Films of the Decade: 1980s
The 1980s was a great period in time for many reasons but perhaps none more so than the movies. This decade, perhaps more than any other, has an almost unfair amount of blockbusters and personal favourites that make it so incredibly hard to narrow down to a Top 10.
I’m going to miss off your favourite and before you close this blog in anger, please note that my “shortlist” had 32 movies. Because of that, there is no room for any honourable mentions.
And one other rule too, no multiple films from the same franchise in the Top 10. If I really enjoy one, I’ll include it in the post about that film.
And as a reminder, I’m looking for movies that I enjoy - perhaps not the most popular or important or perhaps on most people’s list.
10. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 91%
IMDb: 7.1
Budget: $25m
Box Office: $39.064m
And we’re off - already potentially a bit of a curve ball? ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ is a horror comedy musical directed by Frank Oz. This film was an adaptation of an off-broadway musical composed by none other than Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. If you think you recognise those names; these are the musical maestros behind the Disney Renaissance and more: ‘The Little Mermaid’ (1989), ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (1991), ‘Aladdin’ (1992) and much more.
The film centres on a floral shop worker who discovers a sentient carnivorous plant that feeds on human blood.
Without giving too much away, the original ending to the film was reshot due to test audiences not liking it. The theatrical version is now much harder to come by and I have only read descriptions and seen clips. Most versions post 2012 now just feature the original ending, which having read a blow by blow is a much better version.
For those who love musicals, this is one not to miss.
9. Blade Runner (1982)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 89%
IMDb: 8.1
Budget: $30m
Box Office: $41.767m
Classically misunderstood by audiences and most critics when it first released in 1982, it has since gone on to become regarded as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time.
When you speak to people about ‘Blade Runner’, the first question that people often ask is ‘Which cut?’. This film has a total of no less than 4 released versions
- The US Theatrical release (1982)
- The International Theatrical release (1982)
- The Director’s Cut (1992)
- The Final Cut (2007)
For me, the best version is ‘The Final Cut’. This was the one that director Ridley Scott had complete artistic control on.
A sequel was released in 2017, ‘Blade Runner 2049’ to critical acclaim but alas to disappointing box office returns.
A franchise perhaps always ahead of its time.
8. Ghostbusters (1984)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 95%
IMDb: 7.8
Budget: $25m
Box Office: $296.640m
Is there another example of a theme song to a film being more recognisable to general audiences than the film itself? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not for one moment saying that ‘Ghostbusters’ isn’t a cultural phenomenon but I reckon you could round up 10 people and they’d have all heard the song but would they have seen the film?
A cast of absolute comedy legends brings this film to life: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Rick Moranis - just dripping with talent.
The film, for the era, carried a hefty budget largely down to the expensive special and practical effects needed. In fact, it was the first comedy film to have special effects on this scale and cost.
Like so many films, this film almost had a completely different fate. How well do you think the film would have done with the name ‘Ghoststoppers’? Or ‘Ghostbreakers’? Certainly, we wouldn’t have been able to sing along to the line, ‘Bustin’ makes me feel good!’ This ultimately came down to a rights issue that was thankfully resolved and the rest is now history.
The franchise is still going strong and is refreshing in a way given that out of the 5 released films, not one of them has crossed $300m. The 6th film is apparent in production - hopefully will better received than ‘Frozen Empire’ (2024).
7. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 93%
IMDb: 8.7
Budget: $30.5m
Box Office: $550.016m
Now, a quick confession and something you’ll see in other rankings in the future, I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan. This is even despite my brothers’ best attempts. It’s a franchise that I have always wanted to get into but never fully been able to. Some of the recent content produced too by Disney hasn’t exactly helped. That said, one Star Wars film that I do really enjoy is this one. This was of course, the sequel to ‘A New Hope’ (1977) and was understandably highly-anticipated given the huge success of the first film. Upon release, the film became the highest grossing film of 1980 but was met with mixed reviews from both critics and fans who were initially unsure about the darker and more more mature themes.
The ensemble cast all returned for this sequel: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher among them. Elevated once again by the masterful score of John Williams. I do sometimes wonder where this franchise would have been without such captivating music.
