The ’80s were truly a majestic and weird timewhen movies could be some of the most heartwrenching pieces of media out there or be a campy mess of action and comedy. This era was filled with neon colors, electronic dance music, and big blockbusters, which were made all the better because of their stunts. Movie stunts became popular in the silent film era, withBuster Keatonperforming some of the craziest stunts to date.
The movies of the 1980s leveled up, with bigger stars and productions able to carry a film. This was a time when they truly got wild and experimented with what could and couldn’t be done,pushing the envelope of death-defying stuntsjust for some thrill. However, that thinking gave fans some of the most impressive stunts ever done that were trulyahead of their timeand still make people gasp all these decades later.
10Motorcycle Chase in ‘Never Say Never Again’ (1983)
Directed by Irvin Kershner
Never Say Never Againmay not beSean Connery’s bestJames Bondfilm, but the remake ofThunderballstill has its entertaining moments. The film was Connery’s final Bond film, which he returned to after retiring the character for years.Never Say Never Againfocuses on an aging Bond who gets suspended due to an error he caused. However, after SPECTRE steals two nuclear warheads, Bond is the only spy up for the job.
James Bond movies are always sure to deliver action and thrills with some of themost impressive stunts ever done, including walking on real crocodiles inLive and Let Die. While this stunt isn’t as legendary, it is still remarkable, as fans witness a motorbike traveling along city paths in ascene ahead of its time. Bond drives his bikeunder a moving truck, down a flight of stairs and most impressively,over a giant body of water.
Never Say Never Again
9Handcuffed Jump in ‘Lethal Weapon’ (1987)
Directed by Richard Donner
Lethal Weaponfeatures two heavyweights,Mel GibsonandDanny Glover,in what would become a classic buddy-cop film. The suicidal Martin Riggs and veteran sergeant Roger Murtaugh are partnered together to fight crime through a rocky relationship. The two uncover a drug trafficking ring and begin to form a bond as they continue the case. While this movie is the best of the series, the otherLethal Weaponmovies are still entertaining.
The film has many memorable action scenes and stunts, but none more infamous than thebuilding jump. Riggs shows his suicidal tendencies when confronting a businessperson on the top of a building, where he goads him into jumping. Thetwo leap off the giant buildingand onto a large inflatable. While this stunt isn’t incredibly impressive,Gibson himself did the long jumpalong with many of the other stunts in the movie.
Lethal Weapon
8Boat chase in ‘Amsterdamned’ (1988)
Directed by Dick Maas
While many are unfamiliar with this action-packed crime-slasher mystery,Amsterdamnedfeatures some impressive stunts. The film follows a serial killer murdering random people in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, one of whom is a detective’s girlfriend. The detective then goes on an investigation to bring the killer to light. The movie isn’t incredibly well-received but features some fantastic stunt scenes and gruesome imagery.
Amsterdamnedis best known for its boat chase scene, which lasts around 10 minutes and involveshigh-speed funacross the famed canals. While car chases have much more potential, this boat chase was a unique chase that used its surroundings very well in an homage to the filmPuppet on a Chain. The rapid stunts had boatsdrifting and scraping on walls, producing aniconic shot of a speed boat flying over a bridge. The boat with actorHuub Stapelcrashed into the wall, stopping filming for a few weeks as Stapel had arib protruding from his chest.
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7Sword Fight in ‘The Young Master’ (1980)
Directed by Jackie Chan
Many people knowJackie Chanfor his comedic and extremely talented stunts, which have landed him in many iconic films. While he certainly showcases those skills in this movie, he also proved his talents in directingThe Young Master. After his brother fakes an injury to fight for a rival school against Dragon, he is exiled, where his rival school uses and frames him for freeing the notorious criminal Kam. Dragon goes on a journey to bring back his brother in an action-packed movie with Chan in his prime.
Expect to see Chan a couple more times on this list, as he is theking of daring stunts, leaving a legacy of shocking performances. As one of thebest martial arts stars in Hollywood, Chan has many innovative fight scenes in this film that areequally badass as they are funny. One scene involves him fighting his master in a comediccat-and-mouse fightscene, where the character uses many different items to make abelievable and entertaining fight.
6Tank Chase in ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
One of the best movies in the franchise,Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,takes the titular character and puts him with his father, who was searching for the Holy Grail. While on his quest, Indy teams up with Elsa Schneider as they encounter familiar foes on this journey for the most famous relic in history. The movie was the original end to the trilogy, but two new films would eventually bring the franchise back.
