Best films of the 80s
by princepapi-19468 | created - 07 Feb 2021 | updated - 13 Apr 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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101. The Right Stuff (1983)
PG | 193 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The U.S. space program's development from the breaking of the sound barrier to selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of test pilots with a more seat-of-the-pants approach than the program's more cautious engineers preferred.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid
Votes: 65,388 | Gross: $21.50M
102. The Verdict (1982)
R | 129 min | Drama
An outcast, alcoholic Boston lawyer sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Paul Newman, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Warden, James Mason
Votes: 46,015 | Gross: $54.00M
103. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Crime
A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Randall Adams, David Harris, Gus Rose, Jackie Johnson
Votes: 26,000 | Gross: $1.21M
104. The King of Comedy (1982)
PG | 109 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard
Votes: 119,297 | Gross: $2.50M
105. Police Story (1985)
PG-13 | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A virtuous Hong Kong Police Officer must clear his good name when the drug lord he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop.
Directors: Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Yuen Chor
Votes: 41,914 | Gross: $0.11M
106. The Untouchables (1987)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 331,018 | Gross: $76.27M
107. Chariots of Fire (1981)
PG | 125 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
Director: Hugh Hudson | Stars: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers
Votes: 65,936 | Gross: $58.97M
108. Return of the Jedi (1983 Video Game)
Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
With the rise of the empire, the rebels are driven deep into hiding. The rebels risk all with one last strike. Is it redemption for the freedom of the galaxy or manipulation by the emperor himself which may lead to their destruction.
Star: Peter Ross-Murray
Votes: 526
109. Evil Dead II (1987)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva
Votes: 182,045 | Gross: $5.92M
110. The Last Emperor (1987)
PG-13 | 163 min | Biography, Drama, History
Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying
Votes: 111,575 | Gross: $43.98M
111. Breaking In (1989)
R | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy
Professional thief Ernie takes Mike on as an apprentice, but while Mike clearly has "larceny in his heart", it will take him a long time to get as good as Ernie.
Director: Bill Forsyth | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Casey Siemaszko, Sheila Kelley, Lorraine Toussaint
Votes: 1,756 | Gross: $1.88M
112. The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
Director: Steve Kloves | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges, Ellie Raab
Votes: 25,864 | Gross: $18.10M
113. La Bamba (1987)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of early rock and roll singer Ritchie Valens who died at age 17 in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
Director: Luis Valdez | Stars: Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña
Votes: 36,461 | Gross: $54.22M
114. The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
G | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Kermit and his friends go to New York City to get their musical on Broadway only to find it's a more difficult task than they anticipated.
Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire
Votes: 22,731 | Gross: $25.53M
115. Henry V (1989)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Votes: 31,676 | Gross: $10.16M
116. Prancer (1989)
G | 103 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
A farm girl nurses a wounded reindeer she believes is one of Santa's, hoping to bring it back to health in time for Christmas. Her holiday spirit inspires those around her, something her disheartened father is having trouble understanding.
Director: John D. Hancock | Stars: Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Rutanya Alda, Abe Vigoda
Votes: 6,347 | Gross: $18.59M
117. George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984)
110 min | Documentary, Biography
Biography of the Academy Award winning director including dramatic color footage of WWII.
Director: George Stevens Jr. | Stars: Fred Astaire, Warren Beatty, Pandro S. Berman, Frank Capra
Votes: 466
118. Sophie's Choice (1982)
R | 150 min | Drama, Romance
Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Peter MacNicol, Rita Karin
Votes: 52,815 | Gross: $30.04M
119. Gloria (1980)
PG | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen, Tony Knesich
Votes: 11,444
120. Violets Are Blue... (1986)
PG-13 | 88 min | Drama, Romance
Young love may endure in your heart and one day re-ignite, but reality may soon dowse the flames.
Director: Jack Fisk | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Kevin Kline, Bonnie Bedelia, John Kellogg
Votes: 1,177 | Gross: $4.74M
121. Crimes of the Heart (1986)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Drama
Three southern sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard
Votes: 4,436 | Gross: $22.91M
122. Valmont (1989)
R | 137 min | Drama, Romance
France before 1789: When a widow hears that her lover is to marry her cousin's daughter, she asks the playboy Valmont to take the girl's virginity. But first she bets him, with her body as prize, to seduce a virtuous, young, married woman.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk
Votes: 14,307 | Gross: $1.13M
123. The Bostonians (1984)
Not Rated | 122 min | Drama, Romance
A Boston feminist and a conservative Southern lawyer contend for the heart and mind of a beautiful and bright girl unsure of her future.
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Tandy, Madeleine Potter
Votes: 2,444 | Gross: $1.01M
124. Jean de Florette (1986)
PG | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
A greedy landowner and his backward nephew conspire to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell.
Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Elisabeth Depardieu
Votes: 27,555 | Gross: $4.94M
125. The Whistle Blower (1986)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Thriller
A war veteran tries to investigate the murder of his son who was working as a Russian translator for the British intelligence service during the Cold War. He meets a web of deception and paranoia that seems to be impenetrable.
Director: Simon Langton | Stars: Michael Caine, James Fox, Nigel Havers, John Gielgud
Votes: 2,640 | Gross: $1.50M
126. Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983 Music Video)
PG | 13 min | Horror, Music
A night at the movies turns into a nightmare when Michael and his date are attacked by a hoard of bloodthirsty zombies - only a "Thriller" can save them now.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Michael Jackson, Ola Ray, Forrest J. Ackerman, Reed Armstrong
Votes: 18,565
127. Yentl (1983)
PG | 133 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.
Director: Barbra Streisand | Stars: Barbra Streisand, Amy Irving, Mandy Patinkin, Nehemiah Persoff
Votes: 15,888 | Gross: $40.22M
128. Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
PG | 114 min | Drama, Sport
A little league player named Chuck refuses to ever pitch again until nuclear weapons are disarmed. Basketball star "Amazing Grace" Smith follows the boy's example, and starts a trend.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Gregory Peck, Dean Alexander, Jim Allen
Votes: 1,533
129. Silkwood (1983)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama, History
A worker at a plutonium processing plant is purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing worker safety violations at the plant.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson
Votes: 22,224 | Gross: $35.62M
130. Mississippi Burning (1988)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif
Votes: 111,173 | Gross: $34.60M
131. Secret Honor (1984)
Not Rated | 90 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A fictionalized former President Richard M. Nixon offers a solitary, stream-of-consciousness reflection on his life and political career - and the "true" reasons for the Watergate scandal and his resignation.
Director: Robert Altman | Star: Philip Baker Hall
Votes: 3,387
132. Lost in America (1985)
R | 91 min | Comedy
A husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.
Director: Albert Brooks | Stars: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Sylvia Farrel, Tina Kincaid
Votes: 10,212 | Gross: $10.18M
133. The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
R | 131 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, Pat Hingle, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 12,709 | Gross: $17.10M
134. 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: 26,416 | Gross: $26.70M
135. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama
A fictionalized account in four chapters of the life of celebrated Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya, Hiroshi Mikami, Junya Fukuda
Votes: 13,801 | Gross: $0.44M
136. Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
R | 103 min | Comedy
A rich but troubled family find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.
Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Nick Nolte, Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss, Little Richard
Votes: 20,228 | Gross: $62.13M
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