Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with 80's

"He's handy with his whip. . .and his lips!"

Ndwright — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:06:57 -0800

Movies inspired by films of the 30's-50's? After reading this recent fpp I stumbled across a comment by Piratebowling:

So, when the [fake] Ghostbusters trailer started floating around the internet a month or so ago, I got really excited, because it reminded me of how much movies from the 80's were drawing on material from the 30's through 50's. Ghostbusters took Abbott and Costello themes and ran with them in a more modern direction. Indiana Jones was an homage to older action serials (as wonderfully shown with the trailer here.)
. . .
Anyway, since I noticed this, I want to see more. These trailers are scratching that itch a bit, but any recommendations for 80's films drawing on inspiration from older films?

I'm actually curious about this as well, thus the askme post. What are some films (not just from the 80's) that draw heavily from the films of the 30's-50's? And not as in "it has a Casablanca reference."

In addition to the examples mentioned in the thread, Indiana Jones and Ghostbusters, I can off the top of my head think of the Coens' "The Man Who Wasn't There" and "The Hudsucker Proxy", which drew from noir films and screwball comedies, respectively. "Scarface" of course was inspired by gangster films of the 30's, while Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" is an excellent parody/mashup of old noir films. "Star Wars" is probably the most famous, drawing heavy inspiration (in addition to its scene transitions) from Flash Gordon serials.

Seeking a vintage, red bomber jacket

Khazk — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:31:57 -0800

I can't find this "adidas"-lookalike retro jacket from this Utah Saints "Something Good" music video, and I kind of want to buy one for ~$50 in Canada! I have already raided the parents' "vintage" boxes at home and it appears that the Striped Cuff, fall/spring rainjacket style was pretty popular in the late 70's/early 80's, but my folks don't have one in red. I have tried a few vintage stores in my local area (Edmonton Alberta) but to no avail. Adidas had/has a similar style of jacket on the market but they eliminate "old" articles from their online catalogue as soon as the new season starts. I've seen them posted as "varsity jackets", "baseball bombers", and "aviator" jackets.

I need the jacket for an upcoming party and I'm very particular about the color scheme: red jacket with elastic red cuffs and white stripes on the collar and wrists. No other tones or colored sleeves...as close as possible to the one in the video!

I'm looking for a retailer online that sells this style of jacket, unbranded if possible.

Cheers and thanks from the Great (soon to be) White North

KZ

Need non-people 80's pop culture icons

dogmom — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:44:22 -0800

Pop-culture enthusiasts: I am working on a project that will incorporate 80's(ish) themes/icons. But there is a caveat. No people.

This is an embroidery project and recognizable people are too hard to embroider (at least for my purposes). So is anything that involves shading. For example, an image of Michael Jackson would not work, but a single sequined glove would as it's pretty obvious what it represents. Basically, I'm looking for things that have simple outlines and are recognizable by those simple outlines. This picture of Kermit is perfect.

Ok, now that you know (I hope) what I'm looking for, what can you give me from the years of 1978-1993 or so?

SAY MY NAME!

Bageena — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:04:45 -0800

Simple Mefi, simple! I just want to buy a replica of the Orin from the 80's fantasy film The Neverending Story. I'd like a nice one, but at this point.... Thus continuing my epic quest to ask Metafilter to provide me with things that simply don't exist (see my last question where I asked for an apparently very rare version of The Jerk), I really, really want a nice, high-quality replica of the Orin from The Neverending Story. You know, the little symbol of the two snakes biting one another found on the book Bastion steals from the book store. Help me Mefi, help me.

(I still haven't found that copy of The Jerk either)

Identify this clip of nude bald people making out in the 80's.

