Sort:

Greatest 1980s Action Movies

Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott · 55 critic votes
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Raging Bull (1980)
Martin Scorsese · 45 critic votes
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.
Histoire(s) du cinéma (1988)
Jean-Luc Godard · 40 critic votes
A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter · 28 critic votes
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
Where is the Friend's Home? (1987)
Abbas Kiarostami · 28 critic votes
An 8-year-old boy must return his friend's notebook he took by mistake, lest his friend be punished by expulsion from school.
Ran (1985)
Akira Kurosawa · 21 critic votes
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Once upon a Time in America (1984)
Sergio Leone · 20 critic votes
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Steven Spielberg · 18 critic votes
When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.
E.T. The Extra-terrestrial (1982)
Steven Spielberg · 15 critic votes
An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his little sister Gertie form an emotional bond with their new friend, and try to help him find his way home.
Blow Out (1981)
Brian De Palma · 12 critic votes
While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally from the car, but the other passenger is already dead — a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Werner Herzog · 12 critic votes
Fitzcarraldo is a dreamer who plans to build an opera house in Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, so, in order to finance his project, he embarks on an epic adventure to collect rubber, a very profitable product, in a remote and unexplored region of the rainforest.
Back to the Future (1985)
Robert Zemeckis · 10 critic votes
Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.
Akira (1988)
Katsuhiro Otomo · 9 critic votes
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Irvin Kershner · 7 critic votes
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.
Aliens (1986)
James Cameron · 7 critic votes
Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
Stand by Me (1986)
Rob Reiner · 7 critic votes
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
Die Hard (1988)
John McTiernan · 7 critic votes
High above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has manages to escape... An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside. He's alone, tired... and the only chance anyone has got.
The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron · 6 critic votes
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
Crime Wave (1985)
John Paizs · 4 critic votes
A young director intent on making "the greatest color crime movie ever" can't seem to finish his script--he has a beginning and an end, but he can't quite figure out the middle. The daughter of his landlord, excited to have a real "movie person" living nearby, tries to help by putting him in touch with a man who wants to collaborate on a script--the strange "Dr. Jolly"
Peking Opera Blues (1986)
Tsui Hark · 4 critic votes
In 1913 Beijing, three fierce women—disguised rebel Tsao Wan, jewel-seeking Sheung Hung, and opera heiress Pat Neil—embark on a daring quest filled with intrigue and betrayal, challenging societal norms amidst political turmoil and the vibrant world of Peking Opera.
RoboCop (1987)
Paul Verhoeven · 4 critic votes
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
Johanna D'Arc of Mongolia (1989)
Ulrike Ottinger · 4 critic votes
A group of cosmopolitan women passengers aboard the Trans-Siberian/Mongolian Railway are taken prisoner by Ulan Iga, a warrior princess.
...All the Marbles (1981)
Robert Aldrich · 3 critic votes
A two-bit promoter tries to take a women's wrestling team to the top.
Mad Max 2 (1981)
George Miller · 3 critic votes
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.
Son of the White Mare (1981)
Marcell Jankovics · 3 critic votes
A horse goddess gives birth to three powerful brothers who set out into the Underworld to save three princesses from three evil dragons and reclaim their ancestors' lost kingdom.
The Right Stuff (1983)
Philip Kaufman · 3 critic votes
At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
Three Crowns of the Sailor (1983)
Raúl Ruiz · 3 critic votes
Shortly after murdering his professor, a young man encounters a sailor who offers him a position on his ship in exchange for 3 Danish crowns and his attention as he recounts his life story.
They Live (1988)
John Carpenter · 3 critic votes
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Steven Spielberg · 3 critic votes
In 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval historian has vanished while searching for it, and the missing man is his own father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr.. He sets out to rescue his father by following clues in the old man's notebook, which his father had mailed to him before he went missing. Indy arrives in Venice, where he enlists the help of a beautiful academic, Dr. Elsa Schneider, along with Marcus Brody and Sallah. Together they must stop the Nazis from recovering the power of eternal life and taking over the world!
Kagemusha (1980)
Akira Kurosawa · 2 critic votes
Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
Who's Singin' Over There? (1980)
Slobodan Šijan · 2 critic votes
On the last bus to Belgrade before the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, a gallery of eccentrics turns an ordinary journey into a tragicomic portrait of a nation on the brink.
Escape from New York (1981)
John Carpenter · 2 critic votes
In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.
