There are a few decades in film history that have been as scrutinized as the 1980s, but to really understand the decade and its movies, it's going to take a couple of someone's who were there for it the first time around.

Drew McLean and Scott Weinberg are ready to review every major film of the decade, one month at a time. The look at what worked then, what endoers now, and how it felt to be there when it all went down. Turn back the calendar with us. It's the 80s all over. I'm gonna have to go back to the hotel.

I'm gonna have to go back to the hotel.

I'm gonna have to go back to the hotel. It's the 80s all over.世界はせない 世界は同じ世界は悪いただき The sixth space shuttle, the challenger, made its first quick trip into space, will Disney open their first Asian park Tokyo Disneyland. President Reagan signed a bailout for Social Security for the bargain basement price of $165 billion with a B dollars.

And finally, Stern Magazine made headlines when they discovered a 60 volume personal diary written by Adolf Hitler only to suffer a massive publicity blow when it turned out to be a hoax. It's a weird month, so buckle up and let's get busy with April of 1983. I'm Drew McQueenie, welcome to 80's All Over and as always I'm joined by my co-host, Scott Weinberg. Before we begin, we have to always thank our Patreon subscribers.

It is such a nice feeling to know that people like your stuff enough to throw you a few bucks a month. And even if you're not a patron, we appreciate you listening to the show. Word of mouth is a massive help. If you can rate and review the show on iTunes or any place that you listen to podcasts, please do so. One of the things that I'd like to do is I'd like to acknowledge that we can kind of stop now being surprised that 1983 isn't the worst thing that's ever happened to us. I think we've had two or three pretty decent titles a month, sometimes more, and I think that continues through the rest of the year. Looking at the 2018 releases so far, I don't think we've had as many good or really good films at this point in 2018 as we did by an April of 83. And despite the fact that we have come across some buried treasure and some films that we knew were quite good, I'm still prepared to stick by my assertion that this is the weakest year of the decade. I am willing to change my mind on that if presented with additional evidence, however. now like 1983 is that kid that you went to school with who came to

school like with the sandals and the socks and you always thought he'd be like horrible to hang out with but then you realized when you finally did hang out with him, it's just his parents made him dress that way and the kid was actually pretty okay. I feel like 1983 has been that year. It's been that kid for a while. In 1983's not bad man. Don't be so mean.

You know probably wasn't much fun to hang out with.

Oh fast bender.

Ha ha ha ha! that year. It's been that kid for a while. In 1983's not bad, man. Don't be so mean. You know, probably wasn't much fun to hang out with. Oh, fast bender. Actually, before we get to fast bender, because dude, this is not only our last big fast bender title, we've got one more, but this is the last theatrical original feature that he made. It's a hell of a send off. But first, back in theaters this month, did you go see duel when it played theatrically?

No, I've never seen duel on a big screen. I have only seen it on VHS and DVD and it is as good as I remember. And I think it's ironic that Mr. Spielberg is now out making the rounds kind of being a little snooty about what qualifies as a TV movie versus a regular movie when his first TV movie got the honor of being transferred to film. My parents took me to see this in the theater because they were fans for when it aired on TV and it had not played TV for me to see it again. So when this came out, they got really excited and we went. It was a colossal theatrical experience. I'm really happy that's how I was first exposed to it. I've always had trouble thinking with this TV film because it plays plays so beautifully on the big screen. Yeah, and you could just see the executives going,

oh my God, it's Philberg. He's just everything he touches turns to gold. Wow, wow. He doesn't have anything for a couple months. Hey, let's re-release dual. I mean, 1983. You'll notice they didn't do that with something evil. There's never been a major theatrical re-release of that. It's dual special and it really is jaws as a rough sketch like you can see why

they went oh my god yeah you're the dude. You're a hit. Yeah. It feels like when a good comedian is telling you a long and elaborate joke, you're thinking to yourself, how long can this comedian stretch this joke out and still deliver a good punchline? And that's what a movie like dual feels like is he's being chased by a truck. That's the movie. And then you're an hour in and you're

