Hidden 80s Gems
by fugosushi | created - 21 Mar 2018 | updated - 4 months ago | PublicUnexpectedly good, lesser-known, overlooked or under-appreciated movies from the 1980s worth checking out.
Did I miss any? Leave a comment with your favourite hidden 80s gems.
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1. Into the Night (1985)
R | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
After discovering that his wife is cheating on him, an insomniac aerospace engineer accidentally meets, and tries to help, a beautiful model on the run from some extremely dangerous people.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stacey Pickren, Carmen Argenziano
Votes: 13,628 | Gross: $7.56M
Like a great fever dream. It helps to watch this very late at night and/or when you have insomnia or a head cold. Plus, David Bowie makes an amazing cameo.
2. The Hidden (1987)
R | 97 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.
Director: Jack Sholder | Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, Claudia Christian, Clarence Felder
Votes: 22,589 | Gross: $9.75M
A pre-Twin Peaks Kyle MacLachlan stars in easily one of the best X-files episodes I've ever seen! MacLachlan plays an FBI agent trying to hunt down a shape-shifting alien.
It's incredible how much of this movie is a direct influence on the X-files. Even the music score is uncannily similar (I don't know for certain, but it seems like Chris Carter just told Mark Snow, "make it sound like this").
3. Max Headroom (1985 TV Movie)
57 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
In the dystopic near future, a crusading TV reporter investigates news stories with the help of a wisecracking computer version of himself.
Directors: Annabel Jankel, Rocky Morton | Stars: Matt Frewer, Nickolas Grace, Hilary Tindall, William Morgan Sheppard
Votes: 2,279
a.k.a "Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future"
The first appearance of Max Headroom before he became a global phenomenon. Fantastic low-budget British sci-fi that's bleak, fun and prophetic.
4. Krull (1983)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet, Krull.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Francesca Annis
Votes: 36,242 | Gross: $16.52M
This film is so deliciously culty, I love it!
5. How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A cynical advertising exec has a block at work leading to a meltdown. He's hilariously out of control. Getting a big, talking boil on his shoulder doesn't help.
Director: Bruce Robinson | Stars: Richard E. Grant, Rachel Ward, Richard Wilson, Jacqueline Tong
Votes: 6,628 | Gross: $0.42M
Get ahead. Literally.
6. Tampopo (1985)
Not Rated | 114 min | Comedy
A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.
Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho
Votes: 22,540 | Gross: $0.22M
mmmm... noodles!
7. Real Genius (1985)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
An uptight teenage prodigy enters a top engineering college, but feels awkward among the freewheeling students. When a professor aims to turn their laser project into a military weapon, he and his offbeat roommate plot to ruin the plan.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Val Kilmer, Stacy Peralta, Daniel Ades, Andres Aybar
Votes: 37,731 | Gross: $13.00M
8. The Quest (1986)
PG | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A resourceful American orphan living in rural Australia finds himself caught up in the magic of a local Aboriginal myth that might be more real than anyone knows.
Directors: Brian Trenchard-Smith, Russell Hagg | Stars: Henry Thomas, Tony Barry, Rachel Friend, Tamsin West
Votes: 2,168
The Quest (a.k.a. "Frog Dreaming")
9. Volunteers (1985)
R | 107 min | Adventure, Comedy
1962, after Yale graduation, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay. He takes his roomie's place as Peace Corps Volunteer in Thai Golden Triangle with 2 other PCVs. Will he survive 2 years?
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Tom Hanks, John Candy, Rita Wilson, Tim Thomerson
Votes: 10,506 | Gross: $19.88M
10. Prizzi's Honor (1985)
R | 130 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two professional assassins fall in love.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Robert Loggia, John Randolph
Votes: 26,386 | Gross: $26.70M
11. They Live (1988)
R | 94 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower
Votes: 145,383 | Gross: $13.01M
12. Time Bandits (1981)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, John Cleese, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 68,306 | Gross: $42.37M
13. Jack the Ripper (1988)
TV-PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Scotland Yard police inspector, battling the booze, investigates the Jack the Ripper murders and discovers a conspiracy that leads all the way up to the Queen.
Stars: Michael Caine, Armand Assante, Ray McAnally, Lewis Collins
Votes: 5,672
14. The Hunger (1983)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror
A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young
Votes: 29,030 | Gross: $5.98M
15. Altered States (1980)
R | 102 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid
Votes: 38,620 | Gross: $19.85M
16. The Monster Squad (1987)
PG-13 | 82 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A group of young monster fanatics attempts to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.
Director: Fred Dekker | Stars: Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr
Votes: 35,281 | Gross: $3.77M
17. Gotcha! (1985)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Comedy, Mystery
Jonathan plays Gotcha with fellow college students, testing ability as assassin or mark, using paintball guns on campus. He flies to Paris on vacation and, with a woman taking his virginity, on to Berlin, where the game/ammo gets real.
Director: Jeff Kanew | Stars: Anthony Edwards, Linda Fiorentino, Jsu Garcia, Alex Rocco
Votes: 9,462 | Gross: $10.81M
18. Ladyhawke (1985)
PG-13 | 121 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
The thief Gaston escapes the dungeon of medieval Aquila through the latrine. Soldiers are about to kill him when Navarre saves him. Navarre, traveling with his spirited hawk, plans to kill the bishop of Aquila with help from Gaston.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern
Votes: 50,938 | Gross: $18.43M
"We have come full circle Lord. I would like to think there is some higher meaning in all this. It certainly would reflect well on You."
19. Three O'Clock High (1987)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy
A nerd gets himself in hot water with the new bully, a quiet bad boy who challenges him to fight on the grounds of their high school after the day's end.
