simon at 2013-11-25 19:28:43:

Noooooooooohhhhhhh Top Gun, I said Top Gun.... I was joking with the Blame it on Rio reference, lol. ;-)

Scott at 2013-11-25 21:27:34:

Simon, changed yours to Top Gun because... you have a need for speed!

plinytheelder_t at 2013-11-25 23:13:34:

Interesting how many comedies/comedic dramas have been chosen. Not sure if we'd been asked to chose from the 70s that the mix would have been quite the same. Oh & by the way, dibs on Die Hard.

Scott at 2013-11-26 00:47:23:

pliny, I noticed that, too. It's as if high concept had more traction in the 80s with the comedy genre? Probably hard to make that generalization. But when I started dredging up high concept 80s movies, the first ones that came to mind for me were comedies. Got you down for Die Hard. Perhaps we should schedule that for Christmas Day and Scrooged (guest post by Barbara Thomas) for Christmas Eve.

plinytheelder_t at 2013-11-26 01:08:56:

If the 70's were the decade of the art-house cinema, then imho, the rise of these styles of comedy and action movie during the 80s and the rise of VHS home video go hand in hand. There's a kind of mutual format friendliness, not unlike what happened with rock music & FM radio (would there have been a Boston or Meatloaf without FM radio?) Also, from what I can tell, the ascension of tentpole movies pretty much tracks first the rise of DVD and then that of BluRay.

nicholasofpain at 2013-11-26 01:28:52:

Just realized I'm the asshole who volunteered himself to write something new about Blade Runner.

Zach Jansen at 2013-11-26 11:26:45:

I was thinking about doing "Bachelor Party," but the more I've thought it over, the more I want to do "Full Metal Jacket." I don't know if everyone would agree it's an 80s classic, but it's got that lingering effect (as most Kubrick films do) so I think it'd qualify on some level. Plus, it's one of my favorite movies from the 80s.

Scott at 2013-11-26 13:04:08:

Zach, while FMJ doesn't quite qualify as an 80s high concept, it is a remarkable movie for numerous reasons, not the least of which is its distinctive narrative structure. So sure, have a go at it!

JasperLamarCrab at 2013-11-26 13:37:52:

The first movie that popped into my head for this was REPO MAN, but while it's one of my favorite movies it's not exactly high concept, so I'll lay claim to another one that is very high concept and quintessentially 80s - ROBOCOP.

Scott at 2013-11-26 17:20:11:

Robocop is a great call, Jasper. Classic high concept movie, like literally the idea is conceptualized succinctly in the title. Robo. Cop. Boom! You get it. I'll put you down for that.

simon at 2013-11-26 17:56:25:

I've alreay thrown my hat into the ring but An American Werewolf in London (1981) is still free if anyone fancies covering 'the' all time classic werewolf film. For anyone trying to think of another one - wiki has a seriously good list of all movies, by year in the 80's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s_in_film Click on the table with each year in it - then scroll below the 'top grossing' section for a comprehensive list of (notable) film releases that year.

Roman Sidenko at 2013-11-27 20:50:54:

I'd like to write something decent about "American Ninja", 1985. From the first glance, its high concept starts from the title as well.