Readers’ survey for top films in a year of the Oscars

Press, 19 December 1985, Page 12

Readers’ survey for top films in a year of the Oscars

Possibly, 1985 will be remembered as a year in which a number of American Academy Award winners were actually among the top films.

All quite different, yet excellent in their own way, “Amadeus,” “The Killing Fields” and “A Passage to India” certainly stand out among the year’s best; with close contenders, like “Places in the Heart” and “A Soldier’s Story,” also deserving a mention. These certainly were far more memorable than “Terms of Endearment,” 1984’s top Oscar winner, which has already faded from most people’s memories.

The year offered no major surprises, such as the French film, “Diva,” which was voted the top film for 1984 in this column’s readers’ survey. The closest to come to it would have been the offbeat American comedy, “Desperately Seeking Susan,” starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna. Although reminiscent of “Diva” in its story of mistaken identity, counter-cul-ture lifestyles and surprise twists, “Susan” was a breath of fresh air from new, female American filmmakers.

This year’s offering of European films was small but generally first-rate. Italy’s Ettore Scola gave us two French productions, “La Nuit de Varennes” arid “Le Bal,” both of which were excellent; while Fassbinder’s “Lili Marleen” was basically a high-camp curiosity.

European directors also made two of the year’s best films in the United States: Wim Wenders gave his version of an American road film in “Paris, Texas;” and Segio Leone made the ultimate gangster film

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“Once Upon a Time in America.” Francis Coppola added his 1920 s ■ mobster movie, “The Cotton Club,” which was also liberally sprinkled with tap dance and jazz. Other noteworthy American dramas included Harrison Ford meeting the Amiah in “Witness;" disaffected youth in “The Falcon and the Snowman" and “Birdy,” and this year’s wettest weepy, “Mask.” Two exercises in eroticism, “Body Double” and “Crimes of Passion,” were also good fun.

Lawrence Kasdan, who gave us one of last year’s major successes, “The Big Chill,” wrote and directed a yuppie western, “Silverado,” this year. Closer to the true western tradition was Clint Eastwood in “Pale Rider.”

The New Zealand film industry gave us four diverse features showing greater maturity and professionalism: “Other Halves,” about an Auckland street kid’s affair with an older pakeha woman; “Heart of the Stag” gave a rather awkward look at, but no insight into incest; “Came a Hot Friday” was a rollicking 1940 s comedy; and “Vigil” was a brooding, Bergmanesque view of farm life through the eyes of a girl reaching womanhood. The only notable Australian film this year was “Careful He Might Hear You,” which touchingly told

of the fight by two sisterrs for custody of a boy.

Children’s fantasy was well served with “The Never Ending Story,” and “Santa Claus: The Movie,” which is now showing. Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemekis added “Back to the Future,” which deservedly, is one of the year’s longestrunning films. Speilberg and Richard Donner also gave us “The Goonies’” for these Christmas holidays. Among the science-fiction films, “The Terminator,” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, was my favourite. Other sci-fi and horrow movies included *2010,” “Dune,” “Buckaroo Bonzai,” “Starman,” “The Last Starfighter,” “The Philadelphia Experiment,” “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Living Dead,” “Children of the Com,” and the comedies, “The Return of the Living Dead,” “Bloodbath at the House of Death” and “Morons From Outer Space.” Most of these were highly forgettable. Other comedies included the brilliant “Brazil,” Peter de Vries’s “Reuben, Reuben,” Eddie Murphy’s “Beverley Hills Cop” and Woody Alien’s “Zelfg.” On the juvenile side, there were “Bachelor Party,” “Police Academy 2,” “Top Secret” and “Revenge of the Nerds.”

Light juvenile dramas, such as “The Breakfast Club” and “St Elmo’s Fire,” are now also included among the films specifically being made for the teenage market. ’

RReagan’s bait-the-red-herring policy is becoming ever more evident in such kick-the-Commie movies as Sylvester Stallone’s “Rambo: First Blood,” and Chuck Norris’s “Missing in Action,” both about going back into Vietnam to rescue

prisoners of war. “Red Dawn” was similar political escapist nonsense. As in past years, I would like to conduct another bestfilms survey with the cooperation of .readers. \ In order to compile a list of the Top 10 (or most popular) films of 1985, 1 am again asking readers to submit their own lists of favourite films for the year. If possible, name your Top 10 in order, but if you can think of only three, or any number in any order, please let me have those. All contributions will help put together a comprehensive review of the year just ending. ’ I would also appreciate any personal comments about individual movies, and any quotes which I Eiblish in this column durg the next few weeks will earn their writers a free double pass ticket to any cinema of their choice in Christchurch.

When submitting your films — including ones not mentioned above — please name only those that had their first regular screening at a city cinema during 1985, omitting films which were shown only at festivals.

Several films may still be released before the end of December, including “Rocky IV,” “World Safari 2” “Cocoon’.’ and “Lifeforce.” How these will affect the outcome of this survey remains to be seen.

Please send your contribution to: Hans Petrovic, At The Cinema, “The Press,” Christchurch, P.O. Box 1005. Entries will close on Tuesday, January 7, and the results will be published the. following'Thursday.- (This is not a competition although cinema tickets will be awarded to writers of letters quoted in this column.)