THE TEN BEST IRISH FILMS OF THE 1980S

Ah, maybe not the best decade for cinema but there were some decent Irish movies made back then. Some are forgotten, others didn't make much of an impact on release, and a few more are famous (though not popular enough to get a DVD release!). Here is Shoot the Cabbage's selection of the ten best Irish movies of the 1980s.

Eat the peach
Famous title about an unemployed pair who build a wall of death in the midlands.

Pigs
Impressive Dublin movie about a bunch of outsiders living in a city centre squat.

Angel
Neil Jordan's best film, just don't mention Point Blank! Spellbinding stuff. That famous scene where Rea follows the guy to his house and shoots him through the door is around the corner from The Czech Inn in Dublin.

Reefer and the model
Comerford was a world-class director. Far more interesting than today's film-school crop. This movie was supposed to have won a large cash award at a Spanish film festival.

The outcasts
It's a scandal that this masterpiece is not out on DVD. Maybe people wouldn't be raving so much about shi*e like Perrier's Bounty then? One of the fastest-paced Irish movies ever!

Buddawanny
Another rare movie, this one got remade as The Bishop's Story. Has one of the best music scores ever heard on an Irish film.

Cal
Yet another good Irish movie waiting to get a DVD release. This one had Helen Mirren playing a cougar!

The fantasist
Little seen serial-killer movie set in Dublin. From the director of The Wicker Man.

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
Another forgotten movie. This one is from the director of The Innocents. Set in Dublin it's a '50s movie that's much better than the similar ones made in the '90s.

My left foot
May not be the best but certainly the most influential Irish movie of the '80s?