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The Best Movies of the 1980s

The 1980s ranked by our composite score across 20+ authoritative lists, awards and polls — not one critic's opinion, but the weight of the whole canon.

Raging Bull (1980) leads with a composite score of 5.71. Top 100 of 792 films in our library.

  1. 1
    Raging Bull1980 · Martin Scorsese · United States · biography, drama, action
    5.71

    AFI 100 (2007) #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22 · Siskel's annual top 10 1980 #1

  2. 2
    Do the Right Thing1989 · Spike Lee · United States · comedy, drama
    4.39

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1989 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #24 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #29

  3. 3
    Amadeus1984 · Miloš Forman · United States · biography, musical, drama
    4.33

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1984 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1984 #1

  4. 4
    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial1982 · Steven Spielberg · United States · sci-fi, drama
    4.17

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1982 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1982 · AFI 100 (2007) #24

  5. 5
    Platoon1986 · Oliver Stone · United States / Philippines · war, drama, action
    4.09

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1986 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1987 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 1986 #1

  6. 6
    The Last Emperor1987 · Bernardo Bertolucci · China / France / United Kingdom · drama, biography
    3.94

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1987 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1989 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #1

  7. 7
    Paris, Texas1984 · Wim Wenders · France / Germany · drama
    3.89

    Palme d'Or winner 1984 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #185 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #6

  8. 8
    Chariots of Fire1981 · Hugh Hudson · United Kingdom / Australia · biography, drama
    3.55

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1981 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1982 · TIFF People's Choice winner 1981

  9. 9
    Raiders of the Lost Ark1981 · Steven Spielberg · United States · action
    3.47

    Empire 500 (2008) #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1981 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #211

  10. 10
    Gandhi1982 · Richard Attenborough · United Kingdom / India · biography, drama
    3.37

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1982 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1983 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1983 #3

  11. 11
    Fanny and Alexander1982 · Ingmar Bergman · France / Germany / Sweden · drama
    3.30

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #129

  12. 12
    Kagemusha1980 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama, war
    3.23

    Palme d'Or winner 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1980 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 1980 #3

  13. 13
    Shoah1985 · Claude Lanzmann · France · documentary
    3.18

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #27 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1985 #1 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1989 #1

  14. 14
    Blue Velvet1986 · David Lynch · United States · mystery, thriller, drama
    3.13

    Hoberman's annual top 10 1986 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #85

  15. 15
    Vagabond1985 · Agnès Varda · France · drama
    3.12

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1985 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #41 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #101

  16. 16
    Ran1985 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan / France · war, drama
    3.00

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1985 #2 · Kehr's annual top 10 1985 #1 · Siskel's annual top 10 1985 #1

  17. 17
    Stranger Than Paradise1984 · Jim Jarmusch · United States / Germany · drama, comedy
    3.00

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1986 #1 · Locarno Golden Leopard winner 1984 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1984 #3

  18. 18
    Atlantic City1980 · Louis Malle · Canada / United States / France · romance, drama, crime
    2.92

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1980 · Sarris's annual top 10 1981 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1981

  19. 19
    The Green Ray1986 · Éric Rohmer · France · romance, drama
    2.88

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1986 #1 · Venice Golden Lion winner 1986 · Sarris's annual top 10 1986 #1

  20. 20
    L'Argent1983 · Robert Bresson · France · drama, crime
    2.83

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1983 #1 · Kehr's annual top 10 1984 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72

  21. 21
    Wings of Desire1987 · Wim Wenders · France / Germany · fantasy, drama
    2.83

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1987 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #185

  22. 22
    A Room with a View1986 · James Ivory · United Kingdom · comedy, romance, drama
    2.81

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1987 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1986 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1987 #6

  23. 23
    Ordinary People1980 · Robert Redford · United States · drama
    2.80

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1981 #3 · Siskel's annual top 10 1980 #2

  24. 24
    Rain Man1988 · Barry Levinson · United States · drama, comedy
    2.77

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1988 · Berlin Golden Bear winner 1989 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1989 #4

  25. 25
    A City of Sadness1989 · Hou Hsiao-Hsien · Taiwan, China · drama
    2.77

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1990 #1 · Venice Golden Lion winner 1989 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #157

  26. 26
    Love Streams1984 · John Cassavetes · United States · drama
    2.77

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1984 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #185 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1985 #5

  27. 27
    Tootsie1982 · Sydney Pollack · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    2.74

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1982 · AFI 100 (2007) #69 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1983 #8

  28. 28
    Terms of Endearment1983 · James L. Brooks · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    2.73

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1983 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1984 #4 · Ebert's annual top 10 1983 #2

  29. 29
    The Killing Fields1984 · Roland Joffé · United Kingdom · biography, drama
    2.70

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1985 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1984 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #7

