1980s Films: Best Movies, Directors And Trends

Blockbusters, teen films and the video shop, with Channel 4 quietly funding British cinema.

Below: the films worth watching from the 1980s, the directors behind them, what was changing in cinema, and the year-by-year screen highlights from 1980 to 1989.

Useful for a film night, a themed party, a quiz round or working out what someone grew up watching.

Best films of the 1980s

• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).
• Chariots of Fire (1981) and Gandhi (1982) - British Oscar winners.
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
• Blade Runner (1982).
• Ghostbusters (1984).
• Back to the Future (1985).
• Withnail and I (1987).
• Die Hard (1988).
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
• Batman (1989).

Directors who defined the 1980s

• Steven Spielberg, the defining commercial director of the decade.
• Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, bringing advertising's visual polish to features.
• John Hughes, who invented the modern teen film.
• Richard Attenborough, making British epics that won Oscars.
• Terry Gilliam, Bruce Robinson and the odd corners of British film.

Cinema trends of the 1980s

• Home video arrives, the video shop becomes a weekly fixture, and the video nasty panic follows.
• Channel 4's Film on Four funds British films that would otherwise not exist.
• The sequel and the franchise become the business model.
• Multiplexes open in Britain from 1985 and admissions finally start rising again.
• The soundtrack album sells the film as much as the trailer does.

Going to the pictures

• The last of the old single-screen cinemas closing, or splitting into three.
• Renting two videos and a machine for the weekend.
• The FBI warning and the rewind charge.
• Multiplex arrival: clean seats, more screens, and popcorn as the main event.

Film and television, year by year

• 1980 - The Empire Strikes Back was the film of the year.
• 1981 - Only Fools and Horses began in September, quietly, to small audiences.
• 1982 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was the film of the year.
• 1983 - BBC Breakfast Time launched on 17 January, with TV-am following on ITV in February.
• 1984 - Ghostbusters and Gremlins filled the cinemas.
• 1985 - EastEnders began on 19 February; the Christmas Day episode drew an enormous audience.
• 1986 - Neighbours began on BBC One and became a daytime and teatime fixture.
• 1987 - Dirty Dancing and Fatal Attraction filled the cinemas.
• 1988 - Red Dwarf and Home and Away both began on British screens.
• 1989 - Batman was the film of the year; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was close behind.

Years covered in the 1980s

• 1980 - The decade opened with the SAS on live television and John Lennon's death in December. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1980
• 1981 - A royal wedding, riots in several cities and the first London Marathon. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1981
• 1982 - The Falklands, the launch of Channel 4 and the arrival of the Spectrum. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1982
• 1983 - Breakfast television, the pound coin and a general election landslide. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1983
• 1984 - The miners' strike, the Brighton bombing and Band Aid at Christmas. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1984
• 1985 - Live Aid, the first EastEnders and a very bad year in football. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1985
• 1986 - The Hand of God, Chernobyl and Neighbours arriving on daytime television. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1986
• 1987 - The great storm, Black Monday and a third election win. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1987
• 1988 - Acid house, Kylie's first number one and a grim run of disasters. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1988
• 1989 - Hillsborough, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the decade. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1989
• That is every 1980s year we have written up so far: 1980 to 1989.

How to use this

• Film night: one film from the decade, the matching party playlist before it, and a quiz round after.
• Quiz round: read a film and ask for the year, or read a director and ask for the film.
• Reminiscence: ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was, and who took them.
• Anyone born in 1980 turns 50 in 2030, 60 in 2040 and 70 in 2050.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Check the UK release date as well as the year - plenty of American films reached Britain months later.
• For a themed night, pick the film from the year someone turned eighteen, not the year they were born.
• Ask what the first film they saw at the cinema was. It gets a better story than asking their favourite.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1980
• Look back to 1981
• Look back to 1982
• Look back to 1983
• Look back to 1984
• Look back to 1985
• Look back to 1986
• Look back to 1987
• Look back to 1988
• Look back to 1989
• 1980s books, films and TV
• 1980s calendar: year by year
• 1980s trivia: fun facts
• 1980s music: albums, artists and songs
• 1980s shopping guide
• The 1980s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1980s
• 1980s party playlist
• 80s kids' TV shows
• 80s quiz questions
• Toys of the 80s and 90s
• Computers and consoles we grew up with
• Saturday morning TV
• Cassette tapes and taping the charts
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade films: best films and directors by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade shopping guides by era
• Decade tech: gadgets and computers by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Guess the year quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the best films of the 1980s?

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984). The full list above names real films with their release years, from the 1980s.

Which directors defined the 1980s?

Steven Spielberg, the defining commercial director of the decade. The directors section above covers the rest.

What was cinema like in the 1980s?

Home video arrives, the video shop becomes a weekly fixture, and the video nasty panic follows. The trends and going-to-the-pictures sections above cover both the industry and the experience.

Do you sell films or DVDs?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a film night.