1980s Watchlist
by lucymooody | created - 2 months ago | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Thing (1982)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, Richard Masur
Votes: 466,913 | Gross: $13.78M
2. Dressed to Kill (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A mysterious blonde woman kills one of a psychiatrist's patients, and then goes after the high-class call girl who witnessed the murder.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon
Votes: 48,249 | Gross: $31.90M
3. Body Heat (1981)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson
Votes: 40,153 | Gross: $24.06M
4. 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: 65,912 | Gross: $58.97M
5. Thief (1981)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi
Votes: 39,046 | Gross: $11.49M
6. Southern Comfort (1981)
R | 106 min | Action, Thriller
During a routine exercise, a team of National Guardsmen are threatened by angry and violent locals.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Keith Carradine, Powers Boothe, Fred Ward, Franklyn Seales
Votes: 21,933 | Gross: $5.00M
7. The Falls (1980)
Not Rated | 195 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
92 BBC documentary-style shorts that record the lives of 92 victims of the VUE (Violent Unexplained Event), each with last names beginning with "Fall."
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Peter Westley, Aad Wirtz, Michael Murray, Lorna Poulter
Votes: 1,684
8. Escape from New York (1981)
R | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence
Votes: 157,591 | Gross: $25.24M
9. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Director: John Landis | Stars: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Joe Belcher, Griffin Dunne
Votes: 120,584 | Gross: $30.57M
10. The Fog (1980)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman
Votes: 83,042 | Gross: $21.38M
11. Ordinary People (1980)
R | 124 min | Drama
The accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton
Votes: 56,697 | Gross: $54.80M
12. Somewhere in Time (1980)
PG | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright
Votes: 32,550 | Gross: $9.71M
13. Fort Apache the Bronx (1981)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama
In New York City, South Bronx's main police precinct is nicknamed Fort Apache by its employees who feel like troopers surrounded by hostiles in a wild west isolated outpost.
Director: Daniel Petrie | Stars: Paul Newman, Edward Asner, Ken Wahl, Danny Aiello
Votes: 6,988 | Gross: $29.20M
14. 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
15. Seems Like Old Times (1980)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
Wrongfully accused of a bank robbery, a writer seeks the help of his ex-wife, who is now married to the soon-to-be Attorney General of California.
Director: Jay Sandrich | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Charles Grodin, Robert Guillaume
Votes: 10,806 | Gross: $44.00M
16. Inside Moves (1980)
PG | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Handicapped after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, a man finds common ground in the troubled souls at a local dive bar.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, Amy Wright
Votes: 2,287
17. 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: 25,797 | Gross: $5.25M
18. Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The fictionalized life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/70s.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Levon Helm, Phyllis Boyens
Votes: 20,517 | Gross: $67.18M
19. The Big Red One (1980)
R | 113 min | Drama, War
A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco
Votes: 21,402
20. True Confessions (1981)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama
A worldly ambitious monsignor clashes with his older brother, a cynical Los Angeles homicide detective who is investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.
Director: Ulu Grosbard | Stars: Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Charles Durning, Kenneth McMillan
Votes: 8,864 | Gross: $10.20M
21. Dragonslayer (1981)
PG | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A young wizarding apprentice is sent to kill a dragon which has been devouring girls from a nearby kingdom.
Director: Matthew Robbins | Stars: Peter MacNicol, Caitlin Clarke, Ralph Richardson, John Hallam
Votes: 19,968 | Gross: $14.11M
22. Nighthawks (1981)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.
Directors: Bruce Malmuth, Gary Nelson | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Rutger Hauer, Billy Dee Williams, Lindsay Wagner
Votes: 21,733 | Gross: $14.91M
23. Fatso (1980)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An overweight bachelor is fat, 40 and fed up--to the gills--but when his obese cousin Sal dies at 39, he must finally come to terms with his own weight problem.
Director: Anne Bancroft | Stars: Dom DeLuise, Anne Bancroft, Ron Carey, Candice Azzara
Votes: 2,371 | Gross: $7.65M
24. Bronco Billy (1980)
PG | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
An idealistic, modern-day cowboy struggles to keep his Wild West show afloat in the face of hard luck and waning interest.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 12,730 | Gross: $24.27M
25. Brubaker (1980)
R | 131 min | Crime, Drama
The new warden of a small prison farm in Arkansas tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Robert Redford, Yaphet Kotto, Morgan Freeman, Jane Alexander
Votes: 19,445 | Gross: $37.12M
26. The Man with Bogart's Face (1980)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
In contemporary Hollywood, private investigator Sam Marlow gets plastic surgery to look like Humphrey Bogart and solves various cases just like Bogart's silver-screen detective characters from the 1940s.
