From John Hughes' The Breakfast Club to Steven Spielberg's E.T., the movies of the 1980s not only shaped its generation, but inspired subsequent generations in every way imaginable. At least a few of these films are guaranteed to be close to your heart: my top 10 favorite '80s. movies (in no particular order).
My Top 15 '80s Movies
1. Top Gun. The Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School is where the best of the best
train to refine their elite flying skills. When hotshot fighter pilot
Maverick (Tom Cruise) is sent to the school, his reckless attitude and
cocky demeanor put him at odds with the other pilots, especially the
cool and collected Iceman (Val Kilmer). But Maverick isn't only
competing to be the top fighter pilot, he's also fighting for the
attention of his beautiful flight instructor, Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly
McGillis).
2. Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a pretty, but inexperienced,
teen interested in dating. Given advice by her uninhibited friend, Linda
Barrett (Phoebe Cates), Stacy gets trapped in a love triangle with nice
guy Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) and his more assured buddy Mike Damone
(Robert Romanus). Meanwhile, Stacy's classmate Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn),
who lives for surfing and being stoned, faces off against Mr. Hand (Ray
Walston), a strict teacher who has no time for the slacker's antics.
3. E.T. The Extraterrestrial. After a gentle alien becomes stranded on Earth, the being is discovered
and befriended by a young boy named Elliott (Henry Thomas). Bringing the
extraterrestrial into his suburban California house, Elliott introduces
E.T., as the alien is dubbed, to his brother and his little sister,
Gertie (Drew Barrymore), and the children decide to keep its existence a
secret. Soon, however, E.T. falls ill, resulting in government
intervention and a dire situation for both Elliott and the alien.
4. Stand By Me. After learning that a stranger has been accidentally killed near their
rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way,
Gordie Lachance (Wil Wheaton), Vern Tessio (Jerry O'Connell), Chris
Chambers (River Phoenix) and Teddy Duchamp (Corey Feldman) encounter a
mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, as 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.
5. Back to the Future Part 1. In this 1980s sci-fi classic, small-town California teen Marty McFly
(Michael J. Fox) is thrown back into the '50s when an experiment by his
eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) goes awry.
Traveling through time in a modified DeLorean car, Marty encounters
young versions of his parents (Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson), and must
make sure that they fall in love or he'll cease to exist. Even more
dauntingly, Marty has to return to his own time and save the life of Doc
Brown.
6. Gremlins. A gadget salesman is looking for a special gift for his son and finds
one at a store in Chinatown. The shopkeeper is reluctant to sell him the
"mogwai" but sells it to him with the warning to never expose him to
bright light, water, or to feed him after midnight. All of this happens
and the result is a gang of gremlins that decide to tear up the town on
Christmas Eve.
7. Poltergeist. Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the
Freelings -- Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), teenaged
Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and
five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O'Rourke) -- when ghosts commune with
them through the television set. Initially friendly and playful, the
spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing,
Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist
for help.
8. The Goonies. When two brothers find out they might lose their house they are
desperate to find a way to keep their home. They find a treasure map and
bring some friends along to find it. They are all out looking for the
"X" and trying to get away from a group of bad guys who also want the
treasure.
9. The Shining. Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes winter caretaker at the isolated
Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer's block. He
settles in along with his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his son,
Danny (Danny Lloyd), who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack's
writing goes nowhere and Danny's visions become more disturbing, Jack
discovers the hotel's dark secrets and begins to unravel into a
homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorizing his family.
10. Sixteen Candles. With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding,
angst-ridden Samantha (Molly Ringwald) faces her 16th birthday with
typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake
(Michael Schoeffling), but worries that her chastity will be a turnoff
for the popular senior. Meanwhile, Samantha must constantly rebuff the
affections of nerdy Ted (Anthony Michael Hall), the only boy in the
school, unfortunately, who seems to take an interest in her.
11. The Breakfast Club. Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday
detention under a power-hungry principal (Paul Gleason). The disparate
group includes rebel John (Judd Nelson), princess Claire (Molly
Ringwald), outcast Allison (Ally Sheedy), brainy Brian (Anthony Michael
Hall) and Andrew (Emilio Estevez), the jock. Each has a chance to tell
his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and
when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.
12. Die Hard. New York City policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis) is visiting his
estranged wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He
joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the Japanese-owned
business she works for. But the festivities are interrupted by a group
of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it.
Very soon McClane realizes that there's no one to save the hostages --
but him.
13. The Terminator. Disguised as a human, a cyborg assassin known as a Terminator (Arnold
Schwarzenegger) travels from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda
Hamilton). Sent to protect Sarah is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), who
divulges the coming of Skynet, an artificial intelligence system that
will spark a nuclear holocaust. Sarah is targeted because Skynet knows
that her unborn son will lead the fight against them. With the virtually
unstoppable Terminator in hot pursuit, she and Kyle attempt to escape.
14. Raising Arizona. An ex-con and an ex-cop meet, marry and long for a child of their own.
When it is discovered that Hi is unable to have children they decide to
snatch a baby. They try to keep their crime a secret, while friends,
co-workers and a bounty hunter look to use the child for their own
purposes.
15. Ghostbusters. After the members of a team of scientists (Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd,
Bill Murray) lose their cushy positions at a university in New York
City, they decide to become "ghostbusters" to wage a high-tech battle
with the supernatural for money. They stumble upon a gateway to another
dimension, a doorway that will release evil upon the city. The
Ghostbusters must now save New York from complete destruction.
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