Movies have been an integral part of entertainment for human beings and 1982 movies indeed gives us some of the best. The representation of fictional and non-fictional subjects on the big screen has won the hearts of everyone over the years. The motion picture has evidently played an important role in communicating ideas, emotions, perspectives, nature, stories in different forms. However, some movies reach the human heart way more extravagantly than others due to directional, cinematography, idealism superiority in quality.
Movies incur huge profits and income for people working in this industry if it impresses the viewers. Therefore, this sort of entertainment has a separate industry for itself in different countries, communities. The most popular and influential movie industry is, arguable, Hollywood. The quality, introduction of various inter-connected sub-genres, musical patterns, dialogues, acting have been hailed throughout the world and even taken as a form of inspiration for other countries and their motion picture industry. So, the contribution of Hollywood to the industry is unparalleled.
In this article, you will definitely understand how 1981 movies paved the way for 1982 movies to evolve the motion picture industry to take it to the next level. 1982 is one of the most important years in the history of Hollywood movies, and its overall influence over the world is commendable as well.
Without any further wait, it is time for you to know how 1982 is historical as well as binge-watch the blockbusters of that year in the list given below!
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What makes 1982 one of the best years of Hollywood history?
During the ’80s, the sudden development of technological advancements had awestruck people in different manners. The possibilities and debates about alien life, vegetation beyond Earth, and exploration of the beyond became extremely popular. It even took the form of conspiracy theories spreading wildly throughout the world. The epitome of such theories was, of course, North America or the United States of America. Due to this, people gained more interest in the science-fiction genre. This year evidently brought about movies that people still watch repeatedly, along with the comedy genre taking a turn towards existential jokes due to the whole situation.
1982 is definitely one of the best years as the number of exciting and enjoyable movies and phenomenal actors on the screen is unparalleled to witness in one year. Movies like “ E.T. – Extra-Terrestrial, “Rocky III, “Blade Runner, “Poltergeist “all came to the big screen one after the another, making the viewers relentlessly visit the theatre every other week or month that had not happened ever before. The strong line-up and competition made everyone scream in excitement and joy. Why not? The motion picture used advanced technology of that period to make movies, a big deal during that time. Steven Spielberg brought upon a concept of aliens being friends with humans ( no action movie with aliens? This was new!), Harrison Ford, and Sylvester Stallone grossing high in that year with their own blockbusters. A monumental feat occurred for the motion picture industry.
Genres of 1982
Genres like drama, comedy, horror, action redefined the whole pattern of making them due to more technological advancements, developing human emotions, and the science-fiction genre gaining extreme popularity. This year paved the way for concepts, perspectives to take the next step to ascertain growth furthermore in 1983 movies. Even now, 1982 movies are taken as a form of inspiration for various movies recently. This just proves this point of being an influential dynamic even more.
You have an idea about how 1982 changed the motion picture industry for the better. Now, it is undeniably the time for you to know the movies that made viewers stand up in excitement! What are you waiting for? Scroll down!
List of the best 1982 movies
These are the movies in 1982 that inspired a lot of blockbusters in recent times, and of course, they were blockbusters of the year. So, let’s take a quick dive into the movies we have listed below which are one of the best choices of 1982. Here are the following:
E. T. : Extra Terrestrial
Release Date – 11 June 1982
Director – Steven Spielberg
Cast – Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore
Genre – Sci-fi/Adventure
Music by – John Williams
Box Office – $ 792.9 million
Steven Spielberg brought upon an interesting concept of a friendship between an alien and a human being. A not-so-popular concept among viewers back then, Steven Spielberg took this challenge to produce a wonderful and exciting movie to the screen, which sufficed this concept in front of the viewers; most importantly, people actually started believing that such concepts can be real as well. A challenging attempt that ended up being a blockbuster and inspiration for many movies that came after with this concept.
The plot lies upon an alien who mistakenly gets left behind on the planet Earth. The alien meets Elliot, a young kid, who befriends him and keeps him hidden from others. On hearing about the alien’s existence, the task force hunts for it while Elliot and his brothers and sisters try to protect the alien and form a wonderful bond with the creature of the outer world.
You should definitely watch this movie, and here’s the catch, you will probably find this movie similar to many popular science fiction movies of recent times.
Blade Runner
Release Date – 25 June 1982
Director – Ridley Scott
Cast – Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos
Genre – Sci-fi/Action
Cinematography – Jordan Cronenweth
Adapted From – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
You probably know about Blade Runner 2049 due to Ryan Gosling and Ana De Almas and its huge fandom. However, that movie is a sequel to the movie Blade Runner. For instance, the whole movie series has a fan base just like Star Wars or Marvel. Blade Runner brought upon an extremely advanced future world where technology has completely captured human beings within its rapture. During the ’80s, as said before, the massive technological advancements made people awestruck for what’s to come in the future, and Blade Runner was like the motion picture of the various conspiracy theories.
