Top 80 Ranked

Top Movies of 1983 Ranked

Classic Hits and Cult Favorites From a Golden Year

Explore the best films from a pivotal year in cinema. From space epics to heartfelt dramas, discover the top-ranked movies released in this iconic era.

Draft Best 1983 Movies with friends and our judges will crown a winner!

About Movies in 1983

In the rearview mirror of film history, 1983 often finds itself overshadowed by the gargantuan cultural resets of the years immediately surrounding it. It does not possess the grit of 1970s auteurism, nor does it hold the sheer blockbuster saturation of 1984. However, looking closer reveals a year that acted as a critical bridge between the experimental soul of the New Hollywood era and the high-concept machinery that would define the modern multiplex. It was a year where the industry learned how to balance massive spectacle with genuine eccentricity.

The heavy hitter of the year was undoubtedly Return of the Jedi. As the closing chapter of the original Star Wars trilogy, it represented the culmination of a global phenomenon. While some critics at the time chafed at the introduction of the Ewoks, the film solidified the idea that cinema was now a communal, event-based experience. It proved that a franchise could hold a grip on the public imagination for a decade without losing its steam. Yet, while George Lucas was finishing his space opera, other filmmakers were finding success by leaning into a darker, more dangerous aesthetic.

In the crime genre, Brian De Palma and Al Pacino unleashed Scarface. Initially met with polarized reviews for its operatic violence and relentless profanity, the film eventually transformed into a cornerstone of American pop culture. It signaled a shift in how movies handled excess, trading the subtle menace of The Godfather for a neon-soaked, cocaine-fueled nihilism that felt perfectly in sync with the early eighties. On the other side of the Atlantic, the James Bond franchise faced an identity crisis as Octopussy went head to head with Sean Connery’s rogue return in Never Say Never Again. It was the year of the double 007, proving that audiences had an insatiable appetite for the familiar, even when it was served twice.

Beyond the explosions and car chases, 1983 was a landmark year for the coming-of-age story and the exploration of the American fringe. Francis Ford Coppola released two adaptations of S.E. Hinton novels, The Outsiders and Rumble Fish. These films functioned as a breeding ground for a new generation of talent, launching the careers of Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, and Matt Dillon. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise was simultaneously becoming a superstar in Risky Business, a film that used the template of a teen comedy to deliver a cynical critique of American capitalism.

The year also delivered one of the most beloved dramedies in history with James L. Brooks and The Terms of Endearment. It swept the Oscars by reminding the industry that mid-budget personal stories could still dominate the box office and the awards circuit. It stood alongside The Right Stuff, a masterwork of historical storytelling that captured the pulse of the space race with technical brilliance and old-school heroism.

Film fans remember 1983 because it was the last moment of relative innocence before the blockbuster formula became entirely rigid. It was a year where a horror master like David Cronenberg could find mainstream success with Videodrome and The Dead Zone, and where a tiny film like A Christmas Story could slip into theaters and begin its journey toward becoming a permanent holiday staple. It was a year of transition, grit, and the birth of icons, proving that the eighties were about much more than just neon lights and synthesizers.

The Complete Rankings

Based on the top picks in drafts on SnakeDrafts

See Top Ten
80
1983 in Sleepaway Camp (1983)
Sleepaway Camp
1983

Years after a terrible boating accident, Angela is sent to Camp Arawak where a series of bizarre and violent "accidents" begin to claim the lives of various campers.

Horror
1h 25m
Robert Hiltzik
Mike Kellin, Katherine Kamhi, Paul DeAngelo, Jonathan Tiersten
79
1983 in The Keep (1983)
The Keep
1983

Set during World War II, a German army garrison is sent to guard a mountain pass in a village in Romania's Carpathian mountains and sets up barracks in an ancient stone fortress. Two of the soldiers unwittingly release a mysterious entity that kills or corrupts those within its influence, drawing the attention of a Gestapo commander, a Jewish scholar, and a mysterious traveller.

Horror
Fantasy
Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Jürgen Prochnow, Robert Prosky
78
1983 in Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983)
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn
1983

A seeker named Dogen rescues Dhyana after her father is murdered by the evil Jared-Syn. To avenge her father's death, Dogen must find Jared-Syn's hideout in the mysterious "Lost City". The only person who knows its location is an aging, burned-out seeker named Rhodes. Along the way, they must battle the hunter Baal and his Cyclopean minions for a final encounter with Jared-Syn.

Fantasy
Science Fiction
1h 24m
Charles Band
Jeffrey Byron, Michael Preston, Tim Thomerson, Kelly Preston

Draft this topic with friends

Think you'd pick differently? Start a draft with your crew and see who really has the best taste in Best 1983 Movies.

