As we mark the 40th anniversary of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, two major Trekkies (and another guy) dissect how Hollywood can make great movies again, and why it probably won’t. The year 1982 may have been “the best year for movies ever.” Join us for a bit of nostalgia that shows the way to a better future for our country and our culture.
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29 replies on “Khaaaaaaaan! Turns 40: Star Trek II Shows Hollywood How to Make Great Movies Again, If Only…”
My favorite Peter O’Toole line…
I’m not an actor, I’m a movie star!
If you wan to to send a message, call Western Union.
-Irving Thalberg, IIRC
Re the score: I watched “Wolfen”, the Albert Finney werewolf movie from about 1980. James Horner did the score for Both “Wolfen” and “Khan”. And if you know what you’re listening for, you can hear “Wrath of Khan” all over “Wolfen”.
Ugh… I had to sit through The English Patient
My older son, a Scrappleface fan, attended a comicon with his older son about 10 years ago. While there, they decided to enter the Star Trek trivia contest. My kid knew the Reliant’s prefix code! He got a round of applause! I have been proud of my kid for lots of reasons but he has never made me prouder.
Of the other films mentioned: “Blade Runner” was really good and thoughtful. Didn’t like it as much then as I appreciate it now. “The Thing” is fantastic, and Kurt Russell is way cool. “ET” is an absolute pile of soft, steamy, smelly doggie doo-doo. HATED IT. Stupid and treacly as all heck. Loved “First Blood” at the time, but it hasn’t held up. “Poltergeist” was super spooky. Haven’t watched it since its theatrical release, though, so I wonder if it would still work on me. “Tootsie” is absolute movie magic. A fantastic, all-time great that holds up wonderfully. Has a whip-smart script and great, great acting. Loved “Rocky III” at the time and it remains a guilty pleasure. I always thought “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” was overrated because it’s so terribly uneven. But it does contain some pure awesomeness, headed by all-time great movie character Jeff Spicoli. Why hasn’t someone in Hollywood written a stand-alone Spicoli movie? “48 Hours” was hilarious at the time, but I don’t think it holds up. And finally, “An Officer and a Gentleman” was real good, despite the ridiculous side plot about the gold-digging pilot chasers and the eye-rolling tragedy that ensues. Completely unbelievable and unnecessary.
I have seen the movie but not read the book, do you know how well Blade Runner matches Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The English Patient– = Dr. Zhivago with sand.
“I didn’t have money to spend on movies; I had money to spend on records.”
Scott is my 1982 soul mate, scrounging around the Bootleg Sale at The Finest Records parking lot…
It’s always difficult to choose the best movies of all time because times, audiences, and tastes change. Some story lines are immortal, but how they are told and perceived will change. Having said this, I can’t deny that 1982 was a great year for movies, but best of all time? I’m not so sure, and would offer up 1939 as a great candidate for best year of all time:
Gone With the Wind
The Wizard of OZ
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Wuthering Heights
Stagecoach
Goodbye Mr. Chips
Ninochka
Dark Victory
Gunga Din
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Intermezzo
The Women
And many other superb movies, like “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, “Son of Frankenstein”, “Union Pacific” and “The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex”. And of course, stepping out of American films, we have the French masterpiece “The Rules of the Game.”
All in all, a great year for the movies.
Agree, with 1982 surprisingly good, too.
and wasn’t “Fantasia” 1939, too?
Star Trek II: The Wrath of “Rich Corinthian Leather.”
May we all look that fit in our 60s.
Poltergeist – disturbed me , my daughter was not quite 7, her older teen age cousins were watching it, I said she couldn’t see it until she was older. How old she asked. I said 35!
My actual favorite Captain Kirk moment comes, not from this movie, but the next in the series:
Saavik “Captain, David is dead.”
Kirk “you dirty Klingon bastard, you killed my son…
You dirty Klingon bastard, you killed my son!
You Dirty Klingon BASTARD, YOU. KILLED. MY. SON!!!”
