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

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In no particular order!!
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  • 10. Dirty Dancing / Footloose
    Classics that I will never forget even when I'm 80 years old :)
  • 9. Running On Empty
    River Phoenix <3
  • 8. Sixteen Candles
    Gotta love this classic!!
  • 7. Gremlins
    I'm still stuck contemplating whether this is a Christmas movie or a Halloween movie :P
  • 6. Lucas
    Who could forget such a cute movie?
  • 5. The Lost Boys
    I'm happy to say that this was the time before sparkling vampires.....
  • 4. License To Drive
    Second best of the two Corey's movies :)
  • 3. The Breakfast Club
    Love this movie sooo much!!!
  • 2. The Goonies
    What more can I say then; the truffle shuffle!!!!!! Everyday he's trufflein'
  • 1. Stand By Me
    Seriously this is my favorite movie without a doubt!!!!! Such an amazing and heartwarming movie!!!
If I could have been a teenager at any point in life it would have been in the 80s!!!! But a girl can dream :)
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  • 10. Meatballs
    This actually would be higher up, but I'm cheating as it's a 1979 movie but Bill Murray rules!
  • 9. Ernest Goes To Camp
    I haven't seen it in years but in the 80's it was funny hated the other ernest movies though bit to much
  • 8. Uncle Buck
    John Candy was the best!
  • 7. Hot Resort
    very funny if you liked summer school then this ones a go .
  • 6. The Great Outdoors
    a must for the iconic times
  • 5. 16 Candles
  • 4. National Lampoon's Summer Vacation
    great movie
  • 3. Breakfast Club
    classic must see
  • 2. Summer School
    very good laughed all the way through
  • 1. Summer Rental
    John Candy The Best
I am sure I could list more to but that seems like work ...
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  • 10. RoboCop
    Cyborgs! Guns! Gore! Regardless of Paul Verhoeven's later successes including the quintissentially '90s 'Basic Instinct' and the none-more-serious in subject matter 'Black Book', RoboCop will always be his most admired work for the general moviegoer. Its hero, the resurrected cop Murphy, is a visual icon of the age and the movie sends up all the scourges of the age with hilarious aplomb: corporate corruption, fast-tracker arrogance, technocratic purblindness, schmalzy optimism, no target is spared. The villains are the sleaziest, most unlikeable bunch of goons in ANY movie, and to see them dispatched in the nastiest ways imaginable is indescribably satisfying: the scene in which the insecure grunt Emil drives his van into a vat of hazardous chemical, emerging to look like the Toxic Avenger before being squished by Clarence Boddicker's car is both disturbing and side-splitting. And 'I'd buy that for a dollar' is, along with 'I'll be back' and 'yippee-kay-ay' the most enduring line in action cinema. If that remake goes ahead, it had better be DAMN good.
  • 9. Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark
    One of the most memorably quirky TV presenters of the decade (and a whole lot better to look at than Max Headroom), Cassandra Peterson's alter ego eats up the screen as a down-on-her-luck horror hostess who's called to the sleepy town of Fallwell(!) to hear the reading her aunt's will and in time discover her true destiny. Seriously, one of the greatest comedy horrors. Period.
  • 8. Back To The Future
    Watchable isn't the word, this is possibly the single greatest blockbuster of the decade, as quintissentially eighties as a lunch of Pop Tarts and Soda Stream. Its ideas, characterization, pacing, set pieces make it a joy from start to finish, and one of those rare movies which is manna from Heaven to all of us retroheads, but remains fresh and exciting to a new generation of film fans. I STILL cross my fingers and pray that Doc connects that cable before the lightning strikes! What's scary is that the 1950s seems like a bygone age in the scheme of the movie (thirty years in the past), but the mid-eighties is just as far back from now!! And I still feel eighteen. Ouch.
  • 7. Escape From New York
    It possesses little of the majesty of 'Blade Runner', but as a ripping yarn this is the most enjoyable sci-fi effort of the early '80s, and John Carpenter's finest picture. Kurt Russell plays Snake Plissken - Russell states this is his favourite of all the characters he has portrayed - sent on a daredevil mission to bring back the President from the giant penal colony that Manhattan was turned into after crime levels rose disasterously. The Duke (Isaac Hayes, so pimped out he drives a Cadillac with candelabra and glitterballs on the hood!) holds the President hostage and has grand plans for securing his own freedom. Add the timebomb inside Snake's own body that he can only defuse by bringing back the President within 24 hours and you have one hell of a ride. The sight of a desolate, unlit New York at night provides one of the most memorable and atmospheric locations in all of cinema.
  • 6. A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
    OK, critically it's not as good as the original. But if you dig (as so many of us do) the goofy one-liners, teens in peril and visual set pieces that characterized every Elm Street from 'Freddy's Revenge' onwards, this is the best of the rest by miles. And in Kristen (Patricia Arquette), Elm Street has its second most likeable heroine. Movie fact: Kincaid (Ken Sagoes) is the first black character to survive to the end of a major American horror! So it's a landmark in itself.
