1.
Raging Bull- Scorsese |
2. Blade Runner – R. Scott |
3. Nostalgia – Tarkovsky |
4. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover – Greenaway |
5. Blue Velvet – Lynch |
6. Do the Right Thing – S. Lee |
7. The Shining – Kubrick |
8. Brazil – Gilliam |
9. Dekalog – Kieslowski |
10. Fitzcarraldo
– Herzog |
11. Fanny and
Alexander – Bergman |
12. Dead
Ringers – Cronenberg |
13. Raiders
of the Lost Ark – Spielberg |
14. Hannah
and Her Sisters- Allen |
15. Once Upon
a Time in America – Leone |
16. Rumble
Fish – F. Coppola |
17. Back to
the Future – Zemeckis |
18. A Zed
& Two Noughts – Greenaway |
19. Amadeus –
Forman |
20. The
Sacrifice – Tarkovsky |
21. The
Empire Strikes Back – Kershner |
22. Ran –
Kurosawa |
23. Mishima:
A Life in Four Chapters – Schrader |
24. Crimes
and Misdemeanors – Allen |
25. Blow Out
– De Palma |
26. E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial – Spielberg |
27. Aliens –
Cameron |
28. Veronika
Voss – Fassbinder |
29. Down by
Law – Jarmusch |
30. Diner –
Levinson |
31. Blood
Simple – Coen |
32. Full
Metal Jacket – Kubrick |
33. The Road
Warrior – G. Miller |
34. The Fly –
Cronenberg |
35. One from
the Heart – F. Coppola |
36. Stranger
Than Paradise – Jarmusch |
37. Broadway
Danny Rose – Allen |
38. The
Elephant Man – Lynch |
39. The Thing
– Carpenter |
40. Videodrome – Cronenberg |
41. Distant
Voices, Still Lives – Davies |
42. Die Hard
– McTiernan |
43. Lola –
Fassbinder |
44. Mystery
Train – Jarmusch |
45. My Dinner
with Andre – Malle |
46. The
Terminator – Cameron |
47. Berlin
Alexanderplatz – Fassbinder |
48. Stardust
Memories – Allen |
49. Scarface
– De Palma |
50. White Dog
– Fuller |
51. Who
Framed Roger Rabbit – Zemeckis |
52. Women on
the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown- Almodovar |
53. Withnail
& I- Bruce Robinson |
54. Grave of
the Fireflies – Takahata |
55. Wings of
Desire – Wenders |
56. The
Untouchables – De Palma |
57. The
Purple Rose of Cairo – Allen |
58. The
Cotton Club – F. Coppola |
59. Paris,
Texas – Wenders |
60. The
Ballad of Narayama – Imamura |
61. The King
of Comedy – Scorsese |
62. Mon oncle
d’Amérique – Resnais |
63. Manhunter
– M. Mann |
64. Platoon –
Stone |
65. Out of
Africa – Pollack |
66. Come and See – Klimov |
67. Escape
From New York – Carpenter |
68. Body Heat
– Kasdan |
69. Red
Sorghum – Yimou Zhang |
70. Bad
Timing – Roeg |
71. Chariots
of Fire – Hudson |
72. Reds-
Beatty |
73. The
Natural – Levinson |
74. Nausicaä
of the Valley of the Wind – Miyazaki |
75. Something
Wild – Demme |
76. Raising
Arizona – Coen |
77. A Room
with a View – Ivory |
78. Batman –
Burton |
79. Drugstore
Cowboy – Van Sant |
80. The
Draughtman’s Contract – Greenaway |
81. Dressed
to Kill – De Palma |
82. Heaven’s
Gate – Cimino |
83. My
Neighbor Tortoro – Miyazaki |
84. The Last
Emperor – Bertolucci |
85. The Right
Stuff – P. Kaufman |
86. Matewan –
Sayles |
87. Where is
the Friend’s Home? – Kiarostami |
88. Identification
of a Woman – Antonioni |
89. The Dead
– Huston |
90. Law of
Desire – Almodovar |
91. Cobra
Verde – Herzog |
92. Zelig –
Allen |
93. Predator
– McTiernan |
94. Thief –
M. Mann |
95. Das Boot
– Petersen |
96. Field of
Dreams – Phil Alden Robinson |
97. Sex,
Lies, and Videotape – Soderbergh |
98. Big –
Marshall |
99. Dangerous
Liaisons – Frears |
100. The Long Good Friday – John Mackenzie |
1. Raging Bull
2. Blade Runner
3. Fanny and Alexander
4. Do the Right Thing
5. Blue Velvet
6. Ran
7. The Shining
8. Brazil
9. Wings of Desire
10. Come and See
Once again, the same #1! However, if I were counting Dekalog as a film, it would probably be my #1, despite how much I love Raging Bull.
