Raging Bull released

Raging Bull Released: November 14, 1980 Studio: United Artists Genre: sports drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 23.38 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 77.50 Worldwide: ?

Directing: Martin Scorsese Screenwriting: Mardik Martin, Paul Schrader Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci Review: “The most beautifully brutal sports film ever made, and one of the best movies of the 1980s regardless of genre.” TV “This brilliant biography” VD of boxer Jake LaMotta is “a poetic meditation on the nature of violence” RS and “the rigid and sentimental codes of masculinity which he clings to even as they destroy him.” T95 It is “beautifully photographed in rich black and white” VD and contains “some of the most intense fight scenes ever filmed.” VD It is “often noted for Thelma Schoonmacher’s achievement in editing.” A98 “De Niro gives one of his greatest performances” VD as “the anti-Rocky,” TV “a man whose only true emotional outlet was fighting.” VD The “hard-headed, animalistic, unlovable slum kid…becomes the 1949 middle-weight champ,” FS but his “opponents in the ring are no match for the demons he fights in his personal life,” A98 including domestic and emotional violence with his brother Joey (Pesci) and wife Vikki (Moriarty). “De Niro’s transformation from a sleek professional boxer to an out-of-shape, stand-up nightclub entertainer is simply remarkable.” FS “The movie was actually Robert De Niro’s passion project. It took him years to convince his friend and collaborator, Martin Scorsese, to make it. Scorsese wasn’t a fan of sports, and less so of boxing, not finding it to be a good visual medium.” MSN The result is “as a moving and beautiful film as anyone could make about an intolerably nasty, screwed-up man.” ML “That such an unappealing man could inspire so vivid a portrait is a tribute to the collaboration of Scorsese, De Niro, and writers Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin.” LM “There’s not a false note in characterization or period detail.” LM “Scorsese’s best.” ML Sources: A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” ML Movieline (Dec. 1995). “100 Best Movies Ever Made” by Virginia Campbell and Edward Margulies MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years” T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films” TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 2 – Best Actor (De Niro), Best Film Editing Nominations: 8 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Pesci), Best Supporting Actress (Moriarty) Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Francis Ford Coppola Roger Ebert Leslie Halliwell/John Walker Leonard Maltin First posted 8/11/2019; last updated 6/2/2023.

The Shining, a masterpiece of horror, is released

The Shining Released: May 23, 1980 Studio: Warner Bros. Genre: horror Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 44.02 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: ? Worldwide: 119.29

Directing: Stanley Kubrick Screenwriting: Diane Johnson, Stanley Kubrick Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers Review: The Shining is an “intense, epic, gothic, haunted house horror film masterpiece.” FS It is often called “the scariest horror movie ever made.” E18 It’s also “the least suitable movie to watch on Father’s Day ever” E18 unless you think “chasing after your wife and kid with an axe constitutes good fathering.” E18 “The film has beautiful, stylish work that distances itself from the blood-letting and gore of most modern films in the horror genre.” FS Kubrick “created lush images within the ornate interior of the main set” FS making “it warm, well-lit, and devoid of threat.” T95 He added “a disturbing synthesized soundtrack…., used a Steadicam in groundbreaking fashion…and built an unforgettable, mounting sensation of frustration, rage, terror, ghosts, and the paranormal.” FS The movie stars “a wonderfully deranged Jack Nicholson” E18 as frustrated writer Jack Torrance. He, his wife Wendy (Duvall), and son Danny (Lloyd) “are the snowbound caretakers of an enormous resort.” A7 They “become affected by a ‘psychic photograph’ of a bloody series of historic murders committed” FS at the Overlook hotel. “Cabin-fever and telepathy collide, as frustrated writer Nicholson goes completely insane.” A7 The film bears little resemblance to its source material – Stephen King’s best-selling third novel from 1977. The title “refers to the extra-sensory, paranormal psychic abilities possessed by the Overlook’s head cook Halloran (Crothers) and Danny.” FS Kubrick and co-screenwriter Diane Johnson “moved from the conventions of traditional horror film thrillers, displacing them with his own, much more subtle, rich, symbolic motifs.” FS Sources: A7 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 0 Other Awards: Other Lists/Honors: First posted 5/29/2023.

The Empire Strikes Back released

Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Released: May 21, 1980 Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Genre: sci-fi Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 290.50 Worldwide: 538.40 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 962.51 Worldwide: 1736.00

Directing: Irving Kershner Screenwriting: Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams Review: The follow-up to the massively successful Star Wars “offers more fluid storytelling and is a much better film” RS thanks to George Lucas’s decision to shift his attention to “the technical wizardry [while] Irvin Kershner handled the direction.” FS “The result is a smashing display of action, special effects and drama, all tied together by the darkest and best-written script of the series” TV which features “great characters and a rich, comic-bookish storyline).” FS Once again, the story follows the rebels in their battle against the evil empire led by Darth Vader (Jones). When the Rebel Alliance is attacked on the ice planet Hoth, Princess Leia (Fisher) and Han Solo (Ford), who are falling in love, head to Cloud City for help from Lando Calrissian (Williams), an old friend of Han’s. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker (Hamill) heads off to Dagobah to be trained by Yoda, a gnome-like Jedi master. “The film culminates with a show-down between Luke and Darth Vader” FS and “one of the neatest twists in one of the top sequels ever made.” TV “Film is known as a risky investment, so when a filmmaker takes a gamble on himself, it's a big deal. Lucas didn't want to share creative rights with a studio, so he self-financed the movie, putting the whole $18 million up, using profits from Star Wars and a bank loan. It paid off. Lucas was able to recoup his money within three months of the film's release.” MSN Sources: FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years” TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 1 – Best Sound, also a Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects Nominations: 3 – Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Original Score Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Leslie Halliwell/John Walker First posted 7/31/2019; last updated 5/31/2023.