Do You Remember These?
When it comes to movies and the 1980s, everyone remembers Raging Bull and The Breakfast Club—but there are a whole lotta good films from that decade that seem to have fallen out of the public conversation. So, we've made it our job to bring them back. How many of these seemingly-forgotten movies from the 80s have you seen? Maybe they all aren't as forgotten as we think.
Night Shift (1982)
It was Ron Howard's second time behind the camera, Michael Keaton's first starring role, and Henry Winkler was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance—and it has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. So why doesn't anyone talk about this screwball comedy?
The Ladd Company, Night Shift (1982)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Most of Steve Martin's best movies were made from the late 70s to the early 90s. But one of the best–and one that doesn't get the credit it deserves—is Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. Directed by Carl Reiner, this neo-noir mystery comedy plays out like a classic pulp film noir and uses clips from old film noir movies throughout the film. It might sound like a gimmick, but it's so much more than that. It's brilliant and original and exciting.
Universal, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Ladyhawke (1985)
Please tell us someone else remembers this medieval fantasy flick starring Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer?
Warner Bros., Ladyhawke (1985)
Brewster's Millions (1985)
Richard Pryor is one of the greatest standup comedians of all time—and yet most of the movies he made were mediocre at best. But one of the good ones was Brewster's Millions. Pryor plays a Minor League Baseball pitcher who accepts a challenge to spend $30 million in 30 days in order to inherit $300 million from his great-uncle. Throw in John Candy and this one is a lot more fun than the bad reviews make it out to be.
Universal, Brewster's Millions (1985)
Hoosiers (1986)
Sports fans will know (and love) this one.
The Abyss (1989)
Does this one belong on this list? It is a James Cameron movie after all. However, it is also one that often gets overlooked in his oeuvre. We'll take The Abyss over Avatar any day!
Twentieth Century, The Abyss (1989)
Splash (1984)
We're surprised to be mentioning this one here, given that it's a Tom Hanks film and was a pretty big hit at the time. But for some reason, we just don't see Splash getting talked about much anymore. So, before the new generation of movie-goers forgets about it completely, we wanted to put it out there again.
Some Kind Of Wonderful (1987)
You thought you knew every John Hughes movie from the 80s? Well, how about this one Hughes wrote about a high school guy who dates the popular girl, which in turn ticks off her ex-boyfriend—all while the guy's best friend realizes that she is in love with him. Sounds like classic John Hughes, doesn't it? It's worth checking out.
Paramount, Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Biloxi Blues (1988)
Written by the great playwright Neil Simon—and based on his semi-autobiographical 1984 play—Biloxi Blues stars Matthew Broderick as a drafted teenager during WWII, who's sent to basic training, and really doesn't want to be there. It's a military comedy, a coming-of-age story, and a completely underrated film (one of Broderick's best). Christopher Walken also gives an unforgettable performance as the group's training officer, Sergeant Toomey.
Rastar Pictures, Biloxi Blues (1988)
Short Circuit (1986)
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who know what you're talking about when you say "Johnny 5", and those that don't.
Midnight Run (1988)
Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin star in an action comedy that Roger Ebert gave 3.5 out of 4 stars and has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you've seen it, then you understand why.
Universal, Midnight Run (1988)
An American Werewolf In London (1981)
A cult classic werewolf horror comedy directed by the guy who directed Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video.
Polygram, An American Werewolf in London (1981)
After Hours (1985)
Martin Scorsese made two of his best films (and two of the greatest movies ever made) in 1980 and 1990 with Raging Bull and Goodfellas respectively. The movies he made between those two don't get talked about as much, but they should be. Especially After Hours. A black comedy about a guy's misadventures during one night in New York City might not sound like your typical Scorsese fare, which is probably why so many people haven't seen it. But so many people should.
The Geffen Company, After Hours (1985)
The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)
And while we're on the topic of forgotten Scorsese movies from the 80s, we have to mention The Last Temptation of Christ. If you were around in 1988, you probably remember the furor and all the religious protests surrounding the film. But what you might not remember is how great the movie is.
Universal, The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Innerspace (1987)
Dennis Quaid is a pilot testing top-secret miniaturization technology who is accidentally injected into Martin Short (in a great comedic performance), a hypochondriac grocery store clerk. You also have Meg Ryan. It's as weird and fun as it sounds.
Warner Bros., Innerspace (1987)
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
We already talked about Martin Scorsese, so how about we mention another brilliant director who had an underappreciated run in the 80s. Well, actually, Francis Ford Coppola's 1986 fantasy comedy-drama Peggy Sue Got Married was appreciated at the time. Star Kathleen Turner was nominated for an Oscar and the film was nominated for Best Picture–Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes. But when's the last time you heard a discussion of Coppola's work mention this one?
Warner Bros., Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
Tucker: The Man And His Dream (1988)
And also like with Martin Scorsese, we have another Coppola film from the decade that we want to shine some light on. In Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Jeff Bridges plays inventor Preston Tucker, a man who attempted to go up against the Big Three automakers in the 1940s with his Tucker 48 automobile.
