Confession time again, gentle readers: yes, I consider myself fairly old.
Now, this is not to suggest in any way that I’m ancient. As I’ve often admitted in this space, I’m vastly older than a significant portion of my audience, and I do like to think that it’s the accompanying years and the mileage that make my voice unique enough for those of you who follow what I have to say in this space worthy of your time and attention. I’ve always also said that the day I figure I truly have nothing significant to say about a particular production is when I’ll likely start wrapping things up. But for now the brain is fresh, the desire is overwhelming, and the things I have to say continues to add up (surprisingly), so rest assured that you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.
Having started going to the single-screen movie theaters in my hometown back in the 1970’s, I do still consider to truly have ‘come of age’ before the silver screen in the glorious 1980’s. Yes, I’m old enough to have seen a good number of the 70’s Science Fiction and Fantasy films up in the lights, but – starting around 1980 – I began hanging with a group of friends who shared my interests. We made it practically our lives’ mission to catch a movie on Friday or Saturday night, and then we’d head over to a local eatery to sit, eat, chat, and laugh or cry over what we experienced as an audience. We didn’t always agree – Hell, I’m surprised it never came to blows, frankly – but we loved that seminal experience of having the lights go down and the storytelling kick into high gear. The movies and I have been joined at the hip ever since, and I hope – if nothing else – SciFiHistory.Net shows.
However, I’ve never been a big fan of documentaries of any type. Stories are best told with characters who are bigger than life, and these adventures are best delivered with action, music, and special effects. Still, I’d heard about 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! from a few folks online – ComicCon repeat offenders, as they say – and I’d wanted to check it out off of their ringing endorsements. Now having done so, I’ll concur up front that it certainly is a great examination of the year, covering films that were hits, misses, and somewhere in between. Where I’ll have to agree to disagree is the discussion of some of those near-misses and why they just didn’t quite resonate back at the time but have earned a place in film history as something special … but I’ll leave some of those particulars to below.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“An epic documentary spotlighting the pop culture milestones of 1982 including notable motion pictures, TV, music and video games of that seminal year.”
Now, this is not to suggest in any way that I’m ancient. As I’ve often admitted in this space, I’m vastly older than a significant portion of my audience, and I do like to think that it’s the accompanying years and the mileage that make my voice unique enough for those of you who follow what I have to say in this space worthy of your time and attention. I’ve always also said that the day I figure I truly have nothing significant to say about a particular production is when I’ll likely start wrapping things up. But for now the brain is fresh, the desire is overwhelming, and the things I have to say continues to add up (surprisingly), so rest assured that you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.
Having started going to the single-screen movie theaters in my hometown back in the 1970’s, I do still consider to truly have ‘come of age’ before the silver screen in the glorious 1980’s. Yes, I’m old enough to have seen a good number of the 70’s Science Fiction and Fantasy films up in the lights, but – starting around 1980 – I began hanging with a group of friends who shared my interests. We made it practically our lives’ mission to catch a movie on Friday or Saturday night, and then we’d head over to a local eatery to sit, eat, chat, and laugh or cry over what we experienced as an audience. We didn’t always agree – Hell, I’m surprised it never came to blows, frankly – but we loved that seminal experience of having the lights go down and the storytelling kick into high gear. The movies and I have been joined at the hip ever since, and I hope – if nothing else – SciFiHistory.Net shows.
However, I’ve never been a big fan of documentaries of any type. Stories are best told with characters who are bigger than life, and these adventures are best delivered with action, music, and special effects. Still, I’d heard about 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! from a few folks online – ComicCon repeat offenders, as they say – and I’d wanted to check it out off of their ringing endorsements. Now having done so, I’ll concur up front that it certainly is a great examination of the year, covering films that were hits, misses, and somewhere in between. Where I’ll have to agree to disagree is the discussion of some of those near-misses and why they just didn’t quite resonate back at the time but have earned a place in film history as something special … but I’ll leave some of those particulars to below.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the film’s IMDB.com page citation:
“An epic documentary spotlighting the pop culture milestones of 1982 including notable motion pictures, TV, music and video games of that seminal year.”
One of my readership’s biggest complaints is that I don’t always agree with the consensus within geekdom. Mind you: I know full well that’s why some of you come here, but I understand and appreciate that we don’t always see eye to eye.
