Movie Auditor › Rankings › 1980s
Best Movies of the 1980s, Ranked by IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDB
800 films from the 1980s are in our catalog; the 100 best are ranked below. Top of the list is The Empire Strikes Back ('1980), at 8.7 on IMDb. The average IMDb score across this list is 7.9. Biggest split between audiences and critics: Pink Floyd: The Wall, 8.0 on IMDb against 47 on Metacritic.
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| # | Movie | Genre | IMDb | Tomato | Meta | TMDB | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Empire Strikes Back '1980 | Action / Sci-Fi | 8.7 | 93% | 82 | 8.4 | Irvin Kershner |
| 2 | Back to the Future '1985 | Comedy / Sci-Fi | 8.5 | 93% | 88 | 8.3 | Robert Zemeckis |
| 3 | The Shining '1980 | Horror / Thriller | 8.4 | 84% | 68 | 8.2 | Stanley Kubrick |
| 4 | Grave of the Fireflies '1988 | Animation / Drama / War | 8.5 | 100% | 94 | 8.4 | Isao Takahata |
| 5 | Raiders of the Lost Ark '1981 | Action | 8.4 | 94% | 86 | 7.9 | Steven Spielberg |
| 6 | Cinema Paradiso '1988 | Drama / Romance | 8.5 | 90% | 80 | 8.4 | Giuseppe Tornatore |
| 7 | Aliens '1986 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 8.4 | 93% | 84 | 8.0 | James Cameron |
| 8 | Amadeus '1984 | Drama / Musical | 8.4 | 90% | 87 | 8.0 | Miloš Forman |
| 9 | Return of the Jedi '1983 | Action / Sci-Fi | 8.3 | 83% | 58 | 7.9 | Richard Marquand |
| 10 | Scarface '1983 | Action / Crime / Drama | 8.3 | 77% | 65 | 8.2 | Brian De Palma |
| 11 | Once Upon a Time in America '1984 | Drama / Crime | 8.3 | 86% | 75 | 8.4 | Sergio Leone |
| 12 | Die Hard '1988 | Action / Thriller | 8.2 | 94% | 72 | 7.8 | John McTiernan |
| 13 | Das Boot '1981 | Drama / War | 8.3 | 98% | 85 | 8.1 | Wolfgang Petersen |
| 14 | Full Metal Jacket '1987 | Drama / War | 8.2 | 89% | 78 | 8.1 | Stanley Kubrick |
| 15 | The Thing '1982 | Horror / Mystery / Sci-Fi | 8.2 | 85% | 57 | 8.1 | John Carpenter |
| 16 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade '1989 | Action | 8.2 | 84% | 65 | 7.9 | Steven Spielberg |
| 17 | The Elephant Man '1980 | Drama | 8.2 | 91% | 78 | 8.1 | David Lynch |
| 18 | Blade Runner '1982 | Sci-Fi / Drama / Thriller | 8.1 | 89% | 84 | 7.9 | Ridley Scott |
| 19 | The Terminator '1984 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 8.1 | 90% | 84 | 7.7 | James Cameron |
| 20 | Raging Bull '1980 | Drama | 8.1 | 92% | 90 | 7.9 | Martin Scorsese |
| 21 | My Neighbor Totoro '1988 | Fantasy / Animation | 8.1 | 94% | 87 | 8.1 | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 22 | Dead Poets Society '1989 | Drama | 8.1 | 85% | 79 | 8.3 | Peter Weir |
| 23 | Stand by Me '1986 | Drama | 8.1 | 89% | 76 | 7.8 | Rob Reiner |
| 24 | Rain Man '1988 | Drama | 8.0 | 88% | 65 | 7.7 | Barry Levinson |
| 25 | Come and See '1985 | Drama / War / Horror | 8.3 | 90% | - | 8.2 | Elem Klimov |
| 26 | The Princess Bride '1987 | Fantasy / Comedy / Romance | 8.0 | 93% | 78 | 7.7 | Rob Reiner |
| 27 | Platoon '1986 | Drama / War / Action | 8.0 | 89% | 92 | 7.7 | Oliver Stone |
| 28 | Ran '1985 | Action / Drama | 8.2 | 96% | 97 | 8.0 | Akira Kurosawa |
| 29 | Gandhi '1982 | Drama | 8.0 | 89% | 79 | 7.6 | Richard Attenborough |
| 30 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial '1982 | Sci-Fi | 7.9 | 99% | 92 | 7.5 | Steven Spielberg |
| 31 | Paris, Texas '1984 | Drama | 8.1 | 95% | 81 | 8.1 | Wim Wenders |
