So to celebrate that magical decade, we’ve narrowed down all of the cinematic offerings of the 1980s into a list of 80 classic ’80s movies. Whether you’re a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a Jedi, a valley girl or just a big Harrison Ford fan (who isn’t?), you’ll find something here to love in our list of the best ’80s movies.
Best ’80s Movies
1. The Princess Bride (1987)
The funniest fantasy-adventure film ever made, The Princess Bride is magic in every sense: it’s enjoyable for all ages, endlessly rewatchable, as romantic as a fairytale and as quotable as Casablanca. Every person in the cast seems like they were born to play their role and every joke lands. It’s that rare, inconceivable thing: a perfect movie.
2. When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
The question “can men and women ever really be friends?” seems a little ridiculous in the 2020s, but the story of Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan)’s relationship, which wavers for years on the line between love and friendship, is a tender, timeless and uproariously funny romance.
3. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars: A New Hope rewrote the rules of Hollywood blockbusters, and The Empire Strikes Back did the same for movie sequels. Rather than trying to recreate what worked in the first film, George Lucas and his collaborators pushed forward with their epic story, presenting huge character twists (“I am your father”) and a plot that arced toward an enormous cliffhanger. Despite hovering in the middle of a trilogy, no Star Wars film has ever been tauter or taken audiences on a more fulfilling emotional journey.
4. Moonstruck (1987)
We tend to think of romantic comedies as a simplified version of love, but nothing is simple about the relationships in Moonstruck. Resigned widow Loretta Castorini (Cher, in her best performance) is engaged to a man (Danny Aiello) she doesn’t exactly love, and when she tries to mend family ties before the wedding, she becomes obsessed with his volatile brother-in-law Ronny Cammareri (Nicolas Cage, in his sexiest performance). Their story unfolds amid a web of other, multi-generational love stories in this quintessential Italian-American comedy.
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Harrison Ford emerged as a leading man for the ages when he became Indiana Jones, the dry-witted archaeologist-adventurer at the center of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s globe-hopping saga. From its booby-trapped opening sequence to the Nazi-melting climax, every action-packed moment of Raiders is pure Hollywood perfection—and Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood is the spunkiest female love interest of the era.
6. The Shining (1980)
Has there ever been a scarier movie than Stanley Kubrick’s (loose) adaptation of Steven King’s haunted-hotel novel? The famous climax—involving crazy-eyed Jack Nicholson and an axe, is actually less terrifying than the slow build that leads up to it, as we watch a seemingly normal family lose their minds to cabin fever and horrific visions.
7. Do the Right Thing (1989)
Set over the course of one day on a single block, Spike Lee’s masterpiece about racial tensions in Brooklyn during a heatwave is at first hilarious, then devastating—and tragically, its themes of police brutality and rampant discrimination resonate even more today.
8. The Breakfast Club (1985)
The quintessential Hughes film captures the heightened emotions, pressures and joys of being a teenager, in a story about five high school students who believe they have nothing in common (Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy) until they are forced to spend a Saturday in detention together.
9. Blade Runner (1982)
Stylish and enigmatic, Ridley Scott’s dark sci-fi drama—a neo-noir about a hardboiled detective (Harrison Ford, again!) trying to identify artificially created humans in a dystopian Los Angeles—is still generating fan theories and inspiring pop culture (everything from runway looks to video games).
10. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
A love letter to classic animation and a ridiculously entertaining comedy, this unique and daring mystery film takes place in an alternate-universe Hollywood where cartoon characters live alongside flesh-and-blood people—and not always harmoniously. The cutting-edge techniques used to combine hand-drawn animation and live-action are still an incredible magic trick, and the kid-friendly gags combined with adults-only humor make this the kind of film Disney may never produce again.
11. Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam’s hallucinatory sci-fi satire, about a government paper-pusher (Jonathan Pryce) whose fantasy life bleeds into his reality, is one of the darkest and most imaginative films ever made about the soul-sucking realities of capitalism and bureaucracy.
