Patreon Bonus #1 - Nancy Allen
A lovely conversation with the woman who helped make canon entries like Blow Out, RoboCop, and Carrie into the classics they truly are.
February 1981
Wanna know what the best film that came out this month was? Well, it certainly wasn't SPHINX, based on the Robin Cook book, but that's where our trip through the month begins. Peter Ustinov's almost cheerfully offensive CHARLIE CHAN film is this month, as is the fascinating Christopher Walken performance at the heart of DOGS OF WAR. It's a pretty wild ride, including William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver, Paul Newman, a young Rachel Ticotin, Francois Truffaut, Toshiro Mifune, one of the biggest names in '80s comedy, and some tough talk about Ralph Bakshi.
Like what you hear this week? Consider signing up for our Patreon!
And if you want to see one of this week's films, visit The '80s All Over Store!
January 1981
Ahhhhh, January. Named for the Latin word for 'door,' this is the way into the second season of the show. Any film fan knows that January is a weird month for releases, and this is no exception. Lily Tomlin's THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING WOMAN, the ambitious Native American fantasy WINDWALKER, and David Cronenberg's SCANNERS are just a few of the diverse titles we cover this month!
Like what you hear this week? Consider signing up for our Patreon!
And if you want to see one of this week's films, visit The '80s All Over Store!
The Best of 1980
Well, we're not going to give it away (POPEYE) or tell you what might show up on this episode (THE SHINING) or even hint at a single title you'll hear us discuss (THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK), but now that we've wrapped up our first year of the podcast, it's time to do a best of episode and decide what films from our most recent trip through 1980 are the ones that stick with us most (USED CARS).
December 1980
Our 12th episode finally brings us to December of 1980, and not only is this is the best month of movies we've had to discuss yet, it's also the best episode we've done yet! Seems fitting, right? After all, we get to talk about films like FLASH GORDON, RAGING BULL, 9 to 5, ALTERED STATES, INSIDE MOVES, and, yes, Robert Altman's POPEYE. WHICH IS AWESOME. BECAUSE IT IS. AND WE WILL ACCEPT NO ARGUMENT ON THIS TOPIC. But, seriously, POPEYE rules.
November 1980
Oh my god, it's really going to happen. We're going to wrap up the first year of this project, and it's starting to feel really comfortable. Do you have trouble telling GATES OF HEAVEN and HEAVEN'S GATE apart? You won't after this episode. Have you ever seen the Golan-Globus musical THE APPLE? We have, and we still can't believe it's real. And if you want a great example of high art and low art existing side by side, we're doing both KAGEMUSHA and SHOGUN ASSASSIN. It's November 1980, and it rules!
October 1980
Can you believe we're almost done with 1980? It's flying by, and after a short holiday break, we are back with a jam-packed episode that covers everything from TERROR TRAIN to Frank Sinatra's final starring role, a beloved romance starring Christopher Reeve, Paul Simon's most personal film, and David Lynch's mainstream breakthrough as well. Dig in: this one covers almost 20 films.
September 1980
We've got our sound issues all worked out finally, and just in time for one of the strangest episodes yet. Woody Allen gets all Fellini on us, Walter Matthau plays spy games, and Marty Feldman brings us Richard Pryor as a computer named G.O.D. Bette Midler, Robert Altman, Mary Tyler Moore, and Jason Robards as Howard Hughes. That's not enough for you? Come on! How much awesome can we give you in one week?
August 1980
Scott is halfway out of the well, just in time for a very strange episode, featuring films like SMOKEY & THE BANDIT II, THE FIENDISH PLOT OF DR. FU MANCHU, and XANADU. This is the first appearance of Jackie Chan on the podcast, as well as the the first appearance of Tom Hanks, and we cover two (yes, two) Chuck Norris movies.
July 1980
First things first: You'll notice Scott Weinberg was trapped in a well for this episode. He's fine, we've gotten him out of the well, he's been reunited with his family, the dog who led everyone to him is going to get a parade, and everyone's invited. But while he was in the well, we went ahead and talked about the month that bestowed upon us the comedy genius of CADDYSHACK, AIRPLANE!, and USED CARS. So check that out.
June 1980
This show just keeps getting better and better! Where else are you going to hear a conversation about THE BLUES BROTHERS, Clint Eastwood, HERBIE GOES BANANAS, the wacko Bermuda Triangle-set lost pirates movie THE ISLAND, and Richard Rush's strange and beautiful THE STUNT MAN? Nowhere—except '80s ALL OVER!
May 1980
Oh my God, it's finally here: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. And if that were the only thing we were talking about this month, that would be awesome. But it's not. Try FRIDAY THE 13th. Or THE SHINING. Or BON VOYAGE, CHARLIE BROWN (AND DON'T COME BACK). I mean, c'mon: Alan Parker's FAME is in here! This is how good May is! It contains all of the good! All of it, I tell you!
April 1980
This was always the month that gave me stress when we were first talking about this idea, because it's got the fewest new releases for any month of the year, and it's not a great batch. Still, we've got Dabney Coleman, a weird Disney misfire, Don Knotts and Tim Conway together, and the giant freakshow that is James Coburn. Check this one out!
March 1980
Holy cow, these things just keep getting better. We've got LITTLE DARLINGS, we've got FORBIDDEN ZONE, we've got James Caan and Sissy Spacek and Gilda FREAKIN' Radner. Oh—and we've got a little something called MAD MAX. Seriously, why aren't you already listening?
February 1980
We were greatly encouraged by the reaction you guys had to the general idea for the podcast, and with this second episode, we started to figure out what it was we wanted the podcast to be. Until you actually get into it, you can't be sure whether or not a show will work. We knew we liked the idea, and we know there's a seemingly endless fascination with the films of the 1980s. But we weren't sure how it would work as a show until we heard what Bobby Roberts, our producer, does with our raw conversation. He is as much a part of the character of this show as either of us, and we're damn lucky to have him working with us.
January 1980
Here's our very first episode.
We recorded two test episodes before we started recording actual episodes we wanted to release, and we worked on some format ideas as we worked out some of the technical questions.
I say "some" because, episode to episode, we're still getting it all locked down. Lately, we've been struggling with some equipment issues, and it led to us taking a couple of steps backwards in terms of overall sound quality.
The first episode gives you an idea of what you can expect. We had some of our release dates wrong, though, so much of this first episode is just timed wrong. Still, it gave us a varied and interesting debut, and it covers a decent amount of ground.
We're Coming!
No, you weirdos. I mean we're going to have our very own '80s All Over website!
What can you expect here?
Aren't you paying attention? It's all about the '80s! We're going to create content that will serve as a complement to the podcast we're doing now, and what form that will take is something that will evolve over time. For now, we know that we want to have some fun here and create something that has plenty of room for community.
That's you guys!
In the meantime, bear with us, because we're going to be trying various things and making an official launch of this site very soon.
In the meantime, you can find the podcast here.
Or you can go to iTunes and search for us.
More soon...