Movies set in the '80s
by rowan_hendriks | created - 04 Nov 2016 | updated - 9 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Argo (2012)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin
Votes: 639,167 | Gross: $136.03M
2. No Country for Old Men (2007)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 1,060,358 | Gross: $74.28M
3. Scarface (1983)
R | 170 min | Crime, Drama
In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Votes: 916,591 | Gross: $45.60M
4. Let the Right One In (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.
Director: Tomas Alfredson | Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl
Votes: 226,788 | Gross: $2.12M
5. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 560,849 | Gross: $163.57M
6. Wonderland (2003)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In the police investigation of a brutal crime scene, one man was at the center of it all: legendary porn star John Holmes.
Director: James Cox | Stars: Val Kilmer, Lisa Kudrow, Kate Bosworth, Christina Applegate
Votes: 23,299 | Gross: $1.06M
7. This Is England (2006)
Not Rated | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy becomes friends with a gang of skinheads. Friends soon become like family, and relationships will be pushed to the very limit.
Director: Shane Meadows | Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Stephen Graham, Jo Hartley, Andrew Shim
Votes: 128,742 | Gross: $0.33M
8. The Lives of Others (2006)
R | 137 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Stars: Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur
Votes: 410,521 | Gross: $11.29M
9. Submarine (2010)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
15-year-old Oliver Tate has two objectives: to lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother and an ex-lover who has resurfaced in her life.
Director: Richard Ayoade | Stars: Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor
Votes: 96,540 | Gross: $0.47M
10. Adventureland (2009)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In the summer of 1987, a college graduate takes a 'nowhere' job at his local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.
Director: Greg Mottola | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr
Votes: 168,910 | Gross: $16.03M
11. Fargo (1996)
R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Votes: 726,761 | Gross: $24.61M
12. Donnie Darko (2001)
R | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
Director: Richard Kelly | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell, Holmes Osborne
Votes: 850,179 | Gross: $1.48M
13. No (I) (2012)
R | 118 min | Drama, History
An advertising executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile's 1988 referendum.
Director: Pablo Larraín | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco
Votes: 26,220 | Gross: $2.34M
14. Miami Vice (1984–1989)
TV-14 | 48 min | Action, Crime, Drama
-Resplendent with authentic 1980s music, fashion, and vibe, "Miami Vice" follows two undercover detectives and their extended team through the mean streets of Miami, Florida.
Stars: Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas, Saundra Santiago, Olivia Brown
Votes: 30,203
15. The Rack Pack (2016)
TV-G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
The story of the 1980s snooker rivalry between the flamboyant Alex Higgins and the methodical Steve Davis.
Director: Brian Welsh | Stars: Dennis Taylor, Steve Davis, Alex Higgins, Luke Treadaway
Votes: 1,272
16. Joy (I) (2015)
PG-13 | 124 min | Biography, Drama
Joy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramírez
Votes: 145,288 | Gross: $56.45M
17. Eddie the Eagle (2015)
PG-13 | 106 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Director: Dexter Fletcher | Stars: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Tom Costello, Jo Hartley
Votes: 100,242 | Gross: $15.79M
18. Behind the Candelabra (2013)
TV-MA | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A chronicle of the tempestuous six-year romance between megastar singer Liberace and his young lover Scott Thorson.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Eric Zuckerman
Votes: 45,398
19. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros, Heather Graham
Votes: 40,631 | Gross: $4.73M
20. Show Me a Hero (2015)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, History
Nick Wasicsko takes office as mayor of Yonkers in 1987 and has to face the issue of building public housing in the white, middle-class side of town.
Stars: Oscar Isaac, Natalie Paul, Carla Quevedo, Peter Riegert
Votes: 12,046
21. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
R | 117 min | Biography, Drama
In 1985 Dallas, electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof works around the system to help AIDS patients get the medication they need after he is diagnosed with the disease.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Steve Zahn
Votes: 519,351 | Gross: $27.30M
22. Black or White, Never Gray
Action, Crime, Drama | Announced
In 1989 a bunch of novice thieves get away with the perfect hit to a government bank.
Stars: Edgar Ramírez, Jesús Ochoa, Waldo Urrego, Luis Fernando Montoya
23. The Fighter (I) (2010)
R | 116 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Based on the story of Micky Ward, a fledgling boxer who tries to escape the shadow of his more famous but troubled older boxing brother and get his own shot at greatness.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
Votes: 388,932 | Gross: $93.62M
24. This Is England '86 (2010)
TV-MA | 47 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Shaun has just finished his final exams and he realizes he is no longer a kid. It's mid 80's England, and the gang are back, looking for a laugh, a job and something that resembles a future.
