Rewinding The ’80s Book Review
“Rewinding The ‘80s” is a proper examination of 80s cinema.
Written by author/Turner Classic Movies staff member John Malahy, “Rewinding The ‘80s” provides an overview of the 80s film world (warts and all). Among the subjects broached here are the changes the industry was undergoing. The era of the maverick filmmakers from the 70s was fading out, new stars like Tom Hanks and Eddie Murphy were on the rise, blockbusters gained in popularity, music and soundtracks saw an increase in viability, new trends and genres took off, producers like Jerry Bruckheimer became powerful figures, MTV’s influence became undeniable, and film was becoming more commercialized with merchandising and product placement.
The 80s were also offering up a wide variety of original movies (something lacking in modern day cinema). You had animation from Disney and beyond (Don Bluth, Miyazaki, “Heavy Metal,” etc.), Cold War cinema, action spectacles (James Bond, “Top Gun,” “Batman,” “The Terminator,” and so on), important documentary works (from “Shoah” to “Roger And Me”), rockumentaries and films fueled by now legendary soundtracks, the horror and slasher craze, the evolving filmography of directors like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, the rise of new voices (David Lynch, John Landis, Oliver Stone, John Hughes, and David Cronenberg), and the emergence of alternative, indie cinema, hip-hop and queer cinema.
The book also includes sidebars that touch on international cinema, Best Picture winners, CGI, sports films, etc. The book concludes with acknowledgments and an index.
The 80s era of film has been written off by many film buffs, but to me, it always felt underrated. Sure, there were stinkers like any other decade, but it also offered up so many enduring classics (and nostalgic classics) that can’t be replicated. There were films that didn’t perform well at the box office but went on to become classics (“Raging Bull”), mainstream masterpieces (“Raiders Of The Lost Ark” and “E.T.”), influential indie gems (“Sex, Lies, And Videotape” and “Stranger Than Paradise”), great action films (“Die Hard” and “Predator”), teen classics (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Stand By Me”), the list goes on. There was something for everyone and the era gave us some of the all-time best cinematic storytellers from Jim Jarmusch to David Lynch. This book does a superb job in reevaluating the decade and showing just how much value it had. Not everything is covered here, but Malahy goes deep in exploring the genres, subgenres, and the cinematic history of everything from the Brat Pack to Martin Scorsese’s life and career. He also spotlights underappreciated art like “Sherman’s March” and “The Changeling.” Who knows, you might even discover something you never knew existed within these pages. That’s what makes these TCM books so rewarding.
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