1980 Ranked Films
A ranked list of 1980 films that I have seen so far.
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- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.10/10
A darker follow-up but not losing sight of the overall trajectory established by its predecessor, The Empire Strikes back is an idyllic example of how to deepen the mythology without detracting from the excitement. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.10/10
Soft-spoken but hard-hitting, Raging Bull is one of Martin Scorsese's more meticulously visceral efforts and gets a full fifteen rounds out of a powerhouse Robert De Niro. - DirectorRobert RedfordStarsDonald SutherlandMary Tyler MooreJudd HirschThe accidental death of the older son of an affluent family deeply strains the relationships among the bitter mother, the good-natured father and the guilt-ridden younger son.10/10
Highly emotive thanks to a powerhouse central cast, Ordinary People proves anything but ordinary, as it marks an auspicious directorial debut for Robert Redford. - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.9/10
Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining may deviate from the seminal King novel significantly, but in its place is an entrancing, deeply disturbing slow-burn horror picture. - DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsRobert HaysJulie HagertyLeslie NielsenAfter the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.9/10
The gold standard for what a parody flick should aspire to be, Airplane! is unabashedly zany and all the better for it. - DirectorRichard LesterStarsGene HackmanChristopher ReeveMargot KidderSuperman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.8/10
Working in tandem with its predecessor to create a superhero saga for the ages, Superman II ups the ante with greater stakes and more rousing action sequences. - DirectorColin HigginsStarsJane FondaLily TomlinDolly PartonThree female employees of a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot find a way to turn the tables on him.8/10
Even if its plot developments get unwieldy at times, 9 to 5 is still a hilarious workplace comedy thanks to the combined efforts of Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. - DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydCab CallowayJake Blues rejoins with his brother Elwood after being released from prison, but the duo has just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home where the two were raised, outrunning the police as they tear through Chicago.8/10
Both rootin' and tootin', The Blues Brothers rides the pitch perfect performances of its leads and a series of absurd hijinks to an eminently watchable comic adventure. - DirectorHarold RamisStarsChevy ChaseRodney DangerfieldBill MurrayAn exclusive golf course has to deal with a flatulent new member and a destructive dancing gopher.7/10
There's not a whole lot going on underneath the green, but an irreverent ensemble keeps Caddyshack a few strokes ahead of most comedies. - DirectorPeter MedakStarsGeorge C. ScottTrish Van DevereMelvyn DouglasAfter experiencing tragic personal losses, a music professor rents a Seattle mansion, haunted by a slain boy.7/10
Some of The Changeling's theatrics aren't up to snuff, but a tantalizing ghost story and a moody score get the job done. - DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsAdrienne BarbeauJamie Lee CurtisJanet LeighAn unearthly fog rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters.6/10
John Carpenter’s sharpest horror outing The Fog is not, but viewers should still be pleased to see the kind of spooky visuals and set pieces befitting the story. - DirectorRobert AltmanStarsRobin WilliamsShelley DuvallRay WalstonThe adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.5/10
While its dedicated performers and impressive production design are things to be admired, Popeye and its faithful brand of physical comedy runs low on stamina by its conclusion. - DirectorSean S. CunninghamStarsBetsy PalmerAdrienne KingJeannine TaylorA group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.5/10
Its low-budget approach perhaps too simple to thrill, Friday the 13th has several moments of creative ingenuity but by and large is a rather campy kind of slasher flick. - DirectorCharles KaufmanStarsTiana PierceNancy HendricksonDeborah LuceTwo brothers kidnap and brutalize three women for the pleasure of their demented mother.4/10
Mother's Day throws everything but the kitchen sink at its harrowing and often zany proceedings, with the balance being a make-break point for many viewers. - DirectorDon TaylorStarsKirk DouglasMartin SheenKatharine RossA modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.4/10
Some tantalizing questions are posited - preposterous premise notwithstanding - but ultimately The Final Countdown can't consolidate them into a satisfying denouement. - DirectorLewis TeagueStarsRobert ForsterRobin RikerMichael V. GazzoA pet baby alligator is flushed down a toilet and survives in the city sewers. Twelve years later, it grows to an enormous size thanks to a diet of discarded laboratory dogs injected with growth hormones. Now, humans have entered the menu.4/10
Despite chomping down on some gnarly kills, Alligator waffles between being a standard creature feature and a playful satire, flushing away any memorability. - DirectorPaul LynchStarsLeslie NielsenJamie Lee CurtisCasey StevensAt a high-school senior prom, a masked killer stalks four teenagers who were responsible for the accidental death of a classmate six years previously.4/10
Prom Night tries to take advantage of its high school setting to fuel its bloodletting, however a lack of creativity keeps it from standing out in a crowded slasher movie field. - DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.3/10
Even beyond its garishness and sometimes all-too-real graphic imagery, Cannibal Holocaust loses its central thesis in all the savagery. - DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsBen JohnsonJamie Lee CurtisHart BochnerThree years after a prank went terribly awry, the six college students responsible are targeted by a masked killer at a New Year's Eve party aboard a moving train.3/10
Hardly moving beyond its costume-inspired gimmick, Terror Train is simply another slasher knockoff in the guise of a better one. - DirectorWilliam LustigStarsJoe SpinellCaroline MunroAbigail ClaytonA psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.2/10
As grotesque as one would expect, Maniac is unfortunately a repetitive, nonsensically plotted, slapdash slasher film. - DirectorHal NeedhamStarsBurt ReynoldsJackie GleasonJerry ReedThe Bandit goes on another cross-country run, transporting an elephant from Florida to Texas. And, once again, Sheriff Buford T. Justice is on his tail.2/10
Missing the infectious spirit of its predecessor, Smokey and the Bandit II is a gross rehash that spins out comedically until it's lost all sense of fun. - DirectorJimmy T. MurakamiRoger CormanStarsGeorge PeppardRobert VaughnRichard ThomasA farm boy recruits a band of outlaws to save the planet Akir from forces that threaten to wipe them out from the face of the universe. A battle stretching beyond the stars begins here.1/10
Wholly derivative of all kinds of media without an identity of its own, Battle Beyond the Stars throws everything at the wall to see what sticks; unfortunately, nothing does.