The Best Movies of the 80s – Todd’s Top Ten [VIDEOS]

I loved the 80s.   Put on your leg warmers, head bands, big hair, deck shoes, spandex  or parachute pants  and watch some great movies from my favorite decade. There were so many many good movies in the 80s.  Pick my 10 favorites? Impossible! I did end up with 10 favorites, but It could have been 50.  I left so many off my list that I wanted to include.

10. Good Morning Vietnam (1987)

This movie was Robin Williams best performance ever.  He played the part of an Armed Forces Radio DJ during the Vietnam War.  The movie was funny and sad and I loved the music. It was the 1st time I ever heard the Louis Armstrong Song, "What a Wonderful World". The song was used perfectly in the movie.

9. Big (1988)

Tom Hanks may have won Oscars for "Forest Gump" and "Philadelphia", but his best job ever as an actor was as a 13-year-old boy who turned into a full-grown man overnight.  He told one of those fortune teller machines that he wanted to be "Big" and it came true. There are too many classic moments in the movie to count.

8. Die Hard (1988)

Bruce Willis was a star when he made "Die Hard".  After the movie, he became a superstar and "Die Hard" became a franchise.   I've probably seen this movie a dozen times.  It was probably the 1st movie where a guy used a skyscraper as a weapon.

7. Lethal Weapon (1987)

Lethal Weapon is probably my favorite funny cop movie ever.  It was the 1st of 4 in the series starring Danny Glover and a Mel Gibson that people still loved.  They made the perfect team. I hear there is new "Lethal Weapon" movie in the works. My wife and I will be the 1st in line to buy tickets.

6. Dirty Dancing (1987)

"Dirty Dancing" is one of my wife's favorite movies, so I have seen it more than any other movie on this list.  It's kind of a chick-flick, but the music is great and Patrick Swayze owned it.   I never dreamed that a movie about dancing would make my list, but it had to, because "Nobody puts Baby in a corner".

5. On Golden Pond (1981)

This was a movie starring two Hollywood icons Katherine Hepburn & Henry Fonda  and Jane Fonda as their daughter.  Hepburn & Fonda both won Oscars for their performances.  It was funny, charming, and even had a tiny bit of action adventure...and who could forget the Loons.  My favorite line from the movie, "Oh Norman you old poop".

4. The Karate Kid (1984)

I don't know why I liked this movie so much, but I did.   Maybe it was the amazing Mr. Miyagi, or the wimpy kid who ends up kicking the butts of a bunch of bullies, or maybe it is as simple as "Wax on! Wax off!" or "Paint The Fence".

3. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

This was the 2nd movie released in the "Star Wars" saga and was my favorite because it introduced Yoda and the Land Walkers. It was the highest grossing film of the 1980s and deservedly so.  The production and special effects from this movie were millenniums beyond their time.  I just as easily included "Return of the Jedi" on this list.

2. Top Gun (1986)

After 27 years, this movie still stands up.  It's probably my favorite Tom Cruise movie and I am a fan...and I'm not afraid to say it.  Very rarely does Mr. Cruise make a bad movie.  Oh, he's done it, but "Top Gun" is not one of those movies. If you think flying jets is cool, you have to love this movie.  I still use a line from "Top Gun" on my wife, "Take me to bed or lose me forever"!

1. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

My favorite movie of the 1980s might surprise some, but not those who really know me.  It's probably a Guy Card violation, but I love Nora Ephron.  She Wrote "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" and "Julie and Julia". She is brilliant.  I love all of those movies because of the writing.  I enjoy dialogue that is funny without being slapstick.  Add in Meg Ryan and Billy Crystals best performance ever and you have the perfect movie. I still laugh when I watch my VHS copy of it.

HONORABLE MENTION

These are movies I wanted in my top ten, but I ran out of room: Rain Man, Stir Crazy, Batman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Flashdance, The Untouchables, Risky Business, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Beveryly Hills Cop