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RankedFacts.com > Blog > Entertainment > Screen > 10 Shocking ’80s Movie Facts: Behind-the-Scenes Secrets
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10 Shocking ’80s Movie Facts: Behind-the-Scenes Secrets

RankedFacts Team
Last updated: June 30, 2025 10:39 pm
RankedFacts Team
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10 Shocking '80s Movie Facts: Behind-the-Scenes Secrets
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The 1980s gifted us a treasure trove of movies, didn’t they? From epic space adventures to heartwarming tales of friendship, these films carved a special place in our hearts. They were packed with adventure, groundbreaking practical effects, and iconic characters. But what went on when the cameras weren’t rolling? Get ready to peek behind the curtain at some truly surprising moments from your favorite ’80s classics!

Contents
10 Real Tears in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial9 Military Precision for Predator8 Ouch! Cary Elwes’s On-Set Injuries in The Princess Bride7 Behind the Spark: Tension on the Dirty Dancing Set6 Crafting Nightmares: Toht’s Melting Face in Raiders5 The Magnificent Inferno: The Goonies’ Pirate Ship4 Real Martial Arts Chops for The Karate Kid3 The Natural Sounds of a Galaxy Far, Far Away2 Bringing the Terrifying Alien Queen to Life in Aliens1 The Great McFly Switch: Recasting Back to the Future

10 Real Tears in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (8/10) Movie CLIP - He's Alive! He's Alive! (1982) HD

Getting genuine emotion from child actors can be a real challenge. For E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), director Steven Spielberg had a clever plan. He filmed the movie in the order of the story, which is unusual in filmmaking. This meant the young actors experienced the plot’s ups and downs almost in real time.

Spielberg noted that this approach helped connect the children deeply to the story. When it came time for E.T.’s heartbreaking farewell, the tears from Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas, and Robert MacNaughton were incredibly real. They genuinely felt the sadness of the moment. Henry Thomas, who played Elliott, E.T.’s closest friend, was particularly gifted. During his audition, he improvised a scene and managed to cry on cue, instantly impressing Spielberg and landing the role.

9 Military Precision for Predator

Predator Contact Scene - Shooting Jungle - Predator (1987) Movie Clip HD

The cast of Predator (1987) looked tough, but director John McTiernan wanted them to move like real soldiers. Just a week before filming began in Mexico, he brought in Gary Goldman, a Vietnam veteran, to whip the actors into shape. McTiernan reportedly told Goldman the cast looked more like “a bunch of ballerinas” than hardened commandos.

Goldman didn’t pull any punches. He started with intense runs, emphasizing that physical endurance is key in combat, regardless of muscle size. He also drilled them on proper weapon handling. For instance, Bill Duke, playing Mac, learned to fire his machine gun in controlled bursts to prevent the barrel from overheating – a detail straight from real-world combat. Goldman recalled Duke cackling with delight after firing off a long burst during practice, truly getting into character.

8 Ouch! Cary Elwes’s On-Set Injuries in The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride (6/12) Movie CLIP - As You Wish (1987) HD

Cary Elwes, the dashing Westley in The Princess Bride (1987), had a bit of a rough time on set. His first mishap occurred just weeks into filming. André the Giant, who played Fezzik, encouraged Elwes to try his ATV. Unfortunately, Elwes caught his big toe between the clutch and a rock, breaking it. He tried to hide the injury from director Rob Reiner, fearing he might be replaced, but Reiner found out. Thankfully, Elwes kept his role, though he had to film carefully, putting minimal weight on his injured foot.

His second injury actually made it into the movie. In the scene where Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) knocks Westley unconscious, Guest was initially too gentle with the sword (a real one, not a prop!). Elwes urged him to be more forceful. Guest accidentally hit him a bit too hard, knocking Elwes out for real. He later woke up in the hospital, still in costume, getting stitches. The same doctor who treated his toe wryly commented, “Well, Zorro! You seem to be a little accident prone, don’t you?”

7 Behind the Spark: Tension on the Dirty Dancing Set

Dirty Dancing - Final Dance Scene. (Time Of My Life) FULL.

The incredible on-screen chemistry between Baby (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze) is a huge part of why Dirty Dancing (1987) became a beloved classic. However, things weren’t always so smooth behind the scenes. Swayze was a professionally trained dancer, while Grey was a newcomer to such intense choreography and often nervous about performing risky moves, like the famous lift.

Grey described their dynamic as being like “a marriage where you have two opposites.” Swayze, in his autobiography, mentioned that they had a “rough start” on a previous film, Red Dawn (1984). While they collaborated on Dirty Dancing, friction sometimes arose. He noted that Grey could be quite emotional and sometimes her playful moods would lead to retakes if she started laughing during a scene, which could be frustrating.

6 Crafting Nightmares: Toht’s Melting Face in Raiders

Many a childhood nightmare was fueled by the horrifying face-melt scene of Major Arnold Toht (Ronald Lacey) in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). The gruesome effect was the brainchild of special effects artist Chris Walas. To achieve this iconic movie moment, Walas sculpted a likeness of Lacey’s head. He then developed a special gelatin that would melt at a low temperature.

This gelatin was layered in different colors within the mold to represent skin, muscle, and blood. The gelatin creation was then set over a heat-resistant stone skull. During filming, two propane heaters slowly melted the face, while Walas himself was positioned underneath with a heat gun, making “moment by moment adjustments” as hot gelatin dripped around him. The entire melt took about ten minutes but was dramatically sped up for the final film cut, leaving a lasting, terrifying impression. Director Steven Spielberg called it “one of the most amazing effects I’d ever seen.”

