10 Best 1980s Movies With 100% On Rotten Tomatoes

The 1980s saw the release of some well-known and iconic films, but not all of them have great scores on Rotten Tomatoes and even fewer have perfect scores on the ranking site. Any genre and any film can be given a negative or positive review including documentaries, adaptations, war epics, action, and romance, all of which are included on this list.

It’s difficult for a film to maintain a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes but these films from the 1980s have done it, here are some of the best from the decade!

10 Breaker Morant (1980)

Breaker Morant is a war epic about Australian soldiers in South Africa on trial during the Second Boer War. The film is more of a drama about the trial of the soldiers who are accused of killing several Boer prisoners and a missionary.

Their trial is more political and has higher implications on the Boer War than just the lives of the men and if they are guilty or innocent of the murders they’re on trial for.

9 Henry V (1989)

This Henry V adaptation is a popular and well regarded Shakespeare adaptation. The war epic centers on Henry V of England’s plans to fight with his dwindling army to lay claim to France and marry a Queen who will unite the two kingdoms under his rule.

Kenneth Branagh stars in the film and directs it and brings the grittiness of war to reality in the engaging film. The film documents the highs and the lows of war and the heroic leadership of Henry V as he rallies his troops and strives toward greatness.

8 A Room with a View (1985)

Helena Bonham Carter stars in this romantic and comedic drama that’s based on the novel of the same name. Carter’s Lucy is a young English woman who visits Italy and quickly becomes close to George (Julian Sands) who is carefree and the two have a fun day that sticks with Lucy after she departs home to England and to the reality of another stable and wealthy suitor.

Things become more complicated when George travels to England and Lucy has to choose between the two men in her life.

7 Atlantic City (1980)

Susan Sarandon stars in the dramatic crime film Atlantic City as an ambitious woman, Sally, who moves to Atlantic City to try to make a fortune in the gambling industry. She tries to outrun her criminal ex-husband (Robert Joy), but he continues to find her and cause trouble every time she gets close to success in the new town.

Sally pivots to reach her goals and ends up teaming up with a mobster (Burt Lancaster) to benefit them both, but the two are in more danger than they realize as the film builds up the suspense.

6 The Terminator (1984)

The Terminator is an iconic sci-fi film that stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular assassin sent back in time from the dystopian future to target and kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) to ensure that the nuclear holocaust caused by Skynet does happen.

Sarah is said to have a child, John, who will bring an end to Skynet. It’s a race against time and a fight for survival as the resistance also sends back Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) to protect Connor.

5 Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

Matt Dillon stars as Bob Hughes Drugstore Cowboy as a de facto leader of a random group of drug addicts who have created a tight-knit family as they survive on the streets, travel across the U.S., and robbing convenience stores for money.

Bob decides he wants to quit drugs and get clean, but he finds that is more difficult than it seems when his past family tries to bring him back into the world of crime and drugs.

4 Local Hero (1983)

Local Hero is a romantic comedy that follows an entrepreneur in the oil business who travels to Scotland to quickly settle a business deal. Mac (Peter Riegert) has no ethical issues before he arrives in the small town, but he quickly realizes that he might not be on the right and moral side of the business arrangement when he starts to interact with the people in the town.

Mac has to decide whether or not to do the right thing or anger his boss (Burt Lancaster) and ruin his business future.

3 The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982)

The Draughtsman’s Contract strikes a balance between romance, period drama, thriller, and mystery film.

Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins) is hired onto a wealthy estate to create twelve elaborate illustrations of various landscapes around the location. A simple job turns into a thrilling mystery as the woman of the estate makes sexual advances toward Mr. Neville and the man of the estate is found murdered.

2 Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Grave of the Fireflies is an anti-war film that highlights the devastating aftermath of war and the effects on human life involved in and around the fighting. Teenager Seita looks after his younger sister Setsuko in Japan during World War II.

The two children were separated from their parents after an American attack on Japanese soil and the animated film tells their harrowing and dramatic story of survival.

1 The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

This documentary from Penelope Spheeris delves into the 1970s punk scene in Los Angeles, California. The film balances live concerts and interviews with punk band members, their audiences, and others involved in the subculture at the focus of the documentary.

The documentary serves as a great look into the decade and music culture.

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