The Great Movie Tournament - 1980s: Round 1 - Group 17 of 32

[mae]

During the first round of The Great Movie Tournament, please vote for up to six films you would like to move onto the next round. The top six films will be moving on. Keep in mind that the percentage of the vote a given film receives will determine its standing going forward.

The poll will run for seven days. Discussion is greatly encouraged!

The nominees are (please let me know if any video doesn't play for you):

The Last Emperor (1987)
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

Watch Trailer

An American Tail (1986)
Directed by Don Bluth

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Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
Directed by Joe Johnston

Watch Trailer

Taps (1981)
Directed by Harold Becker

Watch Trailer

Summer School (1987)
Directed by Carl Reiner

Watch Trailer

The Color Purple (1985)
Directed by Steven Spielberg

Watch Trailer

Return of the Jedi (1983)
Directed by Richard Marquand

Watch Trailer

Re-Animator (1985)
Directed by Stuart Gordon

Watch Trailer

[amd013]

wow, only seen one in this group. (3 guess on which one, and the first 2 don't count)

[St. Troy]

The Color Purple

[Still Servant]

We need more Taps love!

[DoctorZaius]

What a weak ass group!

[becca69]

We need more Taps love!

Taps is a great movie. Saw it in the theater when it was released. Not sure how Re-Animator is ahead of it.

[Still Servant]

I would have loved to have seen that in a theater.

[mae]

Return of the Jedi is the best Star Wars movie and it's at 75%?

[Aremag]

Return of the Jedi is the best Star Wars movie and it's at 75%?

I can agree with you on Elvira....not on this.....damn Ewoks should have been Wookies.

[mae]

Personally, I think Return of the Jedi contains everything I love about Star Wars, yes even the Ewoks. The whole Endor thing was great fun, but also the weird aliens back at Jabba's place, it was everything great about the original trilogy rolled into one!

[becca69]

Return of the Jedi is the best Star Wars movie and it's at 75%?

Have to disagree. Empire is the best.

[mae]

But... nothing happens in Empire.

[becca69]

But... nothing happens in Empire.

Wha???

[Iwritecode]

But... nothing happens in Empire.

They introduced an iconic character in Yoda and there was arguably the biggest reveal in movie history.

[becca69]

But... nothing happens in Empire.

They introduced an iconic character in Yoda and there was arguably the biggest reveal in movie history.

THIS. And lets just remember these truly iconic scenes: Luke and the wampa, Han and his Tauntaun, At-AT battle scene, Millenium Falcon hiding in the exogorth, Cloud City and Lando's betrayal, the trash compactor, Han in carbonite… I could go on. This is what you think of when someone says Star Wars. This is Star Wars at it's best. I honestly don't remember much about Jedi except the silly Ewoks and "the bikini".

[mae]

Those are all scenes and some a great on their own, but there is almost no plot. Luke goeas away for training, feels his friends are in dangers, goes back to save them, needs saving himself, they scoop him up, the end. Not much of a plot.

[amd013]

I'm partial to the original myself.

[becca69]

Those are all scenes and some a great on their own, but there is almost no plot. Luke goeas away for training, feels his friends are in dangers, goes back to save them, needs saving himself, they scoop him up, the end. Not much of a plot.

Who needs a plot when you've got all that amazing going on

[WeDealInLead]

What a weak ass group!

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic but that's how I feel. I haven't voted for anyone.

[DoctorZaius]

What a weak ass group!

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic but that's how I feel. I haven't voted for anyone.

No sarcasm. I love The Color Purple, but everything else is flawed. I did throw one extra vote Re-Animator's way.

[Tommy]

The Color Purple is fantastic and Whoopi is just brilliant in it.

[DoctorZaius]

The Color Purple is fantastic and Whoopi is just brilliant in it.

One of my best weeks in school is when I show The Color Purple to my sophomores. Such a brilliant film.

[Still Servant]

The Color Purple is fantastic and Whoopi is just brilliant in it.

One of my best weeks in school is when I show The Color Purple to my sophomores. Such a brilliant film.

Do you show any other films?

[DoctorZaius]

The Color Purple is fantastic and Whoopi is just brilliant in it.

One of my best weeks in school is when I show The Color Purple to my sophomores. Such a brilliant film.

Do you show any other films?

Very few full fledged films. I'm not one of those teachers that likes to watch the film of the book we just read - except for Baz Lurhman's Romeo and Juliet because it's a great vehicle to explore the longterm relevance of Shakespeare's work, and even then we will have looked at two key scenes from the Zefferelli classic. I like showing some key scenes for comparative purposes. I do show some Twilight Zone episodes when we study the modern fable, but they are not films. Also, I show Much Ado About Nothing to my juniors when we read Shakespeare - Branagh's interpretations of Shakespeare are brilliant. Some years in my Dramatic Literature course we read Neil Simon's The Female Odd Couple, and then we watch the original version for comparative purposes as well. We talk about film all the time in class, as a reference point, but there's not enough time to watch them in their entirety. Maybe I can get a film course going someday.

[Still Servant]

The Color Purple is fantastic and Whoopi is just brilliant in it.

One of my best weeks in school is when I show The Color Purple to my sophomores. Such a brilliant film.

Do you show any other films?

Very few full fledged films. I'm not one of those teachers that likes to watch the film of the book we just read - except for Baz Lurhman's Romeo and Juliet because it's a great vehicle to explore the longterm relevance of Shakespeare's work, and even then we will have looked at two key scenes from the Zefferelli classic. I like showing some key scenes for comparative purposes. I do show some Twilight Zone episodes when we study the modern fable, but they are not films. Also, I show Much Ado About Nothing to my juniors when we read Shakespeare - Branagh's interpretations of Shakespeare are brilliant. Some years in my Dramatic Literature course we read Neil Simon's The Female Odd Couple, and then we watch the original version for comparative purposes as well. We talk about film all the time in class, as a reference point, but there's not enough time to watch them in their entirety. Maybe I can get a film course going someday.

Very cool! Sounds like a great class.