Originally by Ranker FilmList RulesVote only based on the director's feature films released in the 1980s.
List of the top directors of the 80s. From 1980 to 1989, film history was shaped by esteemed directors who defined the decade through their movies. After all, what would the eighties be without the Brat Pack movies directed by John Hughes? The 1980s is also the time when when heavyweights like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were honing their directorial skills on epic levels, from the Indiana Jones movies to "E.T."
Woody Allen is also an auteur who made some of his absolute funniest and most dramatic Oscar-winning flicks during the 1980s. And between the "Lethal Weapon" movies and "The Goonies," director Dick Donner made the eighties an unforgettable 10 years for major motion pictures.
With nostalgic '80s movies on the mind, who can forget the arguable directorial peak of Rob Reiner with smash hits like "Spinal Tap," "Stand by Me," "The Princess Bride," and "When Harry Met Sally," which transitioned us into the 1990s.1
20253Steven Spielberg
Age: 74Always (1989)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Empire of the Sun (1987)
The Color Purple (1985)
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)2
19757John Hughes
Dec. at 59 (1950-2009)Sixteen Candles (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Weird Science (1985)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
She's Having a Baby (1988)
Uncle Buck (1989)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)3
13846John Carpenter
Age: 71The Fog (1980)
Escape From New York (1981)
The Thing (1982)
Christine (1983)
Starman (1984)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Prince of Darkness (1987)
They Live (1988)4
11941Rob Reiner
Age: 73This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
The Sure Thing (1985)
Stand by Me (1986)
The Princess Bride (1987)
When Harry Met Sally.... (1989)5
12533Robert Zemeckis
Age: 69Used Cars (1980)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
Back to the Future (1985)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Back to the Future Part II (1989)6
11842James Cameron
Age: 66Piranha II: The Spawning (1981)
The Terminator (1984)
Aliens (1986)
The Abyss (1989)7
10129John Landis
Age: 70The Blues Brothers (1980)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Trading Places (1983)
Spies Like Us (1985)
Three Amigos (1986)
Coming to America (1988)
Into the Night (1985)8
10636Martin Scorsese
Age: 78Raging Bull (1980)
The Kings of Comedy (1982)
After Hours (1985)
The Color of Money (1986)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)9
11546Tim Burton
Age: 62Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
Beetlejuice (1988)
Batman (1989)10
8331Ridley Scott
Age: 83Blade Runner (1982)
Legend (1985)
Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)
Black Rain (1989)11
8222Richard Donner
Age: 90The Toy (1982)
The Goonies (1985)
Ladyhawke (1985)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Scrooged (1988)
Leathal Weapon 2 (1989)12
7935Oliver Stone
Age: 7313
6933David Cronenberg
Age: 76The Scanners (1981)
Videodrome (1983)
The Dead Zone (1983)
The Fly (1986)
Dead Ringers (1988)14
6624Harold Ramis
Dec. at 70 (1944-2014)Caddyshack (1980)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Club Paradise (1986)15
7043David Lynch
Age: 7416
4514Ivan Reitman
Age: 74Ghostbusters (1984)
Ghostbusters II (1989)
Stripes (1981)
Meatballs (1979)
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4128Barry Levinson
Age: 77Diner (1982)
The Natural (1984)
Young Sherlock Homes (1985)
Tin Men (1987)
Good Morning Vietnam (1987)
Rain Man (1988)18
172Stanley Kubrick
Dec. at 71 (1928-1999)19
5046Woody Allen
Age: 85A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Radio Days (1987)
New York Stories (1989)20
4940Terry Gilliam
Age: 80Time Bandits (1981)
Brazil (1985)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)21
2721Ron Howard
Age: 6622
100John McTiernan
Age: 6823
112Brian De Palma
Age: 8024
2126Juliusz Machulski
Age: 64Vabank (1981)
Seksmisja (1984)
Vabank II czyli Riposta (1984)
Kingsajz (1987)
Déjà vu (1988)25
2320Jan Troell
Age: 88Flight of the Eagle (1982)
Land of Dreams (1988)
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