Cinema · 1986 Ranked
Best Films of 1986, Ranked by IQ Score
The year auteur cinema collided with Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking. The films of 1986, ranked by IQ Score.
1986 is widely cited as the mid-1980s American-cinema peak. Blue Velvet (Lynch), Aliens (Cameron), Platoon (Stone), Stand by Me (Reiner), Hannah and Her Sisters (Allen), The Fly (Cronenberg), all released within twelve months.
The structural argument for 1986-as-canonical-year: simultaneous auteur peak (Lynch's Blue Velvet reset suburban-noir, Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters won Best Original Screenplay, Cronenberg's The Fly hit body-horror canonical scale), prestige-war-cinema (Stone's Platoon won Best Picture), action-sci-fi peak (Cameron's Aliens), and coming-of-age canonical (Stand by Me). The catalog density justifies the year's reputation.
9 titles · ranked by IQ Score
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Questions about this ranking
What is the best film of 1986?
By IQ Score on TV Intelligentsia, Blue Velvet (167) and Aliens anchor the year. Platoon (Best Picture winner), Hannah and Her Sisters, The Fly, and Stand by Me round out the canonical entries.
Why is 1986 considered American cinema's mid-1980s peak?
1986 saw simultaneous auteur peak (Lynch's Blue Velvet reset suburban-noir, Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters won Best Original Screenplay, Cronenberg's The Fly hit body-horror canonical scale), prestige-war-cinema (Stone's Platoon won Best Picture), action-sci-fi peak (Cameron's Aliens), and coming-of-age canonical work (Stand by Me).
Which 1986 film is most underrated?
Manhunter (Michael Mann's pre-Silence-of-the-Lambs Hannibal Lecter film), She's Gotta Have It (Spike Lee's directorial debut), and Sherman's March (Ross McElwee's canonical autobiographical documentary) are the three most-underrated 1986 entries by IQ Score relative to cultural reach.
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