My Top-20 Greatest 1980s You've Never Heard Of

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Disclaimer: All reasonable comments are welcome, including reasoned disagreements. You will be banned for foolish talk, harassment, and hate speech on sight; it's a tremendous waste of life. I believe in freedom of association and, by extension, freedom of dissociation from you.

[@danlo215]

Fantastic list. My favourites are a few on here. Here’s some lesser known I rewatch regularly: The Stunt man. 1980 The Ninth Configuration. 1980 Ragtime. 1981 Diva. 1981 Cutter’s Way. 1981 L’Argent. 1983 One Deadly Summer. 1983 Angst. 1983 The Quiet Earth. 1985 Mishima. Slide in Four Chapters. 1985 Miracle Mile. 1988 Navigator. A Medieval Odyssey. 1988

[@mattgilbert7347]

A couple of New Zealand classics on your list

[@sergeydobrynin7277]

Looks like we have very similar tastes in movies. The Stunt Man, The Ninth Configuration, Ragtime, L'Argent are all among my favourites. And I absolutely love DIVA! I can watch it endlessly!

[@1superloki]

Wonderful list. I would suggest " The Gods Must Be Crazy ", a South African film from 1980

[@davidmitchell6873]

Great underrated movie.

[@silvimoonstudio3446]

Hilarious film!

[@bartellender6782]

My cousin and I watched it at least 20 times. Hilarious!

[@Adrian-yi8fl]

Great movie I saw that in the theater

[@redtiger7268]

My grandfather LOVED that movie. We used to watch it all the time when I was a kid and it was time to spend the night at the grandparents house.

[@konami1979]

Good list, I'd rather see people recommend obscure indie and foreign movies from the 80's than the usual Brat Pack and slasher flicks.

[@mudsongs]

I was about to pick "Birdy" as a great movie from the 1980s that hardly anyone has heard of, but then you picked it. Good pick. It's based on the unusual, hypnotic and largely unfilmable novel by William Wharton which is more about the unspoken intimacy of pre-adult friendship than it is about war (or adulthood), but somehow director Allan Parker manages to capture the spirit of the novel well. I was initially drawn to "Birdy" by the evocative score by Peter Gabriel (his film scores are some of his best works). The performance by a young Nicolas Cage, immature but touching, is so different from the Nicholas Cage known today. Matthew Modine, as Birdy, portrays someone not just damaged by war but by life, who then withdraws from those traumas in a manner that is mysterious to everyone but Nicolas Cage. “Can friendship save us?” is the question. There are many subtle and quiet layers to "Birdy" that don't seem to match up with audience's expectation of a war movie and, perhaps, are subsequently overlooked. The movie might have benefitted from a longer runtime in the style of "Cinema Paradiso." There is easily a full hour of dream-like content in the novel that is only touched on in the movie in one particularly striking scene involving shadows.

[@drdavid1963]

Great list - I would add Time of The Gypsies (1989), The Vanishing (1988), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), Gregory's Girl (1980), Repo Man (1984), Sex Lies and Videotape (1989), Dead Ringers (1988), A Cry in the Dark (1988), Matewan (1987), Gloria (1980), Love Streams (1983) and A City of Sadness (1989).

[@eddenoy321]

Dead Ringers ! Beverly and Elliot Mantle ! Who can forget them ?

[@drdavid1963]

@@eddenoy321 - Only those who have seen it

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@zmani4379]

@@eddenoy321 ellieeee .... ellieeee ....

[@eddenoy321]

@@zmani4379 LOL I can never forget their mutual self-destruction. What a performance by Jeremy irons.

[@slapwagon]

Having been a dirtbag teen in the 80s, River's Edge holds a special place with me. I would add Fandango and The Beast of War to a follow up list.

[@jakeburns6566]

Worked with a guy who knew them all. The real life people that were portraited in the movie. He went to High School with them all and actually knew and hung out with some of them. Yes, he had plenty of proof.

