Top Ten Lists of Eighties Movies

The concept is pretty easily, pick your ten favorite movies from the eighties. The hard part? I want JUST movies from the eighties, not movies you might have seen during the eighties. Also, try and avoid movies that came out after the eighties if possible, 1990 is pretty borderline, I won't scream too loudly if you add one that is from then...

This page currently edited by: Gwen. Past editor: Junior

By: ryan macmillan
  • 10. Lethal Weapon
    great flick
  • 9. Empire Strikes Back
    good flick not as good as return, only because Mark Hamill acts really bad in the end.
  • 8. Return of the Jedi
    great star wars flick, and we find out that james earl jones couldn't be the vader in the suit, why does race matter so much, let him be vader in a suit
  • 7. Transformers The Movie
    great plot, and optimus prime........gettin excited now
  • 6. Karate Kid
    "wax on, wax off"
  • 5. Ferris Buellers Day Off
    great movie, funny stuff
  • 4. Gremlins
    furry little mawgwi turns into killer green gremlin, need i say more
  • 3. Back To The Future
    "Great Scotts"
  • 2. Sixteen Candles
    "Jake !!!!!!!! (anthony micheal hall screams from under a table)"
  • 1. Breakfast Club
    "life at big bri's house"
By: Katie Mack
By: Mike Corcoran
  • 10. UHF
    Weird Al's movie. It's a hilarious comedy that wasn't made for plot or success, just for fun. It's a true cult classic.
  • 9. Masters of the Universe
    A really cool live-action movie based on the He-Man cartoon series. "By the power of Grayskull, I have the power!!!"
  • 8. Raiders of the Lost Ark
    The first Indiana Jones film. A true classic. Harrison Ford is an awesome actor. And John William's musical score is incredible.
  • 7. Dick Tracy
    A really cool film based on the hit comic strip about the yellow clad detective, starring Warren Beatty.
  • 6. Breakfast Club
    Another High School 80's classic. By far the best of the John Hughes teen films.
  • 5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    The #1 High School 80's film!!! Matthew Broderick is a riot!
  • 4. Transformers: The Movie
    One of the best non-Disney cartoon films ever made! The Transformers are by far my favorite 80's cartoon.
  • 3. Batman
    Michael Keaton is the best Batman actor ever! Jack Nicholson stole the show as the cool yet psycho Joker. Danny Elfman's musical score was freakin awesome!
  • 2. Neverending Story
    Among the best fantasy films ever made. Based on an amazing fantasy book. Read the book and watch the movie. They're both excellent.
  • 1. Top Gun
    My favorite movie. Tom Cruise is awesome! And the soundtrack is rockin.
I didn't include the Star Wars trilogies, the other Indiana Jones films, etc. because a lot of them are just too good. They can't be on a Top 10 list, cuz they'd all be #1, in my opinion.
By: Andy Piantanida
  • 10. 16 Candles
    No 80's list is complete without at least TWO John Hughes flicks!
  • 9. Over the Edge
    Okay, so I'm slipping in a late-late 70's movie here. One of the most realistic teenaged rebellion films ever filmed, dude! Back off, man! Beware of the riot replete with Tuba-carrying rioter! TRIVIA: Matt Dillon's very first film. Filmed in Downey, California, but based upon a true story elsewhere.
  • 8. Killer Party
    Low budget, but effective. I just like this movie. Very scary parts.
  • 7. Suburbia
    (the punk rock version fromn 1983)One of those perfectly real movies. Possibly the most real punk film ever made.
  • 6. Heavy Metal
    Great show, awesome animation, one of the ultimate soundtrack experiences of the 1980's.
  • 5. Girls Nite Out
    (aka the Frightmaker)Some of the worst acting of all time. An A+ in 80's horror cheesiness.
  • 4. Valley Girl
    Totally awesome movie, truly dazzling stars. TRIVIA: Nick Cage's "Where would we go?" scene is repeated, verbatim, in "City of Angels."
  • 3. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
    One of the 80's greats. Nice little inter-weaving stories. (Trivia: In the 90's the same folks brought us "Clueless.")
  • 2. Friday the 13th
    The king of all horrors. I wrote up my list of 50 favorite horrors, & this one is still tops. Ch-ch-ch-ch-hah-hah-hah-hah. TRIVIA: One of Kevin bacon's first flicks.
  • 1. The Breakfast Club
    Greatest 80's movie. We quoted this endlessly in high school. Had the "Shermer High School" essays written all over our notebooks. I predict that this will still be popular with teenagers for three or four more decades!
An 80's childhood spent in Downey, Idaho was truly awesome. . .
By: Maggie Grinnell
  • 10. St Elmo's Fire
    All the great stars of the 80's. drama, romance...