Great stuff, Leo. Thanks again for commenting and sharing. I’m overdue for a revisit of “Wings of Desire” and my good friend Professor Harris would agree with you on “Ran”. I’m wondering why you don’t count “Dekalog”?– not saying i necessarily disagree– just wondering. I think “Fanny and Alexander” was originally released on television so was wondering why you included one not the other.
Well done! Very thorough list. It’s always so amusing to debate best/worst movies. My 80’s top ten: (I’m not including my best animations because I personally feel those deserve their own category of greatness)
1. The Elephant Man
2. Die Hard
3. ET
4. The Breakfast Club
5. Predator
6. The Princess Bride
7. The Terminator
8. Field of Dreams
9. The Color Purple
10. Rain Man
This is a great list Drake. I love the you have manhunter on the list great film. I will say though any list of the 1980s that doesn’t have risky business, in my opinion the best film ever about being in high school and growing up dark funny and one of Tom Cruise’s best performances
My two favorite supporting the male performances of all time, just so you know, is Tom Cruise in magnolia. And John Goodman and The Big Lebowski. The Big Lebowski is my favorite comedy of all time. I can literally do the whole film dialogue word for word
I got to say though Drake, of all the disagreements that I might have with you, the fact that Brian depalma’s blowout it’s not only not in your top 100 of the 80s it’s not in the top 10. I’m a big de Palma fan, also missing is casualties of war, which I agree with Quentin Tarantino is the best film ever made about Vietnam, but blowout is the promise best film. It would be in my top 50 films of all time
@Kent– I don’t want to tick you off but Casualties of War as the best film ever made about Vietnam is just incorrect. I hate to disagree with you and Tarantino but its just not a debate in a world where Apocalypse Now exists.
Yeah your right because everyone knows Platoon is the best Vietnam War Movie.
@ Randy— haha I’ve got Platoon ahead of Casualties of War … but neither that close to Apocalypse Now– easily the best Vietnam War movie. Second probably is The Deer Hunter, Right?
Woops😅. It’s 25. My bad. Sorry. Well played..
@ Kent– great- no worries– haha- yeah Blow-Up is superb.
Fair enough on Apocalypse now. By the way my second-favorite Vietnam film
By the way Drake, is there any way cuz I’m kind of technically inept haha, to know which ranking or link you’re responding to my responses so I know what the latest take is
@Kent. Hmm. I’m not sure- I don’t think so on the blog/site. I’m experimenting with twitter but my knowledge there is very very elementary (even more so than this site) so I’m not there yet.
Hey Drake. Thanks for responding. I feel inspire today. I’m going to send you my top 10 films of the 1980s and my top 10 horror films of all time. the second list especially I want your take on. My sister and I are big big big film horror enthusiast I’d love to know your top 10
@Kent– sounds great- Can’t wait to check it out. I may struggle with the genre/horror ranking a little (as far producing one myself). Genres are often hard to define (is Jaws a horror? Silence of the Lambs?) so i don’t dedicate a lot of time thinking about it or ranking it. I can tell you which movies came out in the 1980’s– that’s definitive. Get what I mean. Either way- excited to check it out.
