So it’s 2025 now. Wow! Where has the time gone? I remember turning 9 years old in 1985 and working out how old I would be in the year 2000 – it seemed so futuristic. Now, here I am, 25 years after the fact and writing retrospective articles looking back to 40 years ago when I was 9 years old trying to work out how old I would be in the year 2000. 1985 (at least the start of it) is now four decades old! I’m going to kick off 2025 by making the argument that 1985 was one of the best (or even THE best) years for moving pictures.

Over the decades, there have been some belting films released, and my tastes really go back quite far too. I enjoy films from the 1950s and even earlier. But, being born in the mid-’70s means that I really was a child of the ’80s. So that particular decade does hit a very specific and sweet nostalgia spot with me. Still, that does leave an entire decade of films to pick from to get (what I think) is the best-ever year for movies. However, I believe that after some research, I’ve managed to nail down one 12-month period in the ’80s where some of the greatest films ever were released. I’m going to go through the films of 1985 by genre and take a quick look at what made that year so damn good.

Action Films

For me, the eighties was THE decade for action cinema, so many action icons were born or raised in the decade and they are still very fondly remembered now. 1985 in particular had a very strong line up of action flicks, let’s kick off with one of the finest.

Commando

For me, this is a very typical slice of ’80s action fare. At the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger was still relatively unknown, or at least he wasn’t quite the huge star he was going to become in the very near future. Back in the ’80s, action films only had two plots. 1) Hero goes out for revenge. 2) Hero goes to rescue a kidnapped victim. That was it, and Commando certainly has one of those plots. The film is just pure 1980s cheese, and it ticks every ’80s action film box trope. Big, muscular hero that doesn’t get so much as a scratch while taking on a huge army of bad guys. Guns that never need to be reloaded. One-liners aplenty. Typical ’80s montage of the hero getting ready. Hero wants a quiet life/retired, but is pulled back into work. Everything about Commando is pure 1980s action cinema and I love it.

Rambo: First Blood Part II

The original First Blood flick is an amazing piece of cinema. The sequel, Rambo: First Blood Part II is not as good… yet still a great bit of film. Sylvester Stallone was already a big name in Hollywood at the time and following the Rocky films and the previously mentioned First Blood. It was with this sequel that the Rambo character really became a household name though. The action is OTT, the bad guys are stereotypical and Sly who wrote the screenplay with James Cameron (yes that James Cameron) managed to squeeze in as many very ’80s tropes as they could. But Stallone not only brought back John Rambo for a sequel, he also gave his best character, easily the most 1980s film ever made…

Rocky IV

This is pretty much the entire ’80s decade crammed into 91 minutes. America vs Russia at a time when the Cold War was a very real threat. A film full of so much testosterone that the only thing bigger than the muscles are the hair and shoulder pads. And let’s not forget those two plots all 1980s action films had. Rocky’s old rival and friend, Apollo is killed… so Rocky goes for revenge! When a film’s opening features a pair of boxing gloves, one with an American flag and one with a Russian flag, which explode when they touch – you just know exactly what kind of film Rocky IV is. It’s stupid, it is vastly over-the-top… but it is glorious.

The Jewel of the Nile

When Raiders of the Lost Ark was released in 1981, the world was introduced to Indiana Jones. For a while, films tried to copy that Indy formula… most of them really badly. But now and then, a pretty decent Indy rip-off would emerge. The Jewel of the Nile was the sequel to 1984’s Romancing the Stone and while not as good as the original, It’s still a damn fun watch. The trio of Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito really do work well and their on-screen chemistry is a joy to watch. Plus the film has the great When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going song from Billy Ocean, which featured Douglas, Turner and DeVito in the video. It’s just pure fun.

Police Story

I grew up watching martial arts films as a kid, with the master, Bruce Lee being a bit of a hero in our house. When Bruce died, a massive gap in Asian action cinema opened up that no one could really fill. No one except Jackie Chan. I got to be a fan of Jackie very early in his career, but it was with 1985’s Police Story when his style of movie-making really worked. It is Jackie Chan’s mix of humour, drama, action and his stunning stunt work that makes this one worth a watch. One of his best.

Pale Rider

Released at a time when the Western film genre was dying fast. Directed by, produced by and starring Clint Eastwood, Pale Rider is often overlooked because of Clint’s other amazing Western, Unforgiven. It’s a damn shame too because Pale Rider is a brilliant flick and one that really showcases Clint’s talent as a director and actor After working in the genre for so many years, Clint slips effortlessly into his role as director and star and delivers a film that is (pretty much) a remake of Shane, but with a more modern approach.

Comedy Films

The 1980s also brought some of the funniest and most creative comedy films featuring some of the biggest comedy stars on the planet. Here are just a few of the very best that 1985 had to offer.