12. Back to the Future (1985)
It’s improbable that a time-travel comedy with an incest subplot became a beloved classic, but between director Robert Zemeckis’ breezy storytelling, Christopher Lloyd’s unforgettable mad-scientist creation Doc Brown and Michael J. Fox’s effortless charm, it’s an adventure for the ages.
13. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
The film that kicked off the most creative slasher-film franchise of all, A Nightmare on Elm Street has more genuine scares and fewer goofy gags than subsequent Freddy films. It also features the film debut of one Johnny Depp.
14. Die Hard (1988)
The action thriller against which all others are measured stars Bruce Willis as John McClane, an off-duty cop who must single-handedly thwart an international group of criminals during a heist. For a lot of fans, he remains the ultimate American movie hero.
15. Labyrinth (1986)
Muppets creator Jim Henson wisely recruited David Bowie as both villain and songwriter for this dark fantasy-musical, a modern Alice in Wonderland story starring Jennifer Connelly as a teenager who undertakes a perilous journey to save her kidnapped baby brother. Imaginative, goofy and occasionally downright bizarre, the beautifully designed family film was Henson’s personal favorite—and while it bombed on release, its fervent fan following has grown stronger with every decade.
16. Ghostbusters (1984)
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Rick Moranis and company make for one of the funniest ensembles in film history, but they’re nearly upstaged by the hilariously grotesque ghosts that haunt New York City in this classic supernatural comedy.
17. Blue Velvet (1986)
David Lynch’s lush nightmare of a film, about a clean-cut college student (Kyle MacLachlan), whose discovery of a severed human ear leads him down a rabbit hole of sex and violence, is the definitive drama about the dark heart of suburbia.
18. Amadeus (1984)
Refreshingly unformulaic, this riveting piece of historical fiction isn’t about Mozart so much as it as about his lesser-known rival Salieri (Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham), whose admiration of Mozart’s music turns to bitter envy, with shocking consequences.
19. Dirty Dancing (1987)
Nobody puts Baby in a corner, and nobody can deny the power of the forbidden romance between a sheltered, idealistic high school senior (Jennifer Grey) and a wrong-side-of-the-tracks dance instructor (Patrick Swayze) at a 1960s Catskills resort in this sexy, music-driven drama.
20. Glory (1989)
The greatest Civil War movie Hollywood has ever produced, Glory follows the soldiers of the Union Army’s second African-American battalion from enlistment to their heroic last battle. The unflinching drama marked the first Oscar win for rising star Denzel Washington.
21. This is Spinal Tap (1984)
This largely improvised mockumentary about a rock band on the decline, starring Canadian comedy powerhouses Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean, starts out as a “10” on the laugh scale—and then goes up to 11.
22. The Karate Kid (1984)
A martial-arts film that’s full of heart, this coming-of-age tale is at its best when it focuses on the healing friendship between Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita, an Oscar nominee for the role) and his protege, karate-competition underdog Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio).
23. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Unlike most film musicals, Frank Oz’s transgressive horror-comedy masterpiece is about broken, down-and-out characters who don’t feel they deserve a happy ending. They almost didn’t get one: a recent restoration gives viewers the option of watching the dark original ending that was switched out when test audiences hated it. No matter your preferred ending, the songs are transcendent and the plant is among the greatest non-human characters in film history.
24. Tootsie (1982)
A chauvinistic, egomaniac actor (Dustin Hoffman) disguises himself as a woman to get a soap-opera role and is blindsided by how the world treats him in a comedy that makes a strong case for every man on Earth living as a woman for a couple of months.
25. Beetlejuice (1988)
Director Tim Burton cemented his signature style with this morbidly funny, outlandish comedy about a newly-dead couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who summon an unsavory poltergeist (Michael Keaton) to scare away the nouveau-riche family that has moved into their beloved house. Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder steal the film as two of the home’s new residents, a pretentious sculptor and her goth teen stepdaughter.
