1980
Noah’s Barks pages relating to the year 1980.
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Pretenders – “Pretenders” (1980)
I’ve got "Brass in Pocket" as I reflect on going from hating the hit ’80s single to loving it. I can’t be a pretender. (read more)
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The Fog
The Fog is overall better than Halloween because you’re not watching a crappy teen movie for a majority of the time, but it also lacks any strong iconic moments. John Carpenter‘s score consists of one good theme and a bunch of two-note ambient drones, and though it attempts to be character-driven with multiple subplots the… (read more)
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The Damned – “The Black Album”
What a fucking cool album cover. It’s like an emblem you’d see emblazoned on the front gate of Dracula’s castle. The Black Album is a certain curiosity in The Damned’s discography, as the group are almost entirely known for their earlier simple “brat punk” albums, but they broke out of that stereotype more and more… (read more)
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Inferno
Inferno could get any Suspiria fan excited, being a semi-sequel and all, but now I wish it was never related. It feels like Suspiria with its spine ripped out. The same colors are used but the lighting is extremely dim and passive, the soundtrack is barely there (and the choral theme is awful), the murders… (read more)
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Talking Heads
Kieslowski has no need for fictional characters when real people are more interesting. You could say it’s one of his mottos. Talking Heads is a demonstration of that, a series of interviews sorted chronologically by age with 100 different people. The generation transitions in this documentary happen too quickly with very little youth featured, which… (read more)
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Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Holy hell, I just gotta say that Harmy’s Despecialized Edition looks absolutely fantastic. Some of the best video quality I’ve ever seen. Really brought the sets and props to complete life, which are the best things about Star Wars. Other than that though, I might prefer the original by a hair. The Empire Strikes Back… (read more)
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Raging Bull
Martin Scorsese‘s sharp decision to film in black and white gives Raging Bull a special framework that elevates it beyond a simple biopic. Raging Bull is a third-person lens at an era gone past, and the juxtaposition of the beautifully soft theme music against Jake LoMotta’s (Robert De Niro) intensity aids the retrospective feel. Also… (read more)
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Friday the 13th
I find it to be a rare case when a pioneering movie doesn’t hold up well, and it’s a disappointing one as well when the sacred cow is too old and has to be put down—but Friday the 13th is still modest entertainment. The majority lacks tension as danger is framed rarely and obviously, and… (read more)
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Ashra – “Belle Alliance”
Like the colorful cover suggests, Belle Alliance is goofier and more playful than previous Ashra releases. Its genre is still progressive electronic, but it has the spirit of synthy, ’80s new wave pumping through it. The synthesizers sound like children playing with toys, but because of the lighter nature of Göttsching’s guitar, they fit in… (read more)
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Kagemusha
Almost as frustrating as it is good, because Kagemusha is close to being an all-time masterpiece that’s brought down by the randomly weak writing. Not enough attention is paid to the main character’s development, and many scenes are unimportant, dragged out, or both. If the latter flaw were traded for the former, this would be… (read more)