Updated June 14, 2019 9.7k votes 650 voters 16.1k views
List Rules Movies that played in theaters in 1983
A list of the best movies of 1983, from highly anticipated sequels like "Return of the Jedi" to instant classics like "A Christmas Story." The '80s were a decade where Hollywood thrived. In were new stars and big blockbusters, and 1983 was no exception. Some the best movies of this year are some of the best teen, coming of age, adventure, comedies, and dramas in history. The films on here are very memorable and had audiences on the edges of their seats, and still pack a punch so many years after they were first released. You shouldn't be too surprised by the movies listed on this list of the top 1983 films.
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list ordered by
1
Scarface Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer
Released: 1983
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Scarface is a 1983 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, and a remake of the 1932 film. In 1980s Miami, Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino) rises up and becomes a powerful ...more
Vacation Chevy Chase, Christie Brinkley, John Candy
Released: 1983
Directed by: Harold Ramis
National Lampoon's Vacation, sometimes referred to as Vacation, is a 1983 Technicolor comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron, ...more
Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand, and the third and final film in the original Star Wars trilogy. After a daring ...more
A Christmas Story is a 1983 American Christmas comedy film based on the short stories and semi-fictional anecdotes of author and raconteur Jean Shepherd, based on his book In God We Trust: All ...more
Trading Places Eddie Murphy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd
Released: 1983
Directed by: John Landis
Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper-class commodities broker and a homeless street ...more
Mr. Mom Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd, Teri Garr
Released: 1983
Directed by: Stan Dragoti
Mr. Mom is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by John Hughes about Jack Butler, a stay-at-home dad. It stars Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Jeffrey Tambor, Ann Jillian, ...more
WarGames Matthew Broderick, William H. Macy, Ally Sheedy
Released: 1983
Directed by: John Badham
WarGames is a 1983 American science-fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, and ...more
Risky Business Tom Cruise, Megan Mullally, Rebecca De Mornay
Released: 1983
Directed by: Paul Brickman
Risky Business is a 1983 American romantic comedy film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The film launched Cruise to stardom. It ...more
The Outsiders is a 1983 American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The film was released on March 25, 1983. Jo Ellen ...more
Directed by: Steven Spielberg, George Miller, John Landis, Joe Dante
Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 American anthology science-fiction fantasy horror film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis as a theatrical version of the 1959–64 TV series The ...more
looksharp added The Right Stuff Jeff Goldblum, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid
Released: 1983
Directed by: Philip Kaufman
The Right Stuff is a 1983 American drama film that was adapted from Tom Wolfe's best-selling 1979 book of the same name about the Navy, Marine and Air Force test pilots who were involved in ...more
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, also known as The Meaning of Life, is a 1983 British musical sketch comedy film written and performed by the Monty Python troupe, and directed by one of its ...more
The Dead Zone Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Tom Skerritt
Released: 1983
Directed by: David Cronenberg
This film is a 1983 American horror thriller film directed by David Cronenberg. The screenplay by Jeffrey Boam was based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The film stars ...more
Easy Money Joe Pesci, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey Jones
Released: 1983
Directed by: James Signorelli
Easy Money is a 1983 comedy film starring Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Candice Azzara, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. It was directed by James Signorelli and written by ...more
15
Flashdance Jennifer Beals, Lee Ving, Michael Nouri
Released: 1983
Directed by: Adrian Lyne
Flashdance is a 1983 American romantic drama film directed by Adrian Lyne. It was the first collaboration of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and the presentation of some sequences in ...more
Christine Kelly Preston, Alexandra Paul, John Madden
Released: 1983
Directed by: John Carpenter
Christine is a 1983 American horror thriller film directed by John Carpenter and starring Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul and Harry Dean Stanton. It was written by Bill Phillips and ...more
Terms of Endearment is a 1983 comedy-drama film adapted from the novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry, directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks and starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra ...more
Tender Mercies Robert Duvall, Ellen Barkin, Wilford Brimley
Released: 1983
Directed by: Bruce Beresford
Tender Mercies is a 1983 American drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Horton Foote focuses on Mac Sledge, a recovering alcoholic country music singer who seeks to turn his ...more
Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously adapted in 1965 under that name. Unlike the majority of Bond films, Never Say Never Again ...more
Blue Thunder Malcolm McDowell, Roy Scheider, Warren Oates
Released: 1983
Directed by: John Badham
Blue Thunder is a 1983 action thriller film that features a high-tech helicopter of the same name. The movie was directed by John Badham and stars Roy Scheider. A spin-off television series also ...more
Psycho II Anthony Perkins, Dennis Franz, Vera Miles
Released: 1983
Directed by: Richard Franklin
Psycho II is a 1983 American psychological horror slasher film directed by Richard Franklin and written by Tom Holland. It is the first sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and second film in the ...more
The Man with Two Brains is a 1983 American science fiction comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Kathleen Turner. Written by Martin, Reiner and George Gipe, the film ...more
Strange Brew Max von Sydow, Rick Moranis, Mel Blanc
Released: 1983
Directed by: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas
Strange Brew is a 1983 Canadian comedy film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served as co-directors. Co-stars ...more
Star 80 Mariel Hemingway, Eric Roberts, Cliff Robertson
Released: 1983
Directed by: Bob Fosse
Star 80 is a 1983 American film about the true story of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider in 1980. The film was directed by Bob ...more
Silkwood is a 1983 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was inspired by the life of Karen Silkwood. In real life, it was vindicated in a ...more
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