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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  • 10. Major League
    Baseball and crude humor, the best partners for an American comedy.
  • 9. The Road Warrior
    Toss up between this and The Bounty for Mel.
  • 8. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    Well shake it up, baby!
  • 7. Red Dawn
    Silly, gung ho, us versus them, but as a junior in high school during the cold war, it was a pretty cool 90 minutes.
  • 6. The Wall
    Escapism. Roger Water's concept...riveting indulgence.
  • 5. Blade Runner
    Probably Hsarrison Ford'd best acting job.
  • 4. Platoon
    After Deer Hunter and Apocolapse Now, this is the darkness of The Nam.
  • 3. Full Metal Jacket
    Kubrick stuff is all great (my opinion).
  • 2. Sid and Nancy
    Very few factual moments, but on a purely tragic fantasy level...two thumbs up.
  • 1. The Empire Strikes Back
    The genuine illustration of struggle fom within.
My snapshot of a decade I "grew up" in and films I enjoyed, and still do. Peace bros...
By:
  • 10. Die Hard (1988)
  • 9. Back To The Future (1985)
  • 8. Ghostbusters (1984)
  • 7. When Harry Met Sally (1989)
  • 6. Goonies (1985)
  • 5. Pretty in Pink (1986)
  • 4. The Breakfast Club (1985)
  • 3. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  • 2. Stand By Me (1986)
  • 1. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
By:
  • 10. Vacation
    I'm not usually a huge Chevy Chase fan but the Vacation movies were all awesome.
  • 9. Blues Brothers
    One of the best-I should have put this one closer to the top.
  • 8. Weird Science
    Making a girl. Actually making a girl. Like Frankenstein... except cuter.
  • 7. Raising Arizona
    Early Nick Cage-possibly one of his best.
  • 6. The Breakfast Club
    A classic...what else is there to say?
  • 5. The Never Ending Story
    This fueled my imagination as a child and still gives me that warm fuzzy feeling to this day.
  • 4. E.T.
    The alien who hooked me on Reese's Pieces. Great movie, great candy...nuff said.
  • 3. Ghostbusters
    I ain't afraid of no ghost!
  • 2. Ferris Bueler's Day Off
    This movie never gets old. Matthew Broderick went from this to Inspector Gadget...what went wrong?
  • 1. Back to the Future
    The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?
These were all great movies and maybe not all are top 10 but my list is more of the great movies I can still watch over and over again to this day. Honorable mention to Big,Caddyshack, Spaceballs...too many to list.
By:
  • 10. Karate Kid
    I have no words. This movie is wonderful. Very memorable, funny, and interesting. It's a classic.
  • 9. Powder
    Super good, super mysterious, super sad. Amazing movie, beautifully done. Honestly it's kind of amazing. I love it.
  • 8. The Sandlot
    Who doesn't love this movie? I've grown up watching this and simply love it! It is so funny!
  • 7. Can't Buy Me Love
    OMG I really love this movie! It's so wonderful! I totally recommend it!
  • 6. Heavy Weights
    I personally love this movie, although I've only seen it once. Really funny movie.
  • 5. The Good Son
    Starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood. Intense movie. Really interesting and one of my favorites.
  • 4. The Breakfast Club
    WONDERFUL. Really teaches parents a lesson on how to treat their children. Hilarious and dramatic, yet special in its own wonderful way. It's a classic, what can I say.
  • 3. My Girl
    Sweet and sad movie. Starring Macaulay Culkin. Really good coming-of-age movie. I cry my eyes out in a certain scene every time.
  • 2. The Goonies
    Lovely movie! Hilarious and memorable. I've watched it a million times and it never gets old. Starring Corey Feldman also.
  • 1. Stand by Me
    My all time favorite movie. Wonderful coming of age movie starring a loved actor, River Phoenix.Also starring a personal favorite of mine, Corey Feldman. I highly recommend this movie, especially for coming-of-age movie fans! It has heart, humor, and drama all in one. PERFECTION.
By the way, none of these are in order except for Stand by Me. Sorry, it's kinda impossible for me to list my favorite 80's/90's movies in order lol xD Some other great ones include, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Lucas, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Running on Empty,Dead Poets Society, The Outsiders, The Princess Bride, Harry and the Hendersons, Red Dawn, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Back to the Future, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Dream a Little Dream, Licence to Drive, etc etc etc!!! Sorry, I could go on forever. I guess I kinda broke the top 10 movies rule lol. Hope this helped =D
By:
  • 10. Big Trouble in Little China
    If you havent seen it, put on your big boy pants and go buy it, renting it is not enough.
  • 9. Radioactive dreams
    Michael Dudikof as a post nuclear dancing dick. Really im not joking. No American ninja here. Disco mutants, hippies, rockabillys, everyone's here for the post nuke shuffle.
  • 8. My Science Project
    Jon Stockwell saves the universe when his science project goes awry. Silly movie but great 80sness. Dinosaurs, M16s and high school. nuff said.
  • 7. The Emerald Forest/Farewell to the King a tie
    Powers Booth from Red Dawn/Southern Comfort, son is kidnapped and raised by Amazonian tribes people. Excellence beyond excellence. You can turn off the sound in this movie the cinematography is that good. FTK no kidnapped son but cinematic awesomeness.
  • 6. Wanted Dead or Alive/Southern Comfort a tie
    Rutger Hauer and Gene Simmons. "Funk the bonus" plink, kaboom. Best scene ever. Southern Comfort,army guys fighting the Louisiana Cajuns over some gumbo, great story, very well acted. An 80s classic.
  • 5. Commando
    Could be number one on my list but certainly Arnolds best. The best one liners fight scenes and assorted unrealistic silliness and bad effects Arnie has ever put together. I like looking at the old eighties cars in the parking lots in the background. Very 80s.
  • 4. Road Warrior
    Massive mondo coolness. Whats better than a v8, a sawed off 12 gauge a leather outfit and your dog, not much really. The hot amazon warrior chick is a bonus.
  • 3. Conan the Barbarian
    Changed my life forever. "Conan, what is best in life? To defeat your enemies, to see them driven before you and to hear the lamentations of their women." Superb
  • 2. Suburbia (Penelope Spheeris)
    Chris Pedderson, Tim Obrien and Flea again. Cultural icon of a movie for us LA 80s punkers. Low budget but really good stuff.
  • 1. Dudes (Penelope Spheeris)
    Jon Cryer, Flea, Lee Ving, guns, Cadillacs, four wheel drives, Jack Daniels and a killer sound track especially "Rock and Roll Outlaw". Whooo!!!! Im on a Mexican Radio o o o o.
These movies in my perspective helped make the 80s be the 80s. Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Valley Girl ticked the trendy boxes but Dudes and Radioactive Dreams by far outdo the others. Conan, Road warrior et al, set the tone for movies to come for years.
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