[@IggyGoesPop666]

How about - Prince of the City 1981 ... Outland 1981 .... Altered States 1980 .... Flesh & Blood 1985 ... The Keep 1983 .... brilliant films

[@IggyGoesPop666]

I put Prince of the City in before watching the show so it shows you how cool a movie it is ... and its quite long so beware

[@jamespohl-md2eq]

Brilliant. Lol

[@oppothumbs1]

"Patti Rocks" of 1988 received positive reviews from critics who praised its examination of male chauvinism and unapologetic female sexuality. Others found the male characters' sexual dialogue to be "needlessly profane." ] Fred Lutz of The Toledo Blade called it "one of the most comically devastating sex satires since Carnal Knowledge in 1971. It is also just as revealing about the adolescent attitudes some American men have about women and sex. B+

[@jamesbennett5189]

Altered states is awesome

[@oppothumbs1]

altered states.. 86/71 audience rotten tomatoes - my score 76. Prince of city about 85% average critics/audience ( give it 86). Patti Rocks - 80 for aud and critics (my score 83). River's Edge - 88/75 (my score 78) Something Wild (91 critics/65 aud). Watch out for Ray Liotta's breakout performance - I give it an 88. Who am I? A realist who is concerned with fair rating and goldilocks scores. Never give to high, never give to low. Except: Stripes - 88/79. Well-known movies but I really dislike Bill Murray, I just don't laugh with/at him. And he's a rotten person. I give it a 50. King of Comedy - 89/90. Just put DeNiro is a film and they think it's good. add comeback of Jerry Lewis. Scorsese directed - I don't care! Bernhard sings. Not a bad idea but movie draws out every scene. A movie ahead of its time and behind the 8 ball. 70.

[@tfred6403]

The Quiet Earth, Manhunter, Android, Quest for Fire, Enemy Mine , The Hidden, House of the Long Shadows(P Cushing, C Lee, V Price, J Carradine ), Somewhere in Time. Electric Dreams

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you. Did I put "Electric Dreams" in this list? I forget, but I was definitely considering it. "Manhunter" is great.

[@thevigils]

The Quiet Earth! Yes!...I love Manhunter, prefer it over Silence of the Lambs (which is also great)

[@KRhetor]

Somewhere in Time has a MASSIVE cult following, but it's not obnoxious and in-your-face the way some cults are (*cough**cough* John Carpenter's The Thing) so a lot of potential fans are unaware of it.

[@imposs-up1hg]

Everybody in Britain of a certain age remembers Threads. Cool to see it turn up on your list.

[@aravis72]

Great list. I thought I was a cinephile, but there’s good number I’ve never heard of, let alone seen. I just watched Withnail and I on your recommendation. I really want to see it again. Despite being set in the 60’s, I was surprised at how much it felt like the British show The Young Ones.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@SoundBoredProduction]

Great list, quite a few of these are now on my watchlist. I don't have much to add but would say that in a long line of classic 80's comedies, Ruthless People often gets overlooked.

[@princejohn6560]

Betty Blue (1986); Sweet Sixteen (1983); Johnny Handsome (1989); Fade to Black (1980); Into the Night (1985); just to add a few. On another note, nowhere in Withnail & I is the name pronounced WithNAIL, it is pronounced WithNALL.

[@jztouch]

Love Betty Blue...still listen to that soundtrack sometimes. So good!

[@Jd-zr8bs]

Johnny handsome is highly underrated and just forgotten

[@shoeshane6494]

One of my favorite 80s movies was "Suburbia." Directed by Penelope Spheeris (Wayne's World, Decline of Western Civilization).

[@thevigils]

Longtime Suburbia fan here myself. Have you seen The Boys Next Door? The movie Penelope Spheeris made right after that? It's REALLY good, dark.

[@shoeshane6494]

@thevigils ..I finally saw TBND on Tubi recently. I thought it was pretty good.

[@thevigils]

@@shoeshane6494 Right on. I like the soundtrack for that. Suburbia is the classic though! Dudes is pretty fun, too. Which I guess sits somewhere between Suburbia and Wayne's World in tone, ha!

[@shoeshane6494]

@thevigils ...Yeah. I saw "Dudes" recently as well. I'm not sure how I missed both of those back in the day.

[@thevigils]

@@shoeshane6494 I think both The Boys Next Door and Dudes were pretty hard to find back in the day. As a kid, I remember seeing the soundtrack for Dudes in record stores, but couldn't find a copy to rent anywhere. I know that one took a while to finally come out on DVD because of music rights issues. I had to download a digitized VHS bootleg initially. The Boys Next Door, I didn't even learn about that one myself until flipping through the cult movie section at Amoeba Records some years back.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Superb list. I saw some of these in arthouse theaters in the 1980s, some later on VHS or DVD. Some I haven't seen yet. Absolutely adore Withnail & I and Leningrad Cowboys, Something Wild and several others you've named. If you dig under the surface of the usual Hollywood fare that most people call "classic" there's a really rich untapped vein of better films.

