80s Watchlist
by AbnryAcehilm | created - 07 Mar 2022 | updated - 9 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Meaning of Life (1983)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Musical
The comedy team takes a look at life in all of its stages in their own uniquely silly way.
Director: Terry Jones | Stars: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
Votes: 125,360 | Gross: $14.93M
2. Vacation (1983)
R | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy
The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid
Votes: 120,174 | Gross: $61.40M
3. Conan the Barbarian (1982)
R | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A powerful warrior seeks to avenge the genocide of his people and the murder of his parents at the hands of a snake cult.
Director: John Milius | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman
Votes: 162,580 | Gross: $39.57M
4. Das Boot (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 264,441 | Gross: $11.49M
5. 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: 51,010 | Gross: $18.43M
6. American Pop (1981)
R | 96 min | Animation, Drama, History
The story of four generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant family of musicians whose careers parallel the history of American popular music in the 20th century.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Mews Small, Ron Thompson, Jerry Holland, Lisa Jane Persky
Votes: 5,512 | Gross: $6.00M
7. Night of the Creeps (1986)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Alien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.
Director: Fred Dekker | Stars: Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow
Votes: 26,129 | Gross: $0.59M
8. 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: 6,457 | Gross: $4.12M
9. Scarface (1983)
R | 170 min | Crime, Drama
In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Votes: 917,031 | Gross: $45.60M
10. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 380,427 | Gross: $23.38M
11. The Bounty (1984)
PG | 132 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Fed up with their Captain's harsh discipline, a sailing ship's crew decides to take action.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox
Votes: 30,489 | Gross: $8.60M
12. Dead End Drive-In (1986)
R | 92 min | Action, Drama, Horror
In a dystopian future Australia, a health nut and his tag-along girlfriend become trapped in a drive-in cinema that has become a concentration camp for delinquent youths and immigrants.
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith | Stars: Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, Peter Whitford, Wilbur Wilde
Votes: 3,817
13. Outland (1981)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a drug-smuggling conspiracy. He gets no help from the workers or authorities when he finds himself marked for murder.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Sean Connery, Frances Sternhagen, Peter Boyle, James Sikking
Votes: 32,376 | Gross: $17.37M
14. 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: 65,371 | Gross: $21.50M
15. Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
R | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
A confined but troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Bob Geldof, Christine Hargreaves, James Laurenson, Eleanor David
Votes: 85,410 | Gross: $22.24M
16. Blood Simple (1984)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 105,331 | Gross: $2.15M
17. Silverado (1985)
PG-13 | 133 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A misfit bunch of friends comes together to right the injustices which exist in a small town.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Rosanna Arquette
Votes: 49,496 | Gross: $33.20M
18. Brainstorm (1983)
PG | 106 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Researchers develop a system where they can jump into people's minds. But when people involved bring their personal problems into the equation, it becomes dangerous - perhaps deadly.
Director: Douglas Trumbull | Stars: Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood, Louise Fletcher, Cliff Robertson
Votes: 13,130 | Gross: $8.90M
19. 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: 41,153 | Gross: $3.57M
20. Radioactive Dreams (1984)
R | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After a nuclear war, Phillip Hammer and Marlowe Chandler have spent fifteen years on their own in a bunker, stuffed with junk from the 40s and old detective novels. Now, nineteen-years-old,... See full summary »
Director: Albert Pyun | Stars: John Stockwell, Michael Dudikoff, Michele Little, Lisa Blount
Votes: 1,951 | Gross: $0.22M
21. Pale Rider (1985)
R | 115 min | Drama, Western
A mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Sydney Penny
Votes: 64,728 | Gross: $41.41M
22. Razorback (1984)
R | 95 min | Horror, Thriller
As a vicious wild boar terrorizes the Australian outback, the husband of one of the victims is joined by a hunter and a farmer in a search for the beast.
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Gregory Harrison, Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr, Chris Haywood
Votes: 7,881 | Gross: $0.15M
23. The Transformers: The Movie (1986)
PG | 84 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
The Autobots must stop a colossal planet consuming robot who goes after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. At the same time, they must defend themselves against an all-out attack from the Decepticons.
Director: Nelson Shin | Stars: Orson Welles, Robert Stack, Leonard Nimoy, Norman Alden
Votes: 41,961 | Gross: $5.85M
24. The New Kids (1985)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A brother and sister arrive in a small town to help their relatives run an amusement park, and they find the town is terrorized by a local street gang.
Director: Sean S. Cunningham | Stars: Shannon Presby, Lori Loughlin, James Spader, John Philbin
Votes: 4,058 | Gross: $0.20M
25. The Blues Brothers (1980)
R | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.
