This is a list of avant-garde and experimental films released in the 1980s.
| Title | Director | Cast | Nation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | ||||
| Amy! | Laura Mulvey, Peter Wollen | |||
| Duplicity III | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Duplicity cycle | |
| Germany, Pale Mother | Helma Sanders-Brahms | Eva Mattes, Ernst Jacobi, Elisabeth Stepanek | West Germany | |
| Lucifer Rising | Kenneth Anger | United States | ||
| Made Manifest | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Other | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Roman Numeral: IV | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") | |
| Roman Numeral: V | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") | |
| Roman Numeral: VI | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") | |
| Roman Numeral: VII | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") | |
| Salome | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Sincerity V | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Sincerity cycle | |
| 1981 | ||||
| Aftermath | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Arabic Numeral Series 1 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 2 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 3 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 4 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 5 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 6 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 7 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 8 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 9 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 0 + 10 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 11 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 12 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 13 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| The Garden of Earthly Delights | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Murder Psalm | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| No Mercy, No Future | Helma Sanders-Brahms | Elisabeth Stepanek, Jorge Reis, Curt Curtini | West Germany | |
| Nodes | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Le Pont du Nord | Jacques Rivette | Bulle Ogier, Pascale Ogier, Pierre Clémenti | France | |
| Possession | Andrzej Żuławski | Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent | France West Germany | [1] |
| Roman Numeral: VIII | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") | |
| Roman Numeral: IX | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") | |
| RR | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Stonebridge Park | Patrick Keiller | United Kingdom | ||
| T.G.: Psychic Rally in Heaven | Derek Jarman | United Kingdom | Short | |
| Tango | Zbigniew Rybczyński | Poland | ||
| Unconscious London Strata | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| 1982 | ||||
| The Angel | Patrick Bokanowski | Maurice Baquet, Jean-Marie Bon, Martine Couture | France | [2] |
| Arabic Numeral Series 14 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 15 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 16 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 17 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 18 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 19 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") | |
| The Atomic Café | Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty | United States | ||
| Baby Doll | Tessa Hughes-Freeland | United States | ||
| Chronopolis | Piotr Kamler | Poland | ||
| Dimension of Dialogue | Jan Švankmajer | Czechoslovakia | ||
| The Draughtsman's Contract | Peter Greenaway | United Kingdom | ||
| Hours for Jerome | Nathaniel Dorsky | United States | ||
| In Order to Pass | Chris Kraus | United States | ||
| Macbeth | Béla Tarr | György Cserhalmi, Erzsébet Kútvölgyi, Ferenc Bencze, Imre Csuja, János Derzsi, István Dégi, Attila Kaszás, Gyula Maár, Đoko Rosić, János Ács, Lajos Őze | Hungary | Drama[3] |
| Koyaanisqatsi | Godfrey Reggio | United States | [4] | |
| Liquid Sky | Slava Tsukerman | Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard, Susan Doukas | United States | Sci-Fi |
| Personal Cuts | Sanja Iveković | Yugoslavia | ||
| Pictures on Pink Paper | Lis Rhodes | United Kingdom | ||
| Shift | Toshio Matsumoto | Japan | ||
| Three Crowns of the Sailor | Raúl Ruiz | Jean-Bernard Guillard, Philippe Deplanche, Jean Badin | France | [5] |
| 1983 | ||||
| La Belle captive | Alain Robbe-Grillet | Daniel Mesguich, Gabrielle Lazure, Cyrielle Claire | France | [6] |
| City of Lost Souls | Rosa von Praunheim | West Germany | ||
| Cosey Fanni Tutti | Doobie Eylath | Cosey Fanni Tutti | United Kingdom | |
| Diary | David Perlov | Israel | TV series | |
| Jean-Luc Godard | Maruschka Detmers, Jacques Bonnaffé, Myriem Roussel | France Switzerland | [7] | |
| Freeze Frame | Peter Tscherkassky | Austria | ||
| Hell Spit Flexion | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of The Dante Quartet | |
| Messages | Guy Sherwiin | United Kingdom | ||
| No End | Sanja Iveković, Dalibor Martinis | Yugoslavia | ||
| Norwood | Patrick Keiller | United Kingdom | ||
| Pneuma | Nathaniel Dorsky | United States | ||
| Sans soleil | Chris Marker | Florence Delay | France | |
| Sweet Bunch | Nikos Nikolaidis | Despina Tomazani, Dora Maskalvanou, Takis Moschos | Greece | |
| Syntagma | Valie Export | Irmilin Hoffer | Austria | |
| Videodrome | David Cronenberg | James Woods, Debbie Harry | USA | |
| 1984 | ||||
| Blue Monday | The Duvet Brothers | United Kingdom | ||
| The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay | United Kingdom | [8] | |
| Egyptian Series | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| The Future of Emily | Helma Sanders-Brahms | Brigitte Fossey, Camille Raymond, Hermann Treusch | West Germany | |
| The Green Witch and Merry Diana | Grayson Perry | United Kingdom | ||
| Ian Breakwell's Continuous Diary | Ian Breakwell | United Kingdom | TV series | |
| Klassenverhältnisse | Straub-Huillet | Christian Heinisch, Mario Adorf, Nazzareno Bianconi | West Germany France | Drama |
| Shut the Fuck Up | General Idea | Canada | ||