[@zmani4379]

Nice list - I knew about 16 of them, and had seen the 2 Pagnol films (counted as one here); plus Mephisto; Prince of the City; Withnail; Something Wild; River's Edge - my own list would include Singing Detective; Last of England; Street of Crocodiles; Dead Ringers; Ran; Company of Wolves; Drugstore Cowboy; School Daze; Casualties of War; Mishima; Unbearable Lightness of Being; Brazil

[@andy0liver]

Some great picks, all worthy of a place on any cinephile's dvd shelf.I'm guessing that many of these title are better known here in the UK than in the US - not because we are more urbane, or anything, but because we don't have so far to travel to find a cinema that would've been showing them; also a couple of our largest tv channels used to regularly screen foreign language films a a matter of course. The Return of Martin Guerre was remade as Sommersby starring Richard Gere (almost wrote, "Richard Guerre"!) and Jodie Foster. Withnail and I is so well known over here that it is still quoted ad infinitum and used in many a great meme - most notable recently when Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak stood in the pouring rain and called a general election, it took mere seconds before somebody posted his photo with the quote, "We've called a general election by mistake" referring to Withnail's bedraggled plea, "We've gone on holiday by mistake". Another 80s film I'd recommend is Pathfinder (Norway, 1987 also referred to by its native title, Ofelas). It's kind of hard to find, but worth the hunt - remade in 2007 as the far inferior Pathfinder starring Karl Urban.

[@lucybenton7341]

So glad you mentioned True Stories, one of my all time favourite movies, it's so surreal and the music's fantastic. Did you know the band Radiohead got there name from one of the songs featured.

[@graydenday3760]

The Rivers Edge, river scenes were shot here in Sacramento on the American River on William B Pond. A river spot i used to go to religeously.

[@dbvmayor]

Nice! Usually when I see these "movies you've never heard of" lists on KZbin, it's a bunch of movies I've already seen. There are only 2 from your list that I've seen: River's Edge and Something Wild. I randomly put on SW on the Criterion Channel one night and it immediately became one of my favorites. I rave about it to everyone I meet who's into film. It's amazing how it seamlessly blends all these disparate tones and genres, going from rom-com to screwball comedy, road trip movie, and then takes a wild turn once Ray Liotta shows up--yet it does it all perfectly. I've been meaning to check out Birdy. I actually have Peter Gabriel's score to it since I'm a big fan of his and it's some of the most haunting and beautiful film work he's ever done. Also been meaning to check out more Greenaway films. I've only seen Prospero's Books so far, which is easily one of the best looking movies I've seen in ages. A couple underrated ones I'll add: At Close Range with Christopher Walken and both Penn brothers, Sean and Chris. Not a feel-good movie by any stretch of the imagination but one of my all-time favorites. The writing, acting, cinematography, and score are phenomenal. I also just recently watched Coppola's One From The Heart which really blew me away. It totally flopped upon release, and it's got issues, but goddamn. I blind-bought it on 4K because I had read about how ambitious it was and how it basically bankrupted Coppola and I'm a sucker for movies that take big swings, so my expectations were kinda low, but it really surprised me in the best way. It's like a romantic musical if shot by Argento. Maybe it was just ahead of its time? Anyway, cool channel! Subbed.

[@dandruff9957]

At close range was a favourite of mine for a while .

[@flydawg7784]

No Jim Jarmusch? Ouch. Stranger than Paradise? Down by law? Mystery train?.

[@savethezombies]

Down by Law would definitely be on my list.

[@philipdubuque9596]

All I can say is that 1) I've never heard of you, 2) I like the way your mind works. And 3), I hit "subscribe" before you were done. Looking forward to more of your presentations!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you, and welcome to the channel.

[@michaelmasson480]

Ray Liotta's star making turn as the psycho ex in Something Wild deserved a mention.

[@brianthornber3319]

This. First time I saw Liotta, and basically decided he could do no wrong from then on. Just fantastic in that movie. The soundtrack was fantastic as well.

[@maximusprime3459]

Thats still one of my favorite Ray Liotta movies right next to Goodfellas.

[@natalieshark]

You’ll be hard pressed to find people obsessed with classic Doctor Who who haven’t seen Withnail and I. I got to meet Paul McGann at a Doctor Who convention and I talked to him about Withnail and I and he started quoting lines mere inches from my face. It was kind of incredible. He’s a powerful performer.

[@jztouch]

I'll second Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring. Wonderfully absorbing movies about a lost way of life and the big reveal at the end is crushing. There are some I've heard of here but haven't seen and lots I hadn't heard of but would love to see. Great video!

