MY TOP 95 MOVIES FOR 1989 (in list order)
by DukeEman | created - 06 Jul 2012 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicThe Eighties ends with a different kind of Jesus; the real faces behind the tragic AIDS epidemic, and the sizzling political heat under Spike's bonnet. in list order...
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1. Jesus of Montreal (1989)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
A group of actors put on an unorthodox, but acclaimed Passion Play which incites the opposition of the Catholic Church while the actors' lives themselves begin to mirror the Passion itself.
Director: Denys Arcand | Stars: Lothaire Bluteau, Catherine Wilkening, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, Rémy Girard
Votes: 7,553 | Gross: $1.60M
A cheeky kind of Jesus...
2. Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
79 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A collection of profiles of people dead from AIDS who are remembered in the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Sara Lewinstein, David Mandell, Suzi Mandell, Sallie Perryman
Votes: 1,086
Heart wrenching...
3. Queen of Hearts (1989)
PG | 112 min | Comedy
An Italian couple defy both their families and marry for love. Four children later, they are running a diner in England. Humorous, dramatic, sad -- everything a movie should be.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Vittorio Duse, Joseph Long, Anita Zagaria, Eileen Way
Votes: 548 | Gross: $1.24M
Adorable crazy family...
4. Parenthood (1989)
PG-13 | 124 min | Comedy, Drama
Four Buckman siblings attempt to raise their children - each in their own different style - and deal with the joys and sorrows that the process brings.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest, Jason Robards
Votes: 54,918 | Gross: $100.05M
No such thing as the perfect American family...
5. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
An ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Martin Landau, Woody Allen, Bill Bernstein, Claire Bloom
Votes: 60,815 | Gross: $18.25M
The guilt in all of us...
6. Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
R | 100 min | Drama
A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: James Spader, Andie MacDowell, Peter Gallagher, Laura San Giacomo
Votes: 59,484 | Gross: $24.74M
Welcome Soderbergh...
7. Too Beautiful for You (1989)
R | 91 min | Drama, Romance
A sharp love triangle is formed by a wealthy businessman.
Director: Bertrand Blier | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, Carole Bouquet, François Cluzet
Votes: 3,021 | Gross: $1.78M
Never too beautiful for this gorgeous movie...
8. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,509 | Gross: $27.55M
Spike turns up the heat...
9. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
NC-17 | 124 min | Crime, Drama
At Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard
Votes: 41,780 | Gross: $7.72M
Greenaway's recipe for art...
10. My Left Foot (1989)
R | 103 min | Biography, Drama
Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, learns to paint and write with his only controllable limb - his left foot.
Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Brenda Fricker, Alison Whelan, Kirsten Sheridan
Votes: 79,820 | Gross: $14.74M
Daniel becomes a legend...
11. The Decalogue (1989–1990)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama
Ten television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments.
Stars: Artur Barcis, Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Olaf Lubaszenko, Aleksander Bardini
Votes: 27,898 | Gross: $0.10M
Powerful in every way and sense...
12. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava
Votes: 116,044 | Gross: $70.00M
It was brave for Stone to use Cruise, and it paid off...
13. Peter Brook's the Mahabharata (1989–1990)
Not Rated | 318 min | Drama, War
Jealousy and hatred is what separates the Pandavas and Kauravas. The Kauravas fear the Pandavas are after the throne of their father. Yudhishthira of the Pandavas gets told by the deity, Krishna, that he will become king. A war is inevitable.
Stars: Erika Alexander, Mamadou Dioumé, Georges Corraface, Maurice Bénichou
Votes: 1,222 | Gross: $0.33M
Fascinating...
14. Alaska (1989)
45 min | Drama, Thriller
A slaughterhouse worker appears to be romantically involved with his boss's wife. They plan to leave the country together, but at the airport she waits for him in vain. Slowly but surely ... See full summary »
Director: Mike van Diem | Stars: Willem Nijholt, Maeve van der Steen, Coen van Vrijberghe de Coningh, Mauricio Rubinstein
Votes: 107
Brilliantly crafted...