like how much longer can he possibly sustain? It's a guy being chased by a truck. And it just it's a lot of fun. So Scott, how about a quick game of dice before we talk about? On the vanjeer who costs, Karel, he is not a man, he is all the man of the world. I'm gonna just say I knew nothing about this film. I was kind of stunned by its frank approach to homosexuality, and on mainly because it wasn't spoken about this openly in films very much in 1983. Suttleties off the table for this movie. Based on a novel by Jean-Gene, this is Sex and Drugs and Murder and Melodrama, and it is super overheated in its perspective. Yeah, it is Franco Nero and Brad Davis in a bizarre stage set noir type story about a sailor who gets embroiled in a sleazy bar, murders, betrayal, carnal wagers. It's a leather daddy fairy tale, and there is ton of gay sex in the film and all handled fairly matter of fact, even though the film is shot almost like one from the heart, in fact, there's a couple of movies this month that are the same kind of super overheated palette, putting contrast to the fact that fast benders the guy who during a sex scene will show you the guy spitting on his hand. It is rough stuff at times, shot like a 30s studio musical with leather and muscles.

Yeah, and it's unapologetic and unashamed about it, you know, while I was impressed by the audacity and the bravery of the film, I wasn't very engaged by it. It is so stylized that I think it's kind of a tough sit. I think that's a lot of fast-pender. Either you're so consumed by the style

and you get so consumed by the style,

and you get so pulled into the way he does this, or you can admire the fact that there's a ton of effort in what he does, and there's a ton of thought in it, and it's theatrical as I'll get out. It's clearly pulled from that three-pinning opera tradition, and it is very German in its theatricality. do you have one interesting question about this movie do you think that this film

killed the dear career of brad davis

as i understand he didn't fit. Like, he was a guy who was uneasy with Hollywood in general and uneasy with a lot of mainstream stuff. Like, he was a New York stage actor who I think was drawn to very confrontational, very edgy stuff. So I don't know that he wanted that other career. I think midnight Express was a perfect moment for him to be in the mainstream because that movie is Incredibly confrontational brave performances particularly by Brad Davis and Franco Nero If all you know a Franco Nero is tough guy performances and and Actiony stuff. Oh boy. We want to take a moment here to spotlight a film that unfortunately was next to impossible to track down and it seems weird that would be the case. It's a film called Heat Wave. When it's the hottest summer on record, emotions can run high. From the director of internationally acclaimed newsfront and explosive new motion picture, every city has its victims. This city had a heat wave. This is the second film from director Philip Nois, you guys know from giant mainstream films like The Saint or his Jack Ryan movies. DeG calm like he's a really gifted Australian filmmaker. This is based on a true story. Judy Davis coming off of my brilliant career and some other high profile Australian films. It feels like this is a movie that should be preserved and readily available. You know this is part of that new wave of Australian cinema that was really one of the biggest moments for their industry. And I would think that these are the films that you wanna make sure stay available. This Star Struck, I would love to see these films in more ready circulation again, please. Now, this next one, this is a horror film that I swear to God I thought I had seen. And then when I finally watched it for pocket not only have I never seen it I think I had a totally different film in my head for what

was supposed to be curtains. I think I remembered the trailer more so than the movie. This is a really dry and boring Canadian slasher about six actresses and John Vernon in a big house and they start getting picked off only it's not even as fun as that perfunctory description sounds. And it's because it's two different movies. There's the slasher movie which is terrible. Flat out one of the worst slasher movies we've talked about so far, just boring. But then the other movie which is about John Vernon and the six actresses and he's a director who I thought it was going to be shot corridor at first because Samantha Egris is his lead actress. He's gotten financing for this movie. She's going to play somebody who goes insane. So he gets her committed to a mental hospital under the guise of research and then leaves her there. And he's going to go make the movie and he's going to cast one of these new actresses. So first of all, if you've ever seen a Scooby-Doo episode, congratulations, you know,

what's gonna happen. But secondly, the actual stuff between Vernon and the young actresses, there's a whole movie that could have been made there where I would have loved to have seen that performance from John Vernon without the horror film attached because he's pretty good. Does this movie kinda feel like a lazy remake of Susperia?

I can see how like somebody would watch that movie and go, okay, I have an idea and I know how I'm gonna do this.

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