Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1985 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.
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We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.
Yes, we’re insane, but 1985 was that great of a year for film.
The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1984 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.
This time around, it’s Aug. 23, 1985, and we’re off to see American Ninja, Compromising Positions, and Flesh+Blood.
American Ninja
I could have sworn the ninja obsession of the 80s peaked earlier than this, but here we are.
Joe Armstrong (Michael Dudikoff) finds himself in the Army as an alternative to going to prison. While stationed in the Philippines, it turns out his base commander is up to no good, and he’s in league with the Black Star Order of ninjas. Thank goodness Joe happens to be a ninja as well so he can take down all of the evil-doers and save the girl.
This movie was just horrible. Top-to-bottom there was nothing enjoyable about this movie. The writing was garbage. It looked as though it was filmed with an off-the-shelf video camera. And the acting was just abysmal. How this movie spawned multiple sequels is beyond me.
All of that being said, ninja were such a staple of the 80s action film it almost feels like essential viewing so then you can be as puzzled as I am at its success.
Compromising Positions
You would have to work over time to convince me this wasn’t originally envisioned as a TV pilot.
Judith Singer (Susan Sarandon) is a former journalist turned housewife who finds herself in the epicenter of a murder mystery when Dr. Bruce Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna) is murdered. It turns out the dentist had been sleeping with nearly every woman he saw, and everyone had a reason to want him dead. When Judith starts investigating on her own, she finds not only is she now a target, but she may be falling for Det. David Suarez (Raul Julia), as well.
I didn’t dislike the film at all. I actually rather enjoyed it. But, as I said at the start, you would really have to convince me this wasn’t originally passed around the big three networks at the time as a TV series. From the character relationships, to the way it ends, it feels very much like this was being set up as the continuing stories of Judith Singer.
Flesh+Blood
I had no idea this “erotic historical drama” even existed, so this was a fun discovery.
Martin (Rutger Hauer) is the leader of a band of mercenaries who are betrayed by an employer after taking back his city. They then set out to get revenge, and happen into his son’s fiancee, Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), whom they take hostage and becomes Martin’s lover. What ensues is a fight that leaves both sides very much the worse-for-wear.
This was Paul Verhoeven’s first American film before going on to dominate the latter part of the 1980s and early 1990s with lots of gore and nudity. You could tell he was definitely working up to it here.
The film is fine if a tad padded at points, but an unexpected Rutger Hauer performance is always welcome.
1985 Movie Reviews will return on Sept. 6, 2025, with City Limits.
