1988 Movies
Take a nostalgic look back at the top movies of 1988, celebrating the films, directors and actors that defined the year and left a lasting legacy in the world of entertainment.
![Die Hard]( "Die Hard")
Die Hard
Written by: Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza
Directed by: John McTiernan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson, Paul Gleason
Country: United States of America
Outline: New York cop John McClane battles terrorists who have seized a Los Angeles skyscraper, taking hostages and threatening to detonate explosives.
source: imdb.com
![Rain Man]( "Rain Man")
Rain Man
Written by: Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass
Directed by: Barry Levinson
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino
Country: United States of America
Outline: Charlie Babbitt discovers his estranged father left his fortune to his autistic brother, Raymond. They embark on a cross-country journey that transforms their relationship.
source: imdb.com
![Who Framed Roger Rabbit]( "Who Framed Roger Rabbit")
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Written by: Jeffrey Price, Peter S. Seaman
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Charles Fleischer
Country: United States of America
Outline: Private eye Eddie Valiant investigates the murder of Marvin Acme, the owner of Toontown, and uncovers a conspiracy involving Roger Rabbit and Judge Doom.
source: imdb.com
![Big]( "Big")
Big
Written by: Gary Ross, Anne Spielberg
Directed by: Penny Marshall
Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia
Country: United States of America
Outline: A 12-year-old boy wishes to be big and wakes up in an adult's body, navigating the adult world while trying to return to his original age.
source: imdb.com
![Coming to America]( "Coming to America")
Coming to America
Written by: Eddie Murphy, David Sheffield, Barry W. Blaustein
Directed by: John Landis
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones
Country: United States of America
Outline: Prince Akeem of Zamunda travels to America to find a wife who will love him for his personality, not his wealth.
source: imdb.com
![Twins]( "Twins")
Twins
Written by: Tim Harris, Herschel Weingrod
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston
Country: United States of America
Outline: Two unlikely brothers, Julius and Vincent, separated at birth, reunite and embark on a journey to find their mother.
source: imdb.com
![Cocktail]( "Cocktail")
Cocktail
Written by: Heywood Gould
Directed by: Roger Donaldson
Starring: Tom Cruise, Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue
Country: United States of America
Outline: A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.
source: imdb.com
![Rambo III]( "Rambo III")
Rambo III
Written by: David Morrell, Sylvester Stallone, Sheldon Lettich
Directed by: Peter MacDonald
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Kurtwood Smith, Spiros Focás
Country: United States of America
Outline: Rambo embarks on a mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
source: imdb.com
![Crocodile Dundee II]( "Crocodile Dundee II")
Crocodile Dundee II
Written by: Paul Hogan
Directed by: John Cornell
Starring: Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon, David Gulpilil
Country: Australia
Outline: Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee returns to New York City to rescue his girlfriend from kidnappers.
source: imdb.com
![Grave of the Fireflies]( "Grave of the Fireflies")
Grave of the Fireflies
Written by: Isao Takahata, Akiyuki Nosaka
Directed by: Isao Takahata
Starring: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara
Country: Japan
Outline: Two siblings struggle to survive in Japan during the final months of World War II.
source: imdb.com
![Cinema Paradiso]( "Cinema Paradiso")
Cinema Paradiso
Written by: Giuseppe Tornatore
Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore
Starring: Jacques Perrin, Philippe Noiret, Marco Leonardi, Salvatore Cascio
Country: Italy
Outline: A filmmaker recalls his childhood at a Sicilian cinema and the friendship with the projectionist.
source: imdb.com
![My Neighbor Totoro]( "My Neighbor Totoro")
My Neighbor Totoro
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi
Country: Japan
Outline: In 1950s Japan, two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, move to the countryside and encounter friendly wood spirits, including the large, cuddly Totoro. The film explores themes of childhood innocence and the magic of nature.
