Around the World in 80s Movies - podcast cover

Around the World in 80s Movies

Join film writer Vince Leo as he journeys back through his favorite decade for films, the 1980s! Full of loads of trivia, history, behind-the-scenes info, and anecdotes. Guaranteed you will learn something new about all your favorite films of the 1980s!
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Episodes

Karate Kid Part III (1989) | John G. Avildsen

Cobra Kai's sinister karate master, John Kreese (Martin Kove), is seething with vengeance after the humiliating defeat dealt to him by Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and the legendary Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki "Pat" Morita). Determined to make them pay, Kreese teams up with his treacherous partner, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), to orchestrate a diabolical scheme that will crush Daniel's spirit—and his championship dreams. Enter the ruthless ringer, Mike Barnes (Sean Kanan), hired to strip Danie...

Jun 20, 202547 min

Karate Kid Part II (1986) | John G. Avildsen

Daniel (Ralph Macchio) travels with Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) to his childhood home in Okinawa when he discovers his father is on his deathbed. Miyagi's presence rekindles a feud with his former best friend Sato (Danny Kamekona), whose arranged marriage was ruined by Miyagi's love for his betrothed, Yukie (Nobu McCarthy). Daniel also finds new love in Yukie's niece, Kumiko (Tanlyn Tomita), though his presence stirs up trouble among Sato's Gang.

Apr 08, 202537 min

The Karate Kid (1984) | John Avildsen

Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his mother (Randee Heller) move from New Jersey to Reseda, CA , to start a new life. It seems promising at first, but soon Daniel hates his new environs, thanks to a few run-ins at school with a group of karate-trained bullies. He does manage to irk the leader of the bullies, Johnny (William Zabka), when he starts seeing his ex-girlfriend, Ali (Elisabeth Shue). Johnny and gang belong to a no-holds-barred karate school in town that has a slogan of "no mercy", ru...

Mar 09, 202550 min

Rocky IV (1985) | Sylvester Stallone

Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is the latest Russian creation -- a tall, strong, crushing bruiser that packs more strength in one of his punches than any three regular boxers combined. Although his handlers insist that Drago is the product of extensive genetics testing and advanced training techniques, they do deny the use of strength-enhancing steroids even though their fighter boasts unheard-of levels in terms of strength, stamina, and physical prowess. They openly challenge Rocky Balboa (Sylvest...

Feb 01, 202547 min

Rocky III (1982) | Sylvester Stallone

With Rocky III, director-screenwriter-star Stallone takes the film series into a new direction, although the underdog formula still stays intact. Stallone realizes that it's hard to be the underdog when you're the champion, so to knock Rocky down a few notches, he creates the most terrifying challenger he never faced, the bruising #1 contender, Clubber Lang (Mr. T). Lang has been stalking the ready-to-retire Balboa, showing up at every match and public appearance, egging the champ on to stop dod...

Dec 21, 202443 min

Rocky II (1979) | Sylvester Stallone

After a replay of the climax of Rocky, Rocky II picks up exactly where the first film leaves off, with Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) taken to a nearby hospital after suffering serious injuries caused by the pummeling each fighter took in their 15-round contest. Creed won the bout by a split decision, but the victory isn't so sweet, as many fans accuse him of helping Balboa along, while some even think Balboa should have been declared champion. Contrary to wha...

Jul 13, 202439 min

Rocky (1976) | John Avildsen

The film tells the tale of Rocky Balboa (Sylverster Stallone), a washed-up Philadelphia boxer who just barely scrapes by, fighting in small clubs for meager pay, while supplementing his income as a thuggish debt collector for a local loan shark. He doesn't have many ambitions; his only real goal is to get to go out with the shy, mousy pet store clerk named Adrian (Talia Shire), sister to his friend Paulie (Burt Young), Opportunity comes knocking in a big way for Balboa when the world heavyweight...

May 27, 20241 hr 12 min

Tango & Cash (1989) | Andrei Konchalovsky

Sylvester Stallone plays Ray Tango, a flashy narco cop in the LAPD who is all business and efficient. Kurt Russell plays Gabriel Cash, more of a devil-may-care type who just so happens to get the big bust whenever he needs it. Drug kingpin Yves Perret (Jack Palance) wants the two biggest obstacles out of his way, and hatches a plan that will do it: have Tango and Cash brought up on a bogus murder charge. The cops are initially sentenced to a short stint in a minimum security prison, only to find...

Jan 06, 202438 min

The Running Man (1987)

Set in the post-world financial demise of the year 2019, The Running Man stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as law enforcement officer and helicopter pilot Ben Richards, who ends up getting framed for instigating the murder of a crowd of innocent civilians engaging in a protest for food in Bakersfield. Richards and a couple of benevolent jail mates spring out of prison and go on the run, only to be captured later and used as scapegoats for the massacre by becoming involuntary contestants on the most po...

