The 1980s's discussion

Order by:

Add your comment

Do you want to let us know what you think? Just login, after which you will be redirected back here and you can leave your comments.

Comments 1 - 25 of 39

Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

Considering it's been nearly 8 years since I last posted lists of my favourite 80s movies, I feel like I should update it and keep it down to 10. It is weird how time can change opinions. I'm 38 now and have watched and rewatched hundreds upon hundreds of 80s movies since then. Here we go:

1. Blade Runner
2. Back to the Future
3. RoboCop
4. Ghostbusters
5. The Breakfast Club
6. Mad Max 2
7. Die Hard
8. Road House
9. The Terminator
10. The Empire Strikes Back

Honorable Mentions: The King of Comedy, Manon of the Spring, Return of the Jedi, Batman, The Killer, Dragons Forever, Overboard, Three Amigos, Stand By Me, Gandhi, First Blood, Ran, Beetlejuice, The Blob, Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Dune, Aliens, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Broadcast News, Three Fugitives, The Naked Gun, Dirty Dancing
4 years 2 months ago
wilyhawk's avatar

wilyhawk

Here is my personal Top 10 80s Movies:

1. Back to the Future
2. Clue
3. The Princess Bride
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark
6. Ghostbusters
7. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
8. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
9. The Goonies
10. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Others:
Dead Poets Society
Three Amigos!
Willow
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Breakfast Club
CondorMan
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
TRON
Karate Kid
UHF
Flight of Dragons
WarGames
Airplane!
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Labyrinth
Teen Wolf
Big
F/X
The Land Before Time
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Romancing The Stone
4 years 10 months ago
manute5150's avatar

manute5150

I also think Scorcese can be on that list of great modern directors.

Anyway, I have more to add from the 80s.

1) Benji The Hunted. I just love that movie. I can't believe I never saw it until about 3 months ago. It is actually in my top 3 movies of all time.

2) Midnight Run. Maybe one of DeNiro's forgotten movies, but a great one. Funny and great acting.

3) The Last Unicorn. I am not a fan of most animation, especially CGI, but this movie has a great look. Plus, it is not just for children. Actually, I think most it will go over the heads of children and may be too scary for the youngest.

4) The Plague Dogs. Another animated movie from 1982, but definitely not for kids. Great movie though.

5) The Bear aka L'ours. I just love this one. Amazing cinematography and performance by the animals.

6) Arthur. One of the funniest movies ever. Plus you get to see New York in the 80s.

7) Excalibur.

8) Empire Of The Sun

9) The Terminator

10) Predator
5 years 2 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

Once Upon a Time in America is certainly one of my favourite movies from the decade (and of all time), but there must be 10 years since I saw it now. From time to time I find myself wanting to re-watch it, but it is quite long so I just postpone it and watch something else.

The way I remember it, Roberto De Niro and especially James Woods were amazing in that movie and the scope of the movie just seemed so epic. Sergio Leone is one of just a handful of true director geniuses. I consider him to be at the highest level together with greats such as Charlie Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles and Akira Kurosawa.

Such flair from directors are sadly missing in modern movies where second unit and the editor does a lot of the work and with CGI and shaky cam further polluting the craft. There are a few with integrity, flair and a personal touch though, such as Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson.
5 years 8 months ago
manute5150's avatar

manute5150

I am so happy you gave it another chance. Once you get into a certain mindset Caddyshack reveals it's brilliance. That really made my day. So I have that going for me, which is nice:)
There are flaws, but this was the first movie Harold Ramis ever directed. It was also Rodney Dangerfield's first movie. It seems from what I saw in interviews that many people on this film were still figuring out what to do. Caddyshack was kind of an experiment that worked.

Also, I want to add "One Upon A Time In America" to my 80s list. That movie is probably my favorite from the 80s, and would most likely go in my Top 10 of all time.
5 years 11 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

For some reason, I found myself watching Caddshack for the third time. Finally it clicked for me, and now I consider it a comic gem. It is certainly flawed, but when I could just ignore those parts, I found, that there is so much to like :-)
6 years 2 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

I gave Caddyshack another chance. Nope, still don't like it, though slightly better than I remember it.
10 years 7 months ago
manute5150's avatar

manute5150

Blade,Runner and This is,Spinal Tap should be on my list also.
Caddy Shack is one of the greatest quote movies of all time. Please give it another chance.
10 years 9 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

Nice list. Road House is very underrated. Seen that movie three times - just so entertaining! High five on all your entries - except Caddyshack - did not like that movie at all. Perhaps I should re-watch it one of these days and try to figure out what I missed. It is certainly popular enough. As two new top 10 lists have been submitted to this message board since my last publication of our joint list - I have updated it. Check it out!

