The Best of 1987
by riverman211179 | created - 09 Dec 2010 | updated - 5 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Wings of Desire (1987)
PG-13 | 128 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois
Votes: 76,858 | Gross: $3.33M
2. September (1987)
PG | 83 min | Drama
At a summer house in Vermont, neighbor Howard falls in love with Lane, who's in a relationship with Peter, who's falling for Stephanie, who's married with children.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Elaine Stritch, Denholm Elliott, Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 10,403 | Gross: $0.49M
3. The Dead (1987)
PG | 83 min | Drama
Gabriel Conroy and wife Gretta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Donal McCann, Helena Carroll, Cathleen Delany
Votes: 8,885 | Gross: $4.37M
4. Gardens of Stone (1987)
R | 111 min | Drama, Romance, War
A Sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Viet Nam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old Army buddy.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: James Caan, Anjelica Huston, James Earl Jones, D.B. Sweeney
Votes: 6,126 | Gross: $5.26M
5. 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: 330,478 | Gross: $76.27M
6. Empire of the Sun (1987)
PG | 153 min | Drama, War
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Votes: 134,187 | Gross: $22.24M
7. Goodbye, Children (1987)
PG | 104 min | Drama, War
A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. Occupying the next bed in the dormitory to the top student in his class, the two young boys begin to form a bond.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette, Stanislas Carré de Malberg
Votes: 36,097 | Gross: $4.54M
8. 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: 789,570 | Gross: $46.36M
9. Moonstruck (1987)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello
Votes: 68,299 | Gross: $80.64M
10. Oci ciornie (1987)
118 min | Comedy, Romance, Drama
An Italian tells his story of love to a Russian. In a series of flashbacks, Romano Patroni leaves his wife to visit a spa where he falls in love with a Russian woman. He returns to Italy resolved to leave his wife and marry his love.
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Silvana Mangano, Marthe Keller, Elena Safonova
Votes: 3,510 | Gross: $2.20M
11. Near Dark (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror
A small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton
Votes: 44,666 | Gross: $3.37M
12. 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: 111,389 | Gross: $43.98M
13. RoboCop (1987)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox
Votes: 282,734 | Gross: $53.42M
14. Lethal Weapon (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 276,097 | Gross: $65.21M
15. The Hidden (1987)
R | 97 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.
Director: Jack Sholder | Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, Claudia Christian, Clarence Felder
Votes: 22,561 | Gross: $9.75M
16. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
R | 121 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1965, an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tom T. Tran, Chintara Sukapatana
Votes: 153,553 | Gross: $123.92M
17. Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 256,046 | Gross: $0.62M
18. The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Three single women in a picturesque village have their wishes granted, at a cost, when a mysterious and flamboyant man arrives in their lives.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Cher, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer
Votes: 77,108 | Gross: $63.77M
19. Bagdad Cafe (1987)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
A lonely German woman ends up in the most desolate motel on Earth and decides to make it brighter.
