In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, we are counting down the 5 Best Christmas Films with Happy Endings; films that define our human and Christmas spirit.

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1. It’s a Wonderful Life

It’s a Wonderful Life Review

Frank Capra’s 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey; an everyman from Bedford Falls who is contemplating suicide on Christmas Eve to overcome financial difficulties for his small buildings and loans company. The film is predominantly told in flashback as we see the totality of George’s life, from his being a youngster on the ice in winter-time through to him stood on a bridge staring into the abyss at Christmas. A guardian angel by the name of Clarence comes down to show George what a gift he has been to the people in the town, and shows him a dark alternative world that would have resulted had he never been born.

George learns that family and friends are perhaps the most important aspect of not just his but anybody’s life – as the card from Clarence notes ‘No man is a failure if he has friends’. The film’s climax at the Bailey household finds George redeemed and reborn, full of mirth and joy, as he is surrounded by his wife Mary (Donna Reed) and a town full of benevolent friends. The cathartic release of the film’s finale helps George to prioritise family above money, love above ambition; these lessons are universal and explain the annual appeal of the film. As they sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ in unison at film’s end, the message is clear that It’s a Wonderful Life is about friendship.

Much like George, the film gained a second chance in the 1970s when it was shown repeatedly on television in the United States; the message of unity through family and only knowing what you have once it’s gone speaks to us all, this masterpiece remaining iconic and beloved to filmgoers old and new year upon year.

Recommended for you: It’s a Wonderful Life – The Truest of Christmas Films

2. White Christmas

Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), White Christmas (based upon Irving Berlin’s hit single) stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as Bob Wallace and Phil Davis – army buddies who post-WW2 go into showbusiness together. Over the Christmas holidays, they happen upon a holiday resort that is run by their former Major in command (Dean Jagger) and has fallen on hard times. With the help of sisters Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen they enlist their show to help the inn return to its former glory.

While Crosby does charm his way through the film, the star of the show is Kaye. As the buffoonish Davis, Kaye does wonders with a sidekick role and has the best dance number in “The Best Things Happen When You’re Dancing”. It’s feel-good filmmaking for the soul.

The ending is wonderful in that the whole platoon from the start of the film returns to pay homage and honour the service record of their former leader. All the soldiers appearing in uniform to respect their commander means more to him than anything else – a show of solidarity and brotherhood you could only find in the military. Then the film concludes with a rendition of the famous titular song by all the cast as snow descends upon the Vermont location. The magic of Hollywood.

Making his debut on screens in the form of animated shorts and live-action serials throughout the 1940s, Superman would be the focus of his first feature length film in 1951’s Superman and the Mole Men. A symbol of American exceptionalism and an easily identifiable hero in anyone’s book, Superman became the very first superhero to get the blockbuster treatment with Richard Donner’s 1978 film Superman. Donner’s Superman was a smash at the box office and would prove just how successful superhero films could be, inspiring generations of fantasy-action filmmakers within the superhero genre and beyond. Since then, Superman has appeared in numerous comic book flicks, even appearing as recently as 2021 in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

In this edition of Ranked, we at The Film Magazine are analysing the 7 leading appearances of the Man of Steel on the big screen, from Superman and the Mole Men in 1951 to Man of Steel in 2013, and ranking each Superman film from worst to best in terms of quality, longevity and importance, to determine which of Clark Kent’s many adventures deserves to be recognised as the best, and which should be acknowledged as the worst…

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7. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Although ranked last in our list of Superman movies, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace sets the tone for every other Superman movie to come. Fun. No matter how bad a Superman movie may be, it is impossible not to enjoy yourself.

That being said, Christopher Reeve’s fourth outing as the character is as bad as they come. Although the film boldly tackles the threat of nuclear annihilation – which was relevant for the mid-to-late 1980s – the film’s cheesy approach creates a final product that is hilariously of its time.