Director: John Landis | Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, John Candy
Votes: 214,590 | Gross: $57.23M
26. Shadowlands (1986 TV Movie)
92 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Noted author and scholar finds love, then must endure its loss...
Director: Norman Stone | Stars: Joss Ackland, Claire Bloom, David Waller, Rupert Baderman
Votes: 614
27. Arena (1989)
PG-13 | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A human becomes an unlikely rising star in the biggest fighting tournament in the galaxy that's dominated by alien species.
Director: Peter Manoogian | Stars: Paul Satterfield, Hamilton Camp, Claudia Christian, Marc Alaimo
Votes: 3,042
28. Man on Fire (1987)
R | 92 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A former CIA agent, John Creasy, is hired as a bodyguard for a girl in Italy, who becomes the daughter he never had. When she is abducted, Creasy's fiery rage is unleashed, and despite being badly wounded, embarks on a bloody revenge spree.
Director: Élie Chouraqui | Stars: Scott Glenn, Jade Malle, Joe Pesci, Brooke Adams
Votes: 3,033 | Gross: $0.52M
29. Robot Jox (1989)
PG | 85 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In the distant future, mankind has forsaken global wars for battles of single combat. The world has been divided into two opposing super powers, with each side represented by trained champions.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, Paul Koslo, Robert Sampson
Votes: 7,304 | Gross: $1.27M
30. Weekend at Bernie's (1989)
PG-13 | 97 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Two idiots try to pretend that their murdered employer is really alive, leading the hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, Terry Kiser
Votes: 62,937 | Gross: $30.22M
31. Weird Science (1985)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Two high-school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton
Votes: 97,470 | Gross: $23.83M
32. Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988)
PG | 100 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
Young people exploring a cave in Hawaii fall into a hole, and wind up in the lost city of Atlantis.
Directors: Rusty Lemorande, Albert Pyun | Stars: Nicola Cowper, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Paul Carafotes, Janie du Plessis
Votes: 1,442
33. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
PG | 104 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
Desolate by the loss of his daughter, a geneticist creates a monstrous new mutation.
Directors: Kazuki Ômori, Koji Hashimoto, Kenjirô Ohmori | Stars: Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Masanobu Takashima, Kôji Takahashi
Votes: 6,787
34. Firstborn (1984)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Thriller
A teenager must protect his family when his mother's sinister new boyfriend begins exerting his authority in their home.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Teri Garr, Peter Weller, Christopher Collet, Corey Haim
Votes: 2,977 | Gross: $6.25M
35. Tightrope (1984)
R | 114 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
New Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted.
Directors: Richard Tuggle, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood
Votes: 19,193 | Gross: $48.14M
36. Firefox (1982)
PG | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A pilot is sent into the Soviet Union on a mission to steal a prototype jet fighter that can be partially controlled by a neuralink.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Freddie Jones, David Huffman, Warren Clarke
Votes: 29,273 | Gross: $46.71M
37. Salvador (1986)
R | 122 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage
Votes: 23,162
38. Permanent Record (1988)
PG-13 | 91 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A man who seemingly has it all together, being smart, talented, funny, and popular, is secretly overwhelmed by expectations of himself and those of his parents, and suffers what is assumed to be a horrible accident.
Director: Marisa Silver | Stars: Alan Boyce, Keanu Reeves, Pamela Gidley, Michael Elgart
Votes: 2,292 | Gross: $1.89M
39. Iceman (1984)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A prehistoric Neanderthal man found frozen in ice is revived by an arctic exploration team, who then attempt to use him for their own scientific means.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Timothy Hutton, Lindsay Crouse, John Lone, Josef Sommer
Votes: 6,061 | Gross: $7.34M
40. The Rescue (1988)
PG | 97 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of kids venture into enemy territory in an audacious attempt to rescue their Navy Seal fathers who were captured during a failed mission in North Korea.
Director: Ferdinand Fairfax | Stars: Kevin Dillon, Christine Harnos, Edward Albert, Ellen Barber
Votes: 1,354 | Gross: $5.86M
41. The Brain (1988)
R | 94 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A psychologist with an increasingly popular TV show brainwashes his audiences using a giant living brain. A mischievous high school student is sent to the psychologist's institute, and becomes determined to expose him.
Director: Ed Hunt | Stars: Tom Bresnahan, Cynthia Preston, David Gale, George Buza
Votes: 3,522
42. Stranded (1987)
PG-13 | 80 min | Sci-Fi
A young woman and her grandmother living in an isolated farmhouse are kidnapped by aliens.
Director: Fleming B. Fuller | Stars: Ione Skye, Maureen O'Sullivan, Joe Morton, Susan Barnes
Votes: 465
43. The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Drama
A Texas teenager cuts her hair short and becomes an outlaw martyr with her brother and friends.
