Top 101 Movies of the 80s (2 Viewers)

[Charlie Steiner]

#63: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK [parmount+ ]

@Ilov80s ' #34 pick. I will just duck and let him talk about it.

This is, AT THE VERY LEAST, top 10.

So even with the worst case scenario math of (100+55)/2 = 55 it's obvious...neither of you know that you're doing.

No 'objective' criteria was given, other than personal preference, making it entirely subjective. Therefore, I'm just enjoying the ride and will just share how some of these movies hit me.

I have a bad feeling about the top 10. We may need to burn this **** to the ground if there is some Woody Allen movie (Radio Days anyone?!?!?!) put into the top 10. THAT would be pure cronyism and I would put forth a fbg petition to recall the electors of this ballot.

THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS!!1!!11!

I think we can deduce some of these picks based on what we know of our GBs KP and IL80's to make educated guesses at their top picks. Based on KP's approximate age, based on his comments about how old he was when some of these picks came out, I'm pretty confident what the #1 pick is going to be, and even though it wasn't a favorite of mine, I'll respect it.

 

[KarmaPolice]

59/60:

ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]
THE ABYSS


Our #32 picks. Cameron getting his underwater boner on starting in the 80s. I was surprised how much I loved this one on a rewatch and love the idea of underwater ETs. Ending was cheesy, but that goes for a lot of movies so I don't knock it too much. I had forgotten about Ordinary People. Great movie that I would have had in the 70s-100 range.

 

[zamboni]

Let's do a few more before I pass out watching baseball.

underrated

 

[KarmaPolice]

Let's do a few more before I pass out watching baseball.

is there any other way to watch baseball?

At home? no.

 

[zamboni]

ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

One of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, but some real powerhouse performances from Hutton/Sutherland/MTM.

 

[KarmaPolice]

ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

One of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, but some real powerhouse performances from Hutton/Sutherland/MTM.

100% which might have been a reason I had put it out of mind. Gut punch of a movie.

 

[Manster]

I can see each of the next couple ruffling some feathers as well...

I think you will probly be able to say that every time you reveal new selections.....the peanut gallery is hungry

And yes, Raiders is too low. Anyone who lived in the 80's and disagrees, is either smokin crack, or too artsy fartsy

 

[KarmaPolice]

Ok - next up we have a tie with a couple of action bangers.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I can see each of the next couple ruffling some feathers as well...

I think you will probly be able to say that every time you reveal new selections.....the peanut gallery is hungry

And yes, Raiders is too low. Anyone who lived in the 80's and disagrees, is either smokin crack, or too artsy fartsy

I would submit that this is more true for people older than I am or who had older siblings who loved it.

I think there are some surprises on the list, but for anybody who has read my posts or been in movie drafts with me shouldn't be surprised by my rankings of Raiders or Airplane.

 

[otb_lifer]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

I thought the Petrie's lived in New Rochelle.

 

[Ilov80s]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

Yep all that great stuff going for it and didn’t even mention Judd Hirsch who is incredible in it.

 

[otb_lifer]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

I thought the Petrie's lived in New Rochelle.

... which is in Westchester co.

 

[KarmaPolice]

57/58:

FIRST BLOOD [hbo max]
PREDATOR [hbo max]

80s' #31 pick and Predator was on both of ours at #74 and #58. Despite my hate of Stallone, I really liked First Blood and it would be in my next wave of 100 for sure. A surprisingly good story at it's core. Again, I think it's that slight age gap for me, as I never watched First Blood until adulthood, but Predator hit just as those teen years did and I watched it all the time.

 

[otb_lifer]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

Yep all that great stuff going for it and didn’t even mention Judd Hirsch who is incredible in it.

because he's dead to me after "Independence Day", but your point is very well taken.

 

[zamboni]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

I think this and The Ice Storm were the most gut-wrenching depictions of the dysfunctional upper-middle class suburban set.

 

[Ilov80s]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

Yep all that great stuff going for it and didn’t even mention Judd Hirsch who is incredible in it.

because he's dead to me after "Independence Day", but your point is very well taken.

He will never die for me, Alex Reiger is my guy for life.

