Best movies of 1987
by tinnes-04102 | created - 20 Feb 2019 | updated - 1 week ago | Publicthat I have seen ranked
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1. RoboCop (1987)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox
Votes: 283,240 | Gross: $53.42M
Grade: A+
2. The Princess Bride (1987)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon
Votes: 451,066 | Gross: $30.86M
Grade: A+
3. No Way Out (1987)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A coverup and witchhunt occur after a politician accidentally kills his mistress.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton
Votes: 46,006 | Gross: $35.51M
Grade: A
4. The Untouchables (1987)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
During Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.
Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith
Votes: 330,913 | Gross: $76.27M
Grade: A
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: 165,222 | Gross: $43.85M
Grade: A
6. Angel Heart (1987)
X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 95,858 | Gross: $17.19M
Grade: A
7. Lethal Weapon (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 276,450 | Gross: $65.21M
Grade: A
8. The Last Emperor (1987)
PG-13 | 163 min | Biography, Drama, History
Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-winning dramatisation of the life story of China's last emperor, Pu Yi.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ruocheng Ying
Votes: 111,541 | Gross: $43.98M
Grade: A
9. River's Edge (1986)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
Director: Tim Hunter | Stars: Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, Daniel Roebuck
Votes: 20,702 | Gross: $4.60M
Grade: A-
Release date (1987)
10. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
R | 121 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1965, an unorthodox and irreverent DJ named Adrian Cronauer begins to shake up things when he is assigned to the U.S. Armed Services radio station in Vietnam.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tom T. Tran, Chintara Sukapatana
Votes: 153,879 | Gross: $123.92M
Grade: A-
11. Raising Arizona (1987)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Crime
When a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman
Votes: 150,423 | Gross: $22.85M
Grade: A-
12. Radio Days (1987)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
A nostalgic look at radio's golden age focusing on one ordinary family and the various performers in the medium.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Mike Starr, Paul Herman
Votes: 36,338 | Gross: $14.79M
Grade: A-
13. Predator (1987)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo
Votes: 455,063 | Gross: $59.74M
Grade: A-
14. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
R | 116 min | Drama, War
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Votes: 790,720 | Gross: $46.36M
Grade: A-
15. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama
A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean
Votes: 160,319 | Gross: $49.53M
Grade: A-
16. Dirty Dancing (I) (1987)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 256,531 | Gross: $0.62M
Grade: B+
17. Broadcast News (1987)
R | 133 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky
Votes: 34,134 | Gross: $51.25M
Grade: B+
18. The Lost Boys (1987)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
After moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest, Barnard Hughes
Votes: 161,244 | Gross: $32.22M
Grade: B+
19. Tin Men (1987)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama
A minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, Barbara Hershey, John Mahoney
Votes: 9,787 | Gross: $25.41M
Grade: B+
20. Stakeout (1987)
R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two detectives observe an escaped convict's ex-girlfriend, but complications set in when one of them falls for her.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn
Votes: 28,524 | Gross: $65.67M
Grade: B+
21. Barfly (1987)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Based on the life of successful poet Charles Bukowski and his exploits in Hollywood during the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Faye Dunaway, Alice Krige, Jack Nance
Votes: 21,985 | Gross: $3.22M
Surprisingly made by Cannon films. After mommy dearest, Faye Dunaway sadly had little career opportunities. This is her best late career role. Mickey Rorque is unrecognizable and gives one of the best performances of his career. Offbeat film about grimy offbeat people.
Grade: B+
22. Moonstruck (1987)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello
Votes: 68,562 | Gross: $80.64M
Grade: B+
23. 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: 97,151 | Gross: $156.65M
Grade: B+
Original ending is better, if they had stuck with that ending it would have been better
24. Evil Dead II (1987)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva
Votes: 181,987 | Gross: $5.92M
Grade: 89
Very good sequal but I actually like the 1st darker one more. Awesome set up for army of darkness and kind of helped popularize the horror comdey genre
25. House of Games (1987)
R | 102 min | Crime, Thriller
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Director: David Mamet | Stars: Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Lilia Skala
Votes: 24,040 | Gross: $2.59M
Grade: B+
26. Spaceballs (1987)
PG | 96 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
A star-pilot for hire and his trusty sidekick must come to the rescue of a princess and save Planet Druidia from the clutches of the evil Spaceballs.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman
Votes: 206,623 | Gross: $38.12M
Grade: B+
27. The Living Daylights (1987)
PG | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies, and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.
