BAM Indie 80s
by Buckywunder | created - 17 Jul 2015 | updated - 17 Jul 2015 | Public(Jul 17—Aug 27, 2015) BAMcinématek and Cinema Conservancy present this six week, 60+ film series spotlighting the independent films of the neglected decade between the golden age of 70s New Hollywood and the indie boom of the 90s. Exploring the textures of regional America and uncovering alternative histories to the supposed monoculture of the Reagan years, independent filmmakers of the 1980s offered up an edgy alternative to overblown Hollywood blockbusters and the straight-laced conservatism of the era.
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
R | 81 min | Comedy
An actor limited to stereotypical roles because of his ethnicity, dreams of making it big as a highly respected performer. As he makes his rounds, the film takes a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Robert Townsend, Craigus R. Johnson, Helen Martin, Starletta DuPois
Votes: 6,376 | Gross: $5.23M
2. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark
Votes: 40,649 | Gross: $2.44M
3. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary showcase, what life was like for the music artists living during the Los Angeles Heavy Metal scene in the mid and late 1980s.
Director: Penelope Spheeris | Stars: Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper
Votes: 4,313 | Gross: $0.37M
4. Sidewalk Stories (1989)
R | 97 min | Comedy
Nearly silent comedy filmed in black and white follows a street artist (Charles Lane), who rescues a baby after her father was murdered. The artist then sets off to find the mother, but has... See full summary »
Director: Charles Lane | Stars: Charles Lane, Nicole Alysia, Tom Alpern, Edwin Anthony
Votes: 542 | Gross: $0.13M
5. Sherman's March (1985)
Not Rated | 157 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee sets out to make a movie about Union General Sherman's March to the Sea towards the end of the American Civil War, but keeps getting sidetracked by his own love life.
Director: Ross McElwee | Stars: Ross McElwee, Dede McElwee, Ross McElwee Jr., Patricia Rendleman
Votes: 2,709
6. Heat and Sunlight (1987)
R | 98 min | Drama
Over 16 hours, in February, 1987, a man confronts jealously and rage as a love affair falters. Photojournalist Mel Hurley returns home to San Francisco on the eve of his birthday, expecting... See full summary »
Director: Rob Nilsson | Stars: Rob Nilsson, Consuela Faust, Don Bajema, Ernie Fosselius
Votes: 165
7. Poto and Cabengo (1979)
Not Rated | 77 min | Documentary
Identical young twin girls in the USA have invented their own shared language. Scientists are wanting to study the language but social workers are trying to get the twins to leave their ... See full summary »
Director: Jean-Pierre Gorin | Star: Jean-Pierre Gorin
Votes: 418
8. Wildrose (1984)
95 min | Drama
Shedding her abusive husband, June starts life anew by taking a job as a heavy-machinery operator in an otherwise all-male Minnesota iron mine.
Director: John Hanson | Stars: Lisa Eichhorn, Tom Bower, James Cada, Cinda Jackson
Votes: 82
9. Gap-Toothed Women (1987)
Not Rated | 31 min | Short, Documentary
A charming valentine to women born with a space between their teeth.
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Teresa Peacock, Sherry Dorst, Tobe Melora Correal, Susie Bruder
Votes: 473
10. In Heaven There Is No Beer? (1984)
Not Rated | 51 min | Documentary, Music
A portrait of the life, culture and food surrounding the lovers of Polka music. The title is taken from an old Polka standard. Stars of the Polka world are highlighted.
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Dick Pillar, Walter Szczypula, Jimmy Sturr & His Orchestra, The Marion Lush Orchestra
Votes: 362
11. Trouble in Mind (1985)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
The lives of an ex-con, a coffee-shop owner, and a young couple looking to make it rich intersect in the fictional and hypnotic Rain City.
Director: Alan Rudolph | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, Geneviève Bujold
Votes: 2,426 | Gross: $0.02M
12. Smooth Talk (1985)
PG-13 | 92 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A free-spirited 15-year-old girl flirts with a dangerous stranger in the Northern California suburbs and must prepare herself for the frightening and traumatic consequences.
Director: Joyce Chopra | Stars: Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Margaret Welsh
Votes: 3,384 | Gross: $0.02M
13. River's Edge (1986)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Director: Tim Hunter | Stars: Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck
Votes: 20,670 | Gross: $4.60M
14. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
R | 91 min | Horror
Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon
Votes: 262,419 | Gross: $25.50M
15. Losing Ground (1982)
86 min | Comedy, Drama
Sara, a cold college professor, and her husband, an ecstatic painter, spend a summer away from the city, straining their rocky relationship.