Great great comment! As far as horror films go I totally agree to me jaws and silence of the lambs fall into the thriller genre. You’re right I think Nicholas rogues don’t look now is a horror film some may call it drama some I call it thriller. It speaks to your film intelligence that you see it the way I do that it’s all subjective. I think horror films are highly highly underrated. And it’s a genre were the Auteurs aspect comes into play. EG Carpenter Hitchcock etcetera
Top 10 Films of the 1980s
10. Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer
9. Casualties of War
8. Die Hard
7. Field of Dreams
6 Local Hero
5 Back to the Future
4. The Shining
3 Blow out
2. Risky Business
1. Do the Right Thing
@Kent– really strong list! Thank you for sharing. Though we only share two films on our top 10’s (The Shining, Do the Right Thing) Blow Out, Back to the Future, Die Hard… are close on my list. I caught Local Hero recently and just don’t think it has the artistry to compete with Blade Runner or some of my others on the top of my list.
I’ve got 4 De Palma films in my top 100 here above but not Casualties of War– perhaps I’m overdue for a revisit and closer look to see if I’m wrong.
1 strong alternative mention would be Mississippi burning, which all historical misgivings aside has my favorite performance of the decade in Gene Hackman who is robbed for an Oscar by Dustin Hoffman’s effective but one-note performance in rain Man which wasn’t even the best performance in the film. Another would be Jonathan demme’s something wild
@ Kent– again– appreciate the note. I’m a big fan Mississippi Burning and Something Wild as well. Liotta is mesmerizing.
Most apparitions in the « Best Performances of the Year » category, in the 90’s :
Robert De Niro (3) :
} 1# en 1980.
} 5# en 1982.
} 3# en 1984.
Tom Cruise (2) :
} 2# en 1983.
} 6# en 1988.
Jack Nicholson (2) :
} 3# en 1980.
} 4# en 1989.
Harrison Ford (1) :
} 1# en 1981.
Klaus Kinski (1) :
} 1# en 1982.
James Woods (1) :
} 1# en 1983.
F. Murray Abraham (1) :
} 1# en 1984.
Michael J. Fox (1) :
} 1# en 1985.
Dennis Hooper (1) :
} 1# en 1986.
Richard E. Grant (1) :
} 1# en 1987.
Jeremy Irons (1) :
} 1# en 1988.
Martin Landau (1) :
} 1# en 1989.
Joe Pesci (1) :
} 2# en 1980.
Mel Gibson (1) :
} 2# en 1981.
Rutger Hauer (1) :
} 2# en 1982.
Tom Hulce (1) :
} 2# en 1984.
Jonathan Pryce (1) :
} 2# en 1985.
Ray Liotta (1) :
} 2# en 1986.
Michael Douglas (1) :
} 2# en 1987.
Bruce Willis (1) :
} 2# en 1988.
Michael Gambon (1) :
} 2# en 1989.
Kurt Russell (1) :
} 3# en 1981.
Jan Malmsjö (1) :
} 3# en 1982.
Christopher Walken (1) :
} 3# en 1983.
Tatsuya Nakadai (1) :
} 3# en 1985.
Michael Caine (1) :
} 3# en 1986.
Sean Connery (1) :
} 3# en 1987.
Tom Hanks (1) :
} 3# en 1988.
Danny Aiello (1) :
} 3# en 1989.
John Hurt (1) :
} 4# en 1980.
William Hurt (1) :
} 4# en 1981.
Paul Newman (1) :
} 4# en 1982.
Al Pacino (1) :
} 4# en 1983.
Robert Redford (1) :
} 4# en 1984.
Tom Berenger (1) :
} 4# en 1986.
Joe Mantegna (1) :
} 4# en 1987.
Max Von Sydow (1) :
} 4# en 1988.
Bob Hoskins (1) :
} 5# en 1980.
Warren Beatty (1) :
} 5# en 1981.
Harry Dean Stanton (1) :
} 5# en 1984.
Gary Oldman (1) :
} 5# en 1986.
Mickey Rourke (1) :
} 5# en 1987.
John Malkovich (1) :
} 5# en 1988.
Günter Lamprecht (1) :
} 6# en 1980.
Jeff Goldblum (1) :
} 6# en 1986.
Now, I don’t like ranking movies, (Is Do the Right Thing better than Raging Bull- probably not, but I don’t like to compare movies. It’s absolutely undeniable that both of them are big masterpieces).