Uncle — Fri, 29 May 2009 21:12:45 -0800

Help me identify a clip I saw randomly at a bar. So I'm at the Holiday Club in Chicago which is having New Wave night and showing random '80's video on the TV. I just saw a clip of a bald man and a bald woman making out in a all white space before silver android looking things came and took the man away. The guy looked maybe like Dennis Hopper. There was nipple so it must have been from a movie or HBO or something. Anybody have any guesses? Thanks

TV-movie where a healer slides a lump under a woman's skin

XiBe — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:59:47 -0800

[TVMoviesFilter] Trying to remember an old, cheap-looking movie from a single rememberance: in a room full of rich people, a magician/healer slides a woman's neck tumor/lump through to her finger, at which point he cuts it off with a knife. It's really foggy in my memory, I must have seen in (French) TV in the mid- to end-80's (so probably made earlier in for US TV, 70's?), and only this scene stuck in my head, nothing else. I'd but just curious to know more about this.

My rememberance of that scene starts with the magician/healer. He might have been performing in front of that rich audience earlier, or circled around them while performing, restaurant-style, not sure.

He spots a lump on an old lady's neck (or face or cheek, erm), and start to push under the skin, down to neck, over the bonnes, to the arm, and finally the finger. This takes a few minutes, all the while keeping the lump clearly visible under the skin.

That's when suddenly he reaches for a knife on the table, and quickly strikes the finger he is keeping in his other hand, wham. We don't see anything, 'cos a white flash serves as an opener to the next scene, where it gets blurrier in my mind - wether she's stunned at being healed this way, or men from the room grab the magician and take him away, or maybe even both...

Hivemind, does that strike a bell for you too?

Thanks a lot for any input! :)

Game-name filter: DOS ninjas?

ab3 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:32:32 -0800

Idle nostalgic curiosity is driving me crazy - looking for at least the name (at best, a working version) of a late 80s/early 90s DOS (not arcade) 2-d ninja game - very simple, and the most notable characteristic is that the entire game was in uber-simple orange-red-green VGA palette colors against a black background. It's NOT any of the Ninja Gaiden games or anything else easily Googled up. The graphics were very simple but relatively detailed and professionally done and the game involved platformer-style moving through levels, climbing ladders, throwing shuriken at enemies, etc. It was not a one-on-one fighting game.

More likely than not this was free/shareware.

I know this is a longshot, but there's no better place for longshot answers than here, right?

The audience chanted, "HECTOR HECTOR HECTOR."

kiki_s — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:57:46 -0800

Name that movie filter: What 80's dark comedy/horror movie did I see with the members of my falculty? I wasn't able to catch much of the plot as I saw the movie at a private screening with a couple hundred of rowdy university students. What I caught is very scattered:

-Zombies were created by a group of scientists to kill the human race (or something of that nature). The zombies disintegrated their victims.
-The protagonist was young, hot brunette. She worked at a cinema. She neglected her work in favour of playing the arcade system. She has a teenage sister who's a cheerleader.
-The protagonist's love interest was called Hector.
-Protagonist, sister and Hector were the only humans not aware of the evil scheme to survive.
-The name of the film may have had “Comet” in it. I’m not sure.

Thanks all.

Power Hour Help!

ASM — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:14:19 -0800

Can you help me find an 80s Power Hour mix? I'm looking for an 80s Power Hour mix, ideally it'll just be one long mp3. I've searched the tubes to no avail.

I honestly thought that something like this would be easier to find.

For those unfamiliar with the power hour concept, you're essentially listening to 60 tracks that are cut to 1 minute in length over the course of an hour.

Obviously, if anyone knows of a continuous 80s Power Hour mix that's longer than an hour, I'll take it.

Thanks for the help!

What Apple computer was this early 80's carry-on bag designed for?

SmileyChewtrain — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:10:37 -0800

What (early 80's?) Apple Computer was this nicely constructed nylon "carry-on" bag made for? I recently came across this very nice bag at a second hand store in Connecticut. Initially, I thought it was a record bag - it's about the right size, and it's built well and looks like it can hold a heavy load.

Pictures: Front (closed), Front (open), Logo, Inner Patch

Upon closer inspection, I noticed an Apple Computer patch on the front - the old "rainbow" logo. It's not an added patch - it's flush with the design of the bag, and there's another patch on the inside with a Apple copyright and the text:

Warning
This bag is designed for carry-on use only
Use an ATA Spec. 300, category 1 approved
container for checking your computer as
luggage or shipping it as cargo.

