Streaming > Streaming TV, Movies, & More The 10 Best 80s Movies to Watch Right Now The best movies of the decade including comedies, sci-fi, and adventure By Molly McLaughlin Molly McLaughlin Twitter Senior Content Strategist New York University Molly K. McLaughlin has been a technology writer since 2004. Her work has appeared on many tech sites across the web including PCMag, Dealnews, Wirecutter and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on November 5, 2021 Reviewed by Kayla Dube Reviewed by Kayla Dube J. Everette Light Career Center Kayla Dube has 4+ years' experience in videography and filmmaking. She frequently works in production with indie film companies. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Streaming TV, Movies, & More Netflix Hulu Disney+ Prime Video Apple TV+ Favorite Events The eighties were a wild decade full of time travelers, ghosts, snakes, and frozen concentrated orange juice futures. These 10 films represent a wide range of genres and characters. 01 of 10 Best Paternity Reveal: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) serts / Getty Images IMDb Rating: 8.7Genre: Action, Adventure, FantasyStarring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher Director: Irvin KershnerMotion Picture Rating: PGRunning Time: 2 hours, 4 minutes Use the Force to Watch All the Star Wars Movies This second Star Wars movie (in order of release) features Lando Calrissian, Han Solo in carbonite, and Yoda's wise teachings. (Do. Or do not. There is no try.) No wonder it's the most popular film in the franchise. Watch 'The Empire Strikes Back' on Disney Plus Now 02 of 10 Worst Movie for Ophidiophobia Sufferers: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Sunset Boulevard / Corbis / Getty Images IMDb Rating: 8.4Genre: Action, AdventureStarring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul FreemanDirector: Steven SpielbergMotion Picture Rating: PGRunning Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes Watch Indiana Jones Movies in the Right Order for the Full Adventure Why'd it have to be snakes? Searching for the titular artifact before the Nazis can get their hands on it, archaeologist Indiana Jones finds himself surrounded by those slithering creatures. And that's only the start of it. Watch 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' on YouTube Now 03 of 10 Best Fast Food Knock-Off: Coming to America (1988) GC Images / Getty Images IMDb Rating: 7.0Genre: Comedy, RomanceStarring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl JonesDirector: John LandisMotion Picture Rating: 16+Running Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes A crown prince arrives in Queens and takes a job at MacDowell's fast-food joint (not to be confused with that other restaurant). He's looking for love while trying to hide his wealth. The movie even features a cameo of the Duke brothers from Trading Places. Watch 'Coming to America' on Amazon Prime Video Now Watch 'Coming to America' on Plex Now 04 of 10 Artificial Intelligence Gone Rogue: TRON (1982) Albert L. Ortega / WireImage / Getty IMDb Rating: 6.8Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-FiStarring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner Director: Steven LisbergerMotion Picture Rating: PGRunning Time: 1 hour, 36 minutes A software engineer is digitized and downloaded to a mainframe and must fight a powerful and evil AI. This movie has a very eighties feel of what the future looks like, though much of it is still relevant concerning artificial intelligence and users' rights. Watch 'TRON' on Disney Plus Now 05 of 10 A Crash Course in Commodities Trading: Trading Places (1983) Archive Photos / Getty Images IMDb Rating: 7.5Genre: ComedyStarring: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph BellamyDirector: John LandisMotion Picture Rating: RRunning Time: 1 hour, 56 minutes The Duke brothers, who own a commodities brokerage firm, conduct a nature vs. nurture experiment with two men, one born wealthy and one not. Eventually, those two men uncover an insider trading plot and plan revenge. Watch 'Trading Places' on Amazon Prime Video Now 06 of 10 Best Early Eighties Fashion: Flashdance (1983) John M. Heller / FilmMagic / Getty IMDb Rating: 6.2Genre: Drama, Music, RomanceStarring: Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Lilia SkalaDirector: Adrian LyneMotion Picture Rating: RRunning Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes Based in Pittsburgh, Flashdance features a steel mill worker, an aspiring ballerina, and a cabaret performer—who are all the same person. The movie won an Academy Award for best song (Flashdance... What a Feeling) and has some fantastic dancing scenes. Watch 'Flashdance' on Amazon Prime Video Now 07 of 10 Epic Entrepreneurs: Ghostbusters (1984) Archive Photos / Getty Images IMDb Rating: 7.8Genre: Action, Comedy, FantasyStarring: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney WeaverDirector: Ivan ReitmanMotion Picture Rating: PGRunning Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes Featuring outrageous New York real estate and a terrifying marshmallow man, Ghostbusters is iconic, spawning sequels, remakes, and an animated series. Who ya gonna call? Watch 'Ghostbusters' on Amazon Prime Video Now 08 of 10 Because We Should Always Listen to the Scientists: Aliens (1986) Sygma / Getty Images IMDb Rating: 8.3Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie HennDirector: James CameronMotion Picture Rating: RRunning Time: 2 hours, 17 minutes Officer Ripley somehow gets convinced to go back to space after surviving a relentless alien attack, and once again, her warnings are unheeded until it's nearly too late. Nevertheless, she persists. Watch 'Aliens' on YouTube Now 09 of 10 Double-Crossing Diamond Thieves: A Fish Called Wanda (1988) MGM Studios / Getty Images IMDb Rating: 7.5Genre: Comedy, CrimeStarring: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin KlineDirector: Charles Crichton, John Cleese (uncredited)Motion Picture Rating: RRunning Time: 1 hour, 48 minutes After a successful heist, a group of thieves fights over their haul of diamonds. Things quickly go south as everything that can go wrong does go wrong. You'll never look at a steamroller the same way. Watch 'A Fish Called Wanda' on Amazon Prime Video Now 10 of 10 A Brooklyn Time Capsule: Do the Right Thing (1989) Noam Galai / WireImage / Getty IMDb Rating: 8.0Genre: Comedy, DramaStarring: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby DeeDirector: Spike LeeMotion Picture Rating: RRunning Time: 2 hours This movie, which takes place over one hot summer day, follows Mookie, a pizza delivery guy, played by Spike Lee, as he makes the rounds around Bed-Stuy Brooklyn. It's a snapshot in time, highlighting racial and neighborly tensions. Watch 'Do the Right Thing' on Amazon Prime Video Now Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit