My Favorite Movies of the 1980s

Comment: A difficult list to compile, as again I look to the films that gave me the most enjoyment and satisfaction, not necessarily what a critic would consider "best". I am aware that RAGING BULL has appeared at the top of compilations of important critics, and while I saw and enjoyed it, it is not on my list because I simply did not get from it the same satisfaction that other films gave me. Ambigous, perhaps, but that's how I do this.

My records indicate that I watched at least 620 movies in the 1980s, for an average of 62 movies a year; the figure is probably closer to 650, as I have learned that I occasionally forget to record a movie I've seen. Of this number I would estimate that approximately 50 were repeats.

It is also a reflection of age, or something: as I scanned the list of films I saw over the decade, there were at least 20 titles that simply didn't register. I read the title, and couldn't remember anything about the movie...

Here is a list, by year in which I saw the film for the first time, of my favorite movies of the 1980s. I acknowledge that I missed many important films of the decade, especially foreign films likeFANNY AND ALEXANDER, DAS BOOT, RAN, SALAAM BOMBAY, BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ, DIVA, etc.

1980:

Breaking Away
Fame
The Great Santini
The Shining
The Elephant Man

1981:

Raging Bull
Melvin and Howard
Breaker Morant
Blow Out
Raiders of the Lost Ark
True Confessions
Reds
Body Heat

1982:

Atlantic City
Diner
Shoot the Moon
The Road Warrior
Missing
Tootsie
E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial
The Verdict
Bladerunner
Poltergeist

1983:

Ghandi
Gregory's Girl
Local Hero
The Year of Living Dangerously
Tender Mercies
The King of Comedy
Aliens
A Christmas Story
Under Fire

1984:

Testament
The Grey Fox
Broadway Danny Rose
Racing With the Moon
Heart Like a Wheel
The Natural
This is Spinal Tap
Once Upon a Time in America
Iceman
The Gods Must Be Crazy

1985:

Amadeus
The Long Good Friday
The Killing Fields
A Test of Love
Witness
One Magic Christmas
Blood Simple

1986:

Hannah and Her Sisters
Ruthless People
The Quiet Earth
Salvador
Desert Bloom
At Close Range
Desert Hearts
Blue Velvet
Mona Lisa
The Name of the Rose
The Fly
The Mission

1987:

The Decline of the American Empire
Tin Men
Robocop
Raising Arizona
Hope and Glory
The Untouchables
Wall Street
Full Metal Jacket

1988:

Moonstruck
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
The Milagro Beanfield War
Eight Men Out
Hairspray
Rain Man
The Last Temptation of Christ
Bull Durham
My Life as a Dog
The Lightship

1989:

Field of Dreams
Powwow Highway
Do The Right Thing
My Left Foot
Mississippi Burning
A Dry White Season
Black Rain
Powwow Highway


And from all the above, I give you the following list of my 10 favorite movies of the 1980s, in alphabetical order:

Aliens
Blade Runner
Desert Bloom
Diner
E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial
Field of Dreams
The Killing Fields
The Last Temptation of Christ
Local Hero
Testament


Last update: 6 january 2001