So, I assume (based on the pockets all over it, and it's weighty construction) that it was made for an early Apple to be transported, even as a carry-on on a plane. I've found very little information about this searching around on Google - nothing comes up for the text string and searching for "apple" and "bag" and permutations thereof yields nothing useful. There were a few mentions on forums of old apple computers coming with bags, but nothing that specifically described this one.

It's definitely an odd color choice (a warm beige - looks cool in the flash photos, but it's a little warmer in real life), though perhaps not for the time... One of the stranger aesthetic choices of Apple's I've seen... so I'm wondering which computer model this bag was made for.

Searching for laser portrait background.

binocularfight — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:04:01 -0800

where can i find an image of the fuzzy laser background that was used in school pictures in the 80's and early 90's? do you remember the fuzzy lasers background? it was a greyish backdrop with different colored lasers over the top. not a lot of lasers, just a few. and they were diffused to make them look kind of fuzzy or blurry. a lot of kids had this in portraits back in the 80's and early 90's. i have searched high and low through google and have found nothing. i'd prefer it to be a large image size, but at this point, i'll take anything. even if there's a kid in the photo, i can photoshop them out. thanks so much for your help!

I want my obscure 80's

pointystick — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:42:34 -0800

Sometimes I can’t find what I want at the local House o’ Used CD’s or on iTunes. What are your favorite sources for (legally) obtaining music? I’m a big fan of 70’s and 80’s music* Most of the music on my iPod is either ripped from my own CD collection or downloaded from iTunes but I want more. More disco, more new wave, more obscure soundtracks… Alas, I am far from expert about the ways of music downloading.

- I don’t mind paying – although cheaper is better, of course.
- IANAL but I’m presuming that even if a CD is out-of-print that doesn’t mean one can just download it willy-nilly.

I’m sure they’re other things to consider as well as finding sources so I bow to the superior knowledge of my fellow meFites.

* yes I like cheesy music- trying to be brave by not posting anon!

Help me identify a 70's-80's home repair show

wylde21 — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:50:48 -0800

TV FILTER: I am looking for the name of a 70s-80s home repair/gardening TV show, and the female host's name. I used to watch the show, in syndication, on local Seattle TV in the early 80s. I believe the show was made in Canada, but maybe the US. The hostess was a thin woman with light brown hair and the shows premise was that she was a housewife working on her house and garden while the husband was away. They had a dog. She would have sections on the show showing how to pot plants, change light bulbs, grout tile, etc....

Trying To Find Evidence Of The Wendy's Jazz Cap

extraface — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:35:07 -0800

I'm looking for a photo of a Wendy's Jazz Cap, or even just first-hand recollections of them. These were apparently some type of multicolored painter's cap sold at Wendy's establishments in the late 80's(possibly 1988ish). There seems to be no trace of their existence online. Phone calls to the Wendy's Customer Service hotline have come back with a "try eBay" response. A few good but ultimately fruitless tries to track one down can be found on the comments to my blog. Any information, photos, or recollections would be very much appreciated.

Help me figure out these movies from the 80's that haunt me!

davidstith — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:51:52 -0800

MovieFilter: Help me identify these two 80's movies that haunt my memory. The problem is I only vaguely remember one scene from each movie, but maybe some of you movie experts can help clear this up:

Movie #1: A man and a woman struggling in some sort of a red/orange bubbly water in a cave or cavern. Perhaps there was even something in this watery goo trying to attack them.

Move #2: I just remember a group of talking dolls in a basement. Not sure if this was a horror movie or not?

Hallelujah Bebop, give me a job

cosmicbandito — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 08:06:46 -0800

Forgotten book filter: Children's book, read in the early 80's. Young girl and her father have a computer they program together. Dad dies or leaves. Someone new (female?) moves into the house with the girl and her mom. Girl discovers she can control the electrical circuits of the house by typing commands on the computer. She uses this to try to drive away the person who has moved into the house. I remember the computer had a custom prompt that was something like "Hallelujah Bebop, give me a job". Anybody else remember this book?