 

[Ilov80s]

57/58:

FIRST BLOOD [hbo max]
PREDATOR [hbo max]

80s' #31 pick and Predator was on both of ours at #74 and #58. Despite my hate of Stallone, I really liked First Blood and it would be in my next wave of 100 for sure. A surprisingly good story at it's core. Again, I think it's that slight age gap for me, as I never watched First Blood until adulthood, but Predator hit just as those teen years did and I watched it all the time.

Take that you artsy fartsy haters

 

[otb_lifer]

59/6
ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]

Remarkable piece of work - the apathetic pathos of MTM was so far removed from her days at WJN, or up in Westchester with Richard - who knew she had them kinda chops?

my favorite role from both Sutherland & Hutton - cuts like a razor.

the use of the score up in here was brilliant ... a co-starring role, no question.

the "peeling the curtains back on Suburbia" trope have been beaten to a bloody pulp, but very few hit it this cotdamn hard and successfully.

I think this and The Ice Storm were the most gut-wrenching depictions of the dysfunctional upper-middle class suburban set.

YES.

and i have slagged "American Beauty" up on this board a ton as a major fail compared to those two, specifically.

... and Virgin Suicides.

.... and, speaking of Hutton, Lymelife.

 

[zamboni]

57/58:

FIRST BLOOD [hbo max]
PREDATOR [hbo max]

First Blood is one I haven't seen in awhile - have to go back and watch again. Brian Dennehy was really good from what I recall. And a mute Stallone is a good Stallone.

Predator was enjoyable enough - cool monster.

 

[Scoresman]

#63: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK [parmount+ ]

@Ilov80s ' #34 pick. I will just duck and let him talk about it.

Wow, sorry, catching up but this is awful. This either means you left off Temple of Doom and Last Crusade or you ranked them higher, both of which are just not right, but all three are top films of the 80s. In what universe is RoTLA not a top ten 80s movie?

Also, people are saying that for some of us we're getting caught up in nostalgia as if it's a negative thing. I completely disagree. For movies, the way they can take you back to a previous time, especially childhood is such a strong and great feeling Couple this with the fact that the 80s were pretty much the golden age of action/adventure blockbuster movies, pushing down theseclassics in favor of the artsy fartsy just makes no sense for this decade. It's not like we're getting caught up in nostalgia for terrible movies here. Nobody remembers the 80s for Amadeus or Chariots of Fire or Driving Miss Daisy. They remember the 80s for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Back to the Future.

It's not. BUT sometimes nostalgia can cloud or over shadow quality. Also, depending on ages people have different sweet spots for nostalgia, or in the matter of Raiders and not watching it until my 30s, I have 0 nostalgia for it, and I didn't think it held up well. Still a fun movie, but it would be in my personal 100-200.

For me having 0 consideration for stuff that might be "artsy-fartsy" also is pretty ignorant. Just because my 10 year old brain didn't love them doesn't mean they aren't stellar movies that people should watch, or movies I have fallen for later in life. I think the more interesting discussion will come when we see the 29-30 we agreed on and are at the top. The top 30 is not lacking in cheese, explosions, laughs, or violence. Yes, there about about 6-7 in there that are "artsy-fartsy" and some huge titles we will get to before that too. Again, this was our list of favorite movies from the 80s, not favorite "80s movies" we both felt it was an important distinction based on our lists.

There's definitely room for artsy fartsy in a top 100 80s movies but they should mostly be on the back end. The top 50 should be filled with the following:

- Star Wars
- Indiana Jones
- Back to the Future
- campy 80s horror like NOES, Friday 13th, etc. (select films, not all of them)
- almost all the john hughes catalog
- other classic comedies like Caddyshack, Vacation, Ghostbusters, etc.
- other Blockbusters like Top Gun, Rambo, Aliens

I'm sure your top 50 will have a lot of these, but ROTLA was a swing and a miss. I know this is all subjective, but that was as close to being an objectively wrong pick as it gets.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Looks like HBO is the place for good 80s movies.

#63: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK [parmount+ ]

@Ilov80s ' #34 pick. I will just duck and let him talk about it.

