collaborators, his early career as an author, his time as a screenwriter for the legendary film producer Roger Corman, and into the first three movies of his filmmaking career. The movies discussed in this episode include: Alligator (1980, Lewis Teague) Baby, It's You (1983, John Sayles) Battle Beyond the Stars (1980, Jimmy T. Murikami) The Big Chill (1983, Lawrence Kasdan) E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982, Steven Spielberg) The Lady in Red (1979, Lewis Teague) Lianna (1983, John Sayles) Piranha (1978, Joe Dante) Poltergeist (1982, Tobe Hooper) The Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980, John Sayles)

This episode continues an irregular series that takes a look back at a minor cinematic phenomenon that happened more often in the 1980s than in any other decade: the one-time-only distribution company. Today, we’ll be talking about the 1980 movie Union City, which featured the film debut of Blondie lead singer Deborah Harry, the 1981 Canadian erotic drama Head-On, which would not get released in America until 1985 and under a much different title, and the 1985 dystopian sci-fi action drama Wired to Kill, which was both one of the earliest films to star fan-favorite Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr. and be the last film to feature fan-favorite Merrick Butrick.

On this episode, film critic and historian Edward A. Havens III takes his Wayback Machine back forty years, to look back at the movies you could have seen after Christmas dinner in 1981. ----more---- The movies covered during this episode include (released in 1981, unless otherwise noted): Absence of Malice (Sydney Pollack) Arthur (Steve Gordon) Atlantic City (Louis Malle) Buddy Buddy (Billy Wilder) Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson) Cinderella (1950, Clyde Geronimi and Hamilton Luske and Wilfred Jackson) Four Friends (Arthur Penn) The French Lieutenant's Woman (Karel Reisz) Gallipoli (Peter Weir) Ghost Story (John Irvin) Heartbeeps (Allan Arkush) Modern Problems (Ken Shapiro) Montenegro (Dušan Makavejev) My Dinner With Andre (Louis Malle) Napoleon (1927, Abel Gance) Neighbors (John G. Avildsen) On Golden Pond (Mark Rydell) Only When I Laugh (Glenn Jordan) Pennies from Heaven (Herbert Ross) Ragtime (Miloš Forman) Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg) Reds (Warren Beatty) Rollover (Alan J. Pakula) Sharkey's Machine (Burt Reynolds) Taps (Harold Becker) They All Laughed (Peter Bogdanovich) Time Bandits (Terry Gilliam) Whose Life Is It Anyway? (John Badham)

This episode continues an irregular series that takes a look back at a minor cinematic phenomenon that happened more often in the 1980s than in any other decade: the one-time-only distribution company. ----more---- We talk about the 1985 cocaine crime drama The Texas Godfather, featuring Vince Edwards and Paul L. Smith, the 1986 comedy Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter, starring Paul Sorvino, Abe Vigoda and Lorne Greene, and the 1986 gender switch comedy Willy/Milly (aka I Was a Teenage Boy, aka Something Special), starring Pamela Segall, Patty Duke, John Glover and Seth Green.

This episode begins an irregular series that will take a look back at a minor cinematic phenomenon that happened more often in the 1980s than in any other decade: a one-time-only distribution company. ----more---- We talk about the 1980 Tinto Brass erotic historical drama Caligula, starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren, and Peter O'Toole, and the 1985 Bud Yorkin family drama Twice in a Lifetime, featuring Gene Hackman, Ellen Burstyn, Ann-Margret, Amy Madigan, Ally Sheedy, and Brian Dennehy.

