Entertainment
The Best Period Movies Set in the '80s
List Rules
Only films released in other decades, but set in the 1980s. No movies released between 1980 and January 1, 1990.
Oh, man. The 1980s was quite a decade! Sure, '80s movies are awesome but this list goes deeper. Ranked here are the best movies about the '80s. Films from many decades have been set in the 80s, because who can resist a great eighties story? As long as a film was primarily set in that great, iconic decade of the 1980s, and was truly awesome, it belongs on this list. What are the all time best movies set in the '80s? Hollywood has some great options for '80s lovers and they're all ranked here, with trailers.
Madonna and Michael Jackson reigned supreme in the '80s music world, and the Brat Pack hit the film scene in the 80s. John Hughes made plenty of movies set in the '80s, but many great films about the 80s were released in the 1990s and 2000s as well. The unique culture and setting of the eighties, makes for a great movie backdrop, and some of the best stories told on film are tales of the 1980s.
The movies featured on this list include the likes of Scarface, No Country for Old Men, Let the Right One In, 200 Cigarettes, The Pursuit of Happyness, and Wonderland. What do you think are the best films about the 80s? Upvote them below, or, if they aren't already listed, feel free to add them for an even more comprehensive list that 80s lovers everywhere can enjoy.
Just remember, this isn't a list of the best 80s movies, these films all must be about and set sometime during the 1980s.
Ranked by
- 1
- Actors: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Christine Taylor, Allen Covert, Matthew Glave
- Directed by: Frank Coraci
Set in 1985, Adam Sandler plays a nice guy with a broken heart who's stuck in one of the most romantic jobs in the world, a wedding singer. He loses all hope when he is abandoned at the altar by his ...more - Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler
- Directed by: Martin Scorsese
In 1987, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) takes an entry-level job at a Wall Street brokerage firm. By the early 1990s, while still in his 20s, Belfort founds his own firm, Stratton Oakmont. ...more- 32004
- Actors: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Kathy Baker
- Directed by: Gary Winick
A girl who's sick of the social strictures of junior high is transformed into a grownup overnight. In this feel-good fairy tale, teenager Jenna (Christa B. Allen) wants a boyfriend, and when she's ...more - 42000
- Actors: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Reese Witherspoon, Samantha Mathis
- Directed by: Mary Harron
In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as a gruesome serial killer by night. The cast is filled by the detective (Willem ...more - 51996
- Actors: Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy, Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell
- Directed by: Joel Coen
"Fargo" is a reality-based crime drama set in Minnesota in 1987. Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) is a car salesman in Minneapolis who has gotten himself into debt and is so desperate for money ...more - 61997
- Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle
- Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
In the San Fernando Valley in 1977, teenage busboy Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) gets discovered by porn director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), who transforms him into adult-film sensation Dirk Diggler. ...more - 72017
- Actors: Jaeden Martell, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Chosen Jacobs
- Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Seven young outcasts in Derry, Maine, are about to face their worst nightmare -- an ancient, shape-shifting evil that emerges from the sewer every 27 years to prey on the town's children. Banding ...more - Actors: Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, Alan Cumming, Julia Campbell
- Directed by: David Mirkin
Ten years after their high school graduation, Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow) haven't exactly accomplished everything that they set out to do. Despite their strong friendship, their ...more- Actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald
- Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds the grisly aftermath of a drug deal. Though he knows better, he cannot resist the cash left behind and takes it with him. The hunter becomes the ...more- 10
- Actors: John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Crispin Glover
- Directed by: Steve Pink
Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam (John Cusack) has just been dumped, Lou (Rob Corddry) is a hopeless party animal, Craig (Craig Robinson) is a henpecked husband, and Jacob (Clark Duke) ...more - 112001
- Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Directed by: Richard Kelly
In a funny, moving and distinctly mind-bending journey through suburban America, one extraordinary but disenchanted teenager is about to take Time's Arrow for a ride. After surviving a freak ...more - 12
- Actors: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones
- Directed by: John McTiernan
Based on the popular Tom Clancy novel, this suspenseful movie tracks Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) as he abandons his orders and heads for the east coast of the United States. ...more - 132017
- Actors: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Paul Walter Hauser
- Directed by: Craig Gillespie
In 1991, talented figure skater Tonya Harding becomes the first American woman to complete a triple axel during a competition. In 1994, her world comes crashing down when her ex-husband conspires to ...more - 14
- Actors: Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, James Karen
- Directed by: Gabriele Muccino
Life is a struggle for single father Chris Gardner (Will Smith). Evicted from their apartment, he and his young son (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith) find themselves alone with no place to go. Even ...more - 15
- Actors: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel
- Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
It's the summer of 1983, and precocious 17-year-old Elio Perlman is spending the days with his family at their 17th-century villa in Lombardy, Italy. He soon meets Oliver, a handsome doctoral student ...more - 16
- Actors: Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt
- Directed by: Michael Dowse
Recent MIT grad Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) should be well on his way to a successful career at a Fortune 500 company, but instead, he rebels against maturity by taking a job at a video store. Matt ...more - 172009
- Actors: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader
- Directed by: Greg Mottola
It's the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) can't wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James' plans come to a screeching halt ...more - Actors: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Jenifer Lewis, RaéVen Larrymore Kelly
- Directed by: Brian Gibson
Based on the life of the legendary soul singer, Tina Turner (Angela Bassett) -- born Anna Mae Bullock -- discovers her love of singing in her Tennessee church choir. She moves to St. Louis to pursue ...more- 191998
- Actors: Angelina Jolie, Elizabeth Mitchell, Kylie Travis, Mercedes Ruehl, Faye Dunaway
- Directed by: Michael Cristofer
Gia Carangi (Angelina Jolie) travels to New York City with dreams of becoming a fashion model. Within minutes of arriving, she meets Wilhelmina Cooper (Faye Dunaway), a wise and high-powered agent ...more - 20
- Actors: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Bridget Fonda, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach
- Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
The Godfather Part III is a 1990 American film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to ...more - 21
- Actors: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Joseph Mazzello
- Directed by: Bryan Singer
Freddie Mercury -- the lead singer of Queen -- defies stereotypes and convention to become one of history's most beloved entertainers. The band's revolutionary sound and popular songs lead to Queen's ...more - 222011
- Actors: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac
- Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Driver is a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Though he projects an icy exterior, lately he's been warming up to a pretty neighbor named Irene and her young ...more - 23
- Actors: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner
- Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée
In mid-1980s Texas, electrician Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is stunned to learn that he has AIDS. Though told that he has just 30 days left to live, Woodroof refuses to give in to despair. He ...more - 242017
- Actors: Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny, Robert Emms
- Directed by: Janus Metz Pedersen
Borg McEnroe is a 2017 internationally co-produced multi-language biographical sports drama film directed by Janus Metz Pedersen. The story of the 1980s tennis rivalry between the placid Björn Borg ...more - 252003
- Actors: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter
- Directed by: Tim Burton
When Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) becomes ill, his son, William (Billy Crudup), travels to be with him. William has a strained relationship with Edward because his father has always told exaggerated ...more