Similarly, I don’t want to ‘rank’ decades. I do admit that the 70s were probably better in my opinion. However, the 80s are definitely incredibly underrated by most people. The most movies I have ever seen are from the 80s. Obviously quantity doesn’t equal quality, but I still think the 80s are really underrated.
My best animated movie: Grave of the Fireflies.
Easily some of the best war movies: Come and see, platoon, FMJ, Gallipoli, Glory
Often regarded as the best adventure movie: The indy movies
Best sports movie: Raging Bull
One of the best movies about movies: Cinema Paradiso
Some of the best sci-fi movies: Blade Runner, Road Warrior, Brazil, E.T (ebert’s favorite Spielberg)
Best live-action animated movie: Who framed Roger Rabbit
De Palma’s gangster masterpiece: The Untouchables.
The best documentary: The thin blue line
I could go on and on about why I feel this is the most underrated decade. Most of the movies I mentioned are adored by both me and you. (Some of them are my own choices).
Hey Drake how do you feel about this new list by Slant Ranking the Best my films of the 80s?
https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-100-best-films-of-the-1980s/
10. Fanny & Alexander
9. Blade Runner
8. The King of Comedy
7. Raiders of the Lost Ark
6. Back to the Future
5. The Empire Strikes Back
4. ET
3. Raging Bull
2. Blue Velvet
1. Brazil
@James Robbins– No Shining? Great list- I’m just asking.
Shining would be like 20-25, I like it a lot but I like a few Kubrick movies better
@Randy– wow- really strong. I just breezed through it and I’m blown away. Thanks for sending. I’m going to try to set aside some time this weekend and read it completely. This appears, at first glance, to be a really incredible collection of films.
Best Film of Each Year
1989- When Harry Met Sally (greatest romantic comedy of all time)
1988- A Fish Called Wanda (One of my favorite comedies and a tremendous performance by Kevin Kline)
1987- Full Metal Jacket
1986- Blue Velvet (My Second Favorite Movie of all time)
1985- Brazil (My Favorite Movie of all time)
1984- Amadeus
1983- Scarface (pretty weak year, this isn’t even in my top 30 of the decade)
1982- The King of Comedy (Love ET, but just had a rewatch of this and I think this honestly is just as good as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull)
1981- Raiders of the Lost Ark
1980- Raging Bull
Honorable Mentions:
– The Shining
– The Empire Strikes Back
– Back to the Future
1. Aliens
2. The Shining
3. Blade Runner
4. The Thing
5. Raging Bull
6. Come and See
7. Paris, Texas
8. Once Upon a Time in America
9. The Sacrifice
10. Ran
I love how you have White Dog in your top 50!! It’s very close to my top 10 and is so relevant to our current social climate.
my pick for movie each year
80 – the shining
81 – blow out
82 – blade runner
83 – rumble fish
84 – the terminator
85 – back to the future
86 – blue velvet
87 – predator
88 – die hard
89 – casualties of war
best overall: probably blue velvet
Some cinephiles are quick to ignore the 80s as a lesser decade for the artform. Many of the fan favorite movies of the period were inartistic comedies or high school films, and some of the 70s auteurs were past their peaks. Nonetheless, the 1980s is a great decade, and there is one thing that its filmmakers did better than those of any another. Most decades have one aspect of cinema for which they were the best (1950s in mise-en-scene, 2010s in camera movement), and the 80s lays claim to the best use of color. Do you agree with this claim?
The Shining; Blade Runner in its smoky chromatic beauty; Rumble Fish with its striking titular creatures; Ran; Blue Velvet; Do the Right Thing; and The Cook, the Thief. His Wife & Her Lover with its color-coordinated rooms are just a few of those that come to mind. Of course, there are films from other decades that use color as well or even better than these including The Wizard of Oz, Vertigo, Red Desert, Pierrot le Fou, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Three Colors: Blue, Schindler’s List, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and dozens that I have not yet seen. However, I believe that no decade lays claim to as many as the 1980s.
@Graham- I don’t think it is an outrageous claim by any means– counter may be something like the best film of the 1980’s (Raging Bull) is in black and white? haha. But I’m just giving you a hard time. I wouldn’t be prepared to argue for it or against the 1980’s having the best color without spending more time on it– but again- admire the work you put in here. Thanks for sharing