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Biker Movies of 1980s
“The adventures of two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers.” IMDB.com
The return motorcycles to Television continues into the 1980s.
“A young hot-headed motorbike enthusiast inherits the prototype for an incredibly fast machine which was designed by his brother...” Internet Movie Database
I remember seeing this on cable many years ago and think it was pretty good.
“A dutch film, post-Saturday Night Fever, which portrays the lives of three young men who are amateur dirt-bike motorcycle racers...” Internet Movie Database
1980 May Kuruizaki sanda rodo aka Crazy Thunder Road
“Japan's one and only crazy biker flick!” Internet Movie Database
Actually just the first from Japan but like most very hard to find.
Canada June 1980 Hog Wild “In this uninspired attempt at teen comedy, Tim has returned home in disgrace as far as his dad is concerned — he was expelled from his military academy. The next thing Tim knows he is fighting off a gang of bikers that are terrorizing the high schoolers, and worse yet, he is falling for "The Bull's" girlfriend. The Bull, whose name belies, of all things, an okay guy underneath all that leather and severely mangled diction, is the leader of the bikers.” Allmovie.com
1981 Apr Knightriders By George Romero “Knightriders may well be the only cycle flick ever to be played out in suits of armor. A hardcase motorcycle gang led by Ed Harris has found itself a neat money-making gimmick. Dressed as the knights of the round table, the cyclists pick up a few bucks at local "renaissance" fairs, selling handicrafts made by the more talented members of the gang. Harris' great rival is Tom Savini, who has his own band of "black knights." Keep an eye out for a chucklesome unbilled bit by novelist Stephen King.” Allmovie.com - imdb.com
1981 Nomad Riders IMDb
“In this low-low budget knock-off of the "Road Warrior" films, a courageous loner takes on those who killed his family in a desolate, futuristic world.” Allmovie.com
Apr 1982 Silent Rage IMDb “Chuck Norris, six-time World Karate Champion, stars in his first suspense film as the tough, street-fighting sheriff of a small Texas town terrorized by a psychotic killer. … Norris displays fighting brilliance as he single-handedly routs a dozen brutal bikers from a truck stop hangout, while revealing a warm and sexy side when he rekindles an old romance with Alison Halman (Toni Kalem), a researcher at the institute. Excitement, horror, and romance prevail as Norris combats the killer.” Sony web site. More true to life story, even with bike babes flashing
June 1982 Grease 2 Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfeiffer
“An English student at a 1960's American high school has to prove himself to the leader of a girls' gang whose members can only date greasers.” Internet Movie Database
Where the original Grease just had the JD leather and cars, the squeal actually has T-birds as bikers with a rival gang, the Pink Ladies as Biker babes, and the Hero as mystery biker. This is the biker musical!
Sept 1982 The Loveless Willem Dafoe “... Dafoe plays Vance, a stoic, leather-clad biker who rides into a small Southern town and to wait for some other bikers. Their plan is to travel on to Daytona for some racing, but they have to stick around the little truck stop town for a while to get one of their bikes repaired. Vance flirts a bit with Augusta (Liz Gans), a widowed waitress. She's the only local who's friendly to him and his gang. …, and the day ends with violence.” Allmovie.com - imdb.com
Dec 1982 Timerider: the Adventure of Lyle Swann Fred Ward
“Lyle, a motorcycle champion is traveling the Mexican desert, when he find himself in the action radius of a time machine...” Internet Movie Database
Since bike films are often compared to Westerns, this is an interesting film, a motorcycle in the wild west by way of time travel. Was hard to find but a good film.
1982 Warriors of the Wasteland aka Nuovi barbari, I – The New Barbarians Fred Williamson “Two mercenaries help wandering caravans fight off an evil and aimless band of white-clad bikers after the nuclear holocuast.” Internet Movie Database
Really not much bikes in this spaghetti SciFi – glad was a $1 DVD, cheaper than renting.
1982 Bakuretsu toshi English Burst City Japanese
“a futuristic tale of chaos and anarchy driven by an energetic punk-rock soundtrack and set in a bleak future where nuclear-power-plant protesting punk rockers clash with riot police and yakuza” allmovie.com imdb.com English subtitles don't help make sense. Started with a bike gang then like a music vidoo, SM sex movie, JD punk racers (bikes there too), sci-fi weirdness and all bouncing back and forth. The camera work may make you sick if the movie doesn't.