[@maximusprime3459]

River's Edge is pretty well known...now, PERMENANT RECORD is prolly one of the more overlooked Keanu Reeves movies right next to The Night Before.

[@thevigils]

I have Permanent Record on my list as well. Personally, I think it's Keanu's strongest performance. The Night Before is very fun!

[@KRhetor]

Oh damn, I wish I read your comment before I made mine! I'm surprised Permanent Record isn't required viewing in high schools everywhere.

[@ainslie187]

Nice, I’ve heard of eight of these titles, six of which I have seen. A few lesser known 80’s movie recommendations: - Local Hero (1983) - Housekeeping (1987) - Another Woman (1988) - All the Vermeers in New York (1990) * A year late for this category but it’s a great, unknown indie film, I _really_ like it. - Risky Business (1983) * I know everyone has heard of this but I don’t think many people under 35 have seen it, having probably written it off as a corny teen sex movie (featuring Tom Cruise to boot!). It’s quite beautiful actually, deals with some pretty serious themes and has a foreboding, melancholy feel. The soundtrack is also outstanding. I suggest watching the director’s cut ending, it strikes a better tone than the theatrical version. Criterion just released it this year as a matter of fact.

[@r2aul]

😍😍😍 Local Hero!!!!

[@ainslie187]

@@r2aul Great movie, I watched the rest of Bill Forsyth’s filmography in the last year and while there are a couple good ones _Local Hero_ is easily my favorite, _Housekeeping_ is really good, very melancholy though. _Comfort and Joy_ has some of that Scottish charm and warmth, and Mark Knopfler on the soundtrack, but it’s kind of scattershot. Still worth seeing if you love LH.

[@bradleeclegg9988]

Enough things I knew to make me interested in the ones I haven't seen. I saw the thumbnail and thought, "That's River's Edge and Mephisto". I've seen about half of these. Another French one to add is 'Au revoir, les enfants" ( Goodbye, children) from Louis Malle.

[@jekbot]

Cool list! I've seen half of these and the others I haven't even heard of, adding them to the to be watched list, thanks!

[@w.iraheta3769]

Mephisto is fantastic. Solid list, there are a few I need to check out. Thank you.

[@markpawziuk1449]

Thanks for this list! A few other 80s films I'd recommend are Cutter's Way, The Company of Wolves, and Danton.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

yes, good ones. A lot of people like Cutter's Way. I didn't, yet it's worth checking out for anybody reading. Danton, too.

[@bacarandii]

"River's Edge" and "Paperhouse" were on my list of favorite movies of the decade that I made at the end of 1989. Tim Hunter wrote "Over the Edge" and "Tex" (which he also directed) and went on to direct some of the best television ever: "Twin Peaks," "Mad Men," "Deadwood," "Breaking Bad," "Hannibal"... Dennis Hopper's performance in "River's Edge" is actually richer and more disturbing than his acclaimed turn as Frank in "Blue Velvet," which came out the same year. "Paperhouse" director Bernard Rose is probably better known for "Candyman" and "Immortal Beloved."

[@taker68]

I must be in the 1% cause I've seen 15 of those, heard of 1 more so you did give me 4 films that are new to me. Underrated 80s films for me: After Hours, Streets of Fire, Repo Man, Angel Heart, To Live and Die in LA, Local Hero, Near Dark, Blow Out, Testament, The Ballad of Narayama, Lost in America.

[@thevigils]

You listed a lot of my personal favorites! I'm a Streets of Fire fanatic!

[@andydufresnefromshawshank5866]

I was surprised that you didn’t put Gallipoli (1981) on here, you love that film and it’s not very well known

[@KRhetor]

Wow...a list of Eighties movies that's actually geared towards thinking adults. I would replace River's Edge which is a major cult movie among Gen-Xers, with another excellent Keanu Reeves film, Permanent Record, a movie that SHOULD be watched by parents and teenagers everywhere. My personal favorite "unknown" movie from the decade is La Lectrice starring Miou-Miou.

[@yowspisaac6113]

I watched River’s Edge for the first time a month ago and it really is a great tale depicting American culture in the 80’s. Thats probably why I liked Kids 1995 so much too, the way those 2 films can show kind of the culture growing up in America. Making those 2 films relatable in a sense with the character development

[@bossfan49]

If you liked Kids, check out Mid90s (2018). It was written and directed by Jonah Hill....inspired by Kids.

[@yowspisaac6113]

@@bossfan49 I’m very much aware of that film, I am very biased towards it from the trailer and many clips I’ve seen of it. I haven’t watched it before but personally don’t think I’ll ever give it a shot.

