The Great Movie Tournament - 1980s: Round 2 - Group 2 of 32

[mae]

During the second round of The Great Movie Tournament, please vote for up to four films you would like to move onto the next round. The top four 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):

Aliens (1986)
Directed by James Cameron

Watch Trailer

The Lost Boys (1987)
Directed by Joel Schumacher

Watch Trailer

Friday the 13th (1980)
Directed by Sean S. Cunningham

Watch Trailer

Amadeus (1984)
Directed by Miloš Forman

Watch Trailer

The Last Emperor (1987)
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

Watch Trailer

Ordinary People (1980)
Directed by Robert Redford

Watch Trailer

[St. Troy]

The Lost Boys

[Mattrick]

Some how THREE Best Picture winners are in the bottom three, with two facing elimination.

[Tommy]

Kinda puts the whole Best Picture winner in perspective doesn't it? Most are great but some I never really want to see again.
Anyway, I still need to see Amadeus, shocking I know but it's one of the few Forman films I've managed to miss thus far. I figured it would hang around long enough for me to get to it so I could see it and decide if I should be voting for it or not.

[mae]

And I'm surprised the original Friday the 13th is getting this much love after struggling to get seconded. It's not the best of the series.

[Iwritecode]

And I'm surprised the original Friday the 13th is getting this much love after struggling to get seconded. It's not the best of the series.

Agreed, it's probably the worst one in the entire franchise because it completely destroys the timeline. But it's the only Friday the 13th movie in the entire tournament. So I voted for it as sort of a representative of the franchise overall.

With a couple of notable exceptions like Jason Takes Manhattan or Jason X, the movies are all basically the same. Kids show up in the woods, Jason kills them, one survives and "killls" Jason at the end. Then he gets resurrected in the next movie.

[Tommy]

And I'm surprised the original Friday the 13th is getting this much love after struggling to get seconded. It's not the best of the series.

Agreed, it's probably the worst one in the entire franchise because it completely destroys the timeline. But it's the only Friday the 13th movie in the entire tournament. So I voted for it as sort of a representative of the franchise overall.

With a couple of notable exceptions like Jason Takes Manhattan or Jason X, the movies are all basically the same. Kids show up in the woods, Jason kills them, one survives and "killls" Jason at the end. Then he gets resurrected in the next movie.

And yet it is the most successful horror franchise ever. And I don't think the first one is the worst one but Part 4 is my favorite. Part 7 holds a special place with me as well because it has three or four openly gay actors in it.

The genius of Part 1 is it's relation to Psycho.

spoiler

In Psycho, Norman's grief over the death of his mother causes him to take on her personality and kill. In F13 part 1, Mrs. Voorhees' grief over the death of her son causes her to take on her son's personality (the scene where she says "kill her mommy, kill her") and kill. Norman catches his mother in bed with her new BF and Mrs. Voorhees knows that the counselors are having sex while her son drowns. Both Norman and Mrs. Voorhees are "set off" by sex in some way. Norman by women that attract him and Mrs. Voorhees by counselors that are having sex usually. I haven't really researched this more than just watching the films but I bet there are more similarities between the two films as well.

And also, part 1 is the only one with a fresh score on RT.

AND it has one of the best scares ever. The one in the boat towards the end. Yeah, that one got me the first time I saw it. I admit it.

I have a feeling if the series stopped at 1, it would be more respected today. But then, no Jason Horror Icon! Yes, it's cheap looking with some bad acting and cheap production values but somehow, it works for me.

[Heather19]

I actually really enjoy the first one. It's my favorite of the bunch even though Jason as we know him isn't in it.

[Iwritecode]

I'm just hate the fact that they basically had to ret-con the storyline of the first movie to make Jason the killer instead of his mother.

In part 1, Mrs. Voorhees motivation for killing is that fact that she watched her son drown in 1957. Then the majority of the movie takes place 21 years later.

Then is the second movie, Jason somehow survived his drowning and grew up completely alone in the woods (for 21 years!) and his motivation for killing is revenge for his mother. I know suspension of belief and all that considering Jason "dies" multiple times in the franchise. But that has always bugged me.

[amd013]

And I'm surprised the original Friday the 13th is getting this much love after struggling to get seconded. It's not the best of the series.

Agreed, it's probably the worst one in the entire franchise because it completely destroys the timeline. But it's the only Friday the 13th movie in the entire tournament. So I voted for it as sort of a representative of the franchise overall.