Lucasfilm, Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988)
Real Genius (1985)
This sci-fi comedy was Val Kilmer's second movie role but whether it is the one that made him a star or not, we can't say. But for those of us who saw Real Genius back in the 80s, it's one that has stuck with us. It's a classic 80s comedy with a somewhat ridiculous premise, cool nerds and college pranks, along with covert CIA operations and sci-fi tech.
The Dream Team (1989)
Michael Keaton was in two movies in 1989. One of them was Batman—and the other one, no one ever talks about, but they should. Is The Dream Team as good as Batman? No, of course not. But this comedy starring Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, and Peter Boyle as psychiatric hospital inpatients left unsupervised in New York City is better than its 50% Rotten Tomatoes score would suggest.
Universal, The Dream Team (1989)
Johnny Dangerously (1984)
Honestly, "Weird Al" Yankovic's awesome theme song "This Is the Life" is reason enough to watch this one (while not available on the VHS versions, the song was added back in for the DVD release). This parody of old-school gangster films was directed by Amy Heckerling and stars Michael Keaton (a name we notice we are mentioning a lot on this list).
Twentieth Century, Johnny Dangerously (1984)
Clean And Sober (1988)
Again, we want to mention a Michael Keaton movie, but what makes Clean and Sober different from his other roles in the 80s was that it wasn't a comedy. While these days, we know Keaton can do drama, prior to Clean and Sober, he'd never done anything that wasn't a comedy. So, audiences might've been a little uncertain of him playing a man with substance abuse problems trying to get clean. But not only did he prove he could do it, Keaton did it so well that he earned himself the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor.
Warner Bros., Clean and Sober (1988)
Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
Clean and Sober wasn't the only film released in 1988 featuring an addicted main character. Michael J Fox stars as an addicted, hard-partying fact-checker for a major New York City magazine in Bright Lights, Big City.
United Artists, Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
Repo Man (1984)
A sci-fi black comedy starring Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez about the pursuit of a Chevy Malibu and possibly aliens. Sounds weird. Is weird. But it's also good.
Edge City Productions, Repo Man (1984)
The Money Pit (1986)
This Tom Hanks/Shelley Long comedy about a couple's trials and tribulations renovating a house with more problems than solutions might not have been well received back in 1986, but it's one we think has been overlooked.
Universal, The Money Pit (1986)
Tango & Cash (1989)
Looking for a good ol' buddy cop action comedy? May we introduce you to Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, and Tango & Cash.
Warner Bros., Tango & Cash (1989)
Starman (1984)
John Carpenter and romance don't sound like they would go together very well—but with Starman, the famed horror director made a sci-fi romance that kinda came and went at the time but is worth finding today if you can.
Prince Of The City (1981)
When we discuss director Sidney Lumet, the films that come up most often are ones such as Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, and Network—and rightly so, they are amazing movies. But let us also mention 1981's Prince of the City, starring Treat Williams as a cop who, like in Serpico, exposes corruption in the NYPD.
Orion, Prince of the City (1981)
Married To The Mob (1988)
This rom-com crime film starring Michelle Pfeiffer is the film Jonathan Demme made before he directed The Silence of the Lambs. And speaking of The Silence of the Lambs...
Orion, Married to the Mob (1988)
Manhunter (1986)
Everyone knows about The Silence of the Lambs (as they should. It is a great film). And because of that film, many people are also aware of the sequel, Hannibal, and even the lesser prequels, Red Dragon and Hannibal Rising. But how many remember the first film featuring Hannibal Lecter, Michael Mann's Manhunter (based on the Red Dragon novel)? And while we're talking Michael Mann films...
The De Laurentiis Company, Manhunter (1986)
Thief (1981)
Mann's first film, made five years before Manhunter, was Thief—starring James Cann as a professional safecracker trying to get out of the life. Roger Ebert called it, "one of the most intelligent thrillers I've seen".
Ordinary People (1980)
This powerful family drama gets talked about a fair amount, but usually the talk is about how it won Best Picture at the Academy Awards over Raging Bull. And while we aren't here to debate the merits of its victory over that Scorsese masterpiece, we do want to give Ordinary People praise without any qualifiers. Robert Redford made a great movie. Enough said.
Paramount, Ordinary People (1980)
Clue (1985)
We should probably ask if anyone remembers the Clue board game–let alone the 1985 comedy mystery film based on said game. How many of you saw it multiple times in the theaters in order to see all three different endings?
Blood Simple (1984)
The first film in the Coen brothers filmography let everyone know they were something special.
River Road Productions, Blood Simple (1984)
Hamburger Hill (1987)
The 80s was a great decade for war movies. Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, and Good Morning Vietnam all came out within that 10-year span—and so did Hamburger Hill. It's one that doesn't get the same attention as the others, but deserves some recognition. Come on, it even has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