77
1983 in Hercules (1983)
Hercules
1983

Hercules, a semi-divine being, squares off against King Minos, who is attempting to use science to gain power and take over the world. With the help of a benevolent sorceress, Circe, Hercules tries to save his beloved Cassiopeia from being sacrificed by Minos, and struggles against laser-breathing creatures and an evil sorceress.

Action
Adventure
1h 38m
Luigi Cozzi
Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning, Brad Harris, Rossana Podestà
76
1983 in Deathstalker (1983)
Deathstalker
1983

The warrior Deathstalker is tasked by an old witch lady to obtain and unite the three powers of creation - a chalice, an amulet, and a sword - lest the evil magician Munkar get them and use them for nefarious purposes. After obtaining the sword, Deathstalker joins with other travelers going to the Big Tournament to determine the strongest warrior. The false king holds the true princess in captivity, and plots to have Deathstalker killed, and Deathstalker must fight to free the princess.

Action
Fantasy
1h 20m
James Sbardellati
Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Richard Brooker, Lana Clarkson
75
1983 in Cujo (1983)
1983

A friendly St. Bernard named "Cujo" contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.

Horror
Thriller
1h 33m
Lewis Teague
Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Christopher Stone
74

Absent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.

73
1983 in Sahara (1983)
Sahara
1983

Intent on winning a competition in place of her distinguished late father, beautiful young heiress Dale takes on the guise of a man and competes in his spot, embarking on a car race that crosses the unforgiving Sahara desert.

Action
Adventure
1h 51m
Andrew V. McLaglen
Brooke Shields, Lambert Wilson, Horst Buchholz, John Rhys-Davies
72
1983 in A Night In Heaven (1983)
A Night In Heaven
1983

Faye Hanlon is a community-college professor with an emotionally depressed husband and an abundance of sexual frustration. Her sister drags her to a male strip-club for a girls-night out, where she discovers that one of the dancers is her failing student Rick Monroe, a.k.a. "Ricky the Rocket". A heated affair between teacher & student ensues, as Faye struggles to reconcile her emotions and make consequential life choices: Continue her lustful sessions with the studly-but-shallow teen stripper? Or break it off with Ricky & work to salvage her marriage to the loving-but-distant husband?

Comedy
Drama
1h 23m
John G. Avildsen
Christopher Atkins, Lesley Ann Warren, Robert Logan, Deborah Rush
71
1983 in The Honorary Consul (1983)
The Honorary Consul
1983

Set in a small politically unstable Latin American country, the story follows the half English and half Latino Dr. Eduardo Plarr, who left his home to find a better life. Along the way he meets an array of people, including British Consul Charley Fortnum, a representative in Latin America who is trying to keep Revolution from occurring. He is also a remorseful alcoholic. Another person the doctor meets is Clara, whom he immediately falls in love with, but there is a problem: Clara is Charley's wife.

Action
Drama
1h 44m
John Mackenzie
Michael Caine, Richard Gere, Bob Hoskins, Elpidia Carrillo
70
1983 in Uncommon Valor (1983)
Uncommon Valor
1983

The pilot for an unsold weekly series, Uncommon Valor stresses the courage and resourceful of a team of firefighters in Salt Lake City, Utah. Headed by dauntless battalion chief Tom Riordan (Mitchell Ryam), the unit tries to drench a raging conflagration at County General Hospital (a disaster enhanced by some pretty good special effects). They also have to battle the villain of the piece, discreetly described in the original network press release as a "deranged arsonist."

TV Movie
1h 40m
Rod Amateau
Mitchell Ryan, Barbara Parkins, Ben Murphy, Gregory Sierra
69
1983 in D.C. Cab (1983)
D.C. Cab
1983

The tale of a hapless group of cabbies and a rundown cab company owned by Harold. Albert comes to town with a dream of starting his own cab company but needs to motivate Harold's employees to want to make something out of themselves. It is only when Albert is kidnapped that the cabbies must decide whether or not they are loyal to Albert and his cause.

Adventure
Comedy
1h 40m
Joel Schumacher
Mr. T, Max Gail, Adam Baldwin, Gary Busey
68
1983 in Deal of the Century (1983)
Deal of the Century
1983

Arms dealers from several companies vie to sell the most expensive and highest tech weapons to a South American dictator. There are complications; understanding the exact nature of how 'gifts' are used to grease the wheels of a sale, a religious conversion from one of the salesman and a romance that begins to grow between two competitors.

