# Best movies from the 80's anyone? Anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159 "2009-12-06T02:59:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/1 "2009-12-06T02:59:26Z")
I’ve found some good movies that I’ve never seen before from this [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=540921) about the 90’s. So I’m repeating that endeavor with the 80’s. List your top 10 of the 80’s and sooner or later I’ll make a poll with the movies that get mentioned the most in this thread. You can list more than ten movies as honorable mentions, but they will not get counted for the poll. My List: Full Metal Jacket Blue Velvet Das Boot The Killer Once Upon a Time in America Stranger Than Paradise Heathers The Princess Bride The Terminator Raging Bull Honorable mentions: The Untouchables Die Hard Scarface Platoon The Elephant Man Aliens Amadeus Grave of the Fireflies Blade Runner Cinema Paradiso Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi The King of Comedy The Shinning Back to the Future Evil Dead II Stand By Me Glory ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/2 "2009-12-06T03:28:14Z")
Being fairly young, I haven’t seen many, but here goes: Raising Arizona (my favourite movie) The Princess Bride Little Shop Of Horrors A Fish Called Wanda Amadeus The Empire Strikes Back ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/3 "2009-12-06T04:16:15Z")
All great films mentioned so far. Here’s a couple of mine: Short Circuit Tron And a ton of Hong Kong films by Jackie Chan. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/4 "2009-12-06T04:26:45Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > All great films mentioned so far. Here’s a couple of mine: Could you guys please name at least ten films, even if you have to repeat the ones mentioned? I want to get a good sense of the most popular movies of the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/5 "2009-12-06T04:52:05Z")
These are all time classics to me, that I will watch again and again. (I left out movies that I haven’t personally seen, and even a movie like _Raging Bull_ which even though I came out incredibly impressed with De Niro’s performance, I have no desire to ever watch again. While it was an _impressive_ experience it wasn’t in a way I want to revisit, not being in any way an actor, and don’t identify in any way sympathetic to the main character whose life is portrayed.) Top 5 Action / Sci-Fi: Blade Runner Terminator Aliens The Empire Strikes Back Back To The Future Top 5 Comedy: Airplane! (from 1980) The Naked Gun: From The Files of Police Squad! The Princess Bride Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure Raising Arizona (though I didn’t see this until the mid-1990s) Top 5 Drama: Amadeus Stand By Me Field of Dreams When Harry Met Sally Fatal Attraction **Hon. Mention** : Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (I didn’t really care for Temple of Doom), The Running Man, Predator, The Lost Boys, Coming To America, Trading Places, and The Little Shop of Horrors (which I still think of as a show and not a movie). ---
**Author:** ![Pray\_for\_peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pray\_for\_peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pray_for_peace)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/6 "2009-12-06T05:20:55Z")
**My List:** Matewan Do The Right Thing Out of Africa Chariots of Fire Mississippi Burning Silkwood Running On Empty The Thing Places in the Heart Rain Man **Honorable Mentions:** Raging Bull Hoosiers Scarface Hannah and Her Sisters Pink Floyd The Wall Highlander Beverly Hills Cop Ordinary People When Harry Met Sally Witness ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/7 "2009-12-06T05:30:04Z")
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Blade Runner Blue Velvet Gandhi The Empire Strikes Back Ordinary People The Elephant Man Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Mississippi Burning (That’s 21 years old? Really?) Amadeus ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/8 "2009-12-06T06:08:03Z")
The Right Stuff Raiders of the Lost Ark E.T. Vacation The Breakfast Club Batman Silverado Hoosiers Witness Big ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/9 "2009-12-06T06:26:35Z")
**Bull Durham Burden of Dreams Come and See Crimes and Misdemeanors The Dead Zone Do the Right Thing Pennies from Heaven Stop Making Sense The Terminator This is Spinal Tap** 10 Runners-up \*Airplane! The Empire Strikes Back House of Games Koyaanisqatsi Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark Red Sorghum Sherman’s March The Thing The Unbearable Lightness of Being \* ---
**Author:** ![andiepandie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ba0ec/32.png) [@andiepandie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andiepandie)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/10 "2009-12-06T06:27:45Z")
Pretty much all of my favourite movies were made in the 80s, so it was really hard for me to narrow it down to 10! Top 10: Empire of the Sun Clue Real Genius The Toy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Stand By Me The Princess Bride Heathers Platoon The Last Emperor Honourable Mentions: Less Than Zero Ruthless People Raising Arizona Spaceballs The 'Burbs Coming to America Beetlejuice Drugstore Cowboy Spies Like Us Dead Poets Society Trading Places Joe vs. the Volcano High Spirits Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure Back to the Future The Witches of Eastwick Overboard Can’t Buy Me Love Ferris Bueler’s Day Off The Boy Who Could Fly Little Shop of Horrors Pretty in Pink The Breakfast Club UHF Sixteen Candles ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Klutz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captain_klutz/32/4993_2.png) [@Captain\_Klutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Klutz)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/11 "2009-12-06T08:23:58Z")
