Best Movies of the 1980s
These are the 48 best-rated movies released in the 1980s, led by Zalzala, Liberty & Bash and From the Old Earth. Ranked by audience score, with cast, trailers and legal places to watch on every page.
1. Zalzala (1988)
★ 10.0/10
Treasure hidden in an abandoned Shiva temple attracts both good and evil characters to it, but can they retrieve the priceless gold and jewels before the earthquake (Zalzala) hits?
2. Liberty & Bash (1989)
★ 10.0/10
Liberty, Bash, and their friend Jesse served together in a war in Central America. Now Liberty and Bash work with youths, helping them stay out of crime and becoming a positive part of the community. But Jesse has…
3. From the Old Earth (1981)
★ 9.0/10
As William Jones digs in the garden of his council house he finds a strange looking stone head. During the night his wife has horrible dreams, forcing William to move the head out of the house. In turn, he takes the…
4. Fords on Water (1983)
★ 9.0/10
Influential, cult classic, UK buddy road movie about two friends, one white and one black, who bond over their desire to escape from boredom and unemployment in Thatcher's Britain.
5. The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro (1989)
★ 9.0/10
The story of the hijacking of the Itallian liner Achille Lauro by four militants of the Palestine Liberation Front, in 1985, who demanded the release of several Palestinians incarcerated in Israeli prisoners. On their…
6. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
★ 8.5/10
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned…
7. Mottomo Abunai Deka (1989)
★ 8.5/10
Taka and Yuji find evidence in a 15-year-old case, but the statute of limitations expires in four days and they're hunting illicit gun manufacturers.
8. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
★ 8.4/10
A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.
9. Dead Poets Society (1989)
★ 8.3/10
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern…
10. They Don't Wear Black Tie (1981)
★ 8.3/10
Otavio is an idealistic union leader trying to organize workers at a factory to resist the company's exploitative practices. His son, Tião, one of the employees, is more of a realist and doesn't want to risk losing his…
11. The Broken Landlord (1985)
★ 8.2/10
The landowner (Agha) of the Haraptar village marries off his old father with the young and beautiful Kiraz. But on the nuptial night, his father dies and everything starts to go bad for the Agha. Due to the long…
12. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
★ 8.1/10
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
13. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
★ 8.1/10
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs…
14. U2: Live at Red Rocks - Under a Blood Red Sky (1983)
★ 8.1/10
Recorded at the breathtakingly beautiful Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado in 1983, this concert features Irish rock sensation U2 and front man Bono in their early glory days. Including five previously unreleased…
15. Will (1981)
★ 8.0/10
A girls’ basketball coach battles a heroin addiction while mentoring a 12-year-old street kid adopted by Will and his wife.
16. Mortuary (1983)
★ 8.0/10
After a college dare goes wrong, the investigating officer arrests his son and locks horns with his estranged wife while trying to find the truth.
18. Golden Sands (1984)
★ 8.0/10
A political comedy about the effects of the apparent discovery of gold in the sands near a small community on Iceland's south coast. Troops from the American NATO base "invade" the territory, journalists from Reykjavik…
19. Akira (1988)
★ 7.9/10
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
20. Recollections of the Yellow House (1989)
★ 7.9/10
Lisbon, 1989. A middle-aged poor man, tormented by an illness, lives in a cheap room in a family boarding house, in the old section of the city's waterfront.
21. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
★ 7.8/10
In 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval historian has vanished while searching for it, and the missing man is…
22. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
★ 7.8/10
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.
23. Die Hard (1988)
★ 7.8/10
NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her offices Christmas Party, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists…
24. Rain Man (1988)
★ 7.8/10
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is…
25. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
★ 7.8/10
Marty and Doc are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditch attempt to set…
26. The Untouchables (1987)
★ 7.8/10
Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.
27. Mississippi Burning (1988)
★ 7.7/10
Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in…
28. The Princess Bride (1987)
★ 7.7/10
In this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup and the dashing Westley must overcome staggering odds to find happiness amid six-fingered swordsmen, murderous princes, Sicilians and rodents of…
29. Predator (1987)
★ 7.5/10
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
30. 'night, Mother (1986)
★ 7.5/10
A mother and daughter spend a night together after the daughter reveals that she will kill herself by the end of it.
31. Glory (1989)
★ 7.5/10
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
32. The Big Blue (1988)
★ 7.5/10
Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques and Enzo are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving…
33. Evil Dead II (1987)
★ 7.5/10
Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from "The Book of the Dead." As they play the recording…
34. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
★ 7.5/10
'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead…
35. Why Would I Lie? (1980)
★ 7.5/10
Cletus is a compulsive liar. He prefers the term 'fabrication' to lie though. When Cletus becomes a social worker he's assigned the case of a boy called Jorge (with a 'J') who was taken from his mother. Cletus sets out…
36. Empire of the Sun (1987)
★ 7.5/10
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the…
37. Alişan (1982)
★ 7.5/10
The film tells the story of Alişan, who is trying to escape from his bloodthirsty pursuers. Alişan is released from prison, where he was serving time for murder. Unable to return to his hometown of Urfa due to blood…
38. Trickster (1981)
★ 7.5/10
Rıfkı, who lives in Germany, returns to his village, which he left years ago, to sell the properties inherited from his late father. A few coincidences that occur upon his arrival in the village lead to his name being…
39. Ölüm Yolu (1985)
★ 7.5/10
The film tells the love story between an escaped convict and the daughter of a famous businessman. Zeynep is the daughter of a well-known businessman. She is returning from vacation with her fiancé Tarık. A prison…
40. Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)
★ 7.5/10
A zesty paean of praise to the greater glories of garlic. This lip-smacking foray into the history, consumption, cultivation and culinary/curative powers of the stinking rose features chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse…
41. Loafing and Camouflage (1984)
★ 7.5/10
A group of Greek soldiers are assigned to run the Cinematographic Unit of the army in the midst of political unrest.
42. A Case of Honor (1988)
★ 7.5/10
A Case of Honor is a 1991 film directed by Eddie Romero. After escaping from a Vietnamese pow camp where they had suffered for five years, five American soldiers attempt to get out of the country before being spotted…
43. The Great Chess Movie (1982)
★ 7.5/10
In this Gilles Carle feature documentary on the game of chess, the international chess match is cast as a classic Western shoot-out. Three chess greats dominate the film: Russia's Anatoly Karpov; Viktor Korchnoi, a…
44. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
★ 7.4/10
Sex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright and a deep friendship blossoms between them, Harry's determined not to let…
45. Beetlejuice (1988)
★ 7.4/10
A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.
46. Atla Gel Şaban (1984)
★ 7.4/10
Niyazi is a humble factory worker whose life is turned upside down when he wins the “altılı ganyan” (six-horse accumulator) lottery. Suddenly, everyone from neighbours to total strangers, claiming to be his long-lost…
47. Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle (1989)
★ 7.4/10
The plot involves the coming of Lucifer to the Sanctuary, where his underlings systematically dispose of the surviving Gold Saints. Athena goes to Lucifer to ask for peace, placing herself in peril. The Bronze Saints…
48. La Cenerentola (1981)
★ 7.4/10
The Prince, Don Ramiro (who has changed places with his valet, Dandini), meets Cenerentola and they are instantly attracted to each other. When the Philosopher, Alidoro, later takes Cenerentola (dressed in magnificent…
Also see: best TV shows of 1980s → · Narrow it down with the suggestion finder