On this very special episode of the podcast, we discuss the life, career, and death of Alan Smithee, one of the most prolific filmmakers of the 1980s... who never actually directed a film, or, really, ever even existed. It's a twisted tale of incompetence, greed, and saving face. ----more---- The movies discussed in this episode: Accidental Love (2015, Stephen Greene) An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1998, Alan Smithee) Appointment With Fear (1985, Alan Smithee) The Barking Dog (1978, Alan Smithee) The Birds II (1994, Alan Smithee) Catchfire (1990, Alan Smithee) City in Fear (1980, Alan Smithee) Death of a Gunfighter (1969, Alan Smithee) Dune (1984, David Lynch) Eep! (2010, Ellen Smith) Exposed (2016, Declan Dale) Fade In (1975, Alan Smithee) Ghost Fever (1987, Alan Smithee) The Guardian (1990, William Friedkin) Gunhead (1989, Alan Smithee) Gypsy Angels (1980, Alan Smithee) Heat (1995, Michael Mann) Hellraiser IV: Bloodline (1994, Alan Smithee) I Love New York (1987, Alan Smithee) The Insider (1999, Michael Mann) Let's Get Harry (1986, Alan Smithee) Morgan Stewart's Coming Home (1987, Alan Smithee) New York Ninja (1984/2021, John Liu) The Shrimp on the Barbie (1990, Alan Smithee) Stitches (1985, Alan Smithee) Student Bodies (1981, Mickey Rose) Supernova (2000, Thomas Lee) Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983, John Landis) Woman Wanted (1999, Alan Smithee)

In this very special episode, we do something that only 13,948 other podcasts have already done or are in the process of doing this week: taking a look back at the Halloween movies. ----more---- The movies covered in this episode: Halloween (1978, John Carpenter) Halloween II (1981, Rick Rosenthal) Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982, Tommy Lee Wallace) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988, Dwight H. Little) Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989, Dominique Othenin-Girard) Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995, Joe Chapelle) Halloween: H20 (1998, Steve Miner) Halloween: Resurrection (2002, Rick Rosenthal) Halloween (2007, Rob Zombie) Halloween II (2009, Rob Zombie) Halloween (2018, David Gordon Green) Halloween Kills (2021, David Gordon Green) Halloween Ends (2022, David Gordon Green)

In this episode, we discuss the career of one of the best filmmakers to come out of 80s cinema: Scottish filmmaker Bill Forsyth. Oh, you've never heard of him? Or you're only familiar with one of his films? Join us on a cinematic journey through the career of a filmmaker who regularly revisited themes of loneliness, isolation, and alienation, and made them hilarious, touching, and poignant. ----more---- The films discussed during this episode (all directed by Bill Forsyth): That Sinking Feeling (1979) Gregory's Girl (1981) Local Hero (1983) Comfort and Joy (1984) Housekeeping (1987) Breaking In (1989) Being Human (1994) Gregory's Two Girls (1999)

On this very special episode of The FilmJerk Podcast, we talk not about a specific movie or filmmaker or actor or distribution company, but of a moviegoing concept that was huge in the 1980s but has all but disappeared from the movie-going landscape: the dollar house. AKA the discount house, the bargain house, and the second run theatre.

As we conclude our multi-part miniseries, The United Film Distribution Company, one of the first distributors to be operated by a motion picture exhibition company, has become Taurus Entertainment, and will go on one of the worst runs of film releases any distribution company has ever had. ----more---- Before you listen to this episode, please make sure you have already listened to Parts One and Two of this series, as some things discussed on this episode are continuations of ideas and items discussed in the other episodes. The movies discussed during this episode include: Angel Town (1990, Eric Karson) Best of the Best (1989, Robert Radler) Beverly Hills Brats (1989, Jim Sotos) Black Eagle (1988, Eric Karson) BraveStarr: The Movie (1988, Tom Tataranowicz) Class of 1999 (1990, Mark L. Lester) Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1988, Bill Couterie) Domino (1989, Ivana Massetti) Elliot Fauman, Ph. D. (1990, Ric Klass) Fist Fighter (1989, Frank Zuniga) Ghoulies Go to College (1991, John Carl Buechler) Heaven Becomes Hell (1989, Mickey Nivelli) The Invisible Kid (1988, Avery Crounse) Martians Go Home (1990, David Odell) Miss Firecracker (1989, Thomas Schlamme) Mortuary Academy (1988, Zane Levitt) Old Explorers (1990, Bill Polhad) On the Make (1989, Sam Hurwitz) Rachel River (1989, Sandy Smolan) Slaughterhouse Rock (1988, Dimitri Logothetis) The Shaman (1988, Michael Yakub) A Shock to the System (1990, Jan Egleson) Spontaneous Combustion (1990, Tobe Hooper) Two Evil Eyes (1991, George A. Romero and Dario Argento) Wired (1989, Larry Peerce)