Director: Kathleen Collins | Stars: Seret Scott, Bill Gunn, Duane Jones, Billie Allen
Votes: 880
16. Mala Noche (1986)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama
A story of amour fou. Walt is madly in love/lust with a young illegal Mexican immigrant. However, the object of his unrequited affection doesn't even speak any English and finds Walt really... See full summary »
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Tim Streeter, Doug Cooeyate, Ray Monge, Nyla McCarthy
Votes: 4,329
17. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Crime
A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Randall Adams, David Harris, Gus Rose, Jackie Johnson
Votes: 25,926 | Gross: $1.21M
18. Matewan (1987)
PG-13 | 135 min | Drama, History
A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, Will Oldham
Votes: 8,910 | Gross: $1.68M
19. Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy (1988)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
Tony Buba, a film maker from Braddock, Pennsylvania, tells the story of his hometown's decline (along with the rest of the steel mill towns along the Monongahela River) while he dreams of ... See full summary »
Director: Tony Buba | Stars: Tony Buba, Sal Caru, Werner Herzog, Stephen Pellegrino
Votes: 74 | Gross: $0.02M
20.
American Playhouse (1980–1994)
Episode:
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez
(1982)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The retelling of an incident in Gonzales, Texas in 1901 revolving around a stolen horse, mistaken identity and a killing. An unusual story of the all too usual exploitation of the powerless in Texas History.
Director: Robert M. Young | Stars: Edward James Olmos, James Gammon, Tom Bower, Bruce McGill
Votes: 1,032 | Gross: $0.80M
21. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Unrated | 83 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.
Director: John McNaughton | Stars: Michael Rooker, Tracy Arnold, Tom Towles, Mary Demas
Votes: 40,429 | Gross: $0.61M
22. Vigilante (1982)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After his wife and son got brutalized by a street gang, and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a NYC factory worker teams up with a vigilante group to find some measure of bloody justice.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Rutanya Alda
Votes: 4,536
23. Blank Generation (1980)
Not Rated | 90 min | Music, Drama
Nada, a beautiful French journalist on assignment in New York, records the life and work of an up and coming punk rock star, Billy. Soon she enters into a volatile relationship with him and... See full summary »
Director: Ulli Lommel | Stars: Carole Bouquet, Richard Hell, Ulli Lommel, Suzanna Love
Votes: 447
24. Will (1981)
80 min | Drama
Will is a former college basketball star, without a job and struggling to get off heroin, who cares for a youth whom his friends want to get hooked.
Director: Jessie Maple | Stars: Obaka Adedunyo, Robert Dean, Loretta Devine
Votes: 13
25. Bell Diamond (1986)
96 min | Drama
A telling story of an unemployed Vietnam vet in Butte, Montana, whose wife leaves him after seven years when she feels there is no longer communication between them and - more painfully and... See full synopsis »
Director: Jon Jost | Stars: Scott Andersen, Dan Cornell, Marshall Gaddis, Alan Godard
Votes: 70
26. Parting Glances (1986)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Music, Romance
As Michael and Robert, a gay couple in New York, prepare for Robert's departure for a two-year work assignment in Africa, Michael must face Robert's true motives for leaving while dealing ... See full summary »
Director: Bill Sherwood | Stars: John Bolger, Richard Ganoung, Steve Buscemi, Adam Nathan
Votes: 3,235 | Gross: $0.54M
27. True Love (I) (1989)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Romance
Donna and Michael are getting married. But first, they have to plan the reception, get the tux, buy the rings, and cope with their own uncertainty about the decision. Michael fears ... See full summary »
Director: Nancy Savoca | Stars: Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro, Roger Rignack
Votes: 819 | Gross: $1.35M
28. Paydirt (1981)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Thriller
In this low-key thriller, a community of Oregon winegrowers in need of revenue grow marijuana in order to finance their vineyards.
Director: Penny Allen | Stars: Eric Silverstein, Lola Desmond, Daniel Odell, Melody Bates
Votes: 27
29. Bless Their Little Hearts (1983)
80 min | Drama
A dramatic look into the life of a family in Watts.
