<P> The' 80s also saw the golden age of "teen flicks" and also spawned the Brat Pack films, many of which were directed by John Hughes . Films such as Class, The Breakfast Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Mannequin, Porky's, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, St. Elmo's Fire, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Weird Science, and Valley Girl were popular teen comedies of the era and launched the careers of several major celebrities such as: Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Andrew McCarthy, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Sean Penn, Nicolas Cage and Michael J Fox . Other popular films included About Last Night..., Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, Footloose, Raging Bull and St. Elmo's Fire which also launched the careers of high - profile celebrities like Demi Moore, Joe Pesci, Keanu Reeves, Kevin Bacon, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze, and River Phoenix . </P> <P> Horror films were a popular genre during the decade, with several notable horror franchises being born during the 1980s . Among the most popular were the Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, and Poltergeist franchises . Aside from these films, the concept of the B horror film gave rise to a plethora of horror films that went on to earn a cult status . An example of such is the 1981 film The Evil Dead, which marked the directorial debut of Sam Raimi . </P> <P> Several action film franchises were also launched during the 1980s . The most popular of these were the Beverly Hills Cop, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and Rambo franchises . Other action films from the decade which are of notable status include The Terminator, and Predator . These films propelled the careers of modern celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Eddie Murphy, Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris to international recognition . On the other side of the globe, Hong Kong action cinema was being revolutionized by a new wave of inventive filmmakers that includes Jackie Chan, Tsui Hark, and John Woo . </P> <P> Five more James bond films were released, with Roger Moore continuing in the role in For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, and A View To A Kill, before handing over the role to Timothy Dalton who starred in The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill . </P>

Major events in the 1980s in the us