  • 9. Pretty in Pink
    I love the look in the guys eyes when he says that he asked someone else to the prom. i have a crush on Andrew Macarthy also.
  • 8. Uncle Buck
    John Candy's most memorable role. I love when he cooked the birthday breakfast which looked like it was made for Andre the Giant.
  • 7. The Lost Boys
    Long hair good looking vampires? need i say more.
  • 6. Licence to Drive
    I have had lots of trouble with DMV so this movie is my revenge to them
  • 5. The Karate Kid
    Wax on Wax off. Who can forget that line? I love the ending when it seems that Danny is over but he lifts his leg and the music gets intense and then he just nails it. I still get goosebumps with that scene.
  • 4. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
    Girls just acting silly and the main guy. what a cutie
  • 3. Dirty Dancing
    Patrick Swayze dancing and tons of romance in the air. Do I need to say more?
  • 2. Weird Science
    Gotta love guys who wear bra's on their heads and turning the a-hole brother into the slimy monster he is.
  • 1. Back to the Future
    I saw this movie on a date with someone who I have a special friendship with and everytime I see this movie, it brings back nice memories.
I live in the 80's still and anyone who tells me to get a life should not talk to me.
By: Kyle
If you havent seen Mask- see it, or The burbs or Girls just want to have fun!!!!!!!!
By: Annabelle Smith
  • 10. Revenge Of The Nerds
    all hail the world of nerds and geeks....of which i am the president
  • 9. Die Hard
    Bruce Willis.....dead sexy.....
  • 8. Pretty in Pink
    all i can wonder is how they thought those dresses were pretty
  • 7. Mystic Pizza
    Another great one from the 80s
  • 6. Sixteen Candles
    one of those movies you can watch over and over and never get bored. such a cute ending
  • 5. Top Gun
    Tom Cruise. Need i say more...(in those sunglasses)....ahhhh
  • 4. Dirty Dancing
    I only wish i could dance like that and meet a guy like that. the soundtrack is Fabulous!!!!
  • 3. The Breakfast Club
    I wish i could go to a saturday school as exciting as that one. a classic movie
  • 2. The Goonies
    HEY YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!! a very good movie, so cute, and such strong friendships. i love chunk, isn't that a great name!! :)
  • 1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    Most definatly the best movie!!! the movie has everything a person could want: adventure, love, suspense, Humor, good quotes, music, everything!!! there is no movie that is as good as this one.
the best movies came from the 80s. it was a classic time in the movie industry.
By: Anne
  • 10. Flashdance
    So, the movie wasn't that good, but the soundtrack...."What a feelin!"
  • 9. Risky Business
    Sex on a train.
  • 8. Pretty in Pink
    It defined the era of Reaganomics were the rich got ricer and the poor got poorer. It was a commentary on the newly named yuppies and the effects of that "yuppydom" on thier children. Ok, so that's a little deep, but Duckie was pretty cool.
  • 7. Girl Just Want to Have Fun
    We're girls. It inspired us.
  • 6. Say Anything
    Ok, so we have a thing for romantic comedies. But who can forget the light the heat in your eyes.
  • 5. Adventures in Babysitting
    A much overlooked movie that made the Chicago skyline famous and Elizabeth Shue a star...sort of....
  • 4. Top Gun
    Tom Cruise....Take My Breath Away
  • 3. Back to the Future
    Combining the acting styles of Michaeal J. Fox with the music of Hewey Lewis and the News, and you've got a hit on your hands...or two...or three...
  • 2. The Breakfast Club
    Enough Said.
  • 1. Dirty Dancing
    The best sex scene in any movie ever! When romance was still alive and Patrick Swayze was still hot.
We realize that this could be relabled, "Cheesiest movies of the 80's", but that's what the 80's were all about!
By: Phillip Smith
  • 10. Back to the Future
    A wonderful trilogy. They really had some spectacular effects with this series. I'll never forget one of the best lines from that movie. "Roads? Where we're going we don't need...roads!"
  • 9. Rain Man
    Good drama and comedy from Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Gotta love those Vegas scenes! "20, definitely 20!"
  • 8. Little Shop of Horrors
    Stil my favorite movie musical to date! My dream is to someday play Seymour in a stage version of it! "I'm just a mean green mother from outerspace and I'm BAD!"
  • 7. Hot to Trot
    A funny movie with Bobcat Goldthwait and featuring john Candy as the voice of Don, a talking horse!!! Mr. Ed watch out!
  • 6. Tron
    Wonderful work from Disney. Showed audiences just how good computer animation could look in a movie.
  • 5. The Blues Brothers
    SNL's first character based movie. A great job from Dan Aykroid and the late John Belushi. "We're on a mission from God"
  • 4. Stand By Me
    Good drama from Stephen King's adaption of his novella 'The Body'.
