Your favorite 80s movies?

[Film_Fatale]

I've started to watch a few 80s movies lately, partly because a lot of them are being re-issued in fancy 20th anniversary packages that offer remastered transfers and/or new additional bonus features.

 

Back in the 80s, I went mostly for everything that was pop culture, and at the time I did watch, but wasn't terribly excited, by great epics or biopics like *Gandhi* or *The Last Emperor*. Those are also great 80's movies, but the ones that were most popular at the box office generally were the most escapist ones.

 

Which movies from the 80's were/are your favorites? If you're more familiar with classic movies now than you were when they first came out, how does your knowledge of classic films enhance your enjoyment of the 80's hits?

 

One example, for me, would have to be the introductory sequence in *Romancing the Stone*, which is a stereotypical western setting, and is accompanied by the score to *How the West Was Won*. Since I hadn't seen *HTWWW* at that time, the homage would have been totally lost on me. When I watch the movie today, I can understand that Zemeckis is tipping his hat to that great Cinerama spectacle.

[rayallen]

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Back to the Future

A Christmas Story

[Arkadin]

*Blade Runner (1982)*

*Das Boot (1981)*

*Dominick and Eugene (1988)*

*Amadeus (1984)*

*This Is Spinal Tap (1984)*

*The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)*

*Wings of Desire (1987)*

*Veronika Voss (1982)*

*Cutter's Way (1981)*

*A Christmas Story (1983)*

*Fanny and Alexander (1982)*

*Under the Volcano (1984)*

*The Killer (1989)*

*Raging Bull (1980)*

*The Killing Fields (1984)*

*Fitzcarraldo (1982)*

*Burden of Dreams (1982)*

*Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)*

*The Thin Blue Line (1981)*

*The Long Good Friday (1980)*

*Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980)*

*House of Games (1986)*

*Red Sorghum (1988)*

*Nausiicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)*

*The Mission (1986)*

*Coup De Torchon (1981)*

*The Stunt Man (1980)*

*Paris, TX (1984)*

*A Sunday in the Country (1984)*

*The Decalogue (1988)*

*Time Bandits (1984)*

*Escape From New York (1981)*

*Brazil (1985)*

*Eating Raoul (1982)*

*The Last Metro (1980)*

*For All Mankind (1989)*

*The Wall (1982)*

*Airplane! (1980)*

*Shoah (1985)*

*Once Upon a Time in America (1984)*

*The Right Stuff (1983)*

*Ran (1985)*

*Time Regained (1988)*

*My Dinner With Andre (1981)*

*The Tin Drum (1985)*

*Reds (1981)*

*Down By Law (1983)*

*Straight No Chaser (1982)*

*The Dresser (1983)*

*Tenebre (1982)*

*One From the Heart (1982)*

*The Big Red One (1980)*

*Chet Baker: Let's Get Lost (1983)*

*Manon of the Spring (1986)*

*Diner (1982)*

*Mona Lisa (1986)*

*Raggedy Man (1982)*

*Gallipoli (1981)*

*My Left Foot (1989)*

*Variety (1981)*

 

I'm sure there are a lot more I forgot.

[CelluloidKid]

Growing up in the 80's, some of the Best films form childhood came from that era....WOW!, I feel old now ....LOL!

 

_MY FAVORITE 80'S FILMS:_

 

 

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

The Lost Boys

National Lampoon's Vacation

Risky Business (1983)

All the Right Moves

Sixteen Candles - Molly Ringwald

Breakfast Club

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Friday the 13th (1980)

Gotcha! (1985)

An Officer and a Gentleman

Heathers (1988)

Purple Rain (1984)

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Escape from New York (1981)

The Monster Squad (1987)

Die Hard (1988)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Clue (1985)

Gremlins

Rain Man (1988)

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

Torch Song Trilogy (1988)

Return of the Jedi (1983)

Raging Bull (1980)

Sophie's Choice

Manhunter

A View to a Kill

Salvador

Blue Velvet

The Thing (1982)

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The Hitcher (1986)

The Untouchables (1987)

Summer Lovers (1982)

Romancing the Stone (1984)

Batman (1989)

Aliens (1986)

A Christmas Story (1983)

Pretty in Pink (1986)

Mask (1985)

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Young Guns (1988)

Legend (1985)

Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

Top Gun (1986)

RoboCop (1987)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Blade Runner (1982)

The Goonies

Labyrinth

Wall Street (1987) - Greed is good.

