1983 Movies, Best to Worst
by J_Frank_Parnell | created - 26 Mar 2023 | updated - 2 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Scarface (1983)
R | 170 min | Crime, Drama
In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Votes: 916,446 | Gross: $45.60M
10/10*
2. Trading Places (1983)
R | 116 min | Comedy
A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche
Votes: 165,786 | Gross: $90.40M
10/10
3. Style Wars (1983 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 69 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary that exposes the rich growing subculture of hip-hop that was developing in New York City in the late '70s and early '80s, specifically focusing on graffiti art and breakdancing.
Director: Tony Silver | Stars: Demon, Kase 2, Eric Haze, D. 5
Votes: 3,298
10/10*
4. The Meaning of Life (1983)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Musical
The comedy team takes a look at life in all of its stages in their own uniquely silly way.
Director: Terry Jones | Stars: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
Votes: 125,324 | Gross: $14.93M
9/10
5. Project A (1983)
PG-13 | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Fighting against pirates at the turn of the 20th century, the Hong Kong navy are failing miserably. It's up to Sergeant Lung (Jackie Chan) to take matters into his own hands.
Directors: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung | Stars: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Biao Yuen, Dick Wei
Votes: 18,532
9/10
6. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
After rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.
Director: Richard Marquand | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
Votes: 1,121,392 | Gross: $309.13M
8/10*
7. Suburbia (1983)
R | 94 min | Drama, Thriller
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society.
Director: Penelope Spheeris | Stars: Chris Pedersen, Bill Coyne, Jennifer Clay, Timothy O'Brien
Votes: 6,011
8/10
8. Of Unknown Origin (1983)
R | 88 min | Horror, Thriller
A man becomes destructively obsessed with killing a dangerous rat, which has taken residence in his recently renovated house.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Peter Weller, Jennifer Dale, Lawrence Dane, Kenneth Welsh
Votes: 3,785 | Gross: $1.08M
8/10*
9. Videodrome (1983)
R | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A programmer at a Toronto TV station that specializes in adult entertainment searches for the producers of a dangerous and bizarre broadcast.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
Votes: 102,975 | Gross: $2.12M
8/10*
10. Sudden Impact (1983)
R | 117 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 48,642 | Gross: $67.64M
8/10
11. The Day After (1983 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 127 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
The effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.
Director: Nicholas Meyer | Stars: Jason Robards, JoBeth Williams, Steve Guttenberg, John Cullum
Votes: 18,158
8/10*
12. Bad Boys (1983)
R | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Chicago crime kid Mick O'Brien is sent to reform school after accidentally killing a rival's kid brother.
Director: Rick Rosenthal | Stars: Sean Penn, Reni Santoni, Jim Moody, Eric Gurry
Votes: 17,065 | Gross: $9.20M
8/10
13. The Right Stuff (1983)
PG | 193 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The U.S. space program's development from the breaking of the sound barrier to selection of the Mercury 7 astronauts, from a group of test pilots with a more seat-of-the-pants approach than the program's more cautious engineers preferred.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid
Votes: 65,347 | Gross: $21.50M
8/10*
14. Meantime (1983 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
When one brother gets a job from their wealthy aunt, the other becomes increasingly jealous.
Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: Marion Bailey, Tim Roth, Phil Daniels, Pam Ferris
Votes: 4,787
8/10
15. Christine (1983)
R | 110 min | Horror, Thriller
A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky
Votes: 92,448 | Gross: $21.20M
7/10*
16. Vacation (1983)
R | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy
The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid
Votes: 120,117 | Gross: $61.40M
7/10
17. The Dead Zone (1983)
R | 103 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic ability to foresee future events.
Director: David Cronenberg | Stars: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
Votes: 77,312 | Gross: $20.77M
7/10*
18. Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)
R | 123 min | Drama, War
During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: David Bowie, Tom Conti, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Takeshi Kitano
Votes: 20,014 | Gross: $2.31M
7/10
19. Silkwood (1983)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama, History
A worker at a plutonium processing plant is purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing worker safety violations at the plant.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson
Votes: 22,198 | Gross: $35.62M
6/10
20. Risky Business (1983)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.
Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur
Votes: 99,840 | Gross: $63.50M
5/10
21. The Wind in the Willows (I) (1983 TV Movie)
TV-G | 79 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Toad, Rat, Mole, and Badger follow animal etiquette in this version of Kenneth Grahame's classic, in stop-motion model animation.
Director: Mark Hall | Stars: Richard Pearson, Ian Carmichael, David Jason, Michael Hordern
Votes: 1,702
5/10
22. A Christmas Story (1983)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz
Votes: 168,619 | Gross: $20.61M
5/10
23. The Outsiders (1983)
PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama
In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze
Votes: 97,531 | Gross: $25.60M
5/10
24. Gorky Park (1983)
R | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Moscow police officer investigates a vicious triple homicide and stumbles upon a high-level international political conspiracy.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy, Ian Bannen
Votes: 15,836 | Gross: $15.90M
5/10
25. BMX Bandits (1983)
PG | 88 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A trio of teen BMX enthusiasts become entangled with a group of bank robbers after discovering their cache of walkie-talkies.
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith | Stars: David Argue, John Ley, Nicole Kidman, Angelo D'Angelo
Votes: 6,021
5/10
26. Tender Mercies (1983)
PG | 92 min | Drama, Music
A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley
Votes: 12,022 | Gross: $8.44M
5/10
27. Zelig (1983)
PG | 79 min | Comedy
"Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Patrick Horgan, John Buckwalter
Votes: 44,173 | Gross: $11.80M
4/10
28. Heart Like a Wheel (1983)
PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
Shirley Muldowney is determined to be a top-fuel drag racer, although no woman has ever raced them before. Despite the high risks of this kind of racing and the burden it places on her family life, she perseveres in her dream.
