80s Watchlist
by AbnryAcehilm | created - 10 months ago | updated - 5 days 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.
Directors: Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam | Stars: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
Votes: 121,232 | Gross: $14.93M
2. National Lampoon's 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: 112,539 | Gross: $61.40M
3. Conan the Barbarian (1982)
R | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A young boy, Conan, becomes a slave after his parents are killed and tribe destroyed by a savage warlord and sorcerer, Thulsa Doom. When he grows up he becomes a fearless, invincible fighter. Set free, he plots revenge against Thulsa Doom.
Director: John Milius | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman
Votes: 152,379 | Gross: $39.57M
4. The Boat (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: 253,035 | 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: 48,318 | Gross: $18.43M
6. Excalibur (1981)
PG | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Merlin the magician helps Arthur Pendragon unite the Britons around the Round Table of Camelot, even as dark forces conspire to tear it apart.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Cherie Lunghi
Votes: 63,218 | Gross: $34.97M
7. Commando (1985)
R | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A retired Special Forces colonel tries to save his daughter, who was abducted by his former subordinate.
Director: Mark L. Lester | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells
Votes: 164,090 | Gross: $35.10M
8. 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: 5,103 | Gross: $6.00M
9. 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: 24,444 | Gross: $0.59M
10. 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: 6,040 | Gross: $4.12M
11. 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: 847,570 | Gross: $45.60M
12. 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: 357,434 | Gross: $23.38M
13. 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: 27,960 | Gross: $8.60M
14. Dead End Drive-In (1986)
R | 92 min | Action, Drama, Horror
In the future, a health nut and his tag-along girlfriend become trapped in a drive-in theater that has become a concentration camp for outcast youths, who are placated with new wave music, junk food, drugs, exploitation movies, and racism.
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith | Stars: Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, Peter Whitford, Wilbur Wilde
Votes: 3,463
15. 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: 30,650 | Gross: $17.37M
16. 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: 62,300 | Gross: $21.50M
17. 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: 82,026 | Gross: $22.24M
18. 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: 98,513 | Gross: $2.15M
19. 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, Danny Glover
Votes: 45,479 | Gross: $33.20M
20. 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: 12,257 | Gross: $8.90M
21. Repo Man (1984)
R | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A young punk recruited by a car repossession agency finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu that is wanted for a $20,000 bounty - and has something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash
Votes: 38,382 | Gross: $3.57M
22. 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: 1,790 | Gross: $0.22M
23. Pale Rider (1985)
R | 115 min | Drama, Western
A mysterious preacher (Clint Eastwood) 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: 60,830 | Gross: $41.41M
24. 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: 7,143 | Gross: $0.15M
25. 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: 40,317 | Gross: $5.85M
26. 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: 3,542 | Gross: $0.20M
27. The Blues Brothers (1980)
13+ | 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: 202,908 | Gross: $57.23M
28. 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: 551
29. 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: 2,553
30. 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: 2,496 | Gross: $0.52M
31. 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: 6,649 | Gross: $1.27M
32. 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: 58,462 | Gross: $30.22M
33. 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: 91,241 | Gross: $23.83M
34. 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: 1,316
35. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
PG | 104 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
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: 6,109
36. 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: 2,548 | Gross: $6.25M
37. 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: 18,124 | Gross: $48.14M
38. 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: 27,984 | Gross: $46.71M
39. 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: 21,897
40. 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: 2,161 | Gross: $1.89M
41. 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: 5,686 | Gross: $7.34M
42. 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: 1,281 | Gross: $5.86M
43. 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: 2,919
44. Stranded (1987)
PG-13 | 80 min | Sci-Fi