Watch With Us loves the movies of the 1980s — from teen classics like Sixteen Candles to iconic action-thrill rides like The Terminator, it’s undeniable that the ’80s were a great year for cinema.
We love returning to this decade time and time again, and we put together a list of three ’80s movies he can’t help but revisit.
Our first pick is Paris, Texas, an epic, arthouse road drama starring Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski that will rip your heart out.
We also highlight Dead Poets Society if you’re looking for the perfect feel-good watch.
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‘Paris, Texas’ (1984) — HBO Max
Emerging from the West Texas desert is an unkempt man named Travis Henderson (Dean Stanton), who appears to be unable to speak. When he’s found after fainting in a convenience store, a doctor phones his estranged brother Walt (Dean Stockwell), who awkwardly reunites with the sibling who had been missing for four years. Things only become stranger when Travis is reunited with his young son, Hunter (Hunter Carson), and together they embark on a road trip to find Travis’ wife, Hunter’s mother, Jane (Nastassja Kinski).
Profound, melancholic and visually stunning, Paris, Texas reigns as an enduring cult classic. The film thoughtfully explores themes about loneliness, love and redemption, expressed with deep emotional nuance through Stanton’s haunting performance as Travis. Cinematographer Robby Müller captures a neon-drenched urban Americana and the expansive desert that surrounds it, using shades of red and blue to evoke the characters’ emotional states.
‘Dead Poets Society’ (1989) — Hulu
English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) begins work at the prestigious Welton Academy, an all-boys prep school that is iconic for its long-standing traditions and rigorous standards. While a Welton alumnus himself, Keating utilizes unorthodox methods to teach his students, encouraging them to “seize the day” and live life to the fullest in spite of the overbearing pressures they face from the school and their parents. Together, a group of students, including Neil Perry (Robert Sean Leonard) and Todd Anderson (Ethan Hawke), take Keating’s teachings to heart as they learn to embrace their individualism.
Dead Poets Society is a feel-good classic, led by a scene-stealing turn by Williams. The movie’s final “O Captain! My Captain!” scene is iconic, but if that’s the only part of the film you’re familiar with, then you need to get to educating yourself. Dead Poets Society is a moving coming-of-age story about discovering your true sense of self and learning to challenge rigid institutions of authority. At the end of the day, the film is a heartwarming, mainstream movie-making at its very best.
‘Manhunter’ (1986) — Prime Video
Based on Thomas Harris’ novel Red Dragon, of the same universe as The Silence of the Lambs, Manhunter precedes the story of Clarice Starling and Buffalo Bill by focusing on FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (William Petersen) and his hunt for the elusive “Tooth Fairy” killer, Francis Dollarhyde (Tom Noonan). Called out of early retirement, Graham enlists the help of notorious, convicted serial killer and cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Brian Cox) to better understand the way Dollarhyde thinks. Soon, Graham finds himself in a twisted game with Dollarhyde, Lecter and a nosy reporter named Freddy Lounds (Stephen Lang).
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Years before Hannibal made the character of Will Graham a beloved television icon through his portrayal by Hugh Dancy (and five years before Anthony Hopkins would prove to be a more memorable Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs), the characters of Red Dragon were first put to the silver screen in Michael Mann‘s seminal neo-noir. Incredibly stylized and superbly acted, Manhunter is probably the most underrated gem of the Hannibal Lecter-verse, yet it’s easily one of the best, with its unique synth soundtrack, moody atmosphere and strong psychological thrills.