Stars: Andrew Ellis, Andrew Shim, Chanel Cresswell, Danielle Watson
Votes: 14,504
25. This Is England '88 (2011)
TV-MA | 48 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Christmas 1988. Soulmates Woody and Lol find themselves in exile from each other and the gang. Trying to understand the definition 'growing up', Shaun begins a course at College, that quickly takes a wrong turn.
Stars: Andrew Ellis, Andrew Shim, Chanel Cresswell, Charlotte Tyree
Votes: 11,560
26. Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp (2015)
TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy
Follows the counselors and campers on their first day at Camp Firewood in the summer of 1981.
Stars: Marguerite Moreau, Zak Orth, Paul Rudd, Michael Showalter
Votes: 25,206
27. Precious (II) (2009)
R | 110 min | Drama
In New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.
Director: Lee Daniels | Stars: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey
Votes: 116,248 | Gross: $47.57M
28. Bogowie (2014)
120 min | Biography, Drama
The early career of cardiac surgeon Zbigniew Religa. Despite the harsh reality of 1980s Poland, he successfully leads a team of doctors to the country's first human heart transplantation.
Director: Lukasz Palkowski | Stars: Tomasz Kot, Piotr Glowacki, Szymon Piotr Warszawski, Magdalena Czerwinska
Votes: 7,699
29. A Most Violent Year (2014)
R | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city's history.
Director: J.C. Chandor | Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 77,621 | Gross: $5.74M
30. American Made (2017)
R | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jesse Plemons
Votes: 208,226 | Gross: $51.34M
31. Comrade Detective (2017)
TV-MA | 40 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Parody comedy designed to resemble a non-existent gritty 1980's Cold War Romanian police show that promoted Communist ideals. The action-packed and blood-soaked first season finds Detectives Gregor Anghel and Joseph Baciu investigating the murder of fellow officer Nikita Ionescu and, in the process, unraveling a subversive plot to destroy their country that is fueled by what-else-but the greatest... See full summary »
Stars: Channing Tatum, Florin Piersic Jr., Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Corneliu Ulici
Votes: 3,218
32. Museo (2018)
128 min | Crime, Drama
In 1985, a group of criminals mock the security of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City to extract 140 pre-Hispanic pieces from their showcases.
Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Leonardo Ortizgris, Alfredo Castro, Simon Russell Beale
Votes: 5,970 | Gross: $0.15M
33. Joker (I) (2019)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Votes: 1,489,223 | Gross: $335.45M
34. Chernobyl (2019)
TV-MA | 41 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In April 1986, the city of Chernobyl in the Soviet Union suffers one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of mankind. Consequently, many heroes put their lives on the line in the following days, weeks and months.
Stars: Jessie Buckley, Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Adam Nagaitis
Votes: 865,528
35. Snowfall (2017–2023)
TV-MA | 44 min | Crime, Drama
A look at the early days of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles during the beginning of the 1980s.
Stars: Damson Idris, Carter Hudson, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Isaiah John
Votes: 30,031
36. White Boy Rick (2018)
R | 111 min | Crime, Drama
The story of teenager Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
Director: Yann Demange | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Votes: 43,126 | Gross: $24.01M
37. Des (2020)
Not Rated | 48 min | Crime, Drama, History
In 1983, Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen was arrested after the discovery of human remains which had blocked a drain near his London home.
Stars: David Tennant, Daniel Mays, Jason Watkins, Ron Cook
Votes: 20,770
38. Deutschland 83 (2015)
TV-MA | 42 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
Martin Rauch is recruited by the HVA to infiltrate the West Germany army. As a rookie spy, his decisions constantly put his cover at risk and force his agency to take extreme measures.
Stars: Jonas Nay, Maria Schrader, Ulrich Noethen, Sylvester Groth
Votes: 15,020
39. Hunger (2008)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Irish republican Bobby Sands leads the inmates of a Northern Irish prison in a hunger strike.
Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, Stuart Graham, Laine Megaw
Votes: 73,556 | Gross: $0.15M
40. 1985 (2023)
51 min | Crime, Drama
A journey back in time to the turmoil of the 1980s, when the Brabant Killers sowed terror in Belgium.
Stars: Tijmen Govaerts, Aimé Claeys, Mona Mina Leon, Peter Van den Begin
Votes: 1,831
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