1980s
by tony-lopez-260-289437 | created - 09 Sep 2018 | updated - 9 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 380,321 | Gross: $23.38M
2. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,107,030 | Gross: $44.02M
3. Stop Making Sense (1984)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Music
Considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time, the live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: David Byrne, Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steven Scales
Votes: 20,023 | Gross: $5.02M
4. Raising Arizona (1987)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Crime
When a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman
Votes: 150,393 | Gross: $22.85M
5. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
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: 112,445 | Gross: $27.55M
6. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 790,617 | Gross: $46.36M
7. Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The fictionalized life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/70s.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Levon Helm, Phyllis Boyens
Votes: 20,514 | Gross: $67.18M
8. Scarface (1983)
R | 170 min | Crime, Drama
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: 916,782 | Gross: $45.60M
9. The Killing Fields (1984)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
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: 59,217 | Gross: $34.70M
10. Blood Simple (1984)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 105,304 | Gross: $2.15M
11. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Romance
Story of a woman and her three lovers.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee
Votes: 16,315 | Gross: $7.14M
12. Heaven's Gate (1980)
R | 219 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston
Votes: 17,154 | Gross: $3.48M
13. Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti (1993)
Not Rated | 52 min | Documentary
A documentary film about Haitian vodou.
Directors: Maya Deren, Cherel Ito, Teiji Ito | Stars: John Genke, Joan Pape
Votes: 514
14. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Music
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer
Votes: 147,384 | Gross: $4.74M
15. Airplane! (1980)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Votes: 261,187 | Gross: $83.40M
16. A Christmas Story (1983)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz
Votes: 168,630 | Gross: $20.61M
17. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy
A popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones
Votes: 386,565 | Gross: $70.14M
18. Luxo Jr. (1986)
G | 2 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A larger lamp watches while a smaller, younger lamp plays exuberantly with a ball but doesn't pick up the knack of correct handling.
Director: John Lasseter
Votes: 15,519
19. Sans Soleil (1983)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Drama
A woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Amilcar Cabral, Florence Delay, Arielle Dombasle, Riyoko Ikeda
Votes: 12,135 | Gross: $0.03M
20. Tin Toy (1988)
G | 5 min | Animation, Short, Family
A one-man-band tin toy tries to escape a destructive baby.
Director: John Lasseter
Votes: 11,679
21. Precious Images (1986)
8 min | Documentary, Short
A montage of nearly 500 film clips from eight decades of American movies, made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Director's Guild of America.
Director: Chuck Workman
Votes: 746
22. Battery Film (1985)
Unrated | 9 min | Short, Animation
Directors: Franklin Backus, Richard Protovin
Votes: 102
23. Ch'an (1983)
Not Rated | 6 min | Short
1941 was Francis Lee's first film; CH'AN his last. In between, he became an expert Sumi-e watercolorist and here he combines eloquent ink paintings with masterful animation methods. This ... See full summary »
Director: Francis Lee
Votes: 46
24. Seinfeld (1989–1998)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy
The continuing misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.
Stars: Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander
Votes: 351,629
25. Moon Breath Beat (1980)
5 min | Animation, Short
An animated short by Lisze Bechtold in which a woman and her two cats battle the forces of nature.
Director: Lisze Bechtold
Votes: 132
26. Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983 Music Video)
PG | 13 min | Horror, Music
A night at the movies turns into a nightmare when Michael and his date are attacked by a hoard of bloodthirsty zombies - only a "Thriller" can save them now.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Michael Jackson, Ola Ray, Forrest J. Ackerman, Reed Armstrong
Votes: 18,559
27. Early Abstractions (1987)
23 min | Animation, Short
An anthology of Harry Smith's films 1-5, 7, and 10, unfortunately without the divisions clearly marked.
Director: Harry Smith
Votes: 263
28. The Lunch Date (1989)
12 min | Short, Drama
A woman misses her train and buys lunch in a café. When she returns to her table, a man is eating her salad.
Director: Adam Davidson | Stars: Scotty Bloch, Clebert Ford, Bernard Johnson, Paul Sarnoff
Votes: 1,781
29. A Passage to India (1984)
PG | 164 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, Peggy Ashcroft, James Fox
Votes: 20,881 | Gross: $27.19M
30. Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
22 min | Documentary, Short
The economic and sexual politics of a Central America factory where artificial fruit is manufactured.
