List of American films of 1983
This is a list of American films released in 1983.
In 1983:
- Terms of Endearment won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- Return of the Jedi was the highest-grossing film of the year.
List of films
| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Note |
| 10 to Midnight | J. Lee Thompson | Charles Bronson, Lisa Eilbacher, Andrew Stevens | Action | Cannon |
| All the Right Moves | Michael Chapman | Tom Cruise, Craig T. Nelson, Lea Thompson, Chris Penn | Drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Americana | David Carradine | David Carradine, Barbara Hershey | Drama | |
| Amityville 3-D | Richard Fleischer | Tony Roberts, Tess Harper, Robert Joy | Horror | 2nd sequel to The Amityville Horror |
| Angelo My Love | Robert Duvall | Drama | Cinecom | |
| Anna to the Infinite Power | Robert Wiemer | Dina Merrill, Jack Gilford | Sci-fi | direct to TV |
| Baby It's You | John Sayles | Rosanna Arquette, Vincent Spano, Joanna Merlin | Drama | Paramount |
| Bad Boys | Rick Rosenthal | Sean Penn, Esai Morales, Reni Santoni, Ally Sheedy | Drama | Universal |
| Better Late Than Never | Bryan Forbes | David Niven, Maggie Smith, Art Carney | Comedy | |
| The Big Chill | Lawrence Kasdan | Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Kevin Kline, JoBeth Williams, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place | Drama | 3 Academy Award nominations |
| The Big Score | Fred Williamson | Fred Williamson, Richard Roundtree, John Saxon | Action | |
| ' | Bill Cosby | Bill Cosby | Comedy | concert |
| The Black Stallion Returns | Robert Dalva | Kelly Reno, Vincent Spano, Teri Garr | Family | sequel to The Black Stallion |
| Blue Thunder | John Badham | Roy Scheider, Malcolm McDowell, Daniel Stern | Action | Columbia |
| Born in Flames | Lizzie Borden | Jeanne Satterfield | 16 mm film | |
| Brainstorm | Douglas Trumbull | Natalie Wood, Christopher Walken, Louise Fletcher | Sci-fi | Wood's final film |
| Breathless | Jim McBride | Richard Gere, Valérie Kaprisky | Drama | remake of 1960 film |
| Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? | Henry Jaglom | Karen Black, Michael Emil | Comedy | |
| Chicken Ranch | Nick Broomfield | Documentary | ||
| Christine | John Carpenter | Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton | Thriller | based on novel by Stephen King |
| A Christmas Story | Bob Clark | Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon | Comedy | based on story by Jean Shepherd |
| Circle of Power | Bobby Roth | Yvette Mimieux | Drama | |
| Class | Lewis John Carlino | Jacqueline Bisset, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Cliff Robertson | Comedy | Orion |
| Copkiller | Roberto Faenza | Harvey Keitel, John Lydon | Drama | |
| Cracking Up | Jerry Lewis | Jerry Lewis, Herb Edelman, Zane Buzby | Comedy | last film Lewis directed |
| Cross Creek | Martin Ritt | Mary Steenburgen, Peter Coyote, Rip Torn, Alfre Woodard, Dana Hill | Biography | story of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings |
| Cujo | Lewis Teague | Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, Daniel Hugh Kelly, Christopher Stone | Horror | based on Stephen King novel |
| D.C. Cab | Joel Schumacher | Adam Baldwin, Mr. T, Gary Busey | Comedy | RKO |
| Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island | Friz Freleng | Mel Blanc, June Foray | Animation | Compilation |
| Daniel | Sidney Lumet | Timothy Hutton, Mandy Patinkin, Lindsay Crouse | Drama | based on novel by E.L. Doctorow |
| The Day After | Nicholas Meyer | Jason Robards, Steve Guttenberg, JoBeth Williams, John Lithgow, John Cullum, Jeff East | Drama | TV film; 12 Emmy nominations |
| The Dead Zone | David Cronenberg | Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Herbert Lom, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Anthony Zerbe | Thriller | based on Stephen King novel |
| Deal of the Century | William Friedkin | Chevy Chase, Gregory Hines, Sigourney Weaver | Comedy | Warner Bros. |
| Doctor Detroit | Michael Pressman | Dan Aykroyd, Fran Drescher, Donna Dixon | Comedy | Universal |
