8 Best Movies of 1982

By Vlad Zakh · June 28, 2026

1982 was a wonderfully varied year. Fitzcarraldo has an obsessive opera lover hauling a steamship over a mountain, Fanny and Alexander has two siblings’ idyllic childhood upended, and First Blood has a Vietnam veteran pushed into a violent standoff. The King of Comedy, Gandhi, E.T., Blade Runner and The Thing round out the eight.

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

TMDB ★ 7.6

An obsessive opera lover tries to haul a massive steamship over a mountain deep in the Amazon jungle.

Directed by Werner Herzog · 2h 37m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, Philo, Night Flight Plus, Fandor Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

TMDB ★ 7.8

Two siblings' idyllic childhood is upended when their widowed mother remarries a stern, oppressive bishop.

Directed by Ingmar Bergman · 3h 08m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The King of Comedy (1982)

TMDB ★ 7.8

An obsessive aspiring comedian goes to increasingly desperate lengths to get his big break on a talk show.

Directed by Martin Scorsese · 1h 49m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

First Blood (1982)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A troubled Vietnam veteran is pushed into a violent standoff after being harassed by a small-town sheriff.

Directed by Ted Kotcheff · 1h 33m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, YouTube TV, AMC · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Gandhi (1982)

TMDB ★ 7.6

A young lawyer becomes the spiritual and political leader of India's nonviolent independence movement.

Directed by Richard Attenborough · 3h 12m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 99% Metacritic 92

A boy hides a stranded alien from the government while trying to help it phone home.

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 1h 55m · Rated PG

Won 4 Oscars52 wins & 39 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Philo, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz, Starz Apple TV channel, Starz Roku Premium Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Blade Runner (1982)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 89% Metacritic 84

A bounty hunter tracks down synthetic humans in a rain-soaked, neon-lit future Los Angeles.

Directed by Ridley Scott · 1h 58m · Rated R

Nominated for 2 Oscars13 wins & 22 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Thing (1982)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 85% Metacritic 57

A shapeshifting alien picks off an Antarctic research team one paranoid reveal at a time.

Directed by John Carpenter · 1h 49m · Rated R

1 win & 5 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Philo, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

8 Best Movies of 1982

Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

The King of Comedy (1982)

First Blood (1982)

Gandhi (1982)

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Blade Runner (1982)

The Thing (1982)

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