Defining Era
THE 1980S
THE BLOCKBUSTER DECADE
Spielberg and Lucas rebuilt the industry around opening weekends. The franchise was born, the auteur was demoted.
1980 — 1989
5,002
Films Catalogued
65.4
Avg Master Score
6.2
Avg IMDb
KARTAL TIBET
Top Director
98
Oscar-Nominated
The Defining Three
ESSENTIAL VIEWING
Top-ranked by master score. If you only saw three films from this decade, these are the three.
No.01
MS93.6
JONATHAN DEMME|1984
STOP MAKING SENSE
“Why stop making sense? Why a movie? Why a big suit? Where do the odd movements come from? What will the band do next?”
No.02
MS92.7
JOHN HUGHES|1985
THE BREAKFAST CLUB
“They only met once, but it changed their lives forever.”
No.03
MS92.6
HAYAO MIYAZAKI|1988
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
“He's your friendly neighbourhood forest spirit!”
Filter the List
5,002/5,002 films
Master Score
Awards
Showing 50 of 5002
01
Stop Making Sense
1984 · Jonathan Demme
93.6
02The Breakfast Club
1985 · John Hughes
92.7
03My Neighbor Totoro
1988 · Hayao Miyazaki
92.6
04Shoah
1985 · Claude Lanzmann
92.5
05The Terminator
1984 · James Cameron
92.2
06Come and See
1985 · Elem Klimov
92.0
07Raiders of the Lost Ark
1981 · Steven Spielberg · 5 Oscars
92.0
08Jean de Florette
1986 · Claude Berri
91.0
09Tampopo
1985 · Jûzô Itami
90.8
10A Nightmare on Elm Street
1984 · Wes Craven
90.8
11Stranger Than Paradise
1984 · Jim Jarmusch
90.5
12Akira
1988 · Katsuhiro Ôtomo
90.5
13Platoon
1986 · Oliver Stone · 4 Oscars
90.4
14Ferris Bueller's Day Off
1986 · John Hughes
90.3
15The Killer
1989 · John Woo
90.3
16The Evil Dead
1981 · Sam Raimi
90.0
17Amadeus
1984 · Milos Forman · 8 Oscars
89.9
18The Thin Blue Line
1988 · Errol Morris
89.8
19Police Story
1985 · Jackie Chan
89.6
20Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
1980 · Irvin Kershner · 2 Oscars
89.6
21Roger & Me
1989 · Michael Moore
89.6
22Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
1984 · Hayao Miyazaki
89.5
23Die Hard
1988 · John McTiernan
89.4
24Withnail and I
1987 · Bruce Robinson
89.4
25The Gods Must Be Crazy
1980 · Jamie Uys
89.4
26Rain Man
1988 · Barry Levinson · 4 Oscars
89.3
27The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
1988 · David Zucker
89.2
28My Dinner with Andre
1981 · Louis Malle
89.0
29Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
1982 · Nicholas Meyer
88.9
30The Road Warrior
1981 · George Miller
88.8
31The Broken Landlord
1985 · Nesli Çölgeçen
88.6
32Sex, Lies, and Videotape
1989 · Steven Soderbergh
88.6
33Zübük
1980 · Kartal Tibet
88.5
34The Karate Kid
1984 · John G. Avildsen
88.4
35First Blood
1982 · Ted Kotcheff
88.3
36For All Mankind
1989 · Al Reinert
88.1
37Nayakan
1987 · Mani Ratnam
88.1
38The Sacrifice
1986 · Andrei Tarkovsky
88.1
39A Christmas Story
1983 · Bob Clark
88.0
40Good Morning, Vietnam
1987 · Barry Levinson
87.9
41Burden of Dreams
1982 · Les Blank
87.7
42Manon of the Spring
1986 · Claude Berri
87.7
43A City of Sadness
1989 · Hsiao-Hsien Hou
87.7
44A Better Tomorrow
1986 · John Woo
87.7
45The King and the Mockingbird
1980 · Paul Grimault
87.7
46Gremlins
1984 · Joe Dante
87.7
47S
Streetwise
1984 · Martin Bell
87.6
48Poltergeist
1982 · Tobe Hooper
87.6
49E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982 · Steven Spielberg · 4 Oscars
87.6
50Lethal Weapon
1987 · Richard Donner
87.5
Continue the Timeline
THE NEXT CHAPTER
A hundred years of cinema in eleven decade-shaped chunks. Step forward, step back, or jump straight to the era you want.
Step Back
THE 1970S
NEW HOLLYWOOD
Coppola, Scorsese, Friedkin, Polanski, Altman. Directors ran the asylum and the asylum produced masterpieces.
Step Forward
THE 1990S
INDIE GOES MAINSTREAM
Tarantino at Cannes, Miramax at the Oscars, Sundance in every agent's calendar. The decade indie became its own industry.