Sign up to get updates from us
Based on the true story of rebellious DJ Adrian Cronauer in 1965 Saigon, "Good Morning Vietnam" became a breakout dramatic role for Robin Williams, earning him his first Oscar nod. Join Tim Williams, Nicholas Pepin, and Chad Sheppard as they discuss this iconic 80s movie.
This Academy Award-winning 80s Flick is a captivating, emotionally charged drama that beautifully captures the complexities of love, aging, and family. Set in the tranquil, golden hues of a New England lake, the film brings together screen legends Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn in a final, unforgettable collaboration. Fonda portrays Norman Thayer, a witty but grumpy elderly man facing the challenges of growing older, while Hepburn shines as his vibrant and supportive wife, Ethel. When the…
In the '80s and '90s, emotional sports dramas hit their peak with films like The Natural, Field of Dreams, and Rudy. One standout from the '80s is Hoosiers (1986), which follows Norman Dale, a disgraced middle-aged coach given a second chance at redemption in the small town of Hickory, Indiana. Set in 1951, the film explores how the tight-knit community and its strong opinions about basketball strategy shape Dale's journey. Join Tim Williams and guest co-hosts JB Huffman …
In 1989, Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything became an iconic 80s romance that captured the awkwardness and sweetness of young love. The story follows Lloyd Dobler, a charming high school grad unsure of his future but knows he wants Diane Court, the smart yet emotionally distant valedictorian. This isn’t your typical romance—Lloyd isn’t the usual leading man, and Diane isn’t the stereotypical love interest. Instead, the film subverts expectations to deliver a heartfelt, unconventional love story th…
In the early ’70s, films like The Omega Man, Soylent Green, and THX-1138 painted a bleak future of chaos and government control. By 1981, the tone had shifted, with films like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Clash of the Titans offering escapism and classic good vs. evil battles. But then came this 80s flick, set in a dystopian 1997 where Manhattan is a prison island. The hero, a morally gray anti-hero on a mission to rescue the President, must navigate a world full of shady characters and allia…
In the mid-1980s, few films targeted young adults, and studios were still figuring out how to connect with the emerging Generation X. Enter St. Elmo's Fire—a quintessential 80s flick that featured a star-studded cast of rising talent: Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Mare Winningham, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Demi Moore. Centered around a group of recent Georgetown grads navigating the post-college world, the film perfectly captured the spirit of the Reagan era. It resonat…
Rediscover a hidden gem of the 80s! While "Six Pack" (1982) may not be a blockbuster, it holds a special place in the cultural memory of many who grew up in that era. This forgotten flick, perhaps where some first learned about love, life, and the charm of Kenny Rogers, offers a unique blend of humor and drama.
Join us as we delve into the seemingly absurd, yet utterly charming, premise: a washed-up race car driver finds a second chance when he encounters a group of orphane…
Ever wondered what happens when real-life events inspire Hollywood action? Step into 1986, a time when high-octane, patriotic thrillers ruled the big screen. In this 80s action flick, we witness an elite military team led by none other than Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin, taking on a hijacking crisis with rocket-powered bravery and martial arts skill. Based loosely on actual events, this film blended explosive action with a tension-filled storyline that may not have broken box office records, b…
To the children of the ’80s, the only thing cooler than the idea of space camp is the idea behind this forgotten 80’s flick, in which Lea Thompson, Joaquin Phoenix, and their fellow teen team members must figure out how to land an actual space shuttle after a freak accident at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center launches them into outer space. It could have been one of the biggest movies of 1986, but then tragedy happened. When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in January of 86, so did the film’…
Before writer-director Philip Kaufman brought Tom Wolfe's best-selling book to the big screen in 1983, astronauts in movies were often just alien hunters or asteroid chasers. But under Kaufman's direction, spaceflight became a deeply human endeavor, focusing on inner strength rather than external threats. This 80s flick, which runs for over three hours and features an unconventional structure, tells the story of test pilots like Chuck Yeager and Gordon Cooper as they break the soun…
In the early 1980s, baseball films were scarce until Barry Levinson’s 1984 Oscar-nominated gem revitalized the genre, inspiring over 18 baseball-themed movies in the following decade. While initially seeming like a typical sports biopic, this film, "The Natural," unfolds into a profound American fable and crowd-pleasing tale. Following Roy Hobbs, a gifted player whose career is cut short, the story sees him resurface years later as an aging outfielder for the New York Knights. Arme…
In this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast, Tim Williams, along with guest co-hosts Bethany Wells and JB Huffman, dives into the 1984 dance classic "Footloose." Inspired by true events, the film takes us to a small Utah town where dancing is banned and the spirit of youth is barely a whisper. Enter Ren McCormack, a rebellious teen from Chicago, who moves to town and shakes things up by challenging this archaic law. As Ren fights for change, he wins over allies and ignites a…
In this special bonus episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast, Tim Williams teams up with guest co-host Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast to revisit the 1982 Oscar-nominated courtroom drama, “The Verdict.” The film stars Frank Galvin, a down-and-out lawyer in Boston who stumbles upon a chance for redemption with a medical malpractice case involving a comatose woman. As Galvin delves deeper, he uncovers a web of deceit and corruption within the legal system. Facing im…
This 80’s flick explores the complex terrain of friendships, aspirations, and the struggle to find one's own identity outside of the classroom. The story takes place at an all-boys preparatory school in the 1950s, where tradi...
Since its release this 80’s flick is still considered by many to be one of the best war movies ever made. The director — who himself was wounded twice while serving with the US Army in Vietnam — famously put his cast through ...
The 80s is often seen as the defining era of “the teen movie”. While “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” might have garnered all of the attention, it was this 80s flick that took the “teen movie” from raunchy ...
Famed movie critic Roger Ebert said that this 80’s flick was the best movie about love that he’d seen in a long time. His original reviews states “Maybe that's because it's not about ‘love’ as a Hollywood concept, but about l...
If you’re a fan of eighties action movies, you should know The Cannon Group. Run by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, in the eighties they cranked out a slew of low-budget action movies, most of which were hated...
Little Orphan Annie has been a part of American pop culture for nearly a century now—first as a comic strip which made its debut in the summer of 1924, then as a popular radio show in the 1930s, which spun off into a couple o...
1930. Prohibition has transformed Chicago into a City at War. Rival gangs compete for control of the city’s billion dollar empire of illegal alcohol, enforcing their will with the hand grenade and the tommy gun. It is the tim...
Taking aim squarely at the popular theme of the working man’s struggle against the in- equities in the system, this forgotten 80’s flicks tells the story of a mystery rebel in New York City whose popularity reaches almost myt...
Based loosely on David Morrell's 1972 novel of the same name, this 80’s flick was the first of a decades long franchise. Unlike the following sequels which were war adventure films set in foreign countries, this was a post-Vi...
No one was overly surprised when this 80’s flick dominated the 1989 Academy Award ceremony. It featured one of America's biggest movie stars showing a little gravitas as a self-absorbed hustler who learns the importance of fa...
Undeniably, the best of the mini-cycle of body-swap comedies from the late eighties, this is the flick that revealed that Tom Hanks was capable of much more than just one-dimensional idiotic comedic roles. His transformation into the floppy walk and wide-eyed enthusiasm of a 13-year-old boy is a masterclass in physical acting. It also proved that Penny Marshall was a bona fide blockbuster movie director and not just the tough-talking and boy-crazy Laverne De Fazio on TV's “Laverne &…