We continue our multi-part miniseries on The United Film Distribution Company and Taurus Entertainment, one of the first distributors to be operated by a motion picture exhibition company. This week, we talk about several of their biggest successes, including Mark L. Lester's Class of 1984, Richard Hiltzik's Sleepaway Camp, and the Gone With the Wind of zombie movies, George A. Romero's Day of the Dead. ----more---- Titles covered during this episode: 1990: The Brox Warriors (1983, Enzo Castellari) Choke Canyon (1986, Chuck Bail) Day of the Dead (1985, George A. Romero) Double Exposure (1987, Nico Mastorakis) Flanagan (1985, Scott D. Goldstein) The Jigsaw Man (1983, Terrence Young) Retribution (1987, Guy Magar) Sleepaway Camp (1983, Robert Hiltzik) Terminal Entry (1988, John Kincaide)

We begin a multi-part miniseries on The United Film Distribution Company and Taurus Entertainment, one of the first distributors to be operated by a motion picture exhibition company, who teamed with filmmaker George A. Romero to produce and/or distribute several of his most popular and enduring movies, including Dawn of the Dead and Creepshow. ----more---- The movies discussed in this episode include: Class of 1984 (1982, Mark L. Lester) Creepshow (1982, George A. Romero) Dawn of the Dead (1978, Geroge A. Romero) Death Screams (1982, David Nelson) The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977, John Landis) Knightriders (1981, George A. Romero) Lion of the Desert (1981, Moustapha Akkad) Mother’s Day (1980, Charles Kaufman) Q: The Winged Serpent (1982, Larry Cohen) The Sinful Bed (1973, Ralf Gregan) Sitting Ducks (1980, Henry Jaglom) Tintorera: Killer Shark (1978, René Cardona Jr.)

This episode completes a two-part miniseries on an interesting concept in examining genre movies in the 80s, Grounded Genre. Joining us for this miniseries is our very special guest Sarah Bullion, an award-winning director, producer and screenwriter who also spent ten years on sets as a prop master and second assistant director.

This episode starts a two-part miniseries on an interesting concept in examining genre movies in the 80s, Grounded Genre. Joining us for this miniseries is our very special guest Sarah Bullion, an award-winning director, producer and screenwriter who also spent ten years on sets as a prop master and second assistant director.

This week, we take a look back at the quick rise and even quicker fall of FilmDallas Pictures, which began its life as a Texas-based film investment company in 1983. After helping to produce two Oscar-winning films in 1984, they would take a leap of faith to become a film distribution company, only to be completely gone from the film industry by the end of 1988. ----more---- On this episode, we discuss: Choose Me (1984, Alan Rudolph) Da (1988, Matt Clark) The Dirt Bike Kid (1985, Hoite Caston) Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985, Herbert Babenco) Man Facing Southeast (1986, Elisio Subiela) Night Zoo (1988, Jean-Claude Lauzon) Patti Rocks (1988, David Burton Morris) The Right-Hand Man (1987, Di Drew) Spike of Bensonhurst (1988, Paul Morrissey) Subway to the Stars (1988, Carlos Diegues) The Trip to Bountiful (1985, Peter Masterson).

On this week's episode of The FilmJerk Podcast, we examine how one filmmaker, John Badham, would end up with the rare feat of having two hits movies, Blue Thunder and WarGames, released only three weeks apart.

On this week's episode, we complete our dive into the Martin Scorsese Cinematic Universe of the 1980s, with the history behind his masterpiece Raging Bull, as well as a personal remembrance of the film by the host.

On this week's episode, we continue our dive into the Martin Scorsese Cinematic Universe of the 1980s, with a look back at his oft-misinterpreted 1983 classic, The King of Comedy.

This week, we continue our look back at the 1980s movies of Martin Scorsese, with a look back at After Hours, the last low-budget, small-scale, intimate movie he'd ever make.

