each week and each chapter would end with a cliff-
hanger to draw audiences back the following week.
Star Warsdid much the same thing, only over a peri-
od of years instead of weeks.
Steven Spielberg launched another series with a
deliberately nostalgic style withRaiders of the Lost Ark
(1981). That film, the first in the Indiana Jones se-
ries, borrowed from the vintage movie serials, but
it and other films in the series each featured a self-
contained story arc. In fact, the series’ second film,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(1984), was a
prequel rather than a sequel, taking place before the
events portrayed inRaiders of the Lost Ark. The next
film,Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade(1989), was a
true sequel, taking place later than the first two.
All of these movies showcased the latest in special
effects. Such realist effects in science-fiction and
fantasy films were initially pioneered by Stanley Ku-
brick’s2001: A Space Odyssey(1968) and rejuvenated
byStar Wars(1977). In 1984, a sequel to 2001 was re-
leased:2010: The Year We Make Contact.Meanwhile,
author Arthur C. Clarke, who had written the books
on which both films were based, continued to pro-
duce several more literary sequels in that series.
Many other movies that inspired sequels also fea-
tured heavy special-effects elements. John Carpen-
ter’sThe Terminator(1984), starring Arnold Schwarz-
enegger, would be followed by two sequels in
subsequent decades. The comedicGhostbusters
(1984) was followed byGhostbusters II(1989). The
success ofStar Warsinspired the creators of televi-
sion’sStar Trekseries to create special-effects driven
movies, starting withStar Trek: The Motion Picture
(1979) and continuing with four sequels during the
1980’s. Other science-fiction sequels of the 1980’s
included follow-ups toAlien(1979),Cocoon(1985),
andBack to the Future(1985). Indeed, so sure was
Universal Pictures of the marketability of sequels to
the latter film thatBack to the Future, Part II(1989)
andBack to the Future, Part III(1990) were filmed si-
multaneously for separate releases.
The James Bond franchise had been a mainstay of
the film sequel business since the 1960’s, but the
1980’s saw no less than five Bond films released.
Sylvester Stallone, the star of theRockyfranchise,
launched a new series featuring a military hero
named Rambo withFirst Blood(1982).Mad Max, the
1979 Australian movie that introduced Mel Gibson
to American audiences as an ex-policeman in an
apocalyptic future, produced two sequels in the
1980’s:Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior(1981) andMad
Max: Beyond Thunderdome(1985).
Gibson would also co-star with Danny Glover in
the buddy cop movieLethal Weapon(1987), which
also became a franchise.Die Hard(1988) launched a
franchise starring Bruce Willis as a dogged New York
detective with a knack for fighting terrorists. Clint
Eastwood continued hisDirty Harr ydetective series
with sequels into the 1980’s.Beverly Hills Cop(1984),
starring Eddie Murphy, was also successful enough
to demand sequels. Police action sequels vied with
the fantasy and science-fiction sequels that launched
the trend.
Some movies of the 1980’s inspired only a single
sequel, such as the outdoor adventureMan from
Snowy River(1982), as well as relatively low-budget
comedies includingAirplane!(1980),Arthur(1981),
Look Who’s Talking(1989),Porky’s(1982),Revenge of
the Nerds(1984), andCrocodile Dundee(1986). There
was even a musical sequel,Grease 2(1982).
Sequels differ from earlier movie series, which
ranged from B-Westerns to mysteries and comedies
featuring the same actor or actors, but had plots un-
related from one picture to another. While some
movies in series like the Andy Hardy and Thin Man
series could be considered sequels in that the char-
acters grow and change from film to film, such oth-
ers as the Charlie Chan and Bowery Boys series, as
well as innumerable Westerns of earlier decades,
simply told individual stories featuring the same
characters. In this, they resembled television series
of the 1950’s through 1970’s, although in the 1980’s
some series began to feature significant character
development over the course of the show.Impact During the 1980’s, Hollywood became de-
fined by the drive to make a few blockbusters (large-
budget films with extreme profits), rather than a
greater number of cheaper, more modestly success-
ful films. As a result, studios’ interest in high-concept
stories (that is, stories that could be easily under-
stood and exhaustively summarized in one sentence)
increased dramatically. High-concept films were the
easiest to market to a mass audience, and there was
no higher concept than “the sequel toRaiders of the
Lost Ark,” for example. At the same time, blockbust-
ers often featured fantastic worlds portrayed by spe-
cial effects. It was easier to mimic the overall look
and feel of an earlier film and invest in more impres-
sive effects than it was to create entirely new art, set,The Eighties in America Sequels 865