Now Playing: Fletch

Original release May 31, 1985

Fletch

Cast:
Chevy Chase – Irwin Fletcher
Tim Matheson – Alan Stanwyk
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson – Gail Stanwyk
Joe Don Baker – Chief Jerry Karlin
Richard Libertini – Frank Walker
Geena Davis – Larry

Directed by Michael Ritchie
Distributed by Universal
Written by Andrew Bergman (screenplay),
Gregory McDonald (original story)

As an investigative reporter for a newspaper, Fletch writes under the pseudonym 'Jane Doe' and freely changes identities whenever he feels the urge during his hunt for a story. I miss comedies like these where the humor is subtle and not in-your-face slapstick. The story could have been treated very seriously, but the nonchalant, wise-cracking  approach of “life is actually pretty funny and you should stop and laugh at it or you'll go nuts” leaves you willing to follow along. And Chevy Chase was in his hayday when the film was released, having just come off National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983 and Caddyshack in 1980; even now he claims this was his favorite role.

Now Playing: A View to a Kill

Original release May 24, 1985

A View to a Kill

Cast:
Roger Moore – James Bond
Christopher Walken – Max Zorin
Grace Jones – May Day
Tanya Roberts – Stacey Sutton

Directed by John Glen
Distributed by MGM
Written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson (screenplay), Ian Fleming (original story)

The seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as James Bond, this 007 adventure was named after a short story by character creator Ian Fleming but presented an original screenplay. Critics were a little harsh, in particular due to Moore's age, even though the film was a commercial success. Admittedly, Moore probably was a little too old (57 at the time) for handling such an action-oriented character and the movie may have suffered a little because of this. On the other hand, Walken portrays a wonderful villain and Grace Jones is a splendid addition to Bond canon. If I am remembering correctly, this was the first Bond movie I saw in the theaters.

Now Playing: Rambo: First Blood Part II

Original Release May 22, 1985

Rambo: First Blood Part II

Cast:
Sylvester Stallone: John Rambo
Richard Crenna: Colonel Samuel Trautman
Steven Berkoff: Lt. Col. Podovsky
Martin Kove: Ericson

Directed by George P. Cosmatos
Distributed by Sony/Tristar
Written by Sylvester Stallone and James Cameron

I have a confession to make. Before I started this project I have never seen a Rambo movie. But for the sake of being complete, I sat through the first movie so I could watch the second one. I thought it would be important to see how the story progressed as well as gauging how it stands to the test of time. You're welcome.

Now Playing: Brewster's Millions

Original release: May 22, 1985

Brewster's Millions

Cast:
Richard Pryor – Montgomery Brewster
John Candy – Spike Nolan
Lonette McKee – Angela Drake
Stephen Collins – Warren Cox
Hume Cronyn – Rupert Horn

Directed by Walter Hill
Distributed by Universal
Written by Herschel Weingrod (screenplay),
George Barr McCutcheon (original story)

Montgomery Brewster is passionate about baseball. But the team he pitches for is going nowhere and, after a bar fight, even they don't want him. Down on his luck, Monty gets the shock of his life – an enormous inheritance from a long lost relative. However, Rupert Horn, his estranged granduncle, wants to make it a game. He wants Brewster to spend $30 million within 30 days, down to the penny and with no assets left over. If he can do that, he gets the true inheritance of $300 million. If not, then he gets nothing. Let the games begin.

Some conditions may apply. He isn't allowed to just give the money away as gifts, except maybe 5% for charities. He can hire people but they must perform actual services. He can also use up to 5% in gambling, taking into account that you usually lose, but you might actually win which would mean more money to have to spend. Oh, and he cannot let anyone else know about the challenge or the deal is off. So Brewster is bound to look a little crazy with his new money.

Hello World

Welcome to the Wayback Movie Machine, where I intend to take a look back at movies that were released exactly 25 years ago and see how they have fared the test of time. The design is still under construction, so don't be shocked if things get shuffled around as we move along the time stream.

Why am I doing this? Why not.

Actually, I stumbled across another blog called 10yearoldmovies.com where they “look at random films on the occasion of their 10th Anniversary.” It's a brilliant concept and I recommend it to everyone. I guess that means I'm copying them. But their selections really are random, and going back only 10 years hasn't allowed the films to age as well as they could. Besides, look at all the great movies that are 15 years older than those! So, here we are, traveling back 25 years to that magical time: 1985.

Maybe we should try to remember what 1985 was like, in order to get into the mindset of what these movies were dealing with.

Well, Margaret Thatcher was still Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the year was kicked off by Ronald Reagan being sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and de facto leader of the Soviet Union. The Cold War continued.

A few musicians got together and formed a collaborative group called USA for Africa to record a little diddy titled “We Are the World.” Which just celebrated its 25th Anniversary by rebranding itself for Haiti earthquake relief. The United States was touched for the very first time by Madonna dancing across the country in her first tour called The Virgin Tour. And while Whitney Houston released her first album, David Lee Roth quit Van Halen to embark on his own solo career.

Wrestlemania debuted at Madison Square Garden. Mike Tyson made his professional debut in a match he wins with a first round knockout. Coca-Cola attempted to rewrite its formula under the creative new name New Coke but it failed within three months. In the meantime, the FDA approved a blood test for AIDS that is still used today to screen all blood donations in the U.S.

Commodore released the Amiga 1000. Originally meant as a gaming platform, the result was powerful enough to become a favorite of graphic artist and computer animators, revolutionizing the way computers are branded. It's no longer just for work or just for play. For further reference, Windows 1.0 was not released until November of 1985.

Brøderbund released the game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” and The Learning Company released the first commercial version of “The Oregon Trail” on the Apple II. Carmen never died of dysentery. Nintendo began a limited test release of the NES game system in the United States. Let this sink in for a moment: this is the age before Mario!

A couple books worth mentioning that were released this year:

• Carl Sagan – Contact
• Isaac Asimov – Robots and Empire
• Bret Easton Ellis – Less Than Zero
• John Irving – The Cider House Rules

A great many others but I chose to list those due to three of them eventually becoming high-grossing movies. The Asimov title is in a series that contains a future high-grossing movie.

So, here we are. Almost at the end of May in the year 1985. There's a couple movies hitting the cinemas this weekend. Anyone wanna go see a movie?