Yes, over the top, but it felt so true.
Of course, in that film we also had to put up with crabhead Reverend Jim. “Well, uhhhh, that’s the way it goes, I guess…uhhhhhh”
Worst casting in Star Trek history.
Thanks Steve. I’ll get right on it.
Hey Steve, how about a list of those greatest movies from 1982. I was in the U.S.Army at the time, kind of busy trying to stay alive until I could retire in 1988. Retired in 1990 with 100% disability so I have plenty of time to watch movies. My favorite segment to watch on Bill Whittle.com is Backstage, the height of my week.
My Favorite Year
Blade Runner
The Thing
E.T.
First Blood
Poltergeist
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Pink Floyd: The Wall
Tootsie
Rocky III
Conan the Barbarian
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
The Verdict
48 HRS
An Officer and a Gentleman
Victor/Victoria
Diner
My Favorite Year is a truly great film. You are correct that Victor/Victoria couldn’t be made now, but what about Tootsie? That would have a totally different tenor right now.
A Peter O’Toole movie from the same general time (1980) but decidedly not Family Friendly is The Stunt Man.
As I said in the comments on BackStage, Diner doesn’t hold up that well, IMO. But Officer and a Gentleman is one of my wife’s favorites. Interesting that skin tone was not even a part of the movie, but women in the military was.
First Blood has great characters with real depth.
And the Verdict is a true grown up movie. I probably didn’t appreciate that until several years later.
Hey Steve, given your background how about an episode on the music of 1982?
Such philosophy is reminiscent of a much older fictional story, which was relayed to us by a man who was brutally crucified on a Roman cross at the whim of the day’s religious leaders: the parable of the lost sheep.
I think Steve may be onto something. A few more decades and we may look back to 1982 as Hollywood’s apex.
I watched a movie the other day that reminded me of Bill’s dictum that good storytelling is always conservative. The movie was the last Bond film. (N.B., I had no recollection of most of the storyline from the previous Craig-as-Bond movies except for the first one. It’s possible I never even saw the previous one, but more likely I just forgot almost everything about it. So Madeleine was a completely new character to me, and I had no clue about her tie-in to other characters.)
Anyway, despite the veneer of woke garbage they spread over it, much of which is unintentionally comic, the ultimate message of the film was conservative: pro-life, pro-family, pro-individual, anti-transhumanist, anti-All-Science-Is-Good, anti-big-government, and on and on.
I wonder if they are writing new scrips for Bond movies yet or still using Ian Fleming books? If they are not done with the books, some of the archaic story might still be there under the woke frosting.
This is a super-fun Right Angle, guys! Thank you! What a treat to revisit those great movies, critiqued so well by people I admire… It is also a reminder, a “grounding” that is refreshing, given today’s despair on so many fronts. I love you guys, and Scott, you gotta catch up on these, ok?
I’ve always thought that Blade Runner’s story itself was boring, but dang those visuals. As Ron Swanson pointed out, Diner has not aged well. I watched it for the first time a few years ago and it did nothing for me. Same with The Big Chill – I couldn’t stand the whiny, aging hippies.
Conan was pure Arnold at his best, although as a kid who had read Robert Howard’s books I wish that the movie could have been truer to Conan’s character
I put Tron in the same category as The Phantom Menace – a bad movie that’s still fun to watch
Boy Steve, Bill really got wound up. One of my favorite lines: Khan: “He tasks me! He tasks me! Ill chase him around the moons of Nibia and around the Antares Maelstrom, and around Perditions Flames before I give him up!” Moby Dick paraphrased.
And another Moby Dick quote: ” To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee; For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee.” He either forgot or did not care that the message in Moby Dick was that obsession or revenge can kill you.
Really good year for movies but Wrath of Kahn is my favorite Star Trek movie by far and the real shame is that it was never taken seriously by the Academy. I can only hope that when Scott watches it he wants to watch the original series as well.
That says a lot more about the academy than it does about Wrath of Khan