The Story of Film 1979 - 1990 : Mega-Entertainments and The Extremes of World Cinema
by discodelange | created - 08 Oct 2019 | updated - 15 Jan 2021 | PublicFrom Mark Cousins' book "The Story of Film" with some additional movies that changed the way I look at movies or really moved me.
Thank you Mr. Cousins for opening my eyes to see a whole new world of movies and the path it took to get where it is today. Your book is an inspiration!
A quotation for the intro from Mark Cousins' book that explains these lists and the Story of Film:
"This book tells the story of the art of cinema. It narrates the history of a medium which began as a photographic, largely silent, shadowy novelty and became a digital, multi-billion dollar global business.
Although the business elements of film are important, you will find few details in my book of what films cost and how the industry organises itself and markets its wares. I wanted to write a purer book than that, one more focused on the medium than the industry. As you read, therefore, you will come across works that you may not have seen and may never see. I make no apology for this because I do not want to tell a history of cinema that is distorted by the vagaries of the market place. There are mainstream films described in what follows, but mostly I have focused on what I consider to be the most innovative films from any country at any period."
All quotations in quotation marks are from The Story of Film, unless otherwise indicated.
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1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 710,488 | Gross: $83.47M
2. Stalker (1979)
Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko
Votes: 144,807 | Gross: $0.23M
3. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 951,241 | Gross: $78.90M
4. The Warriors (1979)
R | 93 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A street gang known as the Warriors must fight its way from the Bronx to its home turf on Coney Island when its members are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright, Brian Tyler
Votes: 110,727 | Gross: $22.49M
5. The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone (1979)
90 min | Drama, War
The story of a young man and his wife who struggle to survive against a hostile force intent upon driving them out of their home in the swamps of the Mekong Delta.
Director: Hong Sen Nguyen | Stars: Toi Lam, Thuy An Nguyen, De Xuan, Chi Hong
Votes: 161
Vietnam.
6. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Masuyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue
Votes: 33,581
7. Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980)
R | 104 min | Drama
Seven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, DC.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Bruce MacDonald, Maggie Renzi, Adam LeFevre, Maggie Cousineau
Votes: 2,229 | Gross: $2.00M
8. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu
Votes: 38,187
9. Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
R | 99 min | Biography, Comedy
Semi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Director: Art Linson | Stars: Peter Boyle, Bill Murray, Bruno Kirby, Rene Auberjonois
Votes: 12,679 | Gross: $6.66M
10. The Elephant Man (1980)
PG | 124 min | Biography, Drama
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud
Votes: 258,531
11. 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: 1,107,106 | Gross: $44.02M
12. 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: 380,345 | Gross: $23.38M
13. Personal Problems (1980)
165 min | Drama
A partly improvised story of a complicated marriage, the people surrounding the central couple, friends they're having affairs with, and unwanted family.
Director: Bill Gunn | Stars: Vertamae Grosvenor, Carey Barnes, Alan Beckles, Thommie Blackwell
Votes: 208
14. Gregory's Girl (1980)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Gregory is a normal teen who is infatuated with a classmate. He must work to win her affection.
Director: Bill Forsyth | Stars: John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Jake D'Arcy, Clare Grogan
Votes: 9,449
15. 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: 29,455 | Gross: $23.00M
16. Lightning Over Water (1980)
91 min | Documentary
Wim Wenders abandons the shoot of one of his own films in order to help his friend and fellow director Nicholas Ray create his swan song before he dies.
Directors: Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders | Stars: Gerry Bamman, Ronee Blakley, Pierre Cottrell, Stefan Czapsky
Votes: 1,504
17. The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
PG | 109 min | Adventure, Comedy
A comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.
