I used to despise this decade’s onslaught of sequels and cheesy action movies, but then the last few years happened and now it feels nostalgic. Truth be told this was the decade that introduced moviemaking as a total business of sequels, franchises and action, lots and lots of testosterone-fueled action. As far as critics go, a good blueprint would be the massive critics poll I conducted a year ago. None of the films in the ensuing top 40 should really be counted as underrated, they all clearly have massive support. So, how about the underrated gems of the 1980s? The term “underrated,” for me, at least, means a film that slipped under the radar and wasn’t talked about much at the time of its release, or even now. I went through my archives and found these 25 titles that deserved better. If you’re looking for good viewing recommendations then these should do the trick. Michael Mann’s Thief, Sidney Lumet’s Prince of the City, Costa Gavras’ Missing, Ivan Passer’s Cutter’s Way, The Richard Rush’s The Stunt Man, Bob Fosse’s Star 80, Rick Rosenthal’s Bad Boys, Andrzej Żuławski‘s Possession, Jonathan Demme’s Melvin and Howard, Jerzy Skolimowski’s Moonlighting, Alan Parker’s Shoot the Moon, Tony Bill’s My Bodyguard, Loader/Rafferty’s Atomic Cafe, Richard Tuggle’s Tightrope, Robert Altman’s Secret Honor, Andrei Konchalovsky’s Runaway Train, Stephen Frears’ The Hit, John Schlesinger’s The Falcon and the Snowman, Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild, Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, David Mamet’s House of Games, John Sayles’ Eight Men Out, Peter Greenway’s The Cook, The Thief, The Wife and Her Lover, Brian DePalma’s Casualties of War, David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone, Sam Fuller’s White Dog, Time for some recommendations. What are your undervalued movies of 1980s? Contribute Hire me
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