Comedy
Crime
1h 39m
William Friedkin
67
1983 in Two of a Kind (1983)
Two of a Kind
1983

God has had enough of the bad behavior and attitude of humankind, and has decided to start it all over. It is up to a struggling inventor and a bank teller, both with very amateur criminal minds, to save the world by falling in love.

Fantasy
Comedy
1h 28m
John Herzfeld
John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Charles Durning, Oliver Reed
66
1983 in Reuben, Reuben (1983)
Reuben, Reuben
1983

A drunken Scottish poet who has not written a word in years feels compelled to regain control of his life and work after meeting a beautiful young woman.

Drama
Comedy
1h 41m
Robert Ellis Miller
Tom Conti, Kelly McGillis, Roberts Blossom, Joel Fabiani
65
1983 in The Lords of Discipline (1983)
The Lords of Discipline
1983

Will arrives for his last year at Military Academy, in the Deep South USA, in the 1960's. A black student, Pearce, has been accepted, for the first time and Will is asked to keep an eye out for the inevitable racism. The racists come in the form of The Ten, a secret group of the elite students. They want Pearce to leave on his own free will, but are prepared to torture him to make it 'his free will'. Will is forced to help Pearce and he is prepared to risk his own career to do so.

Drama
Thriller
1h 42m
Franc Roddam
David Keith, Robert Prosky, G.D. Spradlin, Barbara Babcock
64
1983 in Fire and Ice (1983)
Fire and Ice
1983

The villainous Nekron and his mother, Queen Juliana, plot against the human race from their frigid fortress. Creating mass destruction with huge glaciers, mother and son incur the wrath of Larn, a warrior whose entire village was destroyed by ice. When Nekron's underlings kidnap the beautiful Princess Teegra, Larn sets out to rescue her, assisted by the fierce and enigmatic Darkwolf.

Animation
Fantasy
1h 21m
Ralph Bakshi
Randy Norton, Cynthia Leake, Steve Sandor, Sean Hannon
63
1983 in The Sting II (1983)
The Sting II
1983

Hooker and Gondorf pull a con on Macalinski, an especially nasty mob boss with the help of Veronica, a new grifter. They convince this new victim that Hooker is a somewhat dull boxer who is tired of taking dives for Gondorf. There is a ringer. Lonigan, their victim from the first movie, is setting them up to take the fall.

Comedy
Crime
1h 42m
Jeremy Kagan
Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis, Teri Garr, Karl Malden
62
1983 in Wavelength (1983)
Wavelength
1983

Two young lovers learn that a small group of child-like space aliens are marooned on Earth and are being held prisoner at a top secret military facility. The couple then decide to liberate the extraterrestrial castaways and help them make a rendezvous with a rescue ship sent from the alien home planet.

Science Fiction
1h 27m
Mike Gray
Robert Carradine, Cherie Currie, Keenan Wynn, Cal Bowman
61
1983 in Amityville 3-D (1983)
Amityville 3-D
1983

To debunk the Amityville house's infamous reputation and take advantage of a rock-bottom asking price, skeptical journalist John Baxter buys the place and settles in to write his first novel.

Horror
1h 33m
Richard Fleischer
Tony Roberts, Tess Harper, Robert Joy, Candy Clark
60
1983 in The Lonely Lady (1983)
The Lonely Lady
1983

A young screenwriter allows others to exploit her in the hopes of "making it" in Hollywood.

Drama
Horror
1h 32m
Peter Sasdy
Pia Zadora, Lloyd Bochner, Bibi Besch, Joseph Cali
59
1983 in The Hunger (1983)
The Hunger
1983

Five-thousand-year-old vampire Miriam promises her lovers the gift of eternal life. When John, her cellist companion for centuries, discovers that he has suddenly begun growing old, he attempts to seek out the help of Dr. Sarah Roberts, a researcher on the mechanisms of aging.

Horror
Drama
58
1983 in Psycho II (1983)
Psycho II
1983

Norman Bates is declared sane and released from the facility in which he was being held, despite the complaints of Lila Loomis, sister of his most famous victim. Is he really cured, or will he kill again?

Horror
Mystery
1h 53m
Richard Franklin
Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia
57
1983 in Lovesick (1983)
Lovesick
1983

Sigmund Freud's ghost advises a married New York psychiatrist in love with a patient.

Romance
Comedy
1h 36m
Marshall Brickman
Dudley Moore, Elizabeth McGovern, John Huston, Alan King
56
1983 in Cross Creek (1983)
Cross Creek
1983

In the 1930s, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida's backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editors and confused neighbors, but soon she connects and writes The Yearling, a classic of American literature.