[@Riddlemewalker]

One movie I have not heard mentioned often, is The Navigator a Medieval Odyssey 1988.

[@KnightlyHouse]

Great list. growing up in the 80's some of these are familiar. The Return of Martin Guerre is based on the book, The Wife of Martin Guerre by Janet Lewis, and yes we studied it in Early Modern History. my fav lost 80's classics are, After Hours directed by Martin Scorsese, Prick up your Ears with Gary Oldman, and Valley Girl with Nick Cage. cheers

[@caligari89]

Le retour de Martin Guerre was remade as Sommersby with Richard Gere if I'm not mistaken. One that I would add is Mark Romanek's Static. Unfortunately only available on vhs and since he disowned the movie it'll probably stay that way. Which is a shame cos it's just begging for an upgrade.

[@maghurt]

I've seen a few of these and heard of a few more, but I now have some movies to track down and enjoy. Thank you

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome.

[@pourquoicbon]

You had me at Kin-Dza-Dza. Great list! My contribution: Zerograd, another brilliant off-beat Soviet satirical comedy from the 80s. Smart, beautiful, funny, nightmarish, unforgettable.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@bossfan49]

Very glad to see True Stories on there. I've tried to get it through on many of these reactor channels. I got it on a poll once, but it didn't do well. I've also tried to get people to react to The Commitments, but they always lose to Blues Brothers, Spinal Tap. etc....the ones you'd expect.

[@seabrook1976]

I just watched Prince of the City based off of this video’s recommendation. I absolutely loved that movie and I look forward to watching more of these films you’ve recommended. Well done and thank you for introducing me to a great great flick. 👍

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@IggyGoesPop666]

If you liked Prince of the City try the following ... Q&A with Nick Nolte from 1990 ... Fort Apache the Bronx with Paul Newman from 1981

[@thevigils]

Great list! You featured some of my personal favorites on there (Withnail and I, River's Edge, Birdy, True Stories) and turned me on to a few that I will definitely be checking out...Here's my short list of "Other Top 1980's Movies You've (Probably) Never Heard Of" Powwow Highway, Native American buddy/road movie (released by Handmade Films, who also released Withnail and I)...Permanent Record, a teen suicide drama, also starring a young Keanu Reeves...The Loveless, Kathryn Bigelow's co-directorial debut, a biker arthouse film, Willem Dafoe's first starring role...Breaking Glass, starring Hazel O'Connor, cautionary tale about the rise and fall of a punk/new wave star in late 70's London...Dogs in Space, starring Michael Hutchence of INXS fame, inspired by true events surrounding a shared house in the late 70's Melbourne punk scene...Miracle Mile, Anthony Edwards, Mare Winningham, biggest first-act plot twist/tonal shift since Psycho. DO NOT read anything about this or watch a trailer going into it. For fans of Scorsese's After Hours...Bagdad Cafe, not that obscure, but a lot of people I know haven't seen it, a beautiful, charming film about unlikely friendships in the California desert...I could go on...

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you. You know your stuff.

[@thevigils]

@@LearningaboutMovies I do love this stuff. But like I said, you gave me a handful of "new" films to check out that I'd never heard of, so thank you! I'm glad I stumbled upon your video.

[@AndyKing1963]

Cheers, I've only seen 8 of these. I can thoroughly recommend 'Threads' (bleak doesn't even start to cover it and the ending is jaw dropping), 'Lennigrad Cowboys' (one of Aki's best IMHO), 'Moonlighting' (brilliant and thought provoking), 'Something Wild', 'Seventh Continent' (more bleakness and doesn't let you off the hook) and 'Withnail and I' (yes, set in London and then later in the Lake District in Northern England) - nearly everyline is quotable, and Richard E Grant is fantastic as a drunk, but having said that all of the cast is superb.

[@mariawesley7583]

"The Mosquito Coast" - Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix, Martha Plimpton

[@djdulerep]

I wached 3 from list, amazing ideas for films on your channel ! Thank You !

[@DonaldAMisc]

Thanks for continuing to make videos like these! I've discovered many hidden gems thanks to your channel! 😊

[@LearningaboutMovies]

great, glad to help!

[@eily_b]

Very good movies recommended. I actually saw the Leningrad Cowboys a few times playing live in the early 90s. They were a lot of fun. _The return of Martin Guerre_ sounds like the original movie to the one with Jody Foster and Richard Gere: Sommersby.