Despite beingupstaged by legendary actor Sean Connery,Harrison Fordstill puts on an excellent performance with some incredible stunts inThe Last Crusade. In thisfamous scene, Indyjumps onto the tank from a horseand then proceeds to hang off the canon as they drive it into a wall. Indy must struggle to hold on whiledragged against solid rockbefore getting free. Even more impressive is thatFord did most of this stunt himself, making him a bonafide action star.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
5Clock Tower in ‘Project A’ (1983)
Directed by Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan
Project Ais Jackie Chan’s second appearance on this list, but it still isn’t his last, which shows his incredible talents. In 19th-century Hong Kong, Dragon Ma is a navy lieutenant fighting off pirate schemes; however, after a failure, he must team up with an admiral, police captain, and thief to put a stop to the pirate’s plans. Chan wrote and co-directed the film with co-starSammo Hung.
Starring in some of thebiggest action movies ever,Project Ais one of Chan’s lesser-known films, but it still producesone of his best stunts. The scene has him inside a clock tower, fighting off a couple of men, and then he gets his handcuffs stuck in a gear that slowly brings him up. After he escapes this, Dragondangles off a clock hand, for which he falls off and through multiple awnings and on the ground. This stunt wasall done by Chanand featuredno editing or safety pads.
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4Police Car Chase in ‘The Blues Brothers’ (1980)
Directed by John Landis
The Blues Brothersis a musical action comedy based on the recurring sketch of the same name onSaturday Night Live. After his release from prison, Jake reunites with his brother Elwood and sets out on a mission from god to save their orphanage from closing. To do this, they decide to bring the band back together to earn some money, but on the way, they get in trouble with the police, neo-Nazis and a mysterious woman.
The Blues Brothersstands out among musical movies, mainly because of its intense action and stunts. The infamous police car chase cost the studio a lot of money,$3.5 millionin fact, but in the end, the 20-minute sequence was all worth it. Everything in the scene was actually done, including40 stunt drivers and 103 wrecked cars, a record that would be broken byBlues Brothers 2000, the sequel to this movie. The impressive driving and low shots from the vehicle make the scene very immersive, and the team even got permission to drive over 118 mph with special permission from the city. After the driving and crashing, the scene concludes with a massivepile-up of around 50 carsin one of the most daring stunts.
The Blues Brothers
3Mall Fight in ‘Police Story’ (1985)
Jackie Chan makes his final appearance on this list withPolice Story, another movie he wrote and directed. Chan plays a detective protecting a triad boss' girlfriend turned informal, but after being framed for the murder of a dirty cop, he must go on the run in a movie filled with action and slapstick comedy. The intense action and impressive stunts help makePolice Storyone of Chan’s best movies.
Chan proves hisstatus as the king of stuntswith his performance in this movie, most notably the mall fight and final pole jump. The Mall Fight has some of the best choreography in any film, with fast-paced fighting andperfect use of the surroundings and mall environment. Throughout the scene, characters fly off balconies, going through glass and flipping everywhere in aspectacle of broken glass and acrobatics. The final pole jump has Chan leaping from escalator to escalator and finally sliding down a heated pole and bursting through glass, which resulted in burns on his hands, butone of the best stunts in movie history.
Police Story
Directed by George Miller
Mad Max 2: The Road Warriorstands out among theMad Maxfranchise as the movie that defined the series and increased its popularity worldwide. After the death of his wife and child, Max roams the wasteland, fending off tribes and scavenging oil. When he encounters a tribe attacking a settlement filled with oil, he reluctantly helps them on a thrilling journey of crazy stunts, action, and a surprisingly heartwarming film.
The tanker battle inRoad Warrioris perhaps the mostinnovative and unique stuntdone in cinema, which sparked an interest inMad Maxto make it what it is today. With dozens of raider cars surrounding the tanker like vultures, the battle has people hanging out of cars, jumping on the giant tanker, cars and people flipping everywhere. The scene ends with the giant tanker obliterating the leader’s car and flipping on its side. The sequence was unlike any other and a truemasterclass of stuntwork, with one of the scenes of a stuntman flying from his car,actually clipping his legs and breaking his femurin a scene that would make the final cut.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
1Desert Chase and Boulder Scene in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981)
Raiders of the Lost Arkkicked off the ever-popularIndiana Jonesfranchise and remains the best movie of the franchise. Going on a globe-trotting adventure for the Ark of the Covenant, Indy races to find it against the Nazis and a vengeful ex-girlfriend, putting him in constant danger.George Lucascame up with the idea while trying to modernize the serial films of the 20th Century.
Thenear-perfectIndiana Jonesmoviealso features the franchise’sbest and most iconic stunts. Thelegendary truck chase scenesees Indy jump on the truck from horseback, throw the goons out, then drive other cars off cliffs, into the water, and through a town. Later in the scene, some Nazis manage to crawl on the truck, one dangling off the open door over a cliff, which gives the other time to push Indy through the windshield. Indy then holds onto the front of the truck and slowlymakes his way underneath the moving vehiclebefore returning to the car. On the other hand, theiconic boulder scene was actually done by Ford, with the ball made out of wood, plaster and fibreglass.