Drama
Romance
2h 7m
Martin Ritt
Mary Steenburgen, Rip Torn, Peter Coyote, Dana Hill
55
1983 in The Osterman Weekend (1983)
The Osterman Weekend
1983

The host of an investigative news show is convinced by the CIA that the friends he has invited to a weekend in the country are engaged in a conspiracy that threatens national security.

Action
Drama
54
1983 in Gorky Park (1983)
Gorky Park
1983

Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.

Thriller
Crime
2h 8m
Michael Apted
53
1983 in Table for Five (1983)
Table for Five
1983

J.P. Tannen (Jon Voight) wants a second chance to be a father to his children ... but someone else has taken his place. Determined not to just be a friendly 'uncle' in their lives, he gets permission from his ex-wife Kathleen (Millie Perkins) and her new husband (Richard Crenna) to take the kids on a Mediterranean cruise. On the journey he comes to realise it's not that easy and, feeling overwhelmed, begins to doubt his abilities until a tragedy back home forces him to become the father he always hoped to be.

Drama
Romance
2h 1m
Rob Lieberman
Jon Voight, Millie Perkins, Marie-Christine Barrault, Richard Crenna
52
1983 in The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
The Pirates of Penzance
1983

As a young child, Frederic had been apprenticed to a pirate by mistake when he should have been apprenticed to a pilot. Now, having reached his 21st year, Frederic's indentures are at last over and he happily leaves the service of the pirates. When Frederic meets the beautiful Mabel, one of the many daughters (or wards in Chancery) of Major-General Stanley, they fall in love and decide to marry. However, complications arise when the pirates decide to marry the rest of the Major-General's daughters, themselves - and Frederic's birthdate turns out to be not all it seems.

Comedy
Music
1h 52m
Wilford Leach
Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, Linda Ronstadt, George Rose
51
1983 in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983)
Eddie and the Cruisers
1983

A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader — Eddie Wilson — may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.

Drama
Music
1h 35m
Martin Davidson
Tom Berenger, Michael Paré, Joe Pantoliano, Ellen Barkin
50
1983 in Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone
1983

On a distant planet inhabited by mutants, two bounty hunters race to rescue three Earth female captives from the clutches of an evil warlord.

Adventure
Science Fiction
1h 30m
Lamont Johnson
Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson, Andrea Marcovicci
49
1983 in The Black Stallion Returns (1983)
The Black Stallion Returns
1983

"Black" is a stunning fire-and-silk stallion celebrated the world over. But to his young American owner, Alec Ramsay, he's much more. So, when the amazing animal is stolen, Alec will stop at nothing to get him back. Alec finally unravels the mystery of Black's theft...only to discover that he must overcome even greater odds to reclaim his beloved horse.

Family
Adventure
1h 43m
Robert Dalva
Kelly Reno, Vincent Spano, Allen Garfield, Woody Strode
48
1983 in Yellowbeard (1983)
Yellowbeard
1983

For years Yellowbeard had looted the Spanish Main, making men eat their lips and swallow their hearts. Caught and convicted for tax evasion, he's sentenced to 20 years in St. Victim's Prison for the Extremely Naughty. In a scheme to confiscate his fabulous treasure, the Royal Navy allows him to escape and follows him, where saucy tarts, lisping demigods and some awful puns and punishments await.

Comedy
Adventure
1h 36m
Mel Damski
Graham Chapman, Martin Hewitt, Eric Idle, Peter Cook
47
1983 in Superman III (1983)
Superman III
1983

Aiming to defeat the Man of Steel, wealthy executive Ross Webster hires bumbling but brilliant Gus Gorman to develop synthetic kryptonite, which yields some unexpected psychological effects. Between rekindling romance with his high school sweetheart and saving himself, Superman must contend with a powerful supercomputer.

Comedy
Science Fiction
Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Jackie Cooper, Marc McClure
46

James Bond returns as the secret agent 007 to battle the evil organization SPECTRE. Bond must defeat Largo, who has stolen two atomic warheads for nuclear blackmail. But Bond has an ally in Largo's girlfriend, the willowy Domino, who falls for Bond and seeks revenge.

Adventure
Action
2h 14m
Irvin Kershner
Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Max von Sydow, Barbara Carrera
45
1983 in The Golden Seal (1983)
The Golden Seal
1983

A lonely 10-year-old boy living with his parents in a remote coastal part of Alaksa, spontaneously finds a legendary golden seal and her newborn pup. But the greed for her valuable pelt sets off the hunters, including his own father, the local natives, and an ambitious poacher in pursuit the seal. The golden seal and her cub are hunted for a huge bounty on her head and the mythological legend

Drama
Family
1h 34m
Frank Zuniga
Michael Beck, Steve Railsback, Penelope Milford, Torquil Campbell
44
1983 in Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
Curse of the Pink Panther
1983

Inspector Clouseau disappears, and the Surete wants the world's second best detective to look for him. However, Clouseau's enemy, Dreyfus, rigs the Surete's computer to select, instead, the world's WORST detective, NYPD Sgt. Clifton Sleigh. Sleigh obtusely bungles his way past assassins and corrupt officials as though he were Clouseau's American cousin.

