What is the best sci-fi movie of the 1980s?

The 1980s produced a golden age of science fiction — from dark dystopian visions to blockbuster crowd-pleasers that still hold up today. Which is the decade's finest?

1

Blade Runner

Ridley Scott's 1982 neo-noir sci-fi masterpiece set in a dystopian 2019 Los Angeles where a cop hunts rogue androids.

2

The Terminator

James Cameron's 1984 low-budget sci-fi breakthrough about a cyborg assassin sent from the future to kill a woman whose son will save humanity.

3

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Steven Spielberg's 1982 beloved family sci-fi about a lonely boy who befriends a gentle alien stranded on Earth.

4

The Empire Strikes Back

Irvin Kershner's 1980 celebrated Star Wars sequel widely regarded as the high point of the franchise with the iconic Vader revelation.

5

Back to the Future

Robert Zemeckis's 1985 timelessly fun adventure about a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a scientist's DeLorean time machine.

6

Aliens

James Cameron's 1986 superb action-horror sequel expanding the Alien universe with pulse-pounding colonial marine combat.

7

The Thing

John Carpenter's 1982 ice-cold paranoia sci-fi horror about a shape-shifting extraterrestrial infiltrating an Antarctic research station.

8

RoboCop

Paul Verhoeven's 1987 satirical sci-fi action film about a murdered Detroit cop resurrected as a crime-fighting cyborg.

9

Akira

Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 landmark Japanese animated cyberpunk epic set in a dystopian neo-Tokyo wracked by psychic powers.

10

Total Recall

Paul Verhoeven's 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi actioner about a man who discovers his memories of Mars may be real.

11

Videodrome

David Cronenberg's 1983 unsettling body horror about a cable TV programmer who stumbles upon a broadcast signal that blurs reality and flesh.

12

Tron

Steven Lisberger's 1982 groundbreaking Disney sci-fi about a programmer transported into a digital computer world.

13

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Nicholas Meyer's 1982 acclaimed Star Trek film featuring a personal vendetta between Admiral Kirk and the genetically enhanced Khan.