Can You Match The Poster To The 80s Movie?
- by Blake Rodgers
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Think about the movies you loved in the 80s. Chances are that there's a mixture of nostalgic feelings of iconic scenes and the breakout characters we all loved so much. But, among those thoughts, there's also likely a special place in your memory reserved for the artistic renderings on the VHS covers and promotional posters.
The 80s were a time when most households had--at most--a single TV and renting videos was a pretty big luxury. Long before the ease of point and click downloads, RedBox DVDs, and YouTube--we spent our time memorizing the details of covers while making the important decision of what to rent from a video store or borrow from the few shelves the public library had. The art on the boxes and the posters we knew held so much more sway in deciding to watch a movie with the lack of ever-present movie trailers like we have today.
Some of these posters and movie covers are burned so deep into our memories that we might even recognize them more than the movies themselves. And while gone are the days where we need to remember things like phone numbers or addresses, our brains still hang on tightly to the iconic artwork that hung on our walls and filled shelves full of video tapes.
In the spirit of jogging your mental movie muscles, see if you can identify these 25 movies from the 80s by their posters and cover art!
This was Marty McFly's first adventure.
Quite possibly one of the more iconic pieces of artwork to come out of the 80s, this poster's image was absolutely everywhere following the massive success of the film. Oddly, the imagery of the poster hardly conveys anything that happens in the film or that it primarily takes place in the very low-tech era of the 1950s. Still, it has become burned in the memory of anyone who considers themselves a true child of the 80s or lover of pop culture.
This movie made audiences think puberty was going to be way worse than it actually is.
What is this? Some sort of Michael J. Fox-centric quiz? Well, it was the 80s and he pretty much ruled the decade (especially 1985) so....sort of? This poster was still from a time where a lot of artistic effort was put into them. Instead of it just being a collage of photos mashed together in some epic fashion, things were drawn and painted. This "transformational" Michael J. Fox role has him looking quite content with the changes going on in his life despite the drama it causes him in the film.
The age-old story of a boy saving a town with the power of dance
There's no doubt that dancing can help some situations but it's doubtful it'd really save a town from a severe case of having a stick up its butt. The poster features a delightfully feather-haired Kevin Bacon doing his best to shake off the stress of the day in the one way his character knows how. Though, we're wary of what really went on in the movie's town considering how well every single kid in was able to dance once the ban had been lifted.
This movie had a big adventure in a small backyard
This 1989 action adventure film was the directorial debut for Joe Johnston who went onto direct films like Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, The Rocketeer, and Captain America: The First Avenger. This film had a much, let's say, smaller focus with Rick Moranis playing an inventor who accidentally loses his kids in the backyard. The film is a marvel of set building, puppetry (ANTY!), and some really decent looking CGI effects for the time. Let's just not talk about the sequel where a baby rampages through Las Vegas.
This franchise really made good on the whole "I'll be back" promise!
Despite its ongoing and seemingly endless franchise of sequels, reboots, and creepy CGI Austrians, you can't do much better than this 1984 classic. With its leather jacket, laser lighting, bad-ass sunglasses, ridiculously large weapons, and even more ridiculously large star--this poster encapsulates everything people loved about movies in the 80s. It's been more than 30 years since the film's release and its style (and catchphrase) still has an impact on culture today.
Vampires (and saxaphone solos) never looked so cool
There's not a frame of this movie that doesn't scream "stereotypical 80s fashion" and neither does the poster. This 1987 film was a refreshing take on a vampire story and--oddly enough--was originally meant to be a take on a Peter Pan story. The whole never aging and having the ability to fly does seem fairly suspect when you think about most of the residents of Neverland. Thankfully, the producers of the film focused more on vampires than any initial ideas about a Pan re-telling.
No, no. This is the OTHER Harrison Ford science fiction franchise
This Ridley Scott 1982 classic is one of the most beloved sci-fi films of all time and is the subject of countless never-ending pop culture debates and theories. Set in the futuristic Los Angeles of 2019 (filmmakers were a bit off on predicting how it'd look) the film follows ex-police officer Rick Deckard as he tracks down rogue artificial life forms known as Replicants. A sequel to the film is getting released soon and is set in 2049. Hopefully that's leaving enough time for the future they depict to actually catch up.
