50 movies from 1989 worth watching
by runefromnorway | created - 21 Sep 2011 | updated - 19 Jul 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,423 | Gross: $27.55M
2. The Decalogue (1989–1990)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama
Ten television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments.
Stars: Artur Barcis, Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Olaf Lubaszenko, Aleksander Bardini
Votes: 27,874 | Gross: $0.10M
3. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
An ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Martin Landau, Woody Allen, Bill Bernstein, Claire Bloom
Votes: 60,794 | Gross: $18.25M
4. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 242,733 | Gross: $92.82M
5. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
R | 100 min | Drama
A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 59,458 | Gross: $24.74M
6. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava
Votes: 115,955 | Gross: $70.00M
7. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,118 | Gross: $64.43M
8. My Left Foot (1989)
R | 103 min | Biography, Drama
Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan, Kirsten Sheridan
Votes: 79,795 | Gross: $14.74M
9. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros, Heather Graham
Votes: 40,629 | Gross: $4.73M
10. The Killer (1989)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu
Votes: 51,077
11. Roger & Me (1989)
R | 91 min | Documentary
After General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Roger B. Smith, Rhonda Britton, Fred Ross
Votes: 27,512 | Gross: $6.71M
12. Jesus of Montreal (1989)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
A group of actors put on an unorthodox, but acclaimed Passion Play which incites the opposition of the Catholic Church while the actors' lives themselves begin to mirror the Passion itself.
Director: Denys Arcand | Stars: Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Rémy Girard
Votes: 7,550 | Gross: $1.60M
13. Henry V (1989)
PG-13 | 137 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Simon Shepherd, James Larkin
Votes: 31,656 | Gross: $10.16M
14. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 144,445 | Gross: $26.83M
15. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
Votes: 117,562 | Gross: $106.59M
16. Batman (1989)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure
The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
Votes: 404,277 | Gross: $251.19M
17. Say Anything (1989)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor
Votes: 95,939 | Gross: $20.78M
18. Monsieur Hire (1989)
PG-13 | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A recluse is accused of murdering a young woman simply because his neighbors think he is strange.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier, André Wilms
Votes: 7,137 | Gross: $1.42M
19. Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)
PG-13 | 79 min | Comedy, Music
Siberian rock band Leningrad Cowboys go to the USA in pursuit of fame.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Matti Pellonpää, Kari Väänänen, Sakke Järvenpää, Heikki Keskinen
Votes: 8,448
20. Enemies, A Love Story (1989)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A ghostwriter finds himself romantically involved with his current wife, a married woman and his long-vanished wife.
Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Ron Silver, Anjelica Huston, Lena Olin, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska
Votes: 2,577 | Gross: $7.75M
21. Dead Poets Society (1989)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama
Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles
Votes: 546,058 | Gross: $95.86M
22. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
NC-17 | 124 min | Crime, Drama
At Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard
Votes: 41,746 | Gross: $7.72M
23. The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
Director: Steve Kloves | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges, Ellie Raab
Votes: 25,844 | Gross: $18.10M
24. Too Beautiful for You (1989)
R | 91 min | Drama, Romance
A sharp love triangle is formed by a wealthy businessman.
Director: Bertrand Blier | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, Carole Bouquet, François Cluzet
Votes: 3,018 | Gross: $1.78M
25. Yaaba (1989)
90 min | Drama, Romance
A small village in Burkina Faso. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother)... See full summary »
Director: Idrissa Ouedraogo | Stars: Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouédraogo, Roukietou Barry, Adama Ouédraogo
Votes: 755
26. The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A man returns to his home town after serving a prison sentence for homicide, and finds that the details of the crime have been forgotten and replaced with local legends and rumors.
Director: Hal Hartley | Stars: Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Chris Cooke, Julia McNeal
Votes: 6,288 | Gross: $0.55M
27. Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
R | 102 min | Drama
Set in Brooklyn during the 1950s against a backdrop of union corruption and violence. A prostitute falls in love with one of her customers. Also a disturbed man discovers that he is homosexual.
Director: Uli Edel | Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Stephen Lang, Burt Young, Peter Dobson
Votes: 6,952 | Gross: $1.73M
28. The War of the Roses (1989)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Romance
A married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.
Director: Danny DeVito | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Marianne Sägebrecht
Votes: 57,373 | Gross: $86.89M
29. A City of Sadness (1989)
157 min | Drama, History
The story of a family embroiled in the "White Terror" that was wrought on the Taiwanese people by the Kuomintang government after their arrival from mainland China in the late 1940s.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Shu-Fen Hsin, Sung-Young Chen, Jack Kao
Votes: 6,100
30. Dead Calm (1989)
R | 96 min | Horror, Thriller
After a tragedy, John Ingram and his wife Rae are spending some time isolated at sea, when they come across a stranger who has abandoned a sinking ship.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane, Rod Mullinar
Votes: 43,699 | Gross: $7.83M
31. Life and Nothing But (1989)
PG | 135 min | Drama, War
Intense character study of men and women driven by an overpowering obsession with the past.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azéma, Pascale Vignal, Maurice Barrier
Votes: 2,122 | Gross: $0.43M
32. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.
Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Votes: 25,932
33. My Twentieth Century (1989)
104 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Two twin sisters, who grew up separately, Dóra, a pseudo-aristocrat, and Lili, an anarchist bomber, are reunited through Z, a mysterious traveller of the luxurious Orient-Express.
Director: Ildikó Enyedi | Stars: Dorota Segda, Oleg Yankovskiy, Paulus Manker, Péter Andorai
Votes: 2,002 | Gross: $0.68M
34. Sweetie (1989)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
An introspective young woman's life is upturned by the arrival of her maladjusted sister.
Director: Jane Campion | Stars: Geneviève Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling
Votes: 5,378 | Gross: $0.94M
35. Interrogation (1989)
TV-MA | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Tonia goes out drinking. She wakes up in prison, not having a clue why she's there. She is tortured to encourage her to confess to a crime she is not aware of.
Director: Ryszard Bugajski | Stars: Krystyna Janda, Adam Ferency, Janusz Gajos, Agnieszka Holland
Votes: 3,683
36. True Love (I) (1989)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Romance
Donna and Michael are getting married. But first, they have to plan the reception, get the tux, buy the rings, and cope with their own uncertainty about the decision. Michael fears ... See full summary »
Director: Nancy Savoca | Stars: Annabella Sciorra, Ron Eldard, Aida Turturro, Roger Rignack
Votes: 819 | Gross: $1.35M
37. Parenthood (1989)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama
Four Buckman siblings attempt to raise their children - each in their own different style - and deal with the joys and sorrows that the process brings.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards
Votes: 54,878 | Gross: $100.05M
38. Queen of Hearts (1989)
PG | 112 min | Comedy
An Italian couple defy both their families and marry for love. Four children later, they are running a diner in England. Humorous, dramatic, sad -- everything a movie should be.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Vittorio Duse, Joseph Long, Anita Zagaria, Eileen Way
Votes: 548 | Gross: $1.24M
39. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure
In 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 811,004 | Gross: $197.17M
40. Tongues Untied (1989)
Not Rated | 55 min | Documentary
A documentary about the experiences of black homosexual men living in the United States of America.
Director: Marlon Riggs | Stars: Marlon Riggs, Michael Bell, Kerrigan Black, Blackberri
Votes: 1,850
41. 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: 290,991 | Gross: $111.54M
42. Water and Power (1989)
57 min | Documentary
A moving meditation on industrialization, focusing on the eerily desolate Owens Valley in California, made arid by the diversion of water from there to the city of Los Angeles.
Director: Pat O'Neill | Stars: Joel Lorimen, Beth Block, George Lockwood, Megan Williams
Votes: 297
43. Mystery Train (1989)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Masatoshi Nagase, Yûki Kudô, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinqué Lee
Votes: 30,827 | Gross: $0.37M
44. Santa Sangre (1989)
NC-17 | 123 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky | Stars: Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell, Thelma Tixou
Votes: 23,330
45. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
G | 103 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi
Votes: 165,523
46. The Kill-Off (1989)
110 min | Crime, Drama
Business at The Pavilion bar is down so Pete and Rags decide that the best way to get The Pavilion off the skids is to turn it into a strip joint.
Director: Maggie Greenwald | Stars: Loretta Gross, Andrew Lee Barrett, Jackson Sims, Steve Monroe
Votes: 222 | Gross: $8.40M
47. Sea of Love (1989)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker
Votes: 44,902 | Gross: $58.57M
48. The Seventh Continent (1989)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
A European family who plan on escaping to Australia seem caught up in their daily routine, only troubled by minor incidents. However, behind their apparent calm and repetitive existence, they are actually planning something sinister.
Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Birgit Doll, Dieter Berner, Leni Tanzer, Udo Samel
Votes: 17,004
49. Shirley Valentine (1989)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Shirley is a 42-year-old bored Liverpudlian housewife who takes a holiday trip to Greece and meets a local man who bolsters her self-confidence. She evolves and transforms to the point that her husband doesn't even recognize her.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Julia McKenzie, Alison Steadman
Votes: 8,909 | Gross: $6.35M
50. Chameleon Street (1989)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Drama
Detroiter William Douglas Street poses as a Harvard doctor, Time reporter, African exchange student.
Director: Wendell B. Harris Jr. | Stars: Timothy Alvaro, Renauld Bailleux, William Ballenger, Lynn Barbee
Votes: 1,041 | Gross: $0.24M
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