Underrated Film of the 80's
by yakirr | created - 10 Sep 2016 | updated - 26 Apr 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Return to Oz (1985)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.
Director: Walter Murch | Stars: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie
Votes: 30,387
2. Angel Heart (1987)
X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 95,886 | Gross: $17.19M
3. The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
G | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A group of dated appliances embark on a journey to the city to find their master after being abandoned in a cabin in the woods.
Director: Jerry Rees | Stars: Jon Lovitz, Timothy Stack, Timothy E. Day, Thurl Ravenscroft
Votes: 27,754
4. The Secret of NIMH (1982)
G | 82 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
To save her ill son, a field mouse must seek the aid of a colony of rats, with whom she has a deeper link than she suspected.
Director: Don Bluth | Stars: Elizabeth Hartman, Derek Jacobi, Dom DeLuise, Arthur Malet
Votes: 45,209 | Gross: $10.14M
5. The Black Cauldron (1985)
PG | 80 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young boy and a group of misfit friends embark on a quest to find a dark magic item of ultimate power before a diabolical tyrant can.
Directors: Ted Berman, Richard Rich | Stars: Grant Bardsley, Freddie Jones, Susan Sheridan, Nigel Hawthorne
Votes: 40,779 | Gross: $21.29M
6. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, Jane Leeves, Cherise Bates
Votes: 39,400 | Gross: $17.31M
7. Lucas (1986)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A socially inept fourteen-year-old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends - Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love - fall for each other.
Director: David Seltzer | Stars: Corey Haim, Kerri Green, Charlie Sheen, Courtney Thorne-Smith
Votes: 17,539 | Gross: $8.20M
8. The Dead Zone (1983)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
Votes: 77,376 | Gross: $20.77M
9. Local Hero (1983)
PG | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
An American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected.
Director: Bill Forsyth | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Fulton Mackay, Denis Lawson
Votes: 26,717 | Gross: $5.90M
10. They Live (1988)
R | 94 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower
Votes: 145,648 | Gross: $13.01M
11. Thief (1981)
R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama
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: 39,073 | Gross: $11.49M
12. Near Dark (1987)
R | 94 min | Horror
A small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton
Votes: 44,780 | Gross: $3.37M
13. Something Wild (1986)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance
A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, George 'Red' Schwartz, Leib Lensky
Votes: 21,111 | Gross: $8.36M
14. Blow Out (1981)
R | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz
Votes: 63,384 | Gross: $13.75M
15. After Hours (I) (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Tommy Chong
Votes: 81,511 | Gross: $10.60M
16. My American Uncle (1980)
PG | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The intersecting stories of three people who face difficult choices in life-changing situations are used to illustrate the theories espoused by Henri Laborit about human behavior and the relationship between the self and society.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Nicole Garcia, Roger Pierre, Nelly Borgeaud
Votes: 6,855
17. Melvin and Howard (1980)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
The story of hard-luck Melvin E. Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Paul Le Mat, Jason Robards, Elizabeth Cheshire, Mary Steenburgen
Votes: 5,308 | Gross: $4.31M
18. Looker (1981)
PG | 93 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Three of four models, who had plastic surgery done by Larry after a computed list, are dead. Neither the cops nor Larry believe they're suicides. Larry investigates and stays with the fourth model. Who's behind the lists and murders?
Director: Michael Crichton | Stars: Albert Finney, James Coburn, Susan Dey, Leigh Taylor-Young
Votes: 6,193 | Gross: $3.28M
19. Ms .45 (1981)
R | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Zoë Lund, Bogey, Albert Sinkys, Darlene Stuto
Votes: 12,575
20. Prince of the City (1981)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett
Votes: 9,525 | Gross: $8.12M
21. Wolfen (1981)
R | 115 min | Horror, Thriller
A New York cop investigates a series of brutal deaths that resemble animal attacks.
Director: Michael Wadleigh | Stars: Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Edward James Olmos, Gregory Hines
Votes: 11,488 | Gross: $10.63M
22. Liquid Sky (1982)
R | 112 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
A small, heroin seeking UFO lands on a Manhattan roof, observes a bizarre, drug addicted fashion model and sucks endorphin from her sexual encounters' brains.
Director: Slava Tsukerman | Stars: Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard, Susan Doukas, Otto von Wernherr
Votes: 6,863
23. The Fan (1982)
Unrated | 92 min | Drama, Horror, Music
The hero-worship that Simone has for a pop singer is built to a crescendo until she passes out when she finally sees him up-close in a crowd of fans. She is later shocked when he lets her know that he does not love her.