This film taught us to be a little suspect of any strange looking plants
Another fine example of an artistic rendering of what a film has in-store for audiences long before photo collages. And while the exact depiction in the poster never happened in the film, it gives anyone looking at it a pretty good idea of what they're about to see. This 1986 musical film starring Rick Moranis was based off of a play of the same name that--stay with us here--was based on a 1960 black comedy film directed by Roger Corman.
"HEY, YOU GUYS!"
This is another film (and poster) that anyone even slightly familiar with 80s movies should be able to identify. The classic treasure hunt adventure film is one of the more popular things to come out of the 80s and still be as beloved as the summer it was released in 1985. Man, that was a GREAT year for movies! The poster is an artistic rendering of something that didn't happen in the film yet captures the style of it perfectly!
This was the second major film Tim Burton ever directed
Pinstripes never looked so good as they did on the undead corpse of Michael Keaton's character. Should you need to rid your house of some pesky new tenants and your ghost powers aren't up to the task just yet, you simple need to say his name three times to summoned him. The poster sums up pretty much everything you'd need to know about the film including the iconic Tim Burton style that--for the most part--started with this classic 80s film.
There's no better fantasy martial arts comedy film than this one
The 1980s is likely the only time a film like this could be made and see as much success as it did. The film followed a truck driver through a world full of martial arts experts, malevolent sorcerers, and more over the top acting than almost every movie in the decade. Somehow, it remains one of the most beloved cult classic relics of the 80s and has spawned video games, comic books, and--in recent years--even been rumored to have had talk about a remake.
What would you do for an awesome week at a beach house?
Despite how fun this 1989 dark comedy is remembered, the story kicks off with some pretty ruthless plot points. Characters played by Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman are initially brought into a plot to frame and kill them for crimes that their boss committed. Through a confluence of events, they ultimately have the last laugh when the boss dies and the boys take advantage of his sweet, sweet beach house, money, and hard-partying social circle. We won't get into the sequel that re-animates their boss' corpse though.
Even with the food poisoning, this movie still makes air travel look better than it does today.
This parody on airline travel from 1980 is some of the best work by star Leslie Nielsen and his co-stars Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The film was one of the first major parody hits and still has audiences laughing to this day. The film is 87 minutes of pure comedy gold and the box office proved it. The film's budget was a modest $3.5 million but it ultimately grossed $130 million and continues to be remembered as one of the funniest movies of all time.
A movie like this one probably couldn't get made today
There's not much in the world more creepy and offensive than seeing an artistic rendering of Scott Baio and Willie Aames magically flipping up a woman's skirt. Well, except maybe Baio's Tweets over the last few years. This 1982 teen sex comedy basically--believe it or not--was a film that built to a finale parodying the 1976 supernatural thriller Carrie. The climax of the film involves a telekinetic Baio (thanks to a lab accident) stripping dozens of people at his high school prom.
Johnny 5 was alive in this 1986 film
The 80s had a weird habit of giving magical life to things with little explanation other than "it got hit by lightning." However the lightning equals life trend started, this 1986 film was one of the best! It was an amazing mixture of robotics and puppeteering that resulted in a main character that's impossible not to love! Additionally, in the 80s you couldn't go wrong with a hefty dose of both Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg. Even with the inexplicable Indian stereotype played by the very NOT Indian, Fisher Stevens.
This classic horror movie was based on a 1951 film with a similar name
This is a rare case of a poster not doing the final film justice in any way. The poster showing a snow-covered figure drenched in shadow could never prepare anyone for the horrors they experienced in the movie. Though, it'd be impossible to convey the intricacies and frightful detail that Rob Bottin's crew and Stan Winston put into the creature designs. The poster still somehow does set up the suspense of the film well enough by giving us something we're unable to see clearly.
Friends come in all sizes and from all planets in this movie.