One of my favorite examples involves the wide and mostly impressive film catalogue of writer, director, producer, and composer John Carpenter. With respect to his body of work, I know that readers have long ago insisted that his 1982 remake of the 1951 SciFi/Classic The Thing From Another World – simply titled The Thing – represents his best work. On an aesthetic level, The Thing is a highly impressive visual Horror, one that deserves all of the accolades its earned over the years; but – when all is said and done – I don’t believe the project holds a candle to his 1981 SciFi/Thriller Escape From New York. While the former doesn’t boast the practical in-camera trickery that delivers chills the likes of which few flicks have accomplished in light and shadows, it still has a vastly more impactful story – a survival tale potentially for our whole world as well all set within the ticking of a countdown on Snake Plissken’s wristwatch – and there isn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on its bones. While I could argue otherwise for The Thing, I’ll just leave it at that, except to add …
1982 – as a documentary – points out what its experts believe contributed to The Thing’s rather spectacular fail to strike a chord in its day. I won’t spoil it for you in this space except to say that, sure, it probably gives one something to mull over in the greater context of history. Similarly, these various pop culture enthusiasts, critics, filmmakers, and more pontificate over the various projects that found like across that year – some movies, some TV projects, and even a video game here and there – occasionally to the point of overkill in this nearly 180-minute documentary. It isn’t exactly exhaustive, and, yet, it’s probably about as thorough as one might expect. From big names like Steven Spielberg and Sylvester Stallone to some smaller favorites like Marc Singer, Michael Keaton, and Henry Winkler, there is a lot of ground covered, most of it fawning and some unnecessarily so.
Even more impressive is the assorted names that gathered together to talk about this year in films, though it might’ve even been a bit more fascinating if there were some paired-up debates instead of just so many endless one-of statements. While there are a good many names who talk about film online these days not in here as well, it’s still impressive to gather such luminaries as Bryan Fuller, Dean Devlin, Ron Howard, Mick Garris, and a star like William Shatner in one place. The late Roger Corman shows up in a few spots, and well-known critic Leonard Maltin sounds off in a few spots on trends of the time. There are even a few surprising inclusions – screenwriting heavy John Sayles and Steven E. de Souza – that, frankly, I would’ve loved to have heard more from, but spacing out all of these voices in just short of three hours was probably a daunting task to begin with. Plus, Bruce Campbell is always a crowd pleaser, and he pokes in that memorable chin for good measure.
As I said above, I don’t always agree with fandom, nor do I embrace how we somewhat easily give one picture glowing praise while ignoring so many others that accomplish the same results (if not better) on a smaller scale. Is there a market today for oddities like Megaforce, a production that came and went because it was an insufferable waste of time, effort, and film, or should we continue to prop it up as being symbolic of a certain place and a certain era? Is it really fair to compare the somewhat stilted Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) to 1982’s superior Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan given that they’re so different the uniformed might see them as two entries into different franchises? Was TRON really all that visionary an attempt, or did he gain traction because it’s more fondly remembered for its video game spin-off? These are monumental questions for some, and I still consider them much ado about nothing too much of the time.
One of my favorite examples involves the wide and mostly impressive film catalogue of writer, director, producer, and composer John Carpenter. With respect to his body of work, I know that readers have long ago insisted that his 1982 remake of the 1951 SciFi/Classic The Thing From Another World – simply titled The Thing – represents his best work. On an aesthetic level, The Thing is a highly impressive visual Horror, one that deserves all of the accolades its earned over the years; but – when all is said and done – I don’t believe the project holds a candle to his 1981 SciFi/Thriller Escape From New York. While the former doesn’t boast the practical in-camera trickery that delivers chills the likes of which few flicks have accomplished in light and shadows, it still has a vastly more impactful story – a survival tale potentially for our whole world as well all set within the ticking of a countdown on Snake Plissken’s wristwatch – and there isn’t an ounce of fat anywhere on its bones. While I could argue otherwise for The Thing, I’ll just leave it at that, except to add …
1982 – as a documentary – points out what its experts believe contributed to The Thing’s rather spectacular fail to strike a chord in its day. I won’t spoil it for you in this space except to say that, sure, it probably gives one something to mull over in the greater context of history. Similarly, these various pop culture enthusiasts, critics, filmmakers, and more pontificate over the various projects that found like across that year – some movies, some TV projects, and even a video game here and there – occasionally to the point of overkill in this nearly 180-minute documentary. It isn’t exactly exhaustive, and, yet, it’s probably about as thorough as one might expect. From big names like Steven Spielberg and Sylvester Stallone to some smaller favorites like Marc Singer, Michael Keaton, and Henry Winkler, there is a lot of ground covered, most of it fawning and some unnecessarily so.
