20 great but forgotten movies from the '80s (2024)

TOHO

American blockbusters were getting repetitive in the '80s. We love John Hughes, but there are only so many high school detentions we can take. Meanwhile, the folks in Japan were churning out original productions like mochi cakes. They came in delectable bunches, starting with this post-apocalyptic vision that introduced the world to anime.

Studio Ghibli

More anime! This time from the genre's most prolific director. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Windis peak Miyazaki, with incredible visuals, world building and a girl who saves the world from harm's way. All that for the price of one ticket.

Warner Bros.

A vampire movie with bite...and abs. This high school flick has a darker edge than most. It follows the same beats as a new-kid-in-town comedy, but the bullies are out for blood this time.

Filmverlag der Autoren ZDF

Two madmen enter the Amazon jungle. One is named Fitzcarraldo, a lunatic who tries to build an opera house in the middle of nowhere. The other is Werner Herzog, who actually entered the Amazon jungle to film this blockbuster. The result is like watching a mad scientist mix elements that shouldn't work, but somehow do.

The Criterion Collection

A Western about noodle soup? Yes please. Tampopo is one of the strangest mixtures in all of cinema, but then again, some of the strangest mixtures make for some of the finest foods.

Titanus

Do you love movies? Then you won't be able to resist Cinema Paradiso, a love letter to cinema seen through the eyes of the director's surrogate. Giuseppe, a kid who works at a movie house, makes for one of the art form's most heartwarming characters.

20th Century Fox

A dude in a trenchcoat stands outside his crush's house with a boombox over his head, playing a song about love. It's a moment that could only happen in the '80s. In the pantheon of high school movies, Say Anything ranks near the top, despite most people ranking it down their list.

Warner Bros.

Once upon a time, there weren't a million movies starting with Once Upon a Time. Just two films from Sergio Leone: Once Upon a Time in the Westand Once Upon a Time in America. The latter was the director's swan song, a sweeping epic about New York immigrants that unfolds like a hazy daydream.

The Criterion Collection

The least '80s movie of the '80s.Come and See is a movie that dares you to watch its eye-searing, bone-crunching horrors without blinking. At a time when most films were billed as uplifting, this journey into the trenches of war is anything but. It's a brutal and piercing masterpiece that leaves you shell shocked.

Universal Pictures

Politicians are easy targets these days, since both sides of the political spectrum seem to be annoyed at their candidates. But they weren't as easy to target in the '80s, when John Carpenter made his science-fiction commentary about the monsters that live among us: politicians. They Live may be cheesy, but it's cheesy fun with a message.

The Criterion Collection

Vampire movies were huge in the '80s, serving as a countercultural answer to the upbeat high school films of their time. Horror flicks likeLost Boysand Near Dark literally feasted off these tropes, offering different takes on a formulaic genre. When a teenager joins a group of bloodsuckers, he not only devours humans, but gets out of homework as well.

Columbia Pictures

Many of the titles on this list serve as a countercultural answer to trends of their time. Everyone knows The Breakfast Club, but not everyone knows The Lost Boys. Everyone knows The Sandlot, but not everyone knows Stand By Me. Another story of kids playing in summer, this one sees a group of friends search for a corpse instead of a lost toy.

20th Century Fox

There are lots of options out there for couples with fertility problems, from doners to adoptions. But stealing a baby isn't one of them. Unless of course you want to be chased across the state by police officers, friends and strangers, similar to the couple at the center of this Coen Brothers comedy. It's really fun to watch, but probably no fun to experience.

Universal Pictures

I'm gonna be honest, I'm not really sure how to describeRepo Man. It's a comedy with an attitude, an action movie with almost no action and a movie about people stealing cars that never feels dangerous or tense. Yet it works. I guess you'll have to see it for yourself.

Paramount Pictures

Those aren't pillows! It's one of the most quoted comedies of all time that's still underrated. More young people should check out this road trip classic.

Universal Studios

Dude, high school movies aren't all dumb comedies about teenagers getting stoned. Some of them are smart comedies about teenagers getting stoned. LikeFast Times at Ridgemont High, for example. Cameron Crowe went undercover to a high school to write the script, while director Amy Heckerling adapts it for authenticity.

Universal Pictures

Yeah, that's peak Robert De Niro in a comedy. You didn't see the picture wrong. De Niro anchors this comedy about a bounty hunter driving a criminal across the country while authorities try to track them down. It's a funny, action packed ride with an emotional ending.

The Criterion Collection

Like the town, Paris, Texas isn't exactly a fun place to visit. It's a dry, depressing drama about a man whose forgotten his purpose. But as a work of art, it's a stunning piece of magical realism.

United Artists

Samuel Fuller is one of cinema's great provocateurs, always prioritizing shocks over commercial success. The Big Red Onemay not have made a ton of money, but it made a ton of fans thanks to its strange mix of raunchy comedy, anti-war message and cool action. There's never been another war movie like this one.

Paramount Pictures