1980s in film

The decade of the 1980s in film involved many significant films.
==Events==
The 1980s saw the continued rise of the blockbuster, an increased amount of nudity in film and the increasing emphasis in the American industry on film franchises, especially in the science fiction, horror, and action genres. Much of the reliance on these effect-driven blockbusters was due in part to the Star Wars films at the advent of this decade and the new cinematic effects it helped to pioneer.
The teen comedy sub-genre saw its popularity rise during this decade.
In the US, the PG-13 rating was introduced in 1984, to accommodate films that straddled the line between PG and R.
==Top grossing films==
The following are the 10 top-grossing films of the decade:
# E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), $435 million
# Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983), $309 million
# Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), $290 million
# Batman (1989), $251 million
# Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), $245 million
# Ghostbusters (1984), $238 million
# Beverly Hills Cop (1984), $234 million
# Back to the Future (1985), $210 million
# Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), $197 million
# Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), $179 million
#Case 25 (1987)
In the list, where revenues are equal numbers, the newer films are listed lower, due to inflation making the dollar-amount lower compared to earlier years.
==Trends==
The films of the 1980s covered many genres, with hybrids crossing between multiple genres. The trend strengthened towards creating ever-larger blockbuster films, which earned more in their opening weeks than any previous film, due in part to staging releases when audiences had little else to choose. Even today you can still see people wearing 80 s tee shirts that were featured in popular 80's movies.
* blockbusters - The decade started by continuing the blockbuster boom of the mid-'70s. The sequel to 1977's Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, opened in May, 1980 becoming the highest-grossing film of the year. The film is considered among the best of films of the decade (it being the highest rated '80s film on IMDb). It was followed by Return of the Jedi (1983) finishing the trio. It perfectly set the euphoric fantastical tone of many of the similar films to come. Superman II was released in Europe and Australia in late 1980 but not distributed in the United States until June 1981. Though now seen as campier over the original 1978 Superman, Superman II was received with a positive reaction. From the success of The Empire Strikes Back, creator George Lucas teamed up with director Steven Spielberg to create one of the most iconic characters in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark starring Harrison Ford, who had also co-starred in The Empire Strikes Back. The story about an archaeologist and adventurer, Indiana Jones (Ford), hired by the U.S. government to go on a quest for the mystical lost Ark of the Covenant, created waves of interest in old 1930s style cliffhanger serials. It became the highest grossing film of 1981, leading to sequels all in the top-10 films of the decade. In 1982, Spielberg directed his family, fairy-tale science-fiction blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which shattered all records, earning 40% more than any Star-Wars film, and double or triple the renevue of 46 of the top 50 films.
* science-fiction - Continuing the eighties' science-fiction boom was Australian post-apocalyptic science fiction Mad Max 2, with a leather-clad outlaw fighting road barbarians in the futuristic desert wasteland. Another futuristic adventure released the same year, Escape from New York, also saw an anti-hero set in a dystopian future. In 1982, yet another film set in a dystopian feature, the Tech-noirish Blade Runner starred Harrison Ford as a detective searching for renegade androids. Science fiction films aimed at younger audiences included the two Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as the Back to the Future trilogy and Steven Spielberg's E.T..
* thriller - The eighties saw an immense amount of thriller films, many being of an erotic nature, including Fatal Attraction (1987) and Body Heat (1981). Perhaps one of the most influential examples of 80s thriller films was David Lynch's bizarre cult classic Blue Velvet (1986), which dealt with the underworld of a seemingly idyllic American suburbia, a subject which has spawned many inferior imitations well into the first decade of the 21st century and Stanley Kubrick's horror/thriller The Shining (1980). Outside of film, Michael Jackson was inspired by the genre to create the extremely successful album Thriller in 1983.
