So many of the best films from the ’80s are, like, not pretentious enough to be “classic film” material but absolutely iconic in their own big, bold, and brassy ways. These films (yes, FILMS) started franchises that everyone is desperate to reboot now. They took really weird risks with jokes that paid off, and the romantic comedies were actually funny. They weren’t afraid to scare kids either—the Disney Renaissance hadn’t happened yet and there were pretty much no rules.
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Ready for a throwback movie night? Grab your makeshift shoulder pads, tease your hair up as high as you can, and settle in for the best of the ’80s.
Back to the Future (1985)
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Back to the Future | Marty McFly Plays "Johnny B. Goode" and "Earth Angel"
Marty McFly is a teenager whose BFF is a middle-age mad scientist, as one does. He goes back in time in his friend’s time machine and almost immediately makes it so that his parents never meet. Oops!
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The Princess Bride (1987)
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The Princess Bride (5/12) Movie CLIP - The Battle of Wits (1987) HD
Star-crossed lovers reunite while one of them is set to marry an evil prince. Sign me up!
Stand by Me (1986)
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Stranger Things wants what Stand by Me has, and we all know it. Four boys set off to find a dead body and are irrevocably bonded by the journey.
E. T. (1982)
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E.T. Phone Home - E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (4/10) Movie CLIP (1982) HD
Nothing captures what it feels like to be a kid and not be taken seriously/neglected by adults more than the little boy in E. T. who connects with a lost little alien.
Heathers (1988)
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You know how sometimes you’re a teenager and you “accidentally” poison a bunch of your popular classmates, then stage it to look as though they died by suicide, and it’s a comedy? Lol, wait! That’s the plot of Heathers.
Broadcast News (1987)
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Broadcast News (1/5) Movie CLIP - She Is This Good (1987) HD
An anchorman, producer, and reporter find themselves in a love triangle while they’re all, you know, trying to do the news every night.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
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Overprivileged private-school boys are taught to think for themselves for the first time by Robin Williams, who plays their English teacher. Because let’s face it, it’s always an English teacher.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
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When Harry Met Sally... (1/11) Movie CLIP - A Dark Side (1989) HD
Is this the best friends-to-lovers romantic comedy ever made? Uhhh, probably!
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
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Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - Trailer
Of the original Star Wars films, this one is the funniest, the most dramatic (Darth Vader, relax with the big reveals), and definitely the horniest.
Pretty in Pink (1986)
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Pretty in Pink (1986) Official Trailer - Molly Ringwald Movie
Blaine is a good boy and #TeamDuckie is BS. I will fight you.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
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Because you knew there’d be multiple John Hughes movies on here. What’s better than this thoughtful exploration of high school stereotypes? Most YA dramas on Netflix could never.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
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Bueller? - Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1/3) Movie CLIP (1986) HD
If I could sum up this movie in one thought, I would call it the thinking man’s slacker comedy.
Do the Right Thing (1989)
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Do the Right Thing (4/10) Movie CLIP - Your Jordans Are F***ed Up! (1989) HD
Spike Lee’s iconic film is sometimes very funny, sometimes very serious, and still very relevant.
Clue (1985)
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Clue (1/9) Movie CLIP - Over His Dead Body (1985) HD
Six strangers are invited to a mansion and framed for murder. Their goal is to find out who actually did it, parodying the board game by the same name.
Aliens (1986)
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Is the sequel better than the original? All I know is the ’80s brought us more Ripley.
Top Gun (1986)
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Top Gun (1986) Official Trailer - Tom Cruise Movie
Tom Cruise is Maverick. He flies planes. He wants to be the best. What more do you need to know?!
Labyrinth (1986)
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Labyrinth (1986) Official Trailer - David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly Movie HD
As someone who was just slightly too young for the “David Bowie in Labyrinth”sexual awakening, let me just say: Y’all are freaks, and I respect the hell out of you.
Dirty Dancing (1987)
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Dirty Dancing (1987) Official Trailer - Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey Movie HD
This movie is so ’80s that it’s easy to forget it’s set in the ’60s. The big hair just jumps out.
The Color Purple (1985)
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The Color Purple (1/6) Movie CLIP - Sisters Separated (1985) HD
Spielberg broke from kid-friendly summer blockbusters to make this coming-of-age drama starring Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards. NBD.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
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A magical woodland creature befriends two sisters who are having a rough time adjusting to a new house and school, all while their mother is in the hospital. It sounds weird, but it’s great.
Steel Magnolias (1989)
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Steel Magnolias (1/8) Movie CLIP - Too Much Insulin (1989) HD
Remember when “chick flick” meant melodramatic movies about mothers, daughters, and female friendships instead of romantic comedies? The ’80s really were a time.
Footloose (1984)
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A big-city teenager moves to a small town that has outlawed dancing, which he’s determined to change. The killer soundtrack better take up a lot of space in your ’80s playlist too.