The 1980s Group Top 60
10 years 9 months ago
manute5150's avatar

manute5150

Here are ten of my favorites from the 80s.

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rain Man
The Empire Strikes Back
Caddy Shack
The Blues Brothers
Wall Street
Road House
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Aliens
Full Metal Jacket
10 years 9 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

Wow. That was a highly original list. I haven't even heard about those first ten movies except "Jumpin Jack Flash", which I've seen but don't remember anything from. I've seen all the movies on your additional ten however and agree 100 % on the underrated Overboard, bur remember suffering through The Last Unicorn. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood :-)
11 years 4 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

I love all of those movies except E.T. and Evil Dead II which I consider to be good movies, but not great in my opinion, though I would really like to see good old E.T. again, and not partly computer generated E.T.. I hate all those computer enhanced effects like on the Star Wars movies. For some reason it makes the movie seem more fake to me. Your selections added two new movies to our common list: Predator and Gremlins. Great over-the-top movies who know it's all about the entertainment. I'd choose Predator over serious movies such as Platoon any day. Gremlins is one of my favourite Christmas movies (together with Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). Here is the updated list with your first ten non-ranked selections given 5 points each:

The 1980s Group Top 60
11 years 8 months ago
Battlejayroyale's avatar

Battlejayroyale

My top 10 (In no order)

1) The empire strikes back
2) Back to the future
3) Aliens
4) Die hard
5) Ghostbusters
6) Raiders of the lost ark
7) E.T.
8) Predator
9) Terminator
10) Gremlins

And just because there are to many good movies:

11) Robocop
12) Airplane!
13) A nightmare on elm street
14) Lethal weapon
15) First blood
16) Batman
17) Evil dead 2
18) Beetlejuice
19) Grave of the fireflies
20) The naked gun
11 years 8 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

Immediatly I had to update our "1980s group favourites from the 80s list" as another member submitted her top 10. Several new entries made their way into the list such as the French "Jean de Florette", three Japanese animated movies got points and Back to the Future snatced another 7 points, standing proudly at the top with 44 points, given from 6 out of 7 list submitting members (and the last member had it at number 11, I've heard). As promised, I've submitted the updated list on this forum.

The 1980s Group Top 60
11 years 9 months ago
Natashenka's avatar

Natashenka

My top 10:

1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. Jean de Florette
3. Grave of the Fireflies
4. Ghostbusters
5. Back to the Future
6. The Colour Purple
7. Castle in the Sky
8. Empire of the Sun
9. Amadeus
10. Ordinary People
11 years 9 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

A new top 10 entry is immediatly followe by an update of the groups own top 80s list. My Neighbour Totoro is the only new contestant on the list, debuting at number 15. NausicaƤ i climbing 18 positions to claim the title of fastest rising star.
11 years 9 months ago
Tamori's avatar

Tamori

My top 10:

1. The king of comedy
2. Tonari no Totoro
3. Blade Runner
4. Star Wars: Episode V
5. Kaze no tani no Naushika
6. The fly
7. The Princess Bride
8. Brazil
9. Amadeus
10. Blue Velvet
11 years 9 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

Great list! I love all of those movies except "The Goonies". I've watched it twice and when I watch it I feel like I should like it: an 80s adventure flick with several great young actors (especially Brolin, Astin & Feldman) and with an excellent production team (such as Spielberg and Donner) and a good reputation, but for some reason I don't. I didn't see it as a child and I think a bit of nostalgia might be important in order to appreciate the movie fully today. I can easily see that I would have loved this movie if I saw it when I was a child in the 80.

