Best of the 1980's

One of the most perfectly complete movies ever made.

The King of B-movies and Spielberg's greatest achievement. It's no surprise that this was brought together by both Spielberg and George Lucas, two of the greatest director/writers ever. It doesn't hurt that Harrison Ford is perfect as Indiana Jones either.

UPDATE - After watching the original cut on a whim, all I have to say is...wow. Ford's VO is so obnoxious and stupid it ruins such a beautiful film. Thank God for the Final Cut.

The Sci-Fi genre is easily one of my favorite genres to watch. These movies usually offer one of two things: either a completely different world in which the director immerses the audience into full of wonder and excitement, or a futuristic look at the way our world is progressing and different possibilities of how certain aspects of society, if not all of mankind, could turn out to be. These type of social commentaries are always interesting to watch and give the audience an insight into the world of ethics. Blade Runner is one such movie.

Genius minds like Fritz Lang, George Lucas, Stanley Kubrick, and Ridley Scott have all contributed immensely to the Sci-Fi genre. Scott first made his impact with a little film called Alien. All throughout the 70's, many filmmakers were trying to bring back the classics that the 50's brought about like Forbidden Planet and The Time Machine, but attempts like Soylent Green and The Omega Man failed commercially and failed at what they were attempting to do. But at the end of the decade, Ridley Scott entered with his sublime masterpiece. How was he to top that after shaking the genre forever? With this of course.

From the get go however, Blade Runner was plagued with way too many production problems. Harrison Ford and Ridley Scott did not get along. Producers were pushing ideas on to the film that made no sense and dumbed the film down. Companies backed out of financing the movie. It seemed like a disaster. Scott did manage to salvage a great movie and managed to polarize critics, whether it was a masterpiece or just another sci-fi piece. And from there everyone knows the stories about the future releases of The Director's Cut and so on. Finally the Final Cut came out in 2007 and Scott's true vision fully realized. But enough about the history. Why is the movie brilliant?

The visuals from Blade Runner, much like 2001, hold up even to this day. They simply blew most people away and had a truly unique view of the future and how globalization will affect us all. The cinematographer knew what he was doing and the dark, surreal atmosphere is the stuff of brilliance.

Harrison Ford gives one of the best performances of his life here as the confused and torn Deckard. Without the stupid VO, he really shows that he has the acting chops to be a serious actor. All the supporting cast were great as well, especially Rutger Hauer who seems like he was born for this role.

The movie keeps up enough ambiguity to have viewers constantly questioning what is real and what is not. The obvious big moral issue is over genetic engineering, or cloning, and the religious and moral debates that ensue over the topic. It's definitely interesting to see these clones have some of the same feelings as real humans and how its unclear whether what our scientists are doing are moral or not. All these issues make Blade Runner as relevant as the day it came out, reinforcing its status as a classic.

I could go on all day about the magnificence of Blade Runner, but most of it has to be viewed for yourself. One of my closest friends watched this once and said it felt generic to him and he didn't see its significance. But I respect his opinion. You are either going to see Blade Runner as one of the best sci-fi movies ever or just another run-of-the-mill movie. If you find it as something special though, you will most likely have the same thought running through your mind: utterly mind-blowing.

The quintessential of all horror movies, this is one of Jack Nicholson's best performances. You'll never see anything like it again, at least in terms of quality, and you'll watch it over and over again. It's just that good.

Let me get this out of the way: Alan Rickman is a total badass. Yes, yes Bruce Willis is badass as well but Rickman's two best character performances are Professor Snape and the one in Die Hard. But besides Rickman and Bruce, this redefined the cop/action movie genre, for better or worse.

I could watch this a thousand times and still not get tired of it. It's a classic for any generation and should be appreciated by all for what it is. I would consider this, along with Raiders and Empire Strikes Back, as Pantheon movies, meaning they are movies that I will never grow tired of, no matter what. When I watch these movies, they bring a mix of nostalgia, joy, thrills, and a sense of wonder. These movies are the reasons why I will always love cinema to the day I die.

Some of the best on-screen deaths ever filmed on camera. From a technical stand point, easily Carpenter's best film, full of creepy ambiance that still has the same impact as it did 25 years. So I guess to sum it up all in one word: Brilliant.

Gilliam's best work to date, creating an often hilarious, but at the same time surprising surreal world. An instant classic.

Thank you Bill Paxton for delivering one of the greatest, most quotable lines ever. The world is forever in your debt.

If the world is destroyed by a giant monster, I vote for Stay Puft the Marshmallow Man to lead the destruction.

"Sallah, I said NO camels! That's FIVE camels; can't you count?"

Really great look at the corrupt NYPD, or more specifically, the Special Investigation Unit. Treat Williams did a surprisingly good job and the rest of the cast was pretty much spot on. Lumet's a great director, and sadly, this is one of his better films that has been overlooked and forgotten.

It's amazing how much I missed the first time I watched this. The visual gags are hilarious and everything Leslie Nielson does will put a smile on your face.

Need to see this again. Wasn't in the best of conditions.

Serious awesomeness. And you can quote me on that.

Maybe the best underwater epic ever?

Instant classic, re-watchable over and over again.