Director: Chick Strand
Votes: 217
31. The Simpsons (1989– )
TV-14 | 22 min | Animation, Comedy
The satiric adventures of a working-class family in the misfit city of Springfield.
Stars: Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer, Julie Kavner
Votes: 436,011
32. The Fog (1980)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
An unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman
Votes: 83,023 | Gross: $21.38M
33. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War
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: 115,987 | Gross: $70.00M
34. Illusions (1982)
34 min | Drama, Short
An African American woman rises to prominence in a fictional movie studio in the 1940s by passing as a white woman, affording others some dignity in the business that frequently portrayed movies as an illusion of a purely "white world."
Director: Julie Dash | Stars: Lonette McKee, Rosanne Katon, Ned Bellamy, Jack Rader
Votes: 520
35. Out of Africa (1985)
PG | 161 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
In 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen
Votes: 86,380 | Gross: $87.10M
36.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The Great San Francisco Earthquake
(1988)
TV-PG | 56 min | Documentary, Biography, History
An account of the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the subsequent effort to rebuild.
Star: F. Murray Abraham
Votes: 86
37.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Radio Bikini
(1988)
Not Rated | 56 min | Documentary, Biography, History
It starts with a live radio broadcast from the Bikini Atoll a few days before it is annihilated by a nuclear test. Shows great footage from these times and tells the story of the US Navy ... See full summary »
Director: Robert Stone | Stars: Kilon Bauno, John Smitherman, Warren Austin, Bernard Baruch
Votes: 674
38.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Eric Sevareid's Not So Wild a Dream
(1988)
TV-PG | 58 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Journalist Eric Sevareid recounts his experiences growing up during the Great Depression and World War II.
Directors: Frank J. De Meo, Anthony Potter | Star: Eric Sevareid
Votes: 15
39.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Billie Holiday: The Long Night of Lady Day
(1986)
TV-14 | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Considered by many to be the greatest jazz vocalist of all time, Billie Holiday lived a tempestuous and difficult life. Her singing expressed an incredible depth of emotion that spoke of hard times and injustice as well as triumph.
Director: John Jeremy | Stars: Billie Holiday, Milt Hinton, Peter O'Brien, Alice Vrbsky
Votes: 80
40. The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980)
65 min | Documentary, History, War
Documentary about women working in factories during WWII and resultant loss of jobs after the war. Five women tell their stories. Fascinating clips of racist, sexist propaganda of the era.
Director: Connie Field | Stars: Lola Weixel, Margaret Wright, Lyn Childs, Gladys Belcher
Votes: 338
41.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter
(1988)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
Votes: 19
42.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Sins of Our Mothers: The Story of Emeline
(1989)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
The story of Emeline Bachelder, an early 19th-century New Englander who married a younger man - only to discover that he was the son she had give up when she was fourteen.
Director: Rocky Collins | Stars: Velma Brown, Aimee Epping, Billie Gammon, Florence Marshall
Votes: 29
43. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
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: 144,472 | Gross: $26.83M
44. Buffalo Creek Revisited (1985)
31 min | Documentary, Short
Director: Mimi Pickering | Stars: Scott Faulkner, Marty Newell, Herb Smith
45.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Revisited
(1988)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
Writer James Agee and photographer Walker Evans revisit the Alabama tenant system depicted in their 1936 book "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men".
Stars: James Agee, Walker Evans
Votes: 14
46.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Geronimo and the Apache Resistance
(1988)
TV-PG | 56 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The life of Geronimo, as told by the Chiricahua Apaches.
Director: Neil Goodwin
Votes: 39
47. Das Boot (1985)
TV-MA | 293 min | Drama, War
A World War II German U-Boat crew have a terrifying patrol mission in the early days of the war.
Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 33,427
48.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Kennedy vs. Wallace: A Crisis Up Close
(1988)
TV-PG | 52 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Filmmaker Robert Drew updates his 1963 documentary Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment (1963) which followed the confrontation between President Kennedy and Alabama governor George Wallace.
