Best 1980s History Movies

Looking for the best 1980s History movies? These are the 9 highest-rated 1980s History titles in our catalogue, led by The Untouchables, Glory and Empire of the Sun. The list is ranked by audience score; open any title for its cast, trailer and legal places to watch.

1. 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”.
2. 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.
3. 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…
4. Casualties of War (1989)

★ 7.2/10

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
5. Before Stonewall (1984)

★ 6.5/10

New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. This documentary uses extensive…
6. Fort Saganne (1984)

★ 6.0/10

In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh.
7. Eleni (1985)

★ 5.9/10

Nick is a writer in New York when he gets posted to a bureau in Greece. He has waited 30 years for this. He wants to know why his mother was killed in the civil war years earlier. In a parallel plot line we see Nick as…
8. The Cool Lakes of Death (1982)

★ 5.9/10

Hedwig, a young wealthy woman growing up in the straight-jacket of bourgeois morality in the Victorian era, descends into madness after years of sexual repression and tragedy.
9. Christmas in Vigala (1981)

★ 5.5/10

The Christmas of 1905 in Vigala is not a peaceful holiday. The manor house has just been pillaged during the peasant's revolt; the air is full of smoke of fire and there is the premonition of inevitable punishment…