Yearly Roundup – 1986
Posted by martinteller on September 4, 2012
The Cream of the Crop
The only top 100 entry I have for this year is Blue Velvet. But it’s a film that’s been really important to me ever since I first saw it on VHS late in my high school days. I wasn’t entirely a stranger to offbeat cinema but it was one of the first ones to really grab hold of me and not let go. Sometimes I watch it and see flaws, but always it maintains that certain magic.
There’s also a pair of excellent documentaries in 1986, both of which I saw for the first time last year. Sherman’s March is one you see mentioned from time to time, and it’s deserving of the attention. Ross McElwee’s personal and historical travelogue is truly original. Less well-known and less offbeat, but equally engaging: Partisans of Vilna, the saga of Lithuanian Jews in WWII who tried to fight back.
Slightly Less Creamy, But Still Tasty
A varied grab bag of stuff here. Mona Lisa is excellent, moody thriller with terrific performances. My favorite in Criterion’s Gorin set is Routine Pleasures, a quirky look at model train fanatics. Hannah and Her Sisters remains one of my favorites by Woody Allen. The second part of Axel Corti’s epic “Where To and Back” trilogy, Santa Fe, is the best of the three (though it’s worth watching the entire series). And a movie I’d really like to see again, Mauvais Sang, is wonderful and free-spirited and has one of the most memorable scenes I’ve ever witnessed.
Varying Degrees of Like
Aliens
El amor brujo
Dust in the Wind
The Green Ray
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring
Jimi Plays Monterey
Matador
The Mosquito Coast
The Name of the Rose
Platoon
River’s Edge
Shadows in Paradise
Sid and Nancy
The Terrorizers
Welcome in Vienna
When the Wind Blows
Varying Degrees of Hate
The Best of Times
Crocodile Dundee
Police Academy 3
Soul Man
Vamp
Some Notable Films In The Middle
April Fool’s Day
Back to School
A Better Tomorrow
Big Trouble in Little China
Castle in the Sky
Down By Law
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The Fly
The Golden Child
Gothic
Gung Ho
Little Shop of Horrors
Lucas
Manhunter
Pretty in Pink
Reform School Girls
Running Scared
Ruthless People
The Sacrifice
She’s Gotta Have It
Something Wild
Stand By Me
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
True Stories
Uncharted Territory
An American Tail, Betty Blue, Caravaggio, Cobra, The Color of Money, Flight of the Navigator, From Beyond, Genesis, Ginger and Fred, Highlander, The Hitcher, Home of the Brave, Hoosiers, The Horse Thief, Kin-Dza-Dza, Labyrinth, Landscape Suicide, The Mission, Peggy Sue Got Married, Peking Opera Blues, Salvador, Short Circuit, Sunday in the Park With George, Three Amigos, Top Gun
JamDenTel said
Kin-Dza-Dza sounds like a blast. I really want to check it out.
martinteller said
Yeah that one has a high PSI for me on Criticker.
Steve Kimes said
Two real favorites of mine that you haven’t seen are The Mission and Sunday in the Park with George. The latter is really just a filmed staged musical, but it a great musical. The former is always in my top five and a very personal film for me. But it is also beautiful, full of great performances, and a great historic meditation on the complexities of religion.
martinteller said
Both are ones I hope to get to eventually, although they aren’t yet high-priority for me. I did start watching The Mission once but wasn’t into it at the time. That was quite a while ago.