Director: Robert Drew | Stars: Clarke Bittner, Nicholas Katzenbach, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy
Votes: 15
49.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
That Rhythm, Those Blues
(1988)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary covering the R&B (rhythm and blues) field from the 1940s to the early 1950s. Included is footage of performances by major R&B singers of the time, and interviews with singers, producers and others involved in the field.
Director: George T. Nierenberg | Stars: Ralph Bass, Pat Boone, Charles Brown, Ruth Brown
Votes: 24
50.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Do You Mean There Are Still Real Cowboys?
(1987)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A look at modern-day cowboys in the Wyoming Rockies.
Director: Jon Blair | Stars: Glenn Close, David McCullough
Votes: 22
51. Death of a Salesman (1985 TV Movie)
PG | 136 min | Drama
An aging traveling salesman recognizes the emptiness of his life and tries to fix it.
Director: Volker Schlöndorff | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, John Malkovich, Stephen Lang
Votes: 11,710
52.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Arthur Miller: Private Conversations
(1985)
TV-14 | 82 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Playwright Arthur Miller, director Volker Schlöndorff and actor Dustin Hoffman are seen creating the Roxbury Productions and Punch Productions teleplay Death of a Salesman (1985).
Director: Christian Blackwood | Stars: Arthur Miller, Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, Volker Schlöndorff
Votes: 134
53. American Gigolo (1980)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Los Angeles escort is accused of a murder which he did not commit.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo, Nina van Pallandt
Votes: 29,454 | Gross: $23.00M
54. An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance
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: 62,624 | Gross: $129.80M
55.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The Radio Priest
(1988)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The story of Father Charles Coughlin who, during the Depression, used the radio to protest against what he saw as society's ills.
Director: Irv Drasnin | Star: Irv Drasnin
Votes: 21
56.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The World That Moses Built
(1989)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
Documentary about architect Robert Moses who is responsible for public works projects like the Lincoln Center and the United Nations in New York.
Stars: Robert Moses, Mark Obenhaus
Votes: 15
57. 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: 28,062 | Gross: $19.80M
58.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Eugene O'Neill: A Glory of Ghosts
(1986)
TV-14 | 150 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Eugene O'Neill was one of the greatest playwrights in American history. Through his experimental and emotionally probing dramas, he addressed the difficulties of human society with a deep psychological complexity.
Director: Perry Miller Adato | Stars: Jeffrey DeMunn, Zoe Caldwell, Colleen Dewhurst, Frances Conroy
Votes: 107
59.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Katherine Anne Porter: The Eye of Memory
(1986)
TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, History
When Katherine Anne Porter left her home state of Texas for New York, she brought with her the hard edge of a Western pioneer. Passionate and intelligent, it was this edge more than anything that made her name as a writer.
Director: Ken Harrison | Stars: Dina Chandel, Eleanor Clark, Joan Givner, Yankton Hatten
Votes: 54
60.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Demon Rum
(1989)
TV-PG | 58 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The spread of Prohibition from Henry Ford's Detroit factories nationwide
Director: Thomas Lennon | Star: Peter Thomas
Votes: 25
61.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The Great Air Race of 1924
(1989)
TV-PG | 58 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Follows the 1924 attempt by four U.S. Army Air Corps biplanes to circumnavigate the globe.
Director: David Grubin | Star: David McCulloch
Votes: 21
62.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Isaac in America: A Journey with Isaac Bashevis Singer
(1987)
TV-14 | 58 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Presents a biography of Nobel Prize winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer as he converses with friends in a popular cafeteria, responds to post-lecture questions, and addresses people in his study.
Director: Amram Nowak | Stars: Judd Hirsch, Isaac Bashevis Singer
Votes: 118
63. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
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: 117,576 | Gross: $106.59M
64.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
George Gershwin Remembered
(1987)
TV-14 | 88 min | Documentary, Biography, History
George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn in 1898, the second of four children from a close-knit immigrant family. He began his musical career as a song-plugger on Tin Pan Alley, but was soon writing his own pieces.
Stars: Clarke Peters, Harold Arlen, Fred Astaire, Leonard Bernstein
Votes: 117
65.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Adam Clayton Powell
(1989)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
Documentary on the life of civil rights advocate Powell, including his career as a Harlem minister and a US Congressman.
