Best 80s movies on Netflix

Runtime: 1 hour, 44 minutes

Genres: Comedy, drama, romance

JustWatch score: 52%

IMDb rating: 5.8

Tom Cruise was at a career high in this 1988 drama co-starring Elisabeth Shue. Cruise played Brian Flanagan, who learned the art of making fancy, flashy mixed drinks and became a celebrity in the world of bartending.

Runtime: 1 hour, 23 minutes

Genres: Comedy, documentary, horror

JustWatch score: 52%

IMDb rating: 6.1

This strange film from 1987 is a collection of 47 B-movie horror trailers presented by an evil ventriloquist to a theater full of zombies. “Mad Ron’s Prevues from Hell” is a bit like “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”

Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes

Genres: Drama, romance

JustWatch score: 53%

IMDb rating: 6.5

This 1981 Australian film tells the story of a womanizing bookshop owner (Bryan Brown) who started a relationship with a prostitute (Judy Davis) after the suicide of his ex-lover. Davis’ character fell for Brown’s, but she soon learned that she was following in the dangerous footsteps of her deceased friend. Davis won Best Actress at the American Film Institute Awards for her portrayal.   

Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes

Genres: Horror, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 56%

IMDb rating: 5.6

This 1984 horror classic tells the story of Gatlin in Nebraska, where all the children, led by a child preacher (John Franklin), rose up and murdered all the adults. The action picked up again as a young couple (Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton) drove near the town, discovered a murder, and unwittingly found themselves in Gatlin. The film was based on a short story by Stephen King.

Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Genres: Drama

JustWatch score: 58%

IMDb rating: 6.1

This made-for-TV film stars a young Denzel Washington as George McKenna, an LA teacher who was named principal of an inner-city school and faced the challenge of a lifetime trying to turn it around.

Runtime: 1 hour, 51 minutes

Genres: Comedy, fantasy, kids and family

JustWatch score: 59%

IMDb rating: 5.9

While vacationing with the family, the Henderson patriarch (John Lithgow) accidentally ran over a large creature that everyone assumed was a grizzly gear. Hoping to stuff the bear for display, they brought it home. It then woke up and became a fixture in the family. Also, it wasn’t a bear, but a Bigfoot-adjacent monster.

Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Genres: Comedy, fantasy, horror

JustWatch score: 60%

IMDb rating: 6.5

The original “Ghostbusters” is a certified comedy classic, and while the 1989 sequel has less wit and charm, audiences still found it entertaining. This film featured Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray at their peaks, hunting for ghosts in New York City.

Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, comedy, crime, drama, kids and family, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 62%

IMDb rating: 6.1

This 1989 comedy stars Tom Hanks as a detective and dog-hater who had to put up with Hooch, a slobbery French Mastiff who was the only witness to his owner’s murder. Hanks was his usual charming self, and the mismatched duo became friends by the end.

Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes

Genres: Comedy, romance

JustWatch score: 64%

IMDb rating: 6.3

This relatively rote 1986 romantic comedy starred Tom Hanks and Shelley Long as a young married couple who, after being evicted, buy an incredibly affordable fixer-upper on Long Island. However, it quickly became clear that they got what they paid for, as the house project threatened the couple’s finances and their relationship.

Runtime: 2 hours

Genres: Crime, drama, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 65%

IMDb rating: 5.9

This 1988 TV movie tells the story of the aftermath of a slain Amish infant in a rural North Carolina county. A group of teens heckled an Amish family and threw rocks, and one hit and killed a 7 month old. An investigator looked into the case, but hit roadblocks, as the Amish community believed in turning the other cheek. The family's patriarch is played by Ron Pearlman.

Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes

Genres: Comedy, drama

JustWatch score: 65%

IMDb rating: 6.2

Based on a novel by William Wharton, this 1989 film tells the story of a dying father (Jack Lemmon) who retreated into fantasy to enjoy his last days. His son (Ted Danson), who resented the responsibility of caring for his father, ended up going along with his dad’s imagination, and the family grew close again. 

Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, comedy, fantasy, kids and family

JustWatch score: 66%

IMDb rating: 6.1

This 1989 film tells the story of a lonely kid (Fred Savage) who managed to capture the monster under his bed (Howie Mandel). The monster became his first friend and his guide to the world of mythical beasts, but soon, the kid had to decide whether to stay there forever or go back to being 11.

Runtime: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Genres: Horror, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 66%

IMDb rating: 6.5

The 1988 sequel to the first “Hellraiser” is more of the same: gruesome gore and evil that came back from the dead. This time, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley J. Laurence) was in an insane asylum recovering from the events of the first film when her psychiatrist (Kenneth Cranham) ended up being a demonic necromancer. Roger Ebert explained it as “a series of ugly and bloody episodes strung together one after another like a demo tape by a perverted special-effects man.” For some horror fans, that counts as a rapturous review.

Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Genres: Drama, war and military

JustWatch score: 66%

IMDb rating: 6.9

This 1988 TV movie tells the true story of a 12 year old (Ricky Schroder) who faked his age and joined the Navy during World War II. The young man fought bravely, but ran into an officer with a grudge against him, leading to a frustrating and tragic end to his service.  

Runtime: 2 hours, 22 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, drama

JustWatch score: 67%

IMDb rating: 6.1

This 1984 Indian film, also called "Sohni Mahiwal," tells the story of a young man who traveled to be close to a beautiful woman he had dreamed of meeting. He found her, and they instantly fell in love, but there was another man who decided the beautiful woman should be his wife. The two lovers were truly star-crossed.

Runtime: 2 hours, two minutes

Genres: Drama, fantasy, romance

JustWatch score: 69%

IMDb rating: 6.4

This 1989 Steven Spielberg film followed a risk-taking pilot (Richard Dreyfuss) who died on a mission, but was stopped on his way to the afterlife by an angel (Audrey Hepburn) who told him to teach his successor (Brad Johnson) his expertise. While in his ghostly state, Dreyfuss also worked to make sure his grieving girlfriend (Holly Hunter) could find love again—conveniently, with the pilot he’s training. John Goodman plays Dreyfuss’s hilarious friend. The film is a remake of the 1943 movie “A Guy Named Joe.”

Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Genres: Drama

JustWatch score: 69%

IMDb rating: 7.4

This 1989 made-for-TV movie tells the true story of Ryan White (Lukas Haas), a 13-year-old hemophiliac who contracted HIV during treatment. When White was kicked out of school, his mother (Judith Light) brought in an attorney to win back his right to learn. Both Sarah Jessica Parker and George C. Scott are also in this highly rated TV movie.

Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

Genres: Comedy, drama, fantasy, kids and family, science-fiction

JustWatch score: 70%

IMDb rating: 6.6

This 1987 film tells the story of a group of apartment dwellers who sought the help of aliens to save their building from demolition. This strange film was Brad Bird’s first feature-length screenplay credit. Bird went on to write “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” and is now one of the top creatives at Pixar.

Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes

Genres: Comedy, drama, kids and family, romance

JustWatch score: 71%

IMDb rating: 6.7

In a bid to rise the social ranks at his high school, nerdy Roland Miller (Patrick Dempsey) paid a popular girl (Amanda Peterson) $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. This 1987 film ends up dealing with the non-monetary cost of social climbing.

Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Genres: Drama

JustWatch score: 73%

IMDb rating: 6.5

This made-for-TV movie took on the challenge of raising a child with schizophrenia. Nicole (Nancy McKeon) was a college student with lots of promise when she was diagnosed, and the film dealt with how the family adjusted to her new reality. The film was written by Donna and Wayne Powers, who also wrote "Deep Blue Sea."

Runtime: 50 minutes

Genres: Comedy

JustWatch score: 73%

IMDb rating: 7.3

One of the standouts of the comedy boom in the 1980s, Sam Kinison was a Texas evangelist turned blue collar stand-up comic. This 1987 special first aired on HBO, several years before Kinison died tragically at the age of 38 when his car was hit by a drunk driver in 1992.

Runtime: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, animation, comedy, drama, kids and family

JustWatch score: 75%

IMDb rating: 6.9

This 1986 animated film tells the story of a family of Jewish mice escaping Russia, which is run by cats, and attempting to make a new life in 1800s New York City. The familiar immigrant story is told in this film, which was animated by a former Disney animator. Christopher Plummer played the voice of Henri in the film.

Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Genres: Drama

JustWatch score: 76%

IMDb rating: 7.4

This 1986 film is the sequel to “Adam,” which was a made-for-TV film that aired on NBC in 1983, and told the true story of the kidnapping and brutal murder of a 6 year old from Florida. The sequel brought back JoBeth Williams and Daniel J. Travanti as Adam’s parents, still dealing with the horrible reality of their son’s death.

Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, comedy, fantasy, kids and family, science-fiction

JustWatch score: 76%

IMDb rating: 7.8

This 1984 comedy classic written by Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman tells the story of a crew of parapsychology professors who had to fight some ghosts haunting New York City. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Ramis play the titular Ghostbusters. The film created a phenomenon, sparking sequels, cartoons, toys, and costumes.

Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, comedy, crime, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 77%

IMDb rating: 6.9

After her date bailed on her, Chris (Elisabeth Shue) took a babysitting gig. When her friend called her from downtown Chicago needing her help, the lazy night turned into a wild adventure with three kids in tow. This 1987 film is the first directed by Chris Columbus and has the same energy of his later releases.  

Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes

Genres: Horror

JustWatch score: 77%

IMDb rating: 7.0

This 1987 film follows a husband and wife who moved into an old home haunted by the husband’s dead brother, who also happened to be the wife’s ex-lover. The iconic undead demon had nails coming from his face and needed human blood to steer clear of the demons that want to bring him back to hell. This original horror flick birthed nine sequels, a franchise of video games, and a comic book run.

Runtime: 1 hour, 24 minutes

Genres: Comedy, romance

JustWatch score: 79%

IMDb rating: 6.6

This 1986 Spike Lee classic tells the story of Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) and her three simultaneous relationships with three men who wanted to date her exclusively. This was Spike Lee’s directorial debut and remains a beautiful portrait of a young, powerful woman in 1980s New York. In 2017, the film was adapted into a series for Netflix.

Runtime: 2 hours, 28 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, crime

JustWatch score: 80%

IMDb rating: 5.2

This 1988 Bollywood film tells the story of a police inspector (Vinod Khanna) frustrated by the legal technicalities that allowed the underworld figures he helped arrest to be set free. When he was taken off the streets, he found love, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that he had to take justice into his own hands.

Runtime: 1 hour, 9 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, animation, kids and family

JustWatch score: 80%

IMDb rating: 7.4

Following the success of “An American Tail,” Don Bluth (formerly of Disney) directed his magnum opus: “The Land Before Time.” The 1988 animated film tells the story of an orphaned brontosaurus who teamed up with a band of young dinosaurs that made their way to the Great Valley, where they expected to be safe. The film was produced by Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Kathleen Kennedy.

Runtime: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Genres: Drama, history, music and musical

JustWatch score: 80%

IMDb rating: 7.8

This 1980 film tells the story of a group of female prisoners in Auschwitz who were forced to play music for the guards in order to be spared from the gas chamber. The made-for-TV film originally aired on CBS, and was co-written by Arthur Miller and Fania Fénelon. The film is based on Fénelon's autobiography, "The Musicians of Auschwitz," and features performances from Jane Alexander, Christine Baranski, and Vanessa Redgrave, who played Fénelon.

Runtime: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, comedy, kids and family

JustWatch score: 81%

IMDb rating: 7.0

This outlandishly original 1985 film by director Tim Burton follows the strange and gray-suited manboy Pee-wee (Paul Reubens) on a quixotic quest to find his stolen bike. Comedy legend Phil Hartman co-wrote the film with Reubens and Michael Varhol.

Runtime: 1 hour, 54 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, comedy, crime, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 82%

IMDb rating: 7.2

Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) returned to fight a ring of South Africans using diplomatic immunity to wreak havoc in Los Angeles. Richard Donner returned to direct the sequel, but the screenplay was written by Jeffrey Boam rather than Shane Black. The sequel never reached the first film’s brilliance, but is still a popular '80s action-comedy.

Runtime: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Genres: Comedy, horror

JustWatch score: 82%

IMDb rating: 7.3

This 1987 horror classic follows two brothers (Corey Haim and Jason Patric) who moved with their mother to a coastal California town only to learn that the gang of kids there is actually a group of vampires. The film is overflowing with talented young actors, including Kiefer Sutherland—with an iconic blonde mullet, Corey Feldman, Jami Gertz, and Alex Winter. Joel Schumacher, who went on to make the two worst Batman films until “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” directed this movie.

Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Genres: Drama

JustWatch score: 83%

IMDb rating: 8.0

This 1988 made-for-TV movie tells the true story of Charlie Wedemeyer, a teacher and football coach at Los Gatos High School who continued to teach and coach the team even after a diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s Disease. A PBS documentary about Wedemeyer entitled “One More Season” won an Emmy the year before this feature film was broadcasted. Both Peter Berg—who would go on to direct “Friday Night Lights”, and Kyle Chandler—who played the Coach Taylor on the TV version—appeared in this film.

Runtime: 3 hours, 12 minutes

Genres: Drama, kids and family, music and musical, romance

JustWatch score: 84%

IMDb rating: 7.4

This 1989 Bollywood musical was the highest-grossing Indian film of the 1980s. It tells the story of a young woman whose father left her with a friend while traveling abroad. Over time, the young woman and the friend's son gradually fell in love. The film won six major awards at the Filmfare Awards, which are equivalent to the Oscars for the Hindi language Indian film industry.

Runtime: 49 minutes

Genres: Comedy, kids and family, music and musical

JustWatch score: 84%

IMDb rating: 7.9

By 1988, Pee-wee Herman was a truly big deal. For his Christmas special, actor Paul Reubens pulled out all the stops with guest appearances by Magic Johnson, Grace Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, k.d. lang, and Cher.