  • 3. Ghostbusters
    "If there's something strange in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!!!!" I had so many toys from this movie and I recently bought it on DVD. It has great comedy and special effects!
  • 2. The Breakfast Club
    Very good showing of 5 types of teenagers living their daily lives while in detention. I treasure this movie as it showed actual things we as teenagers can deal with in our lives.
  • 1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    Good comedy showing that anything's possible when you take your best friend's dad's Ferrari and go to Chicago for a day!!!
I'm a big fan of the 80's and an 80's child at that! Long live the 80's!!!
By: Jason at www.studioanybody.com
  • 10. Drugstore Cowboy
    In a list of all time greats this would be in the top five, but only makes it into this top ten as its not a true reflection of eighties film culture.
  • 9. Breakdance 2: Electric Boogaloo
    Special K, Boogaloo Shrimp. Rave culture took more than music from the eighties and most of it is found in this follow-up to Breakdance. While part 1 may be seminal, part two does for Fame what My Own Private Idaho did for Shakespeare! Look out for angry poplocking on big yellow tractors.
  • 8. Karate Kid
    Your alright La Ruso.
  • 7. Electric Dreams
    A Culture Club singing computer with a crush on the girl upstairs. I know it could have gone either way.
  • 6. I Was a Teenage Vampire
    Gotta wear shades...
  • 5. Goonies
    Due to a rumour that circulated my school I spent five years searching for a version of this film that had 'a giant octopus' in the pirate ship scene. Partly for this reason I have seen Goonies (dubbed in nearly every language!) over 25 times. It still easily makes #5
  • 4. Lost Boys
    The blood sucking Brady Bunch.
  • 3. Bright Lights, Big City
    Michael J. Fox, Keifer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates. For anyone who has walked out of a nightclub, into day light just as the baker opens.
  • 2. Breakfast Club
    For everything including the last minute. Judd Nelson, one arm raised, jumps in to the air as the screen fades to black and Simple Minds play on.
  • 1. Say Anything
    I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.
By: Angie Elizondo
  • 10. Indiana Jones movies
    Harrison Ford......
  • 9. Breakfast Club
    Everyone wished their Saturday detention was like this!
  • 8. 16 Candles
    Jake.....Every girls high school dream guy.
  • 7. Hairspray
    Ricki Lake....dancing.....all that hairspray....
  • 6. Stand By Me
    Great movie, great soundtrack
  • 5. Mystic Pizza
    Stars Julia Roberts, Annabeth Gish, and Lily Tyler(The Haunting)
  • 4. Shag: The Movie
    Stars Phoebe Cates(Gremlins), Annabeth Gish(Mystic Pizza), Bridget Fonda(Single White Female)
  • 3. St. Elmo's Fire
    The cast consists of the entire "Brat Pack".....enough said.....
  • 2. Grease 2
    If you are a music/dance movie lover...you can't miss watching this movie
  • 1. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
    The best movie ever!!!........the soundtrack is just as great
Some of these movies were previously mentioned on the other lists, however I would like to stress that Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is the best movie!!!
By: victoria
  • 10. Beaches
    a sad and funny movie
  • 9. Adventures in Baby Sitting
    with elizaeth shue who has an adventure baby sitting.
  • 8. Teen Wolf
    with micheal J.Fox
  • 7. Peggy Sue Got Married
    a funny movie on high school renion's and making changes.
  • 6. The Goonies
    this movie is funny!it shows adventure and fun and being friends forever.
  • 5. The Breakfast Club
    this movie is so good! because it deals with problems and figure of speech .its a good movie it modavates you too!!!!! on how people get treated.
  • 4. The Mannequin
    this is another great movie with andrew mcartney who falls in love with a manaquin at work she becomes alive!!
  • 3. Pretty In Pink
    molly ringwald plays a teenager that doesnt have alot of money she falls inlove with a guy named blain who has alot of money and listen's to much what his friends think! its peer pressure not sticking up for your self.
  • 2. Sixteen Candles
    molly ringwald plays samantha baker she is really in love with a guy named jake ryan every one forgets her 16th birthday and she ends up with him in the end wow!!! talking about the nice red car infront of the church!
  • 1. Big
    This is my favorite movie of all time!!!!!!Tom Hanks plays the character Josh Baskin wishing to be big.he wakes up and he is 30!
above all these are good movies to look all over again!
By: Amanda W.
You have to watch all these movies, because they are so good!
By: Chris
These movies are in no particular order. They are however some of the best fantasy movies ever created.
By: Holly Helms
  • 10. The Care Bears Movie
    I was a kid, all right? This is like what the "PokeMon" movies have become now.
