Movies set in New York in the 80ies
by Ancient_Watcher | created - 28 Oct 2015 | updated - 01 Apr 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. A Most Violent Year (2014)
R | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city's history.
Director: J.C. Chandor | Stars: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 77,490 | Gross: $5.74M
2. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 379,732 | Gross: $23.38M
3. Year of the Dragon (1985)
R | 134 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane, Leonard Termo
Votes: 17,626 | Gross: $18.70M
4. Fatal Attraction (1987)
R | 119 min | Drama, Thriller
A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.
Director: Adrian Lyne | Stars: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Ellen Latzen
Votes: 96,955 | Gross: $156.65M
5. Wall Street (1987)
R | 126 min | Crime, Drama
An impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Tamara Tunie, Franklin Cover
Votes: 165,026 | Gross: $43.85M
6. Who's That Girl (1987)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
The life of an uptight tax lawyer turns chaotic when he is asked to escort a young woman newly released from prison, who persuades him to help prove her innocence.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Madonna, Griffin Dunne, Haviland Morris, John McMartin
Votes: 11,052 | Gross: $7.31M
7. Coming to America (1988)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Romance
An extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
Votes: 223,337 | Gross: $128.15M
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: 112,276 | Gross: $27.55M
9. 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: 44,844 | Gross: $58.57M
10. 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: 242,393 | Gross: $92.82M
11. King of New York (1990)
R | 103 min | Crime, Thriller
A drug kingpin is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo
Votes: 42,030 | Gross: $2.55M
12. The Fisher King (1991)
R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Adam Bryant, Paul Lombardi
Votes: 90,797 | Gross: $41.90M
13. Bad Lieutenant (1992)
NC-17 | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Brian McElroy, Frank Acciarito, Peggy Gormley
Votes: 47,787 | Gross: $2.00M
14. Scent of a Woman (1992)
R | 156 min | Drama
A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar
Votes: 328,253 | Gross: $63.90M
15. Léon: The Professional (1994)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
Votes: 1,243,964 | Gross: $19.50M
16. Working Girl (1988)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Alec Baldwin
Votes: 62,346 | Gross: $64.00M
17. Crossing Delancey (1988)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
A Manhattan single meets a man through her Jewish grandmother's matchmaker.
Director: Joan Micklin Silver | Stars: Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, Reizl Bozyk, Jeroen Krabbé
Votes: 4,963 | Gross: $16.26M
18. The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
R | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After his mistress runs over a young teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight and attracts the interest of a down-and-out reporter.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Kim Cattrall
Votes: 26,716 | Gross: $15.69M
19. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 448,965 | Gross: $238.63M
20. Ghostbusters II (1989)
PG | 108 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
The discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 224,356 | Gross: $112.49M
21. Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself.
Director: Susan Seidelman | Stars: Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn, Mark Blum
Votes: 26,016 | Gross: $27.40M
22. The Last Days of Disco (1998)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Story of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.
Director: Whit Stillman | Stars: Chloë Sevigny, Kate Beckinsale, Chris Eigeman, Mackenzie Astin
Votes: 14,364 | Gross: $2.99M
23. My Dinner with Andre (1981)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
Two old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn, Jean Lenauer, Roy Butler
Votes: 25,716 | Gross: $5.25M
24. Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
R | 115 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Russian saxophonist visiting New York with a circus troupe suddenly decides to defect from the USSR during a shopping trip to a department store, but he finds adjusting to American life more difficult than he imagined.
Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Robin Williams, Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks, Alejandro Rey
Votes: 13,039 | Gross: $25.10M
25. Tootsie (1982)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Michael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman
Votes: 114,529 | Gross: $177.20M
26. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
PG | 105 min | Drama
After his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
Votes: 154,538 | Gross: $106.26M
27. The Nomi Song (2004)
Not Rated | 98 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Having failed to break into professional opera in his native Germany (where, as an usher in West Berlin's Deutsche Oper, he would serenade the staff after the real performances were over) ... See full summary »
Director: Andrew Horn | Stars: Klaus Nomi, Ann Magnuson, David Bowie, Gabriele Lafari
Votes: 1,122 | Gross: $0.07M
28. Arthur (1981)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Alcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
Director: Steve Gordon | Stars: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Votes: 31,074 | Gross: $95.46M
29. Fame (1980)
R | 134 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Eddie Barth, Irene Cara, Lee Curreri, Laura Dean
Votes: 24,666 | Gross: $0.12M
30. After Hours (I) (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
An ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Tommy Chong
Votes: 81,098 | Gross: $10.60M
31. Trading Places (1983)
R | 116 min | Comedy
A snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche
Votes: 165,589 | Gross: $90.40M
32. A Chorus Line (1985)
PG-13 | 118 min | Drama, Music, Musical
Hopefuls try out before a demanding director for a part in a new musical.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Michael Douglas, Terrence Mann, Michael Blevins, Yamil Borges
Votes: 11,608 | Gross: $14.20M
33. Slaves of New York (1989)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama
Benadette Peters stars in this ironic film based on Tama Janowitz's best-selling collection of short stories that defined the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Bernadette Peters, Adam Coleman Howard, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt
Votes: 1,109 | Gross: $0.46M
34. Prince of the City (1981)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
A New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, Richard Foronjy, Don Billett
Votes: 9,506 | Gross: $8.12M
35. Ms .45 (1981)
R | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Zoë Lund, Bogey, Albert Sinkys, Darlene Stuto
Votes: 12,500
36. Gloria (1980)
PG | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Buck Henry, Julie Carmen, Tony Knesich
Votes: 11,409
37. Downtown 81 (2000)
Unrated | 72 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
After being released from the hospital, the artist Jean Michel Basquiat wanders around Manhattan trying to sell art to make money and find a place to stay.
Director: Edo Bertoglio | Stars: Jean Michel Basquiat, John Lurie, Richard Weigand, Cyndy Schneidau
Votes: 1,616 | Gross: $0.10M
38. Vigilante (1982)
R | 90 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After his wife and son got brutalized by a street gang, and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a NYC factory worker teams up with a vigilante group to find some measure of bloody justice.
Director: William Lustig | Stars: Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Richard Bright, Rutanya Alda
Votes: 4,530
39. Alphabet City (1984)
R | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.
Director: Amos Poe | Stars: Vincent Spano, Michael Winslow, Kate Vernon, Jami Gertz
Votes: 1,132
40. C.H.U.D. (1984)
R | 88 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
A bizarre series of sudden disappearances on the streets of New York City seems to point toward something unsavory living in the sewers.
Director: Douglas Cheek | Stars: John Heard, Daniel Stern, Christopher Curry, Kim Greist
Votes: 13,950 | Gross: $4.65M
41. Mixed Blood (1984)
98 min | Action, Drama
Brazilian drug dealers in Manhattan's Lower East Side start a war with a rival gang of Latino drug dealers. Their soldiers are Latino kids all under 17 because, as Rita La Punta says, "They... See full summary »
Director: Paul Morrissey | Stars: Marília Pêra, Richard Ulacia, Linda Kerridge, Geraldine Smith
Votes: 450
42. The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
R | 121 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two cousins unknowingly rob the mob and face the dangerous consequences.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page
Votes: 9,810 | Gross: $6.14M
43. Turk 182 (1985)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
Jimmy Lynch is angry because his older brother, who was injured as a result of an off duty fire rescue, is denied benefits by the city.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, Kim Cattrall, Robert Culp
Votes: 4,109 | Gross: $3.59M
44. The Last Dragon (1985)
PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Julius Carry
Votes: 17,456 | Gross: $25.75M
45. Krush Groove (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The story of a man who has started a new hip-hop/rap label called Krush Groove.
Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Sheila E., Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, Jam Master Jay
Votes: 3,543 | Gross: $11.05M
46. Crocodile Dundee (1986)
PG-13 | 97 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
An American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.
Director: Peter Faiman | Stars: Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon, David Gulpilil
Votes: 115,331 | Gross: $174.64M
47. Big (1988)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard
Votes: 239,712 | Gross: $114.97M
48. Broken City (2013)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In a city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed by its most powerful figure: Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.
Director: Allen Hughes | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffrey Wright
Votes: 83,337 | Gross: $19.70M
49. Street Smart (1987)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.
Director: Jerry Schatzberg | Stars: Christopher Reeve, Kathy Baker, Mimi Rogers, Jay Patterson
Votes: 3,806 | Gross: $1.12M
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