[metsfan]

Weekend at Bernie's

Adventures in Babysitting

Ghost Busters

Gremlins

Das Boot

Major League

High Spirits

Zapped!

Troll

Above The Law

Bloodsport

Robocop

The Terminator

The Abyss

Desperately Seeking Susan

Who's That Girl

Christine

Moon Over Parador

Tequila Sunrise

Fright Night

Splash

Sixteen Candles

Beverly Hills Cop

Sixteen Candles

The Breakfast Club

A Christmas Story

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

National Lampoon's Vacation

Spaceballs

Aliens

Revenge Of The Nerds

Wildcats

The Terminator

Some Kind of Wonderful

Teen Witch

Just One of the Guys

 

To answer your question, now that I'm seeing more classics than ever, I can compare films and see where the same ideas were recycled. For example you can take a film like "Weird Science" and see they copied from "Frankenstein". Also "Weekend At Bernies" is just like "The Trouble With Harry" when a dead guy is taken all over the place and people think he's alive. I'm sure "Das Boot" has something from "Run Silent, Run Deep" and the circumstances in these two films were taken to make "U-571" (2000). "Splash" most likely came from "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid". "Just One Of The Guys" and "Yentl" can be compared to Katharine Hepburn's "Sylvia Scarlett". It's always interesting to see how the classics formed modern film and the 80's featured a lot of creativity which made it exciting. I can't say the the same for the movies done today or the remakes which make me sick.

[fxreyman]

Here?s hoping all of you had a wonderful Christmas!

 

I think I have published this list once before but I just can not remember......

Ok, here are my top ten movies for each year of the 1980s. At the conclusion of this list I will show my top ten movies from the entire decade. IMHO, of course!

 

1980

 

Airplane!

Atlantic City

Breaker Morant

Brubaker

Caddyshack

The Elephant Man

Ordinary People

Raging Bull

The Empire Strikes Back

The Stunt Man

 

1981

 

Chariots of Fire

Escape From New York

Excalibur

On Golden Pond

Outland

Prince of the City

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Reds

Stripes

Thief

 

1982

 

Blade Runner

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Gandhi

The Man From Snowy River

Missing

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Tootsie

The Verdict

Victor/Victoria

The World According to Garp

 

1983

 

A Christmas Story

Cross Creek

The Dresser

Local Hero

The Right Stuff

Risky Business

Tender Mercies

Terms of Endearment

Trading Places

WarGames

 

1984

 

2010

Amadeus

Blood Simple

Choose Me

Ghostbusters

The Killing Fields

The Natural

A Soldier?s Story

Starman

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

The Terminator

 

1985

 

AfterHours

Back to the Future

Cocoon

Into the Night

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Out of Africa

Prizzi?s Honor

To Live and Die in L.A.

The Trip to Bountiful

Witness

 

1986

 

Children of a Lesser God

Crocodile Dundee

Ferris Bueller?s Day Off

Hannah and Her Sisters

Heartbreak Ridge

Hoosiers

Manhunter

The Money Pit

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Top Gun

 

1987

 

Broadcast News

Full Metal Jacket

Gardens of Stone

The Last Emperor

Lethal Weapon

Matewan

Moonstruck

Predator

Roxanne

The Untouchables

 

1988

 

The Accused

Big

Bull Durham

Crossing Delancey

Die Hard

Midnight Run

Mississippi Burning

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

Who Framed Roger Rabbitt

Working Girl

 

1989

 

The Abyss

Batman

Farewell to the King

Field of Dreams

Glory

Henry V

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Jacknife

My Left Foot

The Tall Guy

When Harry Met Sally...

 

And now for my overall top ten from the decade of the 1980?s:

 

The Stunt Man 1980

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 1982

Local Hero 1983

The Right Stuff 1983

The Natural 1984

Hoosiers 1986

Gardens of Stone 1987

Moonstruck 1987

Midnight Run 1988

When Harry Met Sally... 1989

[Film_Fatale]

That's quite a list of lists, fx! Those are really some of the best of the 80s! B-)

[fxreyman]

Thank you!