With a couple of notable exceptions like Jason Takes Manhattan or Jason X, the movies are all basically the same. Kids show up in the woods, Jason kills them, one survives and "killls" Jason at the end. Then he gets resurrected in the next movie.

Hey, SPOILER ALERT!!! JK LOL!

[Heather19]

I think you need to separate 1 from the rest of the series. If you look at it by itself I think it's a solid horror film. Yes, it's a bit aged now, but had there been no other ones I agree with Tommy and think it would be more respected.

From 2 on they kinda rewrote the series to include Jason. But that's not the fault of the first movie. That's the fault of them taking something that did well and turning it into a horror franchise. I do wish horror films could stand on their own more, instead of constantly tossing out sequel upon sequel.

[Mattrick]

Kinda puts the whole Best Picture winner in perspective doesn't it? Most are great but some I never really want to see again.
Anyway, I still need to see Amadeus, shocking I know but it's one of the few Forman films I've managed to miss thus far. I figured it would hang around long enough for me to get to it so I could see it and decide if I should be voting for it or not.

Not really. It's just that fun b movies are more accessible to more people than the dour and depressing Ordinary People and a movie full of powdered wigs and classical music. None of these films even come close to Amadeus and I fucking love Aliens.

Amadeus is my #2 film of all time. It's a masterpiece.

[amd013]

I remember watching Ordinary People at the theaters with my parents, and the families of several of there friends. I was probably around 13 or 14 at the time, and came out of the theater wondering who in their right mind would enjoy such a depressing movie. Since that time, I have been pretty turned off of movies dealing primarily with family angst. (Heck I didn't even like Parenthood because it had too much angst in it).

Sorry, but I hope Ordinary People's run ends here.

[Mattrick]

who in their right mind would enjoy such a depressing movie.

[fernandito]

I need to watch Amadeus again. Been at least 10 years since I've watched it, it'll probably be something different to me this time around. And I want to be able to make more accurate decisions down the road in the tournament.

[mae]

Sadly, it looks like Amadeus isn't streaming anywhere.

[Still Servant]

I watched Friday the 13th for the first time this Halloween. It was okay, but not something I would find myself going back to anytime soon.

[divemaster]

I voted for Friday the 13th. I saw the second one, but I have not bothered to watch any of the others. The first one, as a stand-alone movie, was very effective. Mainly because you didn't know who was killing people. There was a mystery and suspense and a nice reveal at the end. Plus gore and jump scares. All-in-all a good horror movie. I really had no interest in seeing the sequels because there's no mystery or suspense when you know who the killer is all along. Jason jumps out and kills someone. Then, Jason jumps out and kills someone. A little later, Jason jumps out and kills someone. And, in a suspenseful twist, Jason jumps out and kills someone! Ha ha.

Ok, I know, I know. I'm making assumptions for a series where I never even bothered to watch any of it, so I could be way off. But Part 2 was stupid, and I just assumed the stupid grew with each sequel.

But the original was very effective.

[WeDealInLead]

That's pretty much the entire series. You're not missing out on much. I've seen them all but I'm not sure which is which except the one in space.

[Iwritecode]

I voted for Friday the 13th. I saw the second one, but I have not bothered to watch any of the others. The first one, as a stand-alone movie, was very effective. Mainly because you didn't know who was killing people. There was a mystery and suspense and a nice reveal at the end. Plus gore and jump scares. All-in-all a good horror movie. I really had no interest in seeing the sequels because there's no mystery or suspense when you know who the killer is all along. Jason jumps out and kills someone. Then, Jason jumps out and kills someone. A little later, Jason jumps out and kills someone. And, in a suspenseful twist, Jason jumps out and kills someone! Ha ha.

Ok, I know, I know. I'm making assumptions for a series where I never even bothered to watch any of it, so I could be way off. But Part 2 was stupid, and I just assumed the stupid grew with each sequel.

But the original was very effective.

Well, add to the fact that at least 3 or 4 of the people he kills are having sex at the time and you pretty much have the plot of most of the sequels.

[Garrell]

Seen the first Friday the 13th on it's release in the theater with my sister. Classic, watched the second at home and never watched the rest. Pretty much the same scenario for Halloween.

[mae]

The poll has closed. The following four titles are moving on to the next round:

1. Aliens (89.66%)
2. The Lost Boys (65.52%)
3. Friday the 13th (55.17%)
4. Amadeus (44.83%)

And the following two titles have been eliminated:

1. The Last Emperor (24.14%)
2. Ordinary People (20.69%)