The Top 20 Movies Of The 80's.

by WalterFrith50 | created - 24 Sep 2013 | updated - 24 Sep 2013 | Public
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1. Platoon (1986)

R | 120 min | Drama, War

92 Metascore

Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David

Votes: 439,704 | Gross: $138.53M

2. Aliens (1986)

R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser

Votes: 763,456 | Gross: $85.16M

3. The Killing Fields (1984)

R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History

76 Metascore

A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.

Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands

Votes: 59,234 | Gross: $34.70M

4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

82 Metascore

After the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams

Votes: 1,380,423 | Gross: $290.48M

5. Broadcast News (1987)

R | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

84 Metascore

Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly.

Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky

Votes: 34,138 | Gross: $51.25M

6. Scarface (1983)

R | 170 min | Crime, Drama

65 Metascore

In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Votes: 916,992 | Gross: $45.60M

7. Gandhi (1982)

PG | 191 min | Biography, Drama, History

79 Metascore

The life of the lawyer who became the famed leader of the Indian revolts against the British rule through his philosophy of nonviolent protest.

Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth

Votes: 240,237 | Gross: $52.77M

8. Thief (1981)

R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama

78 Metascore

An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi

Votes: 39,054 | Gross: $11.49M

9. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

PG | 115 min | Action, Adventure

86 Metascore

In 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies

Votes: 1,037,202 | Gross: $248.16M

10. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

75 Metascore

The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava

Votes: 116,009 | Gross: $70.00M

11. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)

R | 124 min | Drama, Romance

75 Metascore

A young man must complete his work at a Navy Officer Candidate School to become an aviator, with the help of a tough Gunnery Sergeant and his new girlfriend.

Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Richard Gere, Debra Winger, David Keith, Robert Loggia

Votes: 62,638 | Gross: $129.80M

12. Mississippi Burning (1988)

R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

65 Metascore

Two F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.

Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif

Votes: 111,113 | Gross: $34.60M

13. The Breakfast Club (1985)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama

66 Metascore

Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.

Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy

Votes: 436,756 | Gross: $45.88M

14. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

66 Metascore

A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.

Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher

Votes: 203,422 | Gross: $234.76M

15. Die Hard (1988)

R | 132 min | Action, Thriller

72 Metascore

A New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.

Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson

Votes: 945,993 | Gross: $83.01M

16. The Big Chill (1983)

R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama

61 Metascore

A group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.

Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt

Votes: 41,461 | Gross: $56.20M

17. The Blues Brothers (1980)

R | 133 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

60 Metascore

Jake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.

Director: John Landis | Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cab Calloway, John Candy

Votes: 214,571 | Gross: $57.23M

18. RoboCop (1987)

R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

70 Metascore

In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.

Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox

Votes: 283,270 | Gross: $53.42M

19. Murphy's Romance (1985)

PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Emma moves to a ranch with her son after a divorce and befriends the older Murphy, but things turn complicated when her ex shows up.

Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Sally Field, James Garner, Brian Kerwin, Corey Haim

Votes: 7,062 | Gross: $30.76M

20. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama

81 Metascore

An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.

Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone

Votes: 117,592 | Gross: $106.59M



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