[@maryjobst]

Nicholas Meyer and Anthony Shaffer, the authors of "Sommersby", based their American Civil War story, which came out in 1993, on "The Return of Martin Guerre".

[@savethezombies]

Great list but needs a Jarmush and my favorite unheard of 80s movie since I was a kid, Midnight Madness. It's not an art film, it's Disney's attempt at a raunchy college comedy about an all night scavenger hunt and ends up being a really good kids movie. It inspired the business that later inspired the 90s movie The Game.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

Thanks though I did a whole video on Jarmusch whom I revere.

[@Mooseman327]

One of the most overlooked films in the history of cinema has to be Jon Amiel's magical first film, 1989's Queen of Hearts. For some reason, it is not available in DVD Region 1 which may explain why I'm one of the few people in America who has seen it. It was in the art theaters for a week or two and then disappeared. For now, it's only available on VHS! Go WAY out of your way to see it. You're welcome!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you for this! I'll look into it

[@Grombags]

When I first saw the title of this video my immediate thought was Birdy! It's one of my all-time favourite films and has been since it was released. The ending - I totally know what you mean. I'm surprised that with being set and filmed in the US with American actors that it isn't better known over there even with a British director.

[@TheNightBadger]

Great list - seen most. Here's one I think doesn't get mentioned enough, 'The Bay Boy' starring a young Keifer Sutherland. About a boy in 1930's Canada who witnesses a murder (it's mostly a coming of age movie).

[@ashurmom2969]

I love Paperhouse, got it on vhs back in the day

[@MICKEY-q3z]

FANTASTIC LIST! Well, well done! It's shocking to me that Manon of the Spring/Jean de Florette is not better known and not more universally revered! Perhaps its two parts put people off? I'd also humbly aim you toward two other excellent if half-forgotten '80s films: Starstruck ('82, part of the Australian New Wave) and Time Stands Still ('82, Hungarian Cold War coming of age tale). Not sure if either are available on DVD, alas.

[@tom_abbott]

Maybe you've already heard of them, but definitely add "on the silver globe" and "the emporers naked army marches on" to your watchlist!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@KatStephen]

I thought it was awesome that you had Kin Dza Dza on your list. Really cool stuff. I always thought of Terry Gilliam when I watched it. Deaf Crocodile released it on blu-ray earlier this year. Their website says that it's sold out, but that they have more copies on the way. Also, I dare you to do a video on Bela Tarr's Sátántangó. I have a copy and have always been afraid to press play on it. LOL. Keep up the great work.

[@MosesWine]

Interesting list. A few blinspots for me. Some of these I would not say are unheard of. Threads, Withnail and I, Rivers Edge, True Stories, Something Wild and Prince of the City are all fairly well known in the cinephile community and I would actually go as far to call them classics. They're all pretty accessible too. Withnail just got a 4k! They're just not known to the general public.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@keefer-k8266]

Interesting list. Never heard of Kin-dza-dza! and Paperhouse but will add them to my watch list. Can't argue with your top pick(s). Definitely one/two of the greatest films of the decade. I would add another film starring Klaus Maria Brandauer, Colonel Redl, and two Michelle Pfeiffer movies, Married to the Mob (with the always great Dean Stockwell), and The Fabulous Baker Boys featuring the Bridges brothers. For the latter film, Pfeiffer won "best actress" from virtually every critics group only to lose the Oscar to Jessica Tandy.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@CultureDTCTV]

Rouge is a fantastic pick! It stars 2 of the biggest stars in Hong Kong history and Stanley Kwan is the first openly gay director in Hong Kong, his film Center Stage is an excellent biopic starring Maggie Cheung, also really worth checking out

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@andrewbutthead3606]

Great list. Would suggest: Drowning by numbers, Pennies from Heaven (I think it was popular in the day, but hard to see now), Miracle Mile, Time of the gypsies, barfly, Salvador, Starstruck, the year my voice broke, the Border, Matewan, local Hero, Gregory's girl, 8 million ways to die, year of the jellyfish (purely for the visuals).

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@efrenpuente3254]

Miracle Mile👍🏽👍🏽 Pennies From Heaven👍🏽👍🏽

[@ainslie187]

_Local Hero_ it’s one of my all-time top 10 favorites.

[@Cookieboymonster1962]

Excellent list, worth mentioning that if the plot of The Return of Martin Guerre sounds familiar it may be because it was remade in Hollywood as Sommersby starring Jodie Foster and Richard Gere.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

really? Didn't know that!

