my 80s best
by Siel_O | created - 07 Nov 2011 | updated - 10 Dec 2017 | Publicmovies i liked most from what i've seen 1980-1989.
check my other decades lists:
my 2010s best
my 2000s best
my 90s best
my 60s-70s best
my 30s-50s best
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1. 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: 105,192 | Gross: $2.15M
2. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,257
3. Deathstalker II (1987)
R | 85 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
In this parody of the sword and sorcery films, a princess is deposed by an evil sorcerer. She enlists the aid of Deathstalker to battle the forces of evil, including a clone of the princess, and win back her kingdom.
Director: Jim Wynorski | Stars: John Terlesky, Monique Gabrielle, John Lazar, Toni Naples
Votes: 3,598
4. Another Woman (1988)
PG | 81 min | Drama
Facing a mid-life crisis, a woman rents an apartment next to a psychiatrist's office to write a new book, only to become drawn to the plight of a pregnant woman seeking that doctor's help.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Ian Holm, Blythe Danner
Votes: 15,039 | Gross: $1.56M
5. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 790,116 | Gross: $46.36M
6. Fame (1980)
R | 134 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean
Votes: 24,683 | Gross: $0.12M
7. Overboard (1987)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
A cruel but beautiful heiress mocks and cheats a hired carpenter. When she gets amnesia after an accident, he decides to introduce her to regular life by convincing her that they're husband and wife.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 67,842 | Gross: $26.71M
8. The Poem of Wind and Trees (1987 Video)
60 min | Animation, Romance
The movie is set in late 19th-century France, primarily at the fictional Lacombrade Academy, an all-boys boarding school located on the outskirts of the city of Arles in Provence. Serge ... See full summary »
Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko | Stars: Noriko Ohara, Yûko Sasaki, Kaneto Shiozawa, Yoshiko Sakakibara
Votes: 331
9. From the Life of the Marionettes (1980 TV Movie)
R | 104 min | Drama
An account of the events before and after a murder committed by a disturbed businessman in a strained marriage, and what led him to perform such a shocking act.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Robert Atzorn, Christine Buchegger, Martin Benrath, Rita Russek
Votes: 4,750
10. Absolute Beginners (1986)
PG-13 | 108 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In London in 1958, a young photographer seeks media stardom to keep the love of a beautiful, aspiring fashion designer.
Director: Julien Temple | Stars: Patsy Kensit, Eddie O'Connell, David Bowie, James Fox
Votes: 3,726 | Gross: $0.93M
11. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,106,072 | Gross: $44.02M
12. Lust in the Dust (1984)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Western
A group of unscrupulous characters seek buried treasure in the old west.
Director: Paul Bartel | Stars: Tab Hunter, Divine, Lainie Kazan, Geoffrey Lewis
Votes: 3,850 | Gross: $0.73M
13. Law of Desire (1987)
NC-17 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
A gay filmmaker becomes involved with an obsessive fan while still pining for his absent true love. Meanwhile, he shares a close but complex relationship with his trans sister, an actress.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Miguel Molina
Votes: 14,073
14. A Short Film About Killing (1988)
Not Rated | 84 min | Crime, Drama
A soon-to-be lawyer crosses his path with a taxi driver and a young sinister man.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, Jan Tesarz, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
Votes: 22,400
15. The Little Mermaid (1989)
G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince's love.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes
Votes: 290,878 | Gross: $111.54M
16. 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: 13,754 | Gross: $0.44M
17. Videodrome (1983)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
Votes: 102,929 | Gross: $2.12M
18. Beetlejuice (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
Votes: 339,908 | Gross: $73.71M
19. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
PG-13 | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong
Votes: 153,891 | Gross: $11.10M
20. Gremlins (1984)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie
Votes: 247,711 | Gross: $148.17M
21. Steel Dawn (1987)
R | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic world, a warrior wandering through the desert comes upon a group of settlers who are being menaced by the leader of a murderous gang who's after the water they control.
Director: Lance Hool | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi, Anthony Zerbe, Christopher Neame
Votes: 5,524 | Gross: $0.56M
22. Fire and Ice (1983)
PG | 81 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
At the end of the ice age, an evil queen and her son are set on conquering the world using magic and warriors. The lone survivor of a crushed village fights back as does the king of Fire Keep.
Director: Ralph Bakshi | Stars: Randy Norton, Cynthia Leake, Steve Sandor, Sean Hannon
Votes: 12,618 | Gross: $0.76M
23. Rock & Rule (1983)
PG | 77 min | Animation, Fantasy, Music
A malevolent rock star kidnaps a singer to force her to participate in the summoning of a demon, and her band must help her stop him.
Director: Clive A. Smith | Stars: Don Francks, Paul Le Mat, Greg Salata, Susan Roman
Votes: 4,027 | Gross: $0.03M
24. Jem (1985–1988)
TV-Y7 | 22 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Jerrica Benton is secretly the leader of the glamorous and exciting music group, Jem and the Holograms.
Stars: Samantha Newark, Patricia Alice Albrecht, Cathianne Blore, Cindy McGee
Votes: 3,053
25.
Faerie Tale Theatre (1982–1987)
Episode:
The Three Little Pigs
(1985)
TV-PG | 52 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
There are three pig brothers. One is narcissistic, one is greedy, but the runt is creative and clever. Big bad Buck Wolf is charged with the task of bringing home a pig for dinner. Pretty ... See full summary »
Director: Howard Storm | Stars: Billy Crystal, Jeff Goldblum, Valerie Perrine, Stephen Furst
Votes: 221
26. Foxfire Light (1983)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Romance
A spoiled rich girl used to getting her way comes up against a rancher who won't be intimidated by her.
Director: Allen Baron | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Tippi Hedren, Faye Grant, Barry Van Dyke
Votes: 323
27. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
PG-13 | 88 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Aliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
Director: Stephen Chiodo | Stars: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, John Vernon
Votes: 45,454 | Gross: $15.63M
28. Legend of Lemnear (1989 Video)
TV-14 | 45 min | Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
After her village is destroyed and all its residents slaughtered by the evil wizard Gardein and his master The Dark Lord, a warrior known as Lemnear, The Silver Champion, vows to find and kill them both to avenge the massacre.
Director: Kinji Yoshimoto | Stars: Jezabel Montero, Harvey Shain, Greg Baglia, Bart Shattuck
Votes: 282
29. The Allnighter (1987)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Romance
A Southern California coed parties with her roommates and flirts with a surfer next door.
Director: Tamar Simon Hoffs | Stars: Susanna Hoffs, Dedee Pfeiffer, Joan Cusack, John Terlesky
Votes: 1,482 | Gross: $2.70M
30. The Blue Lagoon (1980)
R | 104 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In the Victorian period, two children are shipwrecked on a tropical island in the South Pacific. With no adults to guide them, the two make a simple life together, unaware that sexual maturity will eventually intervene.
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: Brooke Shields, Christopher Atkins, Leo McKern, William Daniels
Votes: 76,521 | Gross: $58.85M
31. Secret Admirer (1985)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
An anonymous love letter left in Michael Ryan's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life and the lives of everyone who come in contact with it.
Director: David Greenwalt | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston, Dee Wallace
Votes: 8,013 | Gross: $8.62M
32. The Lost Boys (1987)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes
Votes: 161,052 | Gross: $32.22M
33. The Blob (1988)
R | 95 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A deadly entity from space crash-lands near a small town and begins consuming everyone in its path. Panic ensues as shady government scientists try to contain the horrific creature.
Director: Chuck Russell | Stars: Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch Jr., Jeffrey DeMunn
Votes: 43,483 | Gross: $8.25M
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