80s Flick Flashback

80s Flick Flashback

By Timothy WilliamsTV & FilmSociety & CultureFilm Reviews
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80s Flick Flashback episodes

  • Mini-Episode: Season Two Preview and Contest Information
    Happy New Year!! The 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast is gearing up for Season Two. Get a glimpse at the movies we will be covering in 2021 and also learn how you can win a $25 Fandango Gift Card with our new contest.
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    11 min
  • #20 - “A Christmas Story” (1983) with Ron West

    There’s no denying that this film has become a holiday tradition for many families around the world. Since the film’s release, it’s become regarded as a Christmas classic, and the original house shown in the movie has even been transformed into a tourist-attracting museum. Many families watch it every year around the holiday season, while cable-TV staple, TBS,  plays it continuously for 24 hours at least once a year. Between the captivating storytelling, quirky characters, and overall filming styles it has stood out compared to several other similarly-styled Christmas movies over the years. So take a sip of your Ovaltine, then grab your Little Orphan Annie Secret Decoder Ring, and your Red Ryder BB Gun as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Ron West, go back to 1940-esque Indiana with Ralphie, Randy, Mother and The Old Man to discuss “A Christmas Story” on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback! But be careful...or you’ll shoot your eye out, kid! 

    Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode: 

    • In an interview with Variety, Billingsley explained that both Shepherd and Clark had a specific vision for the film and that Shepherd would often try to direct him after Clark had walked away. 
    • It wasn't until a decade ago when Warner Bros., the studio that purchased the movie from MGM, pushed for companies to manufacture action figures, board games, and every other kind of memorabilia associated with the movie. When Ward signed his contract to play Scut "Yellow Eyes" Farkus in the '80s, he didn't receive merchandising rights because of a mishap with his contract. So when Ward discovered the studio had authorized a figurine resembling Ward without his permission, he sued Warner Bros. and another company called Enesco. Eventually, Ward settled that and another merchandising lawsuit. 


      • Sources: Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB,  www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a26653/a-christmas-story-trivia/ www.screenrant.com/a-christmas-story-trivia-making-of/ www.achristmasstoryhouse.com/a-christmas-story-movie-facts/trivia/ 

      Intro & Outro Music: "Total Eclipse" by Nathaniel Wyver 

      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 watch next! 

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      1 hr 25 min
    • #19 - "Die Hard" (1988) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast

      John McTiernan‘s 1988 action tour de force is often called one of the greatest action films ever made. It’s a masterclass on every level: building entertaining characters, crafting escalating action, establishing and navigating geography, and putting an empathetic hero through the ringer in the face of extraordinary odds. McTiernan and his collaborators made this all look easy, but as the rash of Hollywood imitators quickly proved, it was anything but. So come on out the coast, we’ll have a few laughs as Laramy Wells and I take off our shoes and make fists with our toes as we discuss “Die Hard” for this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback. 

      Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode: 

      • Near the end of the film, Hans Gruber mocks John McClane by saying that the conflict wouldn't end like an American Western with "Grace Kelly riding off into the sunset with John Wayne". McClane corrects him and says he means Gary Cooper. The film referenced is High Noon (1952), another action movie about a lone hero having to defeat a large group of enemies while being vastly outnumbered. 
      • At the suggestion of director John McTiernan, Ludwig van Beethoven's Ode to Joy (Ninth Symphony, Fourth Movement) is the musical theme of the terrorists. Hans Gruber, the terrorist leader, even hums it at one point in the movie (while he is on the elevator with Mr. Takagi). Film composer Michael Kamen at first thought it was a "sacrilege" to use Beethoven in an action movie, telling McTiernan: "I will make mincemeat out of Wagner or Strauss for you, but why Beethoven?" McTiernan replied that Ode to Joy had been the theme of the ultra-violence in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). Kamen, a Kubrick fan, then agreed. 


        • Sources: Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, www.filmschoolrejects.com/movies-that-are-basically-die-hard/ 


        Intro & Outro Music: "Total Eclipse" by Nathaniel Wyver 

        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 watch next! 

