31 Totally Gnarly '80s Movies
A LOT of the most iconic characters, scenes, and lines in movie history are courtesy of the 1980s — E.T., Indiana Jones, Darth Vader, and the Terminator, to name a few.
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So here are some of the absolute best '80s movies that have stood the test of time for 40 (or almost 40) years:
1.E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982)
A boy finds an alien in his shed and becomes its friend. It’s a fairly simple premise, but in Steven Spielberg’s hands, it becomes one of the most beloved films of all time. Part sci-fi adventure, part coming-of-age story, E.T. is one of those movies that you’d watch over and over again if it didn’t make you cry so much. Plus, it features an adorable 7-year-old Drew Barrymore and practical effects that hold up pretty well even today.
2.When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Romantic comedy is a criminally underrated genre, which is really confusing when a movie like When Harry Met Sally... exists. It is quite possibly the best rom-com ever made, and proves how clever and funny and even philosophical they can be. Nora Ephron’s genius screenplay shines even brighter as delivered by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, whose chemistry is just *chef’s kiss*. They play two imperfect but charming friends who fight their attraction for years because of how much they mean to each other. It is the original friends to lovers story, and has the power to convince even the staunchest rom-com haters.
3.Dirty Dancing (1987)
This is probably one of your mom’s favorite movies, and for good reason TBH. Baby (Jennifer Grey) is staying at a fancy mountain resort with her family when she meets Johnny (Patrick Swayze), one of the resort’s dance instructors. When Johnny’s dance partner can’t perform with him, Baby offers to substitute for her, and you can guess where this is going. Though it’s not technically a musical (nobody sings), it does feature a lot of dance numbers, and let me tell you, it’s not called Dirty Dancing for nothing — lots of gyrating pelvises and heaving bosoms on display here. The final scene features perhaps the most iconic dance move of all time (that lift!).
4.Aliens (1986)
Aliens, sequel to Alien, is first and foremost a showcase for Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. Ripley is 100% that bitch, and this movie makes sure you know that. The sole survivor of the previous movie’s alien attack, she’s now completely traumatized and anxious, but guess what? Those damn aliens won’t leave her alone, so she has to fight them again.
5.Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is the funniest and most re-watchable of all the John Hughes movies — no offense, but it's way less depressing than The Breakfast Club. But if you really need that dose of teen angst, don't worry: Ferris's best friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) is alarmingly depressed for much of the movie, and the heart of the film lies in watching Ferris try to help his friend realize he has a lot to live for.
6.The Breakfast Club (1985)
The Breakfast Club might have some elements that don't hold up super well in 2022, but its staying power comes from John Hughes's honest portrayal of teenage emotions. The five main characters describe themselves as "a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal," and while they certainly live up to those archetypes, they also find common ground that leads them to bond during detention. All five main cast members are also part of the iconic '80s "Brat Pack," so the movie is essential film and pop culture history.
7.Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Harrison Ford is still playing Indiana Jones after 40 years so it be worth investigating why he likes this character so much — especially considering his feelings about that other famous character he played in the '80s. In his first outing as Indy, Ford shows off all the charisma that turned him into a movie star.
8.Raging Bull (1980)
Martin Scorsese has always had knack for making not-so-nice men into compelling protagonists, and Raging Bull is one of his most brutal examples of this. Robert De Niro stars as Jake LaMotta, a real life boxer who fought as much in the ring as he did out of it. LaMotta's memoir served as the basis for the screenplay and covers his delinquent adolescence, his involvement with the Mafia, and his abusive relationship with his wife and brother. It's one of De Niro's best performances and won him his second Oscar.
9.Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard has everything: Christmas, action, Bruce Willis, romance, and Alan Rickman. It's Jake Peralta's favorite movie and it could easily become yours too. And it's not just a fun action romp, it also touches on themes like masculinity, gender roles, and vengeance. It's more than deserving of a spot in your Christmas movie rotation.
10.Star Wars: Episode IV - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
When people talk about sequels that were better than the original, Empire Strikes Back is near the top of the list. It was the movie that proved Star Wars had the legs to become one of the biggest franchises in history, and it also gave the world Yoda. Has there ever been anything more culturally significant?
11.The Princess Bride (1987)
The Princess Bride is one of those movies that you watch as a kid and keep coming back to again and again because of how warm and fuzzy it makes you feel. As you get older, you start to clock the smaller jokes that were sprinkled in to keep the adults interested, making you love it in an entirely new way. In short, it's the live-action Disney cartoon.
