1980s Drama Movies
The 40 most popular 1980s drama movies on Flickfolio, ranked by popularity. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.

Lola's Secret
1984 · 1h 28m
country: Italy
A young man's dreams come true when the sexy new maid seduces him. But she has a secret that leads to trouble.

The Sparrow's Fluttering
1988 · 1h 35m
country: Italy
A woman, who has been the mistress of a man who has just died, thinks about leaving the little Italian village where they lived and moving to another place. An old and rich man offers her a place in his house, however, she will have to listen to him telling his past love stories.

Top Gun
1986 · 1h 50m
country: United States
For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

Woman in the Moon
1988 · 1h 30m
country: Italy
An Italian-American woman traveling to Sicily picks up a teenager who claims to be in trouble with some drug dealers.

Modori River
1983 · 2h 17m
country: Japan
The story of Takeha, a free-spirited genius poet who lived through Taisho Romanticism, and the women who gave themselves over to his ambitions.

Dead Poets Society
1989 · 2h 9m
country: United States
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.

Stand and Deliver
1988 · 1h 43m
country: United States
Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into some of the country's top algebra and calculus students.

Blade Runner
1982 · 1h 58m
country: United States
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

Scarface
1983 · 2h 50m
country: United States
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.

Once Upon a Time in America
1984 · 3h 49m
country: United States
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

First Blood
1982 · 1h 33m
country: United States
When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.

Exploits of a Young Don Juan
1986 · 1h 40m
country: France
In 1914, sixteen year old Roger returned home from boarding school during vacation to find his puberty hit hard in a house filled with beautiful women. These women have previous engagements with other men who are away, and during this time, Roger impregnates them all, including his aunt and sister, then devises plans to cuckold the men.

Morning Moon Is Cruel
1981 · 1h 38m
country: Japan
A small-time gofer gets his dream car while running hush money for his boss's counterfeit empire, picks up a jilted singer at the airport along the way, and ends up the last man standing in everyone's love life but his own.

Cinema Paradiso
1988 · 2h 4m
country: Italy
A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Dirty Dancing
1987 · 1h 40m
country: United States
Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.

Stand by Me
1986 · 1h 29m
country: United States
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.

On the Beach
1985 · 1h 7m
country: Japan
In a summer in Shonan village, Sumiko is the daughter of an important upper-class Shikishima family, she loves to paint pictures, is going through a cooling-off of an arranged marriage that did not work out. However, she feels attraction for Nishina a rough and obscene man ... On the other hand, the younger sister, Naomi Sumiko is envious of her sister for her beauty. Naomi feels ugly since all men seem to like Sumiko. Both sisters then become embroiled in a major problem in discovering the real intentions of Nishina, a man who hides behind a mask to rape women.

Full Metal Jacket
1987 · 1h 57m
country: United Kingdom
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

The Spring Outside the Fence
1985 · 1h 52m
country: Taiwan
The rebellious and free-spirited Li Lin and the introverted Wu Ai-hua are best friends who grow up together in the military dependents' village. However, they both fall in love with pilot He Kang, their mutual childhood friend. After He Kang is killed in a crash, the village only reminds the heartbroken girls of the tragedy. They escape to Taipei and work as hostess and accountant, earning a living from American soldiers on leave from Vietnam. The girls reunite with Michael, an American flight instructor, at the club. Michael ardently pursues Li Lin, but struggling to forget He Kang, Li Lin rejects Michael' s proposal. Having taken different paths, the two girls eventually return to their childhood village, reminiscing about the bonds of the past.

Bosco d'amore
1981 · 1h 53m
country: Italy
The time is the mid-14th century --- the Pope is now residing at Avignon, the Black Death is killing millions across Europe, and civil wars are adding to the turmoil and chaos. In this story adapted from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, a young teenage couple is sent to live in a nearby town by the man's uncle, in an attempt to keep them safe from harm. She is from the lower classes, and he comes from a noble family -- a family that opposes his choice of a future bride. While en route to the town, the couple's horses are stolen and they are forced to continue through the forest on foot -- at a pace that introduces them to a kaleidoscope of Boccaccio's characters, from masters of mysticism, to soldiers of the warring Papal armies. Somehow, the couple manage to get through this gauntlet of sorts, and they do marry. Just as they are ready to go back to Rome, they hear that there is an insurrection in the offing, and suddenly, their brief spate of stability is threatened again.

