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Best Movies of 1989

The highest-rated films released in 1989, ranked by TMDB user score among titles with at least 500 votes.

📊 A century of movies in numbers 70 titlesavg ★ 6.78 avg 103 min Drama Comedy Thriller Action

Most watched in 1989

Back to the Future Part II1989 · ★ 7.8 · 1h 48m

Dead Poets Society1989 · ★ 8.3 · 2h 9m

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade1989 · ★ 7.9 · 2h 7m

Batman1989 · ★ 7.2 · 2h 6m

The Little Mermaid1989 · ★ 7.4 · 1h 23m

Ghostbusters II1989 · ★ 6.6 · 1h 48m

← 1988 All years 1990 →

#1 Twin Peaks (1989) · ★ 8.5 · 677 votes · 1h 56m · tv-movie, thriller, drama
An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks. (This standalone version of the series pilot was produced for…
#2 Dead Poets Society (1989) · ★ 8.3 · 13,001 votes · 2h 9m · drama
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, cour…
#3 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) · ★ 7.9 · 11,140 votes · 2h 7m · action, adventure
In 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval historian has vanished while sear…
#4 Back to the Future Part II (1989) · ★ 7.8 · 14,344 votes · 1h 48m · comedy, adventure, science-fiction
Marty and Doc are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports alm…
#5 Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) · ★ 7.8 · 4,760 votes · 1h 43m · fantasy, animation, family
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.…
#6 Do the Right Thing (1989) · ★ 7.8 · 2,061 votes · 2h 0m · drama
Sal is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Bug…
#7 The Killer (1989) · ★ 7.6 · 945 votes · 1h 50m · action, thriller, drama
Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteus…
#8 Glory (1989) · ★ 7.5 · 1,882 votes · 2h 2m · drama, history, war
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.…
#9 My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown (1989) · ★ 7.5 · 1,066 votes · 1h 43m · drama
No one expects much from Christy Brown, a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a mira…
#10 The Little Mermaid (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 8,498 votes · 1h 23m · fantasy, animation, family
This colorful adventure tells the story of an impetuous mermaid princess named Ariel who falls in love with the very human Prince Eric and puts everything on the line for the chanc…
#11 When Harry Met Sally... (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 4,757 votes · 1h 36m · comedy, romance, drama
Sex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright and a deep friendship blossoms betwe…
#12 The Abyss (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 3,612 votes · 2h 20m · action, adventure, thriller
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000…
#13 Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 976 votes · 1h 44m · comedy, drama, crime
A renowned ophthalmologist is desperate to cut off an adulterous relationship…which ends up in murder; and a frustrated documentary filmmaker woos an attractive television producer…
#14 Heathers (1989) · ★ 7.3 · 1,952 votes · 1h 43m · comedy, crime
A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.…
#15 The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) · ★ 7.3 · 747 votes · 2h 4m · drama, crime
When churlish mobster Albert Spica acquires an upscale French restaurant in London, he dines there nightly, effectively scaring off the clientele with his bad manners. His wife, Ge…
#16 Mystery Train (1989) · ★ 7.3 · 538 votes · 1h 46m · comedy
In Memphis, Tennessee, over the course of a single night, the Arcade Hotel, run by an eccentric night clerk and a clueless bellboy, is visited by a young Japanese couple traveling…
#17 Batman (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 8,818 votes · 2h 6m · action, fantasy, crime
Having witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear int…
#18 National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 2,791 votes · 1h 37m · comedy
It's Christmastime, and the Griswolds are preparing for a family seasonal celebration. But things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen, and their two kids. Clark's continua…
#19 Driving Miss Daisy (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 1,872 votes · 1h 39m · drama
The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendshi…
#20 Casualties of War (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 1,050 votes · 1h 53m · drama, history, war
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.…