26. Big (1988)
Building on the 80s trend of body-swap films, Penny Marshall’s exemplary comedy tells the hilarious, touching story of a 12-year-old boy who wishes himself into an adult body and runs away to New York City. This is the first film that truly showed the depth Tom Hanks could bring to a leading-man role.
27. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Amy Heckerling’s hormone-addled teen comedy is a snapshot of a California high school with a cast of rising stars (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forrest Whitaker and a hilarious Sean Penn) and plenty of laughs. What really sets Fast Times apart, however, is that the film treats its young, naive characters with sincerity and compassion.
28. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Even if you’re indifferent to Star Trek, the second feature film is classic for a reason: it’s a sci-fi adventure threaded with moral and philosophical dilemmas of Shakespearean proportions.
29. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
Nothing happens in this movie, except that two men (Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, playing autobiographical characters) have a long conversation about their lives over dinner at a restaurant. And it’s wonderful.
30. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Written by John Cleese, who costars with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis and his Monty Python pal Michael Palin, this heist comedy (for which won Kline a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) is a witty and ruthless farce.
31. sex, lies, and videotape (1989)
He rose to fame in the 80s playing obnoxious preppies, but James Spader graduated to stranger, sexier roles with writer-director Steven Soderbergh’s microbudget debut film. The alluring drama is about two sisters (Andie MacDowell and Laura San Giacomo) whose relationships are disrupted by a handsome drifter (Spader) who likes to videotape women talking about their sex lives.
32. Pretty in Pink (1986)
So much is iconic about this Brat Pack comedy: Andie (Molly Ringwald) DIY-ing her own prom dress, Duckie (Jon Cryer) lip-syncing to Otis Redding, Iona (Annie Potts) serving tea in her perfect 80s apartment—and of course, that swoon-worthy ending.
33. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
The beloved children’s show Pee-Wee’s Playhouse grew out of this film, a big-screen adaptation of comedian Paul Reubens’ popular, not-for-kids nightclub act. As it happens, Pee-Wee’s childlike innocence and offbeat humor had wide appeal, and this idiosyncratic comedy has become an all-ages classic.
34. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
To like a Woody Allen film is a complicated thing these days. The dark comedy Crimes and Misdemeanors, a cynical morality play about love and murder, was always one of Allen’s best, and remains more watchable than most. It doesn’t hurt that Allen is only in part of the film (the main story is a love triangle involving Martin Landau and Anjelica Huston), and plays a bitter loser who doesn’t try to court the audience’s affection.
35. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
The most controversial film of the 80s, Martin Scorsese’s dazzling religious epic turns the life of Jesus Christ (Willem Dafoe) into an intense character drama about humanity’s search for redemption.
36. Working Girl (1988)
Immigrant director Mike Nichols saw this film, about a working-class secretary (Melanie Griffith) dreaming of a promotion to the executive suite, as a love letter to the American dream. For the rest of us, it’s simply a great romantic comedy, starring three of the cinema’s most appealing stars (Griffith, Harrison Ford—yes, again!—and Sigourney Weaver) at the height of their fame and beauty.
37. Hairspray (1988)
A feel-good comedy seen through the bizarro lens of cult-favorite director John Waters, Hairspray tells the story of “pleasantly plump” teenager Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), who competes for a spot on a local dance show and fights for racial equality in 1960s Baltimore. The supporting cast includes Debbie Harry, Sonny Bono and drag queen Divine as Tracy’s mother (a role that would be played by Harvey Fierstein in the 2002 Broadway musical adaptation).
38. The Little Mermaid (1989)
The film that launched the “Disney Renaissance” of hand-drawn fairytale musicals is gorgeous to look at and boasts some of the best songs ever written for any film, animated or not.
39. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
The wonder of childhood discovery is captured on film in Steven Spielberg’s suburban sci-fi adventure, starring an odd-looking but lovable alien and an adorable, toddler-sized Drew Barrymore.
40. Rocky IV (1985)
When people think of Rocky Balboa (played to this very day by Sylvester Stallone), this is usually the first film to come to mind: an audacious, action-packed boxing film with a heavy-handed Cold War metaphor and the greatest training montage of all time.
41. The Big Chill (1983)
Countless films have borrowed the dramatic-reunion premise of this Boomer comedy-drama, about a group of 30-something college friends (among them Jeff Goldblum, Glenn Close, Kevin Kline, William Hurt and Meg Tilly) who gather at a vacation house after their friend commits suicide.
42. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Anyone who doesn’t know why Eddie Murphy is a star need look no further than this action-comedy, which succeeds on the strength of Murphy’s likable charisma and impeccable comic timing. The comedian plays a Detroit police detective who goes on “vacation” in ritzy Beverly Hills in order to secretly investigate a friend’s murder.
43. Field of Dreams (1989)
How did Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) know that “if you build it, he will come” meant that if he mowed down his cornfield and built a baseball diamond, the ghost of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson would come back to play? Everything that happens in this wish-fulfillment drama is equally improbable, and that’s what makes it magical.
44. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Never has there been a better case for playing hooky than John Hughes’ exuberant comedy, about a teenager (Matthew Broderick) who tricks his best friend (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend (Mia Sara) into cutting class and taking the ultimate Chicago day trip.
45. Stand by Me (1986)
“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12,” says Richard Dreyfuss, playing the grown version of Wil Wheaton in this classic coming-of-age film. Told in flashbacks, the story follows four boys (Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell, all unbelievably young) who hike out into the woods to try and locate the body of a missing boy.
46. Steel Magnolias (1989)
A hysterical comedy that’s also an unabashed tearjerker, this moving portrait of the women who frequent a Louisiana beauty salon has a cast (Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis) you’d kill to hang out with.
47. Body Heat (1981)
Kathleen Turner (in her feature film debut) and William Hurt steam up the screen in Lawrence Kasdan’s sophisticated homage to the classic film noir Double Indemnity.
48. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Much like the impeccably paired duo of Steve Martin and Michael Caine, this comedy about feuding con artists on the French Riviera is equal parts crass and elegant—and somehow, even funnier once you know the twists ahead.
49. Aliens (1986)
The tough-as-nails astronaut from Alien (Sigourney Weaver) becomes a mother figure in the sequel—and it only makes her stronger.
50. Clue (1985)
A legendary cast of comic actors (among them Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn and Christopher Lloyd) embody the characters from the popular board game in this sensationally silly murder-mystery spoof. The fact that it bombed at the box office is enough to make you feel flames, flames on the side of your face.
51. Dead Poets Society (1985)
Robin Williams is the teacher everyone wishes they had in this affecting drama about boys at a private school in the 1950s who are forever transformed by his unconventional English and life lessons.
52. Raging Bull (1980)
A high point in the filmographies of director Martin Scorsese and star Robert De Niro (who famously trained as a professional boxer and put on 60 pounds for this role), Raging Bull turns the life of 1940s middleweight champion Jake LaMotta into a violent, unforgettable and disturbingly mundane tragedy.
53. Platoon (1986)
Director Oliver Stone shook audiences to the core, and gave his fellow Vietnam veterans flashbacks, with this brutal war story about a young soldier (Charlie Sheen) trying to hold onto his sense of right and wrong amid the violence and chaos of the South Vietnam jungle.
54. Lethal Weapon (1987)
Everyone’s favorite buddy-cop movie made instant superstars of Danny Glover (as tired, jaded homicide detective Roger Murtaugh) and Mel Gibson (as his manic, unstable new partner Martin Riggs). The dark action-comedy inspired three lighter-hearted sequels.
55. Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
Madonna is most fascinating when she’s playing herself (see: Truth or Dare), but she’s irresistible as a free-spirited New Yorker with impeccable fashion sense in Susan Seidelman’s classic screwball comedy.
56. Rain Man (1988)
There was a time when everyone and their mother quoted this film constantly (“I’m an excellent driver,” “K-mart sucks.”). While it’s a good thing we’ve all moved on, Barry Levinson’s dramedy, about a self-involved opportunist (Tom Cruise, in one of his best roles) who takes guardianship of his autistic brother (Dustin Hoffman) in hopes of getting their father’s inheritance, remains as affecting as ever.
57. The Elephant Man (1980)
Based on the fascinating true story of Joseph Merrick, a severely disfigured sideshow freak who became a high-society celebrity in Victorian England, David Lynch’s poignant black-and-white drama features unforgettable lead performances by John Hurt (who received an Oscar nomination for his masked portrayal of Merrick) and Anthony Hopkins (as the London surgeon who becomes Merrick’s rehabilitator and friend).
58. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
In the first part of Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam War drama, a sadistic drill instructor humiliates and tortures his recruits until one (breakout star Vincent D’Onofrio) has a complete mental breakdown. In the second half, the new Marines lose their remaining humanity as they face the horrors of combat. They’re practically two different movies, a choice that makes Full Metal Jacket one of Kubrick’s most divisive films, and a unique entry in the war-movie canon.
59. Diner (1982)
Remember your favorite late-night at a diner with your college friends—then replace your friends with a young Steve Guttenberg, Mickey Rourke and Kevin Bacon—and you’ve got Diner, Barry Levinson’s wonderful tribute to male friendship and long conversations over french fries.
60. The Fly (1986)
A gory remake of the 1958 monster movie starring Vincent Price, David Cronenberg’s sci-fi horror film, starring Jeff Goldblum as a scientist who mutates into a giant insect and Geena Davis as the woman who tries to save him, turns a ludicrous premise into a grotesque and terrifying human tragedy.
61. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Whimsy and enchantment mingle with despair in this dark and beautiful fantasy film, a story-within-a-story about a young warrior (Noah Hathaway) tasked with fighting an all-consuming evil that is devouring his magical homeland, while a real-world 10-year-old named Bastian (Barret Oliver) reads about—and begins to experience—his journey.
62. Risky Business (1983)
It has a premise that would never play today (a middle-class teenager loses his virginity to a sexy prostitute, then turns his parents’ house into a brothel, and it all turns out great!), but Risky Business works, thanks mostly to a young, awkward and totally winning Tom Cruise. Two scenes in particular—Cruise’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” dance and the subway love scene—have proven timeless.
63. Broadcast News (1987)
A keenly observed comedy-drama that doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable realities of adult relationships, James L. Brooks’ film about competition and romance at a news station stars Holly Hunter as a rising producer with the very relatable habit of secretly bursting into tears once a day.
64. Ordinary People (1980)
Mary Tyler Moore plays against type as Timothy Hutton’s bitter, repressed mother in this intimate portrait of a suburban family trying to move on from the death of their older son. Directed by Robert Redford, the Best Picture Oscar winner has moments of realistic grief that are almost too painful to watch.
65. Bull Durham (1988)
There’s not a lot of competition for the sexiest baseball movie of all time, but even if there were, it would be no contest. “Baseball groupie” Annie (Susan Sarandon), equal parts zen master and seductress, forms the center of a steamy love triangle between a minor-league coach (Kevin Costner) and a promising rookie (Tim Robbins, who became Sarandon’s offscreen partner), in this adult comedy, which treats love and baseball with the same spiritual reverence.
66. The Blues Brothers (1980)
A love letter to both the early ’80s comedy scene and Chicago rhythm and blues, John Landis’ outrageous road-trip film boasts hilarious, deadpan performances from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd (playing characters they created for SNL) and remarkable song performances from the likes of Aretha Franklin and James Brown.
