A list of lists, the second in a series of six. –J.R.
Chicago Reader, Best Films of the 1980s (chronological):
Out of the Blue (1980, Dennis Hopper)
Sans soleil (1981, Chris Marker)
Blade Runner (1981, Ridley Scott)
Passion (1982, Jean-Luc Godard)
The King of Comedy (1983, Martin Scorsese)
Love Streams (1984, John Cassavetes)
Manuel on the Island of Wonders (1984, Raul Ruiz)
Shoah (1985, Claude Lanzmann)
The Horse Thief (1985, Tian Zhuangzhuang)
Mix-Up (1985, Francoise Romand)
Mélo (1986, Alain Resnais)
Brightness (1987, Souleymane Cisse)
Housekeeping (1987, Bill Forsyth)
A Story of the Wind (1988, Joris Ivens/Marceline Loridan)
Distant Voices/Still Lives (1988, Terence Davies)
Film Comment, 1981 (alphabetical):
Amor de Perdição (Manoel de Oliveira)
Cutter’s Way (Ivan Passer)
Gal Young ‘Un (Victor Nunez)
Hardly Working (Jerry Lewis)
India Song (Marguerite Duras)
Mommie Dearest (Frank Perry)
Numéro Deux (Jean-Luc Godard)
Reds (Warren Beatty)
Shock Treatment (Jim Sharman)
Taxi Zum Klo (Frank Ripploh)
Chicago Reader, 1987 (ranked):
The Horse Thief (Tian Zhuangzhuang)
Mammame (Raúl Ruiz)
Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick)
Mélo (Alain Resnais)
The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci)
Ishtar (Elaine May)
Landscape Suicide (James Benning)
Tough Guys Don’t Dance (Norman Mailer)
From the Pole to the Equator(Yervant Gianikian/Angela Ricci Lucchi)
Black Widow (Bob Rafelson)
Chicago Reader, 1988 (ranked):
Mix-Up (Françoise Romand)
Yeelen (Brightness) (Souleymane Cissé)
Housekeeping (Bill Forsyth)
Repentance (Tengiz Abuladze)
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Robert Zemeckis)
King Lear (Jean-Luc Godard)
Talking to Strangers (Rob Tregenza)
Uncommon Senses: Plain Talk & Common Sense (Jon Jost)
Hairspray (John Waters)
Chicago Reader, 1989 (ranked):
Distant Voices/Still Lives (Terence Davies)
A Short Film About Love (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (Terry Gilliam)
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
High Hopes (Mike Leigh)
Golub (Jerry Blumenthal/Gordon Quinn)
Rembrandt Laughing (Jon Jost)
sex, lies, and videotape (Steven Soderbergh)
Forevermore: Biography of Leach Lord (Eric Saks)
Say Anything… (Cameron Crowe)
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