5 The Magnificent Inferno: The Goonies’ Pirate Ship

The Goonies (1985) - 'Water Slide and Galleon' scene [1080]

One of the most memorable scenes in The Goonies (1985) is when the gang finally discovers One-Eyed Willy’s incredible pirate ship, the Inferno. Production designer J. Michael Riva was adamant about building a full-scale ship, and director Richard Donner supported this vision. The ship was constructed on Stage 16 at Warner Bros. Studios, their largest soundstage.

The Inferno was a massive 138 feet long and sat in a tank holding nearly 2.3 million gallons of water. To capture genuine awe, the ship was kept a secret from the child actors until the cameras were rolling. The reveal was so effective that Josh Brolin, who played Brand, exclaimed a profanity upon seeing it, forcing a retake. Brolin later admitted on Instagram that his reaction felt “totally appropriate” even now. Sadly, after filming wrapped, no one bought the impressive Inferno, and it was eventually dismantled.

4 Real Martial Arts Chops for The Karate Kid

The iconic final showdown in The Karate Kid (1984) between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) at the All Valley Karate Tournament is a classic. The referee in that climactic scene was Pat E. Johnson, a key figure behind the movie’s authentic martial arts. Johnson, who had trained with Chuck Norris, was the film’s combat choreographer and trainer.

Johnson had distinct training approaches. He trained Macchio and Pat Morita (Mr. Miyagi) separately from the Cobra Kai actors. This helped build the crucial mentor-student bond between Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. Johnson noted they “would share their aches and pains like two little old men, and they built camaraderie through the training.” For the Cobra Kai actors, however, Johnson adopted a “harsh, very strict” demeanor to reflect the tough teachings of their sensei, John Kreese (Martin Kove).

3 The Natural Sounds of a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Ben Burtt, the genius sound designer for most of the Star Wars films, is the man behind the iconic lightsaber hums, R2-D2’s expressive beeps, and Darth Vader’s menacing breath. He also helped popularize the famous Wilhelm scream. For The Empire Strikes Back (1980), George Lucas wanted an even grander soundscape, challenging Burtt to create a host of new, memorable sounds.

Instead of relying on purely electronic sounds common in sci-fi at the time, Burtt innovatively used natural noises. The unique calls of the Tauntauns were created from slowed-down recordings of an Asian Sea Otter, whose high-pitched squawks can almost sound like speech. The fearsome Wampa’s roar combined a lion’s slurping sounds while eating with an elephant’s trumpet. Even the lumbering AT-AT walkers’ distinctive stomp was a mix of a squeaky dumpster lid, a metal shearing machine, and exploding artillery shells. Burtt’s philosophy was that audiences “don’t know what it is, but they realize it is real in some way.”

2 Bringing the Terrifying Alien Queen to Life in Aliens

ALIENS: XENOMORPH QUEEN SCENE

When James Cameron took the helm for Aliens (1986), he knew he needed to elevate the threat beyond what was seen in Ridley Scott’s original Alien (1979). He reasoned that the single Xenomorph from the first film “couldn’t possibly have laid the thousand or so eggs that filled the inside of the derelict ship.” This thought process led to the creation of the formidable Alien Queen, designed by Cameron and brought to screen by special effects wizard Stan Winston.

Cameron envisioned a massive puppet suspended from a crane, operated by two puppeteers from within, with other parts controlled by external wires and hydraulics. Winston first built a test prototype of the Queen using humble materials like brooms and garbage bags. The final creature was a lightweight polyfoam marvel, standing an imposing 14 feet tall. It required various rigs depending on the shot and up to eight operators working in perfect synchronization to achieve its terrifyingly organic movements.

1 The Great McFly Switch: Recasting Back to the Future

Back to the future scene 1985

It’s hard to picture anyone but Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985), but he wasn’t the first choice. Eric Stoltz originally landed the role. Director Robert Zemeckis initially wanted Fox, but Fox was committed to the TV show Family Ties, and its creator, Gary Goldberg, said he was unavailable. So, Stoltz was cast.

However, after several weeks of filming, Zemeckis felt Stoltz wasn’t bringing the right comedic energy to Marty. Stoltz was let go, and Zemeckis approached Fox again. Fox agreed, leading to an exhausting schedule where he filmed Family Ties during the day and Back to the Future at night, surviving on just three or four hours of sleep for months. Fox later admitted, “I really, truly thought I was terrible” due to the grueling pace. The McFly recast also led to another change: Marty’s girlfriend, Jennifer, initially played by Melora Hardin (opposite Stoltz), was recast with Claudia Wells because Hardin was considered too tall next to the shorter Fox.

These behind-the-scenes glimpses add such a fascinating layer to the ’80s movies we know and love. From ingenious practical effects and dedicated actors to last-minute casting changes that became iconic, the stories behind the camera are often as compelling as the ones on screen. Knowing these details makes rewatching these classics an even richer experience, doesn’t it?

What’s your favorite ’80s movie behind-the-scenes fact? Were any of these new to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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TAGGED:80s moviesancient aliensancient predatorsBack to the Futurebehind the scenesclassic moviesDirty DancingE.T.extreme filmmakingfilm triviamovie factsmovie secretsRaiders of the Lost ArkStar WarsThe GooniesThe Karate KidThe Princess Bride

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