80's Movie Musical Montage

 Some of the most iconic and indeminable moments in film occurred  when music was grafted onto a specific scene or played out during a  riveting montage sequence. When done right it can be a magical thing, that can live on outside the entire film itself. Most people haven't seen Saturday Night Fever, but they know John Travolta strutting down the street to Stayin Alive. They know Rocky, running up the steps to Flying High. Now their is one decade that is always underestimated, one decade whose music gets criticized, and whose  films overlooked. And that decade is the 80's. But I don't care I love the 80's. I love the big hair, the shoulder pads, the neon, the kitsch, Max Headrom, Ninja Turtles, Freddy Kruger you name it. I love it for all the reasons people don't. For all its faults, it remains an identifiable decade. For me and i don't want to sound like an historical chauvinist, but since the Millennium, I cant distinguish it. It is a time of everything and nothing at the same time, does 2000-2010 feel or look different in its appearance to 2015? I don't know, and I dont really care. Anyways back to the 80's, it is easy to overlook and compartmentalize the music of the 80's. Yes, Pop music was fueled by synthesizers, and one hit wonders, who carved out their own niches between Michael Jackson and Madonna. But when I watch Ferris Buellers Day Off and Ferris sees Cameron's Dads, Ferrari and Oh Yeah comes on by Yello, it doesn't get much better than that. Or when Judd Nelson raises his fist at the end of The Breakfast Club and Dont You Forget About Me starts playing by Simple Minds i'm reminded at how perfect that song ends the film. Its easy to overlook the lyrics but if you take the time that song encapsulates the emotion of high school. Its no coincidence that those two films were made by John Hughes, who in my opinion stands well above  most filmmakers. As a writer and director he always managed to incorporate music in his films at the right place that always invoked a felling or image that was undeniable. Ferris Bueller lypsinging to Wayne Newtons Danke Schoen to the Beatles Shake it up Baby reveals Ferris as a character both childlike and sincere and a rock star at the same time, which is what he was. Or who could forget John Candy mimicking playing the piano to Ray Charles Mess Around, while driving down the highway in Planes Trains and Automobiles. Both hilarious and endearing and by the time and by the time the film reaches the last shot with John Candy and Steve Martin walking together to Every time You Go, your heart cannot well up fast enough. Thats how powerful music can be when appropriately integrated within a film. This got me thinking about other classic songs from films in the 80's, of course their is Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News from Back to the Future, Ghostbusters from Ghostbusters Ray Parker, and one of my personal Favorites, Call Me by Blondie from American Gigolo. Eye of The Tiger, Rocky 3, View to a Kill from the James Bond film of the same name by Duran Duran. Old Time Rock and Roll, Bob Seger, from Risky Buisness which is still a classic scene, and  thats the only rock song in the whole film the rest is Tangerine Dream and In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins. Then you had musicians contributing to the entire film soundtrack like what Prince did with Purple Rain and Batman. Jack Nicholson as the Joker, desecrating  all that artwork to Party Man by Prince perfectly encapsulates the Joker. And not mention my favorite band of all time AC/DC providing the soundtrack to Maximum Overdrive. When the drawbridge opens on its own in the beginning killing the people on the bridge and Who Made Who comes on, you know your in for a ride. Everyone knows the scenes from Dirty Dancing, Footlose and Flashdance. They have become like parodies of themselves, but that shouldn't diminish them, and besides that theirs also plenty of other great stuff in the 80's that gets neglected when it comes to the films and the music.