| 32 | Akira '1988 | Animation / Sci-Fi / Action | 8.0 | 88% | 68 | 7.9 | Katsuhiro Otomo |
| 33 | Warriors of the Wind '1984 | Animation / Fantasy | 8.0 | 87% | 86 | 7.9 | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 34 | Castle in the Sky '1986 | Fantasy / Animation / Action | 8.0 | 97% | 78 | 8.0 | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 35 | The Blues Brothers '1980 | Musical / Comedy / Crime | 7.9 | 72% | 60 | 7.7 | John Landis |
| 36 | Fanny and Alexander '1982 | Fantasy / Drama / Mystery | 8.1 | 100% | 100 | 7.8 | Ingmar Bergman |
| 37 | Ghostbusters '1984 | Comedy / Fantasy | 7.8 | 95% | 71 | 7.5 | Ivan Reitman |
| 38 | Pink Floyd: The Wall '1982 | Musical / Drama | 8.0 | 73% | 47 | 8.0 | Alan Parker |
| 39 | Predator '1987 | Sci-Fi / Action / Thriller | 7.8 | 65% | 47 | 7.6 | John McTiernan |
| 40 | A Christmas Story '1983 | Comedy | 7.9 | 87% | 77 | 7.2 | Bob Clark |
| 41 | Back to the Future Part II '1989 | Comedy / Sci-Fi | 7.8 | 63% | 57 | 7.8 | Robert Zemeckis |
| 42 | The Breakfast Club '1985 | Comedy / Drama | 7.8 | 87% | 66 | 7.7 | John Hughes |
| 43 | Ferris Bueller's Day Off '1986 | Comedy | 7.8 | 85% | 61 | 7.6 | John Hughes |
| 44 | This Is Spinal Tap '1984 | Comedy / Musical | 7.9 | 98% | 92 | 7.4 | Rob Reiner |
| 45 | The Untouchables '1987 | Crime / Thriller | 7.8 | 83% | 79 | 7.8 | Brian De Palma |
| 46 | Brazil '1985 | Comedy / Sci-Fi | 7.8 | 98% | 84 | 7.7 | Terry Gilliam |
| 47 | The King of Comedy '1982 | Drama / Comedy | 7.8 | 89% | 73 | 7.8 | Martin Scorsese |
| 48 | Airplane! '1980 | Comedy | 7.7 | 97% | 78 | 7.3 | Jerry Zucker |
| 49 | First Blood '1982 | Action / Thriller / Drama | 7.7 | 86% | 61 | 7.5 | Ted Kotcheff |
| 50 | The Goonies '1985 | Comedy | 7.7 | 77% | 62 | 7.5 | Richard Donner |
| 51 | Koyaanisqatsi '1983 | Documentary / Musical | 8.2 | 91% | 72 | 7.9 | Godfrey Reggio |
| 52 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit '1988 | Fantasy / Animation / Comedy / Crime | 7.7 | 96% | 83 | 7.5 | Robert Zemeckis |
| 53 | Mississippi Burning '1988 | Drama / Crime / Mystery / Thriller | 7.8 | 79% | 65 | 7.7 | Alan Parker |
| 54 | Blue Velvet '1986 | Mystery / Thriller / Crime | 7.7 | 87% | 75 | 7.6 | David Lynch |
| 55 | Kiki's Delivery Service '1989 | Animation / Fantasy | 7.8 | - | 85 | 7.8 | Hayao Miyazaki |
| 56 | Stop Making Sense '1984 | Documentary / Musical | 8.7 | 100% | 94 | 8.3 | Jonathan Demme |
| 57 | Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan '1982 | Action / Sci-Fi / Thriller | 7.7 | 87% | 68 | 7.4 | Nicholas Meyer |
| 58 | Do the Right Thing '1989 | Drama | 7.9 | 92% | 93 | 7.8 | Spike Lee |
| 59 | When Harry Met Sally... '1989 | Comedy / Romance / Drama | 7.7 | 90% | 76 | 7.4 | Rob Reiner |
| 60 | Wings of Desire '1987 | Drama / Fantasy / Romance | 7.9 | 95% | 79 | 7.8 | Wim Wenders |
| 61 | Glory '1989 | Drama / War | 7.8 | 95% | 78 | 7.5 | Edward Zwick |
| 62 | Vincent '1982 | Animation / Fantasy | 8.3 | - | - | 7.8 | Tim Burton |
| 63 | Mad Max 2 '1981 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.6 | 93% | 77 | 7.4 | George Miller |
| 64 | RoboCop '1987 | Action / Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.6 | 84% | 70 | 7.4 | Paul Verhoeven |
| 65 | Lethal Weapon '1987 | Action / Thriller / Crime | 7.6 | 82% | 68 | 7.3 | Richard Donner |
| 66 | Empire of the Sun '1987 | Drama / War | 7.7 | 75% | 62 | 7.5 | Steven Spielberg |
| 67 | Kagemusha '1980 | Action / Drama / War | 7.9 | 89% | 84 | 7.8 | Akira Kurosawa |