After the Oil Wars, civilization has splintered up into small self-sufficient communities. Suddenly across the countryside comes Colonel Straker, ruthlessly smashing and enslaving each community underneath him with his armoured battletruck. When the mysterious motorcycle-riding Hunter rescues Corlie, a woman Straker keeps as prisoner, Straker swears vengeance. motorbiker.org
1982 The Aftermath aka Zombie Aftermath (Netflix) “Two astronauts return to earth ("a few miles off the coast of Los Angeles") to find that it has been destroyed by nuclear war. L.A. has been taken over by Cutter and his gang of outlaw bikers (straight out of the 70s with bell bottoms and everything).” IMDb. Low budget SciFi with mutants, but this gang has no leathers, patches, nor bikes so not sure why IMDB has biker gang. Brand new shiny Jeeps seem out of place. On Netflix as Zombie Aftermath - not really Zombies either.
1983 Survival Zone
“In a post-nuclear holocaust world, roving bands of motorcycle gangs attack ranchers to try to take over their land” IMDb.com
Apr 1983 1990: Bronx Warriors
“In a post-apocalyptic New York City, a policeman infiltrates the Bronx, which has become a battleground for several murderous street gangs.” IMDb
Another spaghetti SciFi with one of the gangs on bikes. The lead is a pretty boy with one of the strangest walks I've ever seen in a movie.
Oct 1983 Rumble Fish Matt Dillion, Mickey Rourke, Dennis Hopper, Nicolas Cage, William Smith “Rusty James is the leader of a small, dying gang in an industrial town. He lives in the shadow of the memory of his absent, older brother -- The Motorcycle Boy. His mother has left, his father drinks, school has no meaning for him and his relationships are shallow. He is drawn into one more gang fight and the events that follow begin to change his life.” IMDb
Only thing biker is the name of Mickey Rourke’s role The Motorcycle Boy and short scenes of him riding. More fun was to see biker vet William Smith as a cop.
June 1984 Streets of Fire Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe, Rick Moranis “Rock and Roll singer is taken captive by a motorcycle gang in a strange world that seems to be a cross of the 1950's and the present or future. Her ex-boyfriend returns to town and to find her missing and goes to her rescue.” IMDb.com
A 80s version of the one man against biker gang with lots of rock n Roll. Willem Dafoe again as a biker and seems perfect for the role.
“A woman whose car breaks down in the desert finds her way to an abandoned town, where she is menaced by a gang of psycho bikers.” IMDb
Above about sums up this film. Batman and Ginger versus psycho bikers attacking the town – watch for the naked girl in the sidecar.
Oct.1984 The Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton
“A cyborg is sent from the future on a deadly mission. He has to kill Sarah Connor, a young woman whose life will have a great significance in years to come. Sarah has only one protector - Kyle Reese - also sent from the future.” IMDb.com
Sarah rides a scooter and there is one chase with Arnold on a bike, but not as much as in the sequel.
1984 Raw Courage aka Courage IMDb
“A 72-mile marathon turns into a fight for survival as three men are hunted by a gang of motorcycle commandoes armed to kill.” Motorbiker.org
“When Jessie Mach is crippled after an assault by an old enemy, his position as motorcycle cop seems finished. That was before a computer technician named Tuttle recruits him for a special government project. He is to be the test pilot for the Street Hawk, an advanced motorcycle” IMDb.com
Mar. 1985 Mask Cher, Sam Elliott, Eric Stoltz, Laura Dern
“Rusty Dennis is the mother of Rocky, a seriously deformed but extremely intelligent and emotionally warm child. Rusty is a no-nonsense mother whose wild lifestyle is often at odds with her tenderness and protectiveness towards Rocky. She is determined that Rocky be given the same chances and happiness that everyone else takes for granted” IMDb One of the movies where biker get a more realistic portrayal as “normal” people showing their strong family concepts.
Aug. 1985 Pee-wee's Big Adventure "The love of Pee-wee Herman's life is his bicycle. When it is stolen, he is send on a wild cross country adventure after a fortune teller tells him his bicycle is in the basement of the Alamo. Along the way, Pee-wee encounters an escaped convict, a waitress with wanderlust and a jealous boyfriend, and a mysterious female truck driver" IMDb
"even comedian Pee-Wee Herman stumbled into a biker hangout ... emerging unscathed after he earns the respect of a biker gang for his dedication to his bicycle and the road" p.91 Two Wheels, Two Reels
1985 Savage Dawn George Kennedy, Karen Black
“A motorcycle gang take over a small city in Arizona.” IMDb.com - "The normally quiet streets of a small desert town are transformed into a bloody battlefield when a Green Beret veteran takes on a horde of motorcycle thugs." motorbiker.org
1985 Texas Gladiators 2020 aka Anno 2020- I gladiatori del futuro
“The year is 2020 and the setting is post-nuclear holocaust Texas. It's a dusty, nasty world now as can be seen in the opening scenes when a gang of outlaw bikers rape and murder innocent nuns at a mission.” motorbiker.org
Nov.1985 The Dirt Bike Kid Peter Bilingsley
“When his mother sends Jack off with money to buy groceries, he comes home with a magic supercharged dirt bike instead. His mother is furious, but when Jack uses the magic bike to save the local hot dog stand from the clutches of corrupt big business, he becomes the town hero” IMDb.com
1986 May Cobra Sylvester Stallone “City cop is on the trail of a serial killer. Loaded with action and violence. Stallone fans will love this Rambo-like movie with Stallone on the chase instead of the run.” IMDb.com Started with a robber who rode in first scene. Thought I had read that there was a biker gang, but just the psycho group riding to the final ambush on bikes. Lots of bike stunts and action there. And at the end Syl and Brigette hop a Harley and ride into the credits.
