Top 25 movies of the 80s

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by palisantrancho, Oct 17, 2019.

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  1. planetexpress

    planetexpress Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.

    Location:
    Chicago
    Personal 25 Favorites of the 1980's. May not be the best of the decade but these are ones I can watch over and over again...

    Airplane! (1980)
    The Blues Brothers (1980)
    The Shining (1980)
    Superman II (1980)
    Time Bandits (1981)
    Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
    Pink Floyd The Wall (1982)
    Poltergeist (1982)
    Return of the Jedi (1983)
    Risky Business (1983)
    Twice Upon A Time (1983)
    Wargames (1983)
    The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (1984)
    Ghostbusters (1984)
    This is Spinal Tap (1984)
    Brazil (1985)
    Fletch (1985)
    Real Genius (1985)
    Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
    True Stories (1986)
    Dragnet (1987)
    Summer School (1987)
    Beetlejuice (1988)
    Scrooged (1988)
    Tapeheads (1988)
     
  2. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    GoodFellas is 1990, which is why no one else has listed it. :)
     
    HenryH likes this.
  3. HenryH

    HenryH Miserable Git

    Weird.
    I thought that I did see it on another list here, which is why I added it to mine.

    There were a bunch of films that I considered, either on my list or not, that I had to check their release date because I wasn't sure if they were 80's films (Dances With Wolves was one). With Goodfellas I just made the assumption because of my initial mistake.

    Ah well.
     
  4. Denim Chicken

    Denim Chicken Dayman, fighter of the Nightman

    Location:
    Bakersfield, CA
    1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
    2. Amadeus
    3. Empire Strikes Back
    4. The Shining
    5. Back to the Future
    6. Temple of Doom
    7. E.T.
    8. Roadhouse
    9. Gandhi
    10. The Last Crusade
    11. Urban Cowboy
    12. Back to the Future II
    13. Full Metal Jacket
    14. This is Spinal Tap
    15. Fast Time at Ridgemont High
    16. Raging Bull
    17. Return of the Jedi
    18. Once Upon A Time In America
    19. A Passage to India
    20. The Outsiders
    21. Lethal Weapon
    22. Coming to America
    23. When Harry Met Sally
    24. Planes Trains and Automobiles
    25. A Christmas Story/Christmas Vacation
     
    palisantrancho likes this.
  5. pig bodine

    pig bodine God’s Consolation Prize

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY USA
    25, damn! I’ll just list them in no order until I get to 25

    Fitzcarraldo
    The Ninth Configuration
    They Live
    Santa Sangre
    Ran
    The Falls
    Sans Soleil
    Down ByLaw
    Scarface
    Street Trash
    ComeAnd See
    River’s Edge
    Evil Dead II
    Raising Arizona
    Brazil
    The Thing
    Offret
    Peewee’s Big Adventure
    Once Upon a Time In America
    A Zed and Two Naughts
    The Shining
    King Of Comedy
    Paris Texas
    Blade Runner
    Possession
     
    palisantrancho likes this.
  6. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    I should have put Indy and Last Crusade on my list. Thought it was 1990 for some reason.
     
  7. Hexwood

    Hexwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Withnail & I
    Starman
    WarGames
    The Fog
    Ordinary People
    Shy People
    The 'Burbs
    Running on Empty
    The Lost Boys
    The Big Chill
    Meantime
    Stand by Me
    Silkwood
    Christine
    Made in Britain
    Escape from New York
    The Manhattan Project
    Mask
    Parenthood
    Mystic Pizza
    Roxanne
    Adventures in Babysitting
    The Mosquito Coast
    Jumpin' Jack Flash
    The Goonies
     
    rockerreds likes this.
  8. profholt82

    profholt82 Resident Blowhard

    Location:
    West Michigan
    These are my favorites. My "best of" would look different though.

