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: Brian
  • 10. Garbage Pail Kids
    Though you may not have seen it, trust me its worth watching.
  • 9. Breakfast Club
    A movie that meant something and opened everyones eyes. And an awesome soundtrack to boot.
  • 8. Top Secret
    THE funniest movie ever.
  • 7. Slumber Party Massacre 2
    Though it is a very unknown film, its truely one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.
  • 6. Ghostbusters
    if theres something wierd than who you gonna call....exactly
  • 5. Bill and Teds Excelent Adventure
    A most EXCELENT flick!
  • 4. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    I met Ben Stein once. That is cool. This movie rocks.
  • 3. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
    Perhaps one of the funniest movies ever. Spiccolli is one of the greatest characters ever made!
  • 2. Better Off Dead
    All he wanted was his two dollars....
  • 1. Goonies
    Please tell me a better movie than thisone. Wait there isnt. this movie is the single greatest movie EVER! I based a lot of my life on this flick and if you havent seen it you have a problem
The 80's were the greatest period of time ever. The best movies, music, and styles. Never forget where you came from!!
By: Kristy
  • 10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
  • 9. The Pick Up Artist
    I love funny romance
  • 8. St Elmo's Fire
    love the brat pack
  • 7. Pretty In Pink
    way to be yourself
  • 6. One Crazy Summer
    great combination of young stars
  • 5. Better Off Dead
    really funny drama on teen heartbreak
  • 4. Sixteen Candles
    it was so funny discribes perfectly life as A teen
  • 3. The Breakfast Club
    I like movies about people who differnt
  • 2. Red Dawn
    those young stars were great together
  • 1. Dirty Dancing
    johny abd baby were my first favorite movie couple
By: Gus Lopez
  • 10. Back To The Future
    One of the most innovating pictures of the 80's. Such awesome writing gave it endless possibilities for sequels, though II and III were not as good, Original is the best one!!
  • 9. Class
    prep school never looked so enticing. Not very popular with top ten, but rob lowe and andy mcartney give it something very special that makes it stand out from the rest, a touch of class perhaps??
  • 8. Weird Science
    Not one of the better teen comedies, but loved the fact that it didn't take itself so seriously. Had its funny moments though.. Kelly Lebrock more than made up for crappy script
  • 7. Sixteen Candles
    Funny in its own right, we've all felt at one time or another like sam...totaly left out of the world. great writing, great cast, both young and old are hilarious!!! great songs by OMD and thompson twins!!
  • 6. American Werewolf in London
    Love the Concept with just a touch of campiness!! great special effects for its time....makes you want to travel to Piccadily Circus right away!!!
  • 5. Flashdance
    What a Feeling! Hey this introduced the merging of moviemaking and MTV...good story, great dancing, great soundtrack...im a maniac,maniac I know!!!
  • 4. National Lampoons Vacation
    Funny, Funny, Funny..Chevy Chase as leader of Grizwold clan is hilarious, Remember Aunt Edna? great songs too by Lindsay buckingham and pointer sisters!! We should all have a family as funny!!
  • 3. Last American Virgen
    Dont think anyone has mentioned this one. Seems kind of buried in the vault, If your looking for great 80's power ballads and pop songs, plus alot of T & A, gotta see this one....and its funny too!!!! An unexpected ending....total downer!!
  • 2. Fast Times At Ridgemont High
    The quitessential 80's teen flick...So funny with believable characters and situations dealing with high school and after school jobs...
  • 1. The Breakfast Club
    Any young kid who was not home schooled and went to public school has to identify on some level with one of the characters...and very few movies can do that....good soundtrack too!!! don't you..... forget about that!
Many people comment that 80's music was empty with zero substance. Sure it was the me decade, but even today new musicians are doing covers and remakes of 80's music, and young directors are using 80's formulas for teen comedies of this generation, does anyone recall American Pie?? On the whole, I think It was great music and great movies, sure it had its turkeys...but doesn't every decade????
By: Samantha
  • 10. La Bamba
    Tragic tale of 50's singer Richie Valens, Lou Diamond Phillips is good in the lead role and the musics fab too.
  • 9. Labyrinth
    Classic childrens film thats too darn good for kids...the creatures are impressive and Bowie makes an interesting villian.
  • 8. Gremlins
    Just the right mixture of comedy, frights and mayhem.
  • 7. Pretty in Pink/The Breakfast Club
    Two great 'brat-pack' movies, typically 80's.
