my favorite movies of 1980:

(1) The Shining

(2) Atlantic City

favorite of 1980:

The Shining

(Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.)

I have mixed feelings about The Shining. It’s not “my kind of movie” — I usually avoid movies that involve the supernatural or telepathy. But Kubrick’s seminal horror movie about a father/husband who becomes increasingly unhinged while living with his family as the skeleton staff of an isolated, mansion-like hotel that’s closed for the winter is so strikingly eerie and powerfully acted (especially by Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall), and leads to so many engrossing discussions about what it all means — what’s the deal with that ending? and are there ghosts in the movie? — that it would feel wrong not to include it on this list.

Stream it on Tubi (free with ads) or these sites.

2nd favorite of 1980:

Atlantic City

(Susan Sarandon, Burt Lancaster. Directed by Louis Malle.)

Susan Sarandon (in one of her early roles) and Burt Lancaster (in a late role, long after he starred in 1940s film noirs) were nominated for Oscars for Best Actress and Actor for this movie, in which they both give performances of great emotional range and subtlety.

Atlantic City shows gambling, drugs, and crime in a hollowed-out city, without ever moralizing against — or glamorizing — any of that, because the movie refuses to build anyone up into something more evil — or more heroic — than they truly are. The characters are pathetic, but many of them have sweet sides. We wouldn’t want to be them, but we’re glad we briefly get to know them.

I recommend Atlantic City to anyone who likes Boogie Nights (1997) but would also be open to something less glitzy, more gritty.

Stream it on Kanopy or these sites.

Click here for the full list of my favorite movie(s) of each year from 1920 to 2020.