  30. 30
    Sex, Lies, and Videotape1989 · Steven Soderbergh · United States · drama
    2.67

    Palme d'Or winner 1989 · Sarris's annual top 10 1989 #1 · National Film Registry (inducted 2006)

  31. 31
    Under the Sun of Satan1987 · Maurice Pialat · France · drama
    2.64

    Palme d'Or winner 1987 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1987 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1989 #10

  32. 32
    The Elephant Man1980 · David Lynch · United States · biography, drama
    2.56

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1981 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1981 #10

  33. 33
    Blade Runner1982 · Ridley Scott · United States / Hong Kong, China · thriller, film-noir, sci-fi
    2.51

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #54 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · Empire 500 (2008) #20

  34. 34
    The Right Stuff1983 · Philip Kaufman · United States · adventure, drama
    2.48

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1984 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 1983 #1 · Siskel's annual top 10 1983 #1

  35. 35
    Au revoir les enfants1987 · Louis Malle · France / Italy / Germany · drama, war
    2.43

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1987 · César Best Film winner 1988 · Vatican film list

  36. 36
    À Nos Amours1983 · Maurice Pialat · France · drama
    2.41

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1983 #1 · César Best Film winner 1984 · Sarris's annual top 10 1984 #2

  37. 37
    The Ballad of Narayama1983 · Shohei Imamura · Japan · comedy, drama
    2.39

    Palme d'Or winner 1983 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1984 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1983 #5

  38. 38
    The Purple Rose of Cairo1985 · Woody Allen · United States · comedy, romance, fantasy
    2.32

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1986 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1986 #2 · TIME All-TIME 100

  39. 39
    Come and See1985 · Elem Klimov · Soviet Union · drama, war, thriller
    2.31

    Letterboxd Top 250 #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #41 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #104

  40. 40
    Yol1982 · Yılmaz Güney, Şerif Gören · Turkey · drama
    2.29

    Palme d'Or winner 1982 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #2 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1982 #8

  41. 41
    Missing1982 · Costa-Gavras · United States · drama, biography, thriller
    2.28

    Palme d'Or winner 1982 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1982 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  42. 42
    The Sacrifice1986 · Andrei Tarkovsky · Sweden / France / United Kingdom · drama
    2.26

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 1986 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1986 #2 · Kehr's annual top 10 1986 #2

  43. 43
    The Mission1986 · Roland Joffé · United Kingdom / France · drama
    2.17

    Palme d'Or winner 1986 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1986 · Vatican film list

  44. 44
    Distant Voices, Still Lives1988 · Terence Davies · United Kingdom · drama
    2.17

    Locarno Golden Leopard winner 1988 · Kehr's annual top 10 1989 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243

  45. 45
    Once Upon a Time in America1984 · Sergio Leone · United States / Italy / France · crime, drama, thriller
    2.14

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1984 #1 · Siskel's annual top 10 1984 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #157

  46. 46
    Driving Miss Daisy1989 · Bruce Beresford · United States · comedy, drama
    2.13

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1989 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1990 #8 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  47. 47
    Gloria1980 · John Cassavetes · United States · crime, drama
    2.12

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1981 #5 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1981 #10

  48. 48
    Hannah and Her Sisters1986 · Woody Allen · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    2.11

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1987 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1986 · Sarris's annual top 10 1986 #2

  49. 49
    Black Rain1989 · Shohei Imamura · Japan · drama
    2.08

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1989 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1990 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1989 #7

  50. 50
    The Big Chill1983 · Lawrence Kasdan · United States · drama, musical
    2.08

    TIFF People's Choice winner 1983 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1983 · National Film Registry (inducted 2025)

  51. 51
    When Father Was Away on Business1985 · Emir Kusturica · Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia · comedy, drama
    2.06

    Palme d'Or winner 1985 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1986 #5 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films

  52. 52
    Full Metal Jacket1987 · Stanley Kubrick · United Kingdom / United States · war, drama
    2.06

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #2 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1987 #6 · Siskel's annual top 10 1987 #2

  53. 53
    My American Uncle1980 · Alain Resnais · France · drama
    2.06

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 1980 · TIME All-TIME 100 · Sarris's annual top 10 1980 #3

  54. 54
    The Funeral1984 · Jūzō Itami · Japan · comedy
    2.02

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1984 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1985 · Criterion Collection spine #1125

  55. 55
    Sophie's Choice1982 · Alan J. Pakula · United States · drama
    2.02

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1983 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1982 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #91

  56. 56
    Where is the Friend's Home?1987 · Abbas Kiarostami · Iran · comedy, drama
    2.00

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #157 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1993 #8

  57. 57
    Roger & Me1989 · Michael Moore · United States · documentary
    1.99

    TIFF People's Choice winner 1989 · Siskel's annual top 10 1989 #2 · National Film Registry (inducted 2013)