Director: Percy Adlon | Stars: Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder, Jack Palance, Christine Kaufmann
Votes: 15,181 | Gross: $3.59M
20. The Princess Bride (1987)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon
Votes: 450,612 | Gross: $30.86M
21. Hope and Glory (1987)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Bill, a young boy living on the outskirts of London experiences the exhilaration of World War II. During this period, Bill learns about sex, death, love, hypocrisy, and the faults of adults as he prowls the ruins of bombed houses.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Sarah Miles, David Hayman, Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Geraldine Muir
Votes: 14,587 | Gross: $10.02M
22. Angel Heart (1987)
X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 95,699 | Gross: $17.19M
23. Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
PG-13 | 102 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A babysitter must battle her way through the big city after being stranded there with the kids she's looking after.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp
Votes: 49,043 | Gross: $34.37M
24. A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
R | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Martin, an I.R.A. hitman, is seen by a Catholic priest while carrying out a hit. He grows a bond with the priest and his niece. But his past and his former employers put all their lives in danger.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, Alan Bates, Sammi Davis
Votes: 5,704 | Gross: $1.43M
25. The Grand Highway (1987)
R | 104 min | Drama
Louis, a nine-year-old boy from Paris, spends his summer vacation in a small town in Brittany. His mother Claire has lodged him with her girlfriend Marcelle and her husband Pelo while she's... See full summary »
Director: Jean-Loup Hubert | Stars: Anémone, Richard Bohringer, Antoine Hubert, Vanessa Guedj
Votes: 1,767 | Gross: $0.76M
26. Where Is the Friend's House? (1987)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Family
Eight-year-old Ahmed has mistakenly taken his friend Mohammad's notebook. He wants to return it, or else his friend will be expelled from school. The boy determinedly sets out to find Mohammad's home in the neighbouring village.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Khodabakhsh Defaei, Iran Outari
Votes: 18,631
27. Epidemic (1987)
Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Horror
A director and screenwriter pen a script and, in the process, blur the line between fiction and reality.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Allan De Waal, Ole Ernst, Michael Gelting, Colin Gilder
Votes: 6,096
28. Barfly (1987)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Based on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Jack Nance
Votes: 21,946 | Gross: $3.22M
29. Cry Freedom (1987)
PG | 157 min | Biography, Drama, History
South African journalist Donald Woods is forced to flee the country after attempting to investigate the death in custody of his friend, the Black anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Josette Simon, Wabei Siyolwe
Votes: 14,447 | Gross: $5.90M
30. 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: 181,731 | Gross: $5.92M
31. House of Games (1987)
R | 102 min | Crime, Thriller
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Director: David Mamet | Stars: Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Lilia Skala
Votes: 24,025 | Gross: $2.59M
32. Prince of Darkness (1987)
R | 102 min | Horror
A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong
Votes: 49,890 | Gross: $14.18M
33. A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
Unrated | 98 min | Action, Fantasy, Horror
After a string of bad luck, a debt collector has no other choice than to spend the night in a haunted temple, where he encounters a ravishing female ghost and later battles to save her soul from the control of a wicked tree demon.
Director: Siu-Tung Ching | Stars: Leslie Cheung, Joey Wang, Wu Ma, Wai Lam
Votes: 11,061
34. Born of Fire (1987)
R | 84 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A musician searches for the Master Flautist, a supernatural creature who is planning to blow up the world.
Director: Jamil Dehlavi | Stars: Peter Firth, Suzan Crowley, Stefan Kalipha, Orla Pederson
Votes: 646
35. Wicked City (1987)
Not Rated | 82 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
While protecting a signatory to a peace treaty between their peoples, a male human and a female demon discover that their mutual attraction may be the key to unifying their worlds.
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Stars: Yûsaku Yara, Toshiko Fujita, Ichirô Nagai, Takeshi Aono
Votes: 9,557
36. Broadcast News (1987)
R | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky
Votes: 34,060 | Gross: $51.25M
37. Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 84 min | Documentary, History, War
Feature-length documentary film featuring real-life letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home.
Director: Bill Couturié | Stars: Tom Berenger, Ellen Burstyn, J. Kenneth Campbell, Richard Chaves
Votes: 1,961
38. Gandahar (1987)
PG | 78 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
An evil force begins to destroy the idyllic paradise of Gandahar, where the citizens are in perfect harmony with nature.
Director: René Laloux | Stars: Glenn Close, Christopher Plummer, Pierre-Marie Escourrou, Catherine Chevallier
Votes: 5,288 | Gross: $0.37M
39. Beyond Therapy (1987)
R | 93 min | Comedy
A few unusual characters and their unconventional therapists cross paths resulting in hilarious interactions.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Julie Hagerty, Jeff Goldblum, Glenda Jackson, Tom Conti
Votes: 1,411 | Gross: $0.79M
40. Tandem (I) (1987)
86 min | Comedy, Drama
Michel Mortez is going to and fro France to compere a radio game he created 25 years ago. He is famous among the average Frenchmen. But he is also a poker. Rivetot, his assistant and ... See full summary »
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Gérard Jugnot, Jean Rochefort, Sylvie Granotier, Julie Jézéquel
Votes: 1,332
41. The Living Daylights (1987)
PG | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies, and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker
Votes: 105,758 | Gross: $51.19M
42. 84 Charing Cross Road (1987)
PG | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
True story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books that developed into a close friendship.
