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The 80s Movie Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Edward Havens
Step into a neon-lit time machine and crank the volume! The 80s Movie Podcast is your ultimate throwback ride through the most iconic decade in film. From explosive blockbusters and cult classics to hidden gems you forgot you loved, each episode dives deep into the stories, stars, soundtracks, and behind-the-scenes magic that defined the era. Expect bold opinions, nostalgic deep dives, and plenty of laughs as we revisit the movies that shaped a generation, whether it’s high school hijinks, sci-fi adventures, action-packed showdowns, or unforgettable coming-of-age moments. If it had big hair, bigger explosions, and a killer synth score, it’s fair game. Whether you lived the 80s or just wish you had, this podcast brings the decade back to life, one reel at a time. Press play and let’s rewind.
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- 1 weeks ago13 min
Hearts and Armour (1984): Love, Magic, and Medieval Mayhem in a Lost Tanya Roberts Cult Fantasy
In this episode of The 80s Movie Podcast, host Edward Havens explores Hearts and Armour (1983), an Italian fantasy adventure inspired by Orlando Furioso. The film follows star-crossed lovers caught between Christian and Saracen armies during a sprawling medieval conflict. However, prophecy, magic, and divided loyalties threaten every chance at happiness. Along the way, we examine the film's production design, elaborate costumes, and ambitious fantasy world. In addition, we discuss performances from Tanya Roberts, Ronn Moss, Barbara De Rossi, and the rest of the international cast. Director Giacomo Battiato aimed for epic storytelling, while drawing on classic European literature and fantasy traditions. The result remains one of the most visually distinctive genre films of the decade. At the same time, we consider why Hearts and Armour remains a cult curiosity among fantasy fans. Furthermore, we look at its reputation as a beautiful but divisive film. Many viewers praise its costumes, armor, and action sequences despite its unconventional storytelling. Whether you discovered it on cable, VHS, or streaming, this episode revisits a forgotten fantasy epic that still sparks debate among genre enthusiasts.
- May 13, 202612 min
Oliver Reed & Cannon Films’ Forgotten Shelved Horror Comedy: Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype (1980)
This week on The 80s Movie Podcast, host Edward Havens launches a new semi-regular series, Produced and Abandoned, spotlighting films that were completed but largely discarded by their distributors. First up: the bizarre and nearly forgotten 1980 horror-comedy Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype, a very loose retelling of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," starring Oliver Reed in a dual role, and written and directed by Charles B. Griffith, the legendary screenwriter behind The Little Shop of Horrors. Produced by Cannon Films, the movie was rushed from concept to completion in just a few months, only to practically vanish from theaters. Edward explores the film’s wild production history, from Griffith’s original comedy concept and failed attempt to cast Dick Van Dyke to Oliver Reed’s last-minute involvement and the movie’s mysterious disappearance after only a handful of theatrical screenings. Plus: the connections to cult favorites like Condorman and The Apple, the strange international afterlife of the film on VHS, and why forgotten studio castoffs like Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype still deserve rediscovery decades later. ----more---- Transcript From Los Angeles, California, the entertainment capital of the world. It's The 80s Movie Podcast. I'm your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. Today, on this 137th episode of the show, I'm going to be starting a new semi-regular series called Produced and Abandoned, that brings movies that were made and barely exhibited back to the spotlight, if even only for a moment. One of the many advantages of having a non-linear podcast like this one is that I, as the host and the researcher and the writer, can zag unexpectedly at a moment's notice when I feel compelled to. And that happened to me this week. For a film historian like myself who focuses on movies from a specific discipline like, say, from the 1980s, the internet is a veritable cornucopia of people who share in some way many of your same passions, and you will find them doing a lot of the legwork unintentionally for you, or pointing you in a direction you didn't know you needed to go. In 2026, I. Edward Havens, still have an active Facebook account, which I mainly use to keep in touch with my friends and family who are scattered throughout the globe. I have curated my feed so that the non-relative crazy uncles and aunts of the world, with their tinfoil hats and indecipherable conspiracy theories about the strangest subjects, do not reach me. So it's not as toxic a space as many people know it to be. Some time last week, thanks to filmmaker Adam Rifkin, I learned about a private Facebook group called Old Movie Newspaper and Print Ads from Around the World. Nearly a century of digital newspaper clippings, mostly from the United States and mostly from the 1970s and 1980s. If, for example, if you wanted to know how many theaters the god awful 1988 Joe Piscopo horror/action/comedy film Dead Heat opened at in Detroit in May of 1988, I can tell you that now. It was twenty one theaters, by the way. Including four drive ins. And while perusing this