Director: Jamie Uys | Stars: N!xau, Marius Weyers, Sandra Prinsloo, Louw Verwey
Votes: 59,467 | Gross: $30.03M
18. Düsman (1980)
133 min | Drama
Ismail is out of work despite am obvious willingness to do almost anything to earn enough to provide for his family. He is too well educated for the jobs he hopes to find, but not well ... See full summary »
Director: Zeki Ökten | Stars: Aytaç Arman, Güngör Bayrak, Güven Sengil, Kamil Sönmez
Votes: 315
Turkish
19. Germany Pale Mother (1980)
152 min | Drama, History, War
Germany 1939. Hans and Lene marry the day before the war breaks out, and Hans is sent to the Eastern front. During a bombing raid their daughter Anna is born. The house is destroyed and ... See full summary »
Director: Helma Sanders-Brahms | Stars: Eva Mattes, Ernst Jacobi, Elisabeth Stepanek, Angelika Thomas
Votes: 847
Deutschland, bleiche Mutter
20. Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980)
R | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A psychiatrist, living in Vienna, enters a torrid relationship with a married woman. When she ends up in the hospital from an overdose, an inspector becomes set on discovering the demise of their affair.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 9,619
21. 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: 17,154 | Gross: $3.48M
22. The Falls (1980)
Not Rated | 195 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
92 BBC documentary-style shorts that record the lives of 92 victims of the VUE (Violent Unexplained Event), each with last names beginning with "Fall."
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Peter Westley, Aad Wirtz, Michael Murray, Lorna Poulter
Votes: 1,683
23. One from the Heart (1981)
R | 107 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A couple has a fight after living together 5 years in Las Vegas. They go out and celebrate 4th of July, each with a new partner. Breakup?
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski
Votes: 7,240 | Gross: $0.64M
24. Diva (1981)
R | 117 min | Crime, Music, Thriller
Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Frédéric Andréi, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer
Votes: 14,318 | Gross: $0.11M
Diva was the "A bout de souffle / Breathless" of the 1980s
25. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
Director: Bob Rafelson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner
Votes: 25,796 | Gross: $12.38M
26. Mandala (1981)
117 min | Drama
A story that follows the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks living in South Korea.
Director: Im Kwon-taek | Stars: Ahn Sung-ki, Jeon Moo-song, Michelle Okkyung Lee, Bang Eun-hee
Votes: 393
"The Kurosawa of Korean cinema, addressing the increasingly humanist themes of enlightenment and sexuality, as well as shamanism"
27. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
R | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community escape a horde of bandits.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Michael Preston, Max Phipps
Votes: 193,776 | Gross: $12.47M
28. Mephisto (1981)
Unrated | 146 min | Drama
In early-1930s Germany, a passionate stage actor faces a dilemma: renounce his apolitical stance and comply with the Reich's doctrine, or face oblivion. But, Faustian bargains never end well. What is the price of success?
Director: István Szabó | Stars: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ildikó Bánsági, Krystyna Janda, Rolf Hoppe
Votes: 11,597
29. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
PG | 158 min | Adventure, Drama
The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy, Miguel Ángel Fuentes
Votes: 38,607
30. Blade Runner (1982)
R | 117 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos
Votes: 823,329 | Gross: $32.87M
31. The Wind (1982)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
Finye tackles the generation gap in post-colonial West Africa. Its heroine is the pot smoking daughter of a provincial military governor who falls in love with a fellow university student, the descendent of one of Mali's chiefs.
Director: Souleymane Cissé | Stars: Fousseyni Sissoko, Goundo Guissé, Balla Moussa Keita, Ismaila Sarr
Votes: 292
Finye (Mali)
32. Yol (1982)
PG | 107 min | Drama
When five Kurdish prisoners are granted one week's home leave, they find to their dismay that they face continued oppression outside of prison from their families, the culture, and the government.
Directors: Serif Gören, Yilmaz Güney | Stars: Tarik Akan, Serif Sezer, Halil Ergün, Meral Orhonsay
Votes: 14,511
The Way
33. Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A camp melodrama/comedy about Sexilia (a nymphomaniac), Sadec (a gay Islamic terrorist), Riza Niro (the son of the emperor of Tiran), and Queti (the daughter of a dry-cleaner). When Riza ... See full summary »
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Cecilia Roth, Imanol Arias, Helga Liné, Marta Fernández Muro
Votes: 4,707
34. Jom (1982)
80 min | Drama
During a workers strike, while people fight corruption and indignity, a griot tells stories about past struggles of the Senegalese people, all connected by the Wolof concept of "jom", a core virtue of respect, self-worth, and courage.