15. Boda secreta (1989)
95 min | Drama
As an anonymous man, Fermin leaves his underground hideout in the subway. The dictatorship in the country is followed by democracy, but the bright light of it blinds Fermin: he is displaced... See full summary »
Director: Alejandro Agresti | Stars: Tito Haas, Mirta Busnelli, Sergio Poves Campos, Nathán Pinzón
Votes: 194
A history lesson in repressing...
16. Interrogation (1989)
TV-MA | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Tonia goes out drinking. She wakes up in prison, not having a clue why she's there. She is tortured to encourage her to confess to a crime she is not aware of.
Director: Ryszard Bugajski | Stars: Krystyna Janda, Adam Ferency, Janusz Gajos, Agnieszka Holland
Votes: 3,684
Intense...
17. Dead Poets Society (1989)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama
Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles
Votes: 546,823 | Gross: $95.86M
Williams is the poet under Weir's brilliant direction...
18. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
R | 101 min | Crime, Drama
A pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, James Le Gros, Heather Graham
Votes: 40,669 | Gross: $4.73M
Another Gus gem...
19. The Story of Boys & Girls (1989)
87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
At a farmhouse, a large family cooks mountains of food for the next day's engagement party for Silvia and her city fiancé, Angelo. Her parents feud about infidelity; an aging salesman who ... See full summary »
Director: Pupi Avati | Stars: Lucrezia Lante della Rovere, Davide Bechini, Felice Andreasi, Massimo Bonetti
Votes: 226 | Gross: $0.74M
Another Pupi gem...
20. Speaking Parts (1989)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Romance
A lonely woman stalks a co-worker by obsessively watching videos he appears in. He is an actor trying to get a part in a new TV movie, written by his lover. She has written about her brother's death, but is losing control of the project.
Director: Atom Egoyan | Stars: Michael McManus, Arsinée Khanjian, Gabrielle Rose, Tony Nardi
Votes: 1,571
Egoyan succeeds once again...
21. Blaze (1989)
R | 120 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A middle-aged Louisiana governor falls in love with a young stripper, which jeopardizes his political career and the radical policies which have made him a controversial figure.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Paul Newman, Lolita Davidovich, Jerry Hardin, Gailard Sartain
Votes: 4,180 | Gross: $19.13M
Shelton has a wicked pen...
22. Valmont (1989)
R | 137 min | Drama, Romance
France before 1789: When a widow hears that her lover is to marry her cousin's daughter, she asks the playboy Valmont to take the girl's virginity. But first she bets him, with her body as prize, to seduce a virtuous, young, married woman.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly, Fairuza Balk
Votes: 14,306 | Gross: $1.13M
A young Firth is fun to watch...
23. The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A man returns to his home town after serving a prison sentence for homicide, and finds that the details of the crime have been forgotten and replaced with local legends and rumors.
Director: Hal Hartley | Stars: Adrienne Shelly, Robert John Burke, Chris Cooke, Julia McNeal
Votes: 6,294 | Gross: $0.55M
Hartley dialogue is magic...
24. Shirley Valentine (1989)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Shirley is a 42-year-old bored Liverpudlian housewife who takes a holiday trip to Greece and meets a local man who bolsters her self-confidence. She evolves and transforms to the point that her husband doesn't even recognize her.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Julia McKenzie, Alison Steadman
Votes: 8,921 | Gross: $6.35M
You'd love Shirley's journey...
25. Life and Nothing But (1989)
PG | 135 min | Drama, War
Intense character study of men and women driven by an overpowering obsession with the past.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azéma, Pascale Vignal, Maurice Barrier
Votes: 2,122 | Gross: $0.43M
The ugliness of war brings compassion...
26. Longtime Companion (1989)
R | 96 min | Drama, Romance
The emergence and devastation of the AIDS epidemic is chronicled in the lives of several gay men living during the 1980s.
Director: Norman René | Stars: Stephen Caffrey, Patrick Cassidy, Brian Cousins, Bruce Davison
Votes: 6,135 | Gross: $4.61M
How we let this happen...