Wow, sorry, catching up but this is awful. This either means you left off Temple of Doom and Last Crusade or you ranked them higher, both of which are just not right, but all three are top films of the 80s. In what universe is RoTLA not a top ten 80s movie?

Also, people are saying that for some of us we're getting caught up in nostalgia as if it's a negative thing. I completely disagree. For movies, the way they can take you back to a previous time, especially childhood is such a strong and great feeling Couple this with the fact that the 80s were pretty much the golden age of action/adventure blockbuster movies, pushing down theseclassics in favor of the artsy fartsy just makes no sense for this decade. It's not like we're getting caught up in nostalgia for terrible movies here. Nobody remembers the 80s for Amadeus or Chariots of Fire or Driving Miss Daisy. They remember the 80s for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Back to the Future.

It's not. BUT sometimes nostalgia can cloud or over shadow quality. Also, depending on ages people have different sweet spots for nostalgia, or in the matter of Raiders and not watching it until my 30s, I have 0 nostalgia for it, and I didn't think it held up well. Still a fun movie, but it would be in my personal 100-200.

For me having 0 consideration for stuff that might be "artsy-fartsy" also is pretty ignorant. Just because my 10 year old brain didn't love them doesn't mean they aren't stellar movies that people should watch, or movies I have fallen for later in life. I think the more interesting discussion will come when we see the 29-30 we agreed on and are at the top. The top 30 is not lacking in cheese, explosions, laughs, or violence. Yes, there about about 6-7 in there that are "artsy-fartsy" and some huge titles we will get to before that too. Again, this was our list of favorite movies from the 80s, not favorite "80s movies" we both felt it was an important distinction based on our lists.

There's definitely room for artsy fartsy in a top 100 80s movies but they should mostly be on the back end. The top 50 should be filled with the following:

- Star Wars
- Indiana Jones
- Back to the Future
- campy 80s horror like NOES, Friday 13th, etc. (select films, not all of them)
- almost all the john hughes catalog
- other classic comedies like Caddyshack, Vacation, Ghostbusters, etc.
- other Blockbusters like Top Gun, Rambo, Aliens

I'm sure your top 50 will have a lot of these, but ROTLA was a swing and a miss. I know this is all subjective, but that was as close to being an objectively wrong pick as it gets.

Serious question for you and others - how much are you going back and watching all these movies you are listing? Yes, some of these things you listed will show up, but adult KP has found many of them to be overrated on rewatches and slid down the list as others rose. We can have specific discussions as more and more are revealed.

 

[KarmaPolice]

57/58:

FIRST BLOOD [hbo max]
PREDATOR [hbo max]

80s' #31 pick and Predator was on both of ours at #74 and #58. Despite my hate of Stallone, I really liked First Blood and it would be in my next wave of 100 for sure. A surprisingly good story at it's core. Again, I think it's that slight age gap for me, as I never watched First Blood until adulthood, but Predator hit just as those teen years did and I watched it all the time.

Take that you artsy fartsy haters

LINK

 

[Ilov80s]

I loved me some slasher 80s movies when I was in middle school but those movies are mostly not good imo. Iconic doesn’t make them great movies for me. I’ll watch around Halloween for ambiance but they are pretty weak overall.

John Hughes had some great films and some of his movies do not hold up at all.

I loved Star Wars as a kid but the last 20 years they have done everything possible to suck all of the fun out of that world. It’s just too nerdy obsessed fan wrung out to dry for me.

 

[Scoresman]

Looks like HBO is the place for good 80s movies.

#63: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK [parmount+ ]

@Ilov80s ' #34 pick. I will just duck and let him talk about it.

Wow, sorry, catching up but this is awful. This either means you left off Temple of Doom and Last Crusade or you ranked them higher, both of which are just not right, but all three are top films of the 80s. In what universe is RoTLA not a top ten 80s movie?

Also, people are saying that for some of us we're getting caught up in nostalgia as if it's a negative thing. I completely disagree. For movies, the way they can take you back to a previous time, especially childhood is such a strong and great feeling Couple this with the fact that the 80s were pretty much the golden age of action/adventure blockbuster movies, pushing down theseclassics in favor of the artsy fartsy just makes no sense for this decade. It's not like we're getting caught up in nostalgia for terrible movies here. Nobody remembers the 80s for Amadeus or Chariots of Fire or Driving Miss Daisy. They remember the 80s for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Back to the Future.