To make matters worse, much of the charm of the previous three films is completely lost. The movie’s writing portrays Lois Lane as though she only tolerates Clark Kent due to his connection with Superman, and it comes across as though she only cares about Superman because he makes for a good story. It presents Lois as totally selfish, making Clark’s previously goofy yet charming efforts to court Lois feel more sad than sweet. 

Christopher Reeve’s deeper involvement on this fourth venture as both a writer and a second unit director do show just how much he cared about the character, but even Reeve couldn’t save this doomed production under the infamous Cannon (film company).

If you like films that are so bad they’re good, then The Quest for Peace can be enjoyed, and comes complete with terrible effects, an anti-climactic slow motion fight in space, terrible visual effects and the most ‘80s villain of all time. But to most of us, it’s hard to believe that this was released just 2 years before Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).

Recommended for you: Live-Action Batman Movies Ranked

6. Superman III (1983)

No subtitle for this film. Although, maybe there should have been. Perhaps a new title altogether. “Richard Pryor Meets Superman” probably would have been a more apt title, given that the film often feels more like a Richard Pryor comedy vehicle rather than a tale of the Man of Steel.

It may be the second lowest ranked film on this list but Superman III features some of the greatest Superman moments put to film, such as the now famous chemical plant fire scene and the Evil Superman vs Superman Fight. On top of this, Clark Kent’s new love interest, Lana, makes for a change from the Lois/Clark dynamic that was, frankly, spent by the time Superman III was released. 

However, almost all of the positives of Superman III come within the film’s first half, before taking a total nosedive in quality with the second half. Superman’s “evil deeds”, such as blowing out the Olympic torch, straightening the leaning tower of Pisa and aggressively flicking peanuts are just some examples from the incredibly comical Evil Superman’s time on screen. 

Terrible Richard Pyror slapstick and boring villain aside, Superman III can be enjoyed as being more than just a bad movie, this Richard Lester directed effort offering a number of things to appreciate even close to four decades later. 

One such an answer that is often the cause of grievance and controversy is John McTiernan’s Die Hard (1988). For those who adore the season’s staples such as White Christmas and It’s A Wonderful Life, and modern favourites such as Elf and Love Actually, the idea that a film about a showdown between a single NYPD officer and a group of vicious terrorists is even considered a Christmas film is, frankly, disgusting.

Well, sorry haters, but it turns out that Die Hard is actually part of a long tradition of non-conventional Christmas flicks – we have an extensive catalogue of Christmas Horrors for example, from Black Christmas in 1974 to Krampus in 2015. Christmas even makes its appearances in the most unlikely of plots: Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece Brazil, an Orwellian black comedy, is a prime example, as is the legendary crime thriller The French Connection. However, neither of these examples are considered Christmas movies (not even in the alternative or ironic sense), and rightly so. Christmas isn’t the focus of these films and is in fact used to highlight the darkness and evil of the stories it’s used in. That’s not very festive at all!

How Can a film Be Considered a True Christmas Movie Beyond the Mere Inclusion of the Holiday?

If we ignore the blatant capitalist message behind nearly every mainstream Yuletide film, we should consider the real message behind the original Christmas Story – The Nativity of course.

Pushing past the shepherds, kings and angels, Christmas is essentially the tale of light shining in the darkness, living in the hope of reconciliation and redemption. These are therefore the essential themes of any real Christmas film. Natalie Hayes of BBC Culture, in her article “The Magic Formula that Makes the Perfect Christmas Film”, noted that for a film to be considered a true Christmas movie, it must include the following elements: desire, a touch of magic, the value of family, and of course a dose of trial and tribulation for our heroes to overcome.

As hollow as some of these films seem to be to the lovers of a more Traditional Noel, the likes of Jingle All the Way do in fact meet these requirements, and with Die Hard being one of the most exceptional and beloved action movies of all time, it seems a very reasonable choice as a favourite Christmas film too. But what has come to my notice is the criminal overlooking of another alternative festive watch, one with striking similarities to Die Hard, released only a year prior: Lethal Weapon.