Director: Eckhart Schmidt | Stars: Désirée Nosbusch, Bodo Staiger, Simone Brahmann, Jonas Vischer
Votes: 1,924
24. Baby It's You (1983)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In a 1966 New Jersey high school, Jill and new student Sheik from the other side of the tracks make their way in a first love romance.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Joanna Merlin, Jack Davidson
Votes: 2,154 | Gross: $1.87M
25. The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama
In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejô
Votes: 9,139
26. Star 80 (1983)
R | 103 min | Biography, Drama
A successful young model finds trouble when her obsessive manager-turned-husband becomes dangerously jealous.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Mariel Hemingway, Eric Roberts, Cliff Robertson, Carroll Baker
Votes: 8,143 | Gross: $6.47M
27. Testament (1983)
PG | 90 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
The life of a suburban American family is scarred after a nuclear attack.
Director: Lynne Littman | Stars: Jane Alexander, William Devane, Rossie Harris, Roxana Zal
Votes: 7,225 | Gross: $2.04M
28. Crimes of Passion (1984)
R | 107 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A mysterious woman, fashion designer by day and prostitute by night, is hounded by two men: a married father of two children and a sexually repressed preacher.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: Kathleen Turner, Anthony Perkins, Bruce Davison, Gordon Hunt
Votes: 8,544 | Gross: $2.91M
29. Just One of the Guys (1985)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Romance
Terry feels discriminated against when the summer jobs at the Sun Tribune go to two guys. She decides to do something about it. She dresses like a guy and gets a haircut. Will students at the other high school notice? Girls notice "him".
Director: Lisa Gottlieb | Stars: Joyce Hyser, Clayton Rohner, Billy Jayne, Toni Hudson
Votes: 17,880 | Gross: $11.50M
30. Smooth Talk (1985)
PG-13 | 92 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A free-spirited 15-year-old girl flirts with a dangerous stranger in the Northern California suburbs and must prepare herself for the frightening and traumatic consequences.
Director: Joyce Chopra | Stars: Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Margaret Welsh
Votes: 3,396 | Gross: $0.02M
31. Shadows in Paradise (1986)
Not Rated | 74 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
An episode in the life of Nikander, a garbage man, involving the death of a coworker, a love affair and much more.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Matti Pellonpää, Kati Outinen, Sakari Kuosmanen, Esko Nikkari
Votes: 7,046
32. Sherman's March (1985)
Not Rated | 157 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee sets out to make a movie about Union General Sherman's March to the Sea towards the end of the American Civil War, but keeps getting sidetracked by his own love life.
Director: Ross McElwee | Stars: Ross McElwee, Dede McElwee, Ross McElwee Jr., Patricia Rendleman
Votes: 2,708
33. Opera (1987)
R | 107 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A young opera singer is stalked by a deranged fan bent on killing the people associated with her to claim her for himself.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Cristina Marsillach, Ian Charleson, Urbano Barberini, Daria Nicolodi
Votes: 19,506
34. Bird (1988)
R | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Forest Whitaker, Diane Venora, Michael Zelniker, Samuel E. Wright
Votes: 13,497 | Gross: $2.18M
35. How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Fantasy
A cynical advertising exec has a block at work leading to a meltdown. He's hilariously out of control. Getting a big, talking boil on his shoulder doesn't help.
Director: Bruce Robinson | Stars: Richard E. Grant, Rachel Ward, Richard Wilson, Jacqueline Tong
Votes: 6,634 | Gross: $0.42M
36. One Crazy Summer (1986)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
An aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.
Director: Savage Steve Holland | Stars: John Cusack, Demi Moore, Linda Warren, Joel Murray
Votes: 16,763 | Gross: $13.43M
37. Talk Radio (1988)
R | 110 min | Drama, Thriller
A rude, contemptuous talk show host becomes overwhelmed by the hatred that surrounds his program just before it goes national.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Eric Bogosian, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley
Votes: 14,622 | Gross: $3.47M
38. Manhunter (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Former FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox
Votes: 80,993 | Gross: $8.62M
39. Midnight Run (1988)
R | 126 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton
Votes: 94,293 | Gross: $38.41M
40. River's Edge (1986)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Director: Tim Hunter | Stars: Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck
Votes: 20,710 | Gross: $4.60M
41. Johnny Handsome (1989)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double crossed and thrown in jail, a deformed gangster gets a new face and rehabilitation, but his desire for revenge looms.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 11,014 | Gross: $7.24M
42. Kill Me Again (1989)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young detective becomes involved with a beautiful woman on the run from the mob and her psychopath boyfriend.