* fantasy - Fantasy film saw a resurgence particularly in sword and sorcery films. In 1981, Dragonslayer, Excalibur and Raiders of the Lost Ark started it off, but it was 1982's Conan the Barbarian which caused the fantasy explosion. The epic starred Arnold Schwarzenegger in his acting breakthrough as he began his ascent to stardom. Loosely based on the original tales by Robert E. Howard, the film was written by the unlikely pairing of Oliver Stone and John Milius. Its sequel followed in 1984 with the light-weight Conan the Destroyer. Schwarzenegger returned again to a similar sword-wielding role in 1985's Red Sonja. The same year similar films followed such as The Sword and the Sorcerer, The Beastmaster and the Ator films. Fairy-tale fantasy was also popular such as The Neverending Story (1984), Legend (1985), and The Princess Bride (1987). Disney's Return to Oz a big-budget sequel to 1939's classic The Wizard of Oz, was a major flop, yet became a major success on home video.
* drama - Among the historical, romantic, and dramatic films, several were well received at the box office, including Rain Man (1988), Fatal Attraction (1987), On Golden Pond (1981), Terms of Endearment (1983), The Color Purple (1985) and Out of Africa (1985). Also notable in critical success were Gandhi (1982), Sophie's Choice (also 1982) and A Passage to India (1984).
* westerns - A stylish form of western was evolving, with films such as Pale Rider (film), Silverado (both 1985) and Young Guns (1988).
* horror - Creativity from 1970s horror films extended throughout the 1980s, except having more gore, with many successful '80s horror films having numerous sequels as their murderers were themselves unstoppable. Stanley Kubrick directed his horror film The Shining (1980). The creative and gory The Evil Dead (1981) with its secluded atmosphere is seen by many as one of the best in its genre leading to its inevitable sequel Evil Dead II in 1987. Halloween director John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) shocked audiences in its effects, as did David Cronenberg's graphic and gory Scanners (1982). Sequels to Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) were the popular face of horror films in the 1980s, unkillable as their antagonists were, a trend reviled by most critics. David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly was released a few weeks before the James Cameron film Aliens. Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator (1985), Dan O'Bannon's The Return of the Living Dead, and Lloyd Kaufman's The Toxic Avenger (all 1985), soon followed. And films such as Ghostbusters, Joe Dante's Gremlins, (both 1984), and Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1988) started a trend for horror comedies. Child's Play (1988) started the popular killer doll franchise (Child's Play (film series)) starring Brad Dourif as the now infamous killer doll Chucky (Child's Play).
* comedies - The#5, #11 and#13 top films of the 1980s were comedy films: Ghostbusters (1984), which out-sold all the Indiana Jones films, Tootsie (1982) and Three Men and a Baby (1987). The disaster films of the previous decade were spoofed in the gag comedy Airplane!, paving the way for more of the same including its 1982 sequel Airplane II: The Sequel, Top Secret! (1984) and the Naked Gun films. Popular comedy stars in the '80s included Leslie Nielsen, John Candy, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Rick Moranis, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. Many had come to prominence on the American TV series Saturday Night Live, including Bill Murray, Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. Eddie Murphy made a success of comedy-action films including 48 Hrs. (1982) and the Beverly Hills Cop series (1984–1993). Also in the top-50 films were the romantic comedies Crocodile Dundee (1986), Crocodile Dundee II (1988) and Arthur (1981).
* teen comedies - Influenced largely by 1978's National Lampoon's Animal House, the decade also saw the continued rise of teen comedies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky's and Revenge of the Nerds (the later two of these had sequels). Also popular were the films of John Hughes such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986). He later created the Home Alone series of the 1990s. "Home Alone" was one movie in a revival in comedies aimed at a family audience, along with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) and its 1990s sequels (1992, 1997-video direct). Heathers (1989) provided a tongue-in-cheek approach to the teenage comedy genre; showcasing the murders (disguised as suicides) of several popular students at an American high school. Other notable comedies of the decade include the gender-swap film Tootsie (1982), Broadcast News (1987), and a brief spate of age-reversal films including Big, 18 Again!, Vice Versa and Like Father, Like Son.
* sequels - Also notable were the Police Academy series of broad comedies, produced between 1984 and 1993. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a trend emerged toward the release of sequels based on previously successful productions. Among the sequels were Damien: Omen II, Revenge of the Pink Panther, The Final Conflict (aka Omen III: The Final Conflict), Grease 2, Trail of the Pink Panther, The Great Muppet Caper, Porky's II: The Next Day and Porky's Revenge.
