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Top Films of the 1980s (#1-200)

Rank Title Year Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott 11
2 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 Steven Spielberg 26
3 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 Steven Spielberg 27
4 Raging Bull 1980 Martin Scorsese 29
5 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Irvin Kershner 36
6 The Shining 1980 Stanley Kubrick 41
7 Back to the Future 1985 Robert Zemeckis 45
8 Aliens 1986 James Cameron 61
9 Die Hard 1988 John McTiernan 83
10 Do the Right Thing 1989 Spike Lee 89
11 The Princess Bride 1987 Rob Reiner 96
12 The Terminator 1984 James Cameron 101
13 Blue Velvet 1986 David Lynch 103
14 The Thing 1982 John Carpenter 106
15 This Is Spinal Tap 1984 Rob Reiner 109
16 Brazil 1985 Terry Gilliam 115
17 Once Upon a Time in America 1984 Sergio Leone 133
18 When Harry Met Sally… 1989 Rob Reiner 149
19 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman 163
20 Airplane! 1980 Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker 164
21 Ghostbusters 1984 Ivan Reitman 169
22 Ran 1985 Akira Kurosawa 197
23 Platoon 1986 Oliver Stone 200
24 Scarface 1983 Brian De Palma 202
25 Akira 1988 Katsuhiro Ôtomo 204
26 Wings of Desire 1987 Wim Wenders 211
27 Fanny and Alexander 1982 Ingmar Bergman 215
28 Cinema Paradiso 1988 Giuseppe Tornatore 217
29 The Fly 1986 David Cronenberg 223
30 Full Metal Jacket 1987 Stanley Kubrick 226
31 My Neighbor Totoro 1988 Hayao Miyazaki 230
32 Return of the Jedi 1983 Richard Marquand 236
33 Shoah 1985 Claude Lanzmann 243
34 Das Boot 1981 Wolfgang Petersen 247
35 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988 Robert Zemeckis 264
36 Come and See 1985 Elem Klimov 277
37 The Road Warrior 1981 George Miller 295
38 RoboCop 1987 Paul Verhoeven 308
39 Withnail & I 1987 Bruce Robinson 313
40 Tootsie 1982 Sydney Pollack 320
41 Stand by Me 1986 Rob Reiner 325
42 Grave of the Fireflies 1988 Isao Takahata 329
43 Ferris Bueller's Day Off 1986 John Hughes 334
44 Paris, Texas 1984 Wim Wenders 339
45 A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 Wes Craven 342
46 The Blues Brothers 1980 John Landis 343
47 Predator 1987 John McTiernan 347
48 Videodrome 1983 David Cronenberg 349
49 The Elephant Man 1980 David Lynch 368
50 Evil Dead II 1987 Sam Raimi 369
51 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 Steven Spielberg 380
52 Field of Dreams 1989 Phil Alden Robinson 385
53 Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan 1982 Nicholas Meyer 393
54 The Decalogue 1989 Krzysztof Kieslowski 413
55 The Evil Dead 1981 Sam Raimi 417
56 Dead Poets Society 1989 Peter Weir 433
57 An American Werewolf in London 1981 John Landis 436
58 The Killer 1989 John Woo 437
59 The Thin Blue Line 1988 Errol Morris 438
60 Bull Durham 1988 Ron Shelton 441
61 The Goonies 1985 Richard Donner 444
62 A Fish Called Wanda 1988 Charles Crichton 446
63 Chariots of Fire 1981 Hugh Hudson 450
64 The Breakfast Club 1985 John Hughes 456
65 Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 Woody Allen 459
66 Batman 1989 Tim Burton 462
67 Fitzcarraldo 1982 Werner Herzog 465
68 The Untouchables 1987 Brian De Palma 471
69 Raising Arizona 1987 Joel Coen 476
70 Dirty Dancing 1987 Emile Ardolino 477
71 Rain Man 1988 Barry Levinson 479
72 Gandhi 1982 Richard Attenborough 482
73 Big 1988 Penny Marshall 501
74 Blood Simple 1984 Joel Coen 506
75 Say Anything… 1989 Cameron Crowe 526
76 Caddyshack 1980 Harold Ramis 528
77 Fast Times at Ridgemont High 1982 Amy Heckerling 536
78 Koyaanisqatsi 1982 Godfrey Reggio 538
79 A Christmas Story 1983 Bob Clark 548
80 Poltergeist 1982 Tobe Hooper 560
81 Sans soleil 1983 Chris Marker 561
82 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 1988 David Zucker 565
83 Stranger than Paradise 1984 Jim Jarmusch 578
84 Sex, Lies, and Videotape 1989 Steven Soderbergh 582
85 The Right Stuff 1983 Philip Kaufman 603
86 The King of Comedy 1982 Martin Scorsese 604
87 Escape from New York 1981 John Carpenter 624
88 Glory 1989 Edward Zwick 625
89 Trading Places 1983 John Landis 632
90 The Long Good Friday 1980 John Mackenzie 642
91 Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989 Woody Allen 647
92 The Last Emperor 1987 Bernardo Bertolucci 651
93 The Little Mermaid 1989 Ron Clements and John Musker 653
94 Repo Man 1984 Alex Cox 657
95 Heathers 1989 Michael Lehmann 663
96 Dead Ringers 1988 David Cronenberg 674
97 The Karate Kid 1984 John G. Avildsen 678
98 Top Gun 1986 Tony Scott 693
99 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 Steven Spielberg 695
100 The Big Red One 1980 Samuel Fuller 697