27. Mystery Train (1989)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Three stories are connected by a Memphis hotel and the spirit of Elvis Presley.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: Masatoshi Nagase, Yûki Kudô, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Cinqué Lee
Votes: 30,848 | Gross: $0.37M
The zany world of Jarmusch...
28. The Architecture of Doom (1989)
Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary, History
An absorbing and chilling documentary about the National Socialist aesthetic, and how attempts to create the Aryan Ideal caused the extermination of millions. Aspects covered include: ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Cohen | Stars: Rolf Arsenius, Bruno Ganz, Sam Gray, Martin Bormann
Votes: 1,137
Fascinating if you can hang in there...
29. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
Votes: 117,607 | Gross: $106.59M
What could have been bland works out a treat thanks to a great cast and director...
30. Music Box (1989)
PG-13 | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.
Director: Costa-Gavras | Stars: Jessica Lange, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Frederic Forrest, Donald Moffat
Votes: 8,670 | Gross: $6.26M
You can always rely on Gavras to pick the juicy political stories...
31. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 144,558 | Gross: $26.83M
The story is the strength...
32.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker
(1989)
TV-14 | 59 min | Documentary, Biography, History
At age eleven, he had just begun to play the saxophone. At age twenty he was leading a revolution in modern jazz music. Today, Charlie "Yardbird" Parker is considered one of the great musical innovators of the 20th century.
Director: Gary Giddins | Stars: Rebecca Davis, Leonard Feather, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Haynes
Votes: 123
A true master of music...
33. Roger & Me (1989)
R | 91 min | Documentary
After General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Roger B. Smith, Rhonda Britton, Fred Ross
Votes: 27,520 | Gross: $6.71M
Moore begins to roll with his own punches...
34. A Dry White Season (1989)
R | 106 min | Drama, Thriller
A white middle class South African suburbanite with no interest in politics agrees to help his black gardener find his jailed son. His investigation opens his eyes to the horrors committed by the secret police and turns him into a target.
Director: Euzhan Palcy | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae, Jürgen Prochnow
Votes: 6,202 | Gross: $3.77M
When the political tide turns...
35. Love Without Pity (1989)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Romance
25 years old Hippo doesn't have a job, doesn't study either but lives from the money his younger brother earns with dealing and from occasional Poker winnings -- he's a representative of a ... See full summary »
Director: Eric Rochant | Stars: Hippolyte Girardot, Mireille Perrier, Yvan Attal, Jean-Marie Rollin
Votes: 764
Strong performance from Hippolyte...
36. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 242,936 | Gross: $92.82M
Top buddy film, but love always gets in the way...
37. Roselyne and the Lions (1988)
Not Rated | 139 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Thierry (Gérard Sandoz) drops out of school to apprentice as a lion tamer at the zoo when he meets Roselyne (Isabelle Pasco), who shares his passion. They fall in love and when he loses his... See full summary »
Directors: Jean-Jacques Beineix, Jim Henson | Stars: Isabelle Pasco, Gérard Sandoz, Gabriel Monnet, Philippe Clévenot
Votes: 535
Another visual treat from Beineix...
38. The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
Director: Steve Kloves | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beau Bridges, Ellie Raab
Votes: 25,862 | Gross: $18.10M
More than just Pfeiffer on a piano...
39. Field of Dreams (1989)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, Amy Madigan
Votes: 128,230 | Gross: $64.43M
Make it good and they will watch it...
40. Romero (1989)
PG-13 | 102 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The life and work of Archbishop Oscar Romero who opposed, at great personal risk, the tyrannical repression in El Salvador.
Director: John Duigan | Stars: Raul Julia, Richard Jordan, Ana Alicia, Eddie Velez
Votes: 2,452 | Gross: $1.32M
The Priest with a mission...
41. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
G | 103 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi
Votes: 165,744
Delightful...
42. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989)
NC-17 | 101 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient takes a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Loles León, Julieta Serrano
Votes: 31,968 | Gross: $4.09M
Getting down and dirty with Almodovar, Abril and Banderas is a dream come true...
43. Triumph of the Spirit (1989)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
In Greece during World War II, a young Jewish boxer, his girlfriend, and their families are sent to Auschwitz. When the camp guards learn of his boxing abilities, they force him to participate in weekly boxing matches.
Director: Robert M. Young | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Edward James Olmos, Robert Loggia, Wendy Gazelle
Votes: 2,789 | Gross: $0.41M
Dafoe is always amazing...
44. Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)
PG-13 | 79 min | Comedy, Music
Siberian rock band Leningrad Cowboys go to the USA in pursuit of fame.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Matti Pellonpää, Kari Väänänen, Sakke Järvenpää, Heikki Keskinen
Votes: 8,460
Kaurismaki comes to America...
45. The Icicle Thief (1989)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
A movie resembling Bicycle Thieves (1948) is shown on TV, but the real-life world gets muddled with the film and the TV commercials.
Director: Maurizio Nichetti | Stars: Maurizio Nichetti, Caterina Sylos Labini, Federico Rizzo, Renato Scarpa
Votes: 1,062 | Gross: $1.23M
Nichetti's homage to classic Italian cinema...
46.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket
(1989)
TV-14 | 87 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Profiles the life and work of author/civil rights activist, James Baldwin.
Director: Karen Thorsen | Stars: James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Amiri Baraka, Frances Foster
Votes: 224
Worth documenting...
47. The War of the Roses (1989)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Romance
A married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.
Director: Danny DeVito | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Marianne Sägebrecht
Votes: 57,408 | Gross: $86.89M
These guys make it fun to watch a horrid marriage break-up...
48. Santa Sangre (1989)
NC-17 | 123 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky | Stars: Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell, Thelma Tixou
Votes: 23,346
Another Jodorowsky insane trip...
49. Monsieur Hire (1989)
PG-13 | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A recluse is accused of murdering a young woman simply because his neighbors think he is strange.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Michel Blanc, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luc Thuillier, André Wilms
Votes: 7,140 | Gross: $1.42M
Blanc has fun in a Leconte thriller...
50. Sea of Love (1989)
R | 113 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker
Votes: 44,924 | Gross: $58.57M
Pacino and Barkin sizzle...
51. Sidewalk Stories (1989)
R | 97 min | Comedy
Nearly silent comedy filmed in black and white follows a street artist (Charles Lane), who rescues a baby after her father was murdered. The artist then sets off to find the mother, but has... See full summary »
Director: Charles Lane | Stars: Charles Lane, Nicole Alysia, Tom Alpern, Edwin Anthony
Votes: 545 | Gross: $0.13M
An ode to Chaplin…
52. Dead Calm (1989)
R | 96 min | Horror, Thriller
After a tragedy, John Ingram and his wife Rae are spending some time isolated at sea, when they come across a stranger who has abandoned a sinking ship.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, Billy Zane, Rod Mullinar
Votes: 43,726 | Gross: $7.83M
Joyce has a great cast and almost pulls it off…
53. Memories of a Marriage (1989)
90 min | Drama
The active Regitze and passive Karl Aage have a party with friends and family at their allotment garden. He reminisces his life with her from meeting her during WWII, having a son, the son graduating, etc. up to present day.
Director: Kaspar Rostrup | Stars: Frits Helmuth, Mikael Helmuth, Ghita Nørby, Rikke Bendsen
Votes: 777
A zest for life…
54. Lover Boy (1989)
58 min | Drama, Romance
Explores the conflicting worlds of a teenager and a mature woman as they discover the full force of their sexuality.
Director: Geoffrey Wright | Stars: Noah Taylor, Gillian Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Alice Garner
Votes: 207
For Noah Taylor…
55. She's Been Away (1989)
103 min | Drama
Locked away in an asylum as a young girl because she was an embarrassment to her family, then forgotten, an old woman returns to what's left of her kin and to her memories.