| Easy Money | James Signorelli | Rodney Dangerfield, Joe Pesci, Jennifer Jason Leigh | Comedy | Orion |
| Eddie and the Cruisers | Martin Davidson | Michael Paré, Tom Berenger, Ellen Barkin | Drama | in 1989 |
| Eddie Macon's Run | Jeff Kanew | Kirk Douglas, John Schneider, Lee Purcell | Crime | Universal |
| El Norte | Gregory Nava | Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando | Drama | |
| Eureka | Nicolas Roeg | Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer | Drama | MGM/UA |
| Exposed | James Toback | Nastassja Kinski, Rudolf Nureyev, Harvey Keitel | Drama | MGM/UA |
| Ferestadeh | Parviz Sayyad | Parviz Sayyad, Mary Apick | Drama | |
| Fire and Ice | Ralph Bakshi | Randy Norton, Cynthia Leake, Steve Sandor | Animation | |
| Flashdance | Adrian Lyne | Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, Belinda Bauer | Drama | Oscar for Best Song |
| Get Crazy | Allan Arkush | Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Lou Reed | Comedy | |
| Going Berserk | David Steinberg | John Candy, Eugene Levy, Pat Hingle | Comedy | |
| Gorky Park | Michael Apted | William Hurt, Lee Marvin, Brian Dennehy | Crime drama | based on Martin Cruz Smith novel |
| Heart Like a Wheel | Jonathan Kaplan | Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges | Biography | story of Shirley Muldowney |
| Hercules | Luigi Cozzi | Lou Ferrigno, Sybil Danning | Fantasy | |
| High Road to China | Brian G. Hutton | Tom Selleck, Bess Armstrong, Wilford Brimley | Adventure | Warner Bros. |
| The House on Sorority Row | Mark Ronson | Kathryn McNeil, Eileen Davidson | Horror | |
| The Hunger | Tony Scott | Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, David Bowie | Horror | MGM |
| Independence Day | Robert Mandel | Kathleen Quinlan, David Keith, Dianne Wiest | Drama | |
| Jaws 3-D | Joe Alves | Bess Armstrong, Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett, Jr. | Thriller | 2nd sequel to Jaws |
| The Keep | Michael Mann | Scott Glenn, Jürgen Prochnow, Ian McKellen | Horror | |
| The King of Comedy | Martin Scorsese | Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard, Tony Randall | Comedy | 20th Century Fox |
| Lianna | John Sayles | Linda Griffiths, Jane Hallaren, Jon DeVries | Drama | United Artists |
| Liquid Sky | Slava Tsukerman | Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard | Drama | |
| Lone Wolf McQuade | Steve Carver | Chuck Norris, David Carradine, Barbara Carrera | Action | Orion |
| The Lonely Lady | Peter Sasdy | Pia Zadora, Lloyd Bochner, Joseph Cali, Bibi Besch, Anthony Holland, Ray Liotta | Drama | based on Harold Robbins novel; 11 Razzie nominations |
| The Lords of Discipline | Franc Roddam | David Keith, G. D. Spradlin | Drama | based on Pat Conroy novel |
| Losin' It | Curtis Hanson | Tom Cruise, Jackie Earle Haley, Shelley Long | Comedy | Embassy |
| Lovesick | Marshall Brickman | Dudley Moore, Alec Guinness, Elizabeth McGovern | Comedy | Warner Bros. |
| The Man Who Loved Women | Blake Edwards | Burt Reynolds, Julie Andrews, Sela Ward, Marilu Henner | Drama | remake of 1977 French film |
| The Man with Two Brains | Carl Reiner | Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner | Comedy | Warner Bros. |
| Man, Woman and Child | Dick Richards | Martin Sheen, Blythe Danner | Drama | from novel by Erich Segal |
| Max Dugan Returns | Herbert Ross | Jason Robards, Marsha Mason, Donald Sutherland, Matthew Broderick | Comedy | written by Neil Simon |
| ' | Charles Band | Kelly Preston, Tim Thomerson | Sci-fi | |
| Mickey's Christmas Carol | Burny Mattinson | Animation | Disney; 26 minutes | |
| Mr. Mom | Stan Dragoti | Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Martin Mull | Comedy | 20th Century Fox |
| My Brother's Wedding | Charles Burnett | Drama | ||
| My Tutor | George Bowers | Caren Kaye, Matt Lattanzi, Crispin Glover | Comedy | Crown |
| Nate and Hayes | Ferdinand Fairfax, John Hughes | Tommy Lee Jones, Michael O'Keefe | Action | Paramount |
| National Lampoon's Vacation | Harold Ramis | Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, John Candy, Anthony Michael Hall, Dana Barron | Comedy | 1st in Vacation series |
