Films of the 1980s (2025 Edition): Personal Favorites

[BleuPanda]

Like last time, please share one personal favorite from each year that did not make the top 15 for its year. You can bold three of your choices to highlight particular favorites.

I plan to begin this at the start of November, but you can share favorites after that (you would simply miss whatever years have already been covered)

1980:
1. (3.) Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese) USA, 469 points, 13 votes , 3 #1 votes
2. (2.) The Elephant Man (David Lynch/USA/UK), 433 points, 12 votes , 2 #1 votes
3. (1.) The Shining (Stanley Kubrick/UK/Drama, Horror), 357 points, 12 votes , 3 #1 votes
4. (4.) The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner/USA/SciFi-Fantasy), 324 points, 10 votes , 3 #1 votes
5. (12.) Mon Onclie D'Amerique [My American Uncle] (Alain Resnais/France), 142 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
6. (15.) Atlantic City (Louis Malle/Canada-France), 140 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
7. (19.) Stardust Memories (Woody Allen USA), 137 points, 8 votes , 1 #1 vote
8. (8.) Berlin Alexanderplatz | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany, 130 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
9. (9.) 影武者 [Kagemusha] (Akira Kurosawa), Japan, 121 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
10. (6.) Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker/USA/Comedy), 108 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
11. (5.) The Blues Brothers (John Landis) (USA), 105 points, 10 votes , 0 #1 votes
12. (32.) Ordinary People (Robert Redford/Drama/USA), 104 points, 4 votes , 1 #1 vote
13. (10.) Le Dernier Métro [The Last Metro] (François Truffaut/France), 97 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (11.) Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino) USA, 79 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (13.) Superman II (Richard Lester, Richard Donner (uncredited)/UK), 73 points, 3 votes , 0 #1 votes

1981:
1. (1.) Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg) 323, points, 11 votes , 3 #1 votes
2. (2.) Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen) (West Germany) 304, points, 10 votes , 2 #1 votes
3. (3.) Mad Max 2 [The Road Warrior] (George Miller) 239, points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
4. (41.) My Dinner with Andre (Louis Malle, USA, Comedy-Drama) 176, points, 6 votes , 2 #1 votes
5. (10.) Blow Out | Brian De Palma | U.S. 153, points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
6. (32.) Pixote, a lei do mais fraco [Pixote, the Law of the Weakest] (Hector Babenco, Brazil, Drama) 116, points, 4 votes , 1 #1 vote
7. (24.) Body Heat | Lawrence Kasdan | U.S. 114, points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
7. (37.) Mephisto (István Szabó, Hungary, Drama) 114, points, 4 votes , 1 #1 vote
9. (11.) Garde à vue [The Inquisitor] (Claude Miller) 110, points, 3 votes , 1 #1 vote
10. (17.) Gallipoli (Peter Weir) 109, points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
11. (23.) Lola | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany 100, points, 3 votes , 0 #1 votes
12. (4.) Diva | Jean-Jacques Beineix | France 91, points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (27.) Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, UK, Drama) 81, points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (6.) Escape From New York | John Carpenter | U.S. 79, points, 4 votes , 1 #1 vote
15. (14.) The Evil Dead | Sam Raimi | U.S. 76, points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes

1982:
1. (1.) Blade Runner – Ridley Scott (USA / Hong Kong / UK), 560 points, 12 votes , 9 #1 votes
2. (2.) Fanny och Alexander (Fanny & Alexander) (Ingmar Bergman/Sweden/Drama), 360 points, 10 votes , 2 #1 votes
3. (4.) The Thing (John Carpenter/USA/Horror), 221 points, 10 votes , 0 #1 votes
4. (5.) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Steven Spielberg (USA), 210 points, 10 votes , 1 #1 vote
5. (3.) Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog/West Germany/Adventure), 202 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
6. (6.) Tootsie – Sydney Pollack (USA), 166 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
7. (7.) Gandhi (Richard Attenborough/UK/Historical Epic), 155 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
8. (13.) Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio/USA/Experimental), 126 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
9. (9.) The King of Comedy – Martin Scorsese (USA), 124 points, 6 votes , 1 #1 vote
10. (11.) The Verdict – Sidney Lumet (USA), 114 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
11. (30.) Pink Floyd: The Wall (Alan Parker), 101 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
12. (17.) The Draughtsman's Contract (Peter Greenaway/UK/Comedy Drama), 86 points, 3 votes , 1 #1 vote
13. (16.) Diner (Barry Levinson/USA/Comedy Drama), 78 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (12.) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, 72 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (23.) Victor/Victoria – Blake Edwards (USA / UK), 65 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes

1983:
1. (7.) Scarface (Brian De Palma/USA/Crime), 282 points, 12 votes , 2 #1 votes
2. (3.) Videodrome | David Cronenberg | Canada, 282 points, 10 votes , 1 #1 vote
3. (1.) Zelig (Woody Allen) USA, 277 points, 9 votes , 2 #1 votes
4. (4.) The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman/USA/Drama), 243 points, 6 votes , 3 #1 votes
5. (10.) Sans soleil (Sunless) | Chris Marker | France, 191 points, 7 votes , 1 #1 vote
6. (6.) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand/USA/Science Fiction), 149 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
7. (8.) Nostalghia (Nostalgia) | Andrei Tarkovsky | Italy/U.S.S.R., 149 points, 5 votes , 2 #1 votes
8. (12.) Local Hero | Bill Forsyth | U.K., 147 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
9. (9.) L'argent (Money) | Robert Bresson | France, 129 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
10. (16.) A Christmas Story | Bob Clark | U.S., 125 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
11. (15.) 楢山節考 (The Ballad of Narayama) (Shohei Imamura JPN), 120 points, 3 votes , 1 #1 vote
12. (11.) Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks/USA/Comedy Drama), 100 points, 3 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (5.) Trading Places (John Landis/USA/Comedy), 88 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (2.) The Meaning of Life [Monty Python's The Meaning of Life] (Terry Jones), 88 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (--) Pauline à la plage (Pauline at the Beach) | Éric Rohmer | France, 86 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes

1984:
1. (5.) Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone/USA-Italy/Crime), 275 points, 9 votes , 2 #1 votes
2. (1.) Paris, Texas – Wim Wenders (UK / France / West Germany), 267 points, 10 votes , 1 #1 vote
3. (7.) The Terminator (James Cameron/USA/SciFi Action), 247 points, 9 votes , 2 #1 votes
4. (6.) Amadeus (Milos Forman), 239 points, 9 votes , 1 #1 vote
5. (4.) Stop Making Sense – Jonathan Demme (USA), 219 points, 7 votes , 2 #1 votes
6. (2.) This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner USA), 185 points, 9 votes , 1 #1 vote
7. (3.) Blood Simple (Joel and Ethan Coen/USA/Crime), 182 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
8. (8.) Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch USA), 152 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
9. (13.) Forbrydelsens element (The Element of Crime) | Lars von Trier | Denmark, 114 points, 3 votes , 2 #1 votes
10. (23.) Heimat: A Chronicle of Germany (Edgar Reitz FRG), 109 points, 4 votes , 1 #1 vote
11. (12.) 風の谷のナウシカ [Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind] | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan, 105 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
12. (9.) Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman/USA/SciFi Comedy), 102 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (19.) Another Country – Marek Kanievska (UK), 94 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (--) ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto! (What Have I Done To Deserve This?) (Pedro Almodovar ESP), 89 points, 3 votes , 1 #1 vote
15. (21.) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – Steven Spielberg (USA), 78 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes

1985:
1. (1.) Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis USA), 302 points, 11 votes , 1 #1 vote
2. (4.) Иди и смотри [Come and See] (Elem Klimov, Soviet Union), 301 points, 9 votes , 3 #1 votes
3. (2.) Brazil (Terry Gilliam), 289 points, 9 votes , 2 #1 votes
4. (3.) 乱 [Ran] (Akira Kurosawa/Japan/Epic), 270 points, 8 votes , 1 #1 vote
5. (5.) After Hours (Martin Scorsese USA), 165 points, 8 votes , 1 #1 vote
6. (11.) The Breakfast Club (John Hughes/USA/Comedy Drama), 154 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
7. (9.) Shoah (Claude Lanzmann/France/History), 128 points, 4 votes , 1 #1 vote
8. (14.) A Room with a View (James Ivory GBR), 113 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
8. (6.) The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen/USA/Romantic Fantasy Comedy), 113 points, 7 votes , 1 #1 vote
10. (7.) Witness (Peter Weir), 107 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
11. (9.) The Color Purple (Steven Spielberg/USA/Drama), 102 points, 6 votes , 1 #1 vote
11. (13.) Sans Toit Ni Loi [Vagabond] (Agnès Varda FRA), 102 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (8.) Pee-wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton), 75 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (29.) To Live and Die in L.A. | William Friedkin | U.S., 70 points, 2 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (15.) Pale Rider – Clint Eastwood (USA), 68 points, 3 votes , 1 #1 vote