Comedy
Crime
David Niven, Robert Wagner, Herbert Lom, Joanna Lumley
43
1983 in The Dead Zone (1983)
The Dead Zone
1983

Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into the past, present and future life of anyone with whom he comes into physical contact.

Thriller
Horror
Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom
42
1983 in Born in Flames (1983)
Born in Flames
1983

In near-future New York, ten years after the “social-democratic war of liberation,” diverse groups of women organize a feminist uprising as equality remains unfulfilled.

Drama
Science Fiction
1h 20m
Lizzie Borden
Honey, Adele Bertei, Jean Satterfield, Florynce Kennedy
41
1983 in Christmas Holidays (1983)
Christmas Holidays
1983

Christmas holidays on the snow of Cortina D'Ampezzo. Mario, a guy from Rome who has not much money, falls in love with the American Samantha, the girlfriend of hypochondriac Roberto. Billo, a singer and a playboy, meets Ivana: she's married with a rich man, Donatone, but in the past she had a flirt with Billo, who wants to reignite the flame.

Comedy
1h 37m
Carlo Vanzina
Jerry Calà, Christian De Sica, Claudio Amendola, Antonella Interlenghi
40
1983 in The Man Who Wasn't There (1983)
The Man Who Wasn't There
1983

When he accidentally takes possession of a top-secret invisibility potion while en route to his wedding, government bureaucrat Sam Cooper finds himself engulfed in a madcap free-for-all as Russians and other bad guys try to get the substance. To elude the Reds, his own State Department bosses and his livid fiancée, Cooper takes the vanishing juice himself—which only makes matters worse.

Action
Comedy
1h 51m
Bruce Malmuth
Steve Guttenberg, Lisa Langlois, Jeffrey Tambor, Art Hindle
39

Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living when Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It's just that he's never done it before, and really doesn't have a clue...

Comedy
Drama
1h 31m
Stan Dragoti
Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Frederick Koehler, Taliesin Jaffe
38

When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.

Thriller
Crime
Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, Bradford Dillman
37

It's five years later and Tony Manero's Saturday Night Fever is still burning. Now he's strutting toward his biggest challenger yet - making it as a dancer on the Broadway stage.

Drama
Music
John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Steve Inwood
36
1983 in Yentl (1983)
1983

In a time when girls were forbidden to study religious scriptures, a Jewish girl masquerades as a boy to enter religious training and unexpectedly finds love along the way.

Music
Drama
Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving, Nehemiah Persoff
35

Los Angeles, California. Officer Murphy, a veteran Metropolitan Police helicopter pilot suffering from severe trauma due to his harsh experiences during the Vietnam War, and Lymangood, his resourceful new partner, are tasked with testing an advanced and heavily armed experimental chopper known as Blue Thunder.

Drama
Action
1h 50m
John Badham
Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, Daniel Stern
34
1983 in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Twilight Zone: The Movie
1983

An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."

Horror
Fantasy
Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Scatman Crothers, John Lithgow
33
1983 in Brainstorm (1983)
Brainstorm
1983

Two brilliant research scientists have invented a device capable of recording and playing back sensory experiences only to have devastating results when one of them records their own death.

Science Fiction
Thriller
1h 46m
Douglas Trumbull
Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood, Louise Fletcher, Cliff Robertson
32

James Bond is sent to investigate after a fellow “00” agent is found dead with a priceless Indian Fabergé egg. Bond follows the mystery and uncovers a smuggling scandal and a Russian General who wants to provoke a new World War.

Adventure
Action
2h 11m
John Glen
Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn
31
1983 in Krull (1983)
Krull
1983

A prince and a fellowship of companions set out to rescue his bride from a fortress of alien invaders who have arrived on their home planet.

Action
Adventure
2h 1m
Peter Yates
Ken Marshall, Lysette Anthony, Freddie Jones, Francesca Annis
30
1983 in Angelo My Love (1983)
Angelo My Love
1983

Angelo My Love delves into the little understood and fascinating world of New York Roma. Using real Romanis playing fictional versions of themselves. This critically acclaimed film explores the lifestyle, rites, myths and passions of the tight-knit urban subculture. Twelve year-old Angelo Evans is the street-wise. Charmingly precocious son of a fortune teller. When the boy accuses a sleazy Romani, Steve "Patalay" Tsigonoff, and his foul-mouthed wife, Millie, of stealing an ancestral ring, he chases them to Canada. Angelo wants the ring for his future bride, Patricia, and nearly disgraces the family to get it back. Along the way, Duvall presents an extraordinary slice of Romani life, highlighting there music and tribal customs, a wedding and a "kris" - the Romani court of justice. His film has a spontaneity and exuberance that make it a one-of-a-kind experience.

