Mixing science fiction with nostalgia for happier
days, Robert Zemeckis directedBack to the Future
(1985)—an instant hit in which Michael J. Fox, as
Marty McFly, time-traveled back to the 1950’s. The
film was followed by two sequels (1989, 1990) in
which McFly traveled to the Wild West and the
twenty-first century. Adventure and fantasy films,
also popular in the 1980’s, includedDragonslayer
(1981), directed by Matthew Robbins;Conan the Bar-
barian(1982), directed by John Milius;The Sword and
the Sorcerer(1982), directed by Albert Pynn;The Dark
Cr ystal(1983), directed by Jim Henson;Ladyhawke
(1985), directed by Richard Donner; andWillow
(1988), directed by Ron Howard.
Films about the anxieties of teens in high school,
quite prevalent in the 1980’s, included Amy Heck-
erling’sFast Times at Ridgemont High(1982), Martha
Coolidge’sValley Girl(1983), Garry Marshall’sThe
Flamingo Kid(1985), and John G. Avildsen’sThe Ka-
rate Kid(1984). Many of the teen films featured a
group of actors known as the Brat Pack, a term ap-
plied to an assemblage of actors who appeared in
films as teens on the verge of adulthood. The perfor-
mances of Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Molly Ringwald,
Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, and others
were somewhat controversial, in that they were seen
by some critics to be speaking to the dilemmas of the
nation’s teens. Others, however, condemned them
as soon-to-be Yuppies (young upwardly mobile pro-
fessionals), a derogatory term used to denote the
extent to which this socioeconomic group was mate-
rialistic, superficial, and self-centered.
John Hughes addressed the class divide among
teens in his early filmsSixteen Candles(1984) andThe
Breakfast Club(1985), which featured Brat Pack ac-
tors. Hughes also directedWeird Science(1985) and
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off(1986) and wrote the screen-
play for Howard Deutch’sPretty in Pink(1986) and
Some Kind of Wonderful(1987). Francis Ford Cop-
pola’s 1983 version of S. E. Hinton’s bookThe Out-
siders, featuring Cruise, Dillon, Lowe, and Estevez,
was followed by Coppola’s film version of its sequel,
Rumble Fish(1983), which featured Dillon, Mickey
Rourke, and Nicolas Cage. Edward Zwick’sAbout
Last Night(1986), a film adaptation of David
Mamet’sSexual Perversity in Chicago(pr. 1974, pb.
1977), featured the dating and mating customs of
young adults, while Joel Schumacher’sSt. Elmo’s Fire
(1985) focused on Brat Pack members trying to
become successful in the business world. Emilio
Estevez extended the Brat Pack formula into a West-
ern,Young Guns(1988), directed by Christopher
Cain.
Contrary Visions As critic Robin Wood has noted,
within any predominant ideology, there will appear
fractures or countercurrents, even in an effort to
bombard viewers with feel-good films. As many films
of the 1980’s strove to paper over the cracks in Amer-
ican society by diverting audience attention to fan-
tasy or otherwise light entertainment, some directors
refused to follow suit. One of the most outspoken
and controversial directors, Oliver Stone, continued
to examine the darker side of the 1960’s inPlatoon
(1986) andBorn on the Fourth of July(1989). WithPla-
toon, Stone, a Vietnam veteran, revived the war film
represented in the late 1970’s by Hal Ashby’sComing
Home(1979) and Coppola’sApocalypse Now(1979).
Platoongrossed a healthy $138 million, more than
many teen comedies and other escapist films of the
decade. Other Vietnam War films followed: Cop-
pola’sGardens of Stone(1987), John Irvin’sHam-
burger Hill(1987), Lionel Chetwynd’sHanoi Hilton
(1987), Stanley Kubrick’sFull Metal Jacket(1987),
and Barry Levinson’sGood Morning, Vietnam(1988).
A great many directors other than those respond-
ing to Vietnam continued to depict society in less
than flattering terms. InWall Street(1987), Stone in-
dicted 1980’s greed and materialism through the
reptilian character of Gordon Gekko, played by Mi-
chael Douglas. Martin Scorsese’sRaging Bull(1980),
considered by many critics to be the best film of
the 1980’s, depicted the film’s protagonist, Jake La
Motta, as a man challenged by his own doubts and
confusions.Broadcast News(1987), directed by James
L. Brooks, presented a criticism of the news media
through the handsome, brainless anchor portrayed
by William Hurt. John Landis’sTrading Places(1983)
suggested that the aggressive, manipulative prac-
tices of Eddie Murphy’s and Dan Ackroyd’s desti-
tute characters were an appropriate response to the
similar tactics used to cause their destitution. Paul
Brickman’sRisky Business(1983), on the other hand,
wittily satirized the Reagan era’s celebration of indi-
vidual enterprise by portraying Tom Cruise’s foray
into the business of prostitution as a shining exam-
ple for upper-class but unremarkable high school
students to follow.
Independent Films Independent films are tradi-
tionally viewed as those made without studio sup-The Eighties in America Film in the United States 371