Hidden 80s Gems
Unexpectedly good, lesser-known, overlooked or under-appreciated movies from the 1980s worth checking out.
Did I miss any? Leave a comment with your favourite hidden 80s gems.
Did I miss any? Leave a comment with your favourite hidden 80s gems.
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- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJeff GoldblumMichelle PfeifferStacey PickrenAfter discovering that his wife is cheating on him, an insomniac aerospace engineer accidentally meets, and tries to help, a beautiful model on the run from some extremely dangerous people.Like a great fever dream. It helps to watch this very late at night and/or when you have insomnia or a head cold. Plus, David Bowie makes an amazing cameo.
- DirectorJack SholderStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael NouriClaudia ChristianA cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.
A pre-Twin Peaks Kyle MacLachlan stars in easily one of the best X-files episodes I've ever seen! MacLachlan plays an FBI agent trying to hunt down a shape-shifting alien.
It's incredible how much of this movie is a direct influence on the X-files. Even the music score is uncannily similar (I don't know for certain, but it seems like Chris Carter just told Mark Snow, "make it sound like this"). - DirectorAnnabel JankelRocky MortonStarsMatt FrewerNickolas GraceHilary TindallIn the dystopic near future, a crusading TV reporter investigates news stories with the help of a wisecracking computer version of himself.
a.k.a "Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future"
The first appearance of Max Headroom before he became a global phenomenon. Fantastic low-budget British sci-fi that's bleak, fun and prophetic. - DirectorPeter YatesStarsKen MarshallLysette AnthonyFreddie JonesA prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet, Krull.
This film is so deliciously culty, I love it! - DirectorBruce RobinsonStarsRichard E. GrantRachel WardRichard WilsonA cynical advertising exec has a block at work leading to a meltdown. He's hilariously out of control. Getting a big, talking boil on his shoulder doesn't help.Get ahead. Literally.
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsKen WatanabeTsutomu YamazakiNobuko MiyamotoA truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.
mmmm... noodles! - DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsVal KilmerStacy PeraltaDaniel AdesAn uptight teenage prodigy enters a top engineering college, but feels awkward among the freewheeling students. When a professor aims to turn their laser project into a military weapon, he and his offbeat roommate plot to ruin the plan.
- DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithRussell HaggStarsHenry ThomasTony BarryRachel FriendA resourceful American orphan living in rural Australia finds himself caught up in the magic of a local Aboriginal myth that might be more real than anyone knows.
The Quest (a.k.a. "Frog Dreaming") - DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsTom HanksJohn CandyRita Wilson1962, after Yale graduation, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay. He takes his roomie's place as Peace Corps Volunteer in Thai Golden Triangle with 2 other PCVs. Will he survive 2 years?
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsJack NicholsonKathleen TurnerRobert LoggiaTwo professional assassins fall in love.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsSean ConneryShelley DuvallJohn CleeseA young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- StarsMichael CaineArmand AssanteRay McAnallyA Scotland Yard police inspector, battling the booze, investigates the Jack the Ripper murders and discovers a conspiracy that leads all the way up to the Queen.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsCatherine DeneuveDavid BowieSusan SarandonA love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
- DirectorKen RussellStarsWilliam HurtBlair BrownBob BalabanA psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
- DirectorFred DekkerStarsAndre GowerRobby KigerStephen MachtA group of young monster fanatics attempts to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.
- DirectorJeff KanewStarsAnthony EdwardsLinda FiorentinoJsu GarciaJonathan plays Gotcha with fellow college students, testing ability as assassin or mark, using paintball guns on campus. He flies to Paris on vacation and, with a woman taking his virginity, on to Berlin, where the game/ammo gets real.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMatthew BroderickRutger HauerMichelle PfeifferThe thief Gaston escapes the dungeon of medieval Aquila through the latrine. Soldiers are about to kill him when Navarre saves him. Navarre, traveling with his spirited hawk, plans to kill the bishop of Aquila with help from Gaston.
"We have come full circle Lord. I would like to think there is some higher meaning in all this. It certainly would reflect well on You." - DirectorPhil JoanouStarsCasey SiemaszkoAnnie RyanRichard TysonA nerd gets himself in hot water with the new bully, a quiet bad boy who challenges him to fight on the grounds of their high school after the day's end.