It's not. BUT sometimes nostalgia can cloud or over shadow quality. Also, depending on ages people have different sweet spots for nostalgia, or in the matter of Raiders and not watching it until my 30s, I have 0 nostalgia for it, and I didn't think it held up well. Still a fun movie, but it would be in my personal 100-200.

For me having 0 consideration for stuff that might be "artsy-fartsy" also is pretty ignorant. Just because my 10 year old brain didn't love them doesn't mean they aren't stellar movies that people should watch, or movies I have fallen for later in life. I think the more interesting discussion will come when we see the 29-30 we agreed on and are at the top. The top 30 is not lacking in cheese, explosions, laughs, or violence. Yes, there about about 6-7 in there that are "artsy-fartsy" and some huge titles we will get to before that too. Again, this was our list of favorite movies from the 80s, not favorite "80s movies" we both felt it was an important distinction based on our lists.

There's definitely room for artsy fartsy in a top 100 80s movies but they should mostly be on the back end. The top 50 should be filled with the following:

- Star Wars
- Indiana Jones
- Back to the Future
- campy 80s horror like NOES, Friday 13th, etc. (select films, not all of them)
- almost all the john hughes catalog
- other classic comedies like Caddyshack, Vacation, Ghostbusters, etc.
- other Blockbusters like Top Gun, Rambo, Aliens

I'm sure your top 50 will have a lot of these, but ROTLA was a swing and a miss. I know this is all subjective, but that was as close to being an objectively wrong pick as it gets.

Serious question for you and others - how much are you going back and watching all these movies you are listing? Yes, some of these things you listed will show up, but adult KP has found many of them to be overrated on rewatches and slid down the list as others rose. We can have specific discussions as more and more are revealed.

In the last year I have rewatched Goonies, Ghostbusters, two Indiana Jones movies, Aliens, and a couple John Hughes movies. We rewatch Christmas vacation and A Christmas Story annually at Christmas. One of the best things about all of these movies is how they hold up over time.

 

[Scoresman]

I loved me some slasher 80s movies when I was in middle school but those movies are mostly not good imo. Iconic doesn’t make them great movies for me. I’ll watch around Halloween for ambiance but they are pretty weak overall.

John Hughes had some great films and some of his movies do not hold up at all.

I loved Star Wars as a kid but the last 20 years they have done everything possible to suck all of the fun out of that world. It’s just too nerdy obsessed fan wrung out to dry for me.

Yeah, not all of the slasher movies hold up and they can be a good example of nostalgia propping up a bad movie, but some are great. Friday the 13th part 3 being the best because it features the first pair of boobies I ever saw.

 

[zamboni]

I loved me some slasher 80s movies when I was in middle school but those movies are mostly not good imo. Iconic doesn’t make them great movies for me. I’ll watch around Halloween for ambiance but they are pretty weak overall.

John Hughes had some great films and some of his movies do not hold up at all.

I loved Star Wars as a kid but the last 20 years they have done everything possible to suck all of the fun out of that world. It’s just too nerdy obsessed fan wrung out to dry for me.

Yeah, not all of the slasher movies hold up and they can be a good example of nostalgia propping up a bad movie, but some are great. Friday the 13th part 3 being the best because it features the first pair of boobies I ever saw.

I think that was among the first 3-D movies out there. IIRC you got to see some dude walking on his hands get his torso severed and come right at you.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Looks like HBO is the place for good 80s movies.

#63: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK [parmount+ ]

@Ilov80s ' #34 pick. I will just duck and let him talk about it.

Wow, sorry, catching up but this is awful. This either means you left off Temple of Doom and Last Crusade or you ranked them higher, both of which are just not right, but all three are top films of the 80s. In what universe is RoTLA not a top ten 80s movie?

