Best Films of 1986
I'm going old school. And instead of a top 10. I am rounding out all the films from that year, and putting a group of a random number of films that were good enough to make the list. These are films that were received well by criticsm had a good box office performance, and a good rating from RT.com between 100-70% no less. Enjoy!
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40 titles
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.98%
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsBob HoskinsCathy TysonMichael CaineA man recently released from prison manages to get a job driving a call girl from customer to customer.97%
- DirectorMichael MannStarsWilliam PetersenKim GreistJoan AllenFormer FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.94%
- DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsBette MidlerDanny DeVitoJudge ReinholdA couple cheated by a vile businessman kidnaps his wife in retaliation, not knowing that their enemy is delighted that they did.94%
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.93%
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowDianne WiestMichael CaineBetween two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.93%
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsJames WoodsJim BelushiMichael MurphyA burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.92%
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeff GoldblumGeena DavisJohn GetzA brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.91%
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsGary OldmanChloe WebbDavid HaymanThe relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.91%
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWil WheatonRiver PhoenixCorey FeldmanA writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.91%
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsPaul NewmanTom CruiseMary Elizabeth MastrantonioFast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.90%
- DirectorFrank OzStarsRick MoranisEllen GreeneVincent GardeniaA nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.90%
- DirectorPeter FaimanStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAn American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.89%
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsGene HackmanBarbara HersheyDennis HopperA coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.88%
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJeff DanielsMelanie GriffithGeorge 'Red' SchwartzA free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.88%
- DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsMichael RookerTracy ArnoldTom TowlesArriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.88%
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.88%
- DirectorTim HunterStarsCrispin GloverKeanu ReevesIone SkyeA 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.87%
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsSean PennChristopher WalkenMary Stuart MastersonReunited with his career criminal father, tough teen Brad thinks he's found his ticket to an exciting life of crime, only to find out he's wrong.86%
- DirectorRobert DornhelmStarsSusan DeyTom HulceMichael BowenIn the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, everyone is more than they initially seem. May waits tables, raises a son, Henry, and is an aspiring actress. She needs a roommate and takes in a pizza deliverer named Jonathan, an aspiring songwriter. In the adjoining flat is August, an Austrian body sculptor who appears in a deodorant commercial and dreams big dreams. May takes a job delivering singing telegrams as a stripper, Jonathan invites Henry to tag along with him on deliveries, August gets into trouble with the police who call his father in Austria, and the friendships, frustrations, and love affairs of everyday life come to a head.86%
- DirectorRobert MandelStarsBryan BrownBrian DennehyDiane VenoraA movie special effects man is hired to fake a real-life mob killing for a witness protection plan, but finds his own life in danger.86%
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsKathleen TurnerNicolas CageBarry MillerPeggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.85%
- DirectorLeonard NimoyStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyTo save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.85%
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsNick NolteBette MidlerRichard DreyfussA rich but troubled family find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.84%
- DirectorAlan MetterStarsRodney DangerfieldSally KellermanBurt YoungTo help his discouraged son get through college, a funloving and obnoxious rich businessman decides to enter the school as a student himself.84%
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellKim CattrallDennis DunA rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.83%
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsDiane KeatonJessica LangeSissy SpacekThree southern sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.81%
- DirectorRon ClementsBurny MattinsonDavid MichenerStarsVincent PriceBarrie InghamVal BettinBasil, the rodent Sherlock Holmes, investigates the kidnapping of a toy maker and uncovers its link to his archenemy, Professor Ratigan.81%
- DirectorRandal KleiserStarsJoey CramerPaul ReubensCliff De YoungIn 1978, a boy travels eight years into the future and has an adventure with an intelligent, wisecracking alien ship.81%
- DirectorRanda HainesStarsWilliam HurtMarlee MatlinPiper LaurieA new speech teacher at a school for the deaf falls in love with the janitor, a deaf woman speechless by choice.81%
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsMatthew BroderickAlan RuckMia SaraA popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.80%
- DirectorHoward DeutchStarsMolly RingwaldJon CryerHarry Dean StantonA poor girl must choose between the affections of dating her childhood sweetheart or a rich but sensitive playboy.80%
- DirectorMichael DinnerStarsJudge ReinholdMeg TillyCleavant DerricksJoe Gower's job is skating through library shelves, fetching books. A police officer and friend of his is chosen to participate in a charity dance performance. Gower agrees to take his place in the show by posing as a police officer. He falls for a female officer in the show, and gets into various scrapes with fellow cops and also crooks, and he dances.79%
- DirectorWalter HillStarsRalph MacchioJoe SenecaJami GertzA wannabe blues-guitar virtuoso finds an old blues player and hopes he can teach him a long-lost song by legendary musician Robert Johnson.79%
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsSean ConneryChristian SlaterHelmut QualtingerAn intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.76%
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordHelen MirrenRiver PhoenixAn inventor spurns his city life and moves his family into the jungles of Central America to make a utopia.75%
- DirectorAlan AldaStarsAlan AldaMichael CaineMichelle PfeifferAfter selling the rights of his book to a movie production company, a writer finds himself fighting the many egos and varying views around him.75%
- DirectorDavid ByrneStarsDavid ByrneJohn GoodmanAnnie McEnroeA small but growing Texas town, filled with strange and musical characters, celebrates its sesquicentennial and converge on a local parade and talent show.75%
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsJane FondaJeff BridgesRaul JuliaA washed up, alcoholic actress who is prone to blackouts wakes up next to a murdered man. Did she kill him and, if not, is she in danger?71%
- DirectorNick CastleStarsLucy DeakinsJay UnderwoodBonnie BedeliaAn autistic boy who dreams of flying touches everyone he meets, including a new family who has moved in after their father dies.71%