Director: Jonathan Kaplan | Stars: Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges, Diane Delano, Ellen Geer
Votes: 1,582 | Gross: $0.27M
4/10
29. Testament (1983)
PG | 90 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
The life of a suburban American family is scarred after a nuclear attack.
Director: Lynne Littman | Stars: Jane Alexander, William Devane, Rossie Harris, Roxana Zal
Votes: 7,218 | Gross: $2.04M
4/10
30. WarGames (1983)
PG | 114 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman
Votes: 110,734 | Gross: $79.57M
3/10
31. Cujo (1983)
R | 93 min | Horror, Thriller
Cujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.
Director: Lewis Teague | Stars: Dee Wallace, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Danny Pintauro, Christopher Stone
Votes: 50,978 | Gross: $21.20M
3/10
32. Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
PG | 95 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader Eddie Wilson may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.
Director: Martin Davidson | Stars: Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Matthew Laurance
Votes: 8,462 | Gross: $4.79M
3/10
33. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
PG | 101 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Four horror and science fiction segments, directed by four famous directors, each of them being a new version of a classic story from Rod Serling's landmark television series.
Directors: Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller, Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Vic Morrow, Doug McGrath
Votes: 41,187 | Gross: $29.50M
3/10
34. Midnite Spares (1983)
87 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After discovering that a group of car thieves may have something to do with his father's untimely death, Steve pursues the criminals and attempts to capture them as well as prove his prowess as a racecar driver.
Director: Quentin Masters | Stars: James Laurie, Gia Carides, Max Cullen, Bruce Spence
Votes: 266
3/10
35. Yellowbeard (1983)
PG | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After serving two decades in prison, Yellowbeard (Graham Chapman) breaks out determined to recover the treasure that he buried so long ago, alongside his son, old crew, and the British Navy.
Director: Mel Damski | Stars: Graham Chapman, Peter Boyle, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong
Votes: 8,542 | Gross: $4.30M
3/10
36. Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
PG | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After helping the local police with some horse thieves, a Texas Ranger aims at a drug lord with arms trade as well. They're interested in the same woman and they're both into martial arts.
Director: Steve Carver | Stars: Chuck Norris, David Carradine, Barbara Carrera, Leon Isaac Kennedy
Votes: 13,959 | Gross: $12.23M
3/10
37. Uncommon Valor (1983)
R | 105 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Ten years after his son went M.I.A. in Vietnam, U.S. Marine retired Colonel Jason Rhodes assembles a private rescue team to find Americans held in P.O.W. camps in Laos.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, Robert Stack, Fred Ward
Votes: 11,652 | Gross: $30.50M
3/10
38. D.C. Cab (1983)
R | 100 min | Action, Comedy
The misadventures of a group of unfortunate but streetwise cabbies working for a Washington, D.C., decrepit taxicab company.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Charlie Barnett
Votes: 5,264 | Gross: $16.13M
3/10
39. Octopussy (1983)
PG | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A fake Fabergé egg recovered from the body of a fellow agent leads James Bond to uncover a jewel smuggling operation led by the mysterious Octopussy, and a plot to blow up a NATO air base.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn
Votes: 112,983 | Gross: $67.90M
3/10
40. Ironmaster (1983)
98 min | Action, Adventure
A violent man is ejected from his tribe after killing two of its elders, but he discovers a way to make weapons out of iron, and begins waging war against all the tribes in the region. His arch rival manages to escape and vows to stop him.
Director: Umberto Lenzi | Stars: Sam Pasco, Elvire Audray, George Eastman, Pamela Prati
Votes: 1,058
3/10
41. Rumble Fish (1983)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Absent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper
Votes: 37,678 | Gross: $2.49M
2/10
42. The Man with Two Brains (1983)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
A 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.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner, Paul Benedict
Votes: 27,885 | Gross: $10.10M
2/10
43. Krull (1983)
PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A 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.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Francesca Annis
Votes: 36,260 | Gross: $16.52M
2/10
44. Superman III (1983)
PG | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Synthetic kryptonite laced with tar splits Superman in two: good Clark Kent and bad Man of Steel.
Director: Richard Lester | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper
Votes: 74,772 | Gross: $59.95M
2/10
45. Sleepaway Camp (1983)
R | 84 min | Horror
Bunks and showers are a mad stabber's beat at a summer camp strictly for teens.
Director: Robert Hiltzik | Stars: Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten, Karen Fields, Christopher Collet
Votes: 38,059 | Gross: $11.00M
2/10
46. Never Say Never Again (1983)
PG | 134 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent has stolen two American nuclear warheads, and James Bond must find their targets before they are detonated.
Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Sean Connery, Kim Basinger, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow
Votes: 73,135 | Gross: $55.50M
2/10
47. Order of Death (1983)
R | 113 min | Crime, Thriller
A pair of corrupt cops spend their illegal cash on an uptown New York City apartment.
Director: Roberto Faenza | Stars: Harvey Keitel, John Lydon, Nicole Garcia, Leonard Mann
Votes: 1,113
1/10*
48. The Hunger (1983)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror
A love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young
Votes: 29,048 | Gross: $5.98M
1/10
49. The Deadly Spawn (1983)
R | 81 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Alien creatures invade a small town and four teenagers, along with a young boy, attempt to escape from them.
Director: Douglas McKeown | Stars: Charles George Hildebrandt, Tom DeFranco, Richard Lee Porter, Jean Tafler
Votes: 5,359
1/10
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