Best Drama Movies of the 1980s

1. 1
   Grave of the Fireflies 1988

   Directed by Isao Takahata · Streaming on Netflix
   8.4

   8.5 · 6.9K votes
2. 2
   Cinema Paradiso 1988

   Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore · Streaming on MGM Plus, Kanopy, Hoopla
   8.4

   8.4 · 5K votes
3. 3
   Once Upon a Time in America 1984

   Directed by Sergio Leone · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Plex Channel
   8.4

   8.4 · 6.3K votes
4. 4
   Dead Poets Society 1989

   Directed by Peter Weir
   8.3

   8.3 · 13K votes
5. 5
   Scarface 1983

   Directed by Brian De Palma · Streaming on Netflix
   8.1

   8.2 · 14K votes
6. 6
   Full Metal Jacket 1987

   Directed by Stanley Kubrick · Streaming on HBO Max, MGM Plus, Cinemax
   8.1

   8.1 · 12K votes
7. 7
   Come and See 1985

   Directed by Elem Klimov
   8.1

   8.2 · 2K votes
8. 8
   Das Boot 1981

   Directed by Wolfgang Petersen · Streaming on fuboTV
   8.0

   8.1 · 2.7K votes
9. 9
   The Elephant Man 1980

   Directed by David Lynch
   8.0

   8.0 · 4.1K votes
10. 10
    Paris, Texas 1984

    Directed by Wim Wenders · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, Plex
    8.0

    8.1 · 2.4K votes
11. 11
    Amadeus 1984

    Directed by Miloš Forman
    8.0

    8.0 · 5K votes
12. 12
    Blade Runner 1982

    Directed by Ridley Scott
    7.9

    7.9 · 16K votes
13. 13
    Ran 1985

    Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.9

    8.0 · 2K votes
14. 14
    Pink Floyd: The Wall 1982

    Directed by Alan Parker
    7.9

    8.0 · 1.7K votes
15. 15
    Raging Bull 1980

    Directed by Martin Scorsese · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Hoopla
    7.9

    7.9 · 5K votes
16. 16
    Stand by Me 1986

    Directed by Rob Reiner · Streaming on Philo
    7.8

    7.8 · 6.8K votes
17. 17
    The King of Comedy 1982

    Directed by Martin Scorsese · Streaming on Plex Channel
    7.7

    7.8 · 2.7K votes
18. 18
    Rain Man 1988

    Directed by Barry Levinson · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, MGM Plus
    7.7

    7.7 · 7.4K votes
19. 19
    Platoon 1986

    Directed by Oliver Stone · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.7

    7.7 · 5.4K votes
20. 20
    Wings of Desire 1987

    Directed by Wim Wenders · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.7

    7.8 · 1.6K votes
21. 21
    Do the Right Thing 1989

    Directed by Spike Lee · Streaming on YouTube Free, ALLBLK, ALLBLK Amazon channel
    7.7

    7.8 · 2.1K votes
22. 22
    The Breakfast Club 1985

    Directed by John Hughes · Streaming on Hulu, YouTube TV
    7.7

    7.7 · 8.8K votes
23. 23
    The Color Purple 1985

    Directed by Steven Spielberg · Streaming on Philo, Tubi TV
    7.7

    7.7 · 2.1K votes
24. 24
    Decalogue I 1989

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski
    7.7

    8.1 · 277 votes
25. 25
    Where Is The Friend's House? 1987

    Directed by Abbas Kiarostami · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    7.6

    7.9 · 460 votes
26. 26
    Kagemusha 1980

    Directed by Akira Kurosawa
    7.6

    7.8 · 776 votes
27. 27
    Anne of Green Gables 1985

    Directed by Kevin Sullivan
    7.6

    8.1 · 262 votes
28. 28
    Fanny and Alexander 1982

    Directed by Ingmar Bergman · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, Plex
    7.6