Drama
Angelo Evans, Katerina Ribraka, Tim Phillips, Lachlan Youngs
29

After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.

28
1983 in The Star Chamber (1983)
The Star Chamber
1983

As violence escalates in Los Angeles and heinous murders are committed, Steven Hardin, a young judge of the California Supreme Court, must struggle with his tortured conscience and growing despair as he watches helplessly as the ruthless criminals brought before his court go free because clever lawyers find obscure loopholes in the law.

Drama
Thriller
1h 45m
Peter Hyams
Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto, Sharon Gless
27
1983 in Christine (1983)
Christine
1983

Nerdy high schooler Arnie Cunningham falls for Christine, a rusty 1958 Plymouth Fury, and becomes obsessed with restoring the classic automobile to her former glory. As the car changes, so does Arnie, whose newfound confidence turns to arrogance behind the wheel of his exotic beauty. Arnie's girlfriend Leigh and best friend Dennis reach out to him, only to be met by a Fury like no other.

Horror
Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky
26
1983 in Streamers (1983)
Streamers
1983

Four young recruits about to be sent to Vietnam confront their prejudicial feelings toward one another when it's learned one of them is gay.

Drama
War
Matthew Modine, Michael Wright, Mitchell Lichtenstein, David Alan Grier
25
1983 in Testament (1983)
Testament
1983

It is just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks — many suffer radiation poisoning — the Wetherly family tries to survive.

Drama
Science Fiction
1h 30m
Lynne Littman
Jane Alexander, William Devane, Rossie Harris, Roxana Zal
24

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

Horror
Science Fiction
James Woods, Debbie Harry, Sonja Smits, Peter Dvorsky
23
1983 in Zelig (1983)
Zelig
1983

Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Clever editing places Zelig in real newsreel footage of Woodrow Wilson, Babe Ruth, and others.

Comedy
Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Patrick Horgan, John Buckwalter
22
1983 in Eureka (1983)
Eureka
1983

After striking it rich on a large gold strike, a prospector retires to the quiet life on a Caribbean island but ends up coping with an alcoholic wife, a headstrong daughter, and Miami mobsters who want to build a casino.

Drama
Thriller
2h 10m
Nicolas Roeg
Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer, Jane Lapotaire
21
1983 in Never Cry Wolf (1983)
Never Cry Wolf
1983

A scientific researcher, sent on a government study: The Lupus Project, must investigate the possible "menace" of wolves in the north. To do so, he must survive in the wilderness for six months on his own. In the course of these events, he learns about the true beneficial and positive nature of the wolf species.

Adventure
Drama
1h 45m
Carroll Ballard
Charles Martin Smith, Zachary Ittimangnaq, Samson Jorah, Hugh Webster
20
1983 in El Norte (1983)
El Norte
1983

Brother and sister Enrique and Rosa flee persecution at home in Guatemala and journey north, through Mexico and on to the United States, with the dream of starting a new life.

Adventure
Drama
2h 21m
Gregory Nava
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Lupe Ontiveros
19

The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.

Comedy
Family
1h 33m
Bob Clark
Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Peter Billingsley, Jean Shepherd
18
1983 in Sugar Cane Alley (1983)
Sugar Cane Alley
1983

Martinique, in the early 1930s. Young José and his grandmother live in a small village. Nearly everyone works cutting cane and barely earning a living. The overseer can fine a worker for the smallest infraction. The way to advance is to do well in school. José studies hard and succeeds in an exam allowing him to attend school in the capital. With only a partial scholarship, the tuition is very costly. José and his grandmother move to Fort-de-France to make José's studies easier...

Drama
Family
1h 43m
Euzhan Palcy
Garry Cadenat, Darling Légitimus, Douta Seck, Joby Barnabé
17
1983 in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
1983

Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor. The world's most voracious glutton brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise.

Comedy
1h 47m
Terry Jones
Terry Gilliam, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle
16
1983 in Entre Nous (1983)
Entre Nous
1983

In 1942 in occupied France, a Jewish refugee marries a soldier to escape deportation to Germany. Meanwhile a wealthy art student loses her first husband to a stray Resistance bullet; at the Liberation she meets an actor, gets pregnant, and marries him. Lena and Madeleine meet at their children's school in Lyon in 1952 and the intensity of their relationship strains both their marriages to the breaking point.

