Films of the 1980s: 1980 (2025 Edition)

[BleuPanda]

You can post a list of anywhere between 5 and 20 films (or more, but only 20 will be counted) from the period we're covering. The deciding factor in terms of release dates is the IMDb list and the top 15 of each year will go on to the final top 150 (plus a few bonus films). New rounds will be posted on the 16th and first day of each month. The deadline for this poll is November 30th.

The points scheme is as follows:
1. 50
2. 45
3. 40
4. 36
5. 32
6. 28
7. 25
8. 22
9. 19
10. 16
11. 14
12. 13
13. 12
14. 11
15. 10
16. 9
17. 8
18. 7
19. 6
20. 5

However, these are the maximum amounts of points. If you want to put certain films on your list but don't want to give them too many points, you can choose to give these less points than in this scheme (but never more) to decrease the impact on the overall results. If you don't specifically state that you want to give (some of) your films fewer points, I will assume the standard scheme.

Top 15 in previous 1980 poll:
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

Personal favorites:
BleuPanda: Altered States (Ken Russell)
acroamor: Out of the Blue (Dennis Hopper)
The Humphreys: Solo Sunny (Konrad Wolf)
Michel: Un mauvais fils [A Bad Son] (Claude Sautet)
Greg: The Fog (John Carpenter)
bonnielaurel: Loulou (Maurice Pialat)
Petri: Permanent Vacation (Jim Jarmusch)

[BleuPanda]

Oops, didn't look through the movies I watched the first time this year while making my personal favorite choices so I have switched mine from Gloria to Altered States

5 stars (top 250):
1. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
2. The Shining
3. Raging Bull

4.5 stars (top 1000):
4. The Elephant Man
5. Altered States
6. Kagemusha
7. Airplane!
8. Berlin Alexanderplatz
9. Ordinary People
10. Out of the Blue
11. Gloria
12. Mon oncle d'amerique
13. Inferno
14. Gregory's Girl

4 stars (great):
15. The Age of the Earth
16. Shogun Assassin
17. Suave qui peut (la vie)/Every Man for Himself
18. The Fog
19. The Blues Brothers
20. Stardust Memories
21. Pixote

3.5 stars (good):
22. Nine to Five
23. Atlantic City
24. The Changeling
25. Heaven's Gate
26. Solo Sunny
27. From the Life of the Marionettes

3 stars (above average):
28. Superman II
29. Dressed to Kill
30. Resurrection
31. Maniac

2.5 stars (average):
32. Friday the 13th
33. Permanent Vacation

1 star (terrible):
34. Raise the Titanic

[acroamor]

1. Airplane! (Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams)
2. Out of the Blue (Dennis Hopper)
3. Grown-Ups (Mike Leigh)
4. Personal Problems (Bill Gunn)
5. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
6. Cruising (William Friedkin)
7. The Fog (John Carpenter)
8. Ordinary People (Robert Redford)
9. Berlin Alexanderplatz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
10. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
11. The Elephant Man (David Lynch)
12. Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino)
13. Pixote (Hector Babenco)
14. Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (Les Blank)
15. Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma)
16. Caddyshack (Harold Ramis)
17. Every Man for Himself (Jean-Luc Godard)
18. Simon Barbes or Virtue (Marie-Claude Treilhou)
19. The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie)
20. Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa)

[bonnielaurel]

1. The Last Metro [Le dernier métro]
2. The Elephant Man
3. Loulou
4. Berlin Alexanderplatz [miniseries]
5. Fame
6. The Shining
7. Atlantic City
8. L'avare
9. Nine to Five
10. Brubaker
11. Foxes
12. Dressed to Kill
13. The Blue Lagoon
14. Shogun [miniseries]
15. Private Benjamin
16. La boum
17. Xanadu
18. Stardust Memories
19. Spetters
20. The Long Good Friday

[Michel]

1 | The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
2 | The Elephant Man (David Lynch)
3 | My American Uncle (Alain Resnais)
4 | Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
5 | Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino)
6 | Stardust Memories (Woody Allen)
7 | Un mauvais fils (Claude Sautet)
8 | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner)
9 | Gloria (John Cassavetes)
10 | Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa)
11 | Ordinary People (Robert Redford)
12 | Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg)
13 | Pixote, a lei do mais fraco [Pixote] (Héctor Babenco)
14 | Loulou (Maurice Pialat)
15 | Sauve qui peut (la vie) [Every Man for Himself] (Jean-Luc Godard)
16 | Cruising (William Friedkin)
17 | Airplane! (Jim Abrahams / David Zucker / Jerry Zucker)
18 | Le voyage en douce [Sentimental Journey] (Michel Deville)
19 | The Gods Must Be Crazy (Jamie Uys)
20 | La terrazza [The Terrace] (Ettore Scola)

[Humphrey12]

All the 1980 films we've seen. Count all:

Awesome

1. The Blues Brothers - John Landis
2. The Shining - Stanley Kubrick
3. The Elephant Man - David Lynch
4. Solo Sunny - Konrad Wolf