Director: Peter Hall | Stars: Peggy Ashcroft, Geraldine James, James Fox, Jackson Kyle
Votes: 221
Touching look at life in later years…
56. Island (1989)
93 min | Drama
A formerly rich Czech-Australian emigrant comes to a tiny, poor and sleepy Greek Island to rethink her life. Surprisingly she develops a sincere relationship with two other women who each ... See full summary »
Director: Paul Cox | Stars: Irene Papas, Eva Sitteová, Anoja Weerasinghe, Chris Haywood
Votes: 90
Paul Cox always an interesting Australian director, with Papas making it work…
57. Orapronobis (1989)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In 1985, in the obscure town of Santa Filomena, the Orapronobis, a cult under the leadership of Kumander Kontra (Roco), murders a foreign priest who gave the last rites to an alleged rebel,... See full synopsis »
Director: Lino Brocka | Stars: Phillip Salvador, Dina Bonnevie, Gina Alajar, Bembol Roco
Votes: 169
Meaningful, but without an edge…
58. Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation (1989 Video)
100 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), started by three 12-year-olds and completed over a period of six years.
Director: Eric Zala | Stars: Chris Strompolos, Angela Rodriguez, Michael Bales, Eric Zala
Votes: 825
very amusing…
59. Eat a Bowl of Tea (1989)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded ... See full summary »
Director: Wayne Wang | Stars: Cora Miao, Russell Wong, Victor Wong, Sau-Kei Lee
Votes: 835 | Gross: $0.23M
Culture clash of the same culture is very amusing…
60. The January Man (1989)
R | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two years after being forced out of NYPD, quirky Nick is rehired by the mayor to catch a serial killer after the 11th murder of a woman.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Kevin Kline, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Susan Sarandon, Harvey Keitel
Votes: 9,170 | Gross: $4.61M
Kline saves it…
61. Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
PG-13 | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.
Director: Jim McBride | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 18,900 | Gross: $13.74M
A not so wild movie about the wild one of rock n roll…
62. Cousins (1989)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Romance
Two couples go to a mutual friend's wedding and end up swapping partners.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Ted Danson, Isabella Rossellini, Sean Young, William Petersen
Votes: 5,136 | Gross: $22.03M
Remake of a French classic is not bad at all…
63. Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree (1989)
92 min | Drama
Pepe is a young Samoan. He has two mentors, who represents two opposite paths. One is Toasa, the senior chief of Pepe's village, an elder powerful and wise in the ancient way of his people.... See full summary »
Director: Martyn Sanderson | Stars: Faifua Amiga, Richard von Sturmer, Peseta Sinave Isara, Aloema Anaea
Votes: 20
Funny and touching…
64. Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer (1989)
100 min | Comedy
-A warm summer in Montreal (Canada). Two black men, Man and Bouba, share an apartment. Man is an ambitious author, writing on The Great Novel. Bouba is a lazy amateur philosopher who quotes... See full summary »
Director: Jacques W. Benoit | Stars: Isaach De Bankolé, Maka Kotto, Roberta Weiss, Myriam Cyr
Votes: 340 | Gross: $0.49M
We are all curious…
65. Malpractice (1989 TV Movie)
94 min | Drama
This docu-drama highlights the complexities of compensation through the legal system for medical malpractice. For when the mother attempts to investigate the hospital procedure of using ... See full summary »
Director: Bill Bennett | Stars: Caz Lederman, Bob Baines, Ian Gilmour, Pat Thomson
Votes: 21
An early Bill Bennett effort of some interest…
66. Say Anything (1989)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor
Votes: 96,000 | Gross: $20.78M
Crowe’s directorial debut is a curious piece, with Cusack in top form at the time…
67. Jacknife (1989)
R | 102 min | Drama
Two Vietnam vets search for the strength to face up to their horrific war experiences, but their friendship begins to splinter when one becomes romantically involved with the other's sister.