    7.8 · 926 votes
29. 29
    Mississippi Burning 1988

    Directed by Alan Parker · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.6

    7.7 · 2K votes
30. 30
    Nostalgia 1983

    Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, Klassiki
    7.6

    7.8 · 635 votes
31. 31
    Stand and Deliver 1988

    Directed by Ramón Menéndez · Streaming on YouTube Free, Tubi TV
    7.6

    7.8 · 498 votes
32. 32
    The Last Emperor 1987

    Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Cinemax
    7.5

    7.6 · 2K votes
33. 33
    A Short Film About Love 1988

    Directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski · Streaming on Criterion Channel, Klassiki
    7.5

    7.8 · 435 votes
34. 34
    The Sacrifice 1986

    Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, Klassiki
    7.5

    7.7 · 645 votes
35. 35
    Gandhi 1982

    Directed by Richard Attenborough · Streaming on Sony Pictures Core
    7.5

    7.6 · 2.6K votes
36. 36
    First Blood 1982

    Directed by Ted Kotcheff · Streaming on AMC+, Kanopy, YouTube TV
    7.5

    7.5 · 7.2K votes
37. 37
    Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters 1985

    Directed by Paul Schrader
    7.5

    7.8 · 380 votes
38. 38
    Jean de Florette 1986

    Directed by Claude Berri · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    7.5

    7.7 · 632 votes
39. 39
    Fitzcarraldo 1982

    Directed by Werner Herzog · Streaming on fuboTV, Philo, The Roku Channel
    7.5

    7.6 · 934 votes
40. 40
    The Killer 1989

    Directed by John Woo · Streaming on fuboTV, Kanopy, Shout! Factory TV
    7.5

    7.6 · 955 votes
41. 41
    The Name of the Rose 1986

    Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, The CW
    7.5

    7.5 · 3.4K votes
42. 42
    Pixote 1980

    Directed by Héctor Babenco
    7.5

    7.9 · 263 votes
43. 43
    Empire of the Sun 1987

    Directed by Steven Spielberg
    7.4

    7.5 · 2.2K votes
44. 44
    My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown 1989

    Directed by Jim Sheridan · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla
    7.4

    7.5 · 1.1K votes
45. 45
    The Plague Dogs 1982

    Directed by Martin Rosen · Streaming on Philo, Kanopy, Fandor
    7.4

    7.8 · 312 votes
46. 46
    Glory 1989

    Directed by Edward Zwick · Streaming on Tubi TV, Sony Pictures Core
    7.4

    7.5 · 1.9K votes
47. 47
    After Hours 1985

    Directed by Martin Scorsese · Streaming on Howdy
    7.4

    7.5 · 1.9K votes
48. 48
    Maurice 1987

    Directed by James Ivory · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Kanopy
    7.4

    7.6 · 638 votes
49. 49
    Heart of a Dog 1988

    Directed by Vladimir Bortko
    7.4

    7.9 · 210 votes
50. 50
    The Man Who Planted Trees 1987

    Directed by Frédéric Back
    7.4

    8.0 · 186 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   Bride of the Orient 1989

   Directed by Urs Odermatt
   6.8

   9.5 · 24 votes
2. 2
   Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain 1984

   Directed by Xie Jin
   6.5

   8.4 · 23 votes
3. 3
   Rags to Riches 1987

   Directed by Bruce Seth Green
   6.4

   9.5 · 10 votes
4. 4
   A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story 1989

   Directed by Robert Markowitz
   6.5

   8.3 · 23 votes
5. 5
   Ratas de la ciudad 1985

   Directed by Valentín Trujillo
   6.5

   8.1 · 24 votes
6. 6
   Er 1983

   Directed by Stefan Julian Neuschäfer
   6.5

   8.1 · 23 votes
7. 7
   Tomorrow's Joe The Movie 1980

   Directed by Yoichiro Fukuda
   6.4

   8.4 · 16 votes
8. 8
   The Secret Nation 1989

   Directed by Jorge Sanjinés
   6.4

   8.4 · 16 votes
9. 9
   Himala 1982

   Directed by Ishmael Bernal
   6.4

   8.0 · 22 votes
10. 10
    El Keif 1985

    Directed by Ali Abdel-Khalek
    6.4

    8.1 · 19 votes