80s Flick Flashback

By Timothy WilliamsTV & Film Society & Culture Film Reviews

80s Flick Flashback episodes

October 14, 2022#67 - "An American Werewolf in London" (1981) with Gerry D. from "Totally Rad Christmas" Podcast
In terms of werewolf horror, 1981 is still the year to beat. Theatrically, the year saw the release of Wolfen, The Howling, and this 80’s flick which set the bar high for lycanthropic transformation sequences. The last to arrive on the big screen, it demonstrated how to approach a horror-comedy, emphasizing both the laughs and the scares in equal measure. More importantly, the stunning special makeup effects design and creation earned Rick Baker the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup. So grab your backpacks, grab a drink from the Slaughtered Lamb pub, and watch out for a full moon as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Gerry D from "Totally Rad Christmas" podcast, discuss “An American Werewolf in London” from 1981 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!

Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
The episode of The Muppet Show (1976) playing on the television during David's nightmare sequence is The Muppet Show: Señor Wences (1980), but the portion shown was never shown in the U.S. This is why Americans often assumed it to be a fake episode, and why Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog are credited.

After filming was completed the whole crew danced in a circle around David Naughton who was still in his werewolf makeup on the floor singing "I'm a werewolf, you're a werewolf, wouldn't you like to be a werewolf too" as a throwback to his days as a pitchman for the Dr. Pepper commercials.

Rick Baker claimed to have been disappointed by the amount of time spent shooting the face-changing shot for the transformation after having spent months working on the mechanism. John Landis only required one take lasting about seven seconds. Baker felt he had wasted his time until seeing the film with an audience that applauded during that one seven-second shot.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo,
https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3609546/an-american-werewolf-in-london-iconic-transformation-came-80s/
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https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
1 hr 9 min
October 07, 2022BONUS - "The Best of Times" (1986) with J.B. Huffman from "Manly Movies" Podcast
Do you ever find yourself reminiscing about the past and remembering something you would love to go back and change, a mistake that haunts you on a regular basis. Well that is what this 80’s flick is all about, a man who for 13 years has regretted dropping the ball in a High School Football game and holds himself responsible for the town he lives in being in the doldrums ever since. So fire up the green rocket, put on your white cleats, and get ready to bring the town of Taft out of the bowels of lethargy as Tim Williams and guest co-host, J.B. Huffman, discuss “The Best of Times” from 1986 on this special forgotten 80’s flick episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!

Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
The date of the football game, November 15, 1972, was actually a Wednesday. Most Varsity High School football games are played on Fridays or Saturday (if the field did not have lights).

Robin Williams later commented that hiring Roger Spottiswoode as a director, a Canadian that was not extremely familiar with American football, may have been a mistake.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://www.themoviescene.co.uk/reviews/the-best-of-times/the-best-of-times.html

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https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
1 hr 3 min
September 30, 2022 #66 - "Wildcats" (1986) with Ron West
Molly McGrath is the adult daughter of a famed football coach who is desperate to be the head coach of her own team. When her wish is finally granted, Molly leaves her job coaching girls' track at an affluent high school to take over a football team at an inner-city Chicago high school —the kind of place where guard dogs are needed to patrol the campus. At first the new coach's idealism and optimism are suffocated with racial and gender prejudice, but eventually her overriding spirit begins to whip her unruly team into shape in this formulaic 80’s football flick. So grab your your engraved stopwatch, leave your mark on the school locker, and put the cat costume on the dog to stand in as the school mascot as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Ron West, discuss “Wildcats” from 1986 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!
Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
The filming for the movie was done during the summer. Extras were asked to show up in winter gear and act like it was cold out. The temperature was in the eighties on the days of filming.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://movies.fandom.com/wiki/Wildcats
Send us an email or reach out to us on social media to let us know what you liked, what you loved, what we may have missed, or what 80's movie we should discuss next!
https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
1 hr 8 min
September 16, 2022#65 - "Above the Law" (1988) with Comedian Danny Johnson from the "Behind the Bar" Podcast
In the late 80’s the American action movie was reaching its zenith. The genre had produced several bona fide superstars and was bringing big money to the box office. Action movies were the perfect vehicle for unknown talent to prove themselves. An actor that audiences had never seen before could be the lead if he had the right moves, hair, and one-liners. This 80’s flick, that introduced us to the pre-ponytailed Steven Seagal, surely fit the bill. So prepare for all of the 80’s action movie clichés: flashbacks to Vietnam; a tough, renegade cop; political subterfuge; a revenge plot; intrusive FBI agents; CIA backstabbing and much, much more as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Comedian Danny Johnson from the "Behind the Bar" podcats discuss “Above the Law” from 1988 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!

Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
The pictures in the opening credits, including the one of baby Nico, are real pictures of Steven Seagal in his youth.

Henry Silva broke Steven Seagal's nose in the final fight scene. Seagal was rushed to the hospital. The next day Seagal was back at work. He stayed up all night icing it, so that he wouldn't get a black eye.

After the film opened, aikido experienced a boom worldwide. Steven Seagal's Los Angeles dojo was struggling before the movie. Afterward, it sold out all its classes.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://archive.nerdist.com/weekend-mayhem-steven-seagals-above-the-law/

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54 min
September 16, 2022 BONUS - "Turk 182" (1985) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast
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 mythic proportions before the internet, social media, and hashtags became the norm for spreading a protest message. So grab some spray paint, jump on your military motorcycle with matching sidecar as Tim Williams and guest co-host Laramy Wells from "Moving Panels" Podcast discuss “Turk 182” from 1985 on this special forgotten 80’s flick episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!
There are no additional behind the scenes trivia for this episode.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://variety.com/1984/film/reviews/turk-182-1200426385/
https://thenewbev.com/blog/2016/12/breaking-point-turk-182/
Send us an email or reach out to us on social media to let us know what you liked, what you loved, what we may have missed, or what 80's movie we should discuss next!
https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
49 min
September 02, 2022#64 - "First Blood" (1982) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast
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-Vietnam War psychological thriller set in the United States that lacks the gore and violence that would later become a trademark of the series. So journey back with us to the small town of Hope, Washington as Tim Williams and guest co-host Laramy Wells from "Moving Panels" Podcast discuss “First Blood” from 1982 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!

Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
Sylvester Stallone accidentally broke the nose of Alf Humphreys (Lester) during the jail escape scene by elbowing him in the face, which is why he is seen wearing a band-aid throughout the rest of the film. Coincidentally, this is what Rambo does to a policeman in the novel during the exact same scene.

For the sequence where Rambo falls through a large tree and hits one of the branches, Stallone had to film the scene twice. He was asked to film it a third time, but he had broken his rib on the branch the second time through. "It was pretty easy to act out the pain," he notes.

In the final scene when Rambo has an emotional breakdown with Col. Trautman, the story he tells Trautman about his friend and fellow Baker teammate Danforth (involving the '58 Chevy Convertible and the wired shoe box that blows up, mortally wounding him) was actually a true story told to Sylvester Stallone by a Vietnam War veteran who had had a similar traumatizing experience during the war.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes,
https://rambo.fandom.com/wiki/First_Blood

Send us an email or reach out to us on social media to let us know what you liked, what you loved, what we may have missed, or what 80's movie we should discuss next!
https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
1 hr 13 min
August 26, 2022 BONUS - "Back to the Beach" (1987) with Chad Sheppard
For those who were not born before 1962, the beach party movies were a series of chaste comedies in which clean-cut teen idols hung out on the beach, rode the big waves, necked a little and tried to defend their lifestyle against the old fogies who were always trying to ban rock 'n' roll. The financially successful teen movies were a tie between harmless and brainless. This 80’s Flick was a musical satire poking fun at those idols and the whole genre, but did it with a lot of good humor and with the full cooperation of the victims. So grab some sunscreen, your extra-long surfboard, and watch out for a random pajama party to break out as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Chad Sheppard, discuss “Back to the Beach” from 1987 on this special “Forgotten 80’s Flicks” episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!
There are no additional behind the scenes trivia for this episode.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo, biography.com
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/back-to-the-beach-1987
Send us an email or reach out to us on social media to let us know what you liked, what you loved, what we may have missed, or what 80's movie we should discuss next!
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1 hr 9 min
August 19, 2022#63 - "Rain Man" (1988) with JB Huffman from "Manly Movies" Podcast
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 family. It had an Oscar mainstay going deep into affliction, playing a character with a disorder that not many everyday moviegoers knew much about at the time. And at the helm, a respected director whose films had been gaining in prestige and popularity throughout the decade. So grab some cheese balls and apple juice before you crank up the classic Buick Roadmaster convertible as Tim Williams and guest co-host, JB Huffman from "Manly Movies" Podcast", discuss “Rain Man” from 1988 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!
Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
Golino auditioned for lead roles in Pretty Woman and Flatliners, but both times she lost the part to Julia Roberts during the final audition.[18] She was first runner-up for both roles and, in the case of Pretty Woman, she revealed many years later: "I was in the running until the final audition: it came down to Julia Roberts and me. The director asked us to walk in the same corridor, wearing the same clothes and makeup. As soon as I saw her [Roberts], I knew that she would have been chosen. And since she knew that, she told me: 'Go and get them, big mama!' I wouldn't have dared to say that to my rival. I would have been good in that film but she was perfect”.