Director: Billy Woodberry | Stars: Nate Hardman, Kaycee Moore, Angela Burnett, Ronald Burnett
Votes: 514
30. Day of the Dead (1985)
Not Rated | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
As the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy
Votes: 74,361 | Gross: $5.80M
31. Seventeen (1983)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary
In their final year at Muncie's Southside High School, a group of seniors hurtles toward maturity with a combination of joy, despair, and an aggravated sense of urgency. They are also ... See full summary »
Directors: Joel DeMott, Jeff Kreines
Votes: 220
32. Blood Simple (1984)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 105,224 | Gross: $2.15M
33. Blue Velvet (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern
Votes: 215,658 | Gross: $8.55M
34. Swimming to Cambodia (1987)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Drama
Spalding Gray discusses his participation in the film The Killing Fields (1984) and the background story about the troubles of Cambodia.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Spalding Gray, Sam Waterston, Ira Wheeler
Votes: 2,373 | Gross: $1.09M
35. Let's Get Lost (1988)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Documentary on the life of jazz trumpeter and drug addict Chet Baker. Fascinating series of interviews with friends, family, associates and lovers, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life and some modern-day performances.
Director: Bruce Weber | Stars: Chet Baker, Carol Baker, Vera Baker, Paul Baker
Votes: 2,208
36. Landlord Blues (1988)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy
A greedy landlord wants to evict a bicycle shop from his property and replace it with a high-rent-paying art gallery. The environment-conscious owner of the bike shop outwits the avaricious landlord in a high-speed bike chase.
Director: Jacob Burckhardt | Stars: Mark Boone Junior, Nona Hendryx, Richard Litt, Gerard Little
Votes: 10
37. Vortex (1982)
Not Rated | 90 min | Thriller
A film noirish atmosphere is created to show detective Lunch (a popular underground musician and poet) plow her way through the plans of a corporate businessman who seeks government defense... See full summary »
Directors: Beth B, Scott B | Stars: James Russo, Lydia Lunch, William Rice, Ann Magnuson
Votes: 116
38. El Norte (1983)
R | 141 min | Adventure, Drama
After their family is killed in a government massacre, siblings Enrique and Rosa flee Guatemala and embark on a perilous journey to "El Norte": the United States.
Director: Gregory Nava | Stars: Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Alicia del Lago
Votes: 5,591
39. A Flash of Green (1984)
TV-MA | 121 min | Drama
A local reporter gets involved with a corrupt county commissioner.
Director: Victor Nunez | Stars: Ed Harris, Blair Brown, Richard Jordan, George Coe
Votes: 271
40. My Brother's Wedding (1983)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
A man who has struggled personally has conflicts with his upwardly mobile lawyer brother and well to-do fiancee and is reluctantly to be the best man at their wedding.
Director: Charles Burnett | Stars: Everett Silas, Jessie Holmes, Gaye Shannon-Burnett, Ronnie Bell
Votes: 1,072 | Gross: $0.01M
41. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
R | 100 min | Drama
A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 59,437 | Gross: $24.74M
42. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Music
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer
Votes: 147,343 | Gross: $4.74M
43. The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A man returns to his home town after serving a prison sentence for homicide, and finds that the details of the crime have been forgotten and replaced with local legends and rumors.
Director: Hal Hartley | Stars: Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Chris Cooke, Julia McNeal
Votes: 6,286 | Gross: $0.55M
44. Ms .45 (1981)
R | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Zoë Lund, Bogey, Albert Sinkys, Darlene Stuto
Votes: 12,535
45. The Cosmic Eye (1986)
71 min | Animation, Sci-Fi
Earth is visited by a race of aliens, who issue an ultimatum: either peace or complete destruction.
Directors: Faith Hubley, John Hubley | Stars: Dizzy Gillespie, Linda Atkinson, Sam Hubley, Maureen Stapleton
Votes: 128
46. Route One USA (1989)
255 min | Documentary
Doc (McIsaac), back from a decade in in Africa, and filmmaker Kramer, decide to follow Route 1, from the Canadian border all the way to the tip of Florida.
Director: Robert Kramer | Stars: Jesse Jackson, Paul McIsaac, Pat Robertson
Votes: 302
47. Chan Is Missing (1982)
Not Rated | 76 min | Drama, Mystery
Two cab drivers search San Francisco's Chinatown for the mysterious Chan, who disappeared with their $4000.
