10 Classic ’80s Sci-fi Moments: ‘The Empire Strikes Back’

#1 – “The Empire Strikes Back” – Darth Vader’s reveal – June 20, 1980 is a day that shook the world.  On this day, the much anticipated sequel to “Star Wars” (1977) hit the big screen, and in the film’s third act, Darth Vader (David Prowse/James Earl Jones) reveals that he is Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) father. What?? Absolutely no one saw this coming, and this seminal moment forever-altered fans perception of the series and its characters, and it became the fulcrum for every “Star Wars” film afterwards, except for…

10 Classic ’80s Sci-fi Moments: ‘The Terminator’

#3 – “The Terminator” (1984) – “I’ll be back.” – If one is compiling any type of Top 10 List involving science fiction films from the 1980s, James Cameron’s seminal picture “The Terminator” has, has, has to be included on the list.  Have no fear, we are following the “rules”, and it just so happens that this is Cameron’s second feature on our Top 10, back-to-back actually. Well, time travel, cybernetic beings, gunplay, violence, and hair-raising chase scenes are all thrown together into a bastion of action-packed thrills, concepts and…

10 Classic ’80s Sci-fi Moments: ‘The Abyss’

#4 – “The Abyss” (1989) – Bud desperately attempts to revive Lindsey – Ed Harris seems to always bring an intensity to every role, whether he’s a mobster in “State of Grace” (1990) and “A History of Violence” (2005), an astronaut in “Apollo 13” (1995) or a legendary painter in “Pollock” (2000).  Intensity might as well be Bud Brigman’s middle name in James Cameron’s dramatic sci-fi masterwork “The Abyss”. In a scene that will trigger tears in the most hardened of hearts, Bud desperately tries to revive his wife Lindsey…