private Facebook group of insane movie nerds, my kind of people, I saw an ad for an Oliver Reed movie I had never heard of before, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hype. Well, the episode that I had been working on, that I've been tinkering with for damn more than two years now, was moved to the backburner once again, for the time being. I had to learn more about this movie, and I had to learn about it right then and there, because that's who I am. At one thirty in the morning, with a toddler ready to wake up in five and a half hours. I was exhausted, but at least I was going to get the ball rolling. And what I discovered is just how amazingly quick this film went from concept to writing, to production to completion. In an interview published in the 1997 book "BackStory 3: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1960s," the film's writer and director, Charles B. Griffith, described how the film came together. The title, originally "Doctor Feelgood and Mr. Hype," was one of several joke titles and ideas that Griffith had come up with for an expected meeting with Francis Ford Coppola about getting a movie made in the late 1970s. Griffith's own pitch for the film was that a hippie invents a new drug that turns its users into advertising executives. It was more meant to be an opening icebreaker joke than a real movie. After filming the movie Up From the Depths in the Philippines in 1978, Griffith would find himself talking to Cannon Films co-president Menahem Golan, who wanted Griffith to write a screenplay for The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood. While that film would get made, it would get made without Griffith ever signing on to it. But the two men would continue to talk regularly, as Griffith had been a roommate of Golan's when the Israeli filmmaker first arrived in A
- May 1, 20262 min
Host Update — Why The 80s Movie Podcast Was Paused 8 Months (Apology & Thanks)
Edward Havens, host of The 80s Movie Podcast, issues a brief apology and explains why the show paused for the past eight months. This 2m52s host update thanks listeners and provides a candid explanation of the hiatus. Thank you for sticking with the neon-lit rewind. Your support matters.
- Aug 17, 202513 min
Keanu Reeves TV Movie "The Brotherhood of Justice" (1986), Host's 40th High School Reunion, and Personal Tribute
The first ever remote episode of The 80s Movie Podcast, we remember an old friend, and recount how a long-forgotten 1986 Keanu Reeves TV movie, The Brotherhood of Justice, which was filmed at the host's high school weeks after his graduation and moving to Los Angeles to break into the film industry. Expect production anecdotes, personal memories, and a fresh look at a little-known early Keanu role.
- Jul 29, 202519 min
The Brat Pack at 40: Who's in the Brat Pack and Which Brat Pack Movie Is Best (Not The Breakfast Club or The Outsiders)
Host and film historian Edward Havens revisits the Brat Pack on The 80s Movie Podcast for the group's 40th anniversary. We trace the name's origin, sort who does — and does not — count as a Brat Packer, and argue for the best Brat Pack movie (it’s not The Breakfast Club or The Outsiders). Context and film-history reasoning for 1980s movie fans.
- May 12, 202510 min
Susan Seidelman 1980s Films Mini‑series: Making Mr. Right (1987)
On this episode, we deep dive into Susan Seidelman’s 1987 film Making Mr. Right. We analyze tone, themes, and behind‑the‑scenes context as Seidelman's follow-up to Desperately Seeking Susan, and unpack performances by John Malkovich and Ann Magnuson. Concrete takeaways on the film’s place in Seidelman’s 1980s work and why it matters to fans of 80s cinema and film analysis.
- Apr 30, 202554 min
1980s Fantasy Films: Top 5 Picks by Author Todd Downing
Calico Kids series author Todd Downing shares his five favorite fantasy films of the 1980s, with discussion of why each film matters, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and viewing recommendations. Host Edward Havens digs into themes, synth scores, cult status, and what makes these 80s fantasy movies enduring classics. Ideal for fans of 1980s fantasy films, film history, and retro movie deep dives. Listen for perspective and curated watchlist.
- Jan 30, 202514 min
Jay Leno's Only Leading Role Movie: Collision Course (1987)
Season 7 Premiere: after a six-month break the host issues an apology for a previous bait-and-switch, explains the delay, and leads a focused discussion of Collision Course — the only movie to feature comedian and talk show host Jay Leno in a leading role. Expect context on the film’s place in 80s movie culture, clear episode notes explaining the gap, and a concise look at what makes this Jay Leno film notable.
About The 80s Movie Podcast
Step into a neon-lit time machine and crank the volume! The 80s Movie Podcast is your ultimate throwback ride through the most iconic decade in film. From explosive blockbusters and cult classics to hidden gems you forgot you loved, each episode dives deep into the stories, stars, soundtracks, and behind-the-scenes magic that defined the era. Expect bold opinions, nostalgic deep dives, and plenty of laughs as we revisit the movies that shaped a generation, whether it’s high school hijinks, sci-fi adventures, action-packed showdowns, or unforgettable coming-of-age moments. If it had big hair, bigger explosions, and a killer synth score, it’s fair game. Whether you lived the 80s or just wish you had, this podcast brings the decade back to life, one reel at a time. Press play and let’s rewind.
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