If the 80s were to have an official flag, this image would probably be it. The 1982 alien adventure blockbuster was--and we're not kidding here--the most popular film ever made when it was released. It held the record of highest grossing film of all time for eleven years only to be knocked out of the number one spot by Jurassic Park. The film captured the imaginations of kids and adults alike with its story of a stranded alien looking to get home.
This Clive Barker film made audiences wary of every puzzlebox
This supernatural body horror film written and directed by Clive Barker made audiences squirm in their seats long before movies like Saw came to be. The horror film, oddly centered around a innocent looking puzzlebox, tells the story of the Cenobites (possibly demon/angels) lead by the appropriately named "Pinhead" and their alternate dimension hopping bloody quest for all things sadomasochistic. The incredibly bloody tale has resulted in several sequels and has been rumored for a remake for some years now.
It's sometimes easy to forget this film was actually a comedy
Despite this 1981 film being written and directed by comedy legend John Landis, there's one scene that qualifies this as one of the most terrifying films of the 80s. The poster and werewolf transformation scene are far darker than most were expecting in this otherwise dark comedy. The film really is a comedy but it's safe to say that most people are scarred to this day by the horrifyingly real-looking transformation that David Naughton undergoes and surprised with what could be done with special effects at the time.
A young Vincent D'Onofrio playing Thor? Sign us up!
This 80s classic was one of many based in Chicago. For whatever reason, the 80s seemed to have a thing for that. In it, Elisabeth Shue played a character doing her best to take care of a bunch of kids. Impossible as it may seem, the ridiculous premise of the poster is closer to events in the film than you might think. The caper leads one of the characters to scale the outside of the Crain Communications Building in downtown Chicago. And yes, Vincent D'Onofrio plays a mechanic with long blond locks who's idolized by the Thor-obsessed character, Sara.
This movie made glaives cool years before Blade used his
The 80s were so absolutely full of fantasy sci-fi movies that it's not only hard to keep track of them all but a few even tend to fall by the wayside. This film may generally be forgotten to more popular fantasy romps but it's notable for featuring early performances by Liam Neeson and Robbie Coltrane. Taking place on an alien world, adventurers band together to fight against a common interplanetary enemy called "The Beast" and his army of futuristic slayers.
This, like many other John Hughes films, focus on Chicago and the Midwest
Putting comedic powerhouses like John Candy and Steve Martin together in a movie is a guaranteed formula for success. This 1987 American comedy film written, directed, and produced by John Hughes had the two comedy giants play off each other for pretty much the entire movie. What's basically a travel movie turns into so much more when Candy and Martin get diverted on their way back to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Sad to say this was their only substantial time in a movie together (ignoring that they were both in Little Shop of Horrors.
For a time, every family felt the pain of roadtrips with the Griswold family
There may never be another film that captures the trials and tribulations of a family trip better than this 1983 movie. It follows the Griswold family on their way across country to visit a Disneyland analog called Walley World. Their trip there is full of all sorts of pitfalls but none stop the family from their goal. Accidentally murdered pets? Recently deceased relatives? The Griswolds still achieve their goal even with the park being closed. The epic poster, though not accurate to the movie's plot, certainly exudes the joy of a successful family getaway.
"Heeeeeeere's Johnny!"
Fitting that one of the 80's most epic psychological horror films would immortalize its most terrifying moment in its poster and promotional materials. The events of this film play out painfully slow at first which is part of what makes it such a good film. The 1980 Stanley Kubrick masterpiece (based on Stephen King's 1977 novel of the same name) tells the tale of a writer named Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) slowly succumbing to madness caused by an evil presence in the hotel he's caring for over the winter.
This film had little to do with the cartoon that made it so famous
There's no denying that the adventures of this hero were a massive hit all over the world. Kids idolized the hero, his friends, and their animated adventures but the transition to the big screen must have been a bit odd. The addition of a trip to Earth, the retrieval of a musical key, and--for whatever reason--replacing the beloved Orko with a testicle-faced goblin made it more than a little weird. Though, it can be fondly remembered for being one Courtney Cox's first roles.
You guys want to see a dead body?