  • 5. Married To The Mob
    Another keeper from Demme, a couple of years before his triumph with Silence Of The Lambs. Angela de Marco (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a gloriously made-up Mafia wife to Frank (Alec Baldwin), unhappy with her life and completely unable to fit into the Mafia wives circle, ruthlessly run by Connie (Mercedes Ruehl in an Oscar-winning performance). Then Frank's murder changes Angela's life forever, and she takes to this test of her strength with a courage she didn't know she had. If loud '80s fashions, brash personalities and blaring synth pop mainline your pleasure centres, you'll be high as a kite with this one.
  • 4. Something Wild
    My first on this list from Johnathan Demme, the greatest (critically unheralded) director of the decade. Jeff Daniels is Charlie, set to spend the rest of his life as a bureaucratic wimp until he is willingly abducted by Lulu (Melanie Griffiths in her most endearing role) for a wild trip to her high school reunion, with a bit of thieving along the way. Then comes Ray (Ray Liotta), Lulu's violent boyfriend fresh out of prison...
  • 3. The River's Edge
    Genuinely unsettling, slow paced yet thoroughly absorbing dark teen drama featuring a young Keanu Reeves and Crispin Glover, fresh from wrapping up Back To The Future. A bunch of kids conspire to cover up a friend's brutal killing of his girlfriend, until conscience comes calling. Don't let this one pass you by! One that stays with you long after you've seen it.
  • 2. E.T.
    What more do you need to know about this movie? For anyone between the ages of, say, 32 and 40, going to see this at a theatre in 1984 is among the most treasured of collective memories, something for an entire generation to bond over. All the magic and awe of Spielberg crystallised.
  • 1. Class
    Underrated, low-key college drama in which the easily abashed Johnathan (Andrew McCarthy) rooms with the uber-confident, handsome and mischevious Skip (Rob Lowe) and um, sleeps with Skip's mother (the always smouldering Jacqueline Bissett). A minor classic.
Some others to mention, so obvious that you've probably seen them ten times or more: Die Hard, The Terminator, Gremlins, Superman, Scarface, The Dark Crystal, Blade Runner, Total Recall, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Risky Business, Aliens, Fright Night. If you haven't seen them... get thee to Amazon. Now.
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  • 10. The Never Ending Story
    So had a crush on Atrayu, however u spell his name
  • 9. For Keeps
    Always need kleenex for this one
  • 8. Seven Minutes in Heaven
    Real cute story
  • 7. Karate Kid
    Who didn't have a crush on Ralph Machio
  • 6. Flight Of The Navigater
    Great flick!!!
  • 5. Can't Buy Me Love
    Patrick Dempsey...mmm Hot
  • 4. Teen Witch
    I wanted what she had...
  • 3. The Goonies
    Hey U Guys!!!
  • 2. Bachelor Party
    OMG, naked guy falls from window onto car. Butt cheeks land on the rooftop and sinks down between couple kissing!
  • 1. Lampoon Vacation Movies
    80's era is nothing without Chevy Chase, hecca funny
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  • 10. The Never Ending Story
    So had a crush on Atrayu, however u spell his name
  • 9. For Keeps
    Always need kleenex for this one
  • 8. Seven Minutes in Heaven
    Real cute story
  • 7. Karate Kid
    Who didn't have a crush on Ralph Machio
  • 6. Flight Of The Navigater
    Great flick!!!
  • 5. Can't Buy Me Love
    Patrick Dempsey...mmm Hot
  • 4. Teen Witch
    I wanted what she had...
  • 3. The Goonies
    Hey U Guys!!!
  • 2. Bachelor Party
    OMG, naked guy falls from window onto car. Butt cheeks land on the rooftop and sinks down between couple kissing!
  • 1. Lampoon Vacation Movies
    80's era is nothing without Chevy Chase, hecca funny
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I only like movies that make me laugh! - If this list went up to 11 I would of picked 'This is Spinal Tap', of course!
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  • 10. Goonies
    everyone has seen it...everyone loves it
  • 9. Rocky 4
    come on baby...best training sequence of all time
  • 8. Back To The Future
    awesome
  • 7. Liscense To Drive
    get out of my dreams...
  • 6. Sixteen Candles
    no more yanki my wanky, donger needs food
  • 5. Outsiders
    no doubt...too many stars
  • 4. Top Gun
    great....maverick and goose
  • 3. Road House
    swayze kicks some more ass
  • 2. Red Dawn
    swayze rules
  • 1. Breakfast Club
    got em all. everyone in america can find themselves in this movie
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  • 10. Sixteen Candles
    Long Duck Dong aka The Donger - enough said! I had a huge crush on Molly Ringwald at the time and wished I was 'Jake Ryan'. Anthony Michael Hall was hilarious as "Farmer Ted: King of the Geeks"
  • 9. Better Off Dead
    The Japanese guy who can only speak English with the voice of Howard Cosell and the paperboy who wants his two dollars make this movie completely hilarious!