"Wallbrook", the building at the back of the long, tree lined drive, is actually Saint Anne's, a convent that houses over two hundred nuns, and is located in Melbourne, Kentucky. In the movie, when Charlie removes Raymond from Walbrook, we see them walking down a long oak tree lined driveway. In 2007, many of these oak trees had become diseased, forcing their removal (replacements were to be planted). Before the trees were cut down, several people came to the grounds of the convent and re-created the scene where Raymond and Charlie walk down the drive.

Director Barry Levinson admitted that Ray's comment about Qantas being the only aircraft company to never have had a fatal crash was made up, and that he didn't know if this was true. In reality, Qantas has had eight crashes, all prior to the making of the film, but they were all propeller-driven planes, not jets.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://www.levinson.com/
https://www.britannica.com/
https://www.looper.com/362539/the-untold-truth-of-rain-man/
https://www.avclub.com/rain-man-revisited-1798212172

Send us an email or reach out to us on social media to let us know what you liked, what you loved, what we may have missed, or what 80's movie we should discuss next!
https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
1 hr 3 min
August 05, 2022#62 - "Big" (1988) with Chris McMichen
Undeniably, the best of the mini-cycle of body-swap comedies from 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 bonafide blockbuster movie director and not just the tough-talking and boy-crazy Laverne De Fazio on TV's “Laverne & Shirley”. So grab some quarters for the Zoltar machine and make a wish as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Chris McMichen, discuss “Big” from 1988 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!
Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
The scene where Josh and Billy squirt silly string in poses of sneezing, barfing, etc. was not in the original script. It came from the rehearsal when Penny Marshall put Tom Hanks, Jared Rushton, and David Moscow in a studio room full of toys and just let them play together. When they got hold of the string they attempted to out-gross each other and that is how the scene ended up in the movie.

Another memorable scene in Big is when Josh and Susan go back to his loft after attending the company party and he coaxes her into trying out his trampoline. In 2013, Perkins admitted that the scene "petrified" her, because the trampoline was situated right next to these huge glass windows (the implication evidently being that she might bounce right off the trampoline, crash through the windows, and fall several flights down to the street). On a side note, in 2019, Perkins told Us magazine that she still has the black cocktail dress that she wore in this scene.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://www.ranker.com/list/big-1988-behind-the-scenes/tracey-graham
https://www.fast-rewind.com/making_big.htm
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64578/15-huge-facts-about-big
https://www.dvdizzy.com/big.html
Send us an email or reach out to us on social media to let us know what you liked, what you loved, what we may have missed, or what 80's movie we should discuss next!
https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
1 hr 6 min
July 22, 2022#61 - "The Lost Boys" (1987) with Tyra Williams
What's more traumatizing for a teenage boy than having to pack up his life and move to a new town with his brother and newly divorced mom? Nothing, other than the local gang initiation. Which, in Santa Carla, may just involve dropping from a train overpass, racing motorcycles near the cliff, and drinking blood instead of wine. Though we’ve been engulfed in some, dare I say toothless vampire entertainment in the last few decades, this 80’s flick was one of the earliest movies to update the centuries-old story of fanged immortals lusting for blood in the night for the high school set. So grab your Vampire comics, call the Frog brothers, and put on your garlic t-shirt as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Tyra Williams, discuss “The Lost Boys” from 1987 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!
Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:
When they're eating Chinese food, David leaves his chopsticks sticking straight out of his and Michael's food. In Chinese and Japanese culture, it is offensive to give a meal with chopsticks sticking into it, because it is like wishing death upon the recipient.

It has been highly theorized by fans that Grandpa was actually a half-vampire, and the root beer was actually animal blood due to his hobby as a taxidermist.
Sources:
Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo
https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2574169/the-lost-boys-behind-the-scenes-facts-about-the-80s-vampire-movie
https://screenrant.com/lost-boys-movie-trivia-behind-scenes-details/
https://www.ranker.com/list/lost-boys-behind-the-scenes/orrin-grey
https://www.eonline.com/news/1175075/bloody-good-fun-sink-your-teeth-into-these-24-secrets-about-the-lost-boys
https://londonhollywood.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/10-great-scenes-from-the-lost-boys-with-commentary-from-director-joel-schumacher/
Send us an email or reach out to us on social media to let us know what you liked, what you loved, what we may have missed, or what 80's movie we should discuss next!
https://linktr.ee/80sFlickFlashback
57 min

About 80s Flick Flashback

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The 80s Flick Flashback Podcast is a nostalgic journey for anyone who grew up watching movies in the 80s or discovered the joy of these cinematic gems. Each episode features creator and host Tim…

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80s Flick Flashback

80s Flick Flashback episodes

About 80s Flick Flashback