Best Drama movies of 1980s

Actors : Amy Irving, Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Nehemiah Persoff,
Directors : Barbra Streisand,

A Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.

Actors : Vanessa Redgrave, Gary Oldman, Alfred Molina, Wallace Shawn,
Directors : Stephen Frears,

This film is the story of the spectacular life and violent death of British playwright Joe Orton. In his teens, Orton is befriended by the older, more reserved Kenneth Halliwell, and while ...

Actors : Anne Pitoniak, Anne Bancroft, Meg Tilly, Jane Fonda,
Directors : Norman Jewison,

When a naive novice nun is discovered with a dead newborn in her convent quarters, a court-appointed psychiatrist investigates her case.

Actors : Rolf Hoppe, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Ildikó Bánsági, Krystyna Janda,
Directors : István Szabó,

A German stage actor finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance in a Faustian play as the Nazis take power in pre-WWII Germany. As his associates and ...

Actors : Tom Cruise, John Stockwell, Jackie Earle Haley, John P. Navin Jr.,
Directors : Curtis Hanson,

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Actors : Rosanna DeSoto, Sean Connery, Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman,
Directors : Sidney Lumet,

Jessie is an aging career criminal who has been in more jails, fights, schemes, and lineups than just about anyone else. His son Vito, while currently on the straight and narrow, has had a ...

Actors : Pat Hingle, Joyce Van Patten, Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn,
Directors : John Schlesinger,

The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.

Actors : Judy Morris, Robert Grubb, Tom Burlinson, Richard Morgan,
Directors : Simon Wincer,

The true story of a Australian racehorse that becomes a champion with the help of a local stableboy.

Actors : John Houseman, Fred Astaire, Craig Wasson, Alice Krige,
Directors : John Irvin,

Two generations of men find themselves haunted by the presence of a spectral woman. When the son of one of the elderly men returns to his hometown after his brother's mysterious death, they attempt to unravel her story.

Actors : Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, Bart Burns, Kim Stanley,
Directors : Graeme Clifford,

The story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.

Actors : Art Evans, Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, David Alan Grier,
Directors : Norman Jewison,

An African American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.

Actors : Sonia Braga, Richard Bradford, Julie Carmen, Rubén Blades,
Directors : Robert Redford,

In Milagro, a small town in the American Southwest, Ladd Devine plans to build a major new resort development. While activist Ruby Archuleta and lawyer/newspaper editor Charlie Bloom ...

Actors : Donal McCann, Anjelica Huston, Helena Carroll, Cathleen Delany,
Directors : John Huston,

Gabriel Conroy and wife Greta attend an early January dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.

Actors : David Labiosa, Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, George Coe,
Directors : Sidney J. Furie,

Supposedly based partially on a true story, a woman is tormented and sexually molested by an invisible demon.

Actors : Barbara Hershey, John Mahoney, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito,
Directors : Barry Levinson,

A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.

Actors : Meryl Streep, Jane Kaczmarek, Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro,
Directors : Ulu Grosbard,

During shopping for Christmas, Frank and Molly run into each other. This fleeting short moment will start to change their lives, when they recognize each other months later in the train ...

Actors : Leo Rossi, Kelly McGillis, Jodie Foster, Bernie Coulson,
Directors : Jonathan Kaplan,

After a young woman suffers a brutal gang rape in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.

Actors : Dennis Hopper, Debra Winger, Sami Frey, Theresa Russell,
Directors : Bob Rafelson,

A federal investigator tracks down a gold digging woman who moves from husband to husband, kills them and collects the inheritance.

Actors : Lance Henriksen, Jenny Wright, Adrian Pasdar, Bill Paxton,
Directors : Kathryn Bigelow,

A small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is turned by a beautiful drifter.

Actors : Susan Sarandon, James Spader, Kathy Bates, Jason Alexander,
Directors : Luis Mandoki,

Max Baron (James Spader) is a 27-year-old high-flying advertising executive still recovering from the death of his wife. One night he is in a bar when he meets Nora Baker (Susan Sarandon), ...