Clue

A film based on a board game – it can’t work, can it? Well, yes it can, thanks to Clue. Inspired by the American version of the very British Cluedo. Clue features the talents of Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd and Michael McKean in a madcap, farce-like comedy. Plus, the multiple endings finale is pure genius. This film is sheer brilliance and crammed with tiny details and references to the board game – while still a fantastic murder-mystery-comedy in its own right. Amazingly, Clue bombed at the box office and critics at the time were not exactly praising the film either. However, Clue has gone on to find it audience in later years and people now seem to grasp how funny and clever the film is.

Brewster’s Millions

The plot of Brewster’s Millions is an age-old “rags to riches” tale. In fact, this film is the seventh version based on the original novel of the same name. The film’s star, Richard Pryor was one of the biggest comedy stars at the time and being coupled with America’s uncle, John Candy was perfect casting. Brewster’s Millions may not offer any surprises in terms of its plot, but its deft writing and wonderful characters really make it stand out. However, he could’ve spent the $30 million very easily and had no assets to show either. Buy a million-dollar house for the $30 million (I’m sure someone would sell a $1 million house for a $30 million offer), put it on the market for $1 (I’m sure someone would buy a $1 million house for $1), buy a burger with the $1 – eat it. Or, Brewster was paying people stupidly high wages to work for him – so why didn’t he pay the cab driver at the start the $30 million to drop him off at the corner of the street?  It would’ve been a very short and not as funny film though. This is why I don’t write movie scripts.

The Goonies

The Goonies, yes it’s called The Goonies and not just Goonies. And yes, I guess this is technically an action film, but let’s call it an action/comedy and not split hairs. Confession time, I’m not a big fan of this one. Yeah, I know it’s a much-loved flick among people of my age, but it just didn’t click with me. A more kiddy-like Indiana Jones and I just preferred to watch the real thing at the time and even more so now as an adult. Still, despite my very average feelings toward the film, I have to praise and celebrate it as one of the best of ’85. I fully understand why it is such a fan favourite and much-loved.

Fletch

Chevy Chase was very popular through the ’80s, and he had two hit films out in 1985. Fletch saw Chevy playing as the undercover investigative reporter Irwin M. “Fletch” Fletcher. I’ve always enjoyed Chevy Chase’s dry and droll sense of humour, and he is brilliant in this flick, which is easily my favourite Chase performance. Fletch’s various disguises as he goes undercover always made me chuckle though because they all looked like Chevy Chase, just with a different wig. But despite not too great make-up effects, Fletch is a fantastic comedy. As for Chevy’s second flick of 1985…

National Lampoon’s European Vacation

National Lampoon’s European Vacation is the sequel to the smash hit National Lampoon’s Vacation from 1983. Taking the bumbling Griswald family on a tour around Europe after winning a game show. Yes, this is another one of those “not as good as the first film” sequels, but I still find this one a good laugh regardless. I think being from Europe myself makes this one more watchable than for an American audience. The Griswald’s, led by patriarch Clark Griswald are a riot at times. The film is almost worth it just for the “I think he’s gonna pork her” scene. Also, have you noticed that the family name is spelt Griswald, with an “A” in this film, but Griswold, with an “O” in all of the others in the franchise?

Weird Science

Quite possibly one of my favourite comedy films ever from one of my favourite writers/directors of the ’80s, John Hughes. Weird Science is one of those “coming-of-age” stories that Hughes did so damn well… only with a huge dose of the absurd. Telling the tale of Gary and Wyatt, two high school losers who make a woman on their computer. A woman played by the delicious Kelly LeBrock. Full of stupid and ridiculous scenarios as the teenage boys do their best to impress their fellow high school students. Plus, Kelly LeBrock in the shower. Well worth a watch. I guess you could say that Weird Science has a bit of a sci-fi slant to it, which brings me nicely to my next few picks.

Sci-Fi Films

There were some tip-top sci-fi flicks relasd in 1985… but to be honest, I need to do a little cheating for my first sci-fi film pick here.

The Terminator

Okay, so this was originally released in 1984, but we got it here in the UK in 1985. So it is, kind of, a 1985 film for me. As I said, a little cheating, but I feel it is fair. Even after so many sequels and spin-offs, this is still my favourite of the franchise. It’s a low-budget masterpiece that I believe stands up very well 40 years later. Arnie’s most iconic role and the one that put him on the Hollywood map. I also don’t think that James Cameron has made a better film since, this was his peak. The Terminator could even slip into my next category, horror films because it is really a slasher film with a killer cyborg from the future – but before I do get to the horror films…

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

We don’t need another hero, is that Tina Turner belted out (I love that song), but it turns out that we did. It took me a while to become a Mad Max fan and while I had seen the first two years before, It was while watching this one that I finally fell in love with the franchise. In terms of the post-apocalyptic theme that the films go for, I think this one nailed it best. Mel Gibson is fantastic and Tina Turner steals the whole film. And yeah, the soundtrack is awesome. The original has become my favourite film of the franchise, but this third entry is fantastic. It went downhill after this, Mad Max: Fury Road was decent and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga was bloody awful. Bring back Mel.