Director: John Dahl | Stars: Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Pat Mulligan, Nick Dimitri
Votes: 5,690 | Gross: $0.28M
43. Black Rain (1989)
R | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw
Votes: 59,725 | Gross: $46.21M
44. The 'Burbs (1989)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
An overstressed suburbanite and his neighbors are convinced that the new family on the block is part of a murderous Satanic cult.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman
Votes: 83,578 | Gross: $36.60M
45. Birdy (1984)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
After two friends return home from the Vietnam War one becomes mentally unstable and obsesses with becoming a bird.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron
Votes: 24,947 | Gross: $1.46M
46. The Mosquito Coast (1986)
PG | 117 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
An inventor spurns his city life and moves his family into the jungles of Central America to make a utopia.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix, Jadrien Steele
Votes: 31,220 | Gross: $14.30M
47. The Hunger (1983)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror
A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young
Votes: 29,064 | Gross: $5.98M
48. Lady in White (1988)
PG-13 | 113 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
An author tells the story of how, as a young boy growing up in a 1960s small town, he was haunted after witnessing the murder of a little girl.
Director: Frank LaLoggia | Stars: Lukas Haas, Len Cariou, Alex Rocco, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 8,058 | Gross: $1.71M
49. Cruising (1980)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox
Votes: 28,075 | Gross: $19.80M
50. Trouble in Mind (1985)
R | 111 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
The lives of an ex-con, a coffee-shop owner, and a young couple looking to make it rich intersect in the fictional and hypnotic Rain City.
Director: Alan Rudolph | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer, Geneviève Bujold
Votes: 2,428 | Gross: $0.02M
51. Inside Moves (1980)
PG | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Handicapped after an unsuccessful suicide attempt, a man finds common ground in the troubled souls at a local dive bar.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: John Savage, David Morse, Diana Scarwid, Amy Wright
Votes: 2,288
52. Vampire's Kiss (1988)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
After an encounter with a neck-biter, a publishing executive thinks that he's turning into a vampire.
Director: Robert Bierman | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, Elizabeth Ashley
Votes: 20,947 | Gross: $0.73M
53. Eight Men Out (1988)
PG | 119 min | Drama, History, Sport
A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: John Cusack, Clifton James, Jace Alexander, Gordon Clapp
Votes: 22,102 | Gross: $5.68M
54. UHF (1989)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
An unemployed visionary becomes the manager of a local television station. The station becomes a success, with all sorts of hilarious sight gags and wacky humor.
Director: Jay Levey | Stars: 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards
Votes: 31,543 | Gross: $6.16M
55. The Monster Squad (1987)
PG-13 | 82 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A group of young monster fanatics attempts to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.
Director: Fred Dekker | Stars: Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr
Votes: 35,326 | Gross: $3.77M
56. Lost in America (1985)
R | 91 min | Comedy
A husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.
Director: Albert Brooks | Stars: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Sylvia Farrel, Tina Kincaid
Votes: 10,210 | Gross: $10.18M
57. Clean and Sober (1988)
R | 124 min | Drama
A hustling drug addict checks himself into rehabilitation to escape trouble with the law and realizes that it's exactly what he needs.
Director: Glenn Gordon Caron | Stars: Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman, Tate Donovan
Votes: 7,244 | Gross: $8.67M
58. She's Having a Baby (1988)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young newlyweds find out just how unprepared they are for their future together.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Elizabeth McGovern, Alec Baldwin, James Ray
Votes: 13,888 | Gross: $16.03M
59. Streamers (1983)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, War
Four young soldiers waiting to be shipped to Viet Nam deal with racial tension and their own intolerance when one soldier reveals he's gay.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Matthew Modine, Michael Wright, Mitchell Lichtenstein, David Alan Grier
Votes: 2,126
60. They All Laughed (1981)
PG | 115 min | Comedy, Romance
A madcap private-eye caper about a team of detectives who are following, and are being followed by, a group of beautiful women.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, Patti Hansen, John Ritter
Votes: 3,017
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