Movies set in New York in the 80ies
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- DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsOscar IsaacJessica ChastainDavid OyelowoIn New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city's history.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsMickey RourkeJohn LoneArianeA police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsMichael DouglasGlenn CloseAnne ArcherA married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenMichael DouglasTamara TunieAn impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsMadonnaGriffin DunneHaviland MorrisThe life of an uptight tax lawyer turns chaotic when he is asked to escort a young woman newly released from prison, who persuades him to help prove her innocence.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyPaul BatesGarcelle BeauvaisAn extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDanny AielloOssie DavisRuby DeeOn the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsAl PacinoEllen BarkinJohn GoodmanA detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsBilly CrystalMeg RyanCarrie FisherHarry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsChristopher WalkenDavid CarusoLaurence FishburneA drug kingpin is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJeff BridgesRobin WilliamsAdam BryantA former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsHarvey KeitelBrian McElroyFrank AcciaritoWhile investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.
- DirectorMartin BrestStarsAl PacinoChris O'DonnellJames RebhornA prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMelanie GriffithHarrison FordSigourney WeaverWhen a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.
- DirectorJoan Micklin SilverStarsAmy IrvingPeter RiegertReizl BozykA Manhattan single meets a man through her Jewish grandmother's matchmaker.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsTom HanksBruce WillisMelanie GriffithAfter his mistress runs over a young teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight and attracts the interest of a down-and-out reporter.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThree parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThe discovery of a massive river of ectoplasm and a resurgence of spectral activity allows the staff of Ghostbusters to revive the business.
- DirectorSusan SeidelmanStarsRosanna ArquetteMadonnaAidan QuinnA bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsChloë SevignyKate BeckinsaleChris EigemanStory of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsAndre GregoryWallace ShawnJean LenauerTwo old friends meet for dinner; as one tells anecdotes detailing his experiences, the other notices their differing worldviews.
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsRobin WilliamsMaria Conchita AlonsoCleavant DerricksA Russian saxophonist visiting New York City with a USSR circus troupe suddenly decides to defect in Bloomingdale's.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsDustin HoffmanJessica LangeTeri GarrMichael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsDustin HoffmanMeryl StreepJane AlexanderAfter his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation.
- DirectorAndrew HornStarsKlaus NomiAnn MagnusonDavid BowieHaving failed to break into professional opera in his native Germany (where, as an usher in West Berlin's Deutsche Oper, he would serenade the staff after the real performances were over) the diminutive Klaus Nomi headed for NYC in 1972. The vibrant New Wave/avant-garde gestalt of the mid/late '70's East Village proved to be fertile ground for the development of his unique talents. Working by day as a high-end pastry chef, Nomi began to stage his outlandish performances, first launching himself upon an unsuspecting public at the New Wave Vaudeville in 1978. The hip and cynical young audience was stunned by this weird combination of falsetto arias, booming classical orchestration, Kraftwerk-style electronica, futuristic costumes and outer space imagery. An odd assortment of artists, choreographers, designers, songwriters and musicians jumped on to the Nomi bandwagon and the phenomenon began to take off - first attracting thousands to South Manhattan events (including performances at the legendary Max's Kansas City) and culminating in a recording contract with the French division of RCA. With the release 'Klaus Nomi' in 1981 and 'Simple Man' in 1982, it looked as if Nomi was on the verge of superstardom. Having established himself in Europe, he made a triumphant return to New York City. But Nomi's moment of glory proved to be his swansong. Within only a few months Nomi had succumbed to the ravages of AIDS. One of the first celebrities to be killed by this mysterious new disease, Nomi died a lonely death, largely abandoned by those who had seen him as a passport to their own success. Today, the otherworldliness of 'The Cold Song' and 'Dido's Lament' is like an ethereal voice calling from beyond the grave.
- DirectorSteve GordonStarsDudley MooreLiza MinnelliJohn GielgudAlcoholic billionaire playboy Arthur Bach must marry a woman he does not love, or he will be cut off from his $750,000,000 fortune. But when Arthur falls in love with a poor waitress, he must decide if he wants to choose love or money.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEddie BarthIrene CaraLee CurreriA chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGriffin DunneRosanna ArquetteVerna BloomAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyDan AykroydRalph BellamyA snobbish investor and a wily street con artist find their positions reversed as part of a bet by two callous millionaires.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsMichael DouglasTerrence MannMichael BlevinsHopefuls try out before a demanding director for a part in a new musical.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsBernadette PetersAdam Coleman HowardChris SarandonBenadette Peters stars in this ironic film based on Tama Janowitz's best-selling collection of short stories that defined the downtown New York art scene of the 1980s
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsTreat WilliamsJerry OrbachRichard ForonjyA New York City narcotics detective reluctantly agrees to cooperate with a special commission investigating police corruption, and soon realises he's in over his head, and nobody can be trusted.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsZoë LundBogeyAlbert SinkysA timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsGena RowlandsBuck HenryJulie CarmenWhen a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian. In possession of a book that the gangsters want, the pair go on the run in New York.
- DirectorEdo BertoglioStarsJean Michel BasquiatJohn LurieRichard WeigandAfter being released from the hospital, the artist Jean Michel Basquiat wanders around Manhattan trying to sell art to make money and find a place to stay.
- DirectorWilliam LustigStarsRobert ForsterFred WilliamsonRichard BrightAfter his wife and son got brutalized by a street gang, and a corrupt criminal justice system puts the perpetrators back on the street, a NYC factory worker teams up with a vigilante group to find some measure of bloody justice.
- DirectorAmos PoeStarsVincent SpanoMichael WinslowKate VernonA New York City drug dealer decides to get out of the business, but has to flee from mobsters.
- DirectorDouglas CheekStarsJohn HeardDaniel SternChristopher CurryA bizarre series of sudden disappearances on the streets of New York City seems to point toward something unsavory living in the sewers.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyStarsMarília PêraRichard UlaciaLinda KerridgeBrazilian drug dealers in Manhattan's Lower East Side start a war with a rival gang of Latino drug dealers. Their soldiers are Latino kids all under 17 because, as Rita La Punta says, "They can kill and not go to jail." The war escalates to include their German heroin supplier, his sexy English girlfriend, a Puerto Rican ex-cop, and the Japanese police captain. This movie is about racism, police corruption, junkies, and drug dealing. There is plenty of killing and even a visit to a store dedicated to the Latino pop group "Menudo."
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsEric RobertsMickey RourkeDaryl HannahTwo cousins unknowingly rob the mob and face the dangerous consequences.
- DirectorBob ClarkStarsTimothy HuttonRobert UrichKim CattrallJimmy Lynch is angry because his older brother, who was injured as a result of an off duty fire rescue, is denied benefits by the city.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsTaimakVanityChristopher MurneyIn New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsSheila E.Joseph SimmonsDarryl McDanielsThe story of a man who has started a new hip-hop/rap label called Krush Groove.
- 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.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsTom HanksElizabeth PerkinsRobert LoggiaAfter wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.
- DirectorAllen HughesStarsMark WahlbergRussell CroweCatherine Zeta-JonesIn a city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed by its most powerful figure: Mayor Nicholas Hostetler.
- DirectorJerry SchatzbergStarsChristopher ReeveKathy BakerMimi RogersA New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.