  58. 58
    My Neighbor Totoro1988 · Hayao Miyazaki · Japan · fantasy, drama, animation
    1.98

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1988 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #72 · Empire 500 (2008) #275

  59. 59
    Pelle the Conqueror1987 · Bille August · Sweden / Denmark · drama
    1.97

    Palme d'Or winner 1988 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1989 #9 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  60. 60
    Thérèse1986 · Alain Cavalier · France · drama, biography
    1.92

    César Best Film winner 1987 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1986 #7 · Sarris's annual top 10 1986 #3

  61. 61
    A Taxing Woman1987 · Jūzō Itami · Japan · comedy
    1.92

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1987 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1988 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  62. 62
    Die Hard1988 · John McTiernan · United States · action, thriller, crime
    1.81

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1989 #1 · Empire 500 (2008) #29 · National Film Registry (inducted 2017)

  63. 63
    Man of Iron1981 · Andrzej Wajda · Poland · drama
    1.80

    Palme d'Or winner 1981 · Sarris's annual top 10 1981 #8 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1981 #null

  64. 64
    Moonlighting1982 · Jerzy Skolimowski · United Kingdom / Australia · drama
    1.78

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1982 #2 · Siskel's annual top 10 1982 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1982 #6

  65. 65
    The Color Purple1985 · Steven Spielberg · United States · drama
    1.75

    Ebert's annual top 10 1985 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1985 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1986 #6

  66. 66
    Zigeunerweisen1980 · Seijun Suzuki · Japan · horror
    1.75

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1980 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1981

  67. 67
    Fall Guy1982 · Kinji Fukasaku · Japan · drama
    1.75

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1982 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 1983

  68. 68
    Too Beautiful for You1989 · Bertrand Blier · France · comedy, drama
    1.69

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 1989 · César Best Film winner 1990 · Siskel's annual top 10 1990 #5

  69. 69
    Jean de Florette1986 · Claude Berri · France / Italy / Switzerland · drama
    1.68

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1988 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #9 · Siskel's annual top 10 1987 #4

  70. 70
    The Unbearable Lightness of Being1988 · Philip Kaufman · United States · drama, romance
    1.68

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1988 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #8 · Ebert's annual top 10 1988 #3

  71. 71
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit1988 · Robert Zemeckis · United States · film-noir, fantasy, action
    1.67

    Kehr's annual top 10 1988 #2 · Siskel's annual top 10 1988 #2 · National Film Registry (inducted 2016)

  72. 72
    Dead Poets Society1989 · Peter Weir · United States · drama
    1.67

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1990 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1989 · Letterboxd Top 250 #112

  73. 73
    Field of Dreams1989 · Phil Alden Robinson · United States · fantasy, drama
    1.66

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1990 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1989 · National Film Registry (inducted 2017)

  74. 74
    Cinema Paradiso1988 · Giuseppe Tornatore · France / Italy · drama
    1.64

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 1989 · Letterboxd Top 250 #16 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1989 #7

  75. 75
    Drugstore Cowboy1989 · Gus Van Sant · United States · drama, crime, comedy
    1.61

    Ebert's annual top 10 1989 #2 · Siskel's annual top 10 1989 #3 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1989 #4

  76. 76
    A Room in Town1982 · Jacques Demy · France / Italy · musical, drama
    1.59

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1982 #1 · Kehr's annual top 10 1983 #2 · Criterion Collection spine #719

  77. 77
    The Shining1980 · Stanley Kubrick · United Kingdom / United States · horror, drama, mystery
    1.59

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #88 · Empire 500 (2008) #52 · National Film Registry (inducted 2018)

  78. 78
    House of Games1987 · David Mamet · United States · film-noir, crime
    1.58

    Ebert's annual top 10 1987 #1 · Siskel's annual top 10 1987 #3 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  79. 79
    Places in the Heart1984 · Robert Benton · United States · drama
    1.58

    TIFF People's Choice winner 1984 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1984 · Sarris's annual top 10 1984 #4

  80. 80
    Reds1981 · Warren Beatty · United States · biography, drama, romance
    1.56

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1981 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1982 #7 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  81. 81
    Prizzi's Honor1985 · John Huston · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    1.55

    Sarris's annual top 10 1985 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1985 · Ebert's annual top 10 1985 #4

  82. 82
    The King of Comedy1982 · Martin Scorsese · United States · drama, comedy, crime
    1.53

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1983 #5 · Empire 500 (2008) #87 · Sarris's annual top 10 1983 #5

  83. 83
    Sans Soleil1983 · Chris Marker · France · documentary
    1.52

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #59 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1989 #3

  84. 84
    Broadcast News1987 · James L. Brooks · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    1.51

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1987 · National Film Registry (inducted 2018) · Siskel's annual top 10 1987 #5

  85. 85
    Brazil1985 · Terry Gilliam · United Kingdom / Australia · film-noir, sci-fi, fantasy
    1.51