The plot relies on the main character, Rick Deckard(Harrison Ford), a former policeman who becomes a special agent and is given the job to exterminate futuristic evil Androids. As the story develops and gets deeper into the plot, he faces circumstances, making him question his identity and severely suffer from an existential crisis.
If you have watched Blade Runner 2049 without any wait, watch this movie! However, if you have not watched either of these two, you should definitely hop into the universe of Blade Runner right now!
Rocky 3
Release Date – 28 May 1982
Director – Sylvester Stallone
Cast – Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Mr. T,. Carl Weathers, Burt Young, Hulk Hogan
Genre – Sport/Drama
Featured Song – Eye of the Tiger ( by Survivor)
The 1982 movies year was jam-packed with action, drama, fiction, comedy, and horror. Another special installment of the Rocky movie series, starring Sylvester Stallone, one of the top actors of that time released this year as well. It became the second installment of this movie series which Sylvester Stallone was the director, writer. The movie followed as a sequel to one of the most popular installments of the series, Rocky II. This movie brought upon a sport motion picture in the year of historic motion picture developments, and this movie definitely turned the box office and gave viewers a treat to watch.
The plot continues from the previous movies; Rocky is the reigning world champ who accepts a boxing match challenge from Clubber Lang. He loses his credibility and championship against Clubber Lang and has to give his all to fight and get his credibility back against one of the toughest opponents he has ever faced.
This is a treat to watch with a bucket of popcorn. The whole movie series is exciting and enjoyable. You can watch it if you like sport-related motion pictures.
Poltergeist
Release Date – 4 June 1982
Director – Tobe Hooper
Cast – Jobeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight, Heather O’Rourke, Oliver Robins
Genre – Horror/Thriller
Screenplay – Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, Mark Victor
Horror was a trending genre in the ’80s. The viewers used to love motion pictures using different, innovative methods to scare them. A Saturday night with a horror flick was an hour of need for enjoyment for some viewers. The technological advancements, as mentioned before, made the horror genre scarier than ever this year. Steven Spielberg oversaw the screenplay of this movie, making it a must-watch horror flick. Poltergeist is one of the most top-rated horror movies ever made, and guess what? Another blockbuster to the list of 1982 movies.
The plot is set upon a dream home of a happy, wonderful family becoming a house of hell as horrific evil spirits possess a young, innocent child’s soul to destroy and kill everyone in the family. The acting of Heather O’Rourke is something to cherish. The horrific representation of the possessed soul was tremendously well acted by her.
A quiet and boring night? Grab your pillow and start watching this movie to make your creepy night more terrifying!
The Verdict
Release Date – 8 December 1982
Director – Sidney Lumet
Cast – Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason, Milo O’Shea
Genre – Drama/Courtroom Drama
Screenplay – David Mamet, Jay Presson Allen
Courtroom dramas hold a special place for motion picture enthusiasts, and so was the case back then. Courtroom dramas did not engage the commercial audience. However, the enthusiasts loved social, important topics to be shown on the big screen and exposure of the truth of malpractices of big organizations. The sufferings of the common people in front of authorities were well portrayed in such courtroom dramas. The Verdict brought upon a social topic that threatened a lot of lives back then due to the medical malpractice of big firms.
The plot relies upon Frank, an alcoholic lawyer, who lost his credibility in the court, taking a case of medical malpractice. He fights and takes the case to trial. He comes to see a deep corrupting line of thread that connects the medical needs of common people in their strings.
A definite watch for people who like the representation of social justice on big screens. Such issues must be discussed, and putting the clear image of some medicine manufacturers in 1982 was a challenging task, yet they pulled it off extremely well.
The Thing
Release Date – 10 December 1982
Director – John Carpenter
Cast – Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley, David Clannon, Donald Moffat
Genre – Horror/Sci-fi
Adapted from – Who Goes There?
Sci-fi horror in 1982? Count the whole barrage in! The Thing turned around the two most popular genres of 1982, mixed them, brought upon a special movie that people still talk about. An adaptation of the novel Who Goes There? Written by John W. Campbell did well to represent the dramatic occurrence of aliens taking the shape of man and animals. This movie brought a dramatic change in the scenario for the next year as 1983 movies completely followed the unique pattern set by John Carpenter in the movie, The Thing.
The plot relies upon a research team finding an alien, which fell from the sky and has started to hunt the research team members down. Things change drastically when the creature haunts the others as they can take the shape of the deceased and look like humans and animals. A horrifying concept, well-adapted, and direction made this movie catch the viewer’s attention.
You can watch it at a historical notation of development in the horror genre in motion pictures. A sci-fi horror movie has not gone through a pattern of events and concepts before this movie.
Final Thoughts
As you can clearly understand, the number of amazing movies in one the calendar year of 1982 made the box office run up and down throughout. Many more films were released this year, competing with the ones mentioned above that were well made as well. 1982 is one of the greatest years for Hollywood, if not the best. And there is no way one will not include these into their watch-list now! So, add these movies to your watch list right now, and binge-watch the blockbusters of an extravagant era! And don’t miss on telling us which ones are your favorite!