80's Top 10 Films

[Woo]

Okay here is my third top 10 film and this time my ten films come from the decade that fashion forgot- the 80's.

I decided to keep it to just 10 films this time, which unfortunately meant that classics such as Back to the Future, Raging Bull, Ghostbusters, Aliens and more didn't make the cut. So here is my top 10 and look- no Disney! Though the Little Mermaid was close...

10. Blade Runner
Wow, just wow. The effects of this film still look great to this day and the general theme about androids having the rights of humans is thought very thought provoking.

9. The Goonies
When I saw this as a kid I was hoping that one day I too would find a treasure map and go on a quest to find it too, however hopefully I wouldn't try and find "one eye Willy's"...that just sounds wrong. I also wanted to be Data- that kid rules!

8. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of The Jedi
Not the best SW films that the speeder bike chase and the epic escape from Jabba's palace scenes mean this easily makes my top 10.

7. E.T.
Many people say that they cried during this film. I didn't. I was too busy hiding from ET, he scared the carp out of me! It's a fantastically moving film though.

6. Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
Much better than Temple of Doom, yep much better. Some how Data from the Goonies went from being the coolest kid ever to the most annoying in that film. This one thankfully replaced him with Sean Connery and the results were imo sublime as him and Ford made a hilarious double-act.

5.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Well you didn't think I'd exclude Disney completely did you? This is the best Disney film Disney never made. Seeing Bugs Bunny act with Mickey Mouse was as a wrestling fan might say "a real mark-out moment" and seeing all the toons interact with Hoskins was even better! The best scene has to be Donald and Daffy Duck's duelling piano’s followed right away by the introduction of Jessica Rabbit. Wow.

4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
The 4th Harrison Ford film on this list and those of you paying attention will know it won't be the last... Man Ford owned this decade! Raiders has to be the most non-stop action-packed relentless movie ever.

3. Heathers
This might not be the most popular film on the list, but I applaud Heathers for being bold enough to make a comedy out of a tough subject. The dialogue is great too.

2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The best SW film of the lot, which makes it one of the best films ever by default. This film is pretty good, not great, for the most part, but when things go to Cloud City- wow! From Darth's revelation to Luke to Han being trapped in ice and taken away by Boba Fett (my favourite SW character) this film has it all and ends on such a grim note, which is another reason why I like it so much.

1. Die Hard
How can you not like Die Hard? It's the perfect pop-corn action film full of great villains, big explosions, hundreds of famous quotes and Bruce Willis on top form. Perfect. "Welcome to the party pal!"

[MetalBlade]

Woo, what happened?
You listed each film three times, and included The Godfather Part II, which came out in 1974!

Here's mine...

10. The Terminator
Part one of the Classic Arnie Beer 'n' Pizza Lad's Night In Triple Bill.
The role which defined The Giant From Graz. You know the story, but what a great low budget action-suspense movie.
Some of the effects look dated, but it's hard to detract from this stone cold classic.

9. The Thing
My favourite John Carpenter film sees some of the greatest and gooeyest special effects ever commited to celluloid, as a long-dormant entity seeks to assimilate all who inhabit a small research outpost in Antarctica.
Action king Kurt Russell underplays the role amongst some of the tensest scenes imaginable.

8. Scarface
The epic rise and fall of Tony Montana is as sprawling as The Godfather, and just as tragic. But where Coppola's trilogy exercises restraint to accentuate the extremity of the violence, Brian DePalma's masterpiece revolts with it's visceral gore, outlandish violence and liberal use of the "F" word.
It can't fail.

7. Commando
Part two of the Classic Arnie Beer 'n' Pizza Lad's Night In Triple Bill.
The man is at his most muscular as he goes apeshit when his daughter gets kidnapped by some Special Forces twats. Cue a series of ultra-violent death scenes followed by some classic Arn-isms - "Let off some steam, Bennet!" - amongst many great one-liners.
The shed scene is the stuff of legend.

6. Robocop
This was the film Judge Dredd should have been. Full of the sharp satire that the Mega City One stories boasted each week in 200AD, Robocop was just immensely cool, and still is.
A great soundtrack adds a lot to the action set pieces, and the central villain Clarence Boddicker is a genuine piece of shit straight out of a spaghetti western.

5. Return Of The Jedi
While Empire is undoubtedly the better film, Jedi came at a time when I was totally immersed in everything Star Wars. And as such held far more charm for me in my very early teens.
From the amazing scenes in Jabba's palace, to the swashbuckling action of the Sand Dunes, and the heartpounding action in the forest of Endor, it was a cinematic experience like no other.
This was the first film I saw where the audience stood up and loudly applauded as the end credits began to roll.
Hell, I even marked for the Ewoks, even though they are just teddy bears now.

4. Reanimator
The best adaptation of HP Lovecraft's unique style of horror, featuring the creepy Jeffrey Combs in the role which would typecast him for the next twenty-odd years.
Still one of the most outrageously gory films ever made, it spawned a good sequel and a weak part 3.

3. Predator
Part three of the Classic Arnie Beer 'n' Pizza Lad's Night In Triple Bill.
One of the greatest big screen aliens of all time is unleashed in the jungle, only to incur the muscular wrath of The Austrian Killing Machine.

2. Near Dark
The Lost Boys's unruly little vampiric brother outdo's the Coreys by injecting realism and credibility into the age old tale of a band of blood sucking gypsies who roam the countryside.
A near career-best turn from Bill Paxton to boot.

1. Aliens
Easily the best of the series, and the first 18 certificated film I saw at the cinema aged just 15.
Full-on action sci-fi with such great characters and even better death scenes.

[Woo]

Damn, my computer kept freezing so I must have pressed ctrl&v 3 times. As for the Godfather...I dunno what there, I just had a mind fuck I guess. I was on a website looking for great films from the 80's to see if there was any I missed and saw that listed there and got confused lol.

Great list Metal. With most of them films you can just shut off your brain and enjoy, which does sum up a lot of 80's films in general. Ahh, The Thing- how did I forget that? I love that it!

[MetalBlade]

Yeah, there's only really Near Dark that requires any brainpower, and even that's pretty straightforward.
That's kinda my 80s summed up as you said.

I only really started taking movies seriously in the 90s when Reservoir Dogs grabbed my attention like no other. From there I began rediscovering Coppola, Scorcese, Lynch and Hong Kong cinema. I came to realise how important a great director is.

I very nearly included Escape From New York on my list but couldn't resist the three Arnold classics.

[Woo]

Crap I remembered today that I forgot all about John Woo's The Killer. As my username suggests I'm a big fan of Woo films and 'The Killer' is probably my favourite and is my best film from this decade.

Stupid me. Now I need to think of my favourite's from the 70's.