| 68 | Fitzcarraldo '1982 | Drama | 7.9 | 78% | - | 7.6 | Werner Herzog |
| 69 | The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! '1988 | Comedy / Crime | 7.6 | 88% | 76 | 7.3 | David Zucker |
| 70 | The Name of the Rose '1986 | Drama / Thriller / Mystery | 7.7 | 74% | 54 | 7.5 | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| 71 | The Fly '1986 | Horror / Sci-Fi | 7.6 | 82% | 81 | 7.5 | David Cronenberg |
| 72 | The Little Mermaid '1989 | Animation / Fantasy | 7.6 | 92% | 88 | 7.4 | John Musker |
| 73 | The Last Emperor '1987 | Drama | 7.7 | 86% | 76 | 7.6 | Bernardo Bertolucci |
| 74 | The Right Stuff '1983 | Drama | 7.8 | 96% | 91 | 7.4 | Philip Kaufman |
| 75 | Hannah and Her Sisters '1986 | Comedy / Drama | 7.8 | 92% | 90 | 7.5 | Woody Allen |
| 76 | Evil Dead II '1987 | Horror / Comedy / Fantasy | 7.6 | 88% | 72 | 7.5 | Sam Raimi |
| 77 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom '1984 | Action | 7.5 | 77% | 57 | 7.3 | Steven Spielberg |
| 78 | Planes, Trains and Automobiles '1987 | Comedy | 7.6 | 93% | 72 | 7.3 | John Hughes |
| 79 | The Killing Fields '1984 | Drama / War | 7.8 | 91% | 76 | 7.5 | Roland Joffé |
| 80 | Ordinary People '1980 | Drama | 7.7 | 90% | 86 | 7.4 | Robert Redford |
| 81 | The Color Purple '1985 | Drama | 7.7 | 73% | 78 | 7.7 | Steven Spielberg |
| 82 | Time of the Gypsies '1988 | Drama / Crime / Fantasy / Romance | 8.1 | 100% | - | 7.6 | Emir Kusturica |
| 83 | Batman '1989 | Fantasy / Action / Crime | 7.5 | 77% | 69 | 7.2 | Tim Burton |
| 84 | Michael Jackson's Thriller '1983 | Horror / Musical / Thriller | 8.7 | - | - | 8.3 | John Landis |
| 85 | The Verdict '1982 | Drama | 7.7 | 88% | 77 | 7.5 | Sidney Lumet |
| 86 | The Snowman '1982 | Animation / Fantasy | 8.2 | 80% | - | 7.6 | Dianne Jackson |
| 87 | Trading Places '1983 | Comedy | 7.5 | 87% | 69 | 7.2 | John Landis |
| 88 | An American Werewolf in London '1981 | Comedy / Horror / Fantasy | 7.5 | 80% | 55 | 7.4 | John Landis |
| 89 | My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown '1989 | Drama | 7.8 | 98% | 97 | 7.5 | Jim Sheridan |
| 90 | A Fish Called Wanda '1988 | Comedy / Crime | 7.5 | 96% | 80 | 7.2 | Charles Crichton |
| 91 | National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation '1989 | Comedy | 7.5 | 72% | 49 | 7.2 | Jeremiah S. Chechik |
| 92 | Monty Python's The Meaning of Life '1983 | Comedy | 7.5 | 86% | 72 | 7.3 | Terry Jones |
| 93 | Beetlejuice '1988 | Fantasy / Comedy | 7.4 | 83% | 71 | 7.4 | Tim Burton |
| 94 | Au Revoir les Enfants '1987 | Drama / War | 8.0 | 97% | 88 | 7.5 | Louis Malle |
| 95 | A Short Film About Love '1988 | Drama / Romance | 8.1 | 95% | - | 7.8 | Krzysztof Kieślowski |
| 96 | After Hours '1985 | Comedy / Thriller / Drama | 7.6 | 90% | 89 | 7.5 | Martin Scorsese |
| 97 | Nostalgia '1983 | Drama / Romance | 7.9 | 89% | 78 | 7.8 | Andrei Tarkovsky |
| 98 | The Abyss '1989 | Thriller / Sci-Fi | 7.5 | 75% | 62 | 7.4 | James Cameron |
| 99 | A Nightmare on Elm Street '1984 | Horror | 7.4 | 93% | 76 | 7.4 | Wes Craven |
| 100 | Jean de Florette '1986 | Drama | 8.1 | 93% | 75 | 7.7 | Claude Berri |
Our catalog covers roughly the 8,800 most-rated films on TMDB, so lesser-known titles may be missing. Order uses a confidence-weighted IMDb score so a perfect score from a handful of votes does not beat a well-established classic; the scores shown are the raw ones.
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