Director: Ababacar Samb-Makharam | Stars: Abou Camara, Lamine Amadou Camara, Fatou Fall, Omar Gueye
Votes: 36
Senegal
35. Wend Kuuni (1982)
75 min | Drama
In pre-colonial times a peddler crossing the savanna discovers a child lying unconscious in the bush. When the boy comes to, he is mute and cannot explain who he is. The peddler leaves him ... See full summary »
Director: Gaston Kaboré | Stars: Serge Yanogo, Rosine Yanogo, Joseph Nikiema, Colette Kaboré
Votes: 271
The Gift from God (Burkina Faso)
36. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
Director: Godfrey Reggio | Stars: Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown, Johnny Carson
Votes: 41,495 | Gross: $1.72M
Part of the Qasti-trilogy: Koyaanisqatsi is Hopi for "life out of balance"; Powaqqatsi is Hopi for "life in transition" and Naqoyqatsi is "war as a way of life".
37. L'Argent (1983)
Not Rated | 85 min | Crime, Drama
A counterfeit bill that starts off as a schoolboy prank leads to incarceration and violence.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Christian Patey, Sylvie Van den Elsen, Michel Briguet, Vincent Risterucci
Votes: 11,848
Money
38. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
R | 123 min | Drama, War
During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano
Votes: 20,027 | Gross: $2.31M
39. Twenty Years of African Cinema (1983)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary
A look at 20 years of African Cinema. The Featured extracts are: 'Les Bicots-Negres'(d. Med Hondo) 'Borom Serret' (d. Sembene Ousmane)1966 'La Noire de...' [Black Girl] (d. Sembene Ousmane)... See full summary »
Director: Férid Boughedir
Votes: 72
40. The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama
In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejô
Votes: 9,138
41. Rumble Fish (1983)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Absent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper
Votes: 37,698 | Gross: $2.49M
42. Local Hero (1983)
PG | 111 min | Comedy, Drama
An American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected.
Director: Bill Forsyth | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Fulton Mackay, Denis Lawson
Votes: 26,709 | Gross: $5.90M
43. The Last Battle (1983)
R | 92 min | Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic future where no one is able to speak, the few remaining humans fight over resources in order to survive.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Pierre Jolivet, Jean Bouise, Jean Reno, Fritz Wepper
Votes: 6,561
44. Videodrome (1983)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
Votes: 103,030 | Gross: $2.12M
45. The Dead Zone (1983)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
Votes: 77,341 | Gross: $20.77M
46. Scarface (1983)
R | 170 min | Crime, Drama
In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Votes: 916,855 | Gross: $45.60M
“The ethos that greed is good was only too appropriate in the consumerist 1980s. De Palma took Tony Camonte’s demise in the Hawks–Hecht picture (he dies under a tourist sign which says “The World is Yours” and transformed it into an extraordinary shot in the middle of this remake, which centres on a giant balloon in the sky, emblazoned with “The World is Yours” and then cranes down to an artificial coastline and Al Pacino who stares up at it blankly ”
47. 1984 (1984)
R | 113 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a totalitarian future society, a man, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.
Director: Michael Radford | Stars: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 79,049 | Gross: $8.40M
48. Paris, Texas (1984)
R | 145 min | Drama
Travis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Sam Berry
Votes: 119,046 | Gross: $2.18M
49. Shanghai Blues (1984)
103 min | Comedy, Romance
In 1937 Shanghai, a soon-to-depart soldier meets a young woman under a bridge during a Japanese air raid. They vow to meet after the war ends, but they don't each other's name or face. Ten ... See full summary »
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Kenny Bee, Sylvia Chang, Sally Yeh, Ken Boyle
Votes: 497
50. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 924,495 | Gross: $38.40M
51. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
PG | 103 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Adventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.
