1982 Movies Ranked

<< 1981   1983 >>

This is sad day for America, but thirty years ago, we got some great movies.  This is one of the best movie years I know of.  So many classics…

9. Firefox

D: Clint Eastwood

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Another boring eye-candy 80’s movies.  The movie is dull and terribly paced, but I love the design and effects of the titular plane.  Kenneth Colley (Admiral Piett) and Ronald Lacey (Toht) also help make it a nostalgic 80’s movie for me.

8. Conan the Barbarian

D: John Milius

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Though its then-shocking violence is a bit dated, it has some interest moments of writing and

7. Tron

D: Steven Lisberger

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A movie known for its revolutionary use of CGI.  To some it’s dated, but I love the way it looks.  

6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

D: Steven Spielberg

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I never watched this as a kid, but when I finally checked it out, it turned out to be pretty good.  Except for that cloying frog scene.

5. The Last Unicorn

D: Jules Bass, Arthur Rankin, Jr.

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A clever fantasy that deconstructs many of the genre’s tropes will still being earnest and serious.  For some reason, the America songs that are so insufferable in The Hobbit are actually not too bad here.  My only complaint is that the animation is sometimes a bit stilted.

4. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

D: Nicholas Meyer

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By far the best thing to have happened to the Star Trek franchise.  It’s the only one I see as required viewing for everyone (I’m more of a Star Wars fan).  I will venture the opinion that Channel Awesome’s constant references to it are pretty tiresome. 

3. The Thing

D: John Carpenter

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Great gory visuals and an ominous score, but it works because it actually is a truly effective and suspenseful horror movie.  Paranoia fuel at its best.

2. The Secret of NIMH

D: Don Bluth

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Don Bluth’s masterpiece.  It has everything his movies are know best for: dark style, suspense, nightmare fuel.  If only they still made cartoons like this.

1. Blade Runner

D: Ridley Scott

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With its dark, complex storytelling and amazing visuals, this is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.  The ultimate cyberpunk movie.  

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 Least Favorite Movies of the 80's