  • 8. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    Jeffrey Jones as 'Mr. Ed Rooney' was my favorite character in the film. Charlie Sheen's cameo was pretty funny as well!
  • 7. Weird Science
    Kelly LeBrock was a total babe! Bill Paxton was hilarious as 'Chet'!.. "How about a nice greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?"
  • 6. Pee Wee's Big Adventure
    Pure genius! It was stupid comedy at it's best (if that makes any sense!) it was so strange you couldn't help but laugh throughout the whole film, but what do I know because I'm a loner, a rebel!
  • 5. Back To The Future
    Crispin Glover as 'George McFly' is what made this movie really work. He really nailed the part! The most adventurous movie on my list and it kept you entertained throughout!
  • 4. Fast Times At Ridgemont High
    Phoebe Cates was the eye candy (She was HOT), but Sean Penn stole the show as 'Jeff Spicoli' in arguably, the funniest 80's movie role!
  • 3. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
    Who would of thought this would of been Keanu Reeves' best movie role? It was just a fun movie that made you laugh throughout!.. Be excellent to each other!..And party on, dudes!
  • 2. Caddyshack
    The funniest sports movie ever! Rodney Dangerfield and Ted Knight were perfectly cast. The banter between the two characters they portrayed was hilarious.
  • 1. Airplane!
    Surely, the funniest movie ever!.. It is and don't call it Shirley!- The first and best of movie parodies!
If this list went one higher, I would of appropriately picked 'This Is Spinal Tap' as number 11. - If you don't get what I just typed, then you need to watch this hilarious movie!
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  • 10. Near Dark
    Not a widely-scene movie, Kathryn Bigelow's cinematic, a tale of modern-day nomadic vampires in Texas, debut is beautiful, mesmerizing and atmospheric. Great Tangerine Dream soundtrack, and memorable characters and performances. 'Look...the night! So bright, it will blind you...'
  • 9. Highlander
    Offbeat and sometimes clunky, there is nonetheless a kind of lightning-in-a-bottle magic about Highlander. The concept is simple but brilliant. Lambert works strangely well as MacLeod, with his weird demeanor and Euro mish-mash accent suiting the role perfectly. Connery and Clancy Brown are excellent.
  • 8. Witness
    Another entry that improves with age. One of the reason Weir's film works so well is because the interplay between Ford and McGillis is first rate, and it's a much funnier film than most people probably remember it as being. In some ways it's a great 'fish out of water' comedy bolted on to an effective thriller.
  • 7. Aliens
    Hasn't aged as well as 'Alien' (which is a true masterpiece), but Cameron's sequel was about as good as it could possibly have been. Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton are both great in supporting roles, the pacing is masterful, and the finale superb. A great sequel.
  • 6. Working Girl
    Often overlooked, this film is much better than you might think on first watch. There are so many great throwaway lines in the script. Griffith never did anything else as good as this, and Ford and Weaver are both hilariously brilliant in their roles. Never fails to make me laugh. And the hair is amazing...
  • 5. The Empire Strikes Back
    The only genuinely great Star Wars movie. Everyone looks fantastic - even Hamill - the script is terrific, the epic nature of Star Wars is taken to the next level. The carbon freezing chamber scene is one of my favourite cinematic sequences of all time. The production values are stellar, and the finale is fantastic.
  • 4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
    The only genuinely great Indy movie, and the best Boys' Own adventure story of all time. Ford is great, the setting is great, the villains are great, the theme is great, the soundtrack is great, the action is great, the visuals are great. What more do you want?
  • 3. Back to the Future
    Only gets better with age. Genuinely hilarious, with great performances from Fox, Lloyd, Glover and Thompson. Inventive, intelligent and consistently entertaining. Almost flawless.
  • 2. Blade Runner
    The most beautiful movie ever made, with my favourite soundtrack of all time. The effect of the two together is mesmerizing, and despite the dystopian setting this is a movie that bathes you in a warm, dreamy glow, and uplifts you with its exploration of what it is to be a conscious being with memories, hopes and dreams.
  • 1. The Terminator
    The best looping time travel movie ever made. Cerebral sci-fi posing as a car chase film. Low-budget, but lean and efficient. While it's a great action movie, people often overlook the fact that it's incredibly sad and romantic as well, and the scenario is genuinely epic. One of the few movies that actually makes me cry.
In all honesty The Breakfast Club probably deserves a place on this list, but so many other people have mentioned it that I didn't feel it needed any more praise or exposure...
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I wrote this on June 21st 2012. Other great movies that did not make the list are Who framed Roger rabbit , A nightmare on elm street , Beetle Juice , Robocop, and Ghostbusters
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I never tire of watching these films, however dated they may be.
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Honerable mention : Spies Like Us

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