Manoel's Destinies (1985)
Raúl Ruiz · 2 critic votes
When the child Manuel wanders into a garden that is off-limits to him, he meets an unidentified fisherman, and another boy -- the boy is actually himself several years down the road. Manuel experiences three different versions of his encounters in the garden, revealing that fate can have several twists and turns in one's life, depending on decisions that are made early on.
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Hayao Miyazaki · 2 critic votes
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.
Ishtar (1987)
Elaine May · 2 critic votes
Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the CIA, the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.
Predator (1987)
John McTiernan · 2 critic votes
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Raising Arizona (1987)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · 2 critic votes
When a childless couple—an ex-con and an ex-cop—take one of a wealthy family’s quintuplets to raise as their own, their lives grow more complicated than anticipated.
Alice (1988)
Jan Švankmajer · 2 critic votes
A quiet young English girl named Alice finds herself in an alternate version of her own reality after chasing a white rabbit. She becomes surrounded by living inanimate objects and stuffed dead animals, and must find a way out of this nightmare - no matter how twisted or odd that way must be.
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Stephen Herek · 2 critic votes
Bill and Ted are high school buddies starting a band. They are also about to fail their history class—which means Ted would be sent to military school—but receive help from Rufus, a traveller from a future where their band is the foundation for a perfect society. With the use of Rufus' time machine, Bill and Ted travel to various points in history, returning with important figures to help them complete their final history presentation.
CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980)
Ruggero Deodato · 1 critic vote
A New York University professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon rainforest with the footage shot by a lost team of documentarians who were making a film about the area's local cannibal tribes.
Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980)
Tsui Hark · 1 critic vote
Three lazybones friends manufacture a firebomb and place it in a cinema. Pearl, a sadistic young girl, has observed the scene, follows the bombers and starts to manipulate them. The four criminals plan more and more daring acts.
Popeye (1980)
Robert Altman · 1 critic vote
Popeye is a super-strong, spinach-scarfing sailor man who's searching for his father. During a storm that wrecks his ship, Popeye washes ashore and winds up rooming at the Oyl household, where he meets Olive. Before he can win her heart, he must first contend with Olive's fiancé, Bluto.
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
Jamie Uys · 1 critic vote
A Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane raises havoc among a normally peaceful tribe of African bushmen who believe it to be a utensil of the gods.
The Stunt Man (1980)
Richard Rush · 1 critic vote
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.
Roar (1981)
Noel Marshall · 1 critic vote
Roar follows a family who are attacked by various African animals at the secluded home of their keeper.
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
John Milius · 1 critic vote
A horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom, the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria and Subotai. The group comes upon King Osric, who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Nicholas Meyer · 1 critic vote
The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.
Andhaa Kaanoon (1983)
Tatineni Rama Rao · 1 critic vote
When his parents are killed by three men, Amar, Akbar and Anthony, Vijay teams up with a forest officer who was framed in a murder case to avenge their deaths.
Project A (1983)
Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung · 1 critic vote
In late 19th century Hong Kong, the British may rule the land, but the pirates rule the waters. Coast Guard officer Dragon Ma is determined that his beloved Coast Guard will not be made a fool of.
Utu (1983)
Geoff Murphy · 1 critic vote
In New Zealand in the 1860s the native Māori people fought the British colonials to keep the land guaranteed to them by treaty. The warrior Te Wheke fights for the British until betrayal leads him to seek utu (revenge). The settler Williamson in turn seeks revenge after Te Wheke attacks his homestead. Meanwhile Wiremu, an officer for the British, seems to think that resistance is futile.
Blood Simple (1984)
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen · 1 critic vote
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.
Dune (1984)
David Lynch · 1 critic vote
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Hayao Miyazaki · 1 critic vote
After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.
Repo Man (1984)
Alex Cox · 1 critic vote
A down and out young punk gets a job working with a seasoned repo man, but what awaits him in his new career is a series of outlandish adventures revolving around aliens, the CIA, and a most wanted '64 Chevy.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th Dimension (1984)
W. D. Richter · 1 critic vote
Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.
The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984)
Liu Chia-liang · 1 critic vote
The Yangs are betrayed by a government official conspiring with the Mongols. All of the Yang family males except the 5th and 6th brother are killed. Fu Sheng loses his mind after the death of his family, while the other brother takes refuge in a Buddhist temple.
