1982: THE SUMMER OF MOVIES

“THEY’RE HEEEEEERE.” Turn off the Commodore 64 and turn up “Eye of the Tiger” as 1982, the greatest summer of films, returns for one week only at the Aero Theatre and Los Feliz 3.

40 years ago, George Miller’s THE ROAD WARRIOR and Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER showed us divergent glimpses of a dystopian future, with cities flooded with rain and deserts ruled by gasoline, while TRON showed us the future of computer-generated filmmaking. Khan jumped to the big screen for STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, with Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer rescuing the franchise so that Kirk and Spock could once again rescue the universe.  John Carpenter’s remake of THE THING bombed at the box office and was panned by critics only to become one of the most celebrated and respected horror films of all-time, and Paul Schrader’s CAT PEOPLE retold Tourneur’s flick with a sensual and violent adult twist. Jason Voorhees returned for yet another summer killing spree in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III, and dark comedies likewise made a comeback with Ron Howard’s morgue-set NIGHT SHIFT and Carl Reiner’s noir inspired DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID. Fantasy ruled the summer of 1982 as well, with John Milius bringing CONAN THE BARBARIAN to life with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Don Coscarelli’s THE BEASTMASTER hitting the box office long before it became a staple at the Home Box Office for years.

Kids joined in on the 1982 fun with not only E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL but also Don Bluth’s dark, animated adaptation of the classic children’s book, THE SECRET OF NIMH and the Rankin and Bass big screen adventure THE LAST UNICORN. Meanwhile, music rang through the summer months with the sunshine happiness of Annie and Daddy Warbucks in ANNIE and the dark gloom of PINK FLOYD – THE WALL (Mother, should I build the wall?). Before Michelle Pfeiffer starred in BATMAN RETURNS, she followed up the classic GREASE with an arguably better musical, GREASE 2. Music legend Dolly Parton teamed up with Burt Reynolds for a story set in a whorehouse (THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS), while Tobe Hooper’s POLTERGEIST showed us a haunted house unlike any seen before. Both Amy Heckerling’s FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and the sex comedy THE LAST AMERICAN VIRGIN broke new ground pushing the boundaries of what could be shown onscreen, during their journeys to cult status. And finally, ROCKY III took home the box office prizes while debuting the quintessential 80’s icons, MR. T and Hulk Hogan.

Screenings include the premieres of exclusive clips from the upcoming documentary, 1982: GREATEST GEEK YEAR EVER!, courtesy of producers Mark A. Altman, Roger Lay, Jr., Scott Mantz & Thomas P. Vitale.

Co-presented by Beyond Fest