Like Die Hard, Richard Donner’s film meets the pre-requisites of a Christmas Classic and is again one of the most popular action movies from the 80s, likewise spawning an iconic franchise. Have we been duped all along with putting our money behind the inferior flick, or is Die Hard truly the superior of the pair? On the basis of which film boasts the truest Christmas Spirit, let us experience the most exciting of movie battles… Die Hard vs Lethal Weapon.

Desire

Is there an element of desire in these films? A want for something unattainable?

This is the first of the many uncanny similarities between Lethal Weapon and Die Hard, as both display a desire for a return to normality.

In Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is flying to L.A from New York to see his wife Holly Gennaro (Bonnie Bedelia) on Christmas Eve, who works at the Nakatomi Plaza which is throwing a party. It becomes apparent that this is the first time John and Holly have seen each other in over six months and that they are more or less separated (especially as Holly is now going by her maiden name). It is revealed that Holly’s move to L.A. for a once in a lifetime promotion became a point of contention in their relationship – we don’t know exactly why, but it’s easy enough to make some assumptions: back in 1988, finding out that your wife is making more money than you would be an enormous shake up in the family dynamic, possibly too much for some men to handle. It is clear though, that although they are estranged, their marriage isn’t finished – Holly and John obviously still have feelings for one another, but it’s mixed in with a great deal of hurt, stopping them from seeing eye to eye. Thus we have the desire element: John wants a return to normality, the re-establishment of his traditional family set up (very nuclear, with the man being the breadwinner and all), but more importantly he desires to be a part of his family’s lives again.

Lethal Weapon has a more convergent plot than Die Hard.

It begins with the daily life of two LAPD police detectives – Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), a fairly buttoned-down distinguished officer who enjoys the comforts of marital and familial bliss (and is learning to try to age gracefully), and Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), a seemingly unattached man who is a total loose cannon on the job, wreaking havoc in his wake. The plot gleefully puts this odd couple together. It is Riggs who is the festive focal point of the movie as it his character that embodies the required desire element. Riggs’ careless and dangerous behaviour at work is suspected to be caused by suicidal tendencies after recently losing his wife in a car accident. There are occasions where it seems Riggs indeed wants to end his life, but this is actually more the desire to be reunited with his wife – the desire to be in a loving relationship again, the desire to have purpose.

It seems to be contradictory to the spirit of Christmas to have the film focus on the likes of depression and suicide, let alone in a film with probably the most insensitive approach to these topics, but that would be ignoring the fact that one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time, It’s A Wonderful Life, is about the divine intervention of an Angel working to stop a man from taking his own life on Christmas Eve. Die Hard is also depicting a common theme in Christmas fare, which is the impending breakdown of the family unit seen in the likes of The Preacher’s Wife and The Santa Clause. Technically both films are winning Brownie Points on that front, but the desire element is far more visceral in the case of Lethal Weapon: a shot of a teary-eyed Riggs shakily placing the end of the gun in his mouth after looking at the wedding photos of his dead wife is truly impactful.

Magic

The magic we could see in the likes of Die Hard and Lethal Weapon is not going to be in the traditional vein: no angels, no reindeer, no pixie dust, and very sadly no Santa Claus! That does not mean, however, that the magic they do have is not completely spine-tingling.

At first glance, the magic in Lethal Weapon is rather elusive, but it becomes apparent that the touch of Magic is indeed Martin Riggs, or really more Martin Riggs’ unorthodox policing methods:

“You’re not trying to draw a psycho pension! You really are crazy!”

