1980s Best Movies

Superman II (1980)

This week, Shat the Movies finally kneels before Zod—and listener Chris Lloyd—by reviewing Superman II (1980), the sequel that gave us Terrence Stamp’s immortal sneer, Margot Kidder’s bathrobe thirst, and Christopher Reeve’s blue-eyed beefcake perfection. This episode dives headfirst into the Donner vs. Lester debate, asks how much ejaculate the...

Haunted Honeymoon (1986)

Radio personalities Larry Abbot (Gene Wilder) and Vickie Pearle (Gilda Radner) are stars of a mystery show. Since they announced their engagement, Larry has been plagued by speech problems and, seeking out an unconventional cure, he returns to his boyhood home, a mansion in the countryside, bringing Vickie along. Larry reunites with numerous family members, including the flamboyant Aunt Kate (Dom DeLuise), but discovers that there are sinister things afoot within the walls of the creepy estate.

Gallipoli (1981)

Archy (Mark Lee) and Frank (Mel Gibson) are two young Australian sprinters who want to join the army to fulfill their sense of duty. Turned down because they are too young, the pair hop a freight train to Perth, where they are allowed to join up. They board a troop ship headed to Cairo and, after training in the shadows of the Great Pyramids, the boys are finally sent to the front line, where their speed makes them candidates for messengers in one of the war’s bloodiest battles.

The Running Man (1987)

In the year 2019, America is a totalitarian state where the favorite television program is “The Running Man” a game show in which prisoners must run to freedom to avoid a brutal death. Having been made a scapegoat by the government, an imprisoned Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has the opportunity to make it back to the outside again by being a contestant on the deadly show, although the twisted host, Damon Killian (Richard Dawson), has no intention of letting him escape.

Star Wars: Episode VI Return of The Jedi (1983)

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) battles horrible Jabba the Hut and cruel Darth Vader to save his comrades in the Rebel Alliance and triumph over the Galactic Empire. Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) reaffirm their love and team with Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), the Ewoks and the androids C-3PO and R2-D2 to aid in the disruption of the Dark Side and the defeat of the evil emperor.

Popeye (1980)

Looking for the father (Ray Walston) who deserted him as a baby, a sailor named Popeye (Robin Williams) journeys to the port town of Sweethaven. Popeye befriends an assortment of eccentrics and falls in love with Olive Oyl (Shelley Duvall), who already has a suitor, the bully Bluto (Paul L. Smith). Popeye also discovers an abandoned baby, Swee’Pea, whom he raises as his own. But when the spurned Bluto kidnaps Olive and the child, Popeye takes action, with the help of his magic spinach.

Summer School (1987)

Apathetic gym teacher Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) is ready to take the summer off in Hawaii, but he’s forced to either teach summer-school English or risk losing his tenure. Now he’s stuck teaching a group of unmotivated students as disappointed to be stuck in school over the summer as he is. But with the help of a friendly history teacher (Kirstie Alley), Shoop is at least learning how to act the part of supportive mentor and perhaps even learning something about himself as well.

The Abyss (1989)

Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio are formerly married petroleum engineers who still have some issues to work out. They are drafted to assist a gung-ho Navy SEAL (Michael Biehn) with a top-secret recovery operation: a nuclear sub has been ambushed and sunk, under mysterious circumstances, in some of the deepest waters on Earth.