100 or 101 Best Movies of the 1980s Survey

[SelwynMcGinty]

The 1990s survey is still live, but why not start thinking about the 1980s, the decade that still lives fondly in our hearts, right?

Once again, it seems prudent to implement a weighted system - this time, participants are asked to list their
Top 25 of theatrical releases between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989.

The counting will be as follows:
25 points for the #1 choice, 24 points for the #2 spot, 23 for #3, etc. down the line.

If indicated that there's no particular order, each selection will be awarded 7 points.

If you'd like to list some Honorable Mentions past 25 selections, please do so -
each title past the 25th will be awarded 1 point.
Please, just try not to list 40,000 films!

Don't imagine this will be tallied any time soon, so there's plenty of chances to change titles and lists.

Of course, any comments, thoughts, suggestions, questions or any discourse regarding Cinema of the great 1980s or anything else are encouraged and appreciated.

As always... thank you to everyone and cheers!

Starting off (this order may be subject to change in the coming days):

1. The King of Comedy
2. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
3. Tampopo
4. Fanny & Alexander
5. Back to the Future
6. The Fourth Man
7. Scarface
8. Raiders of the Lost Ark
9. The Fly
10. In a Glass Cage
11. Mephisto
12. Raging Bull
13. Thief
14. Midnight Run
15. Heathers
16. Local Hero
17. Repo Man
18. Barfly
19. Robocop
20. Drowning by Numbers
21. To Live and Die in L.A.
22. Vagabond
23. Mona Lisa
24. Pauline at the Beach
25. Veronika Voss

Honorable Mentions: Possession, The Shining, Ran, Shoah, Peking Opera Blues, My Left Foot, Secret Honor, Walker, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Star 80, Prison (1987, Renny Harlin), Lola, Querelle, Vampire’s Kiss, Life and Nothing But, Excalibur, Monsieur Hire, Diva, Jean de Florette, Manon of the Spring, Salaam Bombay!, The Long Good Friday, Something Wild, A Room with a View

[apricissimus]

I was a kid in the 80s, and as a result the decade is a bit of a blind spot for me. My list would be full of stuff like Teen Wolf, Short Circuit, Weird Science, Big, and Brewster's Millions (Richard Pryor/John Candy edition). And I can't really call those the best movies of the 80s, even if they have a special place in my heart. I don't think I could fill out a "real" list of 25. I'll have to sit this one out!

[Cremildo]

01. Ran
02. Aliens
03. The Purple Rose of Cairo
04. Dead Poets Society
05. Blade Runner
06. Full Metal Jacket
07. The Elephant Man
08. Wings of Desire
09. El sur
10. The Empire Strikes Back
11. Casualties of War
12. Empire of the Sun
13. Blue Velvet
14. Hannah and Her Sisters
15. Sex, Lies and Videotape.
16. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
17. Born on the Fourth of July
18. Scarface
19. White Dog
20. My American Uncle
21. Blood Simple
22. The Abyss
23. Manon of the Spring
24. El amor brujo
25. Witness

[SelwynMcGinty]

Originally Posted by apricissimus

I was a kid in the 80s, and as a result the decade is a bit of a blind spot for me. My list would be full of stuff like Teen Wolf, Short Circuit, Weird Science, Big, and Brewster's Millions (Richard Pryor/John Candy edition). And I can't really call those the best movies of the 80s, even if they have a special place in my heart. I don't think I could fill out a "real" list of 25. I'll have to sit this one out!

There aren't a lot of hard rules here, we're not establishing a new Sight and Sound/Cahiers du Cinéma canon or anything. Your favorites are just as valid as the cinephile who tries hard to represent the History of Film.

I almost included The Toxic Avenger and some sex comedies! I would encourage you to participate anyway, there's no judgement here.

Cheers!

[Jay H.]

In no order:

E.T.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Thing
The Blues Brothers
Innerspace
Bull Durham
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
This is Spinal Tap
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Say Anything
The Untouchables
A Fish Called Wanda
Back to the Future
Lethal Weapon 2
Aliens
The Terminator
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Airplane!
Blade Runner
Robocop
Better Off Dead
After Hours

[Zivouhr]

The counting will be as follows:
25 points for the #1 choice, 24 points for the #2 spot, 23 for #3, etc. down the line.