In the real world, Riggs’ behaviour is not the kind to praise or laud, but Riggs’ apparent death wish makes him an almost unstoppable crime-fighting force – a lethal weapon. From deescalating a possible shootout by scaring the life out of a perpetrator, and saving a potential jumper’s life by throwing himself off the building whilst cuffed to them, it can be said Riggs gets the job done (in the most thoroughly entertaining way possible). However, his magical powers aren’t fully activated until he and Murtaugh are captured by the movie’s villainous drug barons – is it the electric shock torture or the power of new found friendship with Roger Murtaugh? Either way, Riggs is propelled into overcoming his captors and killing every bad guy that stands in his way, all in the name of rescuing his new partner. By the time we reach the climax, he is brutalised and half-drowned, yet he still manages to subdue the film’s Big Bad, Joshua (Gary Busey), by the power of his thighs alone. Magic.

With all that said, John McClane smirks and replies with a “Hold my beer.”

Die Hard is a more plot-driven story which lends itself to even more glorious action movie magic. It is made clear from the very beginning that McClane possesses the power of snarkiness, but the storming of Nakatomi Plaza by Hans Gruber’s (Alan Rickman’s) team of terrorists/thieves, catches McClane with his pants down (or rather with his shoes and socks off), leaving him to watch helplessly as the revellers of the office party are rounded up as hostages and Holly’s boss Mr Takagi (James Shigeta) is murdered. Luckily a present from Santa Claus re-establishes his cocky self-assuredness:

“Now I have a machine gun. Ho, ho, ho.”

In the 2 hour run-time, we witness McClane relentlessly wiggle his way out of tight squeezes using the meagre resources at his disposal (which he usually attains by annihilating some hapless bad guy), whether its irritating Gruber with smart-ass comments through a stolen walkie-talkie or tossing the body of a man out of the window in an attempt to attract help from the outside. It is once McClane manages to get the attention of the LAPD (the corpse-tossing worked a treat) that the real magic begins, which is the revelation that McClane is better than everyone else alive, including you – ironic given that he spent the first half hour desperately crying out for help.

Recommended for you: I’m a 90s Kid and I Watched Die Hard for the First Time This Year

John McClane resolves the terrorist siege single-handedly despite the presence of the LAPD, SWAT and the FBI; in fact McClane saves these apparent bozos from the machinations of the terrorists several times (whilst being mistaken as some sort of psycho killer to boot). Such a magical moment includes McClane blowing up a whole floor of terrorists (without miraculously harming any of the hostages), thus stopping their rocket launcher onslaught against the unsuspecting SWAT teams attempting to storm the plaza. Another noteworthy moment is when he rescues all the hostages from certain death seconds before some idiotic FBI agents unwittingly blow up a helipad they were gathered on (and as if saving countless lives isn’t enough, he narrowly escapes this chaos by leaping off the building with only a fire hose to save him from gravity).

It can’t be denied that the police politics of this 80s classic would be unnerving to modern eyes with its idolisation of McClane’s almost vigilante brand of justice, but with a healthy dose of self-awareness Die Hard is the ultimate power fantasy; one that is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. The exact kind of magic that you would need and want at Christmas.

As a basic siege film, the physical dangers faced by John McClane in Die Hard are of a much greater intensity than that of the leading duo in Lethal Weapon: the action is non-stop and quick paced, and far more shocking and gory. However, whilst Die Hard is driven by its plot, Lethal Weapon is more character focused, and as a consequence the psychological hurdles presented in Lethal Weapon are much more immense than those seen in Die Hard, despite the huge amount of peril Holly and John McClane face.

The Value of Family

It is now time to consider how much family is valued in these films; starting with Die Hard…

Is this film not just a metaphor for marriage and the active battle that is maintaining such a relationship?

It has to be confessed that it’s not exactly hard to be initially disappointed by John when we first meet him. It appears he has let his fragile masculinity get in the way of his marriage as he struggles to cope with his wife’s flourishing career. But my goodness is this an incredible attempt at reconciliation; the man walks over broken glass barefoot for Christ’s sake!

As we all know, big grand gestures can often be empty and meaningless; it is changed behaviour that is the real apology. So what a brilliant way to finish off this metaphor with Hans Gruber being defeated by John and Holly working together; transforming their marriage into a partnership – a union of absolute equals. It earns their riding off into the sunset, entangled in each other’s arms, and so gives us that desired cosy Christmas feeling – excellent!