Runtime: 55 minutes

Genres: Documentary

JustWatch score: 85%

IMDb rating: 7.2

The second film by legendary documentarian Errol Morris, 1981’s “Vernon, Florida” tells the story of a little Florida town. The filmmaker initially hoped to cover the town’s residents’ strange and tragic practice of cutting off limbs to win insurance settlements, but he faced death threats, so he instead released this patched-together portrait of the community.

Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Genres: Comedy

JustWatch score: 86%

IMDb rating: 7.5

On a whim, the Brothers Duke decided to settle the nature vs. nurture debate once and for all by making commodities trader Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and street hustler Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) switch lives. Winthorpe was arrested, fired, and cast out from his cushy life, and Valentine slotted into his privileged position. Eventually, a long-shot bet on orange juice concentrate is their only hope. The film, directed by John Landis, is part of Eddie Murphy’s unmatched run of '80s comedies.

Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, comedy, crime, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 86%

IMDb rating: 7.6

This movie has some people still remembering Mel Gibson fondly, but it also launched screenwriter Shane Black into Hollywood’s highest echelon: In 1994, he sold the script for “The Long Kiss Goodnight” for $4 million. “Lethal Weapon” is an action-comedy that followed suicidal cop Martin Riggs (Gibson) and his unimpressed, ready-to-retire partner, Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). Eventually, the two men built an unlikely friendship and unbeatable partnership.

Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Genres: Comedy, crime, drama, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 88%

IMDb rating: 7.3

Many films have tried to nail the dark, high school dramedy, but tonally and performance-wise, 1988's "Heathers" is the masterpiece of the genre. Veronica (Winona Ryder) grows sick of her popular friends, all of whom were named Heather. After meeting the cute, sociopathic new guy in school (Christian Slater), the two devolve into a murderous love affair.

Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes

Genres: Drama

JustWatch score: 89%

IMDb rating: 7.7

This 1981 film tells the story of an old couple (Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda) whose estranged daughter (Jane Fonda) dropped off her fiancé’s child and headed to Europe with him for a few weeks. When she returned, the boy and her father had built the relationship she had always wanted with him. The film was nominated for Best Picture, and Hepburn and Fonda won Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively, at the 1982 Academy Awards.

Runtime: 1 hour, 9 minutes

Genres: Comedy, documentary

JustWatch score: 89%

IMDb rating: 8.2

In the pantheon of comedy specials, Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious” stands out. Murphy wore a memorable red leather outfit and was at the peak of his powers in the hour-long HBO special. Thirty years later, some of the jokes, especially the homophobic ones, have aged quite poorly. Murphy apologized for the gay slurs in his set in 1996.  

Runtime: 2 hours, 8 minutes

Genres: Drama

JustWatch score: 92%

IMDb rating: 8.1

This 1989 film is set in an elite 1950s prep school and follows a group of young men who were inspired by their English teacher (Robin Williams) to veer from their conservative, rote life paths. Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Josh Charles played kids changed by poetry showed to them by their teacher. The film won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.

Runtime: 1 hour, 24 minutes

Genres: Comedy, documentary

JustWatch score: 92%

IMDb rating: 8.6

“Bill Hicks: Sane Man” was a legendary and dark comedy set filmed in Austin, Texas. Hicks came up during the 1980s boom, but died tragically at the age of 32 from pancreatic cancer. In the years since his death, the comedian’s stature has grown. Rolling Stone ranked him as the #13 greatest standup comedian of all time.  

Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes

Genres: Crime, documentary, drama, mystery and thriller

JustWatch score: 93%

IMDb rating: 8.0

Documentarian Errol Morris' first masterpiece tells the true story of a wrongfully accused man convicted of murder by corrupt police in Texas. This was "Serial" before "Serial," a true crime caper that captivated audiences everywhere and led to the accused man's release from prison a year after the film was released.

Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Genres: Action and adventure, drama, war and military

JustWatch score: 95%

IMDb rating: 8.3

No director has ever been more in control than Stanley Kubrick, and the impact of his dark, comic mastery in this 1987 Vietnam War classic created one of the most haunting films of all time. While some war movies make battle look mythic or even elegant, Kubrick’s film managed to make everything seem terrifying and completely insane. In the way that “The Shining” could create a scare from a man in a bear suit, Kubrick manages to find a chilling moment in grown men singing the "Mickey Mouse Club March."

Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes

Genres: Comedy, drama, romance

JustWatch score: 96%

IMDb rating: 8.5

This widely loved Italian film from 1988 follows a now-famous director who returned to his tiny Sicilian village after learning of the death of his friend and father figure, the projectionist who first taught him about film as a child. The story by filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore is autobiographical.