Based on that, because I want the underdog films to have a better chance in the top 100, and because they are in my top 25, I'll list them earlier to give them more weight. I think the more popular ones will have a better chance anyway, like Return of the Jedi.

TOP 25:
The Dark Crystal
Ghoulies 2
Labyrinth
Neverending Story
Naked Gun

This is Spinal Tap
Gremlins
The Evil Dead
Rambo First Blood
Romero's Day of the Dead

Vacation
Return of the Jedi
Batman 1989
The Shining
Planes Trains and Automobiles

Midnight Run
Diehard
Ghostbusters
Back to the Future
Aliens

A View to a Kill 007
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Pet Sematary
Empire Strikes Back


And way too many other 1980s movies I really enjoyed that I can't fit here including Tron, Robocop, etc. I would put some Jackie Chan or Van Damme or other action films in here, but just not enough room.

If there can be 30, Others would include:
GI Joe The Movie (animated)
Star Chaser 3D
Creepshow
Rocky 4
Tron
Robocop
Octopussy 007
For Your Eyes Only 007
Big Trouble in Little China
Lucio Fulci's The Beyond
The Thing
The Funhouse
Halloween 3 Season of the Witch

[LaughOGram]

1. Blade Runner
2. Blue Velvet
3. Brazil
4. Cinema Paradiso
5. Come and See
6. Evil Dead 2
7. Fanny and Alexander
8. Full Metal Jacket
9. Grave of the Fireflies
10. Heathers
11. Kiki's Delivery Service
12. My Neighbor Totoro
13. Once Upon a Time in America
14. Platoon
15. Raging Bull
16. Ran
17. Robocop
18. Sans Soleil
19. The Fly
20. The Killer
21. The Shining
22. The Terminator
23. The Thing
24. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
25. Wings of Desire

[Alan T]

1. The Thing
2. The Terminator
3. RoboCop
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
5. The Empire Strikes Back
6. Conan the Barbarian
7. Poltergeist
8. Return of the Jedi
9. Back to the Future
10. Blade Runner
11. Escape From New York
12. First Blood
13. The Road Warrior
14. Predator
15. The Fog
16. Friday the 13th
17. Halloween III: Season of the Witch
18. Big Trouble in Little China
19. The Hitcher
20. Die Hard
21. Aliens
22. The Lost Boys
23. Christine
24. Fright Night
25. Red Dawn


Honorable Mentions

Gremlins
Planes Trains and Automobiles
Revenge of the Ninja
Superman II
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Cobra
Extreme Prejudice
Trick or Treat
Rocky IV
The Hidden
Psycho II
Stand by Me
Flash Gordon
The Karate Kid
Highlander
And about a 100 more but I'll stop here

[Gacivory]

1. Videodrome
2. Once Upon a Time in America
3. Blade Runner
4. Raging Bull
5. RoboCop
6. Au Revoir les Enfants
7. The Right Stuff
8. Do The Right Thing
9. The Elephant Man
10. The Terminator
11. Ran
12. The Thing
13. The Verdict
14. Manhunter
15. Escape From New York
16. Broadcast News
17. The Thin Blue Line
18. Repo Man
19. Heaven’s Gate
20. Maurice
21. Better off Dead
22. Love Streams
23. Melvin & Howard
24. Hairspray
25. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

[DR Herbert West]

1. Blade Runner
2. The Thing
3. Re-Animator
4. RoboCop
5. Escape From New York
6. Repo Man
7. Videodrome
8. Blue Velvet
9. The Terminator
10. Day of the Dead
11. The Road Warrior
12. Scanners
13. Conan the Barbarian
14. Dead Ringers
15. The Fog
16. Die Hard
17. The Evil Dead
18. Halloween III
19. Psycho II
20. Batman
21. Highlander
22. The Hitcher
23. They Live
24. True Stories
25. Hellraiser

[Mothravka]

