Top 10 Movies From The ‘80s On HBO Max, Ranked According To Rotten Tomatoes

“It’s not TV, it’s HBO.” That was the slogan for the popular network for several decades and it’s one that worked. HBO was known for delivering high-quality films that made it so it was the next best thing to actually going to the movie theater. The release of HBO Max has only added to that concept.

While the streaming service has landed a mega deal with Warner Bros. to include same-day releases of 2021 films, they also have a tremendous back catalog. There are some great films from the past available right now, including some of the best released during the 1980s. For this list, only films certified as fresh with enough reviews on Rotten Tomatoes will be considered.

10 My Neighbor Totoro (94%)

It’s almost impossible for any list like this to be made without including Hayao Miyazaki films. The Japanese filmmaker has crafted some of the most beloved animated movies of all time, always including gorgeous visuals, unique characters, and tons of imagination.

1988’s My Neighbor Totoro might be the most famous of his work. The plot sees two sisters befriend spirits from their local woods, including Totoro, who has become something of a mascot for Studio Ghibli. The heartwarming film has become iconic over the years.

9 A Nightmare On Elm Street (94%)

Speaking of something iconic, Freddy Kruger basically goes hand in hand with the entire horror genre. The legendary slasher made his debut in 1984 with A Nightmare on Elm Street. The story sees teenagers in Ohio haunted by a killer who can invade their dreams.

Grossing $57 million on a small $1.8 million budget, this became a massive hit that spawned several sequels. As noted, Freddy became a symbol but this also helped launch the careers of horror great Wes Craven and blockbuster actor Johnny Depp, who debuted in this film.

8 Die Hard (94%)

Like the previous entry, Die Hard was a movie that was such a huge hit it went on to lead to an entire franchise. Released in 1988, Die Hard stars Bruce Willis as John McClane, a New York cop visiting his wife at her Los Angeles skyscraper job when a hostage situation breaks out.

Not only is Die Hard considered one of the finest action flicks ever made, but it’s also among the list of the greatest Christmas movies in history. Alan Rickman’s performance as Hans Gruber made for a fantastic villain and helped set the stage for an ’80s classic.

7 Blood Simple (94%)

These days, the Coen Brothers are about as iconic a filmmaking duo as you can find. They’ve made memorable flicks like Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and No Country for Old Men, just to name a few. Their first film together was Blood Simple.

Released in 1984, the brothers wrote, produced, and directed this together though only Joel is credited as director, while Ethan was credited as the sole producer. Blood Simple focuses on a bartender and his boss in the midst of a love triangle. This also marked the film debut of Frances McDormand, a frequent collaborator of The Coen Brothers.

6 This Is Spinal Tap (95%)

It seems like the genre of mockumentary really became popular during the 2000s thanks to shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation. However, a case could be made that the best mockumentary ever created came way back in 1984 with This is Spinal Tap.

Written and directed by Rob Reiner, the film tells the story of a fictional heavy metal band. It was praised for its humor and how well the mostly improvised dialogue came off. Though it wasn’t a hit initially, it gained popularity as a cult classic and is now a pop culture staple. Everyone these days knows where “Turn it up to eleven” came from.

5 Aliens (97%)

In 1979, the world was introduced to Alien and it changed the game. The sci-fi horror holds up to this day and is both terrifying and visually stunning. It took seven years for a sequel to arrive and this time it was taken over by James Cameron, who was fresh off of making The Terminator.

This 1986 blockbuster continued Cameron’s winning streak and may have been even better than the original. Aliens follows Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) as she returns to the site of the first film’s events with another crew. This shifted the focus from horror to action and worked because of that.

4 Kiki’s Delivery Service (98%)

Once again, it’s something from the wonderful mind of Hayao Miyazaki. Coming out just a year after My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service is not as widely known as the former. However, it did score slightly better with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Another gorgeous and heartwarming film, Kiki’s Delivery Service focuses on a young witch who uses her flying skills to earn money as a delivery girl. Like the rest of Miyazaki’s work, this was eventually adapted to English, though it came with more changes to various aspects than some others.

3 My Left Foot (98%)

It’s no secret that Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the greatest actors to ever appear on the big screen. The man is a rare three-time Best Actor Oscar winner and he earned the first of those victories for 1989’s My Left Foot for his portrayal of Christy Brown, a man with cerebral palsy.

Brown can only control his left foot, yet he manages to learn how to use it to create works of art. Along with Day-Lewis’ win, Brenda Fricker won Best Supporting Actress. The film lost out for Best Picture but a 2015 poll of Academy members saw that they would vote it over Driving Miss Daisy if given the chance to change their pick.

2 Wings Of Desire (98%)

This 1987 German film is one of the most unique on this list. A romantic fantasy tale, Wings of Desire puts the focus on a pair of invisible angels in Berlin who listen to the population and are there to comfort them and nothing more.

One of the angels falls in love with one of the people and decides to become mortal so he can experience what it’s like to be a human and meet her. Wim Wenders scored a Best Director win at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival with this. If the story sounds familiar, that might be because a U.S. remake, City of Angels, was a pretty big hit in 1998.

1 Tampopo (100%)

If it wasn’t already clear, HBO Max offers up a tremendous array of foreign language films worth your time. Tampopo might be the best of them all. This Japanese comedy film was released in 1985 and was called a “ramen western,” meant to be a play on the spaghetti western genre.

Directed by Juzo Itami, this 1985 movie saw one of the earliest performances from Ken Watanabe, who has gone on to have a strong career. Tampopo centers on a truck driver who decides to help a struggling noodle shop.

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