Director: W.D. Richter | Stars: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum
Votes: 29,352 | Gross: $6.25M
52. Boy Meets Girl (1984)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama, Romance
Paris by night. Alex, 22, wants to become a filmmaker. He is fascinated by first times and his girlfriend, Florence, has just left him for his best friend, Thomas. First break-up, first ... See full summary »
Director: Leos Carax | Stars: Denis Lavant, Mireille Perrier, Carroll Brooks, Maïté Nahyr
Votes: 4,010
53. What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
The vicissitudes of Gloria, a neurotic housewife, and her family's peculiar characters.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Carmen Maura, Gonzalo Suárez, Luis Hostalot, Ryo Hiruma
Votes: 11,132
54. Marlene (1984)
Unrated | 94 min | Documentary, Biography
Retrospective on the career of enigmatic screen diva Marlene Dietrich.
Director: Maximilian Schell | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Annie Albers, Bernhard Hall
Votes: 842 | Gross: $0.85M
Director Maximilian Schell got Marlene Dietrich to agree to appear in this documentary only on the stipulation that she not be photographed as she looked at the time. On very few occasions did Marlene Dietrich drop the well-constructed mask of her eternal beauty. Max Schell was able to give us a glimpse of the woman behind the facade in this breathtaking documentary.
55. Yellow Earth (1984)
TV-PG | 89 min | Drama, History, Music
A communist soldier travels to Shanbei to collect folk songs for propaganda while visiting a poor peasant family, giving hope to the teenage daughter in escaping an arranged marriage.
Director: Kaige Chen | Stars: Xueqi Wang, Bai Xue, Quiang Liu, Tuo Tan
Votes: 2,573
56. Repentance (1984)
PG | 153 min | Drama
Varlam, the despotic mayor of a small town, dies. After his funeral, his body is repeatedly unearthed and buried again. Through flashbacks and dreamlike scenes, we witness his rise, power and ambiguities.
Director: Tengiz Abuladze | Stars: Avtandil Makharadze, Zeinab Botsvadze, Ia Ninidze, Ketevan Abuladze
Votes: 4,904 | Gross: $0.22M
Monanieba (Soviet Union)
57. Diary for My Children (1984)
Unrated | 106 min | Biography, Drama
Having lost her parents to Stalin's purges, a girl returns from Soviet Union to her native Hungary to live with her Stalinist aunt.
Director: Márta Mészáros | Stars: Zsuzsa Czinkóczi, Ágnes Csere, Anna Polony, Teri Földi
Votes: 1,015
Náplo gyermekeimnek
58. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark
Votes: 40,668 | Gross: $2.44M
59. Blood Simple (1984)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 105,311 | Gross: $2.15M
60. Dune (1984)
PG-13 | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino
Votes: 179,604 | Gross: $30.93M
61. Subway (1985)
R | 104 min | Thriller
On improvising a burglary at a shady tycoon's home, Fred takes refuge in the hip and surreal universe of the Paris Metro and encounters its assorted denizens, the tycoon's henchmen and his disenchanted young wife.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Isabelle Adjani, Richard Bohringer, Michel Galabru
Votes: 16,357 | Gross: $0.39M
62. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Richard Graham
Votes: 17,302 | Gross: $2.45M
63. Dona Herlinda and Her Son (1985)
Unrated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rodolfo ( Marco Treviño ) is a young bachelor doctor who has a love affair with a younger music student, Ramon ( Arturo Meza ). When Rodolfo's mother begins to urge his son to get married, ... See full summary »
Director: Jaime Humberto Hermosillo | Stars: Arturo Meza, Marco Treviño, Guadalupe Del Toro, Letícia Lupercio
Votes: 583
Mexico.
64. A Zed & Two Noughts (1985)
Not Rated | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
Twin zoologists lose their wives in a car accident and become obsessed with decomposing animals.
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon, Andréa Ferréol, Frances Barber
Votes: 7,571
65. Visages de femmes (1985)
105 min | Comedy, Drama
At a festival, a chorus of women sing and dance as two stories unfold. In a village, a young women with a jealous husband gives him something to be jealous about when his younger brother visits from the city.