 

Maybe we ought to try and make a list for every decade?

 

I am sure that has been done already someplace else on these message boards?

 

fxreyman (Rey Nowlin)

[Film_Fatale]

*Maybe we ought to try and make a list for every decade?*

 

I'd be all for that, provided there's enough interest (I'm sure there is). For many of us who first fell in love with movies in the 80's, the decade has some special appeal because it was the threshold, the point of entry, of our love affair with cinema.

[CoopsGal]

Rambo: First Blood

Rambo: First Blood Part 2

Mad Max

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome

Lethal Weapon 1

Lethal Weapon 2

Back to the Future 1

Back to the Future 2

Crocodile Dundee 1

Crocodile Dundee 2

Honey, I shrunk the Kids

The Princess Bride

Say Anything

Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Driving Miss Daisy

Guarding Tess

A Christmas Story

The Elephant Man

Overboard

Platoon

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins

Robocop

Tango and Cash

Tequila Sunrise

Three Amigos

Trip to Bountiful

Turner and Hooch

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

The Year of Living Dangerously

Pale Rider

The River

Mrs. Soffel

Gallipoli

Cobra

 

I'm sure there are plenty more I just can't remember them all! >.<

[Film_Fatale]

Nice list, MrsCooper. Might be worth pointing out, however, that the 3rd and 4th *Lethal Weapon* movies came out in the 90s. And the 3rd *Crocodile Dundee* is from 2001.

[butterscotchgreer]

hey sis! great list! you definitely have great taste in those action movies!! heehee!

 

Xanadu

Adventures in Babysitting

Better Off Dead

Hot Pursuit

Sixteen Candles

Pretty in Pink

Breakfast Club

One Crazy Summer

Yentl

White Nights

Top Secret!

Bill and Ted?s Excellent Adventure

Out of Africa

Driving Miss Daisy

Top Gun

The Princess Bride

The Goonies

Baby Boom

Back to the Future 1, 2, and 3

Can't Buy Me Love

Don't Tell Her its Me

3 Men and a Baby

Commando

Ferris bueller's Day Off

Fletch

Fletch Lives

For Keeps?

Ghostbusters 1 and 2

Indiana Jones 1, 2, 3, and 4 even though that one is recent....its part of the collection, heehee!

Innerspace

Gotcha!

The Last Dragon

Labyrinth

Neverending story 1 and 2

The Pirate Movie

Remo Williams

Robocop

The Big Brawl

Some Kind of wonderful

Somewhere in Time

Space Camp

Valley girl

Weird Science

A View to a Kill

Say Anything

 

there are too many HELP!!!! heehee!

 

What do you think frankie?

[Film_Fatale]

> {quote:title=butterscotchgreer wrote:}{quote}

> there are too many HELP!!!! heehee!

>

 

You got a lot of the better ones already.

[CoopsGal]

**Snaps fingers** I was hoping no one would have noticed.

I realized this mistake while I was laying in bed last night and thought I'd just go in and edit it secrectly but someone had to be observant.

 

lol, You're good, F.F.

[Film_Fatale]

> {quote:title=MrsCooper wrote:}{quote}

> lol, You're good, F.F.

 

Thank you, MrsCooper, I always try to be the best I can be.

[daydreamnation]

I was a kid in the 80's so there are a lot of teen movies on the list:

 

Adventures In Babysitting

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Pretty in Pink

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Heathers

Breakfast Club

Sixteen Candles

Some Kind of Wonderful

Better Off Dead

Valley Girl

The Shining

Near Dark

The Lost Boys

Tremors

Clue

Say Anything

Footloose

Bad Boys

On Golden Pond

9 to 5

The Terminator

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure

This is Spinal Tap

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Stranger Than Paradise

The Ninth Configuration

Midnight Run

The Big Chill

Steel Magnolias

Parenthood

Empire of the Sun

A Christmas Story

Goonies

Legend of Billie Jean

Just One of the Guys

Can't Buy Me Love

Superman II

Back To the Future

Mask

Stand By Me

Full Metal Jacket

Desperately Seeking Susan

River's Edge

Running On Empty

Shy People

Return of the Seacaucus Seven

[Film_Fatale]

And I thought I was the only one who remembered *The Legend of Billie Jean*

[CelluloidKid]

*OMG!!!......I Forgot to add some films!!! Funny the things U think about when U can't sleep!!*

 

 

The River (1984

Urban Cowboy (1980)

The Final Countdown (1980)

Porky's (1982)

Just Before Dawn (1981)

The Prowler (1981)

Evil Dead II (1987)

Silver Bullet (1985)

Silkwood (1983)

Ironweed (1987)

Friday the 13th Part III (1982) - The story sucked.....But come on, It was in 3-D!!!!!!

Prizzi's Honor (1985)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Frantic (1988) - directed by the great Roman Polanski W./Harrison Ford!

Less Than Zero (1987)

Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982)

Suspect (1987)

Frances (1982) - Jessica Lange Rocks!!!

Pet Sematary (1989) - The ending freaks me out!!

Back Roads (1981)

Murphy's Romance (1985)

The Escape Artist (1982) - Grrreat film...Got it for my partner for X-Mas!

Night of the Comet (1984)

Der Himmel ?ber Berlin (1987) - Wings of Desire

Aliens (1986)

Roadgames (1981)

Working Girl (1988)

The Right Stuff (1983)

The Howling (1981)

Tequila Sunrise (1988)

The Color Purple (1985)

Hellraiser (1987)

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

Short Circuit (1986)

Big Business (1988)

Zorro, the Gay Blade (1981)

Partners (1982) W./Ryan O'Neal & John Hurt.

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Hairspray (1988)

Poltergeist (1982)

My Bodyguard (1980)

The Hunger (1983)

The Color of Money (1986)

An American Tail (1986)

Oh Heavenly Dog (1980)

The Outsiders (1983)

Sweet Dreams (1985)

Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)

Child's Play (1988)

Christine (1983)

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Christmas Vacation (1989)

F/X (1986)

Neighbors (1981)

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986)

Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Return to Oz (1985)

Victor Victoria (1982)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Harry and the Hendersons (1987)

Terror Train (1980)

The Thing (1982)

Valley Girl (1983)

Labyrinth (1986)

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

Grandview, U.S.A. (1984)

Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey (1988)

Ghost Story (1981)

*batteries not included (1987)

Heathers (1989)

My Best Friend Is a Vampire (1988)

Amadeus (1984)

The Terminator (1984)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Blue Velvet (1986)

Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)

[CelluloidKid]

Sorrry .... _Tremors_ came out in 1990!

[daydreamnation]

Alright I'm an idiot. I thought Tremors was 1989.

[metsfan]

I'm glad you mentioned "The Escape Artist". My favorite part is when the kid is hiding inside the mail box and Raul Julia is threatening him to come out with a knife. He says something along the lines, "Look kid, I don't want to hurt you...just cut you a little".

 

I miss Raul's performances dearly, he was one of the most versatile actors out there.

[visualfeast]

From your extensive list, I find only six that I would choose. The eighties didn't offer much for me.

[Boop_girl]

The Secret of NIMH (1982)

The Last Unicorn (1982)

The Dark Crystal (1982)

An American Tail (1986)

Legend (1985) - my birth year

The Black Cauldron (1985)

Clash of the Titans (1981)

Return to Oz (1985)

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Nausicaa of the Valley of The Wind (1984)

Laputa: Castle in The Sky (1986)

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

[TCM_Renee]

I could be here all day naming 80's movies. I grew up in the 70's and 80's so yeah, the list could on for days. >>

 

But here are favs:

 

The Empire Strikes Back(1980)

Return of the Jedi(1983)

 

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

 

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial(1982)

 

Friday the 13th(1980)

Nightmare on Elm Street(1984)

 

Better Off Dead(1985)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit(1988)

GhostBusters(1984)

GhostBusters II(1989)

The Outsiders(1983)

Karate Kid(1984)

Dirty Dancing(1987)

[classicgirl91]

Back to the Future Trilogy

Three Men and a Baby

Short Circuit 1&2

Dirty Dancing

Footloose

Can't Buy Me Love

Mannequin

Pretty In Pink

Indiana Jones 1 & 3

The Karate Kid Trilogy

 

I can't think of anymore right now. I'll add more when I think of them.