- DirectorArt LinsonStarsPeter BoyleBill MurrayBruno KirbySemi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Bill Murray personifies Hunter S. Thompson. - DirectorRichard FranklinStarsHenry ThomasDabney ColemanMichael MurphyA young boy and his imaginary friend end up on the run while in possession of a top-secret spy gadget.
Hitchcock for kids... (and adults too). - CreatorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsLeslie NielsenAlan NorthEd WilliamsSight gags, puns and non-sequiturs ensue as bumbling Sgt. Det. Lt. Frank Drebin and his colleagues at Police Squad solve various puzzling cases.
One of the funniest TV shows ever made. - DirectorW.D. RichterStarsPeter WellerJohn LithgowEllen BarkinAdventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.
- DirectorPaul FlahertyStarsJohn CandyJeffrey JonesAnnie PottsHarry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
- DirectorCarl ReinerStarsSteve MartinKathleen TurnerDavid WarnerA brain surgeon marries a femme fatale whose life he saved, causing his life to turn upside down. Things go even more awry when he falls in love with a telepathic brain.
- StarsJames BurkeRoger AvonPeter SprouleJames Burke explores key moments in Western History where new knowledge in science changed the way the modern Western world thinks.
If you like this series, check out James Burke's other series, "Connections" (the first one is the best, 2 and 3 are so-so). - DirectorJim JarmuschStarsJohn LurieEszter BalintRichard EdsonA New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsAndre GregoryWallace ShawnJean LenauerTwo old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsAmilcar CabralFlorence DelayArielle DombasleA woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
Among other things this Chris Marker film did to me was give me a radically deeper appreciation for Hitchcock's Vertigo; when you see it, you'll understand why. - DirectorAl ReinertStarsJim LovellKen MattinglyRussell SchweickartAn in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.
Of the dozens (or possibly hundreds) of documentaries about going to the moon, this one is among the very best. - DirectorRidley ScottStarsTom CruiseMia SaraTim CurryA young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.One of the most amazing visual spectacles ever filmed. Also one of the largest (if not the largest) sound stages ever constructed to film it all.
- DirectorNick ParkStarsJulie SedgewickA humourous and thought provoking view of what animals in zoos might be thinking about their captivity and surroundings.Nick Park's first Oscar-winning short.
- DirectorFrédéric BackStarsPhilippe NoiretChristopher PlummerThe story of a shepherd's single handed quest to re-forest a barren valley.
"The Man Who Planted Trees"
One of the best animated films ever made. - DirectorAlex CoxStarsHarry Dean StantonEmilio EstevezTracey WalterA young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsDanny DeVitoBilly CrystalKim GreistA bitter ex-husband wants his former spouse dead. A put-upon momma's boy wants his mother dead. Who will pull it off?
Not sure if this film qualifies as lesser-known, but it has less than 30,000 votes on IMDb, so I'm guessing there's still a lot of people who haven't seen it. - DirectorJoel SilbergStarsLucinda DickeyAdolfo QuinonesMichael ChambersA struggling young jazz dancer meets up with two break-dancers. Together they become the sensation of the street crowds.
- CreatorAnn DruyanCarl SaganSteven SoterStarsCarl SaganJaromír HanzlíkJonathan FahnAstronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the universe.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsCherNicolas CageOlympia DukakisLoretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
- DirectorJoe PytkaStarsRichard DreyfussTeri GarrDavid JohansenA nosy cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can't seem to stop gambling. Will he go broke or walk home with a pretty penny?
- StarsRobert DuvallTommy Lee JonesDanny GloverTwo former Texas Rangers renew their spirit of adventure as they and several other residents of a small Texas town join a cattle drive to the Montana Territory.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJeff DanielsMelanie GriffithGeorge 'Red' SchwartzA free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.
- DirectorJonathan R. BetuelStarsJohn StockwellDanielle von ZerneckFisher StevensA high school student and his friend find a strange, orb-like piece of equipment to use as a science project, but must stop it when it begins to threaten mankind.