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1986 #8 · TIME All-TIME 100 · BFI Top 100 British films #54

  86. 86
    Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back1980 · Irvin Kershner · United States · sci-fi, adventure, action
    1.50

    Empire 500 (2008) #3 · Letterboxd Top 250 #65 · National Film Registry (inducted 2010)

  87. 87
    Francisca1981 · Manoel de Oliveira · Portugal · biography
    1.50

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1981 #1 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1984 #1 · Kehr's annual top 10 1983 #1

  88. 88
    The Aviator's Wife1981 · Éric Rohmer · France · comedy, drama
    1.50

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1981 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1981 #1 · Kehr's annual top 10 1982 #null

  89. 89
    First Name: Carmen1983 · Jean-Luc Godard · France / Switzerland · drama
    1.50

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1983 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1984 #3

  90. 90
    Out of Africa1985 · Sydney Pollack · United States · biography, drama, romance
    1.50

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1985

  91. 91
    Red Sorghum1988 · Zhang Yimou · China · drama, romance, war
    1.50

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1988 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1989 #3

  92. 92
    My Dinner with Andre1981 · Louis Malle · United States · drama, comedy
    1.49

    Ebert's annual top 10 1981 #1 · Siskel's annual top 10 1981 #2 · Siskel's annual top 10 1989 #4

  93. 93
    The Dead1987 · John Huston · United Kingdom / Ireland / United States · drama
    1.47

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1988 #3 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #7 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films

  94. 94
    After Hours1985 · Martin Scorsese · United States · comedy
    1.42

    Ebert's annual top 10 1985 #2 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1986 #9 · Kehr's annual top 10 1985 #4

  95. 95
    Fitzcarraldo1982 · Werner Herzog · Germany / Peru · drama, adventure
    1.41

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1983 #5 · Empire 500 (2008) #111 · Ebert's annual top 10 1982 #4

  96. 96
    Dead Ringers1988 · David Cronenberg · Canada · drama, horror, thriller
    1.41

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1989 #3 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1988 #3 · Kehr's annual top 10 1988 #4

  97. 97
    Coal Miner's Daughter1980 · Michael Apted · United States · biography, musical, drama
    1.40

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1980 · Siskel's annual top 10 1980 #3 · National Film Registry (inducted 2019)

  98. 98
    The Verdict1982 · Sidney Lumet · United States · drama
    1.40

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1982 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1983 #7 · Empire 500 (2008) #254

  99. 99
    Moonstruck1987 · Norman Jewison · United States · comedy, romance
    1.39

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1987 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #10 · Ebert's annual top 10 1987 #5

  100. 100
    Rumble Fish1983 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · drama
    1.38

    San Sebastián Golden Shell winner 1984 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1984 #6 · Criterion Collection spine #869

The decade the industry rebuilt itself

The 1980s has a reputation problem in canon terms: it sits between the sanctified 1970s and the indie-boom 1990s, and for years critics treated it as the decade auteurism died. The data tells a more interesting story. Hollywood did reorganize around the blockbuster — Star Wars economics, saturation releases, the home-video windfall (VHS revenue overtook theatrical during this decade, quietly changing which films got made) — but the canon that emerged from that machine is real. Spielberg's E.T. (1982) topped Japan's Kinema Junpo international poll and entered the National Film Registry; Raging Bull (1980), a black-and-white passion project that nearly didn't get made, is now routinely the AFI's highest-ranked film of the decade.

Genre cinema is where the eighties did its most durable work. Horror hit a practical-effects golden age — Kubrick's The Shining (1980) was received coolly and is now a fixture of critics' polls, while Carpenter's The Thing (1982) went from box-office failure to community-canon staple, one of the clearest rehabilitation arcs in the library. Comedy produced the most rewatched studio films of the era (Ghostbusters, Ferris Bueller's Day Off — both now in the National Film Registry, which says something about how institutions eventually catch up with audiences). And the decade's teen films, action films and science fiction established templates the industry still runs on.

The international counter-record

Outside Hollywood, the decade's most significant development for the future canon happened in Tokyo: Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985, and My Neighbor Totoro (1988) — Kinema Junpo's Japanese film of the year — began animation's long march into the international all-time lists, a march that culminates two decades later with Spirited Away. Kurosawa, written off as unbankable at home, delivered Ran (1985) with French money, a late-style masterpiece that the polls have only ranked higher with time. Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989) closed the decade by demonstrating that American independent cinema could carry both formal audacity and political weight — its standing in the 2022 Sight & Sound poll is among the highest of any American film of its era.

Reading this page's composite scores against the 1970s page is instructive: fewer films with across-the-board consensus, more films whose standing comes from one passionate constituency — community canons, genre retrospectives, the Registry. That is the eighties' real signature: a decade whose best films were often recognized late, and from below.