Tagged: 1980s
Paris, Texas: Travis Borrows a Cream Suit
Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas (1984)
Vitals
Harry Dean Stanton as Travis Henderson, once-wandering drifter
Los Angeles, Fall 1983
Film: Paris, Texas
Release Date: September 19, 1984
Director: Wim Wenders
Costume Designer: Birgitta Bjerke
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Exactly four months after its Palme d’Or-winning debut at the 37th Cannes Film Festival, Paris, Texas was officially released in France forty years ago today on September 19, 1984.
Directed by Wim Wenders, this reflective film provided a rare leading role for stalwart character actor Harry Dean Stanton, who portrayed the lost Travis Henderson, who attempts to reconnect with his family after four years of aimless wandering, following the dissolution of his increasingly troubled relationship with his estranged wife.
Travis’ brother Walt (Dean Stockwell)—who had been raising Travis’ young son Hunter (Hunter Carson)—brought a disconnected Travis back from the west Texas desert to Los Angeles, where he confronts his own past and works on rebuilding a relationship with his son as part of his profound desire for redemption. Continue reading
Miami Vice: Sonny Crockett’s Peach Linen Jacket in the Pilot Episode
Don Johnson as Detective Sonny Crockett on Miami Vice (Episode 1.01: “Brother’s Keeper”)
Vitals
Don Johnson as James “Sonny” Crockett, smooth Miami-Dade vice detective
Miami, Spring 1984
Series: Miami Vice
Episode: “Brother’s Keeper” (Episode 1.01)
Air Date: September 16, 1984
Director: Thomas Carter
Creator: Anthony Yerkovich
Costume Designer: Jodie Lynn Tillen
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Miami Vice premiered 40 years ago tonight on Sunday, September 16, 1984 when NBC aired the feature-length pilot “Brother’s Keeper” at 9:00 p.m., introducing audiences to stylish Metro-Dade Police Department detectives Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas). The two-part episode established the show’s signature pop-scored blend of fashion and fast action, set against the sun-bleached days and neon nights of Magic City. Continue reading
Breathless: Richard Gere’s Rockabilly Shirt and Plaid Trousers
Richard Gere in Breathless (1983)
Vitals
Richard Gere as Jesse Lujack, swaggering drifter
Los Angeles, Summer 1982
Film: Breathless
Release Date: May 13, 1983
Director: Jim McBride
Costume Designer: J. Allen Highfill
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy 75th birthday to Richard Gere! To celebrate this prolific actor’s August 31, 1949, today’s post looks at one of my unexpectedly favorite performances from the prolific actor.
Jim McBride’s 1983 remake of Breathless flips the nationalities of the French crook and his American girlfriend in the 1960 French New Wave classic, starring Gere as the cocky ne’er-do-well Jesse Lujack who shacks up with Monica Poiccard (Valérie Kaprisky), a French UCLA student he had met once during a weekend trip to Las Vegas. Continue reading
Sam Elliott’s Black Clothes in Road House
Sam Elliott in Road House (1989)
Vitals
Sam Elliott as Wade Garrett, reliable bouncer
Jasper, Missouri, Spring 1988
Film: Road House
Release Date: May 19, 1989
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Costume Designer: Marilyn Vance
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today is the 80th birthday of Sam Elliott, the prolific actor who has brought his commanding voice and distinguished mustache to a variety of roles from his breakthrough performance in Lifeguard (1976) to hits like Mask (1985), Tombstone (1993), The Big Lebowski (1998), and A Star is Born (2018), to name just a few.
The first time I saw Road House, I was surprised to see that Elliott had shaved his signature soup-strainer to portray Wade Garrett, the tough and trusted bouncer that professional cooler Dalton (Patrick Swayze) calls to the small town of Jasper, Missouri, where local crime boss Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara) is making his task of taming the Double Deuce more of a challenge than he hoped. Continue reading
Al Pacino in Scarface: Tony Montana’s Red Tiger-Print Shirt
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983)
Vitals
Al Pacino as Tony Montana, fearless dishwasher-turned-drug courier
Miami Beach, Spring 1981
Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
As this hot summer stretches into the first “Aloha Friday” of August, let’s flashback to the ’80s and Al Pacino’s explosive performance in Brian De Palma’s crime classic Scarface. The film was actually a remake of a 1932 gangster classic of the same name, which had been adapted from Armitage Trail’s contemporary novel… and which itself was loosely inspired by the infamous Al Capone. Oliver Stone’s screenplay updated the story for the ’80s by conceptualizing Pacino’s criminal protagonist Tony Montana as one of the approximately 125,000 Cuban refugees who arrived in Miami during the 1980 Mariel boatlift.