Votes: 16
66. Brazil (1985)
R | 132 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 211,260 | Gross: $9.93M
67.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
A Family Gathering
(1989)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Lise Yasui explores three generations of her Japanese-American family - from their immigration to Oregon in the early 1900s through their imprisonment in internment camps during World War Two.
Directors: Ann Tegnell, Lise Yasui
Votes: 29
68.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Rubinstein Remembered
(1987)
TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, History
A 100th anniversary tribute to the famous virtuoso pianist, Arthur Rubinstein.
Director: Peter Rosen | Star: John Rubinstein
Votes: 75
69.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The Great War: 1918
(1989)
TV-PG | 56 min | Documentary, Biography, History
America's experiences in France during World War I.
Director: Tom Weidlinger
Votes: 31
70. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
R | 174 min | Drama, Romance
A filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Isa Danieli
Votes: 282,989 | Gross: $11.99M
71.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Forever Baseball
(1989)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A nostalgic treatment of the national pastime and its meaning in history.
Director: Irv Drasnin | Star: Irv Drasnin
Votes: 12
72.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Directed by William Wyler
(1986)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A tribute to director William Wyler consisting of interviews and excerpts from his many classic films.
Director: Aviva Slesin | Stars: A. Scott Berg, Bette Davis, Samantha Eggar, Greer Garson
Votes: 548
73.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis: Nik and Murray
(1986)
TV-14 | 82 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The modern dance choreographers Alwin Nikolais and Murray Louis jointly and individually led many companies. The two developed the Nikolais/Louis dance technique together. In 1999 the dance companies representing their work were phased out
Director: Christian Blackwood | Stars: Murray Louis, Alwin Nikolais
74.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice
(1989)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
The work of a notable civil rights crusader in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Director: William Greaves | Stars: Troy Duster, Al Freeman Jr., Paula Giddings, Toni Morrison
Votes: 22
75. The Breakfast Club (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
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: 436,665 | Gross: $45.88M
76.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
The Negro Ensemble Company
(1987)
TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, History
Prior to the 1960s, there were virtually no outlets for the wealth of black theatrical talent in America. Playwrights writing realistically about the black experience could not get their work produced.
Votes: 55
77.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Mr. Sears' Catalogue
(1989)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
The story behind the mail order tome that brought merchandise (or dreams of it) within reach of Americans far and wide.
Directors: Edward Gray, Kenneth Levis | Star: Mark Obenhaus
Votes: 27
78. Shoah (1985)
Not Rated | 566 min | Documentary, History, War
Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
Director: Claude Lanzmann | Stars: Simon Srebnik, Michael Podchlebnik, Motke Zaïdl, Hanna Zaïdl
Votes: 10,557 | Gross: $0.02M
79. The Last Dragon (1985)
PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Julius Carry
Votes: 17,491 | Gross: $25.75M
80. Inferno (1980)
R | 106 min | Horror
An American student investigates the disappearance of his sister and the death of a friend, both connected from New York to Rome by an old alchemy book.
Director: Dario Argento | Stars: Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi
Votes: 24,025
81.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Hearts and Hands
(1988)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
The historical events of nineteenth-century America as depicted in the quilts of the country's women.
Director: Pat Ferrero
Votes: 11
82. Taipei Story (1985)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama
Lung is a former member of the national Little League team who lives with his old childhood sweetheart Ah-chin, a traditional family woman. Although they live together, Ah-chin is weary of Lung's past liaison with another girl.
Director: Edward Yang | Stars: Chin Tsai, Hsiao-Hsien Hou, I-Chen Ko, Su-Yun Ko
Votes: 3,915 | Gross: $0.01M
83. The Trip to Bountiful (1985)
PG | 108 min | Drama
In 1940s Texas, an elderly woman is determined to visit her childhood home one last time.
Director: Peter Masterson | Stars: Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford
Votes: 5,300 | Gross: $7.47M
84. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980)
PG | 150 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Three young provincial women come to Moscow in search of what people in all the capitals of the world are looking for - love, happiness and prosperity. Their destinies develop exactly as the character of each of the girls suggests.
Director: Vladimir Menshov | Stars: Vera Alentova, Aleksey Batalov, Irina Muravyova, Aleksandr Fatyushin
Votes: 14,294 | Gross: $2.50M
85. Pixote (1980)
TV-MA | 128 min | Crime, Drama
The life of a boy on the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with crimes, prostitution, and drugs.