* rite-of-passage - Beyond just the teenagers "coming-of-age" stories, more complex "rite-of-passage" films had older actors changing or transforming through the rituals. So although teenagers were the focus of 1983's Risky Business, 1984's The Karate Kid and its sequels (1986, 1989) and 1985's The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire brat-pack genre, older people with troubled lives were the subjects of Top Gun (1986) or An Officer and a Gentleman in trying to become a fighter pilot, Flashdance 's female welder transforming into a ballet dancer, and Cocoon 's (1985) elderly set overcoming old age. Even The Big Chill (1983) reunion was a rite-of-passage which challenged old classmates to redirect their lives after the suicide of a friend.
* action-films - In the seventies, action films usually focused on maverick police officers, however, the action film did not become a dominant form in Hollywood until the '80s, when it was popularized by actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris and Bruce Willis. Stallone continued the Rocky series and starred in 1982's First Blood about a returning Vietnam War veteran fighting a small town sheriff and its sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II. Vietnam War films grew in popularity in the '80s, from being a film subject which was still seen as a taboo in the '70s. Movies like Platoon and Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket made the war a subject. Chuck Norris starred in the Missing in Action trilogy (1984, 1985, 1988) about a Vietnam veteran going back to rescue POWs. Schwarzenegger starred in The Terminator (1984), Commando (1986), and Predator (1987). The 1988 film Die Hard was particularly influential on the development of the genre in the subsequent decade. In the film, Bruce Willis plays a New York City police detective who inadvertently becomes embroiled in a terrorist take-over of a Los Angeles office block.
* James Bond - The James Bond film series entered its third decade in 1981 with Roger Moore starring in the more realistic For Your Eyes Only after the outlandish excess of Moonraker in 1979. The decade saw the beginning of a new era for Bond since the previous decade's directors originally directed a 1960s Bond, the new director brought to the series, John Glen, criticized for a less stylistic and more "workman" style of direction, directed all the EON Bond films from 1981 to 1989. Moonraker was the last for regular Bernard Lee who portrayed Bond's boss M. For the 1980s Bonds, a collection of numerous MI6 superiors would brief Bond on his missions. 1983 was a significant year for the series as a non-EON Bond was released, Never Say Never Again, directed by The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner with Sean Connery returning to the role for the last time since 1971's Diamonds are Forever; it was competing with the next EON film, Octopussy at the box-office with media dubbing the situation 'The Battle of the Bonds'. Even lesser known in the same year was one-time Bond George Lazenby appearing in the TV-reunion film The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. as a Bond-like character "JB". A View to a Kill (1985) was the last for Roger Moore before Timothy Dalton was chosen as the new Bond in 1987's The Living Daylights and lastly in 1989's Licence to Kill.
==List of films==
===0–9===
* 1969 (1988)
* 24 Hours of Explicit Sex (1985)
* 36 Fillette (1988)
* 48 Hrs. (1982)
* '68 (1988)
* 9½ Weeks (1986)
* 18 Again! (1988) George Burns
===A===
* About Last Night (1986)
* Above the Law (1988)
* The Abyss (1989)
* The Accidental Tourist (1988)
* The Accused (1988)
* Action Jackson (1988)
* Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
* The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
* The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1986)
* After Death (1988)
* After Hours (1985)
* After the Rehearsal (1984) (TV)
* Against All Odds (1984)
* Airplane! (1980)
* Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)
* Alice (1988)
* Alien Nation (1988)
* Aliens (1986)
* Alligator (1980)
* All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)
* All Of Me (1984)
* Altered States (1980)
* Amadeus (1984)
* Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)
* American Pop (1981)
* An American Tail (1986)
* An American Werewolf in London (1981)
* Android (1982)
* An Eye for an Eye (1981)
* Angel (1984)
* Angel Heart (1987)
* Annie (1982)
* Another Woman (1988)