    Back to the Future
    Blade Runner
    Blood Simple
    Bloodsport
    Blue Velvet
    Bull Durham
    The Burbs
    Diner
    The Empire Strikes Back
    The Karate Kid
    The Last Starfighter
    Nightmare on Elm Street
    Predator
    Raiders of the Lost Ark
    Ran
    Robocop
    The Shining
    Shogun Assassin
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
    The Terminator
    They Live
    The Thing
    This is Spinal Tap
    Top Gun
    Trancers
     
  9. Timeless Classics

    Timeless Classics Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    A couple movies too many problem... I lost count :)

    Back To The Future
    Planes Trains & Automobiles
    When Harry Met Sally
    Trading Places
    Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    Seems Like Old Times
    Bull Durham
    Field of Dreams
    A Christmas Story
    Raiders of The Lost Ark
    Uncle Buck
    Coming To America
    Die Hard
    Big
    Princess Bride
    The Breakfast Club
    National Lampoon's Vacation
    Better Off Dead
    Caddyshack
    Empire Strikes Back
    Roxanne
    Hoosiers
    Adventures In Babysitting
    Untouchables
    Ghostbusters
    Beverly Hills Cop
    Dead Poet's Society
    Major League
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  10. TheVU

    TheVU Forum Resident

    Thief
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  11. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Television play, not a film made for cinema release, otherwise I might have included it on my own list. Big fan of Alan Clarke here, but I don’t think this fits the thread criteria.
     
  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Ah, but do any of these films meet Scorsese's definition of "Cinema"?
     
  13. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    There’s a thread for that.
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  14. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    The best movie of the decade was

    The Emerald Forest by John Boorman.

    Counting from 1 (1981) to 10 (1990) as a decade:

    Aliens by James Cameron
    Amadeus by Milos Forman
    The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez by Robert Young
    Blade Runner by Ridley Scott
    Body Heat by Lawrence Kasdan.
    Dangerous Liaisons by Stephen Frears
    Excalibur by John Boorman
    First Monday In October by Ronald Neame
    Frantic by Roman Polanski
    The Godfather Part 3 by Francis Ford Coppola
    The Grifters by Stephen Frears
    Hamlet (1990) by Franco Zeffirelli
    Hannah and Her Sisters by Woody Allen
    Local Hero - by Bill Forsyth
    Lifeforce by Tobe Hooper
    Matewan by John Sayles
    Missing by Costa-Gavras
    The Natural by Barry Levinson
    Out of Africa by Sydney Pollack
    Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders
    Pirates by Roman Polanski
    A Passage to India by David Lean
    Raiders of the Lost Ark by Steven Spielberg
    Robocop by Paul Verhoeven.
    Rumble Fish by Francis Ford Coppola
    The Story of Women (France) by Claude Chabrol
    Under the Volcano by John Huston
    The Verdict by Sidney Lumet
    Wings of Desire (Germany) by Wim Wenders
    The Woman In Black (1989) by Herbert Wise
    The Year of Living Dangerously by Peter Weir
    Zelig by Woody Allen
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2019
  15. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Wow, that could be a long list.

    Off the top of my head...

    Airplane
    Aliens
    Back to the Future
    (1985)
    Blues Brothers
    Brazil
    Broadcast News
    Das Boot
    Dead Zone
    Die Hard
    Diner
    The Empire Strikes Back
    Fright Night
    Ghostbusters
    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
    The Meaning of Life
    Raiders of the Lost Ark
    Raising Arizona
    Robocop
    Stand by Me
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
    Terminator
    Thief
    This Is Spinal Tap

    I actually don't like Blade Runner in terms of story or character, but I love the look so I'd give it an honorable mention. I like a lot of The Shining, but I'm with Stephen King that Kubrick veered too far away from the book. And I'd add The Fog and Poltergeist as guilty pleasures: neither is a good film, but I saw them many times in the 1980s.

    It's very hard for me to separate "Greatest Films of the 1980s" vs. "My Favorite Films of the 1980s That I've Seen a Million Times on Home Video." I mastered Broadcast News, Die Hard, Tie Me Up Tie Me Down, Airplane, Brazil, Jedi, Matewan, Silkwood, Romancing the Stone, Less Than Zero, and a whole bunch of others, so those also have a place in my heart.
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2019
    CoachD likes this.
  16. clashcityrocker

    clashcityrocker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Great White North
    In no order:

    1. Drugstore Cowboy
    2. Fitzcarraldo
    3. The Miracle Mile
    4. Full Metal Jacket
    5. Paris, Texas
    6. The Atomic Cafe
    7. Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story
    8. The Road Warrior
    9. Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters
    10. Robocop
    11. Sid and Nancy
    12. Blade Runner
    13. The Terminator
    14. This Is Spinal Tap
    15. Local Hero
    16. Re-Animator
    17. Manhunter
    18. Brazil
    19. Matewan
    20. The Thing
    21. Evil Dead II
    22. Wings of Desire
    23. The Shining
    24. Blue Velvet
    25. Repo Man

    Like many others here had to leave so many good ones off. But that's a damn fine list
     