Lethal Weapon, by comparison, has no such romantic metaphor; it instead depicts the very real devastation caused by unimaginable loss.

Martin Riggs is a man who is constantly putting himself and others in danger through his reckless behaviour, as he is now without purpose. He does state that it is “the job” that has so far prevented him from eating one of his own bullets, but the way he achieves results still points to a blatant death wish.

It’s when the initially dubious Murtaugh begins to let his guard down and allows Riggs into his inner sanctum, inviting him into his family home, that we see a transformation in Riggs. For you see, the central criminal scandal of Lethal Weapon – ex Vietnam War Special Forces officers turned drug baron mercenaries – most deeply affects Murtaugh; he is the most entangled and has the most to lose from this situation. By actually giving Riggs a chance (whose life literally hangs in the balance if he can’t find a working partnership), Riggs no longer lives dangerously for the sake of trying to feel alive whilst consumed with grief, he instead directs all of his ferocity towards protecting Murtaugh and his interests; this deep sense of caring spreads to the wider community surrounding him, seen when he is willing to grapple in the mud with Joshua after he murdered his fellow officers.

Lethal Weapon, in the contest of greatest redemption arc, takes the victory: Riggs is quite literally pulled from the jaws of death by the power of found family through his partnership with Murtaugh – they even share Christmas dinner. This transformation from death to life proves that Lethal Weapon values family the greatest.

True Christmas films are affairs of great emotion, our heroes often go through hell to then be redeemed with the happiest of endings. This is true for both Die Hard and Lethal Weapon, but it is proven that Lethal Weapon boasts the most intense and emotionally driven Christmas tale of hope.

All you Die Hard fans may have to reconsider your all-time favourite Christmas film, but if you guys don’t change your mind, there is nothing but respect for you: Die Hard is pretty kickass.

Recommended for you: 10 Excellent Non-Christmas Films Set at Christmas

In this edition of Ranked, we’re looking at all six of these Best Picture nominated horror films and judging each in terms of individual quality, contextual importance and audience longevity to decide which is the best horror ever nominated for Best Picture and, first, which is the worst.

Why don’t you let us know your order in the comments? And be sure to follow us on Twitter.

6. Black Swan (2010)

This is a classic horror film, but all the films on this list are classic horror films and this is arguably not even Darren Aronofsky’s best horror – that honour instead going to Requiem for a Dream – so Black Swan starts off our list.

The elements of body horror subtly woven into the fabric of this psychological horror-thriller make for some of the very best cinema of the 2010s, and Aronofsky’s intelligent telling of the story of famed ballet “Black Swan” in an allegorical movie like this is nothing short of genius. Natalie Portman is exceptional, the cinematography incomparable on this list, the score appropriately pulsating, and its Best Picture nomination absolutely deserved, but in the context of the horror genre there are dozens of more memorable releases that didn’t even earn a Best Picture nomination and five more memorable and impactful movies that did.

Recommended for you: Every Darren Aronofsky Directed Film Ranked

The Slasher horror movie became fruitful in the late 1970s and directors began to push the boundaries of what could be shown on screen. Many were popular at grindhouses and drive-in cinemas, attracting fans of low-budget splatter-horror and gore.

The films in this list were considered to be some of the most shocking horror films of their time, most of them using never-before-seen special effects, horrifying narratives and intensely thrilling performances from their casts.

With such a plethora of memorable, genre-defining releases, the 1970s offered up dozens of memorable horror movie moments, the 10 Best of which will be presented in this Top List.

These are the 10 Best Horror Movie Moments of the 1970s.

Let us know your favourites in the comments, and be sure to follow us on Twitter.

