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51* Best Foreign Language Movies: 1980s

*Why 51 movies instead of the usual 50? Answer below.
List #7 in a series of 10
Rankings taken from TSPDT's 2025 list. Feature length films only (sorry, "Dimensions of Dialogue").
List image from top ranked film, "Fanny and Alexander"
Film numbers by country:
Belgium—37
Brazil—18, 30
China—24, 42
France—2, 3, 5, 10, 13, 19, 27, 36, 39, 41, 43, 48
Germany—16, 31
Greece—21
Hong Kong—44
Iran—11
Israel—45
Italy—12, 17
Japan—6, 8, 20, 23, 26, 28, 46, 50
Mali—22
Poland—7, 29
Russia—4, 25, 38, 40
Spain—33, 35
Sweden—1, 14, 32
Taiwan—9, 15, 34, 47
Turkey—49
USA—51*
*"Hotel Terminus" is about half English and half French/German; I was conflicted about keeping it in or not—it's not *wholly* foreign language but it *is* multi-lingual—so I decided to include it as a bonus track, if you will, but to take it out of order (it was 47th, anyway, so that last bit wasn't really a big deal)
Previous (1970s): https://www.listchallenges.com/50-best-foreign-language-movies-1970s
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avg. score: 10 of 51 (19%)
required scores: 1, 2, 3, 7, 20 

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Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
1
Shoah (1985)
Shoah (1985)
2
Sans Soleil (1983)
Sans Soleil (1983)
3
Come and See (1985)
Come and See (1985)
4
L'argent (1983)
L'argent (1983)
5
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
6
Dekalog (1989)
Dekalog (1989)
7
Ran (1985)
Ran (1985)
8
A City of Sadness (1989)
A City of Sadness (1989)
9
Vagabond (1985)
Vagabond (1985)
10
Where Is the Friend's House (1987)
Where Is the Friend's House (1987)
11
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
12
The Green Ray (1986)
The Green Ray (1986)
13
The Sacrifice (1986)
The Sacrifice (1986)
14
The Time to Live and the Time to Die (1985)
The Time to Live and the Time to Die (1985)
15
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
16
Nostalghia (1983)
Nostalghia (1983)
17
Twenty Years Later (1984)
Twenty Years Later (1984)
18
A Nos Amours (1983)
A Nos Amours (1983)
19
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
20
Landscape in the Mist (1988)
Landscape in the Mist (1988)
21
Yeelen (1987)
Yeelen (1987)
22
Kagemusha (1980)
Kagemusha (1980)
23
Yellow Earth (1984)
Yellow Earth (1984)
24
My Friend Ivan Lapshin (1985)
My Friend Ivan Lapshin (1985)
25
Akira (1988)
Akira (1988)
26
Sauve Qui Peut (La Vie) (1980)
Sauve Qui Peut (La Vie) (1980)
27
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches on (1987)
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches on (1987)
28
A Short Film About Killing (1988)
A Short Film About Killing (1988)
29
The Age of the Earth (1980)
The Age of the Earth (1980)
30
Veronika Voss (1982)
Veronika Voss (1982)
31
My Life as a Dog (1985)
My Life as a Dog (1985)
32
El Sur (1983)
El Sur (1983)
33
Taipei Story (1985)
Taipei Story (1985)
34
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
35
Passion (1982)
Passion (1982)
36
Toute Une Nuit (1982)
Toute Une Nuit (1982)
37
The Asthenic Syndrome (1990)
The Asthenic Syndrome (1990)
38
Mon Oncle D'Amérique (1980)
Mon Oncle D'Amérique (1980)
39
Time of the Gypsies (1988)
Time of the Gypsies (1988)
40
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