1986:
1. (1.) Blue Velvet – David Lynch (USA), 376 points, 12 votes , 4 #1 votes
2. (3.) Aliens (James Cameron/USA/Sci-Fi), 239 points, 8 votes , 1 #1 vote
3. (4.) Hannah and Her Sisters | Woody Allen | U.S., 208 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
4. (2.) Down by Law – Jim Jarmusch (USA), 195 points, 6 votes , 1 #1 vote
5. (17.) Jean de Florette (Claude Berri/France/Drama), 164 points, 5 votes , 1 #1 vote
6. (8.) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (John Hughes/USA/Comedy), 151 points, 7 votes , 1 #1 vote
7. (6.) Stand by Me (Rob Reiner/USA/Drama), 149 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
8. (5.) Platoon – Oliver Stone (USA / UK), 144 points, 6 votes , 1 #1 vote
9. (7.) The Fly (David Cronenberg/Canada/Sci-Fi Horror), 121 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
10. (9.) Offret [The Sacrifice] (Andrei Tarkovsky), 113 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
11. (19.) Manon des Sources (Manon of the Spring/Claude Berri/Drama), 103 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes
12. (46.) Hoosiers – David Anspaugh (USA / UK), 85 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (33.) Le rayon vert (The Green Ray) | Éric Rohmer | France, 84 points, 3 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (14.) 天空の城ラピュタ [Laputa: Castle in the Sky] (Hayao Miyazaki/Japan/Fantasy), 81 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (18.) Der Name der Rose [The Name of the Rose] (Jean-Jacques Annaud)), 70 points, 2 votes , 0 #1 votes

1987:
1. (1.) Der Himmel über Berlin [Wings of Desire] (Wim Wenders), 352 points, 9 votes , 5 #1 votes
2. (3.) Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick), 217 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
3. (4.) The Untouchables (Brian De Palma/USA/Crime), 200 points, 9 votes , 1 #1 vote
4. (2.) Raising Arizona (Joel & Ethan Coen/UK/Comedy), 182 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
5. (10.) The Princess Bride (Rob Reine/USA/Adventure Comedy), 175 points, 8 votes , 1 #1 vote
6. (5.) Au Revoir les Enfants (Louis Malle/France/Drama), 148 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
7. (39.) Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson/UK/Comedy), 118 points, 4 votes , 1 #1 vote
8. (8.) RoboCop / Paul Verhoeven / U.S., 112 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
9. (--) خانه دوست کجاست؟ [Where Is My Friend's House?], 110 points, 6 votes , 1 #1 vote
10. (55.) Radio Days (Woody Allen/USA/Comedy), 107 points, 5 votes , 1 #1 vote
11. (7.) House of Games – David Mamet (USA), 100 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
12. (6.) Predator (John McTiernan/USA/Sci-Fi Action), 96 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (12.) 红高粱 [Red Sorghum, Hong Gao Liang] (Yimou Zhang), 91 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (11.) Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg), 86 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (28.) Evil Dead II | Sam Raimi | U.S., 85 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes

1988:
1. (4.) Die Hard (John McTiernan/USA/Action), 305 points, 11 votes , 3 #1 votes
2. (5.) Nuovo Cinema Paradiso [Cinema Paradiso] [Giuseppe Tornatore/Italy/Drama], 259 points, 8 votes , 2 #1 votes
3. (1.) 火垂るの墓 [Grave of the Fireflies] (Isao Takahata), 250 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
4. (2.) となりのトトロ [My Neighbor Totoro] (Hayao Miyazaki), 241 points, 8 votes , 2 #1 votes
5. (7.) Krótki film o zabijaniu [A Short Film About Killing] (Krzysztof Kieslowski), 215 points, 7 votes , 2 #1 votes
6. (3.) Rain Man (Barry Levinson/USA/Drama), 211 points, 11 votes , 1 #1 vote
7. (15.) Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo/Japan/Science Fiction), 209 points, 7 votes , 2 #1 votes
8. (11.) The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris/USA/Culture & Society), 202 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
9. (8.) A Fish Called Wanda (Charles Crichton/UK-USA/Comedy), 160 points, 11 votes , 0 #1 votes
10. (23.) Spoorloos [The Vanishing] [George Sluizer/Netherlands/Thriller], 142 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
11. (26.) Big (Penny Marshall/USA/Fantasy Comedy), 132 points, 6 votes , 1 #1 vote
12. (22.) Mississippi Burning (Alan Parker), 126 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (12.) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Robert Zemeckis/USA/Comedy), 124 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (25.) Dom Za Vesanje (Time of the Gypsies) [Emir Kusturica/Yugoslavia/Comedy Drama], 118 points, 6 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (6.) Mujeres al borde de unataque de nervios [Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown], 98 points, 7 votes , 0 #1 votes