| Tortured Dust Part I | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Tortured Dust Part II | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Tortured Dust Part III | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Tortured Dust Part IV | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| 1985 | ||||
| 2084 | Chris Marker | France | ||
| The Angelic Conversation | Derek Jarman | Judi Dench, Paul Reynolds, Philip Williamson | United Kingdom | |
| The Epic of Gilgamesh | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay | United Kingdom | ||
| Les Favoris de la Lune | Otar Iosseliani | Pascal Aubier, Alix de Montaigu, Gaspard Flori | France Italy | [9] |
| Hail Mary | Jean-Luc Godard | France United Kingdom Switzerland | [10] | |
| Jane | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| The Monument of Sacrifice and Orgy | Ana Nuša Dragan, Srečo Dragan | Yugoslavia | ||
| The Practice of Love | Valie Export | Adelheid Arndt, Hagnot Elischka, Rüdiger Vogler | Austria | |
| The Right Side of My Brain | Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch | United States | ||
| Super-8 Girl Games | Ursula Pürrer, Hans A. Scheirl | Austria | ||
| Where Evil Dwells | Tommy Turner, David Wojnarowicz | United States | ||
| A Zed & Two Noughts | Peter Greenaway | Andréa Ferréol, Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon | Netherlands United Kingdom | [11] |
| 1986 | ||||
| The Aerodyne | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" | |
| Caravaggio | Derek Jarman | Sean Bean, Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry | United Kingdom | |
| Confession | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Dance Shadows by Danielle Helander | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" | |
| The End | Patrick Keiller | United Kingdom | ||
| The Family Album | Alan Berliner | United States | ||
| Fingered | Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch | United States | ||
| Fireloop | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" | |
| Foolproof Illusion | Chris Kraus | United States | ||
| Handsworth Songs | Black Audio Film Collective | United Kingdom | ||
| Kelimba | Peter Tscherkassky | Austria | ||
| The Loom | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" | |
| Mommy, Mommy, Where's My Brain? | Jon Moritsugu | United States | ||
| Nidhiyude Katha | Vijayakrishnan | India | [12] | |
| Night Music | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the "Three Handed-Painted Films" | |
| Street of Crocodiles | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay | United Kingdom | [13] | |
| Thames Film | William Raban | John Hurt | United Kingdom | |
| Toutes les femmes est Jeanne d'Arc | Suzanne Lemaître | France | ||
| 1987 | ||||
| 17 Reasons Why | Nathaniel Dorsky | United States | ||
| Alaya | Nathaniel Dorsky | United States | ||
| All Our Secrets are Contained in an Image | Breda Beban, Hrvoje Horvatić | Yugoslavia | ||
| The Black Tower | John Smith | United Kingdom | ||
| Cruel Illness of Men | Igor Aleinikov | Soviet Union | ||
| The Cure for Insomnia | John Henry Timmis IV | United States | ||
| The Dante Quartet | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of The Dante Quartet | |
| The Deadman | Peggy Ahwesh, Keith Sanborn | United States | ||
| Dream | Dmitrii Frolov | Soviet Union | ||
| Faustfilm: An Opera: Part I | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project | |
| From the Archives of Modern Art | Eleanor Antin | United States | ||
| How to Shoot a Crime | Chris Kraus, Sylvère Lotringer | United States | ||
| Kindgering | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| The Last of England | Derek Jarman | Tilda Swinton, Spencer Leigh, Spring (Mark Adley) | United Kingdom | [14] |
| Loud Visual Noises | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Morning Patrol | Nikos Nikolaidis | Michele Valley, Takis Spiridakis, Liana Hatzi | Greece | |
| The Revolutionary Sketch | Gleb Aleinikov, Igor Aleinikov | Soviet Union | ||
| Traktora | Gleb Aleinikov, Igor Aleinikov | Soviet Union | ||
| 1988 | ||||
| Alice | Jan Švankmajer | Kristina Kohoutova | Switzerland Czechoslovakia | [15] |
| Degrees of Blindness | Cerith Wyn Evans | United Kingdom | ||
| Faust 3: Candida Albacore | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project | |
| Faust's Other: An Idyll | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project | |
| I... Dreaming | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| The Limits of Vision | Clio Barnard | United Kingdom | ||
| Marilyn's Window | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Matins | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Measures of Distance | Mona Hatoun | United Kingdom | ||
| Powaqqatsi | Godfrey Reggio | United States | [16] | |
| Rage Net | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the Three Hand-Painted Films | |
| Virile Games | Jan Švankmajer | Czechoslovakia | ||
| 1989 | ||||
| Babylon Series #1 | Stan Brakhage | United States | ||
| Begotten | E. Elias Merhige | Brian Salzberg, Donna Dempsey, Stephen Charles Barry | United States | Experimental horror |
| Clownery | Dmitrii Frolov | Dmitri Shibanov, Dmitri Frolov, Natalya Sourkova, Alexey Zaharov, Viktoriya Zlotnikova, Mark Nahamkin, Yevgeniy Suhonenkov, Alexey Frolov, Alexandr Kostin, Yakov Shmayev, Vyacheslav Gridin | Soviet Union | |
| The Clouds | Patrick Keiller | United Kingdom | ||
| Ecce Homo | Jerry Tartaglia | United States | ||
| Faust 4 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project | |
| Looking for Langston | Isaac Julien | United Kingdom | ||
| Marquis | Henri Xhonneux | Francois Marthouret, Valerie Kling, Michel Robin | Belgium France | [17] |
| Santa Sangre | Alejandro Jodorowsky | Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Sabrina Dennison | Italy Mexico | [18] |
| Tabula Rasa | Peter Tscherkassky | Austria | ||
| Shinya Tsukamoto | Tomoroh Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan | [19] | |
| Visions in Meditation #1 | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the Visions in Meditation Cycle | |
| Visions in Meditation #2: Mesa Verde | Stan Brakhage | United States | Part of the Visions in Meditation Cycle | |
| The Window | Julius Ziz | Soviet Union | ||