“The Outsiders” isn’t the first (or second or third) title that usually comes to mind when the subject of films directed by Francis Ford Coppola is mentioned.
Everything Coppola has made that isn’t “The Godfather,” “The Godfather Part II” or “Apocalypse Now“ will find little space left in a limelight shared with those giants.
“The Outsiders,” though, is a worthy entry in Coppola’s catalog. It bears his one-of-a-kind visual style, albeit in a film markedly smaller than his 1970s masterpieces. The same could be said of “Rumble Fish,” which Coppola filmed back-to-back with “The Outsiders” and which featured much of the same cast and crew. Both films were based on novels by S.E. Hinton.
The Tony®-winning musical The Outsiders will be presented Dec. 27-Jan. 4 in Morsani Hall. For tickets and more information, click here.
The 1980s saw studios focusing on blockbusters, which took away dollars and attention from any film not expected to set box-office records.
However, the concurrent rise in home video sales as well as premium cable channels such as HBO forged a new trail that brought independent, foreign and arthouse films – as well as movies the major studios hung out to dry – to viewers, minus the movie theater.
A lot of the best underrated 1980s movies found their audiences this way.“E.T.,” “Back to the Future” and “Top Gun” may be the most familiar film titles of that decade, but much was going on just a bit outside the spotlight.
If you haven’t seen these, see them. If you have, tell someone who hasn’t:
- “The Dead Zone” (1983) – Christopher Walken is outstanding as a man with second sight in David Cronenberg’s taut thriller, based on Stephen King’s third novel. Martin Sheen plays the worst presidential candidate ever.
- “Barbarosa” (1982) – Willie Nelson plays the title character, a Texas outlaw on the run from the law (and his in-laws) who begrudgingly takes farm boy Gary Busey under his wing. It’s an unconventional and often quite funny buddy-Western featuring excellent performances from Busey and Nelson.
- “My Favorite Year” (1982) – Benjy Stone, a young writer for an early 1950s TV variety show is charged with babysitting the show’s guest, a past-his-prime movie star more interested in drinking and carousing than performing. As the guest, Peter O’Toole is a wonder of old-school charm, swashbuckling his way through drunken escapades as Benjy (Mark Linn-Baker) tries to keep up. A funny and ultimately sweet film based on Mel Brooks’ experiences as a young comedy writer.
- “Repo Man” (1984) – Alex Cox directed this sci-fi punk tale of car repossession and radioactive aliens. Emilio Estevez is spot-on as a suburban punk being mentored by veteran repo man Harry Dean Stanton. “Repo Man” is a fount of quotable lines, many if not most of which are definitely NSFW.
- “Night Shift” (1982) – Ron Howard directed and Henry Winkler starred, but “Night Shift” is a long way from “Happy Days.” Winkler plays a put-upon city morgue employee on the night shift. He and his new co-worker, a manic Michael Keaton in his first starring role, start an escort service run from the morgue. Pre-“Cheers” Shelley Long plays a prostitute who becomes a love interest. Keaton steals the show with his portrayal of Winkler’s brashly confident if brainless co-worker.
- “One From the Heart” (1981) – This is the film that almost sealed Coppola’s fate, a huge and very expensive flop that was roasted by critics, ignored by moviegoers and drained Coppola’s coffers. It’s about an unhappy couple who spend an evening apart in Las Vegas, and how that affects their relationship. It’s an audacious production for sure, but it has more heart and soul than most critics gave it credit for. Plus, the soundtrack is amazing. Written by Tom Waits, it features the gravel-voiced singer duetting with country songbird Crystal Gayle to great effect.