Top 10 (no particular order) Die Hard (1988) Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Back to the Future (1985) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) The Princess Bride (1987) Breaker Morant (1980) Highlander (1986) Without a Clue (1988) Radio Days (1987) Honourable mention The Bounty (1984) Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) Labyrinth (1986) Field of Dreams (1989) Full Metal Jacket (1987) ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/12 "2009-12-06T09:17:12Z")
This Is Spinal Tap Back To The Future The Empire Strikes Back Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Return of the Jedi The Breakfast Club Ferris Bueller’s Day Off The Princess Bride Raising Arizona ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/13 "2009-12-06T20:36:01Z")
Avoiding movies other people have posted, I’ll add: **Big Trouble in Little China** and **They Live** (except for the “Put on the glasses” fight scene) ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/14 "2009-12-06T20:46:55Z")
Doesn’t anyone remember _Say Anything_? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/15 "2009-12-06T21:01:21Z")
Eight Men Out Blade Runner The Thing The Name of the Rose Gallipoli Amadeus Angel Heart Gandhi Raiders of the Lost Ark Big Some others: The Year My Voice Broke Stand By Me Breaker Morant Big Witness Stand By Me Out of Africa Bull Durham Terms of Endearment Something Wild Planes Trains and Automobiles Radio Days Midnight Run 48 Hours Raging Bull The Untouchables An American Werewolf in London Fright Night The Outsiders Predator The Terminator Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior Hoosiers Raising Arizona Once Upon a Time in America Das Boot Ragtime Platoon Coal Miner’s Daughter Matewan The Falcon and the Snowman The Shining Beetlejuice Full Metal Jacket ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/16 "2009-12-06T23:14:48Z")
Blade Runner Platoon Chariots of Fire E.T. Bull Durham Matewan Aliens The Killing Fields Big Once Upon a Time in America ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/17 "2009-12-06T23:25:47Z")
Uh, you guys are forgetting one of the best movies of _all time_: **Ghostbusters.** ETA: And **The Color Purple**. Jeez. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/18 "2009-12-07T09:00:33Z")
I can’t choose 10, sorry. I can’t even make a list, it’s so hard. I love most of the movies that have already been mentioned, and several are All-Time Favorites (such as Blade Runner and Real Genius). Of '80’s films NOT mentioned, but that are in my own All-Time Favorites (from any decade) are (in no particular order, except the 1st one, which is my favorite film EVER): **Brazil** **Bliss** (Ray **“Lantana”** Lawrence film from 1985) **Birdy Return To Oz Fitzcarraldo Reds Local Hero One From The Heart** (theatrical version, not the butchered DVD version) **Never Cry Wolf The Cotton Club Say Amen Somebody Louie Bluie** (Terry Zwigoff’s first film) **Comfort and Joy** Not in my top tier or anything, but I like these that haven’t been mentioned. Some are classics, some are definitely not, but I thought they should be mentioned. In no particular order: The Times of Harvey Milk My Brilliant Career Excalibur Sophie’s Choice Tootsie Missing Dragonslayer The Verdict An Officer and a Gentleman The World According To Garp Diner Poltergeist Tender Mercies The Big Chill Educating Rita Testament The Last Temptation of Christ The Year of Living Dangerously Fanny and Alexander WarGames Zelig The Purple Rose of Cairo Hannah and Her Sisters Gregory’s Girl Housekeeping Starman Out of Rosenheim (aka Bagdad Cafe) Splash El Norte The Natural Jesus of Montreal Romancing The Stone Streetwise (documentary) Prizzi’s Honor Runaway Train Ran (Akira Kurosawa) The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins My Beautiful Laundrette The Color of Money The Fly The Karate Kid Hope and Glory Broadcast News My Life As A Dog Au revoir les enfants Babette’s Feast Working Girl Moonstruck (shut up, I love that movie) Swing Shift (ditto) Who Framed Roger Rabbit My Left Foot Steel Magnolias Lethal Weapon RoboCop Predator I know there’s so many more. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/19 "2009-12-07T10:50:13Z")
There are too many to restrict to 10, so instead of making a list of my favorites, I’m going to try to make my list of iconic/world-shaping 80s movies. They might not be the _best_ films but they did leave a small dent in the universe. 1. Raiders of the Lost Ark 2. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 3. Rambo 4. Platoon 5. The Karate Kid 6. The Terminator 7. Aliens 8. Top Gun 9. The Name of the Rose (OK, this is just a personal favorite) 10. Breakfast Club (Look, a John Hughes movie had to appear somewhere in this list.) ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159/20 "2009-12-07T12:03:02Z")
No one’s mentioned Die Hard yet??? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-movies-from-the-80s-anyone-anyone/520159.md?page=2)