| Never Cry Wolf | Carroll Ballard | Brian Dennehy, Charles Martin Smith | Drama | Disney |
| Night Warning | Bill Asher | Bo Svenson, Julia Duffy, Bill Paxton | Horror | |
| A Night in Heaven | John G. Avildsen | Christopher Atkins, Lesley Ann Warren | Drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Nightmares | Joseph Sargent | Lance Henriksen, Emilio Estevez | Horror | |
| Of Unknown Origin | George P. Cosmatos | Peter Weller, Jennifer Dale | Horror | Warner Bros. |
| The Osterman Weekend | Sam Peckinpah | Rutger Hauer, Craig T. Nelson, John Hurt, Burt Lancaster, Dennis Hopper, Chris Sarandon, Meg Foster | Suspense | based on Robert Ludlum novel; Peckinpah's final film |
| The Outsiders | Francis Ford Coppola | C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Patrick Swayze, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise | Drama | based on S. E. Hinton novel |
| The Pirates of Penzance | Wilford Leach | Kevin Kline, Linda Ronstadt, Angela Lansbury | Operetta | based on musical by Gilbert and Sullivan |
| ' | Bob Clark | Mark Herrier, Kaki Hunter | Comedy | sequel to Porky's |
| Princess Daisy | Waris Hussein | Rupert Everett, Lindsay Wagner, Merete Van Kamp, Claudia Cardinale, Barbara Bach | Romance | based on Judith Krantz novel; TV mini-series |
| Private School | Noel Black | Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, Matthew Modine | Comedy | Universal |
| Psycho II | Richard Franklin | Anthony Perkins, Meg Tilly, Robert Loggia, Vera Miles | Horror | sequel to 1960 film |
| Reuben, Reuben | Robert Ellis Miller | Tom Conti, Kelly McGillis | Romance | 20th Century Fox |
| Revenge of the Ninja | Sam Firstenberg | Sho Kosugi, Arthur Roberts | Action | |
| ' | Richard Pryor | Richard Pryor | Comedy | Concert |
| The Right Stuff | Philip Kaufman | Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Dennis Quaid, Fred Ward, Sam Shepard, Charles Frank, Lance Henriksen | Drama, Biography | based on book by Tom Wolfe; won 4 Academy Awards |
| Risky Business | Paul Brickman | Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay | Comedy | Warner Bros. |
| Romantic Comedy | Arthur Hiller | Dudley Moore, Mary Steenburgen | Comedy | play by Bernard Slade |
| Rumble Fish | Francis Ford Coppola | Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage | Drama | based on S. E. Hinton novel |
| Running Brave | D.S. Everett | Robby Benson, Pat Hingle, Graham Greene | Biography | story of Billy Mills |
| Sahara | Andrew V. McLaglen | Brooke Shields, Lambert Wilson | Drama | Cannon |
| Scarface | Brian De Palma | Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia | Crime drama | Universal; remake of 1932 film |
| Silkwood | Mike Nichols | Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson | Drama | 5 Oscar nominations |
| Sleepaway Camp | Robert Hiltzik | Felissa Rose, Jonathan Tiersten | Horror | |
| Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 | Dick Lowry | Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick | Comedy | 2nd Smokey and the Bandit sequel |
| Something Wicked This Way Comes | Jack Clayton | Jonathan Pryce, Jason Robards, Pam Grier | Fantasy | based on Ray Bradbury story |
| Space Raiders | Howard R. Cohen | Vince Edwards | Sci-fi | |
| ' | Lamont Johnson | Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald, Ernie Hudson | Sci-fi | Columbia |
| Spring Break | Sean S. Cunningham | Perry Lang, Corinne Wahl | Comedy | Columbia |
| Star 80 | Bob Fosse | Eric Roberts, Mariel Hemingway, Cliff Robertson | Drama, Biography | story of Dorothy Stratten; Fosse's final film |
| The Star Chamber | Peter Hyams | Michael Douglas, Hal Holbrook, Yaphet Kotto | Crime drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Return of the Jedi | Richard Marquand | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams | Science fiction | 3rd Star Wars film released |
| Staying Alive | Sylvester Stallone | John Travolta, Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes | Musical, Drama | sequel to Saturday Night Fever; 5 Razzie nominations |