Director: Phil Joanou | Stars: Casey Siemaszko, Annie Ryan, Richard Tyson, Stacey Glick
Votes: 13,168 | Gross: $3.69M
20. Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
R | 99 min | Biography, Comedy
Semi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Director: Art Linson | Stars: Peter Boyle, Bill Murray, Bruno Kirby, Rene Auberjonois
Votes: 12,674 | Gross: $6.66M
Bill Murray personifies Hunter S. Thompson.
21. Cloak & Dagger (1984)
PG | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A young boy and his imaginary friend end up on the run while in possession of a top-secret spy gadget.
Director: Richard Franklin | Stars: Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, Michael Murphy, Christina Nigra
Votes: 8,366 | Gross: $9.72M
Hitchcock for kids... (and adults too).
22. Police Squad! (1982)
TV-PG | 24 min | Comedy, Crime
Sight gags, puns and non-sequiturs abound bumbling Sgt. Det. Lt. Frank Drebin and his colleagues at Police Squad solve various puzzling cases.
Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Alan North, Ed Williams, William Duell
Votes: 20,627
One of the funniest TV shows ever made.
23. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
PG | 103 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Adventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.
Director: W.D. Richter | Stars: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum
Votes: 29,307 | Gross: $6.25M
24. Who's Harry Crumb? (1989)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Mystery
Harry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
Director: Paul Flaherty | Stars: John Candy, Jeffrey Jones, Annie Potts, Tim Thomerson
Votes: 17,777 | Gross: $10.98M
25. The Man with Two Brains (1983)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
A brain surgeon marries a femme fatale whose life he saved, causing his life to turn upside down. Things go even more awry when he falls in love with a telepathic brain.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner, Paul Benedict
Votes: 27,875 | Gross: $10.10M
26. The Day the Universe Changed (1985)
52 min | Documentary, History
James Burke explores key moments in Western History where new knowledge in science changed the way the modern Western world thinks.
Stars: James Burke, Roger Avon, Peter Sproule, Jeff Pirie
Votes: 624
If you like this series, check out James Burke's other series, "Connections" (the first one is the best, 2 and 3 are so-so).
27. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark
Votes: 40,644 | Gross: $2.44M
28. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Votes: 25,759 | Gross: $5.25M
29. Sans Soleil (1983)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Drama
A woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Amilcar Cabral, Florence Delay, Arielle Dombasle, Riyoko Ikeda
Votes: 12,126 | Gross: $0.03M
Among other things this Chris Marker film did to me was give me a radically deeper appreciation for Hitchcock's Vertigo; when you see it, you'll understand why.
30. For All Mankind (1989)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, History
An in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.
Director: Al Reinert | Stars: Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly, Russell Schweickart, Eugene Cernan
Votes: 6,523 | Gross: $0.77M
Of the dozens (or possibly hundreds) of documentaries about going to the moon, this one is among the very best.
31. Legend (1985)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance
A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent
Votes: 72,429 | Gross: $15.50M
One of the most amazing visual spectacles ever filmed. Also one of the largest (if not the largest) sound stages ever constructed to film it all.
32. Creature Comforts (1989)
TV-G | 5 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A humourous and thought provoking view of what animals in zoos might be thinking about their captivity and surroundings.
Director: Nick Park | Star: Julie Sedgewick
Votes: 6,874
Nick Park's first Oscar-winning short.
33. The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
30 min | Animation, Short, Drama
The story of a shepherd's single handed quest to re-forest a barren valley.
Director: Frédéric Back | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 6,112
"The Man Who Planted Trees"
One of the best animated films ever made.
34. Repo Man (1984)
R | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash
Votes: 41,034 | Gross: $3.57M
35. Throw Momma from the Train (1987)
PG-13 | 88 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
A bitter ex-husband wants his former spouse dead. A put-upon momma's boy wants his mother dead. Who will pull it off?
Director: Danny DeVito | Stars: Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, Kim Greist, Anne Ramsey
Votes: 40,649 | Gross: $57.92M
Not sure if this film qualifies as lesser-known, but it has less than 30,000 votes on IMDb, so I'm guessing there's still a lot of people who haven't seen it.
36. Breakin' (1984)
PG | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A struggling young jazz dancer meets up with two break-dancers. Together they become the sensation of the street crowds.
Director: Joel Silberg | Stars: Lucinda Dickey, Adolfo Quinones, Michael Chambers, Ben Lokey
Votes: 7,236 | Gross: $38.68M
37. Cosmos (1980)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary
Astronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the universe.
Stars: Carl Sagan, Jaromír Hanzlík, Jonathan Fahn, Jean Charney
Votes: 43,938
38. Moonstruck (1987)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello
Votes: 68,401 | Gross: $80.64M
39. Let It Ride (1989)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Action
A nosy cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can't seem to stop gambling. Will he go broke or walk home with a pretty penny?
Director: Joe Pytka | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, David Johansen, Jennifer Tilly
Votes: 6,879 | Gross: $4.97M
40. Lonesome Dove (1989)
TV-14 | 96 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Two former Texas Rangers renew their spirit of adventure as they and several other residents of a small Texas town join a cattle drive to the Montana Territory.
Stars: Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover, Diane Lane
Votes: 25,892
41. Something Wild (1986)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, George 'Red' Schwartz, Leib Lensky
Votes: 21,069 | Gross: $8.36M
42. My Science Project (1985)
PG | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A high school student and his friend find a strange, orb-like piece of equipment to use as a science project, but must stop it when it begins to threaten mankind.
Director: Jonathan R. Betuel | Stars: John Stockwell, Danielle von Zerneck, Fisher Stevens, Raphael Sbarge
Votes: 6,451 | Gross: $4.12M
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