
Rewinding The '80s
Cinema Under the Influence of a Cold War, Action Stars, and Music Videos
John Malahy(Author)
Running Press Adult
Published on 30. October 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-7624-8966-4 (ISBN)
Description
Take a trip back to your favorite video store with this in-depth journey through the highs and lows of '?80s cinema-with profiles of hundreds of films-and how Hollywood studios around the globe reflected a period of cultural change.
The movies were flying blind in 1980. "New Hollywood" was over and the era of auteur-driven, personal films that had defined moviemaking since the late '60s came to a symbolic end with Heaven's Gate (1980), replaced by a new world of multiplex blockbusters supported by massive marketing campaigns. But beyond the high-school comedies and hardbody action films came a new wave of cinematic excitement-an era defined by Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Purple Rain, When Harry Met Sally, E.T., and Top Gun, each of which are now classics for a new generation of nostalgic movie lovers. The decade saw works that uniquely captured an era of cultural and technological change, from new indie auteurs to the highs and lows of animation, an emergent LGBTQ+ cinema, the last days of the Cold War, and the explosive impact of MTV. With wit and authority, author John Malahy provides fresh insight about the films, filmmakers, and stars who illuminated each of the exciting new facets of Hollywood throughout the decade.
Illustrated with more than 200 full-color photos, Rewinding the '80s is a lively, intelligent, and immersive look at an indelible moment in modern history.
The movies were flying blind in 1980. "New Hollywood" was over and the era of auteur-driven, personal films that had defined moviemaking since the late '60s came to a symbolic end with Heaven's Gate (1980), replaced by a new world of multiplex blockbusters supported by massive marketing campaigns. But beyond the high-school comedies and hardbody action films came a new wave of cinematic excitement-an era defined by Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Purple Rain, When Harry Met Sally, E.T., and Top Gun, each of which are now classics for a new generation of nostalgic movie lovers. The decade saw works that uniquely captured an era of cultural and technological change, from new indie auteurs to the highs and lows of animation, an emergent LGBTQ+ cinema, the last days of the Cold War, and the explosive impact of MTV. With wit and authority, author John Malahy provides fresh insight about the films, filmmakers, and stars who illuminated each of the exciting new facets of Hollywood throughout the decade.
Illustrated with more than 200 full-color photos, Rewinding the '80s is a lively, intelligent, and immersive look at an indelible moment in modern history.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Running Press,U.S.
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Illustrations
200 B&W and full-color photos
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 188 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
953 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7624-8966-4 (9780762489664)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

John Malahy
Rewinding The '80s
Cinema Under the Influence of Music Videos, Action Stars, and a Cold War
E-Book
10/2025
Running Press
€9.99
Available for download
Person
John Malahy is a film lover, a veteran of Turner Classic Movies, and a product of the 1980s. He is the author of Summer Movies: 30 Sun-Drenched Classics and the editor of Sidney Poitier: The Great Speeches of an Icon Who Moved Us Forward.
Content
Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION: THE NEW CLASSIC CINEMA . . . vii
Chapter One Old New Hollywood . . . 1 Chapter Two New Studio Auteurs . . . 51
The Animation Section . . . 87 Chapter Three The Cold War . . . 103
The Action Section . . . 127 Chapter Four Teen Movies . . . 143
The Horror Section . . . 173
Chapter Five
Music . . . 191
The Documentary Section . . . 227 Chapter Six Alternative Cinema . . . 239 CONCLUSION . . . 265
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . 266
INDEX . . . 267
ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . . 274
INTRODUCTION: THE NEW CLASSIC CINEMA . . . vii
Chapter One Old New Hollywood . . . 1 Chapter Two New Studio Auteurs . . . 51
The Animation Section . . . 87 Chapter Three The Cold War . . . 103
The Action Section . . . 127 Chapter Four Teen Movies . . . 143
The Horror Section . . . 173
Chapter Five
Music . . . 191
The Documentary Section . . . 227 Chapter Six Alternative Cinema . . . 239 CONCLUSION . . . 265
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . 266
INDEX . . . 267
ABOUT THE AUTHOR . . . 274