The Greatest 80’s Movies (according to… who?)

If there is any decade with classic movies that people like to talk about the most, it’s definitely the 1980’s. It is one of the most interesting decades to compare movie lists: the ones the critics love; the ones that broke box office records; the ones are looked at today with strong feelings of nostalgia, etc., etc. It makes you wonder, “Is it really even possible to boil it down to a handful of top greats?”

As for movie lists, there is no shortage of them. I’ve decided to take a look at some of the most notable ones out there and how the 80’s shake out on them. I focused on the lists that are the most recognized, that get the most traffic, the most references, etc. Let’s start with the list that first inspired this blog:

IMDb Top 250. This list contains 26 movies from the 80’s, an here are the 5 that show up highest on the list:

1. The Empire Strikes Back (1980), #15

2. Back to the Future (1985), #30

3. Grave of the Fireflies (1988, Japan), #37

4. Cinema Paradiso (1987, Italy), #48

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), #59

AFI Top 100.

1. Raging Bull (1980), #24, #4

2. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), #25, #24

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), #60, #66

4. Tootsie (1982), #62, #69

5. Platoon (1986), #83, #86

Rotten Tomatoes. It’s very hard to come up with a list from this site, but they did release a top 300 all-time greatest movies list based on various factors including tomatometer score, popcorn score, etc. The 80’s didn’t do great on this list, but here are where the top 5 showed up:

1. Grave of the Fireflies (1988), #68

2. Tampopo (1985, Japan), #79

3. Fanny and Alexander (1982, Sweden), #97

4. The Terminator (1984), #108

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), #133

Sight and Sound. This is the British version of AFI, but their list takes in more than just American-made movies. Also, it was determined from input from actual directors: the movies they appreciate, respect, and love. Here is their top 80’s movies:

1. Do the Right Thing (1989), #24

2. Shoah (1985, Holocaust documentary from France), #27

3. Blade Runner (1954), #54

4. Sans Soleil (1982, France), #59

5. My Neighbour Totoro (1988, Japan), #72

Rolling Stone Magazine.

I always love reading Rolling Stones’ lists of anything. They have kind of always been a good gauge for what is considered cool in pop culture. They released a ranked list of the greatest 80’s movies, and the following made their top 5:

1. Do the Right Thing (1989)

2. Videodrome (1983, Canada)

3. Raging Bull (1980)

4. Blue Velvet (1986)

5. Ran (1985, Japan)

EmpireOnline.com. Empire is the UK’s leading film magazine, and one of the most influential ones at that. Here is their top 5: 

1. Empire Strikes Back (1980), #2 [Hmmm… I wonder if this selection had anything to do with the magazine’s want for brand recognition]

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), #9

3. Back to the Future (1985), #13

4. Blade Runner (1982), #16

5. Aliens (1986), #17

They Shoot Pictures Don’t They? This is a very interesting list. It’s a site that takes all the most known and respected lists and aggregates them into one big list. In their top 1000, here are the top 80’s flicks: 

1. Raging Bull, #35

2. Blade Runner, #39

3. Fanny and Alexander, #64

4. Shoah, #65

5. Do the Right Thing, #71

THE BIG WINNERS

I haven’t done any aggregating myself, but after perusing all of these lists, I have to say that there seemed to be five that came out looking the best. I’d say the winners were the following, and in order:

1. Raging Bull

2. Do the Right Thing

3. Blade Runner

4. 
   

5. TIE: Fanny and Alexander and Blue Velvet. Close on their heels would be Back to the Future, The Terminator, and E.T., and Shoah.

I would add that in Rolling Stones’ list of the greatest 80’s films, our movie of the week came in at #18, beating out the likes of , , , , and . Pretty impressive. So…

Congratulations . This is your week.

Best Actress:

Ione Skye as Diane Court in

Best Actor: Jack Black as Barry Judd in

Best Quote: [Lane waves at two tree trimmers from the cargo hold of a garbage truck] “Now that’s a real shame when folks be throwin’ away a perfectly good white boy like that.” – Steven Williams as a tree trimmer in

My own personal top 10 favourite 80’s movies

1. Uncle Buck (1989)

2. The Breakfast Club (1985)

3. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

4. The Princess Bride (1987)

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

6. Rain Man (1988)

7. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)

8. Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

9. Empire Strikes Back (1980)

10. Back to the Future (1985)

For years my #1 was Empire, mostly for the nostalgia factor. But because of my daughter Erika, BTTF now has greater nostalgic power and has become my #1.