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Wood Moy, Marc Hayashi, Laureen Chew, Peter Wang
Votes: 1,853
48. The Ties That Bind (1985)
Not Rated | 55 min | Documentary
The Ties That Bind is an experimental documentary about the filmmaker's mother, who was born and lived in southern Germany from 1920-1950. Through a mixture of personal anecdote and social ... See full summary »
Director: Su Friedrich | Star: Lore Bucher
Votes: 87
49. Ashes and Embers (1982)
120 min | Drama
A troubled Vietnam veteran hoping to forget the war and reconnect with American life struggles with disillusionment, self-worth, and cynicism.
Director: Haile Gerima | Stars: John Anderson, Evelyn A. Blackwell, Norman Blalock, Kathy Flewellen
Votes: 177
50. My Degeneration (1989)
Not Rated | 61 min | Comedy
Evoking the band-in-the-making masterpieces LADIES & GENTLEMEN, THE FABULOUS STAINS and BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, MY DEGENERATION is the story of three young women and their nascent ... See full summary »
Director: Jon Moritsugu | Stars: Amy Davis, Lesley Grant, Lisa Guay, Andy Luck
Votes: 81
51. Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)
82 min | Crime, Documentary
The film recounts the murder of a Chinese-American automotive engineer in a racially motivated hate crime, and how the murderer escaped justice in the court system.
Directors: Christine Choy, Renee Tajima-Pena | Stars: Lily Chin, Ronald Ebens, Starlene
Votes: 300
52. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,363 | Gross: $2.40M
53. Wild Style (1982)
R | 82 min | Drama, Music
South Bronx graffiti artist Zoro is commissioned to paint a backdrop for a hip-hop concert.
Director: Charlie Ahearn | Stars: Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, Fab 5 Freddy, Patti Astor
Votes: 2,948
54. Roger & Me (1989)
R | 91 min | Documentary
After General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Roger B. Smith, Rhonda Britton, Fred Ross
Votes: 27,512 | Gross: $6.71M
55. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Votes: 25,768 | Gross: $5.25M
56. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Romance
Story of a woman and her three lovers.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee
Votes: 16,302 | Gross: $7.14M
57. Making Do the Right Thing (1989 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary
The Behind-the-Scenes documentary of the dramatic comedy Do the Right Thing.
Director: St. Clair Bourne | Stars: Danny Aiello, Jennie Bourne, Nandi Bowe, Ossie Davis
Votes: 216
58. Personal Problems (1980)
165 min | Drama
A partly improvised story of a complicated marriage, the people surrounding the central couple, friends they're having affairs with, and unwanted family.
Director: Bill Gunn | Stars: Vertamae Grosvenor, Carey Barnes, Alan Beckles, Thommie Blackwell
Votes: 208
59. Say Amen, Somebody (1982)
G | 100 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary about the American gospel music scene, focusing on two of the movement's pioneering forces, Thomas A. Dorsey and Willie May Ford Smith.
Director: George T. Nierenberg | Stars: Willie Mae Ford Smith, Thomas A. Dorsey, Sallie Martin, Delois Barrett Campbell
Votes: 429
60. Patti Rocks (1988)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Drama
It's Christmas time in the twin cities. Billy's working a lot of overtime, running barges on the Mississippi. He calls his friend Eddie, whom he hasn't seen in six months, and asks a favor:... See full summary »
Director: David Burton Morris | Stars: Chris Mulkey, John Jenkins, Karen Landry, David Turk
Votes: 345 | Gross: $0.35M
61. Sleepwalk (1986)
R | 78 min | Drama, Fantasy
A woman is hired to transcribe an ancient Chinese manuscript. She finds that little by little, the manuscript has powers that begin to take over her life.
Director: Sara Driver | Stars: Suzanne Fletcher, Ann Magnuson, Dexter Lee, Stephen Chen
Votes: 500
62. Alphabet City (1984)
R | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.
Director: Amos Poe | Stars: Vincent Spano, Michael Winslow, Kate Vernon, Jami Gertz
Votes: 1,133
63. Chameleon Street (1989)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
Detroiter William Douglas Street poses as a Harvard doctor, Time reporter, African exchange student.
Director: Wendell B. Harris Jr. | Stars: Timothy Alvaro, Renauld Bailleux, William Ballenger, Lynn Barbee
Votes: 1,039 | Gross: $0.24M
Tell Your Friends