Best Movies of 1983
The 50 highest rated movies released in 1983, ranked by viewer ratings on TMDB. Only titles with enough votes to count are included, so one-off five-star ratings can't skew the list.
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1
Scarface (1983)
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in…
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2
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station.…
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3
Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of…
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4
Nostalgia (1983)
Russian poet Andrei Gorchakov journeys through Italy with his interpreter Eugenia to research the life of an 18th-century Russian composer who once lived abroad. Isolated and consumed by an unrelenting longing for his homeland, Andrei…
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5
Barefoot Gen (1983)
A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.
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6
Eddie Murphy: Delirious (1983)
Taped live and in concert at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. in August, 1983, Eddie Murphy: Delirious captures Eddie Murphy's wild and outrageous stand-up comedy act, which he performed in New York and eighteen other cities across the…
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7
Sans Soleil (1983)
A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.
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8
Zelig (1983)
Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Clever editing places Zelig in real newsreel footage of Woodrow…
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9
The Right Stuff (1983)
At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
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10
So Long, Stooge (1983)
In the 18th Arrondissement of Paris, Lambert, an aloof garage manager working the night shift at a petrol station spends his time drinking on the job, content in his own company. One night, Bensoussan, a small-time drug pusher in dire…
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11
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy…
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12
Toxic Love (1983)
The alienating and repetitive life of a group of heroin junkies in 1980s Rome.
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13
Project A (1983)
In late 19th century Hong Kong, the British may rule the land, but the pirates rule the waters. Coast Guard officer Dragon Ma is determined that his beloved Coast Guard will not be made a fool of.
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14
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal…
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15
The Evil Dead (1983)
In 1979, a group of college students find a Sumerian Book of the Dead in an old wilderness cabin they've rented for a weekend getaway.
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16
Videodrome (1983)
As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the…
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17
A Christmas Story (1983)
The comic mishaps and adventures of a young boy named Ralph, trying to convince his parents, teachers, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect Christmas gift for the 1940s.
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18
Trading Places (1983)
A snobbish investor and a wily street con-artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
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19
The Outsiders (1983)
In 1960s Tulsa, class divisions ignite a violent rivalry between the working-class Greasers and the privileged Socs. When a deadly encounter forces two Greasers, Ponyboy and Johnny, to flee, their struggle for survival and redemption…
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20
Terms of Endearment (1983)
Aurora, a finicky woman, is in search of true love while her daughter faces marital issues. Together, they help each other deal with problems and find reasons to live a joyful life.
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21
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Clark Griswold is on a quest to take his family to the Walley World theme park for a vacation, but things don't go exactly as planned.
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22
WarGames (1983)
High school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department of Defense's war computer and initiates a confrontation of…
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23
Angst (1983)
A killer is released from prison and breaks into a remote home to kill a woman, her handicapped son and her pretty daughter.
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24
The Dead Zone (1983)
Johnny Smith is a schoolteacher with his whole life ahead of him but, after leaving his fiancee's home one night, is involved in a car crash which leaves him in a coma for 5 years. When he wakes, he discovers he has an ability to see into…
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25
Bad Boys (1983)
Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a…
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26
Rumble Fish (1983)
Absent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.
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27
Go for It (1983)
After Doug picks up hitchhiking Rosco with his truck, they are mistaken for two bank robbers by the traffic police. They manage to escape only to be confused for two secret agents while trying to take a flight at the airport.
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28
Pauline at the Beach (1983)
Marion is about to divorce from her husband and takes her 15-year-old niece, Pauline, on a vacation to Granville. There, she meets an old love...
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29
L'Argent (1983)
A forged 500-franc note is passed from person to person and shop to shop, until it falls into the hands of a genuine innocent who doesn't see it for what it is—which will have devastating consequences on his life.