Like so many other films on this list, there has been a critical reassessment of the film. It is now, and in my opinion as well, considered the best Star Wars film made. One aspect in particular that was considered groundbreaking was the cliffhanger ending. In my opinion, the only film that can rival this has been ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018) and I personally feel that the Marvel ending trumps this one.
Another area of praise that Star Wars films across the board receive is their use of practical effects and use of filming on location. One location they filmed was in Norway to replicate the ice planet ‘Hoth’. Unfortunately, the filming coincided with the area’s worst snowstorm in half a century. Scenes could only be prepared a few hours in advance as the snow would fill the area gain.
Given the divisive reception that the middle in the two later trilogies received (‘Attack of the Clones’ (2002) and ‘The Last Jedi’ (2017)), it just goes to show what success ‘Empire’ was.
6. Clue (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 72%
IMDb: 7.3
Budget: $15m
Box Office: $14.647m
Okay. So if you hadn’t already given up after ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, I feel I may lose you here. ‘Clue’ was a murder mystery black comedy film based on the board game of the same name. In the UK, the game is called ‘Cluedo’.
This film has acting pedigree throughout: Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry and Christopher Lloyd just to name a few. The film is set in 1954 with six strangers (you don’t need to be a detective to work out their character names) are invited to a secluded New England mansion. And then yes, murder and hilarity ensues.
So, i know you’re probably thinking that this is just a run of the mill murder mystery? What’s special about this. For me, it comes down to what this film attempted to do - something I haven’t seen too much of ever. It sent three different endings out so that audiences would not know which ending they were about to see. I’m not going to spoil any but I will go as far to say that Ending C was my favourite. Weirdly, a fourth was filmed but the director, Jonathan Lynn removed it as he didn’t feel that it was very good.
It opened to middling reviews and did not find a home with audiences at the time. But since this, it has only grown in popularity and has discovered a cult following.
There have been talks since 2011 about rebooting it and even had a director attached - Gore Verbinski (‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’) down to direct. It’s gone through many changes including becoming a worldwide mystery and also having Hollywood stars attached such as Ryan Reynolds, Scarlett Johansson and Jason Bateman. Whether anything gets made, we’ll see. But for now, I implore you to check this film out.
5. Top Gun (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 59%
IMDb: 7.0
Budget: $15m
Box Office: $357.288m
You could say that this is the film that propelled Tom Cruise into A-List territory. Somewhere he has stayed for almost 40 years..! Just like with ‘Ghostbusters’, it’s another example of movies and music going hand in hand. Whilst, ‘Ghostbusters’ might have one of the most recognisable songs of all time, this film has one of the most recognisable soundtracks of all time. The soundtrack in the US has reached 9x Platinum alone.
Despite the film being incredibly popular with audiences, critics were less enthused and really did split them down the middle. All critics praised the aerial footage but when action wasn’t on screen, critics felt that there wasn’t much else for the film to offer. As mentioned, audiences didn’t mind and it became the highest grossing film released in the US in 1986.
The influence this film had was huge. People likened the film to be being a long recruitment video for the Navy. IN fact, the Navy had recruitment booths in certain locations to attract overly enthusiastic fans upon leaving the movie. Modern analysis indicates that total Navy enlistments increased by 8% upon the release of the film. What made this films so breathtaking, especially in 1986, was the use of the practical stunts. Real planes were used throughout. Paramount paid over $20,000 an hour in today’s money for fuel and other operating costs whenever military aircraft was flown outside their normal duties.
A sequel, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, released in 2022 to huge critical and commercial success and was considered to be the saviour of the big screen following the COVID-19 pandemic. To nobody’s surprise, ‘Top Gun 3’ is in active development. Talk about big boots to follow!
4. Aliens (1986)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 94%
IMDb: 8.4
Budget: $18.5m
Box Office: $131.060m
One of the rare examples where the sequel is better than the original - though do not get me wrong, I still very much rate ‘Alien’ (1979). The film, directed by James Cameron, is set in the far future and stars Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship.