* As Tears Go By (1988)
* Atlantic City (1981)
* Au revoir, les enfants (1988)
===B===
* Baby It's You (1983)
* Back to School (1986)
* Back to the Future (1985)
* Back to the Future Part II (1989)
* Bad Boys (1983)
* Bad Taste (1987)
* La Bamba (1987)
* Batman (1989)
* *batteries not included (1987)
* The Battle for Endor (1985) (TV)
* Beaches (1988)
* The Beast (1988)
* Beat Street (1984)
* Le Beau Mariage (A Good Marriage) (1982)
* Beetlejuice (1988)
* Below the Belt (1980)
* The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
* Betrayed (1988)
* Better Off Dead (1985)
* Betty Blue (1986)
* Betty Boop for President: The Movie (1980)
* Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
* Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
* Big (1988)
* Big Business (1988 film) (1988)
* The Big Chill (1983)
* The Big Red One (1980)
* Big Top Pee-wee (1988)
* Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
* The Bigger the Better (1984)
* Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
* The Black Cauldron (1985)
* Blade Runner (1982)
* Blind Date (1987)
* The Blob (1988)
* The Blue Lagoon (1980)
* The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
* Blue Velvet (1986)
* The Blues Brothers (1980)
* Body Double (1984)
* Body Heat (1981)
* The Boost (1988)
* Das Boot (1982)
* Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
* The Bounty (1984)
* Boyfriends and Girlfriends (L'Ami de mon amie) (1987)
* Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988)
* Brazil (1985)
* Breaker Morant (1980)
* The Breakfast Club (1985)
* Breakin' (1984)
* Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1985)
* Breaking All The Rules (1985)
* Brewster's Millions (1985)
* Bridge to Terabithia (1985) (TV)
* Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
* Brimstone and Treacle (1982)
* Broadcast News (1987)
* The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
* Bull Durham (1988)
* The 'Burbs (1989)
* Buster (1988)
===C===
* Caddyshack (1980)
* Caddyshack II (1988)
* Café Flesh (1982)
* Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
* Casual Sex? (1988)
* The Cannonball Run (1981)
* Cannonball Run II (1984)
* Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
* Captain EO (1986)
* Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (1984) (TV)
* Cat's Eye (1985)
* Cat People (1982)
* The Cat Who Walked by Herself (1988)
* Caveman (1981)
* Celia (1988)
* Centurians of Rome (1981)
* Chained Heat (1983)
* Chariots of Fire (1981)
* Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers (1984)
* Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980)
* Children of a Lesser God (1986)
* Children of the Corn (1984)
* Child's Play (1988)
* A Chorus Line (1985)
* Christine (1983)
* A Christmas Story (1983)
* City Heat (1985)
* Clash of the Titans (1981)
* Class of 1984 (1982)
* Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986)
* Classmates (1986)
* Cloak & Dagger (1984)
* Clue (1985)
* Club Paradise (1986)
* Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
* Coast to Coast (1980)
* Cobra (1986)
* Cocktail (1988)
* Cocoon (1985)
* Cocoon: The Return (1988)
* Code of Silence (film) (1986)
* The Color of Money (1986)
* The Color Purple (1985)
* Colors (1988)
* Coming to America (1988)
* Commando (1985)
* The Company of Wolves (1984)
* Conan the Barbarian (1982)
* Conan the Destroyer (1984)
* Condorman (1981)
* The Cotton Club (1984)
* Cousins (1989)
* Crazy Moon (1987)
* Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
* Critters (1986)
* Critters 2 (1988)
* Crocodile Dundee (1986)
* Crocodile Dundee II (1988)
* Crossroads (1986)
* Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
===D===
* Damnation (1988)
* Dangerous Curves (1988)
* Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
* The Dark Crystal (1982)
* Dark Eyes (1987)
* Date with an Angel (1987)
* Day of the Panther (1988)
* Daydream (1981)
* D.C. Cab (1983)
* Dead & Buried (1981)
* Dead Poets Society (1989)
* Dead Ringers (1988)
* The Dead Zone (1983)
* Deathtrap (1982)
* The Decalogue (1989)
* The Delinquents (1989)
* Delta Force, The (1985)
* Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
* The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)
* Die Hard (1988)
* Diner (1982)
* Dirty Dancing (1987)
* Do the Right Thing (1989)
* Dogs in Space (1986)
* Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
* Dragnet (1987)
* Dragon Ball series:
** Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
** Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987)
** Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)
** Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989)
* Dragonslayer (1981)
* Dreamscape (1984)
* Dream a Little Dream (1989)
* Dressed To Kill (1980)
* The Dresser (1983)
* Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
* Dune (1984)
===E===
* E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
* Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
* Eating Raoul (1982)
* Eight Men Out (1988)
* Electric Blue 28 (1985)
* Electric Dreams (1984)
* The Elephant Man (1980)
* The Emerald Forest (1985)
* Emmanuelle 5 (1986)
* Empire of the Sun (1987)
* Endless Love (1981)
* Enemy Mine (1985)
* Escape from New York (1981)
* Everybody's All-American (1988)
* The Evil That Men Do (1984)
* Excalibur (1981)
* Explorers (1985)
* Eye of the Needle (1981)
* Eye of the Tiger (1986)
* Evil Dead (1981)
* Evil Dead II (1987)
* The Exterminator (1980)
* Exterminator 2 (1984)
===F===
* The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
* Faces of Death II (1981)
* Faces of Death III (1985)
* Fame (1980)
* Fanny and Alexander (1983)
* Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
* La Femme de l'aviateur (The Aviator's Wife) (1981)
* Fatal Attraction (1987)
* Fatso (1980)
* Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
* Field of Dreams (1989)
* Firestarter (1984)
* Firewalker (film) (1986)
* A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
* Fitzcarraldo (1982)
* Flashdance (1983)
* Flash Gordon (1980)
* The Flight of Dragons (1982)
* Flight of the Navigator (1986)
* The Fly (1986)
* The Fly II (1989)
* The Fog (1980)
* Footloose (1984)
* Forced Vengeance (1982)
* For All Mankind (1989)
* For Keeps (1988)
* Fortress (1986 film) (1986)
* For Your Eyes Only (1981)
* The Fox and The Hound (1981)
* Foxes (1980)
* The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981)
* Friday the 13th (1980)
* Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
* Friday the 13th Part III (1983)
* Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
* Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)
* Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
* Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)
* Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
* Fright Night (1985)
* Full Metal Jacket (1987)
===G===
* Gandhi (1982)
* The Gate (1987)
* 'Gator Bait II: Cajun Justice (1988)
* Get Out of My Room (1985)
* Germany Pale Mother (1980)
* Ghostbusters (1984)
* Ghostbusters II (1989)
* Girls Just Want To Have Fun (1985)
* Gloria (1980)
* Glory (1989)
* The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
* The Gods Must Be Crazy II (1988)
* The Good, the Bad, and Huckleberry Hound (1988) (TV)
* The Goonies (1985)
* Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
* Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
* Gotcha! (1985)
* Grease 2 (1982)
* The Great Mouse Detective (1986)
* The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
* The Green Ray (Le Rayon vert) (1986)
* Gregory's Girl (1980)
* Gremlins (1984)
* Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
* Gung Ho (1986)
===H===
* Hairspray (1988)
* Halloween series:
** Halloween II (1981)
** Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
** Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
** Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
* Hamburger Hill (1987)
* Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
* Hanky Panky (1982)
* Hardbodies (1984)
* Harry and the Hendersons (1987)
* Haunted Honeymoon (1986)
* Heat and Dust (1982)
* Heathers (1989)
* The Heavenly Kid (1985)
* Heaven's Gate (1981)
* Heavy Metal (1981)
* Heimat (1984)
* Hellraiser (1987)
* Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
* Her Alibi (1989)
* Hey Good Lookin' (1982)
* Highlander (1986)
* High School U.S.A. (1983) (TV)
* The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1985)
* History of the World Part I (1981)
* The Hitcher (1986)
* Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil (1985) (TV)
* Hollywood Heartbreakers (1985)
* Hollywood Shuffle (1986)
* Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
* Hoosiers (1986)
* Hope and Glory (1987)
* Hot Dog…The Movie' (1984)
* Howard the Duck (1986)
* The Howling (1981)
* Humongous (1982)
* The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982)
===I===
* I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
* Illegally Yours (1988)
* Indiana Jones series:
** Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
** Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
** Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
* I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
* Inferno (1980)
* Innerspace (1987)
* Inside Moves (1980)
* Invaders from Mars (1986 film) (1986)
* Invasion U.S.A. (1985 film) (1985)
* Iron Eagle (1986)
* Ishtar (1987)
* The Island (1980)
* It Came From Hollywood (1982)
* It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books (1989)
* I was a Teenage Zombie (1987)
===J===
* Jagged Edge (1985)
* Jaws 3-D (1983)
* Jaws: The Revenge (1987)
* The Jazz Singer (1980)
* The Jet Benny Show (1986)
* The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones (1987) (TV)
* The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
* Jinxed! (1982)
* Johnny Be Good (1988)
* Johnny Dangerously (1984)
* Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986)
* Just One of the Guys (1985)
===K===
* Kagemusha (1980)
* The Karate Kid (1984)
* The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
* The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
* Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
* Kill and Kill Again (1981)
* Kill or Be Killed (1980)
* The Killing Fields (1984)
* King Kong 2 (1986)
* The King of Comedy (1983)
* Kinky Business (1985)
* Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
* Knick Knack (1989)
* Krull (1983)
* Krush Groove (1985)
===L===
* Labyrinth (1986)
* Ladyhawke (1985)
* The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
* The Land Before Time (1988)
* Landscape in the Mist (1988)
* The Last Dragon (1985)
* The Last Emperor (1987)
* The Last Place on Earth (1985) (TV)
* The Last Starfighter (1984)
* The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
* The Last Unicorn (1982)
* Lean on Me (1989)
* Legal Eagles (1986)
* Legend (1986)
* The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)
* Less Than Zero (1987)
* Lethal Weapon (1987)
* Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
* Lianna (1983)
* Licence to Kill (1989)
* License to Drive (1988)
* Little Darlings (1980)
* The Little Mermaid (1989)
* Little Monsters (1989)
* Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
* The Living Daylights (1987)
* Local Hero (1983)
* Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
* The Lonely Lady (1983)
* The Long Good Friday (1980)
* Look Who's Talking (1989)
* The Lost Boys (1987)
* Lost in America (1985)
* Lo que le Pasó a Santiago (1989)
* Lucas (1986)
===M===
* Mad Max 2 (1981)
* Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
* The Man with One Red Shoe (1985)
* Mannequin (1987)
* Married to the Mob (1988)
* Mask (1985)
* Masters of the Universe (1987)
* Matewan (1987)
* Max Dugan Returns (1983)
* Maximum Overdrive (1986)
* Meet The Feebles (1989)
* Meet the Hollowheads (1989)
* Melvin and Howard (1980)
* Midnight Madness (1980)
* Midnight Run (1988)
* Mischief (1985)
* Missing (1982)
* Missing in Action (1984)
* Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
* Mississippi Burning (1988)
* Mommie Dearest (1981)
* Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
* Modern Girls (1986)
* Modern Problems (1981)
* Moonstruck (1987)
* Moonwalker (1988)
* Mr. Mom (1983)
* The Money Pit (1986)
* The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
* Murphy's Romance (1985)
* My Dinner With Andre (1981)
* My Left Foot (1989)
* Mystic Pizza (1988)
===N===
* Nadine (1987)
* Naked Gun, The: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
* Nate and Hayes (1983)
* The Natural (1984)
* Near Dark (1987)
* The Nest (1988)
* The Nesting (1981)
* Never Cry Wolf (1983)
* Never Say Never Again (1983)
* The Neverending Story (1984)
* Nice Dreams (1981)
* A Night in Heaven (1983)
* Night of the Comet (1984)
* Night of the Creeps (1986)
* Night Shift (1982)
* A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
* A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
* A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
* A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
* A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)
* Nine to Five (1980)
* Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
* No Man's Land (1987)
* No Mercy (1986)
* No Small Affair (1984)
* No Way Out (1987)
* Les Nuits de la pleine lune (Full Moon In Paris) (1984)
===O===
* Octopussy (1983)
* The Octagon (1980)
* An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
* Oh, God! Book II (1980)