Also, people are saying that for some of us we're getting caught up in nostalgia as if it's a negative thing. I completely disagree. For movies, the way they can take you back to a previous time, especially childhood is such a strong and great feeling Couple this with the fact that the 80s were pretty much the golden age of action/adventure blockbuster movies, pushing down theseclassics in favor of the artsy fartsy just makes no sense for this decade. It's not like we're getting caught up in nostalgia for terrible movies here. Nobody remembers the 80s for Amadeus or Chariots of Fire or Driving Miss Daisy. They remember the 80s for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Back to the Future.

It's not. BUT sometimes nostalgia can cloud or over shadow quality. Also, depending on ages people have different sweet spots for nostalgia, or in the matter of Raiders and not watching it until my 30s, I have 0 nostalgia for it, and I didn't think it held up well. Still a fun movie, but it would be in my personal 100-200.

For me having 0 consideration for stuff that might be "artsy-fartsy" also is pretty ignorant. Just because my 10 year old brain didn't love them doesn't mean they aren't stellar movies that people should watch, or movies I have fallen for later in life. I think the more interesting discussion will come when we see the 29-30 we agreed on and are at the top. The top 30 is not lacking in cheese, explosions, laughs, or violence. Yes, there about about 6-7 in there that are "artsy-fartsy" and some huge titles we will get to before that too. Again, this was our list of favorite movies from the 80s, not favorite "80s movies" we both felt it was an important distinction based on our lists.

There's definitely room for artsy fartsy in a top 100 80s movies but they should mostly be on the back end. The top 50 should be filled with the following:

- Star Wars
- Indiana Jones
- Back to the Future
- campy 80s horror like NOES, Friday 13th, etc. (select films, not all of them)
- almost all the john hughes catalog
- other classic comedies like Caddyshack, Vacation, Ghostbusters, etc.
- other Blockbusters like Top Gun, Rambo, Aliens

I'm sure your top 50 will have a lot of these, but ROTLA was a swing and a miss. I know this is all subjective, but that was as close to being an objectively wrong pick as it gets.

Serious question for you and others - how much are you going back and watching all these movies you are listing? Yes, some of these things you listed will show up, but adult KP has found many of them to be overrated on rewatches and slid down the list as others rose. We can have specific discussions as more and more are revealed.

In the last year I have rewatched Goonies, Ghostbusters, two Indiana Jones movies, Aliens, and a couple John Hughes movies. We rewatch Christmas vacation and A Christmas Story annually at Christmas. One of the best things about all of these movies is how they hold up over time.

Well, I agree on many of those and don't dislike any of those except 1. Some were on my list, some barely outside of the top 100 and all 7/10+ rated movies for me. Many of you still might hate us at the end, but at least give us a shot with our collective top 30 we agreed on and we can have more discussions about what we think does and doesn't hold up with 80s movies at the end.

For example in our top 30 there are 9 movies that I would consider action movies of some sort. We have 6-7 comedies. IMO we are more than balanced with 80s cheese and nostalgia. The discussion that is more interesting IMO is why those 9 action movies were rated higher by us than something like Raiders or Predator or others people are thinking of.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I loved me some slasher 80s movies when I was in middle school but those movies are mostly not good imo. Iconic doesn’t make them great movies for me. I’ll watch around Halloween for ambiance but they are pretty weak overall.

John Hughes had some great films and some of his movies do not hold up at all.

I loved Star Wars as a kid but the last 20 years they have done everything possible to suck all of the fun out of that world. It’s just too nerdy obsessed fan wrung out to dry for me.

Yeah, not all of the slasher movies hold up and they can be a good example of nostalgia propping up a bad movie, but some are great. Friday the 13th part 3 being the best because it features the first pair of boobies I ever saw.

Shelly was terrible.

One thing that drives me crazy about Friday the 13th sequels is the need for the damn recaps. It's obvious they were just printing money and only had ideas for about 70 minutes of slashing teenagers - I know, let's have a 10min flashback/recap to start the movie!! Don't get me wrong, I love the series, but great movies they aren't. Representative of how bananas 80s horror movies were? 100%

 

[Don Quixote]

I loved me some slasher 80s movies when I was in middle school but those movies are mostly not good imo. Iconic doesn’t make them great movies for me. I’ll watch around Halloween for ambiance but they are pretty weak overall.