5 members have submitted their top 10 lists and therefore I've created a compilation list for this group where I calculate points for all movies, add them together and see which movies are the most popular in this particular group (from the 80s). Keep posting top 10s and I will update the list.
11 years 9 months ago
RitchievsGabriel's avatar

RitchievsGabriel

My Top 10 (No Particular Order)

- Nightmare on elm Street
- Back to the Future
- Aliens
- Die Hard
- Ferris Bueller's day off
- Airplane!
- The Fly
- The Goonies
- Ghostbusters
- Poltergeist
11 years 9 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

So far 4 of you have submitted your top 10 of the decade, but we have ten members (at the moment of writing). Let's breathe some fresh air into this group and get your opinions published. If we get ten top ten lists published in this forum, then I will make an iCheck-list where I rank our selections. That would be an interesting way of following, seeing and ticking off some of the favourite movies of our fellow 80s connoisseurs.
11 years 9 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

How could I forget "The Karate Kid" in the martial arts category!? I have now edited my original post on that genre to include that great movie. I loved that movie as a child and when I watched it again as an adult I thought it had truly stood the test of time as an American classic. "The Killer" is a great choice and a long time favorite of mine, but just lost out to my five other pics. There are some movies among your pics that I haven't seen yet. I will seek them out very soon :-)
11 years 11 months ago
CAD's avatar

CAD

Action
1. Commando
2. Die Hard
3. Dip huet seung hung a.k.a. The Killer
4. Beverly Hills Cop II
5. Cobra

Adventure / Fantasy
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. The Princess Bride
3. Highlander
4. The Beastmaster
5. The Goonies

I may have had these ordered differently in my overall top 50, but since this is all 80's by genre...I think these all fall into their categories well, though most of my Action picks are cop movies, and can be considered Crime, but due to the heavy amount of Action, I believe it's best placed here.
11 years 11 months ago
CAD's avatar

CAD

OK, since I probably won't have time this weekend since I'm moving, I'll post my pick now. I'll start with your suggestions Zeltaebar. Remember, these are my favorites, and not necessarily the best of the decade, though I believe my taste in films is pretty varied in a good way. :)

War
1. Full Metal Jacket
2. Glory
3. Rambo: First Blood Part II
4. Platoon
5. Missing in Action

Three of these are a given, but the other two are definitely personal favs...I mean, it's Rambo and Chuck Norris!

Martial Arts
1. Karate Kid
2. The Last Dragon
3. Bloodsport
4. No Retreat, No Surrender
5. Ninja III: The Domination

LOL...I laugh at my own pics, but they are so 80's fantastic! :) My true Martial Arts favs are Shaw Bros. and 90's Jet Li, but these are my American 80's favs!
11 years 11 months ago
Zeltaebar's avatar

Zeltaebar

OK - Here is one for animation as well. As this is a "genre" I like very much, I'm going to make it a top 10. There were many great animated movies in the 80s, but with the exception of the movies from Studio Ghibli, they don't have a good reputation. It is often considered to be one of the weakest periods for Disney and other movies have been slaughtered by modern movie critics (Empire gave "Fire and Ice" a one star rating). Especially the last two entries on my list are controversial. There might be some nostalgic reasons for my selection of Oliver & Company as it was the first movie I can remember seeing in the cinema as a child. Some will no doubt say it's a crime that I didn't include "My Neighbour Totoro" or "Kiki's Delivery Service". I like both those movies, but find the former to be too slow and childish, while the latter almost made the list, but just fell short because I thought I had ten better candidates. Let me know if you people think I left out something else that should have been included, maybe I haven't seen it yet. Feel free to submit your own top 10 animated movies of the 80s. Here are my selections:

Animation
1. Castle in the Sky
2. NausicaƤ of the Valley of the Wind
3. The Great Mouse Detective
4. Barefoot Gen
5. Akira
6. Heavy Metal
7. Secret of Nimh
8. When the Wind Blows
9. Fire and Ice
10. Oliver & Company
11 years 11 months ago
CAD's avatar

CAD

Good stuff. I like your picks. Lots of favorites there. How can I forget War and Martial Arts...duh. I like that you have Overboard in there. One of my underrated favs. I guess that one would fall under the Romantic Comedy sub-genre. I also forgot Animated films, which should be fall into a separate category, I think, but can be many different things. The Princess Bride is one of those movies that fit into multiple categories. "WRONG. Your ears you keep and I'll tell you why. So that every shriek of every child at seeing your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every woman who cries out, "Dear God! What is that thing," will echo in your perfect ears. That is what to the pain means. It means I leave you in anguish, wallowing in freakish misery forever." One of the best lines of insult in movie history.
I had that problem with the text dissapearing on me too. Copy it first and retry it if it doesn't go through the first time.
11 years 11 months ago

Showing items 1 – 25 of 39

View comments