my favorite movies of 1982:

(1) Fast Times at Ridgemont High

(2) Tenebrae

favorite of 1982:

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

(Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Phoebe Cates, Judge Reinhold, Ray Walston, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, Forest Whitaker. Directed by Amy Heckerling.)

Movies in general are so much about women — it’s shocking what a small percentage of them have been directed by women.

Criterion, which has been focusing on female directors, just released a blu-ray (and DVD) with a restored version of Amy Heckerling’s directorial debut, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The most iconic character in this ensemble movie is a stoner named Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who clashes with his high-school teacher, a strict — but not humorless — disciplinarian named Mr. Hand (Ray Walston). Meanwhile, other students make fumbling attempts at dating and sex.

I finally figured it out. I don’t want sex. Anyone can have sex. … I want a relationship. I want romance.

You want romance? In Ridgemont? We can’t even get cable TV here, Stacy, and you want romance!

A fun, goofy teenage comedy? Yes, but it’s more than that. A serious undercurrent emerges when one of the main characters gets an abortion, which is presented in a notably matter-of-fact way, not as a “controversial issue.” This New York Times video goes into more detail about that plotline after the 3-minute mark, so you might not want to watch it before seeing the movie:

The title of Fast Times at Ridgemont High says a lot: life happens too “fast” to these young people. In their painful awkwardness, they seem incapable of getting it right, but the movie makes them impossible not to love.

Stream Fast Times at Ridgemont High on Netflix, Tubi (free with ads), or these sites.

2nd favorite of 1982:

Tenebrae

(Anthony Franciosa, Christian Borromeo, Mirella D’Angelo, Veronica Lario, Ania Pieroni. Directed by Dario Argento.)

Director Dario Argento is one of the masters of giallo, an Italian genre of vividly stylized horror movies. At a screening of Tenebrae (also spelled Tenebre) in 2022, Argento said: “I get asked all the time: What is an Italian giallo? My answer is: this film. Look at it, and you’ll see exactly what we mean.” 

Argento was hounded by media criticism of the violence in his movies (especially against women), and eventually a fan started calling him on the phone making those criticisms — and death threats. Argento channeled that disturbing experience into Tenebrae, in which police ask a murder mystery novelist, Peter Neal (played by American actor Anthony Franciosa), to help them track down a serial killer who keeps killing women and leaving behind clues that his or her inspiration is coming from Neal’s work.

Tenebrae uncomfortably juxtaposes eroticism with brutality, and the movie’s look and sound merge luxury with madness. Sleek ’80s modernism and brightly colored, wide-open spaces give way to claustrophobic interiors and deep-red blood. And as you can hear in this trailer, an arresting, incessantly pulsating synth soundtrack captures the obsession at the heart of Tenebrae:

Stream Tenebrae on Tubi (free with ads), Plex (free with ads), or these sites.

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