10. Dawn of the Dead (1978) – Basement Zombies

Kicking off our top ten is the second in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead series, Dawn of the Dead. Showing the further extent of the events in the first film, survivors of the outbreak barricade themselves in a shopping mall amid mass public hysteria.

One of the film’s more unnerving scenes comes at the start. Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger) find themselves fighting through a housing block full of zombies before coming upon the building’s basement. Realising that residents have been hiding their dead rather than delivering them to the National Guard, Peter and Roger discover a room of zombies all feasting on fresh flesh and struggling inside body bags. In a drawn-out moment, Peter begins to kill each ‘undead’ individually by shooting, which Roger steps in to help with.

The scene focuses particular attention to the ethnicity of the undead – with the majority of them being black or Latino – a big hint to the awful treatment and conditions of housing for minority communities in the 70s and beyond. Although this scene is not necessarily terrifying by way of jump scares or some of those yet to come in this list, it is scary in a way that points to the true terror of our own world and thus as poignant of a moment in horror as any to come.

9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) – The Scream

At number nine is Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a remake of the 1956 film and adapted from the novel by Jack Finney. In a world where humans are being replaced by alien duplicates, the most disturbing moment in the film comes at the last minute.

In the final scene, Matthew (Donald Sutherland) reveals himself to be a duplicated “pod person” by emitting an ear-splitting shriek whilst pointing frighteningly at Nancy (Veronica Cartwright). Presenting a constant sense of unease throughout the film, this scene is the icing on the cake. It has since become the stuff of legend, the above shot recognisable to all fans of film, not just those who enjoy this Ivasion of the Body Snatchers, and one of the most memorably unnerving moments of 1970s horror.

Nightmarish tales of perfectionist, visionary directors getting locked out of the editing suite by philistine Hollywood executives only concerned about their bottom line (Orson Welles on Touch of Evil, Orson Welles on The Magnificent Ambersons, Michael Cimino on Heaven’s Gate) have become folkloric. A film, especially a director’s passion project, might be seen as too obtuse, too indulgent and/or too weird, and unless said director has final cut written into their contract (which isn’t going to happen if they’re not “a name” in the industry) executives can always find someone else to do a hard edit. However, outside theatrical release windows and with the rise of home media there came a new outlet for directors to not only show their preferred cut to audiences, but for studios to tap into another lucrative revenue stream in the form of shiny new box sets.

A good director’s cut isnt just made up of footage retrieved from the cutting room floor pasted back in (more often than not this was cut for a good reason), but it should coalesce into a distinct artistic vision. Ridley Scott, an advocate for and a frequent maker of director’s cuts over his long and prolific career, tends to describe them in his DVD/Blu-ray introductions as his “preferred version”. Directors such as Cimino and James Cameron have blamed studio pressure and interference from executives for not meeting their original vision and have subsequently released director’s cuts seemingly to correct this. The Abyss, Aliens, Terminator 2 and Avatar all received this treatment for their home release, though these cuts usually amount to only a few extended scenes and give Cameron an excuse to enhance the existing footage with the latest technology.

Ridley Scott could be a case study on his own – when handled correctly and with a clear storytelling purpose in mind, the director’s cut can be an art form in itself. Blade Runner is now on its fifth or eighth version (depending on how you count them), and the “Final Cut” released in 2007 is supposedly just that. Scott has gone back and forth on the main discrepancy and key character question of the story – whether Deckard is a replicant or not – over the years, and various iterations of the film which are all in one cut or another were further contradicted by Blade Runner 2049. Elsewhere Scott has presented a Director’s/Extended Cut of Gladiator (more scenes, none especially essential), Black Hawk Down (ditto) and Kingdom of Heaven. The Director’s Cut of Kingdom of Heaven should be what all other director’s cuts are compared against, being an entirely different and far superior film that not only deepens characterisation and re-incorporates several affecting subplots, but which also fascinatingly incorporates divine intervention into an otherwise grounded historical epic.