[@dustinabraham]

I've heard of a lot of these, but I've only seen 3 of them (Threads, River's Edge, and Birdy). I recommend Threads to everyone I see who likes movies. It's so incredible. Off the top of my head I would say maybe Santa Sangre, Thief, After Hours, Blood Simple, Angel Heart... but maybe those are too well known?

[@deraykrause4517]

Nice. I've seen 10 of these. I got some homework to do. Thank you, sir.

[@bencesarvari2235]

Mwphisto is great. I'm hungarian so I knew it from the thumbnail.

[@brooklineg7727]

I would load it up with Nicholas Roeg movies -- 1. Bad Timing 2. Insignificance 3. Sweet Bird of Youth 4. Track 29.... and one Wadja - Danton

[@localcrew]

“Near Dark”. Modern day vampires. Bill Paxton. Kathryn Bigelow. Awesome.

[@rudyciavarro]

thanks. just put two on hold from library. a little known gem and fun social satire from the 80's also starring the venerable Richard Grant is: How to get ahead in advertising... going to spring for withnail and i, never even heard of it!

[@citizenVader]

I knew about half. Luc Besson was quite active in the eighties, so I can recommend you watch his work from that decade.

[@gidgetmaurer123]

Ive seen and loved most of your list. Id mention Matewan, Eight Men Out, Time of the Gypsies, Vagabond and My Life as a Dog

[@bossfan49]

I've tried to get many reactors to watch Eight Men Out. I've gotten it on baseball polls but it always loses to Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, A League of their Own, The Sandlot (all of which I enjoy), and of course Major League. Ugh. By the time those get weeded out the reactor is bored with baseball.

[@thundercheeks1989]

Enjoyed this! A great list. Embarassed to say I still havent seen Jean de Florette/Monon de sources, so I'm gonna take this as a sign to jump on it. Some movies I love from that decade: Smooth Talk Miracle Mile Modern Girls Tokyo Pop Pieces(!!) Handgun (alternate title: Deep in the Heart) And my favorite movie of the 80s: The Hitcher Not unknown by any means, but there are some gems there. Subscribed and looking forward to discovering more movies!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thanks for the recs!

[@m.scottmcgahan9900]

The best unknown movie of the 80s IMHO is Split (1989) directed by Chris Shaw. Runner up: Twister (1989) directed by Michael Almereyda.

[@oaktreeman4369]

Here's another one for your list, if you haven't already covered it: "The Lives of Others", set in East Germany in the months leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The minor key tone is sustained beautifully throughout. Even the "happy ending" is in a minor key.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you. I believe "Lives" is a much newer movie, though, and not 1980s. Everybody should try that one.

[@cliffyoung4612]

Liquid Sky is a lot of fun. Great soundtrack too.

[@Kwolfx]

"Delicious, delicious. Oh, how boring." I saw Liquid Sky when it came out. I think me and maybe three other people in a theatre. It was definitely different.

[@Mooseman327]

@@Kwolfx I saw it. Fun, different, and with a good soundtrack kind of sums it up.

[@Wolfman1491]

Your channel is a gateway to Hidden Gems, thanks for adding several more movies to my already gargantuan list.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome

[@jeffcloser2814]

Some really good ones on your list."At Close Range "good movie.

[@ForARide]

Some of my favs on here: Birdy, Mephisto and Something Else, which I haven't seen since it's release back in the 80s. Would love to see it again, especially due to the fact, that my all time fave musician John Cale wrote the musical score (also American Psycho). Other great 80s films I'd like to mention here: - The Dresser (1983) starring Tom Courtenay and Albert Finney - Fitzcaraldo (1982) by Werner Herzog starring Klaus Kinski - Koyaanisqatsi (1982) music by Philip Glass - Alice (1988) semi-animated film by Jan Ṣ̌vankmajer - Dressed To Kill (1980) and Scarface (1983), both by Brian De Palma - Blood Simple (1984) by the Coen brothers - Stop Making Sense (1984) legendary Talking Heads film by Jonathan Demme

Obscure but awesome and they are far less known than any other list I have seen.

[@JCG52577]

We’ll see how many it takes before there’s one I’ve heard of… Took four. More than I thought it would!!

[@Amm1ttai]

Jean De Florette and Manon of the Spring are my FAVORITE movies. I've read the novel Birdy but never watched the movie. However, if the soundtrack is by Peter Gabriel then I simply must watch it.

[@biffstrong1079]

Whew, Something Wild, first one I'd heard of and seen and liked. Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers. I liked Scanners and Repo Man. Videodrome. Big Cronenberg fan Prince of the City was one of my buddies favourite movies.

