80s Movies: Airplane! (1980)

It's possibly the single greatest compliment to Airplane! that I actually almost began writing about 1983's National Lampoon's Vacation, then realised there was a much better, much sillier movie to mention instead. Then again, depending on your opinion of Chevy Chase et al, you might not see that as much of a compliment at all.

In its own right, though, Airplane! is a pastiche of old disaster movies that has stood the test of time. The vast majority of its jokes are good proper silliness, rather than political or social commentaries tied too closely to the early 1980s, making it, if not 'fresh', then at least as enjoyable to watch now as it ever was.

Airplane! is probably the first place many people around my age saw Leslie Nielsen - and I think you can tell if that's the case. Older people will happily bring out that nugget of trivia that he used to be a 'straight' actor before he did the rubber-faced comedy, while younger film fans will probably know him more as Lieutenant Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun.

80s Movies: Popeye (1980)

Popeye was released in December 1980 - before I was born, in fact. I didn't even know it existed until a childhood visit to Malta about ten years later, when we spent a day at the incredible Popeye Village set in Anchor Bay. Back in the UK, we invested in a VHS copy of the film and I caught up on Robin Williams' first starring role.

If you haven't seen it, you probably should - love or hate Robin Williams, he makes a great Popeye and the supporting cast, including Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl - not to mention one of the greatest sets ever constructed for a film - bring the cartoon world to life in a way we may never see the likes of again. While researching this piece, I was surprised to learn that Popeye was directed by Robert Altman - whose Short Cuts is as visionary a piece of film-making as I can recall seeing.