Francis Ford Coppola famously re-cut Apocalypse Now twice with decades between each version. The “Redux” added a whopping 49 minutes while the “Final Cut”, only released in 2019, gathered Captain Willard’s journey through hell back to a tight (yeah, right…) 3 hours. Classics like Apocalypse Now are always worth revisiting and seeing them from any new angle that can potentially further enlightenment.

A quite different take on the director’s cut is Peter Jackson and his infamous Middle Earth Extended Editions. New Line Cinema and latterly Warner Brothers put a whole lot of extra time, effort and money into Jackson’s quest to seamlessly incorporate new scenes (complete with added action and special effects) into the already hefty fantasy epics, and packaged them with hours and hours of special features. Were these even really director’s cuts (again, they were Jackson’s preferred versions) or simply very effective marketing exercises that convinced fans to buy each film at least twice? The jury’s out. But, while the extended Lord of the Rings gave us some welcome character expansion for Aragorn, Eowyn and Faramir, not to mention giving Saruman – so cruelly cut out of the theatrical release – a great death scene, no new scene added to The Hobbit was strictly necessary.

The director’s cut will always be a marketing strategy to a certain extent, an opportunity to re-promote and resell your product. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (though was anyone really asking for a director’s cut of Daredevil?) and it’s a strategy more recently adopted by directors in the horror genre. The release of Mike Flanagan’s director’s cut of Doctor Sleep will be upon us soon and already out is the Midsommar Director’s Cut. Adding 25 minutes to an already lengthy genre picture might seem like overkill, but director Ari Aster uses the time well, to seed the most important ideas much earlier in the narrative, let the uneasy atmosphere really seep in, and deepen the biggest character moments. It’s a different and rewarding alternative viewing experience of Midsommar, as good as the original cut was.

Yet another way of looking at the concept is the “fantasy cut”. Richard Donner was unceremoniously fired from Superman II midway through production, and a large portion of his footage was re-shot by incoming replacement director Richard Lester. We’ll never truly see Donner’s original vision because it doesn’t exist, but fans and colleagues of Donner came together to help create a close approximation from outtakes for home video release in 2006, and the resultant film was not only different but arguably more thematically satisfying if understandably not as polished as the original Superman II. It may use Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder’s chemistry scenes from the audition process, but it also gives Lois enough credit to work out who Superman really is all by herself because she’s, ya’know, a journalist.

The Holy Grail of director’s cuts is of course the elusive (because it doesn’t exist – yet) Snyder Cut of Justice League. I’m not saying unseen footage doesn’t exist, or that Zack Snyder’s original plans for the lacklustre film were not very different from the theatrically released version, but a so-called director’s cut would have required at least as much of an investment as the Middle Earth Extended Editions to complete, and surely Warner Bros’ marketing team would have gone into overdrive by now if it was ever going to be released?

The director’s cut has been many things over the decades – cynical marketing, a treat for super-fans and a way for creatively stifled filmmakers to release something truly special. You of course have to consider that auteurs can be a difficult bunch of perfectionists and that sooner or later a cut of their film in some shape or form has to see the light of day, but if you’re paying for that named director, you want to see that director’s signature in the final product. A director’s cut is a compromise, an opportunity for a filmmaker to exhibit their work unadulterated and for a studio to boost profit margins. There have been good director’s cuts, there have been bad director’s cuts, there have been pointless director’s cuts, but when said cuts are treated with care and respect they can be an enlightening new view of any film worth talking about.

Its cinematic output followed suit by creating blockbuster, family-friendly fantasy romps and action heroes by the barrel full. Not to mention slasher movies and slapstick comedy capers.

The hairstyles may have been cheerfully forgotten, but the films have stood the test of time.

Our love affair with the 80s is far from over with an endless stream of remakes such as Ghostbusters: Answer The Call (2016), The A-Team (2010) and Footloose (2011) already released –  and plenty more in the pipeline. Meanwhile, Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Glow’ have done their bit to quench our thirst for nostalgia (TFM has answered why we are desperate for remakes: The Era of Nostalgia in Cinema – Why Are We Watching So Many Remakes?).