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  17. jlocke08

    jlocke08 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington
    Die Hard
    Local Hero
    Princess Bride
    Do The Right Thing
    Fitzcarraldo/Burden Of Dreams(doc on making Fitz)
    Close Encounters
    The Stuntman
    My Left Foot
    Das Boot
    Rain Man
    Platoon
    Raging Bull
    The Mosquito Coast
    Thin Blue Line
    The Right Stuff
    Trading Places
    Bull Durham
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    Tootsie
    The Color Purple
    Victor/Victoria
    Sex. Lies, & Videotape
    Roger & Me
    Down And Out In Beverly Hills
    Glory
     
  18. jlocke08

    jlocke08 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington
    Personal faves
    Big Trouble In Little China
    Predator
    Rocky III
    48 Hours
    Beverly Hills Cop
    First Blood
    Empire Strikes Back
    Something Wild
    Nothing In Common
    Scarface
     
  19. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    Here's a list I can live with. You know the drill with this.

    The Empire Strikes Back
    The Blues Brothers
    Airplane!
    Raiders of the Lost Ark
    Superman II
    An American Werewolf in London
    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
    Blade Runner (European theatrical cut)*
    Pink Floyd - The Wall
    Gandhi
    Videodrome
    This is Spinal Tap
    Once Upon a Time in America
    Ghostbusters
    Back to the Future
    The Breakfast Club
    Brazil
    Blue Velvet
    Evil Dead II
    Raising Arizona
    RoboCop
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit
    Heathers
    Batman
    Do the Right Thing

    *in light of revelations 2049 made
     
  20. Bluepicasso

    Bluepicasso Android Confused

    Location:
    Arlington, Va
    ==
    Impressive list!
     
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  21. Nipper

    Nipper His Master's Voice

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Roughly in order:

    The Empire Strikes Back
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    Return Of The Jedi
    Stand by Me
    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
    Bull Durham
    Field Of Dreams
    Major League

    Caddyshack

    Airplane!
    Back To The Future

    Dead Poet's Society
    Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
    Spaceballs


    Rain Man
    Empire Of The Sun
    Vacation
    The Naked Gun

    The Meaning Of Life

    Good Morning, Vietnam
    The World According To Garp
    Amadeus
    Hannah And Her Sisters
    Ghostbusters

    Honorable Mention: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Pink Floyd - The Wall, Blade Runner, Ferris Bueller's Day Off
     
    CoachD likes this.
  22. Hexwood

    Hexwood Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    In that case, I'll swap it for How to Beat the High Cost of Living.
     
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  23. malcolm reynolds

    malcolm reynolds Handsome, Humble, Genius

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Blade Runner (Favorite film of all time)
    Brazil (Second favorite film of all time)
    Blue Velvet (Fifth favorite film of all time)
    The Empire Strikes Back
    Return Of The Jedi
    Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
    The Evil Dead
    Evil Dead 2
    The Thing
    Escape From New York
    Big Trouble In Little China
    Batman
    Repo Man
    Videodrome
    Ghostbusters
    Gremlins
    The Terminator
    Predator
    Scarface
    Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    Last Crusade
    Temple Of Doom
    Back To The Future
    The Princess Bride
    The Shining

    All lists without Blade Runner on them are wrong, just for your information.
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2019
  24. KAT

    KAT Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, Tx
    Managed to get my list down to 25, but I am not happy about it. Too many films left off.

    Here goes:

    Raging Bull
    The Shining
    The Road Warrior
    An American Werewolf in London
    Blow Out
    First Blood
    The Thing
    48 Hrs.
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
    Risky Business
    A Nightmare on Elm Street
    This Is Spinal Tap
    To Live and Die in L.A.
    The Breakfast Club
    After Hours
    The Fly
    Predator
    Robocop
    Lethal Weapon
    Full Metal Jacket
    Angel Heart
    Wall Street
    Talk Radio
    Heathers
    Violent Cop
     
  25. PNeski@aol.com

    [email protected] Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    El Sur
    Blade Runner
    Heavens Gate
    Blue Velvet
    Once Upon A Time In America

    Crimes and Misdemeanors
    Thief
    Witness



    The Naked Gun
    E.T.
    The Shining
    Manhunter
    Beetlejuice
    The Terminator
    Back to the Future
    Radio Days
    Last Of MohicansZelig
    Broadway Danny Rose
    Die Hard
    Mississippi Burning
    Midnight Run
    Angel Heart
    First Blood
    Ghostbusters
     
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