Female Buddy / Crime
1980
9 to 5
9 to 5: the safety of home and authority, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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The year was
1980
1980 opened the decade with a remarkable mix of blockbuster spectacle, horror, comedy and serious drama. The year gave audiences everything from a darker trip to a galaxy far, far away to haunted hotels, slashers and some of the decade's most enduring comedies.
The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining, Friday the 13th, Airplane!, Raging Bull and The Blues Brothers are only part of the story. Dig deeper and 1980 also delivered cult favourites, martial arts, crime thrillers and genre movies that helped shape the decade ahead.
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Essential movies from 1980
60 movies so far
Movies from 1980
Comedy / Parody / Disaster / Slapstick / Romantic Comedy
1980
Airplane!
A pilot who can’t fly, a plane full of nonsense — and the odd inflatable hero called Otto.
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Horror / Science Fiction / Thriller / Drama / Fantasy / Science Fiction Horror
1980
Altered States
A head-trip that never forgets the man at its centre: curiosity, marriage and a tank of trouble.
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Drama / Crime / Erotic / Mystery
1980
American Gigolo
Armani, a hit single and a loneliness you can almost wear.
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Action / Buddy / Comedy / Boxing
1980
Any Which Way You Can
Any Which Way You Can: courage and heroism, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Action / Science Fiction / Adventure
1980
Battle Beyond the Stars
Battle Beyond the Stars: fear and family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Trial
1980
Breaker Morant
War, orders and the politics of blame.
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Drama / Prison
1980
Brubaker
Brubaker: mortality and greed, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Comedy
1980
Caddyshack
Slobs, snobs and one remarkably relaxed golfer.
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Musical / Comedy
1980
Can't Stop the Music
Can't Stop the Music: love and friendship, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Cannibal / Adventure / Found Footage / Splatter / Drama
1980
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal Holocaust: loss and parents protecting their children, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Splatter / Zombie
1980
City of the Living Dead
City of the Living Dead: family and mortality, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Biographical / Musical / Drama
1980
Coal Miner's Daughter
Coal Miner's Daughter: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Crime / Erotic Thriller / LGBTQ-related / Detective / Thriller / Neo-noir
1980
Cruising
Undercover, unsettled and uncomfortably watchable — Steve Burns is why you should look again.
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Neo-noir / Horror / Erotic Thriller
1980
Dressed to Kill
Voyeurs, doubles and a very composed doctor.
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Musical / Teen / LGBTQ-related / Drama
1980
Fame
Fame: family and corporate power, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Action / Science Fiction / Adventure / Fantasy / Comedy
1980
Flash Gordon
Brash heroics, operatic spectacle and a Queen soundtrack — Flash Gordon wears its pulp heart on its sleeve.
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Slasher / Horror / Crime / Teen / Thriller / Psychological Thriller / Psychological Horror / Crime Thriller / Mystery / Suspense / Independent / Splatter / Exploitation
1980
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th: mortality and friendship, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Supernatural / Supernatural Horror / Mystery / Slasher / Splatter / Thriller / Drama / Fantasy
1980
Inferno
Inferno: mortality and mortality and lifespan, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Comedy Drama / Teen / Coming-of-age
1980
Little Darlings
Little Darlings: family and love, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Slasher / Thriller
1980
Maniac
Maniac: mortality and family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Drama / Comedy
1980
Melvin and Howard
Melvin and Howard: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Comedy Horror / Horror / Comedy
1980
Motel Hell
Motel Hell: heroism and freedom, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Comedy Drama / Teen
1980
My Bodyguard
My Bodyguard: courage and friendship, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Slasher / Independent
1980
New Year's Evil
New Year's Evil: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Drama
1980
Ordinary People
Grief, family tension and one father trying to keep things from falling apart.
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Romantic Comedy / Musical / Pirate / Live Action
1980
Popeye
Popeye: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Comedy Drama / Comedy / Military Comedy
1980
Private Benjamin
Private Benjamin: family and love, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Slasher / Teen
1980
Prom Night
Prom Night: mortality and lifespan and loss, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Biographical / Drama / Boxing / Historical / Historical Drama / Action / Sport / Neo-noir / Period Drama
1980
Raging Bull
Raging Bull: family and courage, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Action / Adventure / Science Fiction
1980
Raise the Titanic
Raise the Titanic: exploitation, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1980
Seems Like Old Times
Seems Like Old Times: the safety of home and family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romance / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Drama / Time-travel
1980
Somewhere in Time
A love so determined it teaches itself to travel.
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Science Fiction / Adventure / Action / Fantasy / Epic / Space Opera
1980
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
A harsher lesson in heroism: mentorship, bad luck and the cost of growing up in a galaxy far, far away.
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Buddy / Prison
1980
Stir Crazy
Stir Crazy: greed and consumerism, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Action / Science Fiction / Fantasy
1980
Superman II
Love, duty and a handful of Kryptonians — Superman II asks what a hero gives up to be human.
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Horror / Slasher / Thriller
1980
Terror Train
Terror Train: mortality, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Drama
1980
The Big Red One
The Big Red One: heroism and courage, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romance / Teen / Coming-of-age / Drama / Survival / Melodrama
1980
The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon: family and mortality, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Musical / Comedy
1980
The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers: authority and freedom, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Thriller / Mystery
1980
The Changeling
The Changeling: family and the safety of home, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romance / Musical / Drama
1980
The Competition
The Competition: family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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War / Action / Drama
1980
The Dogs of War
The Dogs of War: authority and the safety of home, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Biographical / Drama
1980
The Elephant Man
A film that asks us to look — and not to turn away.
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Action / Drama / Crime
1980
The Exterminator
The Exterminator: family and fear, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Science Fiction / War / Mystery / Time-travel
1980
The Final Countdown
The Final Countdown: fear and isolation, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Mystery / Ghost / Slasher / Supernatural Horror / Independent / Thriller / Suspense / Drama / Supernatural
1980
The Fog
A radio voice, a lighthouse and a sea of revenge — Stevie Wayne stands between Antonio Bay and the fog.
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Crime / Mystery / Science Fiction / Political Thriller
1980
The Formula
The Formula: corporate power and exploitation, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Biographical / Thriller / Action
1980
The Hunter
The Hunter: mortality and lifespan and the safety of home, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Thriller / Horror / Pirate
1980
The Island
The Island: family and freedom, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Crime / Drama / Gangster
1980
The Long Good Friday
A gangster who wants a boardroom as much as a fiefdom — and pays for both.
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Crime
1980
The Long Good Friday (1980)
Harold Shand thinks he owns London. One very bad weekend is about to prove otherwise.
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Crime / Mystery
1980
The Mirror Crack'd
The Mirror Crack'd: mortality and mortality and lifespan, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Comedy Horror
1980
The Ninth Configuration
The Ninth Configuration: humanity and authority, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Psychological Horror / Drama / Mystery / Ghost / Supernatural Horror / Thriller / Psychological Thriller / Psychological Drama / Suspense
1980
The Shining
A hotel that remembers you — and a man who forgets who he is.
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Comedy Thriller / Comedy Drama / Action / Comedy
1980
The Stunt Man
The Stunt Man: authority and freedom, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Horror / Science Fiction / Mystery / Ghost
1980
The Watcher in the Woods
The Watcher in the Woods: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Action Comedy / Martial Arts
1980
The Young Master
The Young Master: heroism and courage, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Drama / Romance
1980
Urban Cowboy
Urban Cowboy: family and the safety of home, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Musical / Fantasy
1980
Xanadu
Xanadu: love and family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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