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30
Silkwood (1983)
Like most of the people in her town, Karen Silkwood works at the local nuclear plant producing highly radioactive plutonium. Exposed one day to a lethal dose of radiation, Karen faces the blank walls of corporate indifference and denial. As…
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31
Christine (1983)
Nerdy high schooler Arnie Cunningham falls for Christine, a rusty 1958 Plymouth Fury, and becomes obsessed with restoring the classic automobile to her former glory. As the car changes, so does Arnie, whose newfound confidence turns to…
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32
Gramps Is in the Resistance (1983)
It is 1943 in Paris. Like so many others, the Bourbelle family's home has been taken over by the Germans and they now live in their cellar. Little do they know that the son, Guy-Hubert Bourdelle, is far from being the cowardly hairdresser…
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33
The Big Chill (1983)
Seven old college friends gather for a weekend reunion after the funeral of one of their own.
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34
Local Hero (1983)
An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to buy up an entire village where they want to build a refinery. But things don't go as expected.
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35
The Day After (1983)
In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise…
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36
Soap and Water (1983)
A school janitor pretends to be a priest in order to give private lessons to a young top model.
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37
Yentl (1983)
In a time when girls were forbidden to study religious scriptures, a Jewish girl masquerades as a boy to enter religious training and unexpectedly finds love along the way.
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38
Fire and Ice (1983)
The villainous Nekron and his mother, Queen Juliana, plot against the human race from their frigid fortress. Creating mass destruction with huge glaciers, mother and son incur the wrath of Larn, a warrior whose entire village was destroyed…
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39
The Hunger (1983)
Five-thousand-year-old vampire Miriam promises her lovers the gift of eternal life. When John, her cellist companion for centuries, discovers that he has suddenly begun growing old, he attempts to seek out the help of Dr. Sarah Roberts, a…
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40
The ComDads (1983)
Unable to find her runaway son, a woman deceives two of her ex-lovers from her youth, a mild-mannered teacher and a tough journalist, that each is the real father in order to obtain their help.
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41
Risky Business (1983)
Meet Joel Goodson, an industrious, college-bound 17-year-old and a responsible, trustworthy son. However, when his parents go away and leave him home alone in the wealthy Chicago suburbs with the Porsche at his disposal he quickly decides…
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42
Mr. Mom (1983)
Jack and Caroline are a couple making a decent living when Jack suddenly loses his job. They agree that he should stay at home and look after the house while Caroline works. It's just that he's never done it before, and really doesn't have…
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43
Sudden Impact (1983)
When a young rape victim takes justice into her own hands and becomes a serial killer, it's up to Dirty Harry Callahan, on suspension from the SFPD, to bring her to justice.
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44
Psycho II (1983)
Norman Bates is declared sane and released from the facility in which he was being held, despite the complaints of Lila Loomis, sister of his most famous victim. Is he really cured, or will he kill again?
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45
Flashdance (1983)
Alex Owens, a young woman juggling between two odd jobs, aspires to become a successful ballet dancer. Nick, who is her boss and lover, supports and encourages her to fulfil her dream.
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46
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
An anthology film presenting remakes of three episodes from the "Twilight Zone" TV series—"Kick the Can", "It's a Good Life" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet"—and one original story, "Time Out."
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47
Lone Wolf McQuade (1983)
The archetypical renegade Texas Ranger wages war against a drug kingpin with automatic weapons, his wits and martial arts after a gun battle leaves his partner dead. All of this inevitably culminates in a martial arts showdown between the…
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48
Fantozzi Still Suffers (1983)
After a hard day at work and a condominium-board meeting, accountant Ugo Fantozzi goes on a trip with his family. Unfortunately, he will face a nasty surprise upon his return.
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49
Octopussy (1983)
James Bond is sent to investigate after a fellow “00” agent is found dead with a priceless Fabergé egg. Bond follows the mystery and uncovers a smuggling scandal and a Russian General who wants to provoke a new World War.
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50
Gorky Park (1983)
Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a…