Top 5 Films of 1987 | Archive

In a nostalgic deep dive, Film Spotting revisits its 2016 archive episode ranking the top five films of 1987—just in time for the release of Travis Knight’s new Masters of the Universe. Host Adam, solo for the night, kicks off with a mix of self-aware humor and genuine affection for the era’s cinematic cheese, confessing his personal nostalgia list includes Three Men and a Baby and Predator—films he now admits are embarrassingly beloved. The real gems emerge in the curated top five: Josh’s number one, Wim Wenders’ poetic, black-and-white masterpiece *Wings of Desire*, a film about angels who listen to human thoughts but can’t intervene, praised for its aching beauty and existential longing. Adam’s number one, *Raising Arizona*, is hailed as a genre-defying comedy that launched the Coen Brothers’ unique voice—madcap, heartfelt, and endlessly quotable. The two also agree on *The Princess Bride* and *House of Games*, with the latter being a David Mamet psychological thriller that Ebert called a magician’s card trick, where the real story is hidden in the dialogue’s stilted rhythm. The episode is a love letter to 1987’s overlooked brilliance, from *Hollywood Shuffle*’s biting satire on racial casting to *Full Metal Jacket*’s brutal boot camp realism. Despite the fun, the real takeaway is how some films—like *Hollywood Shuffle*—remain painfully relevant decades later, proving that progress in Hollywood has been slow.