Rain Man
1988 · 2h 14m
country: United States
When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.

The Boy Who Could Fly
1986 · 1h 54m
country: United States
Milly and Louis, and their recently-widowed mom, Charlene, move to a new neighborhood. Once there, they all deal with a variety of personal problems, but Milly finds a friend in Eric, her autistic next door neighbor. Eric has a fascination with flight, and as the story progresses, he exerts an enthralling force of change on all those around him.

Nun in Rope Hell
1984 · 1h 9m
country: Japan
A woman gets caught by the wife of her lover which results in a stabbing. Feeling guilty she runs away and joins a nunnery. But she soon discovers that several nuns and a well known author have turned the place into their own personal S&M playground.

Das Boot
1981 · 2h 30m
country: Germany
A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

My Pussy is the Best
1982 · 1h 30m
country: Spain
A young girl interned in reformatory lives the lesbian relationship with another partner, which makes her an object of desire ...

The Karate Kid
1984 · 2h 7m
country: United States
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.

Sa Bang-ji
1988 · 1h 34m
country: South Korea
Sa Bangji was an intersex person who according to historical records lived during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty. Taken in by a kindly benefactor, Sa Bangji lives in a monastery that is one day visited by a young widow, Lee So-sa, who is in mourning following the death of her husband. The pair’s meeting seems predestined, with the erotic attraction between Sa Bangji and Lee So-sa soon evolving into something far more transcendent – and dangerous. While aspects of the film – its stylised depiction of female actors and sex – identify it as a product of its time, Sa Bangji is undeniably a milestone in screen representations of intersex people, a film that refuses to shy away from the horrendous stigmatization faced by its titular character.

The Breakfast Club
1985 · 1h 38m
country: United States
Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Platoon
1986 · 2h
country: United Kingdom
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

Bloodsport
1988 · 1h 32m
country: United States
An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.

Paris, Texas
1984 · 2h 25m
country: United Kingdom
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

The Outsiders
1983 · 1h 31m
country: United States
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.

The Punisher
1989 · 1h 29m
country: Australia
The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. His ex-partner believes Castle survived the blast and became the Punisher, living in the sewers and exacting vigilante violence against mob bosses throughout the city. When the populace is caught in the midst of a gang war that he caused, Castle must again emerge from the shadows and save the innocent.

Nine 1/2 Weeks
1986 · 1h 57m
country: United States
An erotic story about a woman, the assistant of an art gallery, who gets involved in an impersonal affair with a man. She barely knows about his life, only about the sex games they play, so the relationship begins to get complicated.

Rocky IV
1985 · 1h 31m
country: United States
Rocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. This time, Rocky's training regimen takes him to Siberia, where he prepares for a globally televised match in the heart of Moscow. But nothing can truly prepare him for what he's about to face – a fight to the finish, in which he must defend not only himself, but also the honor of his country!

Yu Pui Tsuen II
1987 · 1h 30m
country: Hong Kong
Before Michael Mak’s Sex And Zen became a cult favourite in the ’90s, there was Ho Fan’s Yu Pui Tsuen (The Carnal Prayer Mat, 1987). But without sex bomb Amy Yip, coarse humour or lesbian love affairs, Yu Pui Tsuen had to rely on the nudity and sex from his cast of relative unknowns to save the day. When a young man dreams that he drowns after a night of carnal passion, he asks a buddhist monk to translate the experience for him. The monk replies that the dream is a warning not to indulge the pleasures of the flesh to excess, but the man ignores his advice, marrying a virgin and making love to her constantly. However, after several torrid affairs, the man begins to realise the sagacity of the monk's warning.

Amadeus
1984 · 2h 40m
country: United States
Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The Blue Lagoon
1980 · 1h 44m
country: United States
Two small children and a ship's cook survive a shipwreck and find safety on an idyllic tropical island. Soon, however, the cook dies and the young boy and girl are left on their own. Days become years and Emmeline and Richard make a home for themselves surrounded by exotic creatures and nature's beauty. But will they ever see civilization again?

Rocky III
1982 · 1h 40m
country: United States
Following Rocky Balboa's intense battle with his most powerful adversary yet – the ferocious Clubber Lang – Rocky joins forces with former rival Apollo Creed in an effort to get back his fighting spirit.

Big
1988 · 1h 44m
country: United States
When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big—he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight. But he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.