Director: Hector Babenco | Stars: Fernando Ramos da Silva, Jorge Julião, Gilberto Moura, Edilson Lino
Votes: 9,240
86. American Masters (1985– )
TV-14 | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Documentary series focusing on great American artists and personalities.
Stars: Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Tony Bennett, Dick Cavett
Votes: 1,171
87. American Experience (1987– )
TV-PG | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A series showcasing documentaries on American history.
Stars: David McCullough, David Ogden Stiers, Michael Murphy, Oliver Platt
Votes: 2,205
88.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
The Algonquin Round Table: The Ten Year Lunch
(1987)
TV-14 | 56 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Surely one of the most profound and outrageous influences on the times following World War I, was the group of a dozen or so taste-makers who lunched together at New York City's Algonquin Hotel.
Director: Aviva Slesin | Stars: Heywood Hale Broun, Marc Connelly, Margalo Gillmore, Ruth Gordon
Votes: 220
89.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Ballad of a Mountain Man: The Story of Bascom Lamar Lunsford
(1989)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
Story of a folklore historian who sought to preserve the traditional music of the Appalachians for posterity.
Director: David Hoffman | Stars: Alan Bleviss, Merton Brown, Richard Dillingham, Berta Frady
Votes: 11
90. Wildcatter: The Story of Texas Oil (1985)
Documentary
Tells the story of the wildcatters of the Great East Texas Oil Field, providing a rollicking account of the risky business of those who drilled oil wells in areas not thought to be oil ... See full summary »
Director: Robert Tranchin | Star: William A. Owens
91.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Battle for Wilderness
(1990)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
Votes: 9
92. The Wilderness Idea: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and the First Great Battle for Wilderness (1989)
58 min | Documentary
To one man, it was perfect natural resource to benefit thousands of people. To another, it was a beautiful, sacred land that mustn't be defiled under any circumstance. In this documentary, ... See full summary »
Directors: Diane Garey, Lawrence R. Hott | Stars: Philip Bosco, Hume Cronyn, Ken Drury
Votes: 14
93. Trances (1981)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Music
The very popular Moroccan group Nass-El Ghiwane are filmed, in performances, meetings, interviews, and collaborations with other musicians.
Director: Ahmed El Maanouni | Stars: Larbi Batma, Nass-El Ghiwane, Abderrahman Paco, Omar Sayed
Votes: 698
94.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Buster Keaton: Hard Act to Follow
(1987)
TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, History
A look at Buster Keaton, an early star of film comedies.
Votes: 86
95. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
PG | 82 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
In 1935 New Jersey, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello, Irving Metzman
Votes: 55,289 | Gross: $10.63M
96.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Forbidden City, USA
(1990)
TV-PG | Documentary, Biography, History
The Americanization of Chinese people in the 1920s and 30s, including public roles that ran counter to their cultural history.
Director: Arthur Dong
Votes: 10
97. Story of Women (1988)
108 min | Drama, History, Romance
A housewife in Nazi-occupied France struggles to make ends meet when her husband returns home after being wounded in the war.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, François Cluzet, Marie Trintignant, Nils Tavernier
Votes: 5,747 | Gross: $0.44M
98. The Cramps: Live at Napa State Mental Hospital (1981 Video)
20 min | Documentary, Short, Music
The psychobilly rock group The Cramps perform a free concert for the patients at a state mental hospital in Napa, California.
Director: Joe Rees | Stars: The Cramps, Bryan Gregory, Lux Interior, Nick Knox
Votes: 186
99.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
(1989)
TV-14 | Documentary, Biography, History
In the summer of 1931, three young idealists, Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford and Lee Strasberg, were inspired by a passionate dream of transforming the American theater.
Director: David Heeley | Stars: Stella Adler, Margaret Barker, Phoebe Brand, Ellen Burstyn
Votes: 92
100. My Sweet Little Village (1985)
PG | 98 min | Comedy
The life of a small village runs on its own.
Director: Jirí Menzel | Stars: János Bán, Marián Labuda, Rudolf Hrusínský, Rudolf Hrusínský
Votes: 4,843
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