Director: Désiré Ecaré | Stars: Sidiki Bakaba, Kouadou Brou, Albertine N'Guessan, Eugénie Cissé-Roland
Votes: 101
Ivory Coast
66. The Breakfast Club (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy
Votes: 436,685 | Gross: $45.88M
67. Brazil (1985)
R | 132 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 211,270 | Gross: $9.93M
68. Come and See (1985)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Votes: 97,319
Soviet Union
69. Shoah (1985)
Not Rated | 566 min | Documentary, History, War
Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
Director: Claude Lanzmann | Stars: Simon Srebnik, Michael Podchlebnik, Motke Zaïdl, Hanna Zaïdl
Votes: 10,557 | Gross: $0.02M
Claude Lanzmann directed this 9 1/2 hour documentary of the Holocaust without using a single frame of archive footage. He interviews survivors, witnesses, and ex-Nazis
70. Blue Velvet (1986)
R | 120 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern
Votes: 215,777 | Gross: $8.55M
71. Sarraounia (1986)
120 min | Drama, History, War
On January 2 1899, starting from the French Soudan, a french column under the commandment of the captains Voulet and Chanoine is send against the black Sultan Rabah in what is now the ... See full summary »
Director: Med Hondo | Stars: Aï Keïta, Jean-Roger Milo, Féodor Atkine, Didier Sauvegrain
Votes: 200
“a landmark of African cinema, the most ambitious for its inventiveness, professionalism and dedication.” ( Burkina Faso, Mauritania, France)
72. The Sacrifice (1986)
PG | 149 min | Drama
At the dawn of World War III, a man searches for a way to restore peace to the world and finds he must give something in return.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Allan Edwall, Guðrún Gísladóttir
Votes: 30,996 | Gross: $0.30M
73. The Mission (1986)
PG | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Eighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn
Votes: 65,707 | Gross: $17.22M
74. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Romance
Story of a woman and her three lovers.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee
Votes: 16,317 | Gross: $7.14M
75. Castle in the Sky (1986)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada
Votes: 182,426
76. Betty Blue (1986)
Unrated | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Jean-Hugues Anglade, Béatrice Dalle, Gérard Darmon, Consuelo De Haviland
Votes: 23,350 | Gross: $2.00M
37.2 le Matin
77. Bad Blood (1986)
Unrated | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
As a deadly virus which infects people who have loveless sex sweeps Paris, a lonely pariah attempts to steal a potent antidote, only to fall for the mistress of his partner-in-crime. Is the infectious young love the cure to the bad blood?
Director: Leos Carax | Stars: Michel Piccoli, Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Hans Meyer
Votes: 9,322 | Gross: $0.02M
78. Down by Law (1986)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two men are framed and sent to jail, where they meet a murderer who helps them escape and leave the state.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi
Votes: 55,304 | Gross: $1.44M
79. Is It Easy to Be Young? (1986)
83 min | Documentary, Drama
Portrayal of rebellious teenagers growing up under Communist rule in Latvia.
Director: Juris Podnieks
Votes: 422
This is a rare document of how live in the Soviet Union seemed to be set in stone even on the onset of Perestroika, and even more so after the core meltdown at Chernobyl.
80. The Decline of the American Empire (1986)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
Sexual revelations emerge when a group of academics and their partners spend a weekend at a country retreat.
Director: Denys Arcand | Stars: Dominique Michel, Dorothée Berryman, Louise Portal, Pierre Curzi
Votes: 8,699 | Gross: $1.90M
81. The Fly (1986)
R | 96 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz, Joy Boushel
Votes: 201,995 | Gross: $40.46M
82. Platoon (1986)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David
Votes: 439,654 | Gross: $138.53M
83. True Stories (1986)
PG | 89 min | Comedy, Musical
A small but growing Texas town, filled with strange and musical characters, celebrates its sesquicentennial and converge on a local parade and talent show.
Director: David Byrne | Stars: David Byrne, John Goodman, Annie McEnroe, Jo Harvey Allen
Votes: 7,498 | Gross: $2.55M
84. Mala Noche (1986)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama
A story of amour fou. Walt is madly in love/lust with a young illegal Mexican immigrant. However, the object of his unrequited affection doesn't even speak any English and finds Walt really... See full summary »
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Tim Streeter, Doug Cooeyate, Ray Monge, Nyla McCarthy
Votes: 4,329
85. The Last of England (1987)
Unrated | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy
The artist's personal commentary on the decline of his country in a language closer to poetry than prose. A dark meditation on London under Thatcher.