Director: David Hugh Jones | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kathy Baker, Ed Harris, Sloane Shelton
Votes: 6,513 | Gross: $2.05M
Interesting casting makes it worth the view…
68. A City of Sadness (1989)
157 min | Drama, History
The story of a family embroiled in the "White Terror" that was wrought on the Taiwanese people by the Kuomintang government after their arrival from mainland China in the late 1940s.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Shu-Fen Hsin, Sung-Young Chen, Jack Kao
Votes: 6,107
Found it hard to follow, so need a second viewing…
69. Blind Fury (1989)
R | 86 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Terry O'Quinn, Brandon Call, Noble Willingham
Votes: 18,751 | Gross: $2.69M
Noyce does a fine cheeky job on this sleeper, thanks to Rutger…
70. Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
PG-13 | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
This film reenacts the Manhattan Project, the secret WWII project, and the first atomic bombs designed, built, and tested in Los Alamos.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, Bonnie Bedelia, John Cusack
Votes: 9,135 | Gross: $3.56M
Fascinating topic…
71. The Big Picture (1989)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Film school grad Nick Chapman thought his career was made after his award winning short film, but discovered Hollywood wasn't as easy as it seems.
Director: Christopher Guest | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Emily Longstreth, J.T. Walsh
Votes: 6,192 | Gross: $0.12M
Guest has fun with trying to make it in Hollywood….
72. Batman (1989)
PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure
The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl
Votes: 404,506 | Gross: $251.19M
An interesting mess from Burton and actors…
73. Sweetie (1989)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
An introspective young woman's life is upturned by the arrival of her maladjusted sister.
Director: Jane Campion | Stars: Geneviève Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling
Votes: 5,383 | Gross: $0.94M
Campion’s breakthrough that plays out like a long form student film…
74. The Blood of Heroes (1989)
R | 90 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Sport
In a future where most of mankind and technology is wiped out, six people travel from place to place playing a brutal form of football with a dog skull. They hope one day to play in the league in a city.
Director: David Webb Peoples | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Joan Chen, Delroy Lindo, Anna Katarina
Votes: 7,583 | Gross: $0.88M
Interesting concept, not sure DW People’s was up for it…
75. New York Stories (1989)
PG | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A middle-aged artist obsessed with his pretty young assistant, a precocious 12-year-old living in a hotel, and a neurotic lawyer with a possessive mother make up three Gotham tales.
Directors: Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese | Stars: Woody Allen, Nick Nolte, Rosanna Arquette, Marvin Chatinover
Votes: 19,748 | Gross: $10.76M
Top directors get these turkeys out of their system…
76. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure
In 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 811,512 | Gross: $197.17M
For Sean Connery…
77. Let It Ride (1989)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Action
A nosy cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can't seem to stop gambling. Will he go broke or walk home with a pretty penny?
Director: Joe Pytka | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Teri Garr, David Johansen, Jennifer Tilly
Votes: 6,884 | Gross: $4.97M
The addiction of gambling with Dreyfus’s in full form…
78. Baxter (1989)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
A white bull terrier named Baxter is given to an elderly woman by her daughter. As time passes, the dog develops aggressive and murderous behavior in order to be adopted by another family.
Director: Jérôme Boivin | Stars: Lise Delamare, Jean Mercure, Jacques Spiesser, Catherine Ferran
Votes: 2,748
A very naughty dog…
79. Yaaba (1989)
90 min | Drama, Romance
A small village in Burkina Faso. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother)... See full summary »
Director: Idrissa Ouedraogo | Stars: Fatimata Sanga, Noufou Ouédraogo, Roukietou Barry, Adama Ouédraogo
Votes: 756
Burkina Faso tale of youth and fables…
80. Mr. Hoover and I (1989)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Biography
Director: Emile de Antonio | Stars: John Cage, Emile de Antonio, Nancy de Antonio
Votes: 64
Emile de Antonio Does a lot of talking about an interesting subject matter…
81. Bert Rigby, You're a Fool (1989)
R | 94 min | Comedy, Musical
Bert Rigby lives in the small English town of Langmore, where most people depend on work at the local mine, which is faring poorly. While his mates are on strike once again, he decides to ... See full summary »
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Robert Lindsay, Robbie Coltrane, Cathryn Bradshaw, Jackie Gayle
Votes: 334 | Gross: $0.08M
Carl Reiner travels to the UK for this effort…
82. Always (1989)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
The spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson, John Goodman
Votes: 32,816 | Gross: $43.86M
Spielberg’s romantic fluff…
83. A Chorus of Disapproval (1989)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Widower Guy is transferred to an English coastal town, where he joins an amateur operatic society to "meet people" and "have fun".