Dec 13, 202344 min

Action Jackson (1988) | Craig R. Baxley

Carl Weathers stars as Detroit cop Jericho "Action" Jackson, who earned his nickname due to putting his body on the line time and again in the line of duty in roughhousing and apprehending perps. Unfortunately for Jackson, the police captain (Duke) demotes him to the role of desk-jockey due to his dangerous reputation that has given the force a black eye by going too far in trying to take down the son of a slimy, power-hungry car company tycoon named Peter Dellaplane (Nelson). Jackson begins to ...

Oct 21, 202342 min

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) | Tony Scott

This follow-up to the mega-smash Beverly Hills Cop sees the Beverly Hills police department stymied by the so-called Alphabet Robberies, whereby stores with monographed goods are hit by a gang of highly skilled thieves. One of these armed thieves is a statuesque blonde named Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen), who becomes a prime suspect when she attempts to murder Capt. Bogomil (Ronny Cox), shooting him twice and leaving him on life support. This brings Detroit detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) bac...

Sep 30, 202335 min

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) | Martin Brest

Eddie Murphy's superstar-making role has him playing crafty Detroit cop Axel Foley, who travels to Beverly Hills in order to try to uncover the reasons behind the professional hit placed on an old friend (James Russo). His investigative tactics immediately draw the attention of the local law enforcement there, who put a tail on Foley to make sure that his story of being on vacation there holds up. By-the-book detectives Taggart (John Ashton) and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) are the cops assigned to...

Sep 04, 202343 min

Die Hard (1988) | John McTiernan

New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) flies to Los Angeles to attend the swanky party of his separated wife Holly's (Bonnie Bedelia) company on an upper floor of their high-rise corporate building. However, the company didn't intend to have party crashers, particularly gun-toting German terrorists who want to rob the big boss blind while holding the employees hostage. The terrorists are led by international mastermind Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) who makes one major blunder in not taking into a...

Jul 18, 202347 min

Frantic (1988) | Roman Polanski

Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) and his loving wife (Betty Buckley) travel to Paris where he is to speak at a medical convention. In their hotel room, they discover that his wife has picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport, and they report this to TWA. While Dr. Walker is in the shower, his wife gets a phone call and is soon out of the room, and out of sight altogether as she is now missing. With the French police offering little assistance to his plight, Dr. Walker must search through Pa...

Apr 02, 202339 min

The Bedroom Window (1987) | Curtis Hanson

Steve Guttenberg stars as Terry Lambert, a businessman who is having an affair with his boss's alluring French wife, Sylvia Wentworth (Isabelle Huppert). After their latest coupling, they are startled by a scream coming from the courtyard outside. Rushing to the window, Sylvia shrieks as she sees an assault on a woman at the hands of a redhead male with pasty white skin. However, she can't report it, as she desperately doesn't want her affair to become known by her wealthy husband. Terry thinks ...

Feb 18, 202332 min

Still of the Night (1982) | Robert Benton

Roy Scheider plays a newly divorced New York psychiatrist named Sam Rice, who discovers that George Bynum (Josef Sommer), one of his prominent patients, has been murdered. Bynum was the curator of antiquities for Crispin's, a high-scale auction house, who engaged in a sexual affair with Brooke Reynolds (Meryl Streep), a younger woman who worked with him. During his counseling sessions, Bynum told Sam all about Brooke in such vivid detail that Sam thinks he might have fallen for Bynum's mistress ...

Jan 09, 202334 min

Body Double (1984) | Brian De Palma

A struggling actor (Craig Wasson) finds a job housesitting for a rich friend of another actor (Gregg Henry). While there he spies on a neighbor (Melanie Griffith) who has a naughty habit of doing a striptease every night. He becomes infatuated with the woman and decides he wants to meet her, taking to following her around wherever she goes. He begins to suspect she is in trouble when a suspicious Native American follows her around as well. He suspects she will be murdered.

Dec 03, 202243 min

Blow Out (1981) | Brian De Palma

John Travolta stars as Jack Terry, a sound effects engineer for cheapie horror exploitation flicks. When a producer deems the victim's screams and wind effects used in their slasher film as substandard, Jack determines to capture new recordings. While outdoors, his tape captures audio from a nearby car careening off of a bridge and into a river after its tire blows out. Jack jumps to action to save a drowning woman (Nancy Allen) from the vehicle, but the driver dies, later revealed to be the pre...

Sep 13, 202239 min

Dressed to Kill (1980) | Brian De Palma

Angie Dickinson stars as Kate Miller, a housewife so unsatisfied sexually that she often finds herself having vivid and wild sexual fantasies, with violent overtones. She has been seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine), about her marital problems, and even makes a pass at him, although nothing comes to pass. Unable to resist the temptation, Kate has an afternoon fling with a complete stranger, only to end up the victim of a brutal and senseless slaying at the hands of a mysterious fi...

Aug 09, 202239 min

Bates Motel (1987) | Richard Rothstein

The events of 1987's Bates Motel take place 27 years after schizophrenic serial killer Norman Bates is arrested and found guilty by reason of insanity for his crimes. While in the institution, Norman is introduced to a troubled young boy named Alex West (Bud Cort), who murdered his abusive stepfather in a giant tumble dryer and ends up staying in the same institution. Norman takes the lad under his wing until his death 27 years later, coincidentally the same year that Alex is finally allowed out...

