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I think that most of the 80's movies in particular have probably aged and dated the worst. I think that 70's movies like Taxi Driver, The first two Godfathers, Chinatown, etc, are timeless, but I kind of cringe when I rewatch The Star Wars (And even Indiana Jones.) movies, etc. So, what are the best movies from the 80's that have stood the test of time? My favorite movie from the decade would probably be Once Upon A Time In America (The REAL, uncut and unedited version.). I think that Blue Velvet (Another favorite.) would still hold up. Even one of my favorites like The Stepfather (With a FANTASTIC Terry O'Quinn!) doesn't really hold up all that well. I still have to catch Raging Bull, which is considered by many to be the BEST movie of the decade.
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What do you guys think?
Well, AFAIK Empire Strikes Back still has the reputation of being the best Star Wars movie, and when you ask someone to name a good movie about boxing, chances are they'll either answer Raging Bull (1980) or Rocky (1981).
Comics-related movies from the 1980s include Superman II (probably the last really good superman movie) and Batman, which at least to my mind has held up very well, not least because it also gave rise to the Animated Series, the best Batman adaptation of all (but then I'm one of those people who reacted to Batman Begins with "Why doesn't the US government just throw an atom bomb on Gotham to put it out of its misery?"). Otherwise it was more a case of "so bad that it's good" (Flash Gordon, Heavy Metal) and "so bad that it has to be seen to be believed" (Howard the Duck). And there was When the Wind Blows, which I've not yet seen.
Other Anglophone movies of the 1980s worth considering/a watch
1980
Airplane!
The Blues Brothers (a worldwide cult classic)
1981
An American Werewolf in London
The Great Muppet Caper
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Gregory's Girl
Time Bandits (at least for Terry Gilliam's admirers)
Taxi Driver
1982
Blade Runner (extremely iconic, even if rooted in "Metropolis" to an extent)
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
The Draughtsman's Contract (for Peter Greenaway's fans)
E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial
First Blood (again very iconic, if a niche product)
Gandhi
Tootsie
Victor/Victoria
1983
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
Trading Places
Zelig
1984
Amadeus
Beverly Hills Cops (yes, very much an 80s film, but that's not a bad thing)
Ghostbusters (started another successful franchise)
Gremlins
The Muppets Take Manhattan
The Natural (Charlie Brown's favourite movie)
A Passage to India
Romancing the Stone (followed by The Jewel of the Nile and The War of the Roses)
1985
Back to the Future (and Part II in 1989)
Brazil
Cocoon
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Turtle Diary (a personal fave of mine)
1986
Aliens
Crocodile Dundee
Hannah and Her Sisters
Highlander
Labyrinth (still has quite a fandom)
Little Shop of Horrors (another cult classic)
The Mission (classic Morricone score)
Platoon
Ruthless People
The Terminator
This is Spinal Tap
1987
Full Metal Jacket
Good Morning Vietnam
Hamburger Hill
The Last Emperor
Moonstruck (which I love)
The Princess Bride
Wall Street
1988
Beetlejuice
Big
Big Business (a personal fave)
Bull Durham
Dangerous Liaisons
Die Hard (another franchise-starter)
A Fish Called Wanda
Hairspray (cult classic)
Rain Man
Spaceballs
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1989
Dead Poets Society
Driving Miss Daisy
Glory
Henry V (which kicked off Kenneth Branagh's series of Shakespeare adaptations)
The Little Mermaid
Major League (a guilty pleasure)
When Harry Met Sally...
But let's not forget the films from non-Anglophone countries:
1980
La Boum
The Last Metro
1981
Das Boot
Mephisto
1982
Fitzcarraldo
La Nuit de Varennes (one of my all-time favourites)
The Return of Martin Guerre
1983
Danton
1984
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
The Neverending Story
Paris, Texas
1985
Colonel Redl
Come and See
Ran
Shoah
Three Men and a Cradle (remade in 1987 as Three Men and a Baby)
1986
Castle in the Sky
Jean de Florette, and its sequel Manon des Sources
The Name of the Rose
Peking Opera Blues
Rosa Luxemburg
1987
Babette's Feast
Bagdad Café (Out of Rosenheim)
Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin)
1988
Cinema Paradiso
Grave of the Fireflies
My Neighbor Totoro
Ödipussi
1989
Death of a Tea Master
Kiki's Delivery Service
