1982

The year of the genre picture, most importantly sci/fi but horror and fantasy were well served also. This year is a personal one for me as it was the year I was born. I never got the chance to see any of these films in a theater upon first viewing. Later in my life I was able to see some of them at my college theater or at special event screenings but the first time I saw any of these films was on home video. Yes, video. I am that old. While the viewing experience was limited to my living room, it did not diminish any of the power these films held over me.

The Top Three
Blade Runner, The Thing, E. T. The Extra Terrestrial

 I'll begin with Blade Runner, as no film has consistently been more impressive to me upon subsequent viewings. There's so much going on in the background of every scene that one could spend hours gushing upon the art direction alone. However, what I always come back to is the tragic story of Roy Batty and his struggle for meaning and existence. His final scene is one of the best in cinema and what I feel to be a very poignant moment describing the human condition.

Then there's The Thing. John Carpenter's remake of another one of my favorite films, Howard Hawk's "The Thing From Another World" was for a long time a movie I avoided after my first viewing. The creature effects and gore were unlike anything I had ever scene and I used to dub this as the "grossest movie of all time". However, one Halloween (appropriately enough) I mustered up the courage to see the film again and this time I was able to feel the true fear of the film, which comes not from the hellish special effects but the rampant paranoia entangling every character in a chilling, frost-bitten grip. I've rarely been as unnerved as I was when Wilford Brimely's character calmly requests to come back inside while a noose dangles in the background. It's a small moment in the film but perfectly captures the sense of "we are all doomed" that Carpenter evokes in every scene.

Lastly, E.T. Without question this is the film that I watched the most of any movie from this year, which makes sense as I did not see the others until well into the 90's. While some may dismiss the film as schmaltzy Speilberg, I would counter with the argument that even though E.T. deliberately tries to pull on your heart strings, it does it so well that you cannot help but feel the emotions the film is trying so hard to invoke. That said, if you cannot relate to Elliot's joy as he soars with E.T. across the moon and the John Williams score soars right there with you, then your heart strings must be very rigid indeed.

Best of the Rest
Pink Floyd's The Wall, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, First Blood, 48 Hrs., Poltergeist, Gandhi

The meat of this year is made up of the above films. Each a rousing and spirited entry in its own genre. Music Bio/Doc, Sci/Fi, Fantasy (swords & sorcery), One man vs. an Army, Buddy Cop, Horror and the Historical Epic each have a true representative and that does not happen often. Plus you have a pair of significant firsts with Schwarzenegger in Conan and Eddie Murphy in 48 Hrs.Not to mention, the best of the Star Trek films.

Other Films of Note
The Dark Crystal, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Tootsie, Rocky III, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, The Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn, The Secret of NIMH

Overall, this year is a very special one to me. The amount of unique and interesting niche pictures is far and away the best collection of any one year. One could make the argument that every year is filled with genre films because every film has a certain genre (or two). This would be missing the point that the year 1982 presented an amazingly diverse collection of films from all genres that were equally entertaining, evocative and expressive.