source: rottentomatoes.com
![Akira]( "Akira")
Akira
Written by: Katsuhiro Ôtomo, Izo Hashimoto
Directed by: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Starring: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Taro Ishida, Tesshō Genda, Mizuho Suzuki, Tatsuhiko Nakamura, Fukue Itō, Kazuhiro Shindō
Country: Japan
Outline: Set in a dystopian 2019, the film follows Shōtarō Kaneda, leader of a biker gang, as he attempts to rescue his friend Tetsuo, who has developed powerful telekinetic abilities after a motorcycle accident. Their journey leads them into a conflict with government forces and a secret project.
source: rottentomatoes.com
![Mississippi Burning]( "Mississippi Burning")
Mississippi Burning
Written by: Chris Gerolmo
Directed by: Alan Parker
Starring: Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand
Country: United States of America
Outline: In 1964, two FBI agents investigate the disappearance of three civil rights workers in a racially divided Mississippi town.
source: imdb.com
![The Vanishing]( "The Vanishing")
The Vanishing
Written by: George Sluizer, Tim Krabbé
Directed by: George Sluizer
Starring: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege
Country: Netherlands
Outline: A young Dutch couple, Rex and Saskia, are on vacation in France. Saskia is abducted at a rest area, leading Rex on a relentless search for her over the next three years.
source: imdb.com
![Midnight Run]( "Midnight Run")
Midnight Run
Written by: George Gallo
Directed by: Martin Brest
Starring: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina, Joe Pantoliano
Country: United States of America
Outline: Bounty hunter Jack Walsh pursues former Mafia accountant Jonathan Mardukas, who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the FBI, and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
source: imdb.com
![The Last Temptation of Christ]( "The Last Temptation of Christ")
The Last Temptation of Christ
Written by: Paul Schrader
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, David Bowie, Verna Bloom, Paul Herman
Country: United States of America
Outline: A depiction of the life of Jesus Christ, exploring his struggles with various forms of temptation including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance, and lust.
source: imdb.com
![The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!]( "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!")
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
Written by: Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker
Directed by: David Zucker
Starring: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalbán, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson, Alan North
Country: United States of America
Outline: Detective Frank Drebin must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit to Los Angeles.
source: imdb.com
![Dangerous Liaisons]( "Dangerous Liaisons")
Dangerous Liaisons
Written by: Christopher Hampton
Directed by: Stephen Frears
Starring: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves, Swoosie Kurtz
Country: United States of America
Outline: In 18th-century France, a widowed aristocrat and her former lover use seduction and betrayal to exact revenge upon a married man and his young bride-to-be.
source: imdb.com
![Ödipussi]( "Ödipussi")
Ödipussi
Directed by: Vicco von Bülow
Starring: Vicco von Bülow
Country: Germany
Outline: Paul Winkelmann, a furniture retailer, still has his mother cook his dinner and do his laundry. After meeting a psychologist, he begins to rebel against his domineering mother.
source: imdb.com
![Story of Women]( "Story of Women")
Story of Women
Directed by: Claude Chabrol
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, François Cluzet, Marie Trintignant
Country: France
Outline: In Nazi-occupied France, a housewife becomes a midwife and is arrested for performing abortions, leading to a trial that exposes the moral complexities of wartime France.
source: imdb.com
![The Big Blue]( "The Big Blue")
The Big Blue
Written by: Luc Besson, Robert Garland, Marilyn Goldin, Jacques Mayol, Marc Perrier
Directed by: Luc Besson
Starring: Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Paul Shenar, Sergio Castellitto, Marc Duret, Griffin Dunne
Country: France
Outline: The rivalry between Enzo and Jacques, two childhood friends and now world-renowned free divers, becomes a beautiful and perilous journey into oneself and the unknown.
source: imdb.com
![Beetlejuice]( "Beetlejuice")
Beetlejuice
Written by: Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren
Directed by: Tim Burton
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton
Country: United States of America
Outline: A recently deceased couple hire a mischievous ghost to scare away the new inhabitants of their former home.
source: imdb.com
What happened in 1988?
Discover what the world looked like in 1988: