Top 100 80s Movies you MUST SEE with your teenagers. I am not just suggesting you see these movies, I am insisting that NOT watching them with your kids means you’re missing out on a fantastic bonding experience. So, start watching. Make it a weekly family movie night or a punishment—I don’t really care . . . just DO IT.
Pop the popcorn, put out the candy, soda and pillows and prepare for an evening of groans, laughs, and discussions about what the movie means to you and what your children found interesting about it. I always end up sharing stories about growing up in a world where computers and video games, VCRs and CDs were a thing of the future. My kids talk about what they imagine their future will look like and how the movies of today will be outdated and a history lesson for their own children.
You will soon find yourselves agreeing on how bad the special effects are and how the predictable plot lines are jam-packed with melodrama and corny one-liners. The following list are movies I have loved, or that were recommended to me. They are some of the cheesiest movies ever, but the values and lessons are ageless. The movies of today are so filled with distracting explosions and CG animations that it’s hard to feel an emotional connection in the way you can with the movies of the 80s.
And the kickass soundtracks and the memorable characters will soon have you all hooked. I guarantee you will not regret your trip down memory lane, because you’ll be taking your favourite people along for the ride. So, pick a title, sit back, relax and enjoy the show:
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Airplane
- Alien (1979 but close enough)
- An American Werewolf in London
- Back to the Future
- Beetlejuice
- Big
- Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
- Blade Runner
- Castle in the Sky
- Christine
- Clash of the Titans
- Cocoon
- Conan the Barbarian
- Crocodile Dundee
- Dark Crystal
- Day of the Living Dead
- Dead Poets Society
- Die Hard
- Dirty Dancing
- Dune
- E.T.
- Empire of the Sun
- Enemy Mine
- Explorers
- Fame
- Fast times at Ridgemont High
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
- Field of Dreams
- First Blood
- Flashdance
- Flight of the Navigator
- Footloose
- Friday the 13th
- Fright Night
- Ghostbusters
- Good Morning Vietnam
- Goonies
- Gremlins
- Harry and the Hendersons
- Heathers
- Innerspace
- Karate Kid
- Lean on Me
- Lost Boys
- Mask
- Misery
- My Left Foot
- Overboard
- Police Academy
- Poltergeist
- Predator
- Pretty in Pink
- Princess Bride
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Rain Man
- Real Genius
- Red Dawn
- Revenge of the Nerds
- Risky Business
- Robocop
- Romancing the Stone
- Say Anything
- Shawshank Redemption
- Short Circuit
- Sixteen Candles
- Some Kind of Wonderful
- Spaceballs
- Splash
- Stand and Deliver
- Stand by Me
- Star Wars
- Stripes
- TAPS
- Teen Wolf
- Terminator
- The Breakfast Club
- The Dead Zone
- The Elephant Man
- The Gods Must Be Crazy
- The Labyrinth
- The Last Emperor
- The Last Starfighter
- The Outsiders
- The Running Man
- The Shining
- The Thing
- The Wizard
- This is Spinal Tap
- Three Amigos
- Time Bandits
- Tootsie
- Top Gun
- TRON
- Twilight Zone: The Movie
- UHF
- Vacation
- Weekend at Bernies
- Weird Science
- Willow
Is your favourite 80s movie in the list? Did I miss any? Comment below…
I am Karate Kid all the way, but I also love Breakfast Club, Stand By Me, Spaceballs, Say Anything, Dirty Dancing, Big and lots of the others. I need a movie night!!
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We watched Rocky last night. It is a 70s movie, but it counts as there are sequels. I realized I had never seen it! What a great movie! One of my faves is First Blood with Sly. I guess I’m a sucker for the underdog types.
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