  • 6. Stand By Me
    Sad, funny, moving and thought provoking a wonderful celebration of friendship and childhood.
  • 5. Lost Boys
    Good film with the two Coreys providing likeable performances as the hapless vampire hunters.
  • 4. Beetlejuice
    This is a very funny film, Michael Keatons performance is wonderfully bizarre...a real treat!
  • 3. Secret of My Success
    O.K I admit it I spent most of the 80's with a huge crush on Mr Fox (still have it actually!). He is funny, likeable and a real sweetie.
  • 2. Teen Wolf
    Michael J Fox looks really cute in it (when he's not a wolf of course!) and its just a nice little story. The 'Dad' wolf looks like an ewok though...
  • 1. Back To The Future
    Because Michael J Fox is in it, and its one of those movies that i just never tire of...excellent!
It's easy to forget just how many great movies came out of the80's, there were so many others i could have included like Big, E.T, BTTF2, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Three Men and A Baby, The Goonies and Indiana Jones...what a decade!
By: caitrin
  • 10. Better Off Dead
    "gee; i'm real sorry your mom blew up, ricky."
  • 9. The Natural
    "c'mon hobbs, knock the cover off the ball!"
  • 8. Ferris Beuller's Day Off
    "oh, he's very popular ed. the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, waistoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. they think he's a righteous dude."
  • 7. Dead Poets Society
    "this deskset wants to fly..."
  • 6. Amadeus
    "god was singing through this little man to all the world, making my defeat more bitter with every passing bar."
  • 5. The Princess Bride
    "have fun storming the castle!"
  • 4. Sixteen Candles
    "i've never bagged a babe."
  • 3. The Breakfast Club
    andrew: "speak for yourself." bender: "do you think i'd speak for you? i don't even know your language."
  • 2. The Lost Boys
    alan frog: "we blew it, man, we lost it!" edgar frog: "shut up!" alan frog: "we unraveled in the face of the enemy!" edgar frog: "it's not our fault, they pulled a mindtrap on us, they opened their eyes and talked!"
  • 1. Stand By Me
    "come on guys! by the time we get there the kid won't even be dead anymore!"
these aren't necessarily in order - depends on my mood.
By: mikey
other mentions: Die Hard, Dead Poets Society, Pretty in Pink, The Princess Bride, Footloose, Just One of the Guys, Ruthless People
By: jennifer smith
  • 10. Valley Girl
    this movie rocks
  • 9. Breakin'
    breakdancing anyone?
  • 8. Labyrinth
    david bowie again!!!!!!!!
  • 7. The Hunger
    david bowie!!!!!!!!!!
  • 6. Fire With Fire
    i always wanted to get a reform school boy
  • 5. Legend Of Billie Jean
    who did not want to be this girl???
  • 4. Thrashin
    best skateboard movie ever
  • 3. Rad
    coolest movie ever i wanted cru jones baaad.
  • 2. Friday The 13ths
    these were awesome at slumber parties
  • 1. Breaking All The Rules
    oh my god so cheese but i wanted to cut my hair like that and make my mom pass out.
i would give anything to keep the 80s in some kind of continum.
By: marc hess
  • 10. The Whiz Kid
    durring this time, the video game industry was centered around the top grossing game of all time: super mario 3. oh and great movie!
  • 9. The Goonies
    ill never forget the tomato in the blender! this movie mixes A simple 80'S lifestyle with A fantasy like story relm...awesome.
  • 8. 16 Candles
    anthony micheal hall perhaps the greatest geek character of the 80'S scores high with his hillarious performance. this movie did A great job in showing the social struggles of highschool in the 80'S.
  • 7. Ghostbusters
    big-puff, new york city, dan akcroyde, bill murry, rick morranes, the greatest quote in movie history ("where do the stairs go?...they go up." this movie has it all and then some.
  • 6. Lethal Weapon
    comeon all the women get A shot of danny glover'S behind...us men get terrific knockem sockem action. average acting--action packed!
  • 5. Breakfast Club
    often overrated and placed at #1, this movie shows social groupings and how they confront to inneract with eachother. they chose great actors for each character.
  • 4. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    this movie has it all. while it may not project the eighties lifestyle, it is still one of the greatest movies made in the 80'S!