1989:
1. (1.) Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee/USA/Drama), 414 points, 13 votes , 4 #1 votes
2. (2.) Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen/USA/Comedy Drama), 331 points, 12 votes , 0 #1 votes
3. (--)* Dekalog (Krzysztof Kieslowski/Poland/Drama), 245 points, 6 votes , 2 #1 votes
4. (4.) sex, lies, and videotape (Steven Soderbergh/USA/Drama), 201 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
5. (5.) Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant/USA/Drama), 173 points, 8 votes , 1 #1 vote
6. (17.) The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (Peter Greenaway), 157 points, 8 votes , 0 #1 votes
7. (6.) When Harry Met Sally… (Rob Reiner), 134 points, 10 votes , 1 #1 vote
8. (12.) Dead Poets Society – Peter Weir (USA), 130 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
9. (35.) Mystery Train – Jim Jarmusch (USA / Japan), 127 points, 7 votes , 1 #1 vote
10. (13.) Batman (Tim Burton/USA/Superhero Film), 112 points, 7 votes , 1 #1 vote
11. (24.) Say Anything... (Cameron Crowe/USA/Romantic Comedy), 109 points, 6 votes , 1 #1 vote
12. (16.) Der siebente Kontinent [The Seventh Continent] (Michael Haneke), 104 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
13. (8.) Henry V (Kenneth Branagh/UK/Historical Epic), 103 points, 4 votes , 0 #1 votes
14. (3.) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Steven Spielberg) 101 points, 9 votes , 0 #1 votes
15. (18.) My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (Jim Sheridan), 89 points, 5 votes , 0 #1 votes

[BleuPanda]

1980: Altered States
1981: Possession
1982: Dimensions of Dialogue
1983: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
1984: Streetwise
1985: Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
1986: Street of Crocodiles
1987: The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
1988: Distant Voices, Still Lives
1989: The Killer

[acroamor]

1980: Out of the Blue
1981: Agatha and the Limitless Readings
1982: White Dog
1983: A Nos Amours
1984: Love Streams
1985: Angel's Egg
1986: Terrorizers
1987: Housekeeping
1988: High Hopes
1989: Celia

[Humphrey12]

1980: Solo Sunny - Konrad Wolf
1981: Die bleierne Zeit [Marianne and Juliane] - Margarethe von Trotta
1982: Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss [Veronika Voss] - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
1983: Born in Flames - Lizzie Borden
1984: Klassenverhältnisse [Class Relations] - Jean-Marie Straub & Danièle Huillet
1985: Арабески на тему Пиросмани [Arabesques on the Pirosmani Theme] - Sergei Parajanov
1986: Mauvais sang [Bad Blood] - Leos Carax
1987: The Dante Quartet - Stan Brakhage
1988: Distant Voices, Still Lives - Terence Davies
1989: 悲情城市 [A City of Sadness] - Hou Hsiao-Hsien

[Michel]

1980: Un mauvais fils [A Bad Son] - Claude Sautet
1981: La guerre du feu [Quest for Fire] - Jean-Jacques Annaud
1982: Le père Noël est une ordure [Santa Claus Is a Stinker] - Jean-Marie Poiré
1983: Rumble Fish - Francis Ford Coppola
1984: Birdy - Alan Parker
1985: Péril en la demeure [Death in a French Garden / Peril] - Michel Deville
1986: Mauvais sang [Bad Blood] - Leos Carax
1987: The Belly of an Architect - Peter Greenaway
1988: Dead Ringers - David Cronenberg
1989: A Grand Day Out - Nick Park

[Greg]

1980: The Fog | John Carpenter (U.S.)
1981: Cutter's Way | Ivan Passer (U.S.)
1982: Il pianeta azzurro (The Blue Planet) | Franco Piavoli (Italy)
1983: Прощание (Farewell) | Элем Климов (Elem Klimov) (Russia)
1984: The Brother from Another Planet | John Sayles (U.S.)
1985: The Angelic Conversation | Derek Jarman (U.K.)
1986: Mona Lisa | Neil Jordan (Ireland)
1987: The Last of England | Derek Jarman (U.K.)
1988: Médea | Lars von Trier (Denmark)
1989: 달마가 동쪽으로 간 까닭은? (Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?) | 배용균 (Bae Yong-Kyun) (South Korea)

[bonnielaurel]

1980: Loulou
1981: Absence of Malice
1982: Cat People
1983: One Deadly Summer [L'été meurtrier]
1984: Body Double
1985: Angry Harvest [Bittere Ernte]
1986: Betty Blue [37°2 le matin]
1987: Wall Street
1988: Working Girl
1989: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! [Átame!]

[Petri]

1980: Permanent Vacation
1981: Pelle Svanslös [Peter-No-Tail]
1982: Arvottomat [The Worthless]
1983: De vierde man [The Fourth Man]
1984: A Nightmare on Elm Street
1985: Otac na službenom putu [When Father Was Away on Business]
1986: When the Wind Blows
1987: 倩女幽魂 [A Chinese Ghost Story]
1988: Ariel
1989: Meet the Feebles