Director: David Hugh Jones | Stars: Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, Jean De Baer
Votes: 11,205 | Gross: $1.08M
43. Wall Street (1987)
R | 126 min | Crime, Drama
An impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Tamara Tunie, Franklin Cover
Votes: 165,036 | Gross: $43.85M
44. Morning Patrol (1987)
108 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
Going alone into an abandoned, living city, a woman tries to cross a forbidden zone swarming with the Morning Patrol and traps. Meeting one of the last city guards, they attempt recall the past and penetrate the zone together.
Director: Nikos Nikolaidis | Stars: Michele Valley, Takis Spyridakis, Panos Thanassoulis, Takis Loukatos
Votes: 1,070
45. Under the Sun of Satan (1987)
TV-MA | 98 min | Drama, Fantasy
A priest stuck in a rural congregation and burdened with his overwrought spirituality, finds purpose in a troubled woman accused of murder.
Director: Maurice Pialat | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Sandrine Bonnaire, Maurice Pialat, Alain Artur
Votes: 3,779
46. Babette's Feast (1987)
G | 103 min | Drama
During the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.
Director: Gabriel Axel | Stars: Stéphane Audran, Bodil Kjer, Birgitte Federspiel, Jarl Kulle
Votes: 22,003 | Gross: $4.40M
47. Raising Arizona (1987)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Crime
When a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman
Votes: 150,181 | Gross: $22.85M
48. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama
A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean
Votes: 160,063 | Gross: $49.53M
49. Radio Days (1987)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
A nostalgic look at radio's golden age focusing on one ordinary family and the various performers in the medium.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Mike Starr, Paul Herman
Votes: 36,255 | Gross: $14.79M
50. Tin Men (1987)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, Barbara Hershey, John Mahoney
Votes: 9,779 | Gross: $25.41M
51. Summer School (1987)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Freddy the gym teacher has to teach remedial English in summer (high) school, if he wants tenure. As he can only teach gym and his students want fun, emphasis is on "field trips" - until he's fired unless all his students pass the test.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Patrick Labyorteaux
Votes: 22,090 | Gross: $35.66M
52. Ironweed (1987)
R | 143 min | Drama
An alcoholic drifter spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there for the first time in decades.
Director: Hector Babenco | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Carroll Baker, Michael O'Keefe
Votes: 9,910 | Gross: $7.39M
53. The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
30 min | Animation, Short, Drama
The story of a shepherd's single handed quest to re-forest a barren valley.
Director: Frédéric Back | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 6,107
54. Hachi-ko (1987)
107 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The true story about a dog's loyalty to its master, even after his death.
Director: Seijirô Kôyama | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Kaoru Yachigusa, Toshinori Omi, Toshirô Yanagiba
Votes: 5,821
55. Pelle the Conqueror (1987)
PG-13 | 157 min | Drama
When his wife dies, Lasse takes his 12-year-old son, Pelle, from their home in Sweden to Denmark in search of a better life.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Pelle Hvenegaard, Max von Sydow, Erik Paaske, Björn Granath
Votes: 11,840 | Gross: $2.05M
56. Neo Tokyo (1987)
50 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
A trilogy of separate stories. In "Labyrinth labyrinthos", a girl and her cat enter a strange world. In "Running Man", a racer takes on the ultimate opponent. In "Construction Cancellation Order", a man must shut down worker robots.
Directors: Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Rintarô, Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Hideko Yoshida, Masane Tsukayama, Yû Mizushima, Iemasa Kayumi
Votes: 4,268
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