Fantasy Films of the 1980S
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Fantasy Films of the 1980s Submitted by Tara Ghai, to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Research in English, September 2011. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. (Signature)……………………………………………………………………………… Fantasy films have been a part of cinema since the very beginnings of the medium. Although fantasy films can be found in every decade of the last century, the genre only became persistently successful from the late 1970s onwards. Perhaps the relatively recent prominence of fantasy goes some way to explain why the genre lacks the academic discourse that other film genres have encouraged. Another reason why fantasy has evaded considerable discussion as a genre could be because of the difficulty in defining it. Fantasy can encompass numerous types of films, and features an array of different thematic and visual styles. Previous studies examining fantasy either fail to consider the mode as a genre, or only consider a limited array of films. Using Tzvetan Todorov’s assessment of The Fantastic as a framework, this thesis examines fantasy films from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. I reassert fantasy’s position as a genre rather than a mode or impulse. Analysing a wide range of films from this period, this thesis outlines the preoccupations of the genre and identifies the various cycles and sub-genres encompassed by the term ‘fantasy’. These categories include those that concern the style of film and those that concern the intended audience. Deconstructing the fantasy genre in these sub-genres makes it more manageable to appraise the genre as a whole. Consistent patterns emerge in the examination of these films, ranging from archetypal characters to a fixation with subversion. The 1980s was a critical time for fantasy cinema as it was the first sustained period of frequent successful films. Fantasy was the most commercially successful genre of the decade; Hollywood’s output in this period still reverberates in today’s industry. Thus, the fantasy genre is most worthy of the critical discussion afforded to other genres. 2 Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Professor Steve Neale for all his help and support throughout the course of my PhD. His guidance, advice and patience have been essential to the completion of this project. I would also like to thank the staff at University of Exeter, particularly Morwenna Hussey, the best department administrator I have ever come across. My gratitude is also extended to the helpful and friendly staff at the British Film Institute’s reading room, where I spent numerous hours researching my thesis. I would also like to express my appreciation to family members and friends for their support whilst completing my thesis. A huge thanks to my parents, who offered support and encouragement over the past five years. I also extend my gratitude to Anthony, Jon, Nia, Nicola and Susannah for the encouragement, advice, and numerous offers of proofreading. These five and other friends have helped to keep me sane during the more ardent periods of this project. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my brother. Thanks to Raj for introducing me to many of these wonderful 1980s fantasy films and cartoons as a young child. The nostalgia I have felt for these films has inevitably been a driving force in propelling me to undertake this thesis. 3 Contents Introduction 5 Chapter 1: Literature Review 19 Chapter 2: Review of Reviews 48 Chapter 3: “Fantasia has no boundaries”: The 1980s Fairytale Film 79 Chapter 4: “A Magical, Mystical Adventure”: Sword and Sorcery Films 104 Chapter 5: Of Masters and Mermaids: Animation and the Children’s Film 125 Chapter 6: Shrunken Kids, Lost Boys and Barbarians: Fantasy For All Ages 151 Chapter 7: “I Ain’t ’Fraid of No Ghost”: Ghost Busters, Gremlins, Beetlejuice and the 1980s Supernatural Comedy 176 Chapter 8: Time, Space, and Capes: Franchises and Comic Book Adaptations from Star Wars to Batman Returns 200 Chapter 9: “Welcome to prime time, bitch!”: Horror and Science-Fiction in the 1980s 229 Conclusion 252 Appendix: List of Appendix 263 Bibliography 270 4 Introduction Fantasy cinema was not a phenomenon that first arose in the 1980s. Since the earliest days of the moving image, the fantasy genre has had a role to play in narrative cinema. The works of Georges Méliès and others testify to this.i In the decades that followed, fantasy became a significant film genre, although one that appeared perhaps less frequently than others. Moreover, fantasy was more prominent in horror and science-fiction than in other guises in the classical Hollywood era. Nevertheless, films such as King Kong (1933) and The Wizard of Oz (1939) were made in the 1930s, Pinocchio (1940) and It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) in the 1940s, with Alice in Wonderland (1951), and The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1957) in the 1950s. It was not until the late 1970s, however, that a defined cycle of successful fantasy films began to emerge in the modern era. This thesis will examine this cycle and the fantasy genre as a whole from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Within this period, fantasy became not only a prevalent genre, but a commercially successful one as well. Despite this fact, comparatively little has been written about the genre, and even less about the films in this period. There are a number of reasons why the fantasy genre is worthy of academic study. One is that it was one of the most successful 1980s genres, as Graham Thompson has observed.ii Since the late 1970s, fantasy has been a prevalent genre in Hollywood, with its films frequently topping box office charts. As Chapter 2 reveals, the term is often coupled with other genre forms such as adventure, romance, comedy and science- fiction in reviews of the genre’s films. This is suggestive of the fact that it is not always considered a genre in its own right. However, whilst fantasy became particularly popular at this time, it is in fact as old as any other film genre, and while considerable 5 attention has been paid to forms that are no longer as popular as they once were, fantasy still seems to lack concrete definition, let alone comprehensive and detailed study. This thesis aims, at least in part, to fill this gap in genre criticism by offering a thorough account of fantasy in the 1980s. Prior to the late 1970s, fantasy appeared in various cinematic guises. Disney animated features from the 1930s onwards depicted fairytales aimed at a family audience. The Universal horror film series of the 1930s and 1940s appealed to an audience looking for thrills. Hammer Films repeated the cycle in the 1950s and 1960s. Cold War preoccupations generated a successful series of science-fiction films in the 1950s.iii Supernatural films appeared throughout the decades. An important example of this was the supernatural comedy, with films such as The Ghost Goes West (1935). In the 1960s, films such as Jason and the Argonauts (1963) depicted the legends of Greek mythology using the special effects techniques pioneered by Ray Harryhausen. In the late 1960s and 1970s, filmmaker George A Romero directed a series of zombie horror films. Science-fiction in the 1970s meanwhile exhibited dystopian visions through films such as THX 1138 (1971) and Logan’s Run (1976). It would be hard to underestimate the importance of Star Wars (1977) in ushering in a new age of fantasy cinema. However, it would also be remiss to suggest that this film alone was responsible for all that followed. There were several films released in the late 1970s that had a considerable influence on what followed in the 1980s and beyond. Firstly, the big-budget remake King Kong (1976) had a significant impact on later films. The film was a success, earning $80 million worldwide. It was, however, perceived as a flop at the time, due to the precedent set by Jaws (1975) the previous year, and the fact that it took less than A Star is Born (1976) and Rocky (1976), 6 both of which were produced on a smaller budget.iv Nevertheless, the film heralded an age of fantasy blockbusters, which was amplified by the success of Star Wars the following year. Furthermore, coupled with Jaws’ success in 1975, King Kong established the distribution strategy of opening blockbusters on a saturation basis, a template that was followed throughout the 1980s and one that continues to be implemented in Hollywood today. In the same year, the bodyswap comedy Freaky Friday (1976) was released. Whilst the film was only a modest hit, taking $11.5 million in North American rentals,v it paved the way for a number of bodyswap films in the 1980s. Released two years later, Superman (1978) had a substantial impact on the fantasy films that followed. Richard Donner’s film proved that comic adaptations were a lucrative market; Superman was followed by a plethora of superhero films in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Its success also demonstrated audience receptiveness towards spectacle films that relied on special effects. Finally, Alien, released in 1979, set the benchmark for science-fiction–horror hybrids. The film was immensely successful, taking $40 million in rentals on its initial release.vi As well as spawning a number of sequels, Alien proved the mass appeal of science-fiction and horror films for an adult audience.