1. The Seventh Continent (1989, Michael Haneke)
2. A Zed & Two Noughts (1985, Peter Greenaway)
3. Damnation (1988, Béla Tarr)
4. Nostos: The Return (1989, Franco Piavoli)
5. Agatha and the Limitless Readings (1981, Marguerite Duras)
6. Toute une Nuit (1982, Chantal Akerman)
7. Utopia (1983, Sohrab Shahid Saless)
8. City of Pirates (1983, Raúl Ruiz)
9. Dead Man's Letter (1986, Konstantin Lopushansky)
10. L’Argent (1983, Robert Bresson)
11. The Mind of Clay (1985, Mani Kaul)
12. Landscape Suicide (1986, James Benning)
13. Blood (1989, Pedro Costa)
14. Where Is the Friend’s House? (1987, Abbas Kiarostami)
15. Blind Spot (1981, Claudia von Alemann)
16. Noisy Requiem (1988, Yoshihiko Matsui)
17. Hovering Over the Water (1986, João César Monteiro)
18. Paris, Texas (1984, Wim Wenders)
19. Robinson's Garden (1987, Masashi Yamamoto)
20. Forest of Bliss (1986, Robert Gardner)
21. Near Death (1989, Frederick Wiseman)
22. The Lonely Voice of Man (1987, Aleksandr Sokurov)
23. Shoah (1985, Claude Lanzmann)
24. Blue Velvet (1986, David Lynch)
25. Heart, Beating in the Dark (1989, Shunichi Nagasaki)

[Beckford]

My personal favorites

1. My Favorite Year(1982)
2. Pennies from Heaven(1981)
3. Cruising(1980)
4. Blade Runner(1982)
5. Blow Out(1981)
6. Rumble Fish(1984)
7. Conan the Barbarian(1982)
8. Careful, He Might Hear You(1983)
9. Law of Desire(1987)
10. Brazil(1985)
11. The Emerald Forest(1985)
12. Maurice(1987)
13. Someone to Love(1987)
14. Radio Days(1987)
15. Stardust Memories(1980)
16. Romancing the Stone(1984)
17. Robocop(1987)
18. The Hidden(1987)
19. Staying Together(1989)
20. Airplane(1980)
21. Distant Voices, Still Lives(1988)
22. Killer Klowns from Outer Space(1988)
23. Clockwise(1986)
24. Working Girl(1988)
25. The Wicked Lady(1983)

[Atomic Salad]

1. Back to the Future
2. Aliens
3. Blade Runner
4. The Abyss
5. The Terminator
6. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
7. Raiders of the Lost Ark
8. The Natural
9. Manhunter
10. Starman
11. Blue Velvet
12. The Right Stuff
13. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
14. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
15. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
16. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
17. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
18. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
19. Conan the Barbarian
20. Koyaanisqatsi
21. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
22. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
23. The Thing
24. Ran
25. The Dark Crystal

[Leslie Dame]

01 The Shining (1980)
02 Blade Runner (1982)
03 Aliens (1986)
04 The Thing (1982)
05 Blue Velvet (1986)
06 Scarface (1983)
07 RoboCop (1987)
08 Stand by Me (1986)
09 The Terminator (1984)
10 The Elephant Man (1980)
11 The Fly (1986)
12 The Breakfast Club (1985)
13 The Road Warrior (1981)
14 Airplane! (1980)
15 Predator (1987)
16 Blood Simple (1984)
17 Ghostbusters (1984)
18 Evil Dead II (1987)
19 Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
20 Beetlejuice (1988)
21 Santa Sangre (1989)
22 Streetwise (1984)
23 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
24 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
25 An American Werewolf in London (1981)

[ophone]

Among those I ranked on Letterboxd:
1) Le père Noël est une ordure [Santa Claus Is a Stinker] (1982: Jean-Marie Poiré)
2) Das Boot (1981: Wolfgang Petersen)
3) Mississippi Burning (1988: Alan Parker)
4) Come and See (1985: Elem Klimov)
5) The Last Emperor (1987: Bernardo Bertolucci)
6) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982: Steven Spielberg)
7) Once Upon a Time in America (1984: Sergio Leone)
8) The Color Purple (1985: Steven Spielberg)
9) Scarface (1983: Brian De Palma)
10) Non c'è due senza quattro [Double Trouble] (1984: Enzo Barboni)
11) Platoon (1986: Oliver Stone)
12) Trading Places (1983: John Landis)
13) Astérix et le coup du menhir [Asterix and the Big Fight] (1989: Philippe Grimond)
14) Castle in the Sky (1986: Hayao Miyazaki)
15) Manon des sources [Manon of the Spring] (1986: Claude Berri)
16) Troublemaker (1988: Andy Bausch)
17) Bird (1988: Clint Eastwood)
18) Down by Law (1986: Jim Jarmusch)
19) Nuovo Cinema Paradiso [Cinema Paradiso] (1988: Giuseppe Tornatore)
20) Fitzcarraldo (1982: Werner Herzog)
21) The King of Comedy (1982: Martin Scorsese)
22) Blade Runner (1982: Ridley Scott)
23) 'Round Midnight (1988: Bertrand Tavernier)
24) Rain Man (1988: Barry Levinson)
25) Return of the Jedi (1983: Richard Marquand)