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        1 hr 22 min
      • #18 - "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast

        A road trip movie, a buddy comedy and teen-angst director du jour, John Hughes’ first attempt at a holiday movie. It’s a classic double-act farce that might not fit that well in the decade it came out in. There are no guns or bad guys like 48 Hours or Lethal Weapon; no winks at Cold War anxiety a la Spies Like Us; and no time machine like Bill and Ted used in their excellent adventure. What it does share with a number of his best works is that mix of Norman Rockwell and Frank Capra in Reagan’s America late 80’s vibe. Steve Martin’s Neal wants to get home to his family for the November holiday; John Candy’s Del, as we find out by the end, doesn’t even have a home to go home to. Despite whatever hell they’ve put each other through, they’re friends after all is said and done – and you should always invite friends over for Thanksgiving when they’ve got nowhere else to go.  So for this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback, guest co-host Laramy Wells joins Tim Williams to do their best to make the trek from New York City to Chicago by way of Witchita (and even Wisconsin) as they discuss “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”.


        Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode:

        • Jeri Ryan — of Star Trek: Voyager fame — messed up her first movie role and got herself fired. During the bus scene, Candy and Steve Martin were "doing goofy things between takes," Ryan told Mr. Showbiz (via SFFChronicles). After three days of laughing too hard at Candy and Martin's antics when cameras rolled, the up and coming actress was told not to come back. Even previous Hughes collaborators weren't safe. Jeffrey Jones, Principal Ed Rooney from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, had his part cut from the movie, too.
        • McClurg, probably best known as Grace, Principal Rooney’s secretary in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, played the St. Louis car rental employee upon whom Neal dropped 18 F-bombs. For the first few takes, McClurg simply raised her finger and had a standard phone conversation with a customer. Then Hughes told her to improvise talking on the phone about Thanksgiving. She then came up with the stuff about needing roasted marshmallows and taking care of the crescent rolls because she can’t cook based on her own life. When she finished, Hughes asked her how she came up with those details so quickly. When McClurg explained she just got it from her own life just like he does with his scripts, he said, “Oh yeah!” She claims people to this day ask her to tell them they’re f*cked.
        • The exterior of the rental car was designed to resemble that of the Griswolds' station wagon, from John Hughes' previous production, National Lampoon's Vacation (1983).


          • Sources: Wikipedia, Imdb, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo, Looper.com, MentalFloss.com, RollingStone.com, YouTube - “Getting There Is Half the Fun: The Story of Planes, Trains and Automobiles” & "The Lost Version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles: A Docu-Mini"

          Intro & Outro Music: “Total Eclipse” by Nathaniel Wyver

          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 watch next!

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            • 1 hr 14 min
          • #17 "Friday the 13th" (1980) with Ron West

            Legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès is often credited with making the first ever horror movie, which was called was The Haunted Castle.  Horror movies have no doubt evolved since the early days with many filmmakers now relying on cheap scares and gore to horrify audiences. The ‘80s, however, were a great time for horror fans, with iconic franchises like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, and Friday the 13th all getting a number of sequels in the decade. It may be hard to remember, but there was a time when the name Jason Vorhees wasn’t part of the horror lexicon. In 1980 director Sean S. Cunningham unleashed the original Friday the 13th, a film that would go on to define the slasher era through sequel after profitable sequel (though Jason’s iconic hockey mask wouldn’t actually show up until the third installment in 1982).  So grab your canoes, backpacks, and machetes and come along with Ron West and I as we travel to Camp Crystal Lake to discuss the original “Friday the 13th”. 


            Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode: 

            • Cunningham wanted to make the Mrs. Voorhees character "terrifying", and to that end he believed it was important that Palmer not act "over the top." There was also the fear that Palmer's past credits, as more of a wholesome character, would make it difficult to believe she could be scary. Palmer was paid $1000 per day for her ten days on set.
            •  In 1982, Gramavision Records released a LP record of selected pieces of Harry Manfredini's scores from the first three Friday the 13th films.  On January 13, 2012, La-La Land Records released a limited edition 6-CD boxset containing Manfredini's scores from the first six films. It sold out in less than 24 hours. 
            • In the scene where Bill is found impaled to a door with arrows, his eye twitches continually because the eye effect that Tom Savini applied was actually burning Harry Crosby's eye and causing him excruciating pain. 
            • Most of the people involved in the original movie thought it was just a cash grab, a quick way to make money, including director Sean Cunningham, screenwriter Victor Miller, and Betsy Palmer, the star of the movie who played Mrs. Voorhees, the killer. Both Cunningham and Palmer said in interviews they were just trying to pay bills when they made this movie. None of them had much respect for the integrity and the artistry of the story they were creating. It was an obvious self-aware attempt to rip off and cash in on the Halloween phenomenon. In spite of that, it has become one of the most successful and beloved horror films ever. 


              • Sources: Wikipedia, Imdb, Rotten Tomatoes 


              Intro & Outro Music: “Total Eclipse” by Nathaniel Wyver 


              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 watch next! 

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                • 58 min
              • #16 - “Halloween II” (1981) with Ron West

                Most long-running horror franchises have that one installment which was legitimately supposed to, but ultimately, did not end the franchise. Some have several of them. In Hollywood, producers (and sometimes audiences) will quickly voice their disgust if you ever dare leave money on the table. Not that anyone knew that in 1981. Instead, all Moustapha Akkad, Irwin Yablans, John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to do was to make a little more money off of the slasher gold rush they’d inadvertently started in 1978, and then bow out. Doing so, though, meant making some controversial story decisions with rotating directors and final edits. The resulting sequel they produced is inferior to the original, but Tim Williams and guest co-host, Ron West, still return to Haddonfield, Illinois to find "the Shape", also known as Michael Myers, as we discuss “Halloween II”.


                Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode:

                • One common criticism is that the hospital is too conveniently dead, even for a night shift, for Michael to be able to walk around unnoticed and kill the hospital staff. Rick Rosenthal said he based this off a personal experience he had with his wife where they once attended a hospital late at night and it was completely deserted, save for a few doctors and nurses and the patients. Additionally early dialogue and the script refers to it as "Haddonfield clinic" not a fully staffed hospital.
                • According to the original script there was a scene depicting the blonde reporters death, her car breaks down on the side of the road with her getting assistance from a guy who hits on her, with her responding in disgust, the truck driver then leaves her, after the tire is replaced she opens the trunk to Myers who then kills her and takes the car, as a nod to what he did in the first film.


                  • Sources: Wikipedia, Imdb, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo, www.weminoredinfilm.com/2017/10/26/9-things-you-might-not-know-about-halloween-ii-1981/
                  • Intro & Outro Music: “Total Eclipse” by Nathaniel Wyver
                  • 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 watch next!
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                    • 1 hr 10 min
                  • #15 - “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986) with Laramy & Bethany Wells
                    In 1986, if you mixed Science Fiction, dark comedy, horror, doo-wop inspired musical numbers, and a director who was more famous for voicing Yoda and Miss Piggy, you probably wouldn't expect too much.  But this remake of a remake became a bonafide cult classic that has been entertaining audiences for decades with its timeless soundtrack and stellar cast. So let's head downtown to Skid Row and Mr. Mushnik's Flower Shop because its Suppertime for Audrey II as Laramy and Bethany Wells join Tim Williams to discuss "Little Shop of Horrors".
                    ***Due to a temporary recording change the audio of the main section of the podcast is split into stereo with Tim on the right side and Laramy & Bethany on the left side***
                    There is no extra behind the scenes trivia for this episode.
                    Sources: Wikipedia, Imdb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Box Office Mojo
                    Intro & Outro Music: “Total Eclipse” by Nathaniel Wyver
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                    1 hr 13 min
                  • #14 - “The Last Dragon” (1985) with Ron West

                    As the brainchild of an up-and-coming screenwriter, an established movie director, and the mastermind behind Motown Records, Barry Gordy, a low-budget niche film mixed martial arts, heavily synthesized pop songs, supernatural adventure, Bruce Lee, and over-the-top comedy that has surprised and entertained audiences for decades after its initial box office release. The chart-topping soundtrack was just as much a part of the film as the main characters, but far from being a flimsy visual vehicle to hang some songs on, it found a way to use stylish silliness and insightful martial arts concepts to become a story of hope and purpose. If you can’t answer with confidence, “Who’s the Master?”, then prepare to “Kiss the Converse” as Ron West and I discuss “Barry Gordy’s The Last Dragon” from 1985.