* Oh, God! You Devil (1985)
* On Golden Pond (1981)
* Oliver & Company (1988)
* Once Upon a Spy (1980)
* Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
* One Crazy Summer (1986)
* One More Saturday Night (1986)
* Only When I Laugh (1981)
* Ordinary People (1980)
* The Osterman Weekend (1983)
* Out of Africa (1985)
* Outrageous Fortune (1987)
* The Outsiders (1983)
* Overboard (1987)
===P===
* Pale Rider (1985)
* Parenthood (1989)
* A Passage to India (1984)
* Pauline at the Beach (Pauline à la plage) (1983)
* The Peanut Butter Solution (1985)
* Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
* Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
* Pennies from Heaven (1981)
* Perfect (1985)
* The Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture (1989)
* The Pick-Up Artist (1987)
* Pink Floyd The Wall (1982)
* Piranha II: The Spawning (1981)
* Places in the Heart (1984)
* Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
* Platoon (1986)
* Pod People (1983)
* Police Academy series:
** Police Academy (1984)
** Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment (1985)
** Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)
** Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
** Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988)
** Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)
* Poltergeist series:
** Poltergeist (1982)
** Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)
** Poltergeist III (1988)
* The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
* Popeye (1980)
* Porky's series:
** Porky's (1982)
** Porky's II: The Next Day (1983)
** Porky's Revenge (1985)
* Pound Puppies and the Legend of Big Paw (1988)
* The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
* Predator (1987)
* Pretty in Pink (1986)
* The Princess Bride (1987)
* Prince of Darkness (1987)
* Private Lessons (1981)
* Private School (1983)
* Project A (1983)
* Project X (1987) 
* Protocol (1984)
* Private Resort (1985)
* Prizzi's Honor (1985)
* The Pumaman (1980)
* The Punisher (1989)
* Purple Rain (1984)
* Psycho II (1983)
* Psycho III (1986)
* Puppet Master (1989)
===Q===
* Q, The Winged Serpent (1982)
===R===
* Racing with the Moon (1984)
* Radio Days (1987)
* Raging Bull (1980)
* Ragtime (1981)
* Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
* Rain Man (1988)
* Raising Arizona (1987)
* Rambo series
** First Blood (1982)
** Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
** Rambo III (1988)
* Ran (1985)
* Rappin' (1985)
* The Ratings Game (1984)
* Raw Deal (1986)
* Rawhide (1981)
* The Razor's Edge (1984)
* Re-Animator (1985)
* Real Genius (1985)
* Reckless (1984)
* Red Dawn (1984)
* Red Sonja (1985)
* Redneck Zombies (1986)
* Reds (1981)
* Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
* Repo Man (1984)
* The Return of Godzilla (1984)
* The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
* Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988)
* The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
* Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
* Return of the Secaucus 7 (1980)
* Return to Oz (1985)
* Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
* Revolution (1985)
* Rhinestone (1984)
* Risky Business (1983)
* The River (1984)
* River's Edge (1986)
* Road House (1989)
* RoboCop (1987)
* Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare (1987)
* Rockin' with Judy Jetson (1988) (TV)
* Rocky III (1982)
* Rocky IV (1985)
* Romancing the Stone (1984)
* A Room with a View (1986)
* Roxanne (1987)
* Rumble Fish (1983)
* Runaway (1984)
* The Running Man (1987)
* Running on Empty (1988)
* Ruthless People (1986)
===S===
* Sans Soleil (1983)
* Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
* Savage Dawn (1985)
* Savage Streets (1985)
* Say Anything... (1989)
* Scanners (1981)
* Scarface (1983)
* Scarred (1984)
* Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988) (TV)
* Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) (TV)
* Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987) (TV)
* Scrooged (1988)
* Sea of Love (1989)
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)
* Secret Admirer (1985)
* The Secret of My Success (1987)
* The Secret of NIMH (1982)
* The Seventh Sign (1988)
* Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
* Shanghai Surprise (1986)
* Shaolin and Wu Tang (1981)
* She-Devil (1989)
* She's Having a Baby (1988)
* Sheena (1984)
* The Shining (1980)
* Shirley Valentine (1989)
* Shock Treatment (1981)
* Short Circuit (1986)
