Reagan-era nostalgia reached its apex with Stranger Things because the 1980s are iconic for a reason.
Something shifted in the pop culture landscape with the emergence of MTV and home video games, and cinema was right up there with producing defining media that has stood the test of time.
So, Watch With Us put together a list of our favorite ’80s masterpieces and where you can watch them right now. Picks include Stanley Kubrick’s iconic Stephen King adaptation, and the film made Tony Montana a household name.
Read on to see which films we chose!
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‘Scarface’ (1983)
Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino) arranges a deal to receive a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban official. He arrives in Miami during the Mariel boatlift and starts a new life for himself in the United States, staking a claim in the drug trade. By being a ruthless killer, Tony becomes the top drug lord in Florida — but his preeminence is threatened by the police, other drug cartels, and his own unraveling mind as he descends into a drug-induced paranoia.
Scarface was extremely controversial upon its release, but it’s those very controversies that made it a smash hit at the box office. Its excessive violence, profanity, sexuality and drug use got audiences into theater seats, and critical consensus has turned towards the film’s favor as the years have gone on. It’s now considered to be a classic gangster film on top of featuring one of Pacino’s most memorable performances. “Say hello to my little friend” is legendary for a reason.
Watch Scarface now on Netflix.
‘The Shining’ (1980)
While Stephen King has famously objected to director Stanley Kubrick’s cinematic interpretation of the horror author’s masterpiece, The Shining, that hasn’t stopped cinema lovers and critics alike from regarding it as one of the best horror films of all time. Upon release, it received mixed reactions from critics and even received two Golden Raspberry awards, but has since been reappraised. Not only a horror classic, it frequently appears on lists of the “greatest films of all time.”
Family man Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) takes on the task of presiding over the Overlook Hotel in Colorado during its winter offseason, bringing along his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd) for a little getaway. But the hotel has a dark history and a sinister presence that encompasses everything in its wake, and Jack quickly finds himself taken in by its spell. In the meantime, Danny explores a strange supernatural gift he bears with the hotel’s head chef, Dick Hallorann (Scatman Crothers).
Watch The Shining now on HBO Max.
‘Raising Arizona’ (1987)
The Coen brothers’ second feature film is a comic crime caper starring Nicolas Cage as a felon who romances the police officer who takes his mugshot (Holly Hunter). Some films just don’t get the acclaim they deserve when they are first released, and Raising Arizona is one of just many of these types of films. While critics didn’t really know what to make of the film’s irreverent tone, quirky dialogue and perceived self-consciousness, the film has since been regarded as a masterful showcase of the directors’ best skills in madcap comedy with a criminal bent.
When ex-con H.I. (Cage) marries policewoman Ed (Hunter), they discover that they can’t conceive a child. Unable to adopt due to H.I.’s criminal past, H.I. decides to appease Ed’s desire to have a family by stealing one baby from a set of quintuplets. However, the baby’s father is a powerful regional furniture magnate, and a bounty hunter (John Goodman) decides to get the baby back for him.
Watch Raising Arizona now on Hulu.
‘The Terminator’ (1984)
A cyborg assassin called a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels back in time from 2029 to the year 1984 in order to kill a woman named Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). In the future, Connor’s son saves the human race from Skynet, a murderous artificial intelligence, and the Terminator has been sent on their behalf. To help her escape him is Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a member of the resistance against Skynet sent back in time to protect her.
The Terminator is handily one of the most quintessential American action films (though, ironically, it was directed by Canadian James Cameron). The film’s instant box office success provided the launching pad for Schwarzenegger’s career as a bonafide leading man. While the critical response to the film at the time was decidedly mixed, many now consider it to be one of the best sci-fi films ever made. More than just blockbuster fluff, Cameron’s skill as a filmmaker is on full display in a film that thrills as much as it does because of the craft behind it.
Watch The Terminator now on Amazon Prime Video.
‘Aliens’ (1986)
Ridley Scott introduced us to the terror of the Xenomorphs in his captivating blend of horror and sci-fi, and James Cameron follows it up by switching gears entirely. Cameron helmed the second film in the Alien franchise, pivoting from an atmospheric haunted house in space to a guns-blazing, female-led action flick. While the shift was stark, many consider Aliens to be superior to its predecessor. The exciting screenplay, dynamic action and engaging world-building opened up the Alien franchise to new possibilities that continue to bear fruit in 2025.
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Aliens brings back Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of the wreckage of the Nostramo, who has been in cryo-stasis on the shuttlecraft she escaped on for 57 years. She’s rescued and awakened by her Weyland-Yutani Corporation employers, who doubt the truth of her tale of the Xenomorph. But when a rescue mission on a failed terraforming colony finds alien facehuggers, they’re gonna have to start believing her.