John Hughes had some great films and some of his movies do not hold up at all.

I loved Star Wars as a kid but the last 20 years they have done everything possible to suck all of the fun out of that world. It’s just too nerdy obsessed fan wrung out to dry for me.

Yeah, not all of the slasher movies hold up and they can be a good example of nostalgia propping up a bad movie, but some are great. Friday the 13th part 3 being the best because it features the first pair of boobies I ever saw.

I think that was among the first 3-D movies out there. IIRC you got to see some dude walking on his hands get his torso severed and come right at you.

3-D movies have been around almost as long as cinema itself. Pretty popular in the 1950s, including stuff like House of Wax and Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder.

 

[zamboni]

I loved me some slasher 80s movies when I was in middle school but those movies are mostly not good imo. Iconic doesn’t make them great movies for me. I’ll watch around Halloween for ambiance but they are pretty weak overall.

John Hughes had some great films and some of his movies do not hold up at all.

I loved Star Wars as a kid but the last 20 years they have done everything possible to suck all of the fun out of that world. It’s just too nerdy obsessed fan wrung out to dry for me.

Yeah, not all of the slasher movies hold up and they can be a good example of nostalgia propping up a bad movie, but some are great. Friday the 13th part 3 being the best because it features the first pair of boobies I ever saw.

I think that was among the first 3-D movies out there. IIRC you got to see some dude walking on his hands get his torso severed and come right at you.

3-D movies have been around almost as long as cinema itself. Pretty popular in the 1950s, including stuff like House of Wax and Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder.

True - probably should have said among the first that advertised themselves as 3-D. I think Jaws 3-D followed shortly thereafter, among others.

 

[DocHolliday]

59/60:

ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]
THE ABYSS


Our #32 picks. Cameron getting his underwater boner on starting in the 80s. I was surprised how much I loved this one on a rewatch and love the idea of underwater ETs. Ending was cheesy, but that goes for a lot of movies so I don't knock it too much. I had forgotten about Ordinary People. Great movie that I would have had in the 70s-100 range.

I really like the Abyss and don’t remember watching it in the 80s. Have probably seen it 5 times. However, how that is ranked higher than a few of the other movies listed is nuts. It’s a fun list of movies but I think you pulled the ranking out of a hat.

 

[KarmaPolice]

59/60:

ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]
THE ABYSS


Our #32 picks. Cameron getting his underwater boner on starting in the 80s. I was surprised how much I loved this one on a rewatch and love the idea of underwater ETs. Ending was cheesy, but that goes for a lot of movies so I don't knock it too much. I had forgotten about Ordinary People. Great movie that I would have had in the 70s-100 range.

I really like the Abyss and don’t remember watching it in the 80s. Have probably seen it 5 times. However, how that is ranked higher than a few of the other movies listed is nuts. It’s a fun list of movies but I think you pulled the ranking out of a hat.

These are the comments that piss me off. I think both of us put a surprising amount of effort, thinking, and rewatches into these lists.

 

[DocHolliday]

59/60:

ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]
THE ABYSS


Our #32 picks. Cameron getting his underwater boner on starting in the 80s. I was surprised how much I loved this one on a rewatch and love the idea of underwater ETs. Ending was cheesy, but that goes for a lot of movies so I don't knock it too much. I had forgotten about Ordinary People. Great movie that I would have had in the 70s-100 range.

I really like the Abyss and don’t remember watching it in the 80s. Have probably seen it 5 times. However, how that is ranked higher than a few of the other movies listed is nuts. It’s a fun list of movies but I think you pulled the ranking out of a hat.

These are the comments that piss me off. I think both of us put a surprising amount of effort, thinking, and rewatches into these lists.

Lighten up Francis.

 

[Mummy4]

appreciate the inclusion of where these can be watched KP

 

[JAA]

As much as I like Tom Cruise movies, and it's a bunch, I've never seen Risky Business or Days of Thunder.

Days of Thunder is underrated IMHO

 

[KarmaPolice]

59/60:

ORDINARY PEOPLE [prime, paramount+]
THE ABYSS


Our #32 picks. Cameron getting his underwater boner on starting in the 80s. I was surprised how much I loved this one on a rewatch and love the idea of underwater ETs. Ending was cheesy, but that goes for a lot of movies so I don't knock it too much. I had forgotten about Ordinary People. Great movie that I would have had in the 70s-100 range.