But which films truly embody this golden age of film, and what characteristics make them so unapologetically 1980s? In this Movie List from The Film Magazine, we offer the most 80s of all the 80s movies, for these: the 8 Most 80s Movies of the 1980s.

Follow @thefilmagazine on Twitter.

1. Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Back to the Future II turned its 80’s amps up to 1.21 gigawatts and blasted a flying time-travelling Deloreon at the cinema screen. It’s a wonder that audiences didn’t run away screaming.

Robert Zemeckis directed one of the most visually “iconic 80’s” movies with self-drying jackets and some of the best Nike AirForce designs the world has ever seen.

With a hop-on hover board, this tech-filled action adventure fantasy sees Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and his girlfriend Jennifer (Elisabeth Shue) journey into the future with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) to rectify some of their children’s mistakes.

This addition to the franchise has everything that an 80’s audience would expect to see in the future, such as super 3.D holograms of yet another Jaws movie and Griff’s gang of Mad Max-esque cronies.

In what is arguably the most 80’s moment of all, we see the McFly family chow down on some re-hydrated Pizza Hut, while Marty gets fired via… a fax machine.

At least it wasn’t done on a pager.

Recommended for you: Back to the Future Movies Ranked

2. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 

Just hearing the theme music to this classic 80’s slasher is enough to transport me back to the glorious decade, and I wasn’t even alive.

Wez Craven’s celebrated nightmare cretin Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) has become the epitome of 80’s horror.

His striped jumper and knife gloves scared the socks off of 80’s teenagers, while introducing Johnny Depp in a crop top. How the fashion police didn’t murder him before Freddy did will always remain a mystery.

The film not only spurred on the slasher boom but also transferred over to the wrestling craze of the decade, with pro wrestlers such as Frightmare and Shane Helms naming special moves after the horror franchise.

Freddy didn’t stop selling out there, and managed to permeate into the growing rap scene with artists such as Will Smith, Jazzy Jeff and the Fat Boys dropping bars for Mr. Krueger.

He later went on to release his own album called Freddy’s Greatest Hits, featuring mellow jazzy classics such as Down in the Boiler Room. It can’t get more 80’s than that.

Recommended for you: Nightmare on Elm Street Films Ranked

3. The NeverEnding Story (1984)

I can justify why this is one of the most 80’s movies of the 1980’s with one name: Limahl.

While the majority of this movie is set in the make-believe land of Fantasia, where boom boxes and bangles are nowhere to be seen, Wolfgang Peterson delivers one of the most recognisable luck dragons of the decade.

Tired of school bullies, Bastian seeks refuge in an old book shop. It is there that he finds The NeverEnding Story which is full of blank pages.

However, when he returns to his school and hides away in the attic to take a closer look, the pages fill with words and he finds himself in the land of Fantasia. He is tasked with defeating The Nothing that has swept the land and save the Childlike Empress.

A staple in virtually everyone in the worlds’ childhood, it even refers back to other classics, as E.T and C-3PO can be spotted during the Ivory Tower scene.

Need I say more? We bow before your 1980s-ness.

4. Masters of the Universe (1987)

Thank God Dolph Lundgren dropped his degree to put his ridiculously ripped body on screen as the ultimate 80’s action figure, He-Man.

Gary Goddard created an intergalactic action hero that was able to effortlessly ride on Conan’s coat-tails while simultaneously annoying critics.

The plot tried to tie He-Man’s planet Eternia with Earth by having the gang lose their magic portal Cosmic Key, used to open the gates of Castle Greyskull.

It falls into the hands of some hapless humans who must help to save the day.

Frank Langella gives a standout performance amid a sea of seamless amateurs as Skeletor, while Courtney Cox crops up for no reason in particular.

He-Man may have been panned for being trashy and low-budget, but isn’t that what 80’s action movies are all about?