The 1980s was an interesting decade for Hollywood. The riskier era of the 70s was over and studios were swiftly moving towards blockbuster filmmaking. This made for a lot of popcorn movies, some of which are forgotten, while others are watched over and over again by their fans.
There are a lot of factors that make a movie rewatchable, whether they have a fun tone, setting, or entertaining characters to those that have an engrossing adventure. With the movies from the 80s now reaching 30 to 40 years old, it’s amazing how some of them have held up so well and can still be enjoyed countless times over.
Raising Arizona (1987)
The Coen Brothers have never been what one could consider “mainstream” filmmakers, yet the weirdness of their movies can sometimes make them addictive. Raising Arizona is one of their most entertaining movies, despite it being far from ordinary.
Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter star as a childish couple who decide to kidnap one baby from a set of quintuplets. Not only did the Coen Brothers manage to make a pair of kidnappers sympathetic, but they also made what is essentially a live-action Looney Tune cartoon, filled with colorful characters.
Predator (1987)
Action movies really began to take off in the 80s, with muscle-bound stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone representing the one-man army characters popular in this era. But Predator found a new approach to this kind of action movie, as a deadly alien hunts a team of commandos in the jungle.
The creature design of the alien is brilliant and one of the reasons the movie holds up so well. There is also a great ensemble of action stars who get picked off one-by-one in fantastically bloody ways. This all leads to the final confrontation between Schwarzenegger and the alien that is still so much fun.
A Christmas Story (1983)
Most people have those holiday movies that they must watch every year around Christmastime. While A Christmas Story was a financial disappointment when it was released, it has since become a classic for the season. And despite watching it every year, it’s impossible to get sick of its charm.
Though it is set in the 1950s, the nostalgia of the movie is timeless. It finds its humor and sweetness in those holiday memories most can relate to. Watching this movie every year can almost feel like watching your own home movies.
Midnight Run (1988)
Action comedies were also a big hit in the 80s, with movies like Beverly Hills Cop becoming big hits. But one classic from the era that is even more fun to revisit is the somewhat overlooked gem, Midnight Run.
Robert De Niro delivers one of his best comedic performances as a bounty hunter escorting a prisoner across the country while they are hunted by the FBI, the mob, and other bounty hunters. The road trip aspect is elevated further by some great characters and fun set-pieces, all told with a great energy.
Airplane! (1980)
For a comedy to be rewatchable, the jokes really have to make the audience laugh, even when they know all the punchlines. Airplane! achieves this by having more jokes than any other movie around, and most are hilarious.
While some things in the movie might feel dated, including the idea of spoofing airplane disaster movies, the wacky, pun-filled humor remains timeless. It also helps that many of the actors, especially Leslie Nielsen, do such a great job of playing the ridiculousness of the movie completely straight.
Clue: The Movie (1985)
Clue is another movie that wasn’t successful when it was released but has since gained a strong cult following. It is also a movie that proved you can adapt a board game into a highly entertaining movie.
The movie uses the set-up of the game to tell a classic parlor murder mystery story, albeit with an absurd sense of humor. The movie and its cast of characters are so much fun that the banter is as engaging as the actual mystery components. Once you know who the killer is, you’ll watch it again for the laughs.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Out of all the teen comedies of the 80s, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the one that is most likely to have you smiling ear-to-ear the entire time. Matthew Broderick gives an endlessly charming performance as the titular high schooler who sets out to have the most epic day off.
With such a loose story, the movie could risk losing its viewers. But it is so exciting to bounce around from one adventure to the next with this lovable hero. It’s the perfect feel-good movie, as the audience gets to feel like they’re sharing this fun day off with Ferris.
Back To The Future (1985)
A brilliant plot will inevitably make a movie that is undeniably fun. In Back to the Future, Marty McFly accidentally goes back in time where his own future is threatened when he accidentally meddles in his mother and father meeting for the first time.
This genius premise sets up one of the most fun movies ever made. It has a light-hearted yet fast-paced tone, while also being filled with funny and memorable characters. It is a movie that influences countless time travel movies that followed, yet it has, arguably, never been topped.
Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas teamed up to deliver one of the best cinematic heroes of all time. Harrison Ford starred as Indiana Jones, an archaeologist adventurer who set out to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis got a hold of it.
Though the franchise that resulted from this had some dips in quality, this first adventure is a rollercoaster of excitement. Ford cements the character as a charming and swashbuckling hero, while Spielberg stages some of the best action set-pieces of all time.
The Princess Bride (1987)
There is something about stories of pirates, princesses, and magic that is so appealing to audiences. The Princess Bride found a way to capture the magic in these types of stories and do something new with it with legendary writer William Goldman penning a hilarious adventure.
The humor in the movie makes it a riot from beginning to end, but it never wanders too far into parody. In fact, even without the comedy, the story and its characters are enough to want to revisit it again and again.