Drama
War
1h 50m
Diane Kurys
Miou-Miou, Isabelle Huppert, Guy Marchand, Jean-Pierre Bacri
15
1983 in The 4th Man (1983)
The 4th Man
1983

Morbid Catholic writer Gerard Reve–bisexual, alcoholic, and experiencing frequent visions of death–is invited to give a lecture at the Vlissingen literature club. While in the Amsterdam railway station, he's attracted to a handsome man who embarks on another train. Gerard meets club treasurer and beautician Christine Halsslag, and engage in a one-night-stand. The next morning, Gerard sees a picture of Christine's boyfriend Herman and recognises him as the man at the train station. He urges her to bring Herman to her house to spend a couple of days together, but with ulterior intentions of seduction. During a night on his own, Gerard finds and watches film reels, discovering that Christine had married each; all of whom died in tragic accidents. Believing Christine is a Black Widow, Gerard begins to question whether Herman or he will be her doomed fourth man.

Thriller
Mystery
1h 38m
Paul Verhoeven
Jeroen Krabbé, Renée Soutendijk, Thom Hoffman, Dolf de Vries
14

An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery. But things don't go as expected.

Comedy
Drama
1h 51m
Bill Forsyth
Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson, Fulton Mackay
Why it ranks

Bill Forsyth delivers a whimsical, eccentric gem that trades typical corporate conflict for a dreamlike, observational humor. Its magic lies in its gentle subversion of expectations, leaving the viewer haunted by its peculiar, salt-aired atmosphere long after the credits roll.

13

In 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival and redemption exposes the fragile innocence and enduring bonds of youth on the wrong side of town.

12
1983 in Educating Rita (1983)
Educating Rita
1983

Rita, a witty 26-year-old hairdresser, wants to 'discover' herself, so she joins the Open University where she meets the disillusioned professor of literature, Dr. Frank Bryant. His marriage has failed, his new girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whisky. What Frank needs is a challenge... and along comes Rita.

Drama
Comedy
1h 46m
Lewis Gilbert
Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams, Maureen Lipman
Why it ranks

This vibrant collision of class dynamics and intellectual awakening avoids the traps of the Pygmalion trope by prioritizing the protagonist's agency. It resonates as a witty yet stinging commentary on the barriers built by the British academic elite.

11

Clark Griswold is on a quest to take his family to the Walley World theme park for a vacation, but things don't go exactly as planned.

Comedy
Adventure
Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Anthony Michael Hall, Imogene Coca
10

High school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department of Defense's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his friend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.

Thriller
Science Fiction
1h 54m
John Badham
Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy
Why it ranks

Matthew Broderick captures the twitchy, caffeinated energy of the early digital age with a smirk that balances teenage arrogance and genuine panic. This breakout role established his signature persona as the charmingly wayward youth, a blueprint he would soon perfect to define a decade of cinema. He navigates the high stakes of nuclear brinkmanship with a grounded, rapid-fire charisma that makes a kid behind a keyboard feel like a global powerhouse.

9

Seven old college friends gather for a weekend reunion after the funeral of one of their own.

Comedy
Drama
1h 45m
Lawrence Kasdan
Why it ranks

Glenn Close anchors the film’s ensemble with a brittle, wounded pragmatism that earned her a second consecutive Oscar nomination and cemented her status as the era’s premier dramatic heavyweight. She navigates Sarah’s grief with a hauntingly quiet intelligence, trading theatrical fireworks for a restrained complexity that makes her the movie’s essential moral compass.

8
1983 in The Dresser (1983)
The Dresser
1983

In a touring Shakespearean theater group, a backstage hand - the dresser - is devoted to the brilliant but tyrannical head of the company. He struggles to support the deteriorating star as the company struggles to carry on during the London Blitz. The pathos of his backstage efforts rival the pathos in the story of Lear and the Fool that is being presented on-stage, as the situation comes to a crisis.

Drama
1h 58m
Peter Yates
Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Edward Fox, Zena Walker
Why it ranks

A claustrophobic and fiercely theatrical examination of the symbiotic relationship between talent and service. The film crackles with a desperate, backstage energy, anchored by a pair of lead performances that turn a crumbling theater into a battlefield of the ego.

7
1983 in Betrayal (1983)
Betrayal
1983

An affair between a literary agent and his best friend's wife, unfolding in reverse-chronological order.

Drama
1h 35m
David Hugh Jones
Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Hodge, Avril Elgar
Why it ranks

Harold Pinter’s reverse-chronological structure serves as a brilliant forensic tool, dissecting the decay of an affair with surgical precision. It is a high-wire act of dialogue that reveals how language is more often used to conceal truths than to confess them.