I really like the Abyss and don’t remember watching it in the 80s. Have probably seen it 5 times. However, how that is ranked higher than a few of the other movies listed is nuts. It’s a fun list of movies but I think you pulled the ranking out of a hat.

These are the comments that piss me off. I think both of us put a surprising amount of effort, thinking, and rewatches into these lists.

Lighten up Francis.

Sorry, I actually usually enjoy talking about movies, but these countdowns turn frustrating and negative in a big hurry. It's why I was hesitant to do the 80s one in particular. Particularily frustruting is the post suggesting we are just pulling stuff out our *** or "trying too hard" as though these aren't our actual rankings and movies we like.

 

[KarmaPolice]

appreciate the inclusion of where these can be watched KP

Thanks. I will be honest, I am not checking on HBO or anything like that, I am just listing them if they show up on justwatch.com, but they aren't always right and titles come and go.

 

[KarmaPolice]

56: SCARFACE [hulu]

80s' #30 selection. I still haven't managed to sit down and watch it. It wasn't part of my homework assignment, so I didn't feel the need yet.

 

[zamboni]

appreciate the inclusion of where these can be watched KP

We've come a long way when you could only see some of these movies after watching this beaut of an opening.

 

[Scoresman]

Looks like HBO is the place for good 80s movies.

#63: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK [parmount+ ]

@Ilov80s ' #34 pick. I will just duck and let him talk about it.

Wow, sorry, catching up but this is awful. This either means you left off Temple of Doom and Last Crusade or you ranked them higher, both of which are just not right, but all three are top films of the 80s. In what universe is RoTLA not a top ten 80s movie?

Also, people are saying that for some of us we're getting caught up in nostalgia as if it's a negative thing. I completely disagree. For movies, the way they can take you back to a previous time, especially childhood is such a strong and great feeling Couple this with the fact that the 80s were pretty much the golden age of action/adventure blockbuster movies, pushing down theseclassics in favor of the artsy fartsy just makes no sense for this decade. It's not like we're getting caught up in nostalgia for terrible movies here. Nobody remembers the 80s for Amadeus or Chariots of Fire or Driving Miss Daisy. They remember the 80s for Indiana Jones, Star Wars, and Back to the Future.

It's not. BUT sometimes nostalgia can cloud or over shadow quality. Also, depending on ages people have different sweet spots for nostalgia, or in the matter of Raiders and not watching it until my 30s, I have 0 nostalgia for it, and I didn't think it held up well. Still a fun movie, but it would be in my personal 100-200.

For me having 0 consideration for stuff that might be "artsy-fartsy" also is pretty ignorant. Just because my 10 year old brain didn't love them doesn't mean they aren't stellar movies that people should watch, or movies I have fallen for later in life. I think the more interesting discussion will come when we see the 29-30 we agreed on and are at the top. The top 30 is not lacking in cheese, explosions, laughs, or violence. Yes, there about about 6-7 in there that are "artsy-fartsy" and some huge titles we will get to before that too. Again, this was our list of favorite movies from the 80s, not favorite "80s movies" we both felt it was an important distinction based on our lists.

There's definitely room for artsy fartsy in a top 100 80s movies but they should mostly be on the back end. The top 50 should be filled with the following:

- Star Wars
- Indiana Jones
- Back to the Future
- campy 80s horror like NOES, Friday 13th, etc. (select films, not all of them)
- almost all the john hughes catalog
- other classic comedies like Caddyshack, Vacation, Ghostbusters, etc.
- other Blockbusters like Top Gun, Rambo, Aliens

I'm sure your top 50 will have a lot of these, but ROTLA was a swing and a miss. I know this is all subjective, but that was as close to being an objectively wrong pick as it gets.

Serious question for you and others - how much are you going back and watching all these movies you are listing? Yes, some of these things you listed will show up, but adult KP has found many of them to be overrated on rewatches and slid down the list as others rose. We can have specific discussions as more and more are revealed.