| Still Smokin | Tommy Chong | Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong | Comedy | Paramount |
| The Sting II | Jeremy Kagan | Jackie Gleason, Teri Garr, Karl Malden | Crime comedy | sequel to The Sting |
| Strange Brew | Rick Moranis | Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Max von Sydow | Comedy | based on SCTV characters |
| Strange Invaders | Michael Laughlin | Paul Le Mat, Diana Scarwid, Nancy Allen | Sci-fi, Comedy | Orion |
| Streamers | Robert Altman | Matthew Modine, David Alan Grier, George Dzundza | Drama | based on David Rabe play |
| Stroker Ace | Hal Needham | Burt Reynolds, Jim Nabors, Ned Beatty, Loni Anderson | Comedy | 5 Razzie nominations |
| Sudden Impact | Clint Eastwood | Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle | Crime drama | 3rd sequel to Dirty Harry |
| Superman III | Richard Lester | Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Robert Vaughn, Annette O'Toole | Action | 2nd sequel to 1978 film |
| The Survivors | Michael Ritchie | Walter Matthau, Robin Williams, Jerry Reed | Comedy | Columbia |
| Table for Five | Robert Lieberman | Jon Voight, Richard Crenna, Roxana Zal | Drama | Warner Bros. |
| Tender Mercies | Bruce Beresford | Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, Betty Buckley, Ellen Barkin | Drama | Academy Award for Duvall |
| Terms of Endearment | James L. Brooks | Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, Danny DeVito, John Lithgow | Drama, Comedy | won 5 Academy Awards |
| Testament | Lynne Littman | Jane Alexander, William Devane, Roxana Zal | Drama | Paramount |
| To Be or Not to Be | Alan Johnson | Mel Brooks, Anne Bancroft, José Ferrer, Tim Matheson | Comedy | remake of 1942 film |
| Tough Enough | Richard Fleischer | Dennis Quaid, Pam Grier, Stan Shaw, Warren Oates | Drama | Oates' final film |
| Trading Places | John Landis | Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Ameche, Ralph Bellamy | Comedy | won two BAFTA awards |
| Trenchcoat | Michael Tuchner | Robert Hays, Margot Kidder | Comedy | Disney |
| ' | John Landis, Joe Dante, George Miller, Steven Spielberg | Vic Morrow, John Lithgow, Kathleen Quinlan, Scatman Crothers, Kevin McCarthy, Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks | Science fiction | based on the TV series; Morrow's final film |
| Twice Upon a Time | John Korty | Animation | ||
| Two of a Kind | John Herzfeld | John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Charles Durning | Comedy | 5 Razzie nominations |
| Uncommon Valor | Ted Kotcheff | Gene Hackman, Fred Ward, Tex Cobb, Patrick Swayze | Action, War | Paramount |
| Under Fire | Roger Spottiswoode | Nick Nolte, Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Ed Harris | Drama | Orion |
| Valley Girl | Martha Coolidge | Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman | Comedy | Atlantic |
| Videodrome | David Cronenberg | James Woods, Deborah Harry | Sci-fi | Universal |
| Vigilante | William Lustig | Robert Forster, Fred Williamson, Rutanya Alda | Action | Vestron Video |
| Walking the Edge | Norbert Meisel | Robert Forster, Nancy Kwan, Joe Spinell | Action | Empire Pictures |
| WarGames | John Badham | Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, Ally Sheedy | Drama | 3 Oscar nominations |
| Warrior of the Lost World | David Worth | Donald Pleasence, Persis Khambatta, Fred Williamson | Sci-fi | made in Italy |
| Wavelength | Mike Gray | Robert Carradine, Keenan Wynn | Sci-fi | New World |
| Winds of War | Dan Curtis | Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, John Houseman, Polly Bergen, Jan-Michael Vincent | War, Drama | based on Herman Wouk novel; TV mini-series |
| Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore | Rick Reinert | Animation | Disney; 25 minutes | |
| Without a Trace | Stanley R. Jaffe | Kate Nelligan, Judd Hirsch, David Dukes | Drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Yentl | Barbra Streisand | Barbra Streisand, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Irving | Musical | 2 Golden Globes |
| Zelig'' | Woody Allen | Woody Allen, Mia Farrow | Mockumentary | Orion |