best movies of 1980
by tinnes-04102 | created - 27 Oct 2015 | updated - 2 weeks ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
After the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
Votes: 1,379,912 | Gross: $290.48M
Grade: A+
2. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 380,276 | Gross: $23.38M
Grade: A
3. Superman II (1980)
PG | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty
Votes: 114,648 | Gross: $108.19M
Grade: A
"Richard lester cut donnor cut did not come out till 2006"
4. The Shining (1980)
R | 146 min | Drama, Horror
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers
Votes: 1,106,822 | Gross: $44.02M
Grade: A
5. Airplane! (1980)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Votes: 261,148 | Gross: $83.40M
Grade: A
6. Caddyshack (1980)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Sport
An exclusive golf course has to deal with a flatulent new member and a destructive dancing gopher.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight
Votes: 127,188 | Gross: $39.85M
Grade: A
7. Flash Gordon (1980)
PG | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Topol
Votes: 61,538
Grade: A-
8. Out of the Blue (1980)
R | 94 min | Drama
A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.
Director: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Linda Manz, Dennis Hopper, Sharon Farrell, Don Gordon
Votes: 3,982
Grade: A-
9. The Long Good Friday (1980)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An up-and-coming gangster is tested by the insurgence of an unknown, very powerful threat.
Director: John Mackenzie | Stars: Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Paul Freeman, Leo Dolan
Votes: 25,611
Grade; A-
10. Somewhere in Time (1980)
PG | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to travel back in time and meet the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.
Director: Jeannot Szwarc | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, Christopher Plummer, Teresa Wright
Votes: 32,537 | Gross: $9.71M
Grade: A-
11. The Stunt Man (1980)
R | 131 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady while facing off with his manipulative director.
Director: Richard Rush | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, Barbara Hershey, Allen Garfield
Votes: 10,463 | Gross: $7.06M
Grade: A-
12. Dressed to Kill (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A mysterious blonde woman kills one of a psychiatrist's patients, and then goes after the high-class call girl who witnessed the murder.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon
Votes: 48,233 | Gross: $31.90M
Grade: A-
13. The Idolmaker (1980)
PG | 117 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Based on the life of rock promoter/producer Bob Marcucci, who discovered, among others, Frankie Avalon and Fabian.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Ray Sharkey, Tovah Feldshuh, Peter Gallagher, Paul Land
Votes: 1,504
Grade: A-
14. Heaven's Gate (1980)
R | 219 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston
Votes: 17,153 | Gross: $3.48M
Director cut
Grade: A-
15. Gloria (1980)
PG | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen, Tony Knesich
Votes: 11,432
Grade: B+
16. Popeye (1980)
PG | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
The adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Ray Walston, Paul Dooley
Votes: 34,411 | Gross: $49.82M
Grade: B+
17. American Gigolo (1980)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Los Angeles escort is accused of a murder which he did not commit.
Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo, Nina van Pallandt
Votes: 29,449 | Gross: $23.00M
Grade: B+
18. My Bodyguard (1980)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a boy comes to a new school and gets harassed by a bully, he acquires the services of the school's most feared kid as a bodyguard.
Director: Tony Bill | Stars: Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Matt Dillon, Paul Quandt
Votes: 10,844 | Gross: $22.48M
Grade: B+
19. Atlantic City (1980)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli
Votes: 18,300
Grade: B+
20. Cruising (1980)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Al Pacino, Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox
Votes: 28,052 | Gross: $19.80M
Troubled production and incredibly underrated. Very interesting open ended ending that makes you rethink whole film.
Grade: B+
21. Herbie Goes Bananas (1980)
G | 100 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
The adorable little VW helps its owners break up a counterfeiting ring in Mexico.
Director: Vincent McEveety | Stars: Charles Martin Smith, Stephen W. Burns, Cloris Leachman, John Vernon
Votes: 6,254 | Gross: $18.00M
Grade: 50
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