Very good

5. 影武者 [Kagemusha] - Akira Kurosawa
6. Murder Psalm - Stan Brakhage

Good

7. Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese
8. Airplane! - Zucker, Abrahams & Zucker
9. The Empire Strikes Back - Irvin Kershner

OK

10. Duplicity III - Stan Brakhage
11. Theo gegen den Rest der Welt [Theo Against the Rest of the World] - Peter F. Bringmann

[The_Claw]

1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
2. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick)
3. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner)
4. The Elephant Man (David Lynch)
5. 影武者 [Kagemusha] (Akira Kurosawa)
6. Airplane! (Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams & David Zucker)
7. Sauve qui peut (la vie) [Every Man For Himself] (Jean-Luc Godard)
8. Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino)
9. Gloria (John Cassavetes)
10. Ordinary People (Robert Redford)
11. The Blues Brothers (John Landis)
12. Gregory's Girl (Bill Forsyth)
13. Loulou (Maurice Pialat)
14. The Big Red One (Samuel Fuller)
15. Bad Timing (Nicolas Roeg)
16. Atlantic City (Louis Malle)
17. Le roi et l'oiseau [The King and the Mockingbird] (Paul Grimault)
18. Cannibal Holocaust (Ruggero Deodato)
19. Le dernier métro [The Last Metro] (François Truffaut)
20. The Long Good Friday (John Mackenzie)

[whuntva]

1) The Empire Strikes Back
2) Raging Bull
3) The Blues Brothers
4) Pixote
5) The Elephant Man
6) Mon Oncle D'Amerique
7) Airplane!
8) Atlantic City
9) Berlin Alexanderplatz
10) Ordinary People

[Petri]

1. The Shining
2. The Elephant Man
3. Permanent Vacation
4. Altered States
5. Москва слезам не верит [Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears]
6. Mon oncle d'Amérique [My American Uncle]
7. La terrazza [The Terrace]
8. Raging Bull
9. Gloria
10. Stardust Memories
11. Ordinary People
12. The Empire Strikes Back [Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back]
13. Shogun Assassin
14. Atlantic City, USA
15. Airplane!
16. Le roi et l'oiseau [The King and the Mockingbird]
17. Cruising
18. The Changeling
19. The Blues Brothers
20. Heaven's Gate

[Greg]

Top 25 (Ranked)

1 | Raging Bull | Martin Scorsese (U.S.)
2 | Berlin Alexanderplatz | Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Germany)
3 | Heaven's Gate | Michael Cimino (U.S.)
4 | 影武者 (Kagemusha) | 黒澤明 (Akira Kurosawa) (Japan)
5 | Μεγαλέξανδρος (Alexander the Great) | Θόδωρος Αγγελόπουλος (Theo Angelopoulos) (Greece)
6 | The Shining | Stanley Kubrick (U.S.)
7 | The Fog | John Carpenter (U.S.)
8 | The Big Red One | Samuel Fuller (U.S.)
9 | The Elephant Man | David Lynch (U.S.)
10 | Dialogue with a Woman Departed | Leo Hurwitz (U.S.)
11 | Atlantic City, USA | Louis Malle (France)
12 | Golem | Piotr Szulkin (Poland)
13 | Mon oncle d'Amérique (My American Uncle) | Alain Resnais (France)
14 | Bad Timing | Nicolas Roeg (U.K.)
15 | Stardust Memories | Woody Allen (U.S.)
16 | Melvin and Howard | Jonathan Demme (U.S.)
17 | Inferno | Dario Argento (Italy)
18 | Permanent Vacation | Jim Jarmusch (U.S.)
19 | Spokój (The Calm) | Krzysztof Kieślowski (Poland)
20 | Diaries (1971-1976) | Ed Pincus (U.S.)

21 | Return of the Secaucus Seven | John Sayles (U.S.)
22 | Popeye | Robert Altman (U.S.)
23 | Cruising | William Friedkin (U.S.)
24 | The Blues Brothers | John Landis (U.S.)
25 | Il mistero di Oberwald (The Mystery of Oberwald) | Michelangelo Antonioni (Italy)

Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical)

1 | A idade da Terra (The Age of the Earth) | Glauber Rocha (Brazil)
2 | Airplane! | Jim Abrahams / David & Jerry Zucker (U.S.)
3 | Altered States | Ken Russell (U.K.)
4 | American Gigolo | Paul Schrader (U.S.)
5 | Babylon | Franco Rosso (Italy)
6 | Paura nella città dei morti viventi (City of the Living Dead) | Lucio Fulci (Italy)
7 | La città delle donne (City of Women) | Federico Fellini (Italy)
8 | Dressed to Kill | Brian De Palma (U.S.)
9 | The Falls | Peter Greenaway (U.K.)
10 | Friday the 13th | Sean S. Cunningham (U.S.)
11 | Aus dem Leben der Marionetten (From the Life of the Marionettes) | Ingmar Bergman (Sweden)
12 | The Gamekeeper | Ken Loach (U.K.)
13 | Gloria | John Cassavetes (U.S.)
14 | Gregory's Girl | Bill Forsyth (U.K.)
15 | Grown-Ups | Mike Leigh (U.K.)
16 | HealtH | Robert Altman (U.S.)
17 | Rycerz (The Knight) | Lech Majewski (Poland)
18 | Le dernier métro (The Last Metro) | François Truffaut (France)
19 | The Long Good Friday | John Mackenzie (U.K.)
20 | The Long Riders | Walter Hill (U.S.)
21 | Maniac | William Lustig (U.S.)
22 | Nick's Film: Lightning Over Water | Wim Wenders (Germany) & Nicholas Ray (U.S.)
23 | The Ninth Configuration | William Peter Blatty (U.S.)
24 | Personal Problems | Bill Gunn (U.S.)
25 | Used Cars | Robert Zemeckis (U.S.)