  • 3. Wierd Science
    kind of cheezy, but yet an awesome movie. 2 guys trying to gain popularity in A struggling 80'S social life...why not generate A hot woman out of A computer, so they did.
  • 2. Back To The Future
    this is my personal favorite, but that dosen'T mean it deserves #1. this movie took A voyage like noneother. first time watchers had no-idea what they were going to encounter.
  • 1. Top Gun
    im not A big cruise fan, but I'll give props. this movie scores high for its intense storyline and musical score...will yuo ever forget "fly into the danger zone"!
honerable mentions are: airplane, over the top, ferris bueller, rambo, bill and ted, st elmos fire, blood sport, and nightmare on elm st.
By: Jason
Other 80's films that deserve to be on this list;Ordinary People,The King Of Comedy,After Hours,The Purple Rose Of Cairo,Hannah And Her Sisters,Crimes and Misdemeanors,Life Lessons(New York Stories),The Last Temptation Of Christ,Diner,Excalibur,Platoon,and Lost In America.
By: Cheryl
  • 10. The Goonies
    It was a great movie.."I got it, I got it, dont got it. You KLUTZ! I hope it wasnt a deposit bottle!"
  • 9. Sixteen Candles
    "I cant believe my grandmother just felt me up!"
  • 8. Can't Buy Me Love
  • 7. Dirty Dancing
    "Nobody puts Baby in a corner"
  • 6. The Outsiders
    I just loved this movie!
  • 5. Ferris Beuler's Day Off
    Talking Into The Camera..thats what its all about. Later following this trend..that lovely show; Saved By The Bell.
  • 4. Some Kind Of Wonderful
    "
  • 3. Fast Times At Ridemont High
  • 2. The Breakfast Club
    "You're a parent's wet dream"
  • 1. Stand By Me
    River Phoenix definitly shines as Chris Chambers.. "I ran all the way home (du wop do wah ooh) Just to say Im sorry"
By: Jessica
By: Sam
  • 10. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
  • 9. Police Acadermy
  • 8. Star Wars
    This film changed modern ideas
  • 7. Big Trouble little China
  • 6. Ghostbusters (all)
  • 5. Splash
  • 4. Drop Dead Fred
  • 3. E.T
    There is not much i can say really
  • 2. Terminator
  • 1. The Goonies
    Everyone loves this film and i can watch it over again but i never get bored. "The gonnies never say die"
The Gonnies RULE!
By: Erica
The 80's had the BEST high school flicks! Funny and not pure nudity..good clean fun!
By: dawn brandeis
  • 10. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
    cant beat the action, and i dont really like action movies
  • 9. Ghostbusters
    the whole cast is great. i love bill murray
  • 8. 16 Candles
    i actually married a bohunk
  • 7. Back To The Future
    i watch just to see the transformation of crispin glover and caroline in the city
  • 6. Heathers
    no explanation necessary
  • 5. Rainman
    sentimental favorite
  • 4. E.T.
    just takes me back
  • 3. Planes Trains And Automobiles
    drippy ending, but steve martin and john candy are great together
  • 2. The Lost Boys
    halloween fun
  • 1. The 'burbs
    notice the fly noises when hans is the focus. brother theordore staring at tom hanks cracks me up every time
By: MISTY N DOSS
I could keep on naming good hits of the 80s, but these are some of my top favs :-)
By: Mercury
  • 10. Steel Magnolias
    "The sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol!"
  • 9. Clue
    "I'm going to go home and sleep with my wife."
  • 8. When Harry Met Sally
    "I'll have what she's having."
  • 7. The Goonies
    " Ya see this one? This one right here, this was my dream, my wish. And it didn't come true. So I'm takin' it back. I'm takin' em' all back." "Goonies never say die."
  • 6. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    "A person should not believe in an "-ism," he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, 'I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me.'"
  • 5. The Princess Bride
    "Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while." "I'm not a witch, I'm your wife! And after what you just said, I'm not even sure I want to be that any more!"
  • 4. Sixteen Candles
    "I can't believe my grandmother actually felt me up!"
  • 3. Legend
    "The harmony of the universe depends upon an eternal balance. Out of the struggle to maintain this balance comes the birth of legends..."
  • 2. E.T.
    "I'll be right here."
  • 1. The Breakfast Club
    Way too many quotes to name....a masterpiece!
By: Andrea
Couldn't leave out Some Kind of Wonderful and Goonies (even though it wasnt my favorite movie, it deserves mention)

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