"Dead? No excuse for laying off work."

Impression: Time Bandits

It’s been about ten years since I last saw Time Bandits in its entirety. What always surprises me about the film is how delightfully strange it continues to feel despite my familiarity with the movie.

"Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within."

Impressions: Chariots of Fire

So after writing about what might be my favorite film from 1981, I now will discuss the picture that was given the Best Picture Oscar honors for that year: “Chariots of Fire”. I can honestly say that while it’s a fine movie, it in no way excels “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or the more acceptable (in Oscar standards) fellow Academy Award nominee “Reds” in terms of presentation or execution.

"This... this is history."

Impression : Raiders of the Lost Ark

I will start this post with the most hyperbolic statement I will ever make on this blog: "Raiders of the Lost Ark " is the greatest action movie ever made.  Personally I don't think it's that bold a belief. If you ask most movie lovers past a certain age, there's no doubt in my mind that many of them would rank "Raiders..." in their top three if not at number one.  So what makes this movie tower over all the action films that have come before it and afterwards? I'm going to do my best to tell you why.

"If you're afraid of getting a rotten apple, don't go to the barrel. Get it off the tree."

So after some quick research and my personal preference, I've decided to choose these 17 films to begin with.

"Seventeen days? Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen hours!"

Replace "days" with "weeks" and that's how much time, starting today, I have left to write about films from 1981 before a new year is upon me. My original plan was to start slow: about one film review (I mean impression) a week, especially since I have an apprehension about writing even though it satisfies me after I complete a piece. I wanted to start slow so as not to, unintentionally, overburden myself with this task. Initially I wanted to start this blog in earnest next week, but I feel compelled to cover as many 1981 films as possible with what little time I have left. So I'm starting a list.

"Memory is energy! It doesn't disappear - it's still in there."

Here is where I put up a tiny disclaimer after the fact.  In 1981, I probably saw only four or five movies in the theaters. Hey, I was ten years old with a single mom with limited funds, so I was lucky my movie going experience was as much as it is.

"That was then, this is now."

So here I go again. This will be my fifth attempt to create and sustain a blog. My previous blogs ranged from my personal musings to an examination and evaluation of the current pop/geek culture. This time I'm going to narrow my focus to a discussion about film.