67. 9 to 5 (1980)
The immaculate trio of Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda team up to plot revenge on their sexist, exploitative boss (Dabney Coleman) in a comedy that still feels cathartic today.
68. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
The Indiana Jones franchise made a remarkable comeback (after the critically maligned and underperforming Temple of Doom) by pairing Harrison Ford’s title character with his quirky father, played by Sean Connery, and sending them on a quest to save the Holy Grail from Nazis. It’s an irresistible premise for the funniest film of Steven Spielberg’s original trilogy.
69. Purple Rain (1984)
Featuring what is arguably the greatest movie soundtrack of all time, Purple Rain is a star vehicle for the singular, once-in-a-generation artist known as Prince. And that’s all it needs to be.
70. Valley Girl (1983)
You won’t find a better film for ’80s fashion than Martha Coolidge’s comedy about star-crossed California teens: a clean-cut mallrat from the Valley (Deborah Foreman) and a punk from gritty Hollywood (a tough-yet-adorable Nicolas Cage in his leading-man debut).
71. Sixteen Candles (1984)
John Hughes made Molly Ringwald a star when he cast her as a teenager who gets the best 16h birthday ever—even after her entire family had forgotten about it—in this sweet, sincere rom-com.
72. Top Gun (1986)
Jet plane battles, forbidden romance, Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer playing shirtless volleyball—what doesn’t Top Gun have? The military action film was an era-defining blockbuster featuring one of Cruise’s most charismatic roles.
73. The Goonies (1985)
This lovable treasure-hunt film commemorates the 1980s, when kids could spend all day playing in dark caves and abandoned houses without their parents even noticing. It’s not the most politically correct film, but its fervent fan following will never say die.
74. Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
Adapted from Harvey Fierstein’s Broadway dramedy, this queer cinema milestone stars the multitalented Fierstein as a Jewish drag queen looking for love and working toward self-acceptance in New York City.
75. Witness (1985)
A Pennsylvania Amish community provides the unusual setting for Peter Weir’s romantic drama and crime thriller, in which a police detective (Harrison Ford—who, as this list demonstrates, may have been the movie star of the ’80s) is taken in by an Amish woman (Kelly McGillis), whose young son is the sole witness to a murder.
76. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Filmmaker John Hughes considered this film a gender-swapped remake of Pretty in Pink, with the ending Hughes originally wanted for that film: the pining, misfit best friend (Jon Cryer in Pink, Mary Stuart Masterson in this film) of the sweet, working-class teenager (Molly Ringwald/Eric Stoltz) wins out over the teen’s beautiful, popular crush (Andrew McCarthy/Lea Thompson). As a result, Masterson’s character, a sensitive tomboy who plays drums, became one of Hughes’s most memorable creations.
77. Raising Arizona (1987)
The film that put writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen (and their dark, surreal sense of humor) on the map, this oddball crime comedy stars Nic Cage as a convenience-store robber and Holly Hunter as a police officer who falls for him. Unable to have children of their own, they kidnap a baby and try to learn how to be parents while running from the law.
78. Footloose (1984)
Let’s hear it for the boy—by which we mean Kevin Bacon, whose triumph over a small-town minister’s ban on dancing is still terrific fun (and is set to one of the decade’s quintessential soundtracks).
79. The Last Emperor (1987)
A gorgeous, sweeping epic on a scale that doesn’t exist in contemporary films, Bernardo Bertolucci’s dramatization of Chinese Emperor Puyi’s life follows him from his enthronement at the age of 2 to his death as an ordinary citizen under Communist rule in 1967.
80. Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
An entire generation learned about Socrates, George Carlin and the word “bodacious” from watching dim-witted Southern California teens Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves, every girl’s crush from then on) travel through time collecting historical figures in order to pass their finals. The long-awaited reunion film Bill and Ted Face the Music was just as sweet as the original. Next up, best ’80s Christmas movies