Director: Matthew Robbins | Stars: Helen Slater, Christian Slater, Keith Gordon, Richard Bradford
Votes: 11,670 | Gross: $3.10M
44. *batteries not included (1987)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Aliens help a feisty old New York couple in their battle against the ruthless land developer who's out to evict them.
Director: Matthew Robbins | Stars: Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Frank McRae, Elizabeth Peña
Votes: 37,715 | Gross: $32.95M
45. The Last Unicorn (1982)
G | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A beautiful unicorn sets out to learn if she truly is the last of her kind in this sparkling animated musical.
Directors: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin Jr. | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, Alan Arkin
Votes: 29,557 | Gross: $6.46M
46. 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: 13,181 | Gross: $3.69M
47. 48 Hrs. (1982)
R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae
Votes: 85,327 | Gross: $78.87M
48. Mask (1985)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
A teenager with a massive facial skull deformity and biker gang mother attempt to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Cher, Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott, Estelle Getty
Votes: 32,554 | Gross: $48.23M
49. The Dream Team (1989)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Four mental patients on a field trip in New York City must save their caring chaperon, who ends up being taken to a hospital in a coma after accidentally witnessing a murder, before the killers can find him and finish the job.
Director: Howard Zieff | Stars: Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, Stephen Furst
Votes: 16,385 | Gross: $28.89M
50. Better Off Dead (1985)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
After his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares.
Director: Savage Steve Holland | Stars: John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Demian Slade
Votes: 49,400 | Gross: $10.30M
51. The Outsiders (1983)
PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama
In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze
Votes: 97,623 | Gross: $25.60M
52. Streets of Fire (1984)
PG | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan
Votes: 24,265 | Gross: $8.09M
53. Vigilante (1982)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After his wife and son got brutalized by a street gang, and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a NYC factory worker teams up with a vigilante group to find some measure of bloody justice.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Rutanya Alda
Votes: 4,541
54. The Star Chamber (1983)
R | 109 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Frustrated with a legal system gone haywire, a secret society of judges hires hitmen to snuff out criminals who escape courtroom justice - but one young judge questions the ethics of their vigilante system.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto, Sharon Gless
Votes: 7,737 | Gross: $5.56M
55. The Name of the Rose (1986)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger, Elya Baskin
Votes: 117,324 | Gross: $7.15M
56. The Accused (1988)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama
After a young woman suffers a brutal gang rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson, Leo Rossi
Votes: 40,051 | Gross: $32.07M
57. Willow (1988)
PG | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young farmer is chosen to undertake a perilous journey in order to protect a special baby from an evil queen.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, Jean Marsh
Votes: 129,948 | Gross: $57.27M
58. The Black Cauldron (1985)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy and a group of misfit friends embark on a quest to find a dark magic item of ultimate power before a diabolical tyrant can.
Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich | Stars: Grant Bardsley, Freddie Jones, Susan Sheridan, Nigel Hawthorne
Votes: 40,773 | Gross: $21.29M
59. Hyperspace (1984)
Not Rated | 90 min | Sci-Fi, Comedy
Because of a small navigation mistake Lord Buckethead lands on earth instead of "in a galaxy far, far away". But he is still looking for the princess and the secret transmissions.
Director: Todd Durham | Stars: Alan Marx, Paula Poundstone, Chris Elliott, Robert Bloodworth
Votes: 286
60. Above the Law (1988)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A former Special Operations Vietnam vet works as a Chicago cop, and uncovers C.I.A. wrongdoing.
Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Henry Silva, Ron Dean
Votes: 34,625 | Gross: $18.87M
61. Midnight Run (1988)
R | 126 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton
Votes: 94,282 | Gross: $38.41M
62. Fortress (1985)
TV-MA | 88 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After being kidnapped for ransom by four criminals, a schoolteacher and her students flee into a cave and build fortifications in anticipation of a decisive battle with their captors.
Director: Arch Nicholson | Stars: Sean Garlick, Rachel Ward, Elaine Cusick, Laurie Moran
Votes: 3,546
63. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance
A young man must complete his work at a Navy Officer Candidate School to become an aviator, with the help of a tough Gunnery Sergeant and his new girlfriend.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia
Votes: 62,642 | Gross: $129.80M
64. Too Much (1987)
PG | 89 min | Comedy
When Suzie and her parents take a visit to Japan her father's business partner, an inventor called Tetsuro decides to make Suzie a robot. The robot's name is 'Too Much' (or TM for short) ... See full summary »
Director: Éric Rochat | Stars: Masato Fukazama, Bridgette Andersen, Morikiyo Bowhay, Hiroyuki Watanabe
Votes: 140
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