Weirdly, despite ‘Alien’ being a smash hit, there was a lack of enthusiasm from 20th Century Fox in pursuing a sequel. That wouldn’t happen in this day and age! It seems weird to say but when Cameron was brought on board in 1983, he was relatively inexperienced. It even went as far that Weaver rejected initial offers to return and despite being interested after reading the script, still had to be convinced that the film wasn’t being made purely for financial reasons.
The dramas still continued during production. The film crew working on the film were dismissive of Cameron for his relative inexperience with Cameron even attempting to get the film production moved out of London due to the fractious relationship.
The film opened to generally positive reviews and since then the film has only gone up in people’s estimations and is now considered to be one of the greatest sequels and science fiction films ever made.
3. The Goonies (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 77%
IMDb: 7.7
Budget: $19m
Box Office: $64.539m
If this was made when I was a teenager, I think this film would have ended one place higher. Another Amblin Entertainment production and another smash hit - though perhaps not at the box office. The plot is iconic and needs little from me: a group of kids attempting to save their homes from foreclosure and discover an old treasure map. This is a film that can be revisited time and time again and find something new to enjoy. It brings nostalgia as many Amblin films of this era do.
I know I have talked about casts a lot but this managed to cast future all-timers: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin and Ke Huy Quan to name but a few. Well done to that casting director! The film was directed by Richard Donner. Donner, of course famous for ‘Superman’, had never worked with so many children before on set but had lots of praise for them.
This film has had talks of a sequel or spin-off for almost 20 years. But officially, in the last year, it was confirmed that ‘Goonies 2’ has gone into development. Fingers crossed that it doesn’t tarnish the legacy and can enthral another generation.
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 94%
IMDb: 8.4
Budget: $20m
Box Office: $389.926m
I’ve recently coveted this film on my Spielberg rankings so I won’t dwell on this one for too long. If you want more of a summary, click here: https://apopcornmovieblog.blogspot.com/2025/06/director-deep-dive-steven-spielberg.html
One little extra kernel from me though. Interestingly, pre-release polling of audiences showed there was little excitement for this film. It was being pummelled in rankings by ‘Superman II’. However, upon release ‘Raiders’ was a smash hit with audiences and critics. It ultimately ended up being the biggest release of 1981 and gave birth to a new franchise which has gone on to have 4 follow up films, a television series, novels, video games and theme park attractions across the globe. Not bad for a film that not many were looking forward to.
1. Back to the Future (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes Critics: 93%
IMDb: 8.5
Budget: $19m
Box Office: $385.053m
What on earth can I say about this film that hasn’t already been said? Honestly, it is a masterpiece. Anyone who knows me knows that I love anything to do with time travel so it’s hardly a surprise to see the film sit proudly as my #1 release of the 1980s.
From the tinkling of that magical score from Alan Silvestri, to Doc Brown’s DeLorean and the iconic script that is still quoted today - this film has stood the test of time and has only grown in popularity. But of course, it could have all been so different. Marty McFly is an amazing character because of Michael J Fox but despite Fox being the frontrunner, he was unavailable to shoot the film. Eric Stoltz was cast instead and filming started. However, writer and director Robert Zemeckis decided that Stoltz was not right and they managed to get Fox in. I wonder in a parallel universe whether that film came out and what it would have been like.
This film was the first of a trilogy and whilst have a real soft spot for Part II - and it may have even cracked this Top 10 but for my rule at the top - this is by far the best of the bunch. Just like ‘Raiders’ below it, this film went on to become the biggest release of the year winning countless awards along the way.
It is still as popular now as it was in the 1980s. In 2021, ‘Back to the Future: The Musical’ opened in the West End and is still there today. It also opened in 2023 on Broadway. Universal, the studio behind the movies, continues to market and promote it having recently opened an escape room themed to the movie at their Universal Orlando Resort. A theme park ride themed to the films also expected at the upcoming Universal Studios Great Britain.
In an era of legacy sequels, and that’s a ranking for another day, it does both make me happy yet disappointed but mostly surprised that another sequel hasn’t been greenlit. Perhaps it’s better left untouched.
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