12.The Little Mermaid (1989)
As a rule, teenagers should not throw their lives away for the uncertainty of a future with a man they've laid eyes on twice. But is anybody watching The Little Mermaid for life lessons? No, you watch it because you want to be a mermaid and Ursula has the best Disney Villain song. Like all great Disney movies, The Little Mermaid sweeps you into the fantasy, no matter how much you find yourself agreeing with King Trident as you get older. Its release was considered the start of the "Disney Renaissance," and it's hard to argue with that estimation.
13.Heathers (1988)
Heathers is the original Mean Girls. I really can't say it any better than that. Well, it's the original Mean Girls with a big helping of murder. Winona Ryder is an expert at playing characters like Veronica Sawyer, and her toxic romance with Christian Slater's JD will lull you into a false sense of security before everything goes hell.
14.Back to the Future (1985)
Michael J. Fox got the role of his life as Marty McFly, a teenager who gets roped into time travel thanks to the experiments of his kooky inventor friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd, perfectly cast). The movie's time travel rules are pretty solid and uncomplicated, even if people are managing to find plot holes in them to this very day. But that's always the case with time travel movies, ya know? Back to the Future stands the test of time because it has a bit of everything: family drama, romantic tension, action, humor, and a DeLorean time machine.
15.Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Sometimes a movie can just be fun, and that's what Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is. You can't help but be endeared to Bill and Ted, two guileless dummies played perfectly by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves.
16.Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Are you familiar with our lord and savior, Meryl Streep? One of the greatest actors who's ever lived has one of her best showcases in Sophie's Choice, a movie about a Holocaust survivor who struggles to rebuild her life after her time at Auschwitz. As Sophie, Streep honestly and painfully depicts guilt, depression, lust, regret, and anxiety. Much is made about the "choice" scene, but the whole movie is equally poignant.
17.Big (1988)
After making a wish on a fortune teller machine to be "big," 12-year-old Josh Baskin wakes up in a grown-up body (Tom Hanks). Hanks is funny and endearing, and the movie itself has a lovely, earnest message about never losing touch with your inner child.
18.Blade Runner (1982)
2019 Los Angeles didn't actually look like the version depicted in Blade Runner, but the movie is still a visual feast. Once again, Harrison Ford plays a grizzled science fiction hero and, if you can believe it, excels at it. Rick Deckard (Ford) is tasked with finding and eliminate four "replicants," artificially engineered beings that are indistinguishable from humans. Things get complicated, as these things often do, and the result is a movie that balances visual spectacle with human pathos.
19.The Shining (1980)
Even if you've somehow never seen The Shining, you know The Shining. It's a movie that has been imitated, referenced, and parodied to death, proving its massive culutral impact. Stanley Kubrick proved that he could conquer any genre he decided to take on, as The Shining is a one-of-a-kind psychological hellscape that has been traumatizing viewers of all ages for decades. And Jack Nicholson gives one of the most demented performances of all-time, as Jack's descent into murderous madness is incredibly disturbing to watch, no matter how many times you've seen it before.
20.Risky Business (1983)
If you had pick the one movie that catapulted Tom Cruise to movie star status, it would be Risky Business. As Joel Goodsen, Cruise shows off the ease and charisma that have kept him at the top of the box office for 40 years. He's helped by great dialogue by writer/director Paul Brickman and a captivating scene partner in Rebecca de Mornay, who plays Lana, a prostitute who helps Joel get away with increasingly dangerous crimes but who is also the reason he has to commit them in the first place. And of course, who could forget the often imitated but never replicated dance scene set to "Old Time Rock and Roll"?
21.Say Anything (1989)
Another teen classic from the decade, Say Anything sets aside the funny hijinks in favor of sensitive romance. Lloyd Dobbler (John Cusack) and Diane Court (Ione Skye) have a sweet opposites attract dynamic that builds slowly and steadily until the iconic boombox scene. It's not entirely without rom-com tropes, but they're done so well that the result is more comforting than repetitive.
22.Do The Right Thing (1989)
Do The Right Thing is as relevant now as it was in 1989, and it not only proves that Spike Lee is one of the best filmmakers of all time, but also that he's a spot on philosopher. The Bed-Stuy depicted in this movie has the bright, poppy colors associated with the '80s but contrasts them against the growing hatred between all the different cultures that live there, with things getting increasingly more tense on the hottest day of the year. Lee not only captured the essence of the entire country at the time — the screenplay was a direct response to the racially charged murder of a young Black man named Michael Griffith — but it also asks questions that the US is still struggling with to this day.