Back to the Future

In terms of sci-fi films of 1985, this is the very finest. In fact, it’s one of the greatest sci-fi films of any year… ever! Such a brilliant concept for a film and one that is as complex as it is simple. The two Bob’s writing (Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale) is sharp and inventive. The cast is wonderful and the film even managed to make the awful DMC DeLorean car a star. I could scribe lengthy articles about Back to the Future and never get bored – in fact, I have. Back to the Future isn’t just a great film, it went on to spawn one of the greatest movie trilogies ever and films that are still lovingly analysed and celebrated decades later.

Brazil

I adore Brazil… and yet I can’t tell you why. I’ve been wanting to do a full article just covering this film, but I have no idea how to start it or what to write about. I’m even stuck trying to come up with something to write about Brazil for this tiny bit right here. It’s a totally bizarre film with such a bleak and depressing ending that you can’t really cover it with words. It’s a film that you have to experience first-hand, I’ve read many reviews and analyses of Brazil and nobody seems to be able to distil or explain why it is so good. The best I could come up with is that Brazil is Terry Gilliam at his most Gilliamist. It’s also a Christmas movie.

Horror Films

If there was one genre that dominated 1985, that was the horror genre. ’85 really did have some truly fantastic bloody, gory and scary flicks.

Day of the Dead

When George A. Romero released Night of the Living Dead in 1968, he changed cinema forever. The modern zombie was born and the template of the film is still used today for pretty much anything zombie-related. Geroge followed that up with Dawn of the Dead in 1978, which is often cited as one of the finest zombie films ever (it is). Then came Day of the Dead and one of the greatest zombie trilogies was born. For me, this is the weakest of the three (yes, I do know there are more than three films in the franchise. I mean the original trilogy) but even so, it’s still a fantastic flick with a brilliant bad guy that you love to hate, and let’s not forget one of the best zombies ever with Bub. Speaking of great and memorable zombies…

The Return of the Living Dead

When George A. Romero released Night of the Living Dead in 1968, he changed cinema forever. The modern zombie was born and the template of the film is still used today for pretty much anything zombie-related. It even paved the way for parody films, and The Return of the Living Dead is the very best of those. Within the reality of this film, Night of the Living Dead actually happened. There really was a zombie outbreak and the government covered it up. But the cause of that outbreak just so happens to be in the basement of a warehouse and long story short, it gets released, causing zombies to take over the town. The Return of the Living Dead melds comedy and horror perfectly. It can also be credited with creating the trope that zombies eat brains. There’s even a fantastic scene here that explains why zombies need to eat brains. The thing about this film is that it is technically a proper sequel to Night of the Living Dead. You see, it was originally a novel written by John Russo who co-wrote Night of the Living Dead with George A. Romero. After making Night of the Living Dead, Geroge and John went their separate ways. John retained the rights to use the Living Dead title and so he wrote a sequel novel. That novel was then turned into this film… but with a lot more gore and comedy added.

Demons

Zombies were big business in the ’80s (more coming later in this very list), but there was still room for other horror cinema monsters. Demons was directed by Lamberto Bava but written and produced by one of Italy’s finest, Dario Argento. If you’ve never seen an Italian horror film before or have no idea who Argento is – then this is a fantastic place to start. It is very, very ’80s and it’s also very gory. The plot is quite basic, but clever and self-referential. The basic gist is that some people are invited to see an advance screening of a new horror film. The film is about a mysterious mask that can turn people into demons and would you believe it? There’s a replica of the mask at the cinema where the screening is taking place. As the characters in the film (within the film) start being terrorised by demons, the people watching the film (within the film) soon meet the same fate. This is a wonderful flick and even if it is covered in ’80s cheese, it’s still awesome today.

Re-Animator

Back to the George A. Romero-inspired modern zombie action… with a slither of H.P. Lovecraft thrown in for good measure. Very, very loosely based on the novelette Herbert West: Reanimator by H.P. Lovecraft, but most definitely more George A. Romero. Much like the previously mentioned The Return of the Living Dead, this flick also melds comedy and horror to tell the tale of Herbert West who has created a serum that can bring anything that was once alive back from the dead. Obviously, there are some rather nasty and bloody side effects. As funny as it is gory (as long as you watch the uncut version), Re-Animator is one of the better modern zombie flicks in a sea of thousands of them, particularly throughout the ’80s.

Fright Night

I never saw this film until relatively recently and after I watched the 2011 remake. However, THAT movie poster has been living in my head since I first saw it as a kid. It really is one of the most iconic horror movie posters ever. Anyway, so I didn’t get around to watching Fright Night until around 10 years ago, which is “relatively recently” given that the film would’ve been 30 years old at that point. I really enjoyed it too. A vampire film with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. Yet another film that mixes comedy with horror, and does a damn fine job of it too.

House

I never realised until I made this list that there were a lot of comedy-horror films in 1985. House is rather like Fright Night in this regard, just with zombies and Norm from Cheers instead of vampires. There are some great scares, brilliant monsters – zombie Big Ben is awesome, and plenty of laughs too. I remember watching this with my brother when I was about 10 and even then, I knew it was going to be one of my favourites. In fact, I became a bit obsessed with this flick when I was a kid and would watch it at least once a week for several months. I watched it again a few weeks back after not seeing it for many a year, I still really enjoyed it.

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy’s Revenge

I did a massive Nightmare retrospective for Halloween last year and there, I stated that this sequel was the first Nightmare film I ever saw and that it is a great horror flick. I stand by that too. I think it’s a bit of a shame that people tend to sweep this one aside just because of the gay angle that it has. This was the last time that Freddy would be genuinely scary for several years. This was before he became a crap comic spouting bad puns. This was a great sequel that is overlooked because Nightmare 3 became such a massive hit, even though it is a far worse film. I’ll take Nightmare 2 over anything after it and up to New Nightmare.

Cat’s Eye

I have made no secret of the fact that I love anthology horror films and Cat’s Eye, based on three stories from Stephen King, is one of my favourites. All three tales here are great and there are some fun references to some of Stephen King’s other works. My favourite story is the first one with James Woods trying to quit smoking via a rather unusual method forced on him by a new business. The second tale is the weakest of the three, but it is still gratifying. The finale with General the cat saving Drew Barrymore from an evil troll is one of those short stories that has been stuck in my head since I first saw this film decades ago. Cat’s Eye can get a bit silly at times, but that works well against the more scary and tense moments of the film. I may even have to say that this is one of my favourite Stephen King movie adaptions ever.

Drama Films

The Color Purple

When I was a kid, the thought of watching this film bored me to death. I eventually watched it around 20 years ago when I was in my late 20s and being an adult watching this certainly gave me a very different outlook. Based on the book of the same name and directed by Steven Spielberg, The Color Purple is an amazingly powerful and emotive film. There was a new film adaptation of the novel released in 2023, but I’ve not yet watched it. The 2023 version is a film version of the musical stage play which was based on the novel and honestly, I’m not really sure that a musical version of this story can work, can you really sing about an abusive father who beats and rapes his daughter and gets her pregnant… twice? This ’85 adaption is a work of genius though and it’s a film that will stay in your head a long time after the credits roll. With a cast of then unknowns, The Color Purple contains some of the best acting of the decade.

The Breakfast Club

The second John Hughes film to make this list, after Weird Science. Between the two, I find it hard to pick my favourite. They’re both amazing films for very different reasons. Weird Science is an outright fantasy-comedy, whereas The Breakfast Club is more grounded and realistic, it leans heavily into drama – hence my placing it here under the drama films. I don’t think anyone understood teens as well as Hughes did in the ’80s and this film is a testament to exactly that. Such a simple premise of five teenagers having to do detention together. Five teenagers that have nothing much in common and who usually wouldn’t even so much as say “hello” to each other. Yet, they have a lot more in common than they realise and by the end, they’re (mostly) friends and have a better understanding of each other. It’s a really simple film with a predictable and simple plot, but it is just so well done that its somewhat shallowness can be easily forgiven. If I had to point out a personal problem, that would be what they did to Allison at the end. She’s the goth girl that nobody seems to understand, the outcast. At the end, Claire gives her a makeover to help her fit in more. First, Allison looked so, so much better pre-makeover. Second, a theme of the film is accepting the teens for who they are… so why is there a scene of Allison being changed to be more accepted by her peers? A fantastic flick, but that ending made very little sense to me.

And those are my reasons why I feel that 1985 was a great year, and maybe even the best year for movies. I’m not saying that all of these films are top-notch, multi-award-winning epics. Just that they are a small selection of films from one particular year that showcases that year. From great action, funny comedy, scary/bloody horror and even thought-provoking drama. Is there a single year that can beat 1985 in terms of quality and enjoyable movies?