Director: Robert Day | Stars: Robert Sacchi, Franco Nero, Michelle Phillips, Olivia Hussey
Votes: 668
27. Cruising (1980)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox
Votes: 28,065 | Gross: $19.80M
28. Atlantic City (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli
Votes: 18,302
29. Lion of the Desert (1980)
PG | 173 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1929, Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini appoints General Rodolfo Graziani as colonial governor to Italian Libya with orders to stamp-out all resistance from Libyan nationalists led by rebel guerrilla leader Omar Mukhtar.
Director: Moustapha Akkad | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger, Irene Papas
Votes: 17,382 | Gross: $3.27M
30. Used Cars (1980)
R | 113 min | Comedy
When the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae
Votes: 16,775
31. Breaker Morant (1980)
PG | 107 min | Drama, History, War
Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Bryan Brown
Votes: 14,440 | Gross: $7.14M
32. 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: 11,436
33. Permanent Vacation (1980)
Not Rated | 75 min | Comedy, Drama
A young man wanders New York City searching for some meaning in life and encounters many idiosyncratic characters.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Chris Parker, Leila Gastil, John Lurie, Richard Boes
Votes: 10,759
34. Any Which Way You Can (1980)
PG | 116 min | Action, Comedy
A trucker turned prize fighter, his brother and their pet orangutan have a series of misadventures involving the mob, corrupt cops, motorcycle gangs and pretty dames.
Director: Buddy Van Horn | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, William Smith
Votes: 20,983 | Gross: $70.69M
35. Back Roads (1981)
R | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Romance
A prostitute and a drifter find themselves bound together as they make their way through the rural South, doing what they have to do to survive.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, David Keith, Miriam Colon
Votes: 1,072 | Gross: $11.81M
36. The Four Seasons (1981)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
Three couples vacation together every season. After one divorces, feelings of betrayal and more spawn criticisms of one another, but the things that keep them together are stronger than those which might pull them apart.
Director: Alan Alda | Stars: Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis
Votes: 5,643 | Gross: $50.43M
37. Only When I Laugh (1981)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
A boozy Broadway actress comes out of a 12-week cure to face the problems of her best friends as well as her needy daughter. She tries to balance the terrors of returning to work with the ... See full summary »
Director: Glenn Jordan | Stars: Marsha Mason, Kristy McNichol, Ed Moore, Joan Hackett
Votes: 1,640 | Gross: $25.78M
38. Under the Rainbow (1981)
PG | 98 min | Comedy
A visiting dignitary, a CIA agent, a Nazi spy, Japanese tourists, an assassin and a group of "midget" actors from The Wizard of Oz (1939) all check into an elite Los Angeles hotel called Under the Rainbow.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Eve Arden, Joseph Maher
Votes: 3,023 | Gross: $18.83M
39. My Bodyguard (1980)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a boy comes to a new school and gets harassed by a bully, he acquires the services of the school's most feared kid as a bodyguard.
Director: Tony Bill | Stars: Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Matt Dillon, Paul Quandt
Votes: 10,849 | Gross: $22.48M
40. American Gigolo (1980)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Los Angeles escort is accused of a murder which he did not commit.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo, Nina van Pallandt
Votes: 29,465 | Gross: $23.00M
41. Take This Job and Shove It (1981)
PG | 100 min | Comedy
Frank is sent to his native town, Millsborough, to increase the local brewery production. He meets old school mates and his former girlfriend, Jane. They quickly fall in love again. Frank is torn between his job.
Director: Gus Trikonis | Stars: Robert Hays, Art Carney, Barbara Hershey, David Keith
Votes: 945 | Gross: $17.57M
42. The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Max, a dead corrupt businessman, makes a Faustian pact with Satan's henchman to drive three people to Hell in exchange for longer life. Soon Max realizes that there still may be good in him.
Director: Steven Hilliard Stern | Stars: Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby, Susan Anspach, Adam Rich
Votes: 1,443 | Gross: $16.00M
43. Caveman (1981)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Romance
A caveman seeks revenge on a much larger competitor for the hand of a beautiful cavewoman.
