Top 30 Feature Films of 1989

by elkinsisaac | created - 04 Oct 2022 | updated - 2 months ago | Public

Or “feature-like” mini-series by my own discretion.

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1. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

G | 103 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy

85 Metascore

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi

Votes: 165,758

2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure

65 Metascore

In 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott

Votes: 811,531 | Gross: $197.17M

3. Dead Poets Society (1989)

PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama

79 Metascore

Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.

Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles

Votes: 546,855 | Gross: $95.86M

4. Pet Sematary (1989)

R | 103 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

38 Metascore

After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.

Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne, Brad Greenquist

Votes: 115,132 | Gross: $57.47M

5. Society (1989)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror

50 Metascore

An ordinary teenage boy discovers his family is part of a gruesome orgy cult for the social elite.

Director: Brian Yuzna | Stars: Billy Warlock, Concetta D'Agnese, Ben Slack, Evan Richards

Votes: 21,964

6. Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989)

G | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Each night, young Nemo goes to Slumberland and has adventures and befriends the king of Slumberland, Morpheus. But one night Nemo discovers Nightmare Land, and the evil nightmare king, throwing Slumberland and Nemo himself into danger.

Directors: Masami Hata, Masanori Hata, William T. Hurtz | Stars: Gabriel Damon, Mickey Rooney, Rene Auberjonois, Danny Mann

Votes: 8,274 | Gross: $1.37M

7. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

76 Metascore

Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby

Votes: 242,946 | Gross: $92.82M

8. Batman (1989)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure

69 Metascore

The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl

Votes: 404,522 | Gross: $251.19M

9. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

A businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.

Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto

Votes: 25,950

10. Do the Right Thing (1989)

R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama

93 Metascore

On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.

Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson

Votes: 112,512 | Gross: $27.55M

11. My Left Foot (1989)

R | 103 min | Biography, Drama

97 Metascore

Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.

Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan, Kirsten Sheridan

Votes: 79,822 | Gross: $14.74M

12. Back to the Future Part II (1989)

PG | 108 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

57 Metascore

After visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Tom Wilson

Votes: 573,016 | Gross: $118.50M

13. The Little Mermaid (1989)

G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

88 Metascore

A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince's love.

Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes

Votes: 291,178 | Gross: $111.54M

14. Christmas Vacation (1989)

PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy

49 Metascore

The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.

Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki

Votes: 220,202 | Gross: $71.32M

15. The BFG (1989)

91 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

A young orphan girl, Sophie, gets taken away to a faraway land populated by Giants and Dreams.

Director: Brian Cosgrove | Stars: David Jason, Amanda Root, Angela Thorne, Ballard Berkeley

Votes: 7,508

16. Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)

R | 96 min | Horror, Thriller

28 Metascore

One year after the events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988), the Shape returns to Haddonfield once again in an attempt to kill his now-mute niece.

Director: Dominique Othenin-Girard | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Danielle Harris, Ellie Cornell, Beau Starr

Votes: 47,105 | Gross: $11.64M

17. Parents (1989)

R | 81 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery

66 Metascore

A young boy living in 1950s suburbia suspects that his parents are cannibalistic murderers.

Director: Bob Balaban | Stars: Randy Quaid, Mary Beth Hurt, Sandy Dennis, Bryan Madorsky

Votes: 8,592 | Gross: $0.87M

18. Babar: The Movie (1989)

G | 70 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

In his spectacular film debut, young Babar, King of the Elephants, must save his homeland from certain destruction by Rataxes and his band of invading rhinos.

Director: Alan Bunce | Stars: Gordon Pinsent, Gavin Magrath, Elizabeth Hanna, Lisa Jai

Votes: 1,116 | Gross: $1.31M

19. The 'Burbs (1989)

PG | 102 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller

45 Metascore

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: 83,587 | Gross: $36.60M

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: 117,610 | Gross: $106.59M

21. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

70 Metascore

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.

Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Patsy Kensit

Votes: 188,963 | Gross: $147.25M

22. Glory (1989)

R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History

78 Metascore

Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman

Votes: 144,569 | Gross: $26.83M

23. Say Anything (1989)

PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

86 Metascore

A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor

Votes: 96,003 | Gross: $20.78M

24. Steel Magnolias (1989)

PG | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

56 Metascore

A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.

Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Julia Roberts

Votes: 63,149 | Gross: $83.76M

25. All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989)

G | 84 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

50 Metascore

A canine angel, Charlie, sneaks back to earth from heaven but ends up befriending an orphan girl who can speak to animals. In the process, Charlie learns that friendship is the most heavenly gift of all.

Directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Dan Kuenster | Stars: Dom DeLuise, Burt Reynolds, Loni Anderson, Judith Barsi

Votes: 46,166 | Gross: $27.10M

26. Lean on Me (1989)

PG-13 | 108 min | Drama

58 Metascore

The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.

Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume, Alan North

Votes: 22,995 | Gross: $31.91M

27. See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)

R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime

44 Metascore

Dave is deaf, and Wally is blind. They witness a murder, but it was Dave who was looking at her, and Wally who was listening.

Director: Arthur Hiller | Stars: Richard Pryor, Gene Wilder, Joan Severance, Kevin Spacey

Votes: 58,421 | Gross: $46.91M

28. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Music

50 Metascore

Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.

Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin, Terry Camilleri

Votes: 141,748 | Gross: $40.49M

29. The War of the Roses (1989)

R | 116 min | Comedy, Romance

80 Metascore

A married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.

Director: Danny DeVito | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Marianne Sägebrecht

Votes: 57,412 | Gross: $86.89M

30. Puppet Master (1989 Video)

R | 90 min | Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi

Psychics find themselves plotted against by a former colleague, who committed suicide after discovering animated, murderous puppets.

Director: David Schmoeller | Stars: Paul Le Mat, William Hickey, Irene Miracle, Jimmie F. Skaggs

Votes: 12,796



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