                    Just like "The Last Dragon" has no deleted scenes, we have no additional trivia deleted from this full episode.  

                    Sources:

                    Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, www.bulletproofaction.com/2018/12/28/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-last-dragon/, www.fast-rewind.com/making_lastdragon.htm, www.uproxx.com/movies/the-last-dragon-oral-history/, www.denofgeek.com/movies/whatever-happened-to-the-last-dragon, and box office mojo

                    Intro & Outro Music: “Total Eclipse” by Nathaniel Wyver

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                    1 hr 9 min
                  • #13 - “RoboCop” (1987) with Ron West

                    In 1987, a new kind of gritty, ultra-violent sci-fi action movie was born, but it came with nods to comic book heroes, and classic spaghetti westerns. Helmed by a little known Dutch director with a penchant for violence and nudity and starring a method actor better known for his work in the theater than in film, on paper it must have seemed like a pretty risky prospect to the studio bosses over at Orion Pictures. It proved to be anything but, with Paul Verhoeven's provocative directorial style meshing with a clever script by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, "RoboCop" fused fast-paced sci-fi action with biting satire to create a film that ranks among the decade's best, even if it doesn’t hold up as well today as we had hoped.


                    On this episode, Tim Williams and guest co-host, Ron West, share their memories of this iconic 80's classic!

                    Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover on this episode:

                    • Peter Weller hired Moni Yakim, the head of the Movement Department at Juilliard, to help create an appropriate way for him to move his body while wearing the RoboCop suit. He and Moni had envisioned RoboCop moving like a snake, dancing around its targets very elusively. The suit, however, proved to be too heavy and cumbersome. Instead, at the suggestion of Moni, it was decided that they would slow down RoboCop's movements in order to make them more appealing and plausible. Filming stopped for three days, allowing Peter and Paul Verhoeven to discuss new movements for the suit.
                    • The original gun for RoboCop was a Desert Eagle, but this was deemed too small. A Beretta 93R was heavily modified by Ray Williams of Freshour Machine, Texas City, Texas, who extended the gun barrel to make it look bigger and more proportional to RoboCop's hand. The gun holster itself was a standalone piece that was not integrated into the suit. Off-screen technicians would operate the device on cue by pulling cables that would force the holster to open up and allow the gun to be placed inside.
                    • Verhoeven originally wanted to make significant changes to the Neumeier and Miner’s second, more polished version of the RoboCop screenplay in order to give the story more realism. The most contentious of these changes would have seen Murphy embroiled in an extramarital affair with his partner Ann Lewis, prior to his near-execution at the hands of Boddicker and his crew. Given a deadline of just two months to make the changes Verhoeven wanted, Neumeier sent Verhoeven a stack of American comic books so the director could get a clearer idea of what they had been aiming for with their script.
                    • The scene in which ED-209 malfunctions and ends up killing OCP junior executive Mr. Kinney was actually inspired by a fantasy Neumeier had during his days as a young executive in Hollywood. Neumeier sat through many a soul-crushing meeting during his time in the movie business, and would often daydream about the idea of a robot bursting into the room and killing everyone.

                      • Sources: Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, screenrant.com/robocop-1987-original-secrets-facts-trivia/, uproxx.com/viral/20-fascinating-facts-original-robocop/

                      Intro & Outro Music: “Total Eclipse” by Nathaniel Wyver

                      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 watch next!

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                      53 min
                    • The Last Mini-Episode?
                      Tim shares some news about the future of mini-episodes as well as the remaining Season One full episodes of the “80’s Flick Flashback”.
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                      10 min

                    About 80s Flick Flashback

                    From the publisher's feed

                    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…