Shorts

Short (1-10 mins.): Nocturne | Lars von Trier (Denmark)
Medium (11-30 mins.): Suur Tõll (Tyll the Giant) | Rein Ramaat (Estonia)
Long (31-60 mins.): Dis-moi (Tell Me) | Chantal Akerman (Belgium)

Wishlist (Alphabetical)

1 | Csontváry | Zoltán Huszárik (Hungary)
2 | എസ്തെപ്പന്‍ (Esthappan) | G. Aravindan (India)
3 | الذاكرة الخصبة (Fertile Memory) | ميشيل خليفي (Michel Khleifi) (Israel)
4 | Journeys from Berlin/1971 | Yvonne Rainer (U.S.)
5 | Lacrima Christi | Teo Hernández (Mexico)
6 | Nárcisz és Psyché (Narcissus and Psyche) | Gábor Bódy (Hungary)
7 | No. 18: Mahagonny | Harry Smith (U.S.)
8 | Palm Beach | Albie Thoms (Australia)
9 | Korpinpolska (Raven's Dance) | Markku Lehmuskallio (Finland)
10 | Stagefright | Jon Jost (U.S.)

[BleuPanda]

These results are closed except I need Petri to correct Pixote to 1980; I sent a direct message but he has not been online the last few days. I would post the results if it didn't really matter, but it would actually change quite a bit.

[Petri]

These results are closed except I need Petri to correct Pixote to 1980; I sent a direct message but he has not been online the last few days. I would post the results if it didn't really matter, but it would actually change quite a bit.

Sorry about the wrong year. Pixote is my #3 of the 1980.
Thanks.

[BleuPanda]

Results

1. The Shining - Stanley Kubrick, 323 Points (8 Votes)
2. The Elephant Man - David Lynch, 312 Points (9 Votes)
3. Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese, 281 Points (8 Votes)
4. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back - Irvin Kershner, 193 Points (6 Votes)
5. Airplane! - Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, 167 Points (7 Votes)
6. Berlin Alexanderplatz - Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 151 Points (5 Votes)
7. Kagemusha / 影武者 - Akira Kurosawa, 149 Points (6 Votes)
8. My American Uncle / Mon oncle d'amerique - Alain Resnais, 118 Points (5 Votes)
9. The Blues Brothers - John Landis, 115 Points (5 Votes)
10. Heaven's Gate - Michael Cimino, 107 Points (4 Votes)
11 (tie). Ordinary People - Robert Redford, 100 Points (6 Votes)
11 (tie). Pixote / Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco - Héctor Babenco, 100 Points (4 Votes)
13. Atlantic City - Louis Malle, 80 Points (5 Votes)
14. Gloria - John Cassavetes, 68 Points (4 Votes)
15 (tie). Altered States - Ken Russell, 64 Points (2 Votes)
15 (tie). Stardust Memories - Woody Allen, 64 Points (5 Votes)

--- (everything below this line with at least 2 votes will be eligible for the bonus round)
17. Loulou - Maurice Pialat, 63 Points (3 Votes)
18. Out of the Blue - Dennis Hopper, 61 Points (2 Votes)
19. The Fog - John Carpenter, 57 Points (3 Votes)
20. The Last Metro / Le Dernier Métro - François Truffaut, 56 Points (2 Votes)
21. Every Man for Himself / Suave qui peut (la vie) - Jean-Luc Godard, 51 Points (4 Votes)
22. Cruising - William Friedkin, 44 Points (3 Votes)
23. Permanent Vacation - Jim Jarmusch, 43 Points (2 Votes)
24. Grown-Ups - Mike Leigh, 40 Points (1 Votes)
25 (tie). Personal Problems - Bill Gunn, 36 Points (1 Votes)
25 (tie). Solo Sunny - Konrad Wolf and Wolfgang Kohlhaase, 36 Points (1 Votes)
27. Bad Timing - Nicolas Roeg, 34 Points (3 Votes)
28. The Big Red One - Samuel Fuller, 33 Points (2 Votes)
29 (tie). Fame - Alan Parker, 32 Points (1 Votes)
29 (tie). Alexander the Great / Ο Μεγαλέξαντρος - Theo Angelopoulos, 32 Points (1 Votes)