The Best '80s Movies About Life in the 'Hood

This list of the best ‘80s hood movies includes some influential films and at least one masterpiece. These 1980s hood films reflect the urban experience and each offers something unique, but they were all also overshadowed when the sub-genre exploded in the early 1990s. Still, several important hood movies were released in the '80s, depicting street life, drugs, gangs, music, violence, and a host of other topics.

No discussion of top ‘80s hood movies would be complete without Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. This 1989 hit influenced all subsequent hood movies, and it is even more relevant more than 25 years later. Another important ‘80s hood film is Stand and Deliver, starring Edward James Olmos as an inner-city teacher attempting to reach his students through calculus. While those '80s movies about the hood are serious dramas, this list of 1980s hood movies also includes Coming to America, the seminal comedy about an African prince looking for love in Queens, New York.
 

Here you’ll also find hip-hop-influenced films like Breakin’ and Krush Groove. So what are your favorite ‘80s hood movies? Help us rank this list however you want by voting up your favorites. Don’t forget to check out the list of the best ‘90s hood movies to see how the genre progressed, then check out our list of funny hood movies.