* Short Circuit 2 (1988)
* Sid and Nancy (1986)
* Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
* Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)
* Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989)
* Silent Rage (1982)
* Silkwood (1983)
* Silverado (1985)
* Sister Dearest (1985)
* Sixteen Candles (1984)
* Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
* Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983)
* S.O.B. (1981)
* A Soldier's Story (1984)
* Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
* Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
* Something Wild (1986)
* Somewhere in Time (1980)
* Sophie's Choice (1982)
* Soul Man (1986)
* Spaceballs (1987)
* Space Camp (1987)
* Splash (1984)
* St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
* Stakeout (1987)
* Stand and Deliver (1988)
* Stand By Me (1986)
* Star 80 (1983)
* Stardust Memories (1980)
* Starman (1984)
* Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
* Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
* Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
* Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
* Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
* Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
* Staying Alive (1983)
* Steel Magnolias (1989)
* Still Smokin' (1983)
* Stir Crazy (1980)
* Street Trash (1987)
* Streets of Fire (1984)
* Strike of the Panther (1988)
* Stripes (1981)
* Stroker Ace (1983)
* Student Bodies (1981)
* Suddenly at Midnight (1981)
* Summer Rental (1985)
* Sunset (1988)
* Supergirl (1984)
* Superman II (1981)
* Superman III (1983)
* Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
* The Sure Thing (1985)
* Surf Nazis Must Die (1987)
* Swing Shift (1984)
===T===
* Talk Dirty To Me Part III (1984)
* Tango and Cash (1989)
* Tarzan, the Ape Man (1981)
* Teachers (1984)
* Teen Witch (1989)
* Teen Wolf (1985)
* Teen Wolf Too (1987)
* Telefono rosso (1986)
* Ten Zan: The Ultimate Mission (1988)
* Tender Mercies (1983)
* The Terminator (1984)
* Terms of Endearment (1983)
* Tex (1982)
* They Live (1988)
* The Thing (1982)
* Things Are Tough All Over (1982)
* This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
* Those Young Girls (1984)
* Three O'Clock High (1987)
* Time Bandits (1981)
* To Be or Not to Be (1983)
* Tootsie (1982)
* Top Gun (1986)
* To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
* Top Secret! (1984)
* The Toxic Avenger (1985)
* The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)
* The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (1989)
* The Toy (1982)
* Traci, I Love You (1987)
* Traci Takes Tokyo (1986)
* Trading Places (1983)
* Trancers (1985)
* Troll (1986)
* Tron (1982)
* Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
* Twins (1988)
* Two Moon Junction (1988)
* Two of a Kind (1983)
===U===
* UHF (1989)
* Under Fire (1983)
* Under the Cherry Moon (1986)
* Under the Volcano (1984)
* The Untouchables (1987)
===V===
* Valley Girl (1983)
* Vendetta (1986)
* The Verdict (1982)
* Vice Versa (1988)
* Victor Victoria (1982)
* Videodrome (1983)
* A View to a Kill (1985)
* Vacation (1983)
* Vincent (1982)
* Vision Quest (1985)
===W===
* Wall Street (1987)
* WarGames (1983)
* The War of the Roses (1989)
* The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
* Weekend at Bernie's (1989)
* Weird Science (1985)
* What Gets Me Hot! (1984)
* When Harry Met Sally (1989)
* Where the Boys Are '84 (1984)
* White Nights (1985)
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
* Who's That Girl (1987)
* Wildcats (1986)
* Willy the Sparrow (1988)
* Willow (1988)
* Wish You Were Here (1987)
* The Witches of Eastwick (1987)
* Withnail and I (1987)
* Without a Trace (1983)
* Witness (1985)
* The Wizard (1989)
* The Woman in Red (1984)
* Working Girl (1988)
* Working Girls (1986)
* The Worst of Faces of Death (1987)
===X===
* Xanadu (1980)
===Y===
* The Year of Living Dangerously (1983)
* Year of the Dragon (1985)
* Yellowbeard (1983)
* Yentl (1983)
* Yes, Giorgio (1982)
* Yogi's First Christmas (1980) (TV)
* Yogi's Great Escape (1987) (TV)
* Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983)
* Young Guns (1988)
* Young Master (1980)
* Youngblood (1986)
===Z===
* Zapped! (1982)
* Zelig (1983)
* Zigeunerweisen (1980)
==See also==
* Film, History of film, List of lists of films
* Years in film 1980-1989:
** 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
==References==
Category:1980s in film
Category:Films by decade
Category:Years in film