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Anthony Hopkins, Richard Briers, Barbara Ferris
Votes: 948 | Gross: $0.22M
Top cast but wrong director…
84. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.
Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto
Votes: 25,950
Zany Japanese sci-fi madness…
85. The Little Mermaid (1989)
G | 83 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince's love.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes
Votes: 291,161 | Gross: $111.54M
A classic if you grew up on it, but standard Disney fluff…
86. Skulduggery (1989 TV Movie)
90 min | Drama
Four lads decide to meet up and do a robbery planned by Sweeny, an angry, agressive but small young man who is like a time bomb waiting to go off. The robbery never happens because the boys... See full summary »
Director: Phil Davis | Stars: Steve Sweeney, Chris Pitt, Paul McKenzie, David Thewlis
Votes: 27
Phil Davis’ contribution to UK’s second wave of neorealism…
87. That Summer of White Roses (1989)
R | 98 min | Drama, War
In the summer of 1944, in a peaceful resort town in the Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, an easy-going lifeguard takes in a widow of a partisan and her young son. Their relationship grows until he unknowingly saves a Nazi officer from drowning.
Director: Rajko Grlic | Stars: Tom Conti, Susan George, Nitzan Sharron, Rod Steiger
Votes: 173
Meant well…
88. Dark Woods (1989)
98 min | Drama
Violette, a beautiful aspiring actress meets a handsome stranger named Gustave. After a whirlwind romance they marry, and move into his ancestral home which they share with Gustave's mother... See full summary »
Director: Jacques Deray | Stars: Béatrice Dalle, Philippe Volter, Stéphane Freiss, Geneviève Page
Votes: 87
Little dark piece from Deray…
89. Tap (1989)
PG-13 | 111 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Just released from prison, Max Washington must decide which of his previous professions to return to: burglary or tap-dancing.
Director: Nick Castle | Stars: Gregory Hines, Suzzanne Douglas, Sammy Davis Jr., Savion Glover
Votes: 1,805 | Gross: $9.11M
Tap dancing is great…
90. The Tall Guy (1989)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Romance
A nasty comedian's assistant has allergy induced sneezes, giving problems at work, et cetera. He accepts weekly injections after seeing the cute nurse. After a dozen injections, he finally asks her out.
Director: Mel Smith | Stars: Jeff Goldblum, Rowan Atkinson, Emma Thompson, Geraldine James
Votes: 4,980 | Gross: $0.51M
Richard Curtis finding his feet…
91. Three Fugitives (1989)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Comedy
A reformed bank robber is taken hostage by a desperate man during a bank hold up, but is forced to go on the run with his captor when they're both mistakenly thought to be in cahoots.
Director: Francis Veber | Stars: Nick Nolte, Martin Short, Sarah Rowland Doroff, James Earl Jones
Votes: 12,757 | Gross: $40.59M
A remake from a French comedy, with original director who kind of did not translate to the American style…
92. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Patsy Kensit
Votes: 188,954 | Gross: $147.25M
The crazy detective is back for more of the same silliness…
93. Major League (1989)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Sport
The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton
Votes: 76,502 | Gross: $49.80M
Some baseball fun to be had…
94. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
After visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Tom Wilson
Votes: 573,003 | Gross: $118.50M
Still has some charm left over…
95. Steel Magnolias (1989)
PG | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Julia Roberts
Votes: 63,134 | Gross: $83.76M
A real Hollywood soapy weeper…
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