“E.T. phone home.”
— E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Arcades were glowing, synths were humming, and cinemas were stacked—from neon-noir futures and creature features to prestige dramas and killer comedies. Browse the 31 below, then call your top three in the comments! ⬇️
- Deathtrap — A blocked playwright hatches a deliciously twisty murder-for-profit plan.
- Poltergeist — “They’re here.” Suburban TV static becomes a doorway to pure terror.
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High — Class, crushes, and Spicoli—high-school life, SoCal style.
- Annie — Tomorrow gets the big, brassy Broadway treatment.
- Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid — Steve Martin splices himself into classic noirs for a loving spoof.
- Rocky III — Balboa meets Clubber Lang—eye of the tiger unlocked.
- TRON — A programmer falls into the Grid and light-cycles into sci-fi history.
- Victor/Victoria — Julie Andrews sings, swings, and gender-bends Paris.
- Diner — Old friends talk life, love, and Colts football over late-night coffee.
- Tootsie — An impossible actor becomes an indispensable actress—career (and conscience) rebooted.
- Sophie’s Choice — A haunting past collides with a fragile present.
- Eating Raoul — Black-comedy carnage fuels a couple’s restaurant dreams.
- The Year of Living Dangerously — Romance and revolution in ’60s Jakarta.
- The Secret of NIMH — A brave field mouse seeks magic (and science) to save her family.
- The King of Comedy — Fame-obsessed Rupert Pupkin turns stand-up into a hostage situation.
- The Thing — Paranoia and shape-shifting terror in the Antarctic ice.
- 48 Hrs. — A cop and a con crack wise and crack skulls—buddy-cop blueprint.
- The Last Unicorn — A gentle, melancholy fantasy quest with an all-timer soundtrack.
- Blade Runner — “More human than human” in a rain-soaked neon noir.
- Conan the Barbarian — Steel, sorcery, and a star-making Arnold roar.
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — “KHAAAN!”—aging heroes, operatic stakes.
- Creepshow — EC Comics horror comes alive in five wicked tales.
- First Blood — Rambo’s small-town showdown births an action icon.
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — A boy, a bike, and a friendship that flies.
- The Dark Crystal — Henson’s puppetry crafts a mythic world of Skeksis and Gelfling.
- The Entity — A chilling, controversial haunting pushes belief to the brink.
- An Officer and a Gentleman — Grit, romance, and that uniformed finale lift off.
- Gandhi — Epic biography of nonviolent resistance and national rebirth.
- The Verdict — A down-and-out lawyer finds his case—and his soul.
- Missing — Costa-Gavras unspools a tense, true-life political mystery.
- The World According to Garp — Eccentric, poignant life chapters—wild, funny, and fierce.
🙏 Your turn: which three ’82 picks are you pressing play on tonight? 🍿✨