Jun 27, 202222 min

Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) | Mick Garris

Psycho IV: The Beginning is the fourth and final film in Universal's Psycho franchise, and the last to portray Anthony Perkins in his most famous of roles. It's the first of the series not to be released theatrically, debuting on the premium cable channel Showtime in 1990. This film is a sequel in theory, as it does take a step forward in showing Norman Bates trying to live the semblance of a normal life today, finally in a relationship with a woman, with a baby on the way. Trouble is, Norman do...

Jun 20, 202232 min

Psycho III (1986) | Anthony Perkins

The events of Psycho III take place not long after Psycho II, as Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), still the sole caretaker of the Bates Motel, ends up hiring a temporary new assistant in the wily rogue musician who goes by the name of Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey). He also has a new patron staying in cabin #1, a spiritually faltering (and suicidal) former nun with an uncanny resemblance, not to mention the same initials, of victim Marion Crane, Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid). Norman is intensely attract...

May 31, 202237 min

Psycho II (1983) | Richard Franklin

Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) finally gets his release from a California mental institution after he is found guilty by reason of insanity for the heinous murders he committed over 22 years prior. Lila Loomis (Vera Miles), sister of one of Bates' victims, has her pleas for a non-release fall on deaf ears. Having been declared of 'sound mind' again, Norman returns to his gothic childhood home and Bates Motel near Fairvale, CA, and takes up a job while on parole at a diner nearby. Norman becomes ...

May 18, 202242 min

Psycho (1960) | Alfred Hitchcock

Janet Leigh starts off the film as Marion Crane, a clerk in a real estate office engaged in a romantic fling with Sam Loomis (John Gavin), the manager of a hardware store in Phoenix, Arizona. When she's given the task of depositing $40,000 in cash into the bank, Marion impulsively decides to keep it, and drives off to California, perhaps to Sam's hometown, Fairvale, with the freedom to pursue Sam without concern for finances. En route, her paranoid fears get the best of her, as she begins to hav...

Apr 17, 202247 min

Motel Hell (1980) | Kevin Connor

Motel Hell follows the exploits of Farmer Vincent Smith (Rory Calhoun), who has three basic jobs: farmer, motel owner, and purveyor of the best straight-from-the-farm smoked meat products sold in the country. He and his sister Ida (Nancy Parsons) set up road accidents to abduct injured passers-by along the two-lane highway near their motel (it's called "Motel Hello" but the last 'o' is on the blink), chloroforming them to knock them out, then planting their bodies into the ground up to their nec...

Feb 19, 202230 min

The Shining (1980) | Stanley Kubrick

A dysfunctional family is hired as the caretakers for an empty, isolated Rocky Mountain hotel, the Overlook, during the snowy season. Young Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd) is gifted with ESP, his father Jack (Jack Nicholson) is a tempestuous alcoholic, and his mother Wendy (Shelley Duvall) is racked with guilt. Jack hopes writing a successful play will rectify his dreary life. The hotel has a history of evil, including Grady, a former caretaker who slaughtered his wife and daughters. The Torrances ...

Jan 18, 202253 min

The Changeling (1980) | Peter Medak

The Changeling concerns an esteemed New York pianist/composer named John Russell (George C. Scott) who accepts a lectureship position in Seattle for solitude and restoration following the deaths of his wife and daughter in a roadside accident. Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), a volunteer at the local Historical Preservation Society, moves him into a massive old Victorian-Gothic mansion located outside the city that hasn't had anyone living in it in at least twelve years. Russell soon discovers ...

Sep 19, 202134 min

House II: The Second Story (1987)

House II opens in the early 1950s, where we find Charles and Judith McLaughlin handing away their baby Jesse to adoption. This is to protect their child from retribution by a powerful ghost named Slim Razor, who has appeared in the couple's mansion demanding they hand over a crystal skull. After the couple confronts Slim to reveal that they don't have it or know where it is, Slim kills them. Flash forward twenty-five years, and their aspiring artist son Jesse is all grown up, Jesse moves into hi...

Sep 02, 202132 min

House (1986) | Steve Miner

An elderly artist named Elizabeth Hopper (Susan French) is found having hanged herself in the three-story Victorian house in Marin County, California, that she claimed is haunted. Hopper's nephew, a famous horror novelist named Roger Cobb (William Katt), inherits the house and decides to move in so that he can have the solitude necessary to write his next book, a memoir of his harrowing time as an American soldier in Vietnam. His publisher as well as his fans don't want him to write but he finds...

Aug 19, 202131 min

The Horror Show (aka House III) (1989) | James Isaac

After viciously murdering over 110 people, the serial killer known as 'Meat Cleaver Max' Jenke (Brion James) gets the death penalty, sentenced to fry in the electric chair. Max doesn't go easily, staying alive for nearly ten minutes as they zap him with everything they have before expiring. However, something happens in the process of electrocution that allows Jenke to live on as a supernatural entity of electricity - one that seeks revenge on the cop that arrested him, Lucas McCarthy (Lance Hen...

Jul 24, 202131 min
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