This week, we continue our look back at the 1980s movies of Martin Scorsese, concentrating on the movie that inarguably changed the direction of his career: The Last Temptation of Christ.

This week, we start an irregular look back at the 1980s movies of Martin Scorsese, starting with what, for me, is his best film of the decade: The Color of Money.

This week, we take a look back at a movie shot in 1980, and would sit on the proverbial shelf until it premiered on basic cable in 1984, becoming a cult film and inspiring an early 1990s music revolution. Lou Adler's Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains. ----more---- The original theatrical one-sheet for the movie. Ray Winstone and Paul Simonon Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains

This week's episode takes a look back at the career of writer, director and actor Albert Brooks and his brilliant 1985 comedy Lost in America.

This week's episode takes a look back at the career of Ralph Bakshi and his pioneering 1981 animated rock musical American Pop.

This week's episode takes a look at the best movie in the John Hughes canon: 1987's Some Kind of Wonderful. ----more---- The original 1987 theatrical one-sheet for the movie. Some Kind of Wonderful Paramount Pictures Released February 27th, 1987 Director: Howard Deutch Producer and Writer: John Hughes Elias Koteas and Eric Stoltz in a scene from the movie Stars: Eric Stoltz (Keith Nelson) Mary Stuart Masterson (Susan Watts) Lea Thompson (Amanda Jones) Craig Sheffer (Hardy Jenns) Elias Koteas (Duncan) Two production stills from the movie. Running Time: 1hr 35m Aspect Ratio: Flat 1.85:1 Sound: Dolby Stereo

This week's episode takes a look back at the short-lived 1980s distribution company, Scotti Brothers Pictures. ----more---- The titles discussed during this episode include: Death of a Soldier (1986, Phillipe Mora) Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989, Jean-Claude Lord) Eye of the Tiger (1986, Richard C. Sarafian) He's My Girl (1987, Gabrielle Beaumont) In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro (1986, Raju Patel) The Iron Triangle (1989, Eric Weston) Lady Beware (1987, Karen Arthur) Stealing Heaven (1989, Clive Donner) The Valley of the Dolls (1967, Mark Robson)

This week's episode takes a look back at the 1980s movies directed by Academy Award winner Barry Levinson, as well as several of the films he wrote in the 1970s before becoming a director. ----more---- The titles discussed during this episode include: ...And Justice for All (1979, Norman Jewison) Avalon (1990, Barry Levinson) Bugsy (1991, Barry Levinson) Diner (1982, Barry Levinson) Good Morning, Vietnam (1987, Barry Levinson) High Anxiety (1978, Mel Brooks) Inside Moves (1980, Richard Donner) The Natural (1984, Barry Levinson) Rain Man (1988, Barry Levinson) Silent Movie (1976, Mel Brooks) Tin Men (1987, Barry Levinson) Toys (1992, Barry Levinson) Young Sherlock Holmes (1985, Barry Levinson) Tim Daly, Mickey Rourke, Daniel Stern, Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg and Paul Reiser in a scene from Diner Robin Williams in a scene from Good Morning, Vietnam Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman in a scene from Rain Man

This week's episode takes a look back at the 1980s movies starring three time Academy Award nominee Sigourney Weaver. ----more---- Sigourney Weaver in a scene from Ghostbusters (1984) The titles discussed during this episode include: Alien (1979, Ridley Scott) Aliens (1986, James Cameron) Annie Hall (1977, Woody Allen) Deal of the Century (1983, William Friedkin) Eyewitness (1981, Peter Yates) Ghostbusters (1984, Ivan Reitman) Ghostbusters II (1989, Ivan Reitman) Gorillas in the Mist (1988, Michael Apted) Half Moon Street (1986, Bob Swaim) Madman (1978, Dan Cohen) One Woman or Two (1986, Daniel Vigne) Working Girl (1988, Mike Nichols) The Year of Living Dangerously (1983, Peter Weir)

