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#1980s

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5 articles

Old Well 1987 Chinese film Wu Tianming Zhang Yimou

Old Well (1987): Zhang Yimou's Star Turn as a Village Searching for Water

Wu Tianming's rural drama won the Tokyo Grand Prix and launched Zhang Yimou's acting career. A film about digging for water becomes a meditation on sacrifice, tradition, and the cost of community.

Jan 31, 2026

A line of figures crossing the loess ridge in Yellow Earth (1984)

analysis

Yellow Earth (1984): The Film That Launched Chinese Fifth Generation Cinema

Chen Kaige's debut and Zhang Yimou's first cinematography work created a new visual language for Chinese cinema. A simple story of a soldier and a peasant girl becomes a meditation on tradition, revolution, and the land itself.

Jan 31, 2026

Iconic shot from Once Upon a Time in America showing silhouettes under the Manhattan Bridge

analysis

Once Upon a Time in America: Leone's Requiem for the American Dream

Sergio Leone's 1984 epic took 15 years to make and was butchered by studios. The restored version reveals one of cinema's most ambitious meditations on memory, betrayal, and the cost of the American Dream.

Jan 30, 2026

The Night Amanda 1981 film still showing the gritty urban noir atmosphere

analysis

The Night Amanda (1981): Finding Light in the Darkest Corners

A deep dive into Gary Graver's forgotten 1981 crime thriller about a sex worker seeking justice. How this exploitation-era film delivers unexpected moral clarity and challenges our assumptions about genre cinema.

Jan 30, 2026

The Shining movie poster featuring Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance

news

The Shining Re-Released: 46 Years Later, We Finally Understand Jack's Madness

Kubrick's 1980 horror classic The Shining returns to theaters after 46 years. Modern workers see their own workplace struggles reflected in Jack Torrance's descent into madness. Why does this film still resonate so deeply?

Jan 30, 2026