In the last year I have rewatched Goonies, Ghostbusters, two Indiana Jones movies, Aliens, and a couple John Hughes movies. We rewatch Christmas vacation and A Christmas Story annually at Christmas. One of the best things about all of these movies is how they hold up over time.

Well, I agree on many of those and don't dislike any of those except 1. Some were on my list, some barely outside of the top 100 and all 7/10+ rated movies for me. Many of you still might hate us at the end, but at least give us a shot with our collective top 30 we agreed on and we can have more discussions about what we think does and doesn't hold up with 80s movies at the end.

For example in our top 30 there are 9 movies that I would consider action movies of some sort. We have 6-7 comedies. IMO we are more than balanced with 80s cheese and nostalgia. The discussion that is more interesting IMO is why those 9 action movies were rated higher by us than something like Raiders or Predator or others people are thinking of.

For the record, I dont hate you at all, GB. And I love this thread. We all make mistakes now and then.

It's good discussion. I'm just really passionate about the classic 80s movies.

 

[JAA]

So far a list of people gauranteed to not like our list: Andy, JAA, Scoresman

Kudos to you anyway. If I put together a list of my top 100 favorite comedies it would be short about 92 entries.

Im just starting my list of top 100 worst FBG posters. Easy entries for 100, 99, and, 98 ...

 

[Scoresman]

So far a list of people gauranteed to not like our list: Andy, JAA, Scoresman

Kudos to you anyway. If I put together a list of my top 100 favorite comedies it would be short about 92 entries.

Im just starting my list of top 100 worst FBG posters. Easy entries for 100, 99, and, 98 ...

What a coincidence. I'm starting my list of top 70s movies.

100: The Godfather

 

[KarmaPolice]

54/55:

HOUSE OF GAMES [tubi]
THE KARATE KID [amc+ ]

Our #28 selections. Karate Kid is a core movie for me, love every minute of it. Great little father/son dynamic at the core, prime Elizabeth Shue, and quotes for years. "Get 'im a body bag ... yeah!!" House of Games is another I haven't seen - and this will be a running theme in the next 20 or so picks. @Ilov80s is giving me quite the list of 80s movies to watch for homework that will be new to me.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

100: The Godfather

In fairness to the two thread starters...that's probably about where I'd rank it on MY favorite movies list.

I see they threw me a bone with The Abyss. Nice.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

54/55:

HOUSE OF GAMES [tubi]
THE KARATE KID [amc+ ]

Our #28 selections. Karate Kid is a core movie for me, love every minute of it. Great little father/son dynamic at the core, prime Elizabeth Shue, and quotes for years. "Get 'im a body bag ... yeah!!" House of Games is another I haven't seen - and this will be a running theme in the next 20 or so picks. @Ilov80s is giving me quite the list of 80s movies to watch for homework that will be new to me.

I think you'll like House of Games. I watched it not that long ago and found it worthwhile.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

54/55:

HOUSE OF GAMES [tubi]
THE KARATE KID [amc+ ]

Our #28 selections. Karate Kid is a core movie for me, love every minute of it. Great little father/son dynamic at the core, prime Elizabeth Shue, and quotes for years. "Get 'im a body bag ... yeah!!" House of Games is another I haven't seen - and this will be a running theme in the next 20 or so picks. @Ilov80s is giving me quite the list of 80s movies to watch for homework that will be new to me.

And part 1 of the William Zabka trilogy appears.

 

[KarmaPolice]

appreciate the inclusion of where these can be watched KP

We've come a long way when you could only see some of these movies after watching this beaut of an opening.

Good lord.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I have a feeling if we do the 70s it would be much more in line with the tastes of the masses. Well, I guess we still would have my dislike of 70s comedies to contend with, so maybe not.

 

[KarmaPolice]

53: GHOSTBUSTERS [amc+]

My #27 pick. This one is right there with Karate Kid as being movies that formed the core of my love for movies. Gremlins scared me, but what a June in 1984 with that movie, then Karate Kid and Ghostbusters. I know I saw each of those many times with my friends before they left the theater, and those were a couple of the very few we had on VHS. Easily have seen each of those two movies 100s of times.