On this episode of The FilmJerk Podcast, we complete our three-part miniseries on the 80s movie production and distribution company, Empire Pictures, discussing dozens of films they announced at one time but never ended making. ----more---- Since none of these movies were actually made, the dates listed are the years the films were first announced, along with the intended director of said film, when one was assigned at the time of announcement. In a few cases, there'll be multiple years, titles and/or directors listed, as some projects would change between the two announcement dates: AlterEgo (1985, no director announced/1986, Peter Manoogian) Apparatus (1986, Larry Cohen) Arsenal (1985, no director announced) Barbarian Women (1986, no director announced) Battlebots (1986, Michael Miner/retitled Murdercycle in 1987) Berserker (1986, Stuart Gordon) Bimbo Barbeque (1988, Anita Rosenberg) Bloodless (1987, no director listed) Bloody Bess (1986, Stuart Gordon) Barbara Crampton in test shots for the unmade Stuart Gordon film Bloody Bess. The Bottled City of Shandar (1986, no director listed) Cassex (1985, no director listed) The Colony (1987, no director listed) Congo (1986, no director listed) Crimelord (1985, no director listed) Creepozoids 2 (1988, David DeCoteau) Decapitron (1986, Peter Manoogian) The Dirty Filthy Slime (1988, no director listed) Doctor Mortalis (1986, no director listed) Dolls 2 (1988, Stuart Gordon) Dream Invaders (1987, no director listed) Dreams in the Witchhouse (1987, Stuart Gordon) Entangled (1987, no director listed) Fiends (1987, no director listed) Floater (1988, Tobe Hooper) Home of the Stars (1988, Albert Band) Hotel Dick (1988, no director listed) Huntress (1987, David Schmoeller) I Eat Cannibals (1986, Ted Nicolaou) InHuman (1986, no director listed) Intruder (1987, Tobe Hooper) Journeys Through the Dark Zone (1984, Charles Band/1986, Danny Bilson) L.A.B.C. (1986, George Kerrigan) Leatherbabies (1983, James Davidson) Lurking Fear (1986, Stuart Gordon) Mindmaster (1986, no director listed) Mirrorworlds (1987, no director listed) Pand Evil (1987, Gorman Bechard) Parasite 2 in 3D (1983, Charles Band) The Primevals (1985, David Allen and Charles Band) Shackled (1984, Charles Band [as Robert Amante]) The Shadow over Innsmouth (1985, Stuart Gordon) Shadows and Whispers (1987, David Schmoeller) Show No Mercy (1986, Peter Manoogian) Sly Fox (1987, Arthur Penn) Space Sluts in the Slammer (1987, no director listed) Subterraneans (1987, no director listed) Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000 (1987, no director listed) Tomb (1986, Robert Clark) Vulcana (1986, no director listed)

On this episode, we continue our mini-series on the movies of Empire Pictures, concentrating on the films they released theatrically in 1988 and 1989, all the movies they would release directly to video, a summation of the decline of Empire Pictures, and what happened to Empire Pictures head Charles Band after he left the company. ----more---- The titles discussed during this episode include (direct to video titles in italics): Arena (1991, Peter Manoogian) Assault of the Killer Bimbos (1988, Anita Rosenberg) Buy and Cell (1989, Robert Boris) The Caller (1989, Arthur Allen Seidelman) Catacombs (1993, David Schmoeller) Cellar Dweller (1988, John Carl Buechler) Cemetery High (1989, Gorman Bechard) Deadly Weapon (1989, Michael Miner) Dr. Alien (1989, David DeCoteau) Galactic Gigolo (1988, Gorman Bechard) Ghost Town (1989, Richard Governor) Ghost Warrior (1986, J. Larry Carroll) Grotesque (1988, Joe Tornatore) Intruder (1989, Scott Spiegel) Mutant Hunt (1987, Tim Kincaid) Necropolis (1987, Bruce Hickey) The Occultist (1989, Tim Kincaid) Pulse Pounders (2012/13/??, Charles Band) Prison (1988, Renny Harlin) Robot Jox (1990, Stuart Gordon) Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988, David DeCoteau) Spellcaster (1992, Rafal Zielinski) Valet Girls (1987, Rafal Zielinski) Zombiethon (1987, Ken Dixon)