The 1980s was the decade when the action film as it’s now known came into being. Nonstop, big-budget excitement became the standard as epic adventures like Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Road Warrior set the tone for the summer blockbusters of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris. Homages (and ripoffs) made with lesser budgets followed every hit, especially with the advent of direct-to-video releases. Providing detailed commentary on 284 films, this book explores the excitement, audacity and sheer weirdness of ’80s low budget action cinema, from the American Ninja series to dime-a-dozen barbarian pictures to such bargain-basement productions as The Courier of Death, Kill Squad and Samurai Cop.

Daniel R. Budnik lives in Los Angeles, California.

Daniel R. Budnik

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 125 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-0-7864-9741-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2687-1
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction   1
1980    7
1981    16
1982    22
1983    40
1984    60
1985    80
1986   107
1987   134
1988   167
1989   210
Index   239

• “a treat for cult movie fans”—Booklist