USCCB - (Film and Broadcasting) - Ten Best List for the Year 1983

Ten Best List for the Year 1983

The Dresser -- Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay score twin triumphs in a splendid adaptation of the play by Ronald Harwood on the symbiotic relationship between a vain, doddering Shakespearean actor (Finney) and his dresser (Courtenay). The main portion of the action takes place during a performance of "King Lear" given in the midst of an air raid in the darkest days of World War II. Peter Yates's direction helps greatly to make this an inspired adaptation of a stage play though for some tastes it may be too theatrical. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1983
Educating Rita -- This British production adapted from Willy Russell's play and directed by Lewis Gilbert stars Michael Caine as a disillusioned, drunken professor of English in Dublin who becomes involved with a spunky housewife (Julie Walters) determined to get an education. The Pygmalion relationship has some charm but Walter's characterization is somewhat crude and ethnically stereotyped. A-III-adults (PG) 1983
The Flight of the Eagle -- Swedish director Jan Troell's fact-based drama illustrates an ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole by a group of explorers (Max von Sydow, Goran Stangertz and Sverre Anker Ousdal) making use of a hydrogen balloon. Though beautifully photographed and well-told, the somber nature of the story and the intensity of its treatment make it inappropriate for younger viewers. A-II-adults and adolescents (G) 1983
Local Hero -- Hotshot American executive (Peter Riegert) comes to buy up a remote Scottish village as the site for an oil refinery but goes native, while the natives themselves pant after the millions he came to offer them. Director Bill Forsyth's delightful comedy keeps taking strange but enjoyable turns and the prevailing mood is low-keyed zany. Some mild adult humor. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1983
The Return of Martin Guerre -- Engrossing, fact-based French production about a 16th-century peasant who abandons his wife and disappears from his native village to reappear some eight years later, much improved in every way. Accepted by his wife and most of the villagers, a squabble over property a few years later provokes the accusation that he's an imposter, and a trial with tragic results ensues. Written by Jean-Claude Carriere and directed by Daniel Vigne, the movie is partly a mystery but most of all a love story that most adults will find intriguing entertainment. Brief nudity and sexual references. A-III-adults (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1983
The Right Stuff -- Screen version of Tom Wolfe's book about the original seven astronauts is an extraordinary tribute to the pioneers of the U.S. space program, notably Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepard), Alan Shepard (Scott Glenn) and John Glenn (Ed Harris). Director Philip Kaufman captures the gallant endeavor in a style that's at once respectful yet exhuberant, lavishly entertaining and very inspiring. Unfortunately, a scene about masturbation, intended as a bit of comic relief during a sequence of laboratory tests, is mature fare. A-III-adults (PG) 1983
Tender Mercies -- Down-on-his-luck country-western singer (Robert Duvall), whose drinking broke up his first marriage, meets and weds a young widow (Tess Harper) who runs a ramshackle motel with her young son (Allan Hubbard). Director Bruce Beresford gets feeling performances from his cast, most especially Duvall, and treats in a refreshingly uncynical, matter-of-fact manner the widow's strong religious convictions and her quiet pride in seeing her son and husband baptized. A rare movie, tough and gentle, inspiring and immensely entertaining, though the serious nature of the story makes it less appropriate for youngsters. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1983
Testament -- A family in a small American community attempts to cope with the aftermath of a nuclear war in this grim but extraordinary movie about a mother (Jane Alexander) who tries to make life go on for her three children after her husband (William Devane) perishes in the nuclear strike. Director Lynne Littman spares the audience most of the more horrific results of nuclear disaster, but what it shows and what it implies are unsettling enough. The subject matter and a restrained bedroom scene are more suited for adults and older adolescents. A-II-adults and adolescents (PG) 1983
They Don't Wear Black Tie -- Fine Brazilian movie about how a wildcat strike disrupts the domestic life of a working-class family in Sao Paulo. Directed by Leon Hirszman, the essential drama is played out on the family level, leading to a tragic clash between the father who supports the strike and his son who believes people should go their own way. Not a very entertaining movie but one that provides some insights into the human reality behind the headlines of Latin American strife. Some nudity and rough language. A-IV-adults with reservations (Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America) 1983
Under Fire -- American photojournalist (Nick Nolte) covering the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua loses his sense of detachment at seeing the brutality of the Somoza regime and agrees to fake a story suggested by his lover and fellow journalist (Joanna Cassidy). Directed by Ron Shelton and Clayton Frohman, the powerful and extremely entertaining film conveys the feel of guerrilla warfare, especially in an urban environment, with uncanny force. Violence and rough language. A-III-adults (R) 1983