Failing to envision his low-wage dishwashing job as a step on the path toward money and power, Tony enlists his charismatic comrade Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer) to take a job by the hotheaded Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham) to broker a cocaine deal at the oceanside Sunray Motel in Miami Beach. Continue reading
From Pinstripes to Plaid: Travis Henderson’s Transformation in Paris, Texas
Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas (1984)
Vitals
Harry Dean Stanton as Travis Henderson, wandering drifter
West Texas to Los Angeles, Fall 1983
Film: Paris, Texas
Release Date: September 19, 1984
Director: Wim Wenders
Costume Designer: Birgitta Bjerke
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Wim Wenders’ masterpiece Paris, Texas debuted during 40 years ago today on May 19, 1984 during the 37th Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Palme d’Or among other accolades. The film arrived at theaters exactly four months later and would continue to garner critical acclaim including a BAFTA win for Wenders’ direction.
Co-written by Sam Shepard and L.M. Kit Carson, Paris, Texas presents a rare starring role for stalwart character actor Harry Dean Stanton—one of my personal favorites—who had been well-regarded for his performances in Cool Hand Luke (1967), Dillinger (1973), Alien (1979), Escape from New York (1981), and Christine (1983) before Shepard tapped the nearly 60-year-old actor for the leading role of the lost Travis Henderson.
Road House: Patrick Swayze’s ’80s Suede Jacket and Jeans
Patrick Swayze as Dalton in Road House (1989)
Vitals
Patrick Swayze as James Dalton, professional bouncer
Jasper, Missouri, Spring 1988
Film: Road House
Release Date: May 19, 1989
Director: Rowdy Herrington
Costume Designer: Marilyn Vance
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
The recent announcement of a sequel green-lit for the 2024 remake of Road House came just in time to celebrate the anniversary of the original, released 35 years ago this week on May 19, 1989. Patrick Swayze famously starred as Dalton, a New York City cooler who has mastered a zen-like approach to his work to overcome being haunted by having ripped a guy’s throat out several years earlier. Continue reading
Mystery Train: Masatoshi Nagase’s Rockabilly Style as Jun
Masatoshi Nagase as Jun in Mystery Train (1989)
Vitals
Masatoshi Nagase as Jun, taciturn tourist and rockabilly fan
Memphis, Tennessee, Summer 1988
Film: Mystery Train
Release Date: November 17, 1989
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Costume Designer: Carol Wood
Background
Jim Jarmusch’s triptych anthology Mystery Train debuted 35 years ago this month during the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.
Taking its title from the Junior Parker song later covered by Elvis Presley, Mystery Train follows three narratives that overlap over a long night at a rundown Memphis motel overseen by a night clerk played by blues legend Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and all incorporate elements related to Elvis, whether it’s his music (specifically his early recording of “Blue Moon”), his name, or even his ghostly apparition to one of the Arcade Hotel’s guests.
The first segment, “Far from Yokohama”, centers around a young Japanese couple whose pilgrimage to the city includes a breakneck tour of Sun Studios and plans to visit Graceland. The charming Mitsuko (Youki Kudoh) is devoted to Elvis and even maintains a scrapbook chronicling her fandom for the singer she refers to as “still the King” while the more aloof Jun (Masatoshi Nagase) declares a broader appreciation for rockabilly—preferring Carl Perkins to Presley.
“King…”
Tough Guys Don’t Dance: Ryan O’Neal in Denim
Ryan O’Neal in Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1987)
Vitals
Ryan O’Neal as Tim Madden, ex-convict and aspiring writer prone to blackouts
Cape Cod, Fall 1986
Film: Tough Guys Don’t Dance
Release Date: September 18, 1987
Director: Norman Mailer
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God, oh man! Oh God…!
While some recognize Ryan O’Neal from 1970s classics like Love Story, Paper Moon, and Barry Lyndon and others know him for his supporting role on Bones, the above poetry has immortalized the actor’s performance from the baffling 1987 neo-noir Tough Guys Don’t Dance, adapted and directed by Norman Mailer from his own novel of the same name.
Today is the first anniversary of O’Neal’s April 20, 1941 birthday since his death in December 2023 at the age of 82. Continue reading
Mad Max
Mel Gibson in Mad Max (1979)
Vitals
Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, taciturn Main Force Patrol officer-turned-vigilante
Victoria, Australia, “A few years from now” (early 1980s)
Film: Mad Max
Release Date: April 12, 1979
Director: George Miller
Costume Designer: Clare Griffin
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Mad Max, George Miller’s dystopian action thriller set in Australia, celebrates its 45th anniversary today. This film marked the beginning of a series that would include three sequels throughout the ’80s, revived with the highly acclaimed Mad Mad: Fury Road in 2015.
Before the sequels’ increasingly elaborate productions, the original Mad Max was a relatively straightforward road movie-meets-Western. It was made on a modest budget of A$400,000, shot guerrilla-style in the Melbourne area through the last months of 1977. Although met with mixed reviews upon its release in April 1979, Mad Max went on to shatter box office records, grossing over $100 million worldwide. Its success not only opened up the global market for Australian cinema but also catapulted the 23-year-old Mel Gibson to stardom for his portrayal of the titular Max Rockatansky. Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.