6

Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.

Drama
Music
1h 32m
Bruce Beresford
Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Wilford Brimley
Why it ranks

Bruce Beresford utilizes stillness and silence as narrative tools, crafting a quiet masterpiece of understated emotional resonance. Robert Duvall’s performance is a lesson in restraint, proving that the most powerful stories often reside in the pauses between the notes of a dusty country song.

5

Like most of the people in her town, Karen Silkwood works at the local nuclear plant producing highly radioactive plutonium. Exposed one day to a lethal dose of radiation, Karen faces the blank walls of corporate indifference and denial. As her illness increases, her protest grows louder and she becomes an obvious danger to the powers that be.

Drama
Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson
Why it ranks

Mike Nichols strips away the polish of the whistle-blower procedural to expose a haunting, blue-collar paranoia that feels chillingly intimate. Meryl Streep delivers a performance of startling grit, grounding the film's corporate dread in a relatable, shivering humanity.

4

Meet Joel Goodson, an industrious, college-bound 17-year-old and a responsible, trustworthy son. However, when his parents go away and leave him home alone in the wealthy Chicago suburbs with the Porsche at his disposal he quickly decides he has been good for too long and it is time to enjoy himself. After an unfortunate incident with the Porsche Joel must raise some cash, in a risky way.

Romance
Comedy
1h 38m
Paul Brickman
Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur
Why it ranks

Through Tangerine Dream's hypnotic synth score and Paul Brickman's stylish direction, this reaches far beyond the typical teen comedy to become a sleek, cynical critique of Reagan-era materialism. It captures a specific subterranean anxiety about the American dream that its contemporaries simply cannot match.

3

At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.

Drama
History
3h 13m
Philip Kaufman
Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid
Why it ranks

Philip Kaufman transforms the space race into a sprawling, kinetic tapestry of American mythology that balances swaggering machismo with profound historical awe. It is a rare technical marvel where the visceral thrill of flight meets a thoughtful meditation on the birth of the celebrity astronaut.

2

Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.

Adventure
Action
2h 12m
Richard Marquand
Why it ranks

While closing a monumental trilogy, Richard Marquand leans into a lush, operatic visual palette that brings a darker psychological weight to the franchise's central paternal conflict. The film balances its groundbreaking practical spectacle with a surprisingly soulful exploration of redemption.

1

Aurora, a finicky woman, is in search of true love while her daughter faces marital issues. Together, they help each other deal with problems and find reasons to live a joyful life.

Drama
Comedy
2h 12m
James L. Brooks
Why it ranks

James L. Brooks masterfully navigates the jagged edge between domestic comedy and devastating melodrama without ever succumbing to cheap sentimentality. The film thrives on a sharp, acerbic chemistry that elevates the mother-daughter dynamic into a definitive pillar of modern character study.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts

The top movies of 1983 showcased a diverse range of genres including drama, comedy, adventure, and science fiction. Films like 'Return of the Jedi' brought thrilling action and sci-fi, while 'Terms of Endearment' and 'Silkwood' highlighted the strength of dramatic storytelling in that year.

1983 films acted as a creative bridge, blending the artistic experimentation of New Hollywood with the emerging blockbuster style. For instance, 'The Right Stuff' combined historical drama with epic storytelling, while movies like 'Risky Business' introduced a fresh take on youth and romance that resonated with wider audiences.

Films such as 'Tender Mercies' and 'Terms of Endearment' stood out for their heartfelt and intimate explorations of character and relationships. These movies offered audiences deeply emotional narratives amidst a year dominated by larger-scale productions.

Several movies from 1983 expertly balanced humor and serious themes, including 'The Big Chill' and 'Educating Rita.' These films showcased the ability of cinema that year to blend laughter with poignant, thought-provoking moments.

Yes, 1983 brought impactful films like 'WarGames' which combined thriller elements with science fiction concepts. Alongside 'Return of the Jedi,' these movies helped define part of the genre's evolving landscape in the early 1980s.

'Return of the Jedi' cemented itself as a pivotal space epic, concluding the original Star Wars trilogy with a mix of action, adventure, and character resolution. Its success underscored the popularity of high-concept sci-fi films, inspiring future blockbusters in the genre.

Drama films from 1983, like 'Silkwood' and 'The Dresser,' often delved into personal struggle, ethical dilemmas, and historical contexts. These stories reflected the era's focus on complex characters and social issues, contributing to the year's cinematic depth.
Join Thousands of Drafters

Think You Can Pick Better?

Challenge your friends, make your picks, and let AI + human judges decide who has the best taste!

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play