From Mad Max 2 to E.T., Blade Runner and countless more, it was perhaps the greatest summer in film history.
In his official biography Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger states that 1982 was the greatest summer for movie releases ever, not just because of the fact his debut as Conan the Barbarian bowed, but because of the sheer volume of quality and blockbuster titles released in the same year. Although the UK didn’t get some of these until the autumn of that year, and a fair number of them didn’t actually make as much money as predicted, there are so many titles in this year of release that have gone on to become classic and iconic in our memories – certainly mine.
So, here is a brief concise assessment of some of those titles that have remained firm favourites amongst fans and critics and have grown in stature – not to mention perhaps recouping their money through alternate release outlets like VHS, then DVD and cable. Please note, the release is purely the US release in 1982.
Picks of May 1982
In the space of three weeks, the likes of Conan the Barbarian, Annie, Mad Max 2 (The Road Warrior), Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid and Visiting Hours got their initial release in this month. Mad Max 2 is regarded as the best of the four films released thus far and Fury Road more than owes a lot to the look and dynamic action of the original release. In America, the film got retitled The Road Warrior due to the original film not succeeding through American International, and was dubbed into a sort of American English.
Rocky III proved to be even more successful than the previous two films, and introduced not only Mr. T as Clubber Lang, pre-A-Team, but a new set of fans to the saga, which has continued through 2016 with the successful spin-off Creed.
Visiting Hours, a Canadian stalk-and-slash starring William Shatner and Lee Grant and a post-Scanners Michael Ironside, had similarities to Halloween II because of the hospital setting (and had a great trailer showing the lights of a hospital building reducing to reveal a skull), but made its own mark in more ways than one. Annie, with Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters and young Aileen Quinn making her debut,was an ambitious adaptation of the classic musical. Although the sun didn’t come out tomorrow all that much on its original release, it is still a fondly-remembered film.
You might also have fond memories of Griff Rhys Jones doing beer ads intercut in black and white with actual classic film exchanges with movie stars, but it was Steve Martin and Rachel Ward who pioneered the technique in Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, in which he played a private dick mixed up with a beautiful moll (played by a post-Sharky’s Machine Rachel Ward). It didn’t quite come off, but is again another film that has grown in cult stature.
Picks of June 1982
What is there to say that hasn’t already been said about June 1982?
E.T – the Extra Terrestrial, Poltergeist, The Thing, Star Trek II - the Wrath of Khan and Blade Runner first bowed in this month. Although E.T. was to be the standout film, how could you not ignore the other titles in the list?
Poltergeist and The Thing are now bonafide classics (although Carpenter wishes in hindsight the studio had released the film in October to give it more impact) and Blade Runner is simply the most influential sci-fi film of all time now, helping to define umpteen offerings since then. Star Trek II was made far cheaper than The Motion Picture, but put the franchise right back at the top of the pile and began a three-film arc (not to mention a determination by the studio not to reveal whether or not Spock lived or died in the film).
Picks of July 1982
Not as many prestige titles bowed this month, but the pick of them had to be Tron, Steven Lisberger’s magnificent computer-v-man saga starring Jeff Bridges. Although it wouldn’t be another quarter of a century before Tron: Legacy bowed to critical acclaim and blockbuster success, the original film, although lost in the shadow of E.T., has become a firm favourite of many a movie geek, including many of the creators of Tron: Legacy. Other films that bowed included animator Don Bluth’s then-first film after leaving Disney, The Secret of Nimh, which then led to the likes of An American Tail and The Land Before Time. Woody Allen had another of his comedy offerings on show with A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, another of his collaborations with then-partner Mia Farrow.
Two other offerings made the grade in 1982 that have become well-loved. The Jerry Bruckheimer- produced comedy directed by Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman, Mother’s Day), Young Doctors in Love, was an affectionate send-up of hospital life, Carry On-esque in its approach, but with one or two gags amongst them worth the price of entry (Harry Dean Stanton’s pre-occupation with urine samples and a replacing-the-phone-receiver gag are the stand-outs). Also look out for Demi Moore in a cameo in the film, which starred a post-Blade Runner Sean Young and pre-Pretty Woman Hector Elizondo.
However, it was An Officer and a Gentleman that proved the surprise hit of the summer. Originally scheduled for an autumn release, Paramount gambled that E.T. would peter out, and audiences tapped into this riveting story of a young man trying to become a naval officer and falling in love with the local factory girl. Richard Gere, Debra Winger and soon-to-be-Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr. were simply magnificent.
Ron Howard moved from acting to directing with his debut film Night Shift, which brought together Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton and Shelley Long in a dark comedy which could have been seen as a forerunner to the Tom Cruise blockbuster Risky Business, in which a couple of night shift morgue attendants decide to turn their workplace into a brothel. It showed much promise and cemented Howard as a talent to behold, confirmed two years later with the brilliant Tom Hanks mermaid comedy Splash.
Picks of August 1982
Our final month of analysis, with one or two titles of note. Alan Parker’s big-screen adaptation of Pink Floyd - The Wall, an ambitious visual rendition of the biggest album of 1979, starred Bob Geldof and bowed to acclaim and audience affections.
Other titles that emerged included The Soldier (titled Codename: The Soldier for UK release), directed by James (Exterminator) Glickenhaus and starring Ken (The Wanderers) Wahl and the late Steve James. Fast Times at Ridgemont High, directed by Cameron Crowe, gave Sean Penn and Phoebe Cates a good career boost. Don (Phantasm) Cosarelli dabbled in sword-and-sorcery with his passable offering The Beastmaster starring Marc Singer and Tanya Roberts and the well-loved third film in the classic Friday the 13TH series, Friday the 13TH Part 3-D, saw Jason wear the hockey mask for the first time with effective results and helped pioneer the 1980s 3D boom, which included the likes of Jaws 3-D and Spacehunter – Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, released the following year. A final title, Class of 1984, about rebellious students in a high school in decline, featured a pre-Back to the Future Michael J Fox in an early role.
So, summing up, how could you not love a summer like that? So many great movies to behold and some which you might or might not have seen. Whatever your own opinion of these films, they all had something to offer cinema audiences across the world.
