1983 Ranked Films
A ranked list of 1983 films that I have seen so far.
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24 titles
- DirectorPaul BrickmanStarsTom CruiseRebecca De MornayJoe PantolianoA Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.10/10
Anchored in both adult and teen sensibilities, Risky Business makes a movie star out of Tom Cruise whilst detailing a night not soon to be forgotten. - DirectorJames L. BrooksStarsShirley MacLaineDebra WingerJack NicholsonFollows hard-to-please Aurora looking for love and her daughter's family problems.10/10
A family dramedy that is both personable and compelling, Terms of Endearment finds James L. Brooks adroitly crafting dynamic characterizations and subsequent interrelations. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJerry LewisDiahnne AbbottA passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.10/10
Deftly crafting a fascinating character study suffused with delusions of grandeur, The King of Comedy is endlessly dynamic and features a magnetic performance from Robert De Niro. - DirectorBob ClarkStarsPeter BillingsleyMelinda DillonDarren McGavinIn the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.9/10
Arguably the definitive Yuletide flick of its generation, A Christmas Story and its simplistic storytelling will appeal to family members of all ages. - DirectorJohn BadhamStarsMatthew BroderickAlly SheedyJohn WoodA young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.8/10
Capitalizing on both Cold War tensions and the upstart teen genre, WarGames is deftly able to engage with the audience without dumbing anything down. - DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.8/10
Only a preview of the greatness to come for the franchise, The Evil Dead is a contained, atmospheric venture and marks the explosion onto the horror scene for Sam Raimi. - DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsC. Thomas HowellMatt DillonRalph MacchioIn a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.8/10
The Outsiders doesn't measure up to Francis Ford Coppola's previous works or the following works of its up-and-coming cast, but it faithfully adapts the poignancy of its coming-of-age story. - DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.8/10
Return of the Jedi doesn’t quite measure up to its predecessors, but with a pronounced level of fun, it wraps up the original trilogy in suitable fashion. - DirectorHarold RamisStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloImogene CocaThe Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.8/10
Cementing itself as a road trip movie all-timer, National Lampoon’s Vacation hitches its star to Chevy Chase’s effervescent humor on the way to its hysterical final destination. - DirectorTerry JonesStarsJohn CleeseTerry GilliamEric IdleThe comedy team takes a look at life in all of its stages in their own uniquely silly way.8/10
Still as uproariously funny as its more streamlined feature counterparts, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life finds the comedy troupe deftly creating a slew of witty vignettes. - DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyDan AykroydRalph BellamyA snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.8/10
Trading Places may not try to buck its own cadences, but a star-making turn from Eddie Murphy helps its sociological humor resonate. - DirectorLewis TeagueStarsDee WallaceDaniel Hugh KellyDanny PintauroCujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.7/10
While it loses the thematic depth from the King novel, when it comes time to get down and dirty, Cujo does not disappoint. - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKeith GordonJohn StockwellAlexandra PaulA nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind of its own and his nature starts to change to reflect it.7/10
It's got some dents in the storytelling department, though by and large Christine is another sleek, creepy John Carpenter joint. - DirectorTony ScottStarsCatherine DeneuveDavid BowieSusan SarandonA love triangle develops between a beautiful yet dangerous vampire (Catherine Deneuve), her cellist companion (David Bowie), and a gerontologist (Susan Sarandon).6/10
The Hunger's intellectual reach often exceeds its visual grasp, but for fans of the vampire subgenre, it should satiate nonetheless. - DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsSean ConneryKim BasingerKlaus Maria BrandauerA S.P.E.C.T.R.E. agent has stolen two American nuclear warheads, and James Bond must find their targets before they are detonated.6/10
Sean Connery's return to the role of 007 isn't up to par with his glory days, but Never Say Never Again is certainly the superior Bond outing of 1983. - DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.5/10
Much like its central protagonist, Scarface shows promise with a razor-sharp first act, but quickly deteriorates in the second by failing to transcend its narrative shortcomings. - DirectorAdrian LyneStarsJennifer BealsMichael NouriLilia SkalaAn 18-year-old female amateur dancer who performs nightly at a dancing bar, and works as a welder during the day, dreams of joining the Pittsburgh ballet school.5/10
Despite Flashdance having the passionate feelings it needs to sell a spirited finale, they rarely amount to anything elsewhere. - DirectorRichard FranklinStarsAnthony PerkinsVera MilesMeg TillyAfter twenty-two years of psychiatric care, Norman Bates attempts to return to a life of solitude, but the specters of his crimes - and his mother - continue to haunt him.3/10
Largely failing to justify its own existence, Psycho II sputters around an ineffective plot with far less potent thrills than those of its landmark predecessor. - DirectorRobert HiltzikStarsFelissa RoseJonathan TierstenKaren FieldsBunks and showers are a mad stabber's beat at a summer camp strictly for teens.3/10
Aside from an admittedly shocking final twist, Sleepaway Canp is a carbon copy slasher flick with little mystery and lame kills. - DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreMaud AdamsLouis JourdanA fake Fabergé egg recovered from the body of a fellow agent leads James Bond to uncover a jewel smuggling operation led by the mysterious Octopussy, and a plot to blow up a NATO air base.3/10
A lower-tiered outing for 007, Octopussy and its banal plot have all of the silliness with none of the excitement. - DirectorRichard LesterStarsChristopher ReeveRichard PryorMargot KidderSynthetic kryptonite laced with tar splits Superman in two: good Clark Kent and bad Man of Steel.2/10
Trading suspense for a more comedic approach, Superman III is by and large a watered down version of its own predecessors. - DirectorDick LowryStarsJackie GleasonJerry ReedPaul WilliamsBig and Little Enos are opening a sea food restaurant. They bet Sheriff Buford T. Justice that he cannot drive from Miami to the Enos ranch in Texas in a given amount of time. If Buford loses he has to give up his badge.1/10
Stripped of its most recognizable stars and by proxy the charm the original film was built on, Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 is an unrestrained exercise in lunacy for lunacy's sake. - DirectorRichard FleischerStarsTony RobertsTess HarperRobert JoyA reporter moves into the Amityville house in defiance of the supernatural events connected to it, and finds everyone around him besieged by the evil manifestations which are connected to a demonic presence in the basement.1/10
As if the series even clamored for another dimension, Amityville 3-D strains to conjure another entry without a “fact-based” foundation. - DirectorJoe AlvesStarsDennis QuaidBess ArmstrongSimon MacCorkindaleA giant thirty-five-foot shark becomes trapped in a SeaWorld theme park and it's up to the sons of police chief Brody to rescue everyone.1/10
Flooded with a preponderance of bad logic, Jaws 3-D rides its slipshod special effects - ironically, enough - to the point that a once solid premise becomes utterly laughable.