VHS Tracking

Category: 1980s

  • Blow Out (1981)

    Blow Out (1981)

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    A biography of Quentin Tarantino that I owned when I was 15 informed me that Blow Out (1981) was Tarantino’s favourite performance by John Travolta, the film he cited to convince the actor to trust in his comeback with Pulp Fiction (1994). After so many years of hearing that it was great from critics (especially Pauline Kael’s loving review… Read.

  • Heaven’s Gate (1980)

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    I don’t have access to digital TV at home, so it was a delight to be in a hotel room in Wollongong, turn on the TV to SBS World Movies and see that Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate (1980) was coming up shortly, which I’d always been meaning to see. I remember reading MAD magazines from… Read.

  • Creepshow (1982)

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    When I was a kid, I stayed up one night to watch Creepshow (1982) – director George A Romero and writer Stephen King’s tribute to old EC horror comics – and it spooked me even though I thought I could handle it. Rewatching it after Romero passed away, I loved it – it feels like… Read.

  • Thrashin’ (1986)

    Thrashin’ (1986)

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    A classic example of the 1980s teen sports movie, Thrashin’ (1986) is like a mix between The Karate Kid or The Lost Boys but swap out the karate or vampirism for skateboarding. A young, hunky Josh Brolin plays Corey, a thrasher from the Valley whose dreams of winning the downhill tournament “LA Massacre” come under… Read.

  • Against All Odds (1984)

    Against All Odds (1984)

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    Woke up early one morning and decided to watch Against All Odds (1984) on Netflix and now which song do I have stuck in my head? Can’t believe they only use the Phil Collins song (written for the movie) over the closing credits and not in every romantic montage of which there are a few… Read.