101 Stop Making Sense 1984 Jonathan Demme 700
102 Hoosiers 1986 David Anspaugh 701
103 Body Heat 1981 Lawrence Kasdan 702
104 Down by Law 1986 Jim Jarmusch 703
105 Planes, Trains & Automobiles 1987 John Hughes 726
106 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 1988 Pedro Almodóvar 739
107 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 1984 Hayao Miyazaki 750
108 Lethal Weapon 1987 Richard Donner 763
109 Moonstruck 1987 Norman Jewison 770
110 Midnight Run 1988 Martin Brest 773
111 First Blood 1982 Ted Kotcheff 775
112 Atlantic City 1980 Louis Malle 784
113 Au Revoir, les Enfants 1987 Louis Malle 792
114 The Vanishing 1988 George Sluizer 795
115 Empire of the Sun 1987 Steven Spielberg 812
116 The Natural 1984 Barry Levinson 832
117 Re-Animator 1985 Stuart Gordon 843
118 The Purple Rose of Cairo 1985 Woody Allen 848
119 Time Bandits 1981 Terry Gilliam 851
120 Witness 1985 Peter Weir 857
121 Roger & Me 1989 Michael Moore 861
122 The Color Purple 1985 Steven Spielberg 862
123 A Room with a View 1985 James Ivory 863
124 Wall Street 1987 Oliver Stone 868
125 My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 Stephen Frears 869
126 Pee-wee's Big Adventure 1985 Tim Burton 873
127 Tron 1982 Steven Lisberger 874
128 Labyrinth 1986 Jim Henson 876
129 Fatal Attraction 1987 Adrian Lyne 879
130 Jean de Florette 1986 Claude Berri 881
131 Local Hero 1983 Bill Forsyth 894
132 Gregory's Girl 1980 Bill Forsyth 904
133 Terms of Endearment 1983 James L. Brooks 905
134 Heaven's Gate 1980 Michael Cimino 910
135 Out of Africa 1985 Sydney Pollack 930
136 Nostalgia 1983 Andrei Tarkovsky 943
137 The Abyss 1989 James Cameron 952
138 Ordinary People 1980 Robert Redford 959
139 Superman II 1980 Richard Lester 971
140 Broadcast News 1987 James L. Brooks 972
141 Distant Voices, Still Lives 1988 Terence Davies 973
142 The Sacrifice 1986 Andrei Tarkovsky 987
143 After Hours 1985 Martin Scorsese 992
144 Near Dark 1987 Kathryn Bigelow 998
145 Dangerous Liaisons 1988 Stephen Frears 1008
146 Eight Men Out 1988 John Sayles 1032
147 Blow Out 1981 Brian De Palma 1035
148 Coming to America 1988 John Landis 1042
149 Risky Business 1983 Paul Brickman 1044
150 Sixteen Candles 1984 John Hughes 1057
151 Laputa: Castle in the Sky 1986 Hayao Miyazaki 1058
152 Babette's Feast 1987 Gabriel Axel 1065
153 The Last Temptation of Christ 1988 Martin Scorsese 1067
154 Beetlejuice 1988 Tim Burton 1072
155 Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer 1986 John McNaughton 1073
156 The Verdict 1982 Sidney Lumet 1075
157 28 Up 1984 Michael Apted 1081
158 Diner 1982 Barry Levinson 1084
159 The Killing Fields 1984 Roland Joffé 1085
160 Back to the Future Part II 1989 Robert Zemeckis 1095
161 The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover 1989 Peter Greenaway 1102
162 The Draughtsman's Contract 1982 Peter Greenaway 1116
163 Beverly Hills Cop 1984 Martin Brest 1119
164 Pretty in Pink 1986 Howard Deutch 1128
165 Gallipoli 1981 Peter Weir 1135
166 My Left Foot 1989 Jim Sheridan 1145
167 Gremlins 1984 Joe Dante 1146
168 Sophie's Choice 1982 Alan J. Pakula 1152
169 They Live 1988 John Carpenter 1164
170 Berlin Alexanderplatz 1980 Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1174
171 Hellraiser 1987 Clive Barker 1198
172 The Secret of NIMH 1982 Don Bluth 1203
173 Reds 1981 Warren Beatty 1204
174 Hairspray 1988 John Waters 1210
175 The Times of Harvey Milk 1984 Rob Epstein 1220
176 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 1988 Frank Oz 1227
177 The NeverEnding Story 1984 Wolfgang Petersen 1231
178 Sherman's March 1985 Ross McElwee 1266
179 Friday the 13th 1980 Sean S. Cunningham 1267
180 Drugstore Cowboy 1989 Gus Van Sant 1291
181 Where is the Friend's Home? 1987 Abbas Kiarostami 1297
182 Flash Gordon 1980 Mike Hodges 1302
183 Kiki’s Delivery Service 1989 Hayao Miyazaki 1305
184 Time of the Gypsies 1988 Emir Kusturica 1307
185 Day of the Dead 1985 George A. Romero 1314
186 Burden of Dreams 1982 Les Blank 1323
187 Coal Miner's Daughter 1980 Michael Apted 1326
188 Zelig 1983 Woody Allen 1328
189 Yeelen 1987 Souleymane Cissé 1342
190 My Life as a Dog 1985 Lasse Hallström 1345
191 Victor/Victoria 1982 Blake Edwards 1354
192 A Better Tomorrow 1986 John Woo 1357
193 Lost in America 1985 Albert Brooks 1365
194 Tongues Untied 1989 Marlon Riggs 1374
195 Manhunter 1986 Michael Mann 1377
196 A City of Sadness 1989 Hsiao-hsien Hou 1388
197 Henry V 1989 Kenneth Branagh 1397
198 The Dead 1987 John Huston 1406
199 Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Frank Oz 1410
200 Kagemusha 1980 Akira Kurosawa 1416
Go to the next 188 films
This page was last modified on April 21, 2020