[@dapamico1]

Thanks for the video. I’ve seen two of these and heard of one or two others! I don’t know what counts as unknown (obviously subjective), but I would nominate Fitzcarraldo and My Dinner with Andre.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

you're welcome. good picks there.

[@caupain66]

The river’s edge!!! Saw that on the thumbnail!

[@Grombags]

Withnail and I - another one of my favourite films and definitely pretty well known in the UK.

[@roberthaynes8830]

The Return of Martin Guerre was, of course, remade for English audiences as the 1993 Richard Gere film Sommersby.

[@BiggestMikey]

Duuuuude! I was so happy you mentioned Lumet's PRINCE OF THE CITY and even better its your #3. I love it so much and I personally feel its the best of Lumet's police corruption movies (Serpico + Q&A)

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

I liked Greenaway's "Drowning by Numbers" and Michael Nyman's soundtracks.....There's a movie I hope you get to is one about a village in the Alps where they have to be very quiet all the time (it might've been a 1990's film, actually). Also "The Hairdresser's Husband.... "Something Wild" is very well-known, I'm surprised it's on here. It's a popular cult film. In my film history class in the 1990's they spent a whole class talking about it. When the teacher said we were going to see it, everyone cheered (I had not heard of it at the time.)

[@CcJjGg_]

Thanks for the recommendations. Your channel kicks ass

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@eddenoy321]

One of the most overlooked movies of the 00's was "Tyrannosaur" . Not that many people have seen it. Back to the 80's, 'Withnail and I' is a terrific film , just a lot of fun and superb cast. I am halfway through 'Threads' it's very interesting , sort of like 'The Day After' but set in England. Enjoyed this compilation , thank you. The great thing is that most of these are easy to find and watch online at no extra charge !

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@caligari89]

Love Moonlighting. Check that director's The lightship. Really worth tracking down.

[@BigBenn2014]

Threads. Deffo a first date movie. And ‘When the Wind Blows.’ Cartoon perfection.

[@dragonbillylee4781]

"Withnal and I" is very famous in Britain. Also, here in Ireland. Great movie!

[@LearningaboutMovies]

I've recently discovered in music that the Atlantic Ocean has been a massive divide. Must be true in movies too, of which I know that "Withnail" is one. In the US, I am not sure many people know about it. All the Lebowski fans in my life might like "Withnail" too.

[@dragonbillylee4781]

@LearningaboutMovies We share far more than we don't. Here's a great movie from Ireland (only massively famous in Ireland), "The Snapper". Based on a book from Roddy Doyle. Who also wrote The Commitments, I assume that was a biggish movie in the US? I don't know if you could even get a copy of The Snapper, but it is a massive movie here. It was made in the early/mid 90s. It is very Irish though, if it would travel the Atlantic, I'm not sure.

[@uno3560]

Missing(1983) is ironically missing

[@LearningaboutMovies]

it's worth mentioning. I put it in other 80s lists I've made somewhere on this channel!

[@TheCraitor]

I’ve seen Birdy and Jean de Florette /Mannon of the Spring , loved both

[@andrewfurlong5914]

FYI, Kin-Dza-Dza is available from Deaf Crocodile.

[@dontwalkdontrun]

I have to recommend some truly upsetting films I was fortunate enough to see in college. Turtles Can Flight and White Light Black Rain.

[@ricardomoriya1213]

Great list... but wait, there's more: Permanent Record 1988, Dreamchild 1985, Shy People 1987, Staying Together 1989, and Best Seller 1987.

[@LearningaboutMovies]

thank you

[@KRhetor]

I finally caught with Best Seller, and really enjoyed it. I'm surprised it took me so long considering I'm a Larry Cohen fan and it features two of my very favorite actors, James Woods and Brian Dennehy.

[@Lesjohnson75]

Great list, I’d add Motorama (if you like True Stories) Lair of the White Worm and Altered States.

[@TheTrashStash]

there's a good one to check out from the 80's called the karate kid! its about a kid who learns how to kick bullys!

[@jcam1911]

I watched Threads last night after seeing this video, wow, definitely affecting, thanks for the recommendation!

[@yvehooson9262]

Up to River’s Edge and I’ve seen 7 so far. As someone who was into films from the 80’s onward, a lot of these were relatively well known at the time. Up to 9 now (Birdy). BTW, Threads traumatised a a whole generation of children in the UK - it was shown on the TV! 😂

[@Cap683]

Threads can be found on KZbin in it's entirety.