23.The Terminator (1984)
The Terminator gave us two action icons: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton. As the titular character, Arnold relied on his considerable screen presence to portray a killer robot who develops some humanity. The role catapulted him to the height of his fame, and you can't really argue with that. On the more underrated side you have the incomparable badass Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, whose entire life blows up when the aforementioned murderous robot starts trying to kill her. The Terminator has all of the over the top action and science fiction you'd expect from an '80s blockbuster, but it's also got a surprisingly poignant (time travel assisted) romance between Sarah and Kyle Reese. It's also notable for launching the career of James Cameron, who'd go on to direct Titatnic and that very lucrative film franchise about blue people.
24.Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
The '80s had a ton of sensitive teen fare like The Breakfast Club and Say Anything, but there was also Amy Heckerling's much raunchier comedy about SoCal high schoolers. The unapologetic horniness is balanced out by devastatingly awkward moments that will take you right back to your braces era, whether that was yesterday or 40 years ago. The cast is also stacked — this movie had Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Nicolas Cage, Eric Stoltz, Forest Whitaker, and Anthony Edwards in some of their earliest roles.
25.My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Your life will be drastically improved after witnessing the story of sisters Satsuki and Mei, who befriend gentle but strange forest spirits when they move to a new town to be closer to their ailing mother. Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki capture the wonder and open-heartedness of childhood by just keeping things simple. It's all about the pleasant vibes here.
26.Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
When the eccentric Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Reubens) has his beloved bike stolen, he sets out across the US on an adventure to find it. Warning: Pee-Wee Herman is a fairly acquired taste and might not please everyone. This is a full throttle man-child straight out of a Disney Channel/Nickelodeon sitcom. The plot is completely silly and its only purpose is to jump start road trip and introduce a cast of bizarre supporting characters along the way. Regardless, it's one of those vital pop culture movies that everyone's gotta see once. And TBH, Pee-Wee's earnest enthusiasm for the world around him can melt even the most jaded of hearts.
27.Purple Rain (1984)
Purple Rain isn't technically a biopic, but the plot bears enough similarities to its star's life that you'd be forgiven for thinking of it that way. The plot is also formulaic and uneven, but that's irrelevant because the film more than achieves its purpose: to showcase the charisma and music of Prince, one of the greatest artists in history. He won an Academy Award for the score, which included some of his best songs like "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," and the title track.
28.Broadcast News (1987)
Love triangles are a very well-worn trope at this point, but few movies do it as well as Broadcast News, one of the best but most underrated rom-coms of the decade. It's about the romantic entanglement of three very different co-workers at a news network. Jane (Holly Hunter) is a workaholic producer, Aaron (Albert Brooks) an awkward but brilliant journalist, and Tom (William Hurt) is a personable but not-so-smart news anchor. The expected love triangle emerges between the three of them with Jane at the center, but the resolution is entirely unexpected yet deliciously satisfying.
29.Ghostbusters (1984)
After losing their jobs as professors at Columbia by trying to present evidence of paranormal activity, Peter (Bill Murray), Ray (Dan Aykroyd), and Egon (Harold Ramis) form the Ghostbusters, a ghost elimination service. They add a fourth member (Ernie Hudson) about halfway through the movie, and the rest is history. It's one of the most beloved comedies of all time due to the chemistry of its cast, which combined with its special effects and quippy one-liners make it the quintessential '80s movie.
30.Airplane! (1980)
Airplane! is a spoof of the disaster film genre, particularly Zero Hour (1957). In this parody, a man who is afraid of flying must pull himself together to save the day when the pilots on his flight get sick. It's got a million jokes per minute and some of the funniest lines ever written — remember "I am serious…and don't call me Shirley"? A classic. Airplane! is, by many people's estimation, one of the funniest movies ever made, and there's not much else left to say. Sure, comedy is subjective, but it's impossible not to laugh at this one.
31.Moonstruck (1987)
Cher won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Loretta, a young widow who is ready for marry Johnny (Danny Aiello), a man she's perfectly fond of but doesn't love — after the death of her first husband, Loretta believes that love is only a source of pain. Her plans start to fall apart when she meets Johnny's estranged brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage), with whom she shares fiery chemistry and immediate mutual attraction. It's romantic, sexy, funny, and Cher is truly phenomenal. If that doesn't convince you, there's also a young, super handsome Nic Cage and the scene-stealing Olympia Dukakis as Loretta's mother Rose.