Director: John Glen | Stars: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker
Votes: 105,879 | Gross: $51.19M
Grade: B+
28. Less Than Zero (1987)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
A college freshman returns to L.A. for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Director: Marek Kanievska | Stars: Andrew McCarthy, Jami Gertz, Robert Downey Jr., James Spader
Votes: 22,128 | Gross: $12.40M
Grade: B+
29. The Hidden (1987)
R | 97 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A cop and an FBI agent race for answers after law abiding people suddenly become violent criminals.
Director: Jack Sholder | Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Nouri, Claudia Christian, Clarence Felder
Votes: 22,613 | Gross: $9.75M
Grade: B+
30. The Brave Little Toaster (1987)
G | 90 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
A group of dated appliances embark on a journey to the city to find their master after being abandoned in a cabin in the woods.
Director: Jerry Rees | Stars: Jon Lovitz, Timothy Stack, Timothy E. Day, Thurl Ravenscroft
Votes: 27,747
Grade: B+
31. Extreme Prejudice (1987)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Texas Ranger and a ruthless narcotics kingpin - they were childhood friends, now they are adversaries...
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Michael Ironside, Maria Conchita Alonso
Votes: 8,766 | Gross: $11.31M
One of Walter Hill's best films and an underated gem of an action film. Great performance by Nick Nolte with a stacked supporting cast of great character actors: powers boothe, clancy brown, michal ironside, rip torn, and Tommy Lister.
Grade: B+
32. The Big Town (1987)
R | 109 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
A dice roller falls in love with a talented dancer who happens to be the wife to a gangster.
Directors: Ben Bolt, Harold Becker | Stars: Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Dern
Votes: 2,569 | Gross: $1.73M
Grade: B+
33. Innerspace (1987)
PG | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A test pilot is miniaturized in a secret experiment, and accidentally injected into a hapless store clerk.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy
Votes: 65,166 | Gross: $25.89M
Grade: B+
34. The Pick-up Artist (1987)
PG-13 | 81 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A womanizer meets his match when he falls for a woman in debt to the mafia.
Director: James Toback | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Robert Downey Jr., Dennis Hopper, Danny Aiello
Votes: 7,850 | Gross: $13.29M
Grade: B
35. Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An outcast secretly pays the most popular girl in school one thousand dollars to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains, Tina Caspary
Votes: 42,028 | Gross: $31.62M
Grade: B
36. Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
PG-13 | 102 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A babysitter must battle her way through the big city after being stranded there with the kids she's looking after.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp
Votes: 49,142 | Gross: $34.37M
Grade: B
37. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Romance
When Keith goes out with Amanda, the girl of his dreams, Amanda's ex-boyfriend plans to get back at Keith. Meanwhile, Keith's best friend, tomboy Watts, realizes she has feelings for Keith.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, Lea Thompson, Craig Sheffer
Votes: 34,672 | Gross: $18.55M
Grade: B
38. Roxanne (1987)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Romance
The large-nosed C.D. Bales is in love with the beautiful Roxanne; she falls for his personality but another man's looks.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall
Votes: 47,697 | Gross: $40.05M
Grade: B
39. In the Mood (1987)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Romance
A 14-year-old nicknamed the 'Woo Woo Kid', is a teenage casanova who has affairs and runs away to marry two older women, mothers themselves, fascinating the public and the media with his romantic prowess.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Talia Balsam, Beverly D'Angelo, Michael Constantine
Votes: 1,097 | Gross: $1.00M
Grade: B
40. Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Comedy
Eddie Murphy in a stand-up performance recorded live. For an hour and a half he talks about his favourite subjects: sex and women.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Tatyana Ali, Billie Allen, Clebert Ford
Votes: 20,743 | Gross: $50.50M
Hard to grade a standup special but it's great and prime eddy.
41. The Stepfather (1987)
R | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
After murdering his entire family, a man marries a widow with a teenage daughter in another town and prepares to do it all over again.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, Shelley Hack, Charles Lanyer
Votes: 18,202 | Gross: $2.49M
Grade: B
42. Overboard (1987)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
A cruel but beautiful heiress mocks and cheats a hired carpenter. When she gets amnesia after an accident, he decides to introduce her to regular life by convincing her that they're husband and wife.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 67,907 | Gross: $26.71M
Grade: B
43. Best Seller (1987)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A hitman approaches a writer to help him create his next best seller, but the violent world he was a part of has other plans.
Director: John Flynn | Stars: James Woods, Brian Dennehy, Victoria Tennant, Allison Balson
Votes: 6,268 | Gross: $4.28M
Grade: B-
44. 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: 3,812 | Gross: $1.12M
Grade: B-
45. Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
R | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.
Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Jürgen Prochnow, Ronny Cox
Votes: 130,557 | Gross: $153.67M
Grade: B-
46. Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987)
TV-14 | 45 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Goku and Krillin want to be trained in the martial arts by the great Master Roshi. The only way he will agree to train them is if they go to Devil's Castle to find the Sleeping Princess, who is being held prisoner by Count Lucifer, and bring her back to his island.
Director: Daisuke Nishio | Stars: Masako Nozawa, Tôru Furuya, Mami Koyama, Mayumi Tanaka
Votes: 2,797
Grade: B-
47. The Running Man (1987)
R | 101 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In a dystopian America, a falsely convicted policeman gets his shot at freedom when he must forcibly participate in a TV game show where convicts, runners, must battle killers for their freedom.
Director: Paul Michael Glaser | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown
Votes: 167,789 | Gross: $38.12M
Grade: B-
48. Three O'Clock High (1987)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy
A nerd gets himself in hot water with the new bully, a quiet bad boy who challenges him to fight on the grounds of their high school after the day's end.
Director: Phil Joanou | Stars: Casey Siemaszko, Annie Ryan, Richard Tyson, Stacey Glick
Votes: 13,179 | Gross: $3.69M
Grade: B-
49. Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 93 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After the death of Shaggy's Uncle Beaureguard, he, Scooby, and Scrappy arrive at his uncle's plantation to collect the inheritance. But as soon as they arrive, they find it is haunted by ... See full summary »
Directors: Paul Sommer, Carl Urbano, Ray Patterson | Stars: Don Messick, Casey Kasem, Sorrell Booke, William Callaway
Votes: 5,027
Grade: B-
50. Malone (1987)
R | 92 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
An ex-C.I.A. hit man running from his past finds just how difficult it is to retire when he runs across a small town controlled by mercenaries and a family that's resisting their control.
Director: Harley Cokeliss | Stars: Burt Reynolds, Cliff Robertson, Kenneth McMillan, Cynthia Gibb
Votes: 3,620 | Gross: $3.06M
Less comedic and more mean spirited than must Burt films in the 80s. In an up and down carrer in the 70s and early 80s he was hot. But for most of the 80s after and 90s outside some films he struggled. This is one of them that was unfairly mangled and remains a more somber serious watch but a solid action film. Cliff robison also chews up some scenery.
Grade: B-
51. A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
R | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Martin, an I.R.A. hitman, is seen by a Catholic priest while carrying out a hit. He grows a bond with the priest and his niece. But his past and his former employers put all their lives in danger.
Director: Mike Hodges | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Bob Hoskins, Alan Bates, Sammi Davis
Votes: 5,717 | Gross: $1.43M
Upon its release disowned by director and star. They were upset about the editing and music. Many were critical of Mickey's accent. However, I think its fine and he gives a very good performance which elevates the film. Bob Hoskins is also good here as is a young Liam neeson. Underrated solid action film not as bad as people say.
Grade: C+
52. Three Men and a Baby (1987)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Jack Holden and his friends, Peter and Michael, spend most of their time having flings with several women in their apartment. Their life changes when a mysterious baby appears at their doorstep.
Director: Leonard Nimoy | Stars: Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, Nancy Travis
Votes: 57,922 | Gross: $167.78M
Grade: C+
53. Teen Wolf Too (1987)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Todd Howard is a struggling college student. Nothing seems to be going very well for him, until he turns into a wolf.
Director: Christopher Leitch | Stars: Jason Bateman, Kim Darby, John Astin, Paul Sand
Votes: 12,454 | Gross: $7.89M
Grade: 50
54. The Cure for Insomnia (1987)
Unrated | 5,220 min | Documentary, Music
Not really following any standard plot structure, the film mostly consists of poet L.D. Groban reciting his own poem of 4,080 pages, inter-spliced with X-rated film footage and rock music videos.
Director: John Henry Timmis IV | Stars: Cosmic Lightning, L.D. Groban, J.T.4
Votes: 418
Grade: 45
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