Even more impressive is the assorted names that gathered together to talk about this year in films, though it might’ve even been a bit more fascinating if there were some paired-up debates instead of just so many endless one-of statements. While there are a good many names who talk about film online these days not in here as well, it’s still impressive to gather such luminaries as Bryan Fuller, Dean Devlin, Ron Howard, Mick Garris, and a star like William Shatner in one place. The late Roger Corman shows up in a few spots, and well-known critic Leonard Maltin sounds off in a few spots on trends of the time. There are even a few surprising inclusions – screenwriting heavy John Sayles and Steven E. de Souza – that, frankly, I would’ve loved to have heard more from, but spacing out all of these voices in just short of three hours was probably a daunting task to begin with. Plus, Bruce Campbell is always a crowd pleaser, and he pokes in that memorable chin for good measure.
As I said above, I don’t always agree with fandom, nor do I embrace how we somewhat easily give one picture glowing praise while ignoring so many others that accomplish the same results (if not better) on a smaller scale. Is there a market today for oddities like Megaforce, a production that came and went because it was an insufferable waste of time, effort, and film, or should we continue to prop it up as being symbolic of a certain place and a certain era? Is it really fair to compare the somewhat stilted Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) to 1982’s superior Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan given that they’re so different the uniformed might see them as two entries into different franchises? Was TRON really all that visionary an attempt, or did he gain traction because it’s more fondly remembered for its video game spin-off? These are monumental questions for some, and I still consider them much ado about nothing too much of the time.
Of course, this could be my age showing. As I mentioned above, some of the fun of the theatrical experience is sharing a flick with others and then spending the bulk of an evening trying to figure out why it did or didn’t work, what it really did or didn’t say, and whether or not it was or wasn’t time well spent. This is who we are as consumers; and there’s no one better than geeks and film nerds that aptly continue to demonstrate the case with each passing movie season. 1982 might, ultimately, be no different from 1983 or even 1984; but those of us who presume to know best will continue making our points respectively until the cows come home … or, maybe, E.T. returns.
1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! (2022) was produced by JoBlo Movie Productions, Lay-Carnagey Entertainment, Radioactive Fishtank, and The Wrath Of 1982. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at MVD Visual Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still see that this one looks fabulous from start-to-finish. Lastly, if you’re looking special features? Curiously, the disc boasts not one but two commentary tracks along with some deleted and/or extended sequences, a nice little fan featurette, the 2022 San Diego ComicCon panel, the trailer, and a few other nice extras. It’s a very solid assortment for those who like to spend time with this era.
Strongly Recommended.
Yes, I’ll admit up front to being one who considers himself as having ‘come of age’ theatrically in the early 1980’s, so a great deal of 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! is as nostalgic as it is an interesting dissection of what being a moviegoer that year was like. Though I can appreciate the lip service some of the project’s pundits gave to the good number of non-geek projects that still managed to earn some screen time in this rundown (Ghandi, An Officer And A Gentleman, and My Favorite Year are, at best, curious inclusions), I would rather the producers have stayed focused fully and even gone a bit deeper into why so many pictures – big and small – resonated as well back then as they do today. Still, this is an exceptional overview to one of the industry’s most impactful years ever, even though younger watchers might find themselves fast-forwarding through a few of the non-genre segments to relieve their boredom. What can I say? Purists still exist in the audience, and they’re sometimes hard to please.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at the MVD Rewind Collection provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! (2022) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! (2022) was produced by JoBlo Movie Productions, Lay-Carnagey Entertainment, Radioactive Fishtank, and The Wrath Of 1982. DVD distribution (for this particular release) has been coordinated by the fine folks at MVD Visual Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I can still see that this one looks fabulous from start-to-finish. Lastly, if you’re looking special features? Curiously, the disc boasts not one but two commentary tracks along with some deleted and/or extended sequences, a nice little fan featurette, the 2022 San Diego ComicCon panel, the trailer, and a few other nice extras. It’s a very solid assortment for those who like to spend time with this era.
Strongly Recommended.
Yes, I’ll admit up front to being one who considers himself as having ‘come of age’ theatrically in the early 1980’s, so a great deal of 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! is as nostalgic as it is an interesting dissection of what being a moviegoer that year was like. Though I can appreciate the lip service some of the project’s pundits gave to the good number of non-geek projects that still managed to earn some screen time in this rundown (Ghandi, An Officer And A Gentleman, and My Favorite Year are, at best, curious inclusions), I would rather the producers have stayed focused fully and even gone a bit deeper into why so many pictures – big and small – resonated as well back then as they do today. Still, this is an exceptional overview to one of the industry’s most impactful years ever, even though younger watchers might find themselves fast-forwarding through a few of the non-genre segments to relieve their boredom. What can I say? Purists still exist in the audience, and they’re sometimes hard to please.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at the MVD Rewind Collection provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of 1982: Greatest Geek Year Ever! (2022) by request for the expressed purpose of completing this review. Their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
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