Director: Carl Gottlieb | Stars: Ringo Starr, Dennis Quaid, Shelley Long, Jack Gilford
Votes: 8,616 | Gross: $15.97M
44. Hero at Large (1980)
PG | 98 min | Comedy, Romance
A struggling actor buying milk stops a robbery while wearing a superhero uniform, promoting a movie. The unknown hero decides to try again. Can he impress his cute neighbor?
Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: John Ritter, Anne Archer, Bert Convy, Kevin McCarthy
Votes: 1,830 | Gross: $15.93M
45. First Family (1980)
R | 97 min | Comedy
Bob Newhart stars as President Manfred Link in this zany, wonderfully-cast comedy from veteran funnyman Buck Henry ("Heaven Can Wait", "The Graduate").
Director: Buck Henry | Stars: Bob Newhart, Gilda Radner, Madeline Kahn, Richard Benjamin
Votes: 725 | Gross: $15.20M
46. Wholly Moses! (1980)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Fantasy
An all-star comedy cast hams it up in this hilarious Biblical spoof.
Director: Gary Weis | Stars: Dudley Moore, Laraine Newman, James Coco, Paul Sand
Votes: 2,238 | Gross: $14.16M
47. Tom Horn (1980)
R | 98 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An ex-army scout is hired by ranchers to kill cattle rustlers but he gets into trouble with the corrupt local officials when he's suspected of killing a boy.
Director: William Wiard | Stars: Steve McQueen, Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Billy Green Bush
Votes: 5,918 | Gross: $9.68M
48. Marie (1985)
PG-13 | 112 min | Biography, Drama
A political appointee risks her job and her life to expose corruption.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Jeff Daniels, Keith Szarabajka, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 1,026 | Gross: $2.51M
49. 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: 30,481 | Gross: $8.60M
50. Stacy's Knights (1983)
PG | 100 min | Drama
Two young gamblers are on a non-stop roll, but soon the casino wants to even the odds and bring their winning streak to a close.
Director: Jim Wilson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Andra Millian, Eve Lilith, Mike Reynolds
Votes: 508
51. Buffalo Bill (1983–1984)
Not Rated | 30 min | Comedy
Egotistical Buffalo TV host Bill Bittinger bullies crew and guests, driving station manager Karl Shub mad with lawsuits. Only director Jo Jo White stands up to Bill's tantrums as he fails to break into bigger markets.
Stars: Dabney Coleman, Joanna Cassidy, Max Wright, John Fiedler
Votes: 487
52. Running on Empty (1988)
PG-13 | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Music
The eldest son of a fugitive family comes of age and wants to live his own life.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: River Phoenix, Christine Lahti, Judd Hirsch, Jonas Abry
Votes: 17,915 | Gross: $2.84M
53. Lucky (I) (2017)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Drama, Western
Lucky follows the spiritual journey of a 90-year-old atheist and the quirky characters that inhabit his off the map desert town.
Director: John Carroll Lynch | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 26,113 | Gross: $0.96M
54. Monkey Shines (1988)
R | 113 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A quadriplegic man has a trained monkey help him with his paralysis, until the little monkey begins to develop feelings, and rage, against its new master.
Director: George A. Romero | Stars: Jason Beghe, John Pankow, Kate McNeil, Joyce Van Patten
Votes: 13,034 | Gross: $5.34M
55.
Matlock (1986–1995)
Episode:
The Network
(1987)
TV-PG | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Matlock ventures to LA to defend TV producer Paul Bartel who is accused of murdering network programming chief Greg Titleman.
Director: Christopher Hibler | Stars: Andy Griffith, Nancy Stafford, Kari Lizer, Kene Holiday
Votes: 139
56. Times Square (1980)
R | 111 min | Drama, Music
Two ill-matched teenage girls form a punk band and soon have New York City by its ears.
Director: Allan Moyle | Stars: Tim Curry, Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, Peter Coffield
Votes: 1,987 | Gross: $1.40M
57. Pump Up the Volume (1990)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Mark runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.
Director: Allan Moyle | Stars: Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Anthony Luke Lucero, Andy Romano
Votes: 31,178 | Gross: $11.54M
58. Cobra Verde (1987)
Not Rated | 111 min | Adventure, Drama
During the 1800s, paroled Brazilian bandit Cobra Verde is sent to West Africa with a few troops to man an old Portuguese fort and to convince the local African ruler to resume the slave trade with Brazil.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, José Lewgoy, Salvatore Basile
Votes: 8,432
59. About Last Night (1986)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A man and woman meet and try to have a romantic affair, despite their personal problems and the interference of their disapproving friends.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi, Elizabeth Perkins
Votes: 17,322 | Gross: $38.70M
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