This film had some of the best performances in the 80s from its four main actors. Audiences were captivated by Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, River Phoenix, and a chubby-faced Jerry O'Connell as they set out on a journey to see a dead body. A rather morose topic, sure, but the film had more to do with young men growing up and dealing with the stress in their lives more than anything else. Plus, it's got one of the best revenge stories ever told in the tale of "Lardass Hogan"
A Comedy/Christmas/Horror film? Sign us up!
This movie was a modern take on the classic Charles Dickens' 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, Instead of having all the usual cast of characters like Ebenezer Scrooge and the like, this film decided to focus on the character types more than the names. Still, all the elements are there with Bill Murray playing a heartless miser running a TV station around the holidays. The journey is much the same as any iteration of the Dickens' tale save for some creative (and downright terrifying) creature designs for the various ghosts.
This movie is probably responsible for more kids' martial arts classes than any other
The imagery on this poster should be instantly recognizable for almost anyone who grew up in the 80s and the crane kick stance that the movie's main character takes is something most kids grew up emulating in some form or another. Oddly enough, it's strange to think about the end of the movie and Daniel-son winning the tournament using that kick. Minutes before he wins, there's a referee who is heard quite clearly stating that kicks to the face or head are grounds for disqualification.
"They're heeeeeeere!"
For a lot of people brought up in the 80s this is one film that probably left some emotional scars. The poster's image of a young girl with her hand against a static-filled TV is more than enough to send chills down the spines of people who remember the movie. The idea of a newer house being haunted because of it being built atop burial grounds was a relatively new concept for audiences and likely made them second guess every single noise heard at night for years to come.
Try not to stare at David Bowie's crotch
What do you get when you cross magic with an imaginative young woman who has more than a little disdain for her baby brother? You get this goblin-filled romp through a dangerous maze run by a alarmingly large codpieced David Bowie. The musical adventure starred a young Jennifer Connelly who had to navigate the perils of the Goblin King's maze in order to save her baby bro. Over the course of the film, she befriends a number of creatures who help her along the way.
"Anybody want a peanut?!"
This Rob Reiner comedy film may go down as one of his finest and starred Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant and Christopher Guest. The poster is, if anything, slightly misleading considering most of what we see in the film but it does lend itself to the film's overall charm. If you happened to grow up in the 80s and 90s then it's nearly impossible--NAY!--it's INCONCEIVABLE that you've never seen it, memorized it, and quote it whenever you can.
Wait, kingdoms can be saved by re-naming a princess?
This 1984 German English language fantasy film's actual name is "Die unendliche Geschichte" and was based on a novel of the same name. It's another quintessentially 80s movie with such recognizable characters that it's almost too easy to put on this quiz. It told the story of Bastian Balthazar Bux, a boy who--rather literally--gets sucked into the book he's reading and helps to save the world within. Fun fact: This film features actor Deep Roy who went on to play the Oompa-Loompas in the 2005 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory reboot.
It's usually never a good idea to challenge someone to a skiing contest
This film was one of the first starring roles for John Cusack. With 80s film posters, they either gave away too much or almost nothing at all. The poster for this 1985 ski comedy was one of the latter having just some of the cast show up in the reflection of Cusack's shades. Everything about this movie was unabashedly proud of the decade it was in and proved it every chance it got with the dialogue, plot devices, and more than enough 80s fashion.
Anime owes a good deal of its popularity to this movie
There's so much to love about this 1988 Japanese animated science fiction film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. Every single frame of the movie is a work of art and it's hard to believe at times that it was made all the way back in the 80s. The colors, fluid motion of the characters, and world built for Neo-Tokyo remains a shining example of the beauty that can be created in animation. Over the years, live-action remakes and reboots have been rumored but it seems it's hard to even try to improve on the original.
You came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass at this quiz...and you're all out of bubblegum
Another John Carpenter classic, this 1988 film tells the tale of an unnamed drifter discovering the ruling class is actually grotesque aliens in disguise. The poster for the film pretty much says anything you'd need to know about the movie including the function of the main character's sunglasses. It's a fantastic 80s adventure with one of the longest and most drawn out brutally real fight scenes in all of cinema history between the main characters played by Roddy Piper and Keith David.