The Karate Kid (1984)
John G. Avildsen · 1 critic vote
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Kaze: One Minute and Forty Seconds (1985)
Tsutomu Shinozuka · 1 critic vote
Impressionistic silent short film (also known as ‘Kaze. Ippun yonjûbyô’) created by 17-year-old high school student Shinozuka Tsutomu. The animation, which won the Debut Prize at the inaugural Hiroshima International Animation Festival in 1985, shows a group of samurai racing at breathtaking speed across golden meadows. The film stands out for its visceral sense of motion and extraordinary dynamism, as has been confirmed by jury member Kawamoto Kihachirō, who noted that you can almost feel the force of the wind. The focus on ‘wind’, speed and warriors elegantly evokes a famous military maxim by Sun Tzu: ‘Your swiftness shall resemble the wind’. It is the first of four tenets of Fūrinkazan (風林火山, lit. ‘Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain’), a legendary Japanese battle standard drawn from Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’. Warriors should also be ‘as calm and orderly as forests, as fierce as fire, and as steadfast as mountains’.
Police Story (1985)
Jackie Chan · 1 critic vote
Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the boss' secretary, Selina, who will testify against the gangster in court.
The Adventures of Mark Twain (1985)
Will Vinton · 1 critic vote
Largely considered to be the greatest American author, Mark Twain is celebrated in this exhaustive documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns.
Malcolm (1986)
Nadia Tass · 1 critic vote
Malcolm is a chronically shy mechanical genius, who has just been fired for building his own tram. He gets Frank, who has just been released from jail, to move in to help pay the bills. With Frank's help, Malcolm turns to a life of crime.
Platoon (1986)
Oliver Stone · 1 critic vote
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Righting Wrongs (1986)
Corey Yuen, Yuen Biao, Tsui Hark · 1 critic vote
Jason Chan, a Hong Kong lawyer, is angry at the way the law protects criminals and decides to take the law into his own hands, dishing out vigilante justice when a key witness and his entire family are murdered. But hotshot cop Cindy Si is soon on Chan's case, and the situation unravels into a fight that only a few will survive.
Cobra Verde (1987)
Werner Herzog · 1 critic vote
A fearsome 19th century bandit, Cobra Verde cuts a swath through Brazil until he arrives at the sugar plantation of Don Octávio Countinho. Not knowing that his new guest is the notorious bandit and impressed by his ruthless ways, Don Octávio hires Cobra Verde to oversee his slaves. But when Cobra Verde impregnates Don Octávio’s three daughters, the incensed plantation owner exiles the outlaw to Africa where he is expected to reopen the slave trade. Following his trans-Atlantic journey, Cobra Verde exploits tribal conflicts to commandeer an abandoned fortress and whips an army of naked warriors into a frenzied bloodlust as he vies for survival.
The Living Daylights (1987)
John Glen · 1 critic vote
After a defecting Russian general reveals a plot to assassinate foreign spies, James Bond is assigned a secret mission to dispatch the new head of the KGB to prevent an escalation of tensions between the Soviet Union and the West.
The Untouchables (1987)
Brian De Palma · 1 critic vote
Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.
IGUANA (1988)
Monte Hellman · 1 critic vote
A grotesquely disfigured harpooner called Iguana is severely mistreated by his fellow sailors on a whaling ship in the 19th century. One night he escapes and takes up residence on a remote island. He makes himself ruler of the island and declares war on mankind. Anyone unfortunate enough to wind up on the island with Iguana is subjected to his cruel tyranny.
Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988)
Claude Lelouch · 1 critic vote
A foundling, raised in the circus, Sam Lion becomes a businessman after a trapeze accident. However, when he reaches fifty and becomes tired of his responsibilities and of his son Jean-Philippe, he decides to disappear at sea. However, he runs into Albert Duvivier, one of his former employees. He comes to realise that he has ignored the important things in his life.
Miracle Mile (1988)
Steve De Jarnatt · 1 critic vote
After 30 years of searching, Harry has finally met the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, before they even have a chance to go on their first date, Harry intercepts some chilling news: WWIII has begun and nuclear missiles will destroy Los Angeles in less than an hour!
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Robert Zemeckis · 1 critic vote
Marty and Doc are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditch attempt to set things straight, Marty finds himself bound for 1955 and face to face with his teenage parents -- again.
My Heart Is That Eternal Rose (1989)
Patrick Tam · 1 critic vote
The fallout resulting from a botched Triad gang smuggling job forces a young couple to separate - she becomes a kingpin’s unwilling moll and he travels to the Philippines to work as a contract killer. Six years later, the two are reunited in a chance encounter, but their rekindled emotions and people from their past lead them into extreme danger.
The Abyss (1989)
James Cameron · 1 critic vote
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.
The Killer (1989)
John Woo · 1 critic vote
Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim's sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman to make things right.

Loading…