Director: Derek Jarman | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Spencer Leigh, 'Spring' Mark Adley, Gerrard McArthur
Votes: 1,491
86. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary
A documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.
Director: Kazuo Hara | Stars: Kenzo Okuzaki, Riichi Aikawa, Masaichi Hamaguchi, Toshio Hara
Votes: 2,125
Yuki: Yukite Shingun
87. Law of Desire (1987)
NC-17 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
A gay filmmaker becomes involved with an obsessive fan while still pining for his absent true love. Meanwhile, he shares a close but complex relationship with his trans sister, an actress.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Miguel Molina
Votes: 14,086
88. The Belly of an Architect (1987)
R | 119 min | Drama
An architect supervising an exhibition starts to have mysterious stomach pains while his life slowly falls apart.
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Brian Dennehy, Chloe Webb, Lambert Wilson, Sergio Fantoni
Votes: 6,281 | Gross: $0.29M
89. Wings of Desire (1987)
PG-13 | 128 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
An angel tires of his purely ethereal life of merely overseeing the human activity of Berlin's residents, and longs for the tangible joys of physical existence when he falls in love with a mortal.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois
Votes: 77,051 | Gross: $3.33M
90. Diary for My Lovers (1987)
141 min | Biography, Drama
A continuation of "Diary for My Children," the film picks up in 1950, when Juli, the diarist, is 18 and determined to become a movie director.
Director: Márta Mészáros | Stars: Zsuzsa Czinkóczi, Ágnes Csere, Anna Polony, Mária Ronyecz
Votes: 323
Napló szerelmeimnet
91. Where Is the Friend's House? (1987)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Family
Eight-year-old Ahmed has mistakenly taken his friend Mohammad's notebook. He wants to return it, or else his friend will be expelled from school. The boy determinedly sets out to find Mohammad's home in the neighbouring village.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Khodabakhsh Defaei, Iran Outari
Votes: 18,716
Kiarostami's Rostam-abad Trilogy Part 1-3 (Iran)
92. Yeelen (1987)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Fantasy
A young man with magical powers journeys to his uncle to request help in fighting his sorcerer father.
Director: Souleymane Cissé | Stars: Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo, Balla Moussa Keita
Votes: 2,753
(Mali)
93. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary
A documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.
Director: Kazuo Hara | Stars: Kenzo Okuzaki, Riichi Aikawa, Masaichi Hamaguchi, Toshio Hara
Votes: 2,125
This documentary was five years in the making, and revolves around 62-year-old Okuzaki Kenzo, a survivor of the battlefields of New Guinea in World War II who gained notoriety by slingshooting steel pinballs at Emperor Showa to protest against what he considered to be the ruler's war crimes
94. Yam Daabo (1987)
80 min | Drama
Poverty and misery are rife in Gourga, a village in the Sahel. The inhabitants must choose: stay and await international assistance or leave for more fertile regions in the country.
Director: Idrissa Ouedraogo | Stars: Moussa Blogo, Aoua Guiraud, Assita Ouedraogo, Fatima Ouedraogo
Votes: 99
The Choice. (Burkina Faso)
95. City on Fire (1987)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An undercover cop infiltrates a gang of thieves who plan to rob a jewelry store.
Director: Ringo Lam | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Yueh Sun, Danny Lee, Carrie Ng
Votes: 7,264
Long hu feng yun. Tarantino reworked this as Reservoir Dogs
96. Barfly (1987)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Based on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Jack Nance
Votes: 21,985 | Gross: $3.22M
97. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 790,656 | Gross: $46.36M
98. Withnail & I (1987)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
In 1969, two substance-abusing, unemployed actors retreat to the countryside for a holiday that proves disastrous.
Director: Bruce Robinson | Stars: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths, Ralph Brown
Votes: 47,911 | Gross: $1.54M
99. The Big Blue (1988)
PG | 168 min | Adventure, Drama, Sport
The rivalry between Enzo and Jacques, two childhood friends and now world-renowned free divers, becomes a beautiful and perilous journey into oneself and the unknown.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette, Paul Shenar
Votes: 55,112 | Gross: $3.50M
100. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
R | 164 min | Drama
The life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Paul Greco
Votes: 63,157 | Gross: $7.63M
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