Need to ID 80's silent movie

gofargogo — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:29:20 -0800

MovieFilter: I need help identifying a late-80's or very early 90's silent movie that takes place in NY... I remember seeing it on cable as a kid, but I have no idea what it was called. I only remember vingettes, but there was no dialogue just music

Vignette 1: There was a black guy and a white guy in suits taking the ferry into the city (they were roommates?)

Vignette 2: The white guy is sitting at his desk in the office, and it's empty except for a janitor, and there blood and maybe crime scene tape around the desk next to him.

Hazy, perhaps wrong memory: The title had something to do with "Cabinet";

My brain refuses to give up the goods

zap rowsdower — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 07:00:43 -0800

Need a movie id. I saw it in the 80's and the plot was that the U.S.S.R. had created an "Anytown, USA" and kidnapped some americans to populate it with to study/observe. I thought it was titled "Back in the U.S.S.R." but alas the one on IMDB is not it.

you've been here before

spork — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:21:45 -0800

What's the name of this computer game from the mid-late 1980s? When I was a kid I played this game on the PC and all I remember is it took place in a castle (I think) and it was a maze and when you hit a brick wall and the words "you've been here before" pop up. Thanks.

An old New Wave act - anyone remember?

davebush — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 17:58:30 -0800

I'm trying to recall an obscure New Wave record. I bought it for a dollar in some delete bin somewhere around 1985. Dark blue cover with a letterboxed photo of 2 guys (I'm certain the band was a duo). I'm pretty sure the guys looked alike (brothers?) and were both dressed in white. The music was synth-based semi-commerical stuff with a slight edge. In my mind, the words "silent" and "motion" are connected to the album - could be the band name or song title(s). This was not a one-hit wonder act.

Old creepy show

toftk — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 20:12:07 -0800

Does anyone remember a show in the 80's that had an antique store and the people who ran the store would go back in time through the antique that was connected to an incident and they would help people. I think there was a young guy and girl and one old guy.

moviefilter: what's this movie?

Mark5four0 — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 12:39:13 -0800

Moviefilter: 80's movie, guy gets to design a lamborghini ... Here are some details I remember. I think the car was a wedding gift from his fiance's parents? but he was only supposed to choose the basic options... then he goes overboard and gets the thing fully loaded. My memory gets a little hazy here, I think something goes wrong and the car goes crazy... then I think there was some kind of rougue mechanic that helps him out.

I remember this from when I was a kid so I'm assuming it's an 80's movie.

good luck hive mind, the clock is ticking

Peace and Prosperity of the late 80's and 90's

Deep Dish — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 00:27:53 -0800

I found myself warm and nostalgic today for the brief period between the end of the cold war and the war on terror. Do you think history will look at it as a very good time to be alive or is this just me being a nostalgic Gen x-er?

Mystery 80's Song!

Stauf — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 23:40:04 -0800

Probably the most idiotic question I've posted here, but I can't figure it out! Help me figure out the name of an 80's tune (Warning: My memory of the lyrics/theme in the song are close to nil). I'll be incredibly happy if someone could figure this out from my extremely meager clues. Okay: - it is definitely considered a very popular 80's tune, - I feel like I remember it having something to do with kids/teens getting away/running off on their own, - something perhaps about the "night" or maybe a "hill" (one or both of these could be figments of my imagination I suppose), - I feel like there is some sort of mention of young vs. old in the song, -there's some sort of comradery in the song, like the singer is talking about a collective "we" (at least two people), - it definitely has a chorus that is repeated a few times throughout the song.

This is all I can really remember, which is quite obviously vague and somewhat general (and possibly even wrong). Still, maybe, just maybe, I've got some of my "clues" right and someone has an idea of what I'm talking about. I'm almost sure I'd recognize it in an instant if I saw it.

New Playboys: As good as these old Playboys?

shanevsevil — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 12:40:22 -0800

I just found a big box of old Playboys that cover dates from the mid sixties to the early eighties. I got to reading them (clothed) and you know what? Everything I've ever heard about how good the articles are is true! I'm sure they still have hot babes, what I'm asking is are they still writing these great, edgy articles about culture and politics, or are they basically FHM now? I mean these magazines have articles from everyone from Andy Warhol to P.G Wodehouse for chrissakes. Extra points if you link me to a really cool article as proof.