Best Movies of 1980

The highest-rated films from 1980 according to MovieMagicScore. Rankings based purely on what viewers actually think.

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The Empire Strikes Back

1980 · 19,085 ratings

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

8.4

The Shining

1980 · 19,643 ratings

Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren't prepared for the madness that lurks within.

8.2

The Elephant Man

1980 · 3,762 ratings

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

8.0

Raging Bull

1980 · 4,557 ratings

The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

7.9

The Blues Brothers

1980 · 4,403 ratings

Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.

7.7

Kagemusha

1980 · 702 ratings

Akira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.

7.8

Airplane!

1980 · 4,824 ratings

An ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.

7.3

The King and the Mockingbird

1980 · 399 ratings

A young shepherdess and a chimneysweep plan to get married and escape the clutches of a tyrannical king in love with her, assisted by the guile of a cheeky mockingbird, the king's archenemy.

7.8

Somewhere in Time

1980 · 627 ratings

Young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to "Come back to me". Mystified, he tries to find out about her, and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early twentieth century. Becoming more and more obsessed with her, by self-hypnosis he manages to travel back in time—where he meets her.

7.5

#10

Ordinary People

1980 · 664 ratings

Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad are living in the aftermath of the death of the other son. Conrad is overcome by grief and misplaced guilt to the extent of a suicide attempt. He is in therapy. Beth had always preferred his brother and is having difficulty being supportive to Conrad. Calvin is trapped between the two trying to hold the family together.

7.5

#11

Pixote

1980 · 226 ratings

10-year-old Pixote endures torture, degradation, and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of its members are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old trans hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape and they start to make their living by a life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.

7.9

#12

The Gods Must Be Crazy

1980 · 1,239 ratings

A Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane raises havoc among a normally peaceful tribe of African bushmen who believe it to be a utensil of the gods.

7.3

#13

Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears

1980 · 261 ratings

This is a life story of three girlfriends from youth to autumn ages. Their dreams and wishes, love, disillusions...

7.6

#14

The Last Metro

1980 · 507 ratings

In occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.

7.2

#15

Little Lord Fauntleroy

1980 · 297 ratings

Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American. But after the death of the Earl's remaining son, he decides to accept Cedric as his heir.

7.4

#16

The Taming of the Scoundrel

1980 · 483 ratings

A rich farmer is well known for being very unkind. He's misanthropic, misogynous and cantankerous. Until he meets by chance a gorgeous girl...

7.1

#17

Who's Singin' Over There?

1980 · 154 ratings

On Saturday, 5 April 1941, one day before the Invasion of Yugoslavia of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a colourful group of random passengers on a country road deep in the heart of Serbia board a dilapidated bus, headed for the capital Belgrade. The group includes two gypsy musicians, a World War I veteran, a Germanophile, a budding singer, a sickly looking man, and a hunter with a shotgun. The bus is owned by Krstic senior, and driven by his impressionable and dim-witted son Misko.

7.6

#18

The Long Good Friday

1980 · 397 ratings

In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.

7.1

#19

Fun Is Beautiful

1980 · 403 ratings

Three characters' misadventures in semi-deserted, summertime Rome: a dim-witted mama's boy falls for a tourist; a would-be womanizer struggles to find company for his sex tourism trip to Kraków; a hippie is drawn into his father's schemes to bring him back into polite society.

7.1

#20

Dressed to Kill

1980 · 1,054 ratings

After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.

7.0

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About 1980 Movies

These are the best-rated movies released in 1980 according to MovieMagicScore. Our ranking system aggregates genuine viewer ratings to give you an honest picture of what audiences actually think about these films.

From blockbusters to indie gems, discover what made 1980 memorable in cinema based on the collective opinion of movie lovers worldwide.

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