Honorable mentions:
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988: Terry Gilliam)
Astérix chez les Bretons [Asterix in Britain] (1986: Pino van Lamsweerde)
Astérix et la surprise de César [Asterix vs. Caesar] (1985: Gaëtan Brizzi & Paul Brizzi)
Back to the Future (1985: Robert Zemeckis)
Back to the Future Part II (1989: Robert Zemeckis)
A Dry White Season (1989: Euzhan Palcy)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980: Irvin Kershner)
Les fugitifs [The Fugitives] (1986: Francis Veber)
Jean de Florette (1986: Claude Berri)
Schacko Klak (1989: Frank Hoffmann)
The Shining (1980: Stanley Kubrick)
Tootsie (1982: Sydney Pollack)

I grew up in the '80s, so there are also a few favourites from my childhood in the list.

[RiotNarita]

1 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
2 The Thing
3 Predator
4 First Blood
5 The Terminator
6 Police Academy
7 Caddyshack
8 Die Hard
9 The Living Daylights
10 Platoon
11 Stand by Me
12 Who Framed Roger Rabbit
13 The Naked Gun
14 Vacation
15 Blow Out
16 The Untouchables
17 Mississippi Burning
18 Gremlins
19 Airplane
20 Witness
21 Silverado
22 Outland
23 Night of the Creeps
24 The ’Burbs
25 Brubaker
- Escape from New York
- Night of the Juggler
- In the Name of the Rose
- Scandal
- Honey, I Shrunk the Kids

[Hucksta G]

1. Raging Bull
2. Blade Runner
3. Stand By Me
4. The Empire Strikes Back
5. The Shining
6. Full Metal Jacket
7. Amadeus
8. Come and See
9. The Untouchables
10. Pink Floyd: The Wall
11. Platoon
12. Once Upon a Time in America
13. The Last Temptation of Christ
14. This is Spinal Tap
15. Paris, Texas
16. Do the Right Thing
17. Say Anything…
18. Return of the Jedi
19. Possession
20. The Thing
21. The Fly
22. Pixote
23. Vampire’s Kiss
24. The Elephant Man
25. Betty Blue

[SelwynMcGinty]

poring over these lists has been rewarding - it reminds me how truly rich and fascinating the 80s are as a movie decade.

Lavish mainstream blockbusters, bold arthouse classics, brash comedies, slashers, docs, brooding jazz films, advances in animation before the CGI era with indies and queer cinema beginning to rise....the 80s really did have it all.

These thoughtful and awesome selections are going to make a formidable master list.

[Juan de Internet]

Unlike the 90s I can't come up with 25 from the 80s that I think are truly great, so I'll post my favorites instead:

1. Kiki's Delivery Service
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
3. Das Boot
4. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
5. Paris, Texas
6. The Shining
7. Platoon
8. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
9. When Harry Met Sally...
10. The Abyss
11. Top Gun
12. Some Kind of Wonderful
13. Pretty in Pink
14. Castle in the Sky
15. Tron
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark
17. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
18. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
19. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
20. Aliens
21. Grave of the Fireflies
22. The Little Mermaid
23. Amadeus
24. Fanny and Alexander
25. Babette's Feast

Honorable Mentions:

• Stand By Me
• Glory
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• The Fly
• Raising Arizona

[Zivouhr]

I can't believe I forgot Vacation with Chevy Chase. His best movie ever and one of the funniest comedies I've seen. I'll go back in and add it.

Originally Posted by SelwynMcGinty

poring over these lists has been rewarding - it reminds me how truly rich and fascinating the 80s are as a movie decade.

Lavish mainstream blockbusters, bold arthouse classics, brash comedies, slashers, docs, brooding jazz films, advances in animation before the CGI era with indies and queer cinema beginning to rise....the 80s really did have it all.

These thoughtful and awesome selections are going to make a formidable master list.

A lot of fun movies from the 1980s in these lists. Thanks for the poll. It'll be interesting to see how the top 100 round out. Thanks.