  • 9. No Holds Barred
    The Hulk Hogan movie!! This was when I was REALLY into the WWF and wrestling...nothing like the namby-pamby soap opera antics they have going on now. this movie was all about the hero aspect of wrestling that I grew up with!
  • 8. Who's That Girl?
    This was the one movie with Madonna in it that I liked. Forget "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "Dick Tracey"--she played that part brilliantly!
  • 7. Flight Of The Navigator
    This came out right before we went to Walt Disney World, and it made the trip to Epcot all the more better!
  • 6. Batman
    "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
  • 5. Terminator
    Even though the second one was better, I really liked this movie. If you had seen the second one due to its great success without seeing this one, you felt compelled to go and rent it.
  • 4. Back To The Future
    Well, I like any movie that involves some sort of time travel. Which leads me to...
  • 3. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
    For weeks after this movie came out, my friends and I would quote lines from the movie like "Be excellent to each other...PARTY ON, DUDES!!"
  • 2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    Wouldn't we all like to have someone like Ferris Bueller as a friend?
  • 1. UHF
    Weird Al is da man! I love this movie! It's mainly about the little guy, despite all the obstacles in his life, winning out! (Stanley Spadowski's "mop soliloquy" is the best part. Very uplifting stuff.)
By: Jamie
  • 10. Goonies
    Love this one too!
  • 9. Bill and Ted's Excellant Adventure
    EXCELLANT!
  • 8. Top Gun
    Yet again Mr. Cruise winds up on my list. I just really like this movie.
  • 7. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
    The best Indiana Jones movie. I think that the kid is hilarious!
  • 6. Heathers
    Just got to love this one too.
  • 5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    I love this movie, I really can't say more about it.
  • 4. Empire Strikes Back
    The best movie of the original trilogy. Just awesome!
  • 3. Breakfest Club
    I really can't describe how much I love this movie!
  • 2. Rain Man
    Yet again, I don't know how Tom Cruise winds up on my list! He always plays himself, espically in this film. Dustin Hoffman is great in this movie. All around a good movie.
  • 1. Born on the Fourth of July
    Great Movie! Except for Tom Cruise, I hate him. He never really plays a different version of himself. Maybe in this movie though. Stone is a genius.
By: Wayne Cambell
By: Craig and Alex
By: josh timmermann
  • 10. Platoon
    tom berenger and willem dafoe are both unforgettable in Oliver Stone's harrowing infantry-level look at vietnam.
  • 9. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
    one of the best literary adaptions ever; philip kaufman's film respects the cerebral nature of milan kundera's great novel but also offers great perfoemances by juliette binoche, lena olin, and daniel day-lewis
  • 8. Hannah and Her Sisters
    Woody's best since Manhattan is full of wonderful acting in particular by dianne wiest as one of those sisters and michael caine.
  • 7. Ran
    Akira Kurosawa's take on King Lear actually redefined the Shakespeare classic.
  • 6. Reds
    Beatty's historical epic is also great. maureen stapleton is brilliant as Emma Goldman and - once again - awesome Vittorio Storaro cinematography.
  • 5. The Last Emperor
    Breathtaking footage inside the Forbidden City highlights Bertolucci's stunning, historical epic. Superb Vittorio Storaro cinematography.
  • 4. Amadeus
    F. Murray Abrahams gives one of the decade's best performances Salieri and Tom Hulce (surprisingly) gives one to match as his nemesis, Mozart. By turns moving, poignant, gorgeous, and hysterically funny.
  • 3. Do the Right Thing
    One of the most powerful films ever made, it is THE best film about race relations in America.
  • 2. Fanny & Alexander
    Ingmar Bergman's best film in ages is full of wonderful scenes of great sadness and joy. Bergman cinematographer, Sven Nykvist may have outdone even homself with this masterpiece.
  • 1. Raging Bull
    Robert DeNiro gives the performance of HIS carreer and the best ever by an any actor not named Marlon Brando. Joe Pesci and debut-actress Cathy Moriarty are both phenomenal, too.
Also My dinner with andre deserved to de on there, too.
By: Chris
  • 10. Karate Kid 2
    Nice fight scenes
  • 9. Karate Kid
    Better fight scenes.
  • 8. Back To The Future
    who hasnt seen this movie?
  • 7. A Christmas Story
    Very funny.
  • 6. Grease
    You have to have it on your list.
  • 5. E.T.
    Good movie.
  • 4. Gremlins
    what else
  • 3. Caddy Shack
    (i think this was the 80's) Very funny.
  • 2. The Legand of Billie Jean
    Why doesnt everyone have this on their list. Way underrated.
  • 1. Top Gun
    The best.

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