#21 Steel Magnolias (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 766 votes · 1h 57m · comedy, romance, drama
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship and welcome her into the f…
#22 Santa Sangre (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 521 votes · 2h 2m · fantasy, thriller, drama
A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless, cult leader mother, and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name.…
#23 Field of Dreams (1989) · ★ 7.1 · 1,762 votes · 1h 45m · fantasy, drama
Ray Kinsella is an Iowa farmer who hears a mysterious voice telling him to turn his cornfield into a baseball diamond. He does, but the voice's directions don't stop -- even after…
#24 Drugstore Cowboy (1989) · ★ 7.1 · 641 votes · 1h 42m · drama, crime
Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugs…
#25 The Gods Must Be Crazy II (1989) · ★ 7.1 · 577 votes · 1h 38m · action, comedy
Xixo is back again. This time, his children accidentally stow away on a fast-moving poachers' truck, unable to get off, and Xixo sets out to rescue them. Along the way, he encounte…
#26 Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) · ★ 7.0 · 3,887 votes · 1h 54m · action, comedy, adventure
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.…
#27 Born on the Fourth of July (1989) · ★ 7.0 · 1,898 votes · 2h 25m · drama, war
Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.…
#28 Say Anything... (1989) · ★ 7.0 · 1,159 votes · 1h 40m · comedy, romance, drama
Average student and eternal optimist Lloyd Dobler seeks to capture the heart of Diane Court, a beautiful but unattainable valedictorian classmate. He surprises just about everyone…
#29 sex, lies, and videotape (1989) · ★ 7.0 · 1,081 votes · 1h 41m · drama
Ann, a frustrated wife, enters into counseling due to a troubled marriage. Unbeknownst to her, her husband John has begun an affair with her sister. When John’s best friend Graham…
#30 Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) · ★ 7.0 · 740 votes · 1h 7m · horror, science-fiction
A "metal fetishist", driven mad by the maggots wriggling in the wound he's made to embed metal into his flesh, runs out into the night and is accidentally run down by a Japanese bu…
#31 Knick Knack (1989) · ★ 7.0 · 629 votes · 0h 4m · comedy, animation, family
Life on a shelf as a snowman trapped in a snow-globe blizzard can become wearing, especially when you're surrounded by knickknacks from sunnier locales. When the jaded snowman fina…
#32 The War of the Roses (1989) · ★ 6.9 · 1,294 votes · 1h 56m · comedy, drama
Barbara and Oliver Rose live happily as a married couple. When Barbara starts to wonder what life would be like without Oliver and likes what she sees, the two begin a campaign to…
#33 Major League (1989) · ★ 6.9 · 916 votes · 1h 47m · comedy
When Rachel Phelps inherits the Cleveland Indians from her deceased husband, she's determined to move the team to a warmer climate—but only a losing season will make that possible,…
#34 Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) · ★ 6.8 · 2,179 votes · 1h 30m · comedy, adventure, science-fiction
Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.…
#35 Kickboxer (1989) · ★ 6.8 · 1,626 votes · 1h 38m · action, thriller, drama
If your enemy refuses to be humbled... Destroy him. Accompanied by his brother Kurt, American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane, arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at…
#36 Road House (1989) · ★ 6.8 · 1,586 votes · 1h 54m · action, thriller
The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educat…
#37 The 'Burbs (1989) · ★ 6.8 · 1,429 votes · 1h 42m · comedy, thriller, horror
When secretive new neighbors move in next door, suburbanite Ray Peterson and his friends let their paranoia get the best of them as they start to suspect the newcomers of evildoing…
#38 Uncle Buck (1989) · ★ 6.8 · 1,414 votes · 1h 40m · comedy, drama, family
Buck Russell, a lovable but slovenly bachelor, suddenly becomes the temporary caretaker of his nephew and nieces after a family emergency. His freewheeling attitude soon causes ten…
#39 Lock Up (1989) · ★ 6.8 · 1,331 votes · 1h 49m · action, thriller, drama
Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-…
#40 All Dogs Go to Heaven (1989) · ★ 6.8 · 1,151 votes · 1h 24m · comedy, fantasy, drama
When a casino-owning dog named Charlie is murdered by his rival Carface, he finds himself in Heaven. Wanting to get back at his killer, he cons his way back to the living with the…