92 articles
Gloria (1980 film)
Gloria (1980) is John Cassavetes's Columbia Pictures crime drama starring Gena Rowlands as an ex-gun moll protecting a boy from the mob; it shared the 1980 Venice Golden Lion and earned Rowlands an Oscar nomination.
Harlem Nights
Harlem Nights is a 1989 Paramount comedy-drama written, directed by, and starring Eddie Murphy with Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx, set in 1938 Harlem; a critical flop that grossed $60.9 million and became a cult classic.
Hong Kong Godfather
Hong Kong Godfather (尖東梟雄, Jian dong xiao xiong) is a 1985 Shaw Brothers Hong Kong triad action film directed by Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, starring Leung Kar-Yan and Norman Chui; a separate 1991 Andy Lau film shares the English title.
Jagged Edge (film)
Jagged Edge is a 1985 American courtroom thriller directed by Richard Marquand, written by Joe Eszterhas, starring Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote, and Oscar-nominated Robert Loggia; Columbia released it October 4, 1985.
Johnny Dangerously
Johnny Dangerously is a 1984 American gangster-spoof comedy directed by Amy Heckerling, starring Michael Keaton as a criminal hiding his double life from his DA brother; released by Fox December 21, 1984, PG-13, 93 minutes.
Just Heroes (义胆群英)
Just Heroes (義膽群英, also Tragic Heroes) is a 1989 Hong Kong triad action film co-directed by John Woo and Wu Ma, made as a fundraiser for Chang Cheh, starring Danny Lee, David Chiang, Chen Kuan-Tai, Ti Lung, and Stephen Chow.
Long Arm of the Law (省港旗兵)
Long Arm of the Law (省港旗兵) is Johnny Mak's 1984 Hong Kong crime classic about mainland 'Big Circle' robbers betrayed in a jewellery heist, ending in a Kowloon Walled City gun battle; Golden Horse Best Director winner.
Manhunter (film)
Manhunter (1986) is Michael Mann's crime thriller adapted from Thomas Harris's Red Dragon, starring William Petersen, Brian Cox as the first screen Hannibal Lecktor, and Tom Noonan; a box-office flop that became a cult classic, re-released in 2026 as a 4K Final Cut.
Married to the Mob
Married to the Mob is Jonathan Demme's 1988 American gangster comedy starring Michelle Pfeiffer as mob wife Angela de Marco, with Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell, Alec Baldwin, and Mercedes Ruehl; score by David Byrne, Metascore 71.
Merry-Go-Round (1981 film)
Merry-Go-Round (1981) is Jacques Rivette's French mystery-drama starring Maria Schneider and Joe Dallesandro, shot in 1977, released in France in 1983 after Schneider quit and Rivette suffered a breakdown; third of the unfinished Scènes de la vie parallèle series.
Miracle Mile (film)
Miracle Mile is a 1988 apocalyptic thriller-romance written and directed by Steve De Jarnatt, starring Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham, in which a wrong payphone call warns of nuclear missiles hitting Los Angeles in 70 minutes; a Hemdale-produced cult film that flopped theatrically.
Mississippi Burning
Mississippi Burning is Alan Parker's 1988 Orion Pictures drama, also known by its FBI case name MIBURN, dramatizing the 1964 Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman murders; it won the cinematography Oscar and drew white-savior criticism.
Mona Lisa (1986 film)
Mona Lisa (1986) is a British neo-noir by Neil Jordan starring Bob Hoskins as ex-con George, driver for call girl Simone (Cathy Tyson), with Michael Caine; Cannes Best Actor tie, Oscar nomination, BAFTA win, 104 minutes.
Monsieur Hire
Monsieur Hire (1989), Patrice Leconte's adaptation of Georges Simenon's Les Fiançailles de M. Hire, stars Michel Blanc as a voyeuristic tailor suspected of murder and Sandrine Bonnaire as Alice; Cannes competition film.
Music Box (film)
Music Box is a 1989 American drama film directed by Costa-Gavras and starring Jessica Lange, whose character defends her Hungarian immigrant father against Nazi war crimes charges.
My Heart Is That Eternal Rose (Sha shou hu die meng)
My Heart Is That Eternal Rose (殺手蝴蝶夢, Sha shou hu die meng) is a 1989 Hong Kong heroic-bloodshed romance by Patrick Tam, starring Kenny Bee, Joey Wong, and Tony Leung, who won the 9th HK Film Award Best Supporting Actor.
Nighthawks (1981 film)
Nighthawks (1981) is a Bruce Malmuth action thriller for Universal, starring Sylvester Stallone as NYPD decoy cop Deke DaSilva hunting terrorist Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer), with the Roosevelt Island Tramway hijack climax; released April 10, 1981, 99 minutes, R.
No Way Out (1987 film)
No Way Out is a 1987 American political thriller directed by Roger Donaldson, in which Kevin Costner plays a Navy officer assigned to investigate a murder.
On the Run (亡命鸳鸯)
On the Run (亡命鴛鴦, Fleeing Couple) is a 1988 Hong Kong neo-noir crime thriller directed by Alfred Cheung, produced by Sammo Hung, starring Yuen Biao and Pat Ha; a cop teams with his wife's assassin against a corrupt superintendent.
Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon a Time in America (C'era una volta in America) is Sergio Leone's 1984 epic gangster film starring Robert De Niro and James Woods, based on Harry Grey's The Hoods, famous for its 139-minute US cut versus the 229- and 251-minute versions.
People's Hero (人民英雄)
People's Hero (人民英雄, 1987) is Derek Yee's second Hong Kong crime film, a remake of Dog Day Afternoon, starring Ti Lung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Elaine Jin; it won two Hong Kong Film Awards for supporting acting.
Physical Evidence
Physical Evidence is a 1989 American courtroom crime thriller directed by Michael Crichton, starring Burt Reynolds as a suspended Boston detective on trial for murder, with Theresa Russell as his public defender.
Pixote
Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco is a 1980 Brazilian crime drama by Héctor Babenco, based on José Louzeiro's novel Infância dos mortos, about a boy surviving a reformatory and street crime; starring nonprofessional actor Fernando Ramos da Silva.
Prince of the City
Prince of the City is Sidney Lumet's 1981 crime drama, 167 minutes, starring Treat Williams as Danny Ciello, based on Robert Daley's book about NYPD informant Robert Leuci; 52 of 70 SIU officers indicted.
Raising Arizona
Raising Arizona is the Coen brothers' 1987 screwball comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter as an ex-con and ex-cop who kidnap one of a furniture tycoon's quintuplets; a $6 million Circle Films/Fox release that became a cult classic.
Rich and Famous (江湖情)
Rich and Famous (江湖情, Gong woo ching, Black Vengeance) is a 1987 Hong Kong triad film directed by Taylor Wong, starring Chow Yun-Fat, Andy Lau, and Alex Man; a prequel to Tragic Hero that earned HK$21,014,608 in Hong Kong.
River's Edge
River's Edge is a 1986 American crime drama directed by Tim Hunter, written by Neal Jimenez, starring Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye, and Dennis Hopper; loosely based on the 1981 Marcy Conrad murder in Milpitas, California, it won Independent Spirit Awards for Best Feature and Best Screenplay.
Scarface (1983 film)
Scarface (1983) is Brian De Palma's crime drama remake of the 1932 Howard Hawks film, written by Oliver Stone, starring Al Pacino as Cuban drug lord Tony Montana; initially X-rated and panned, it became a cult classic.
School on Fire (学校风云)
School on Fire (學校風雲; Hok Haau Fung Wan) is Ringo Lam's 1988 Hong Kong Category III action drama, third of the On Fire trilogy, about a schoolgirl terrorized by triads after testifying; it was censored and earned a Hong Kong Film Award.
Sea of Love (film)
Sea of Love is a 1989 American erotic thriller directed by Harold Becker, written by Richard Price, and starring Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, and John Goodman.