Ireland 1986 Eat the Peach “Two hard-luck friends in rural Ireland, suddenly unemployed, are inspired by a scene in Elvis Presley's movie Roustabout and decide to build a ``wall of death'' (a huge wooden cylinder in which they ride their motorcycles in a circus like stunt). Can fame and fortune be far behind? Uniquely dour Irish sensibility permeates this uneven but engaging little film about hopes and dreams--even cockeyed ones like these. Director Ormrod and producer John Kelleher based their script on a true story.” Motorbiker.org
July 1986 Vamp Chris Makepeace “Two fraternity pledges go to a sleazy bar looking for strippers to entertain their college friends. They have problems with transportation, Biker gangs, and worst of all, the staff of the bar, all of whom seem to be vampires, with Grace Jones playing the head vampire” iMDb.com
Biker Gangs? What film was that reviewer watching? A gang, sure, but does denim jackets with a patch make you a biker? No bikes in this film at all.
July 1986 The Majorettes
“A hooded psycho is murdering high-school girls. A devil-worshiping, drug-dealing biker gang is suspected” IMDb.com
Seems I missed the biker gang watching this one
1986 Nov. Eye of the Tiger William Smith, Gary Busey “Buck, a former Vietnam veteran/ex-con recently released from the state prison. He returns to the small Midwest town where he grew up only to discover the place overrun by a large motorcycle gang bent on causing trouble. When the bikers murder his wife and traumatize his young daughter, Busey, with the help from a fellow Vietnam vet, as well as his former cell-mate, a drug kingpin living in Miami, Buck arms himself to the teeth and wages a war against the motorcyclists to destroy them once and for all’ imdb.com. Again one man stands up a “biker gang” - this time a large military like drug gang on dirt bikes lead by a bald William Smith. This is more action than true biker flick.
1987 The Black Cobra aka Cobra Nero Fred Williamson
Early in Black Cobra, Detective Robert Malone (Fred Williamson) .... finds himself protecting a female photographer who has witnessed a murder. She is sought by a moronic gang of motorcyclists which has been murdering and raping at will. IMDb motorbiker.org - allmovie.com . Not 1%ers but punks on dirtbikes, with temp tags no less.
1987 Feb. Mannequin Andrew McCarthy, Lim Cattrall“Jonathan Switcher is a young artist. He just doesn't seem to last in any job he does. But when he builds a mannequin, he makes it so perfect, he falls in love with it. …. Later the mannequin comes to life as Emmy, who was an ancient Egyptian living in the year 2514BC.” IMDb.com. Ok, the hero just rides a motorcycle with funny scenes of the mannequin on the bike. It is not a true bike film but good to see a bike in a mainstream film.
1987 Feb. Winners Take All
“After Billy Robinson (Robert Krantz) finds success as a professional motorcycle racer, he returns to his hometown where he faces adulation and jealousy as a result of his success. When a local motorcycle race is put together, Billy must compete against his best friend (Don Michael Paul) for the prize.” Allmovies.com - IMDb.com
1987 Feb. Cyclone Heather Thomas
“a brave young woman must deliver a specially designed, top-secret super-destructo armored motorcycle that runs on oxygen to the US military after the man assigned to deliver it, her lover, is murdered by enemy agents.” Blockbuster.com
Not bad for a low budget film and Thomas is good to look at too.
"While riding through a sleepy Mexican village, two young American Bikers have a run-in with a band of ruthless motorcycle desperados. The gang captures the Americans and sets them to work as slaves harvesting their marijuana crop, where a group of other slaves are already hard at work." motorbiker.org - IMDb
1987 The Arrogant
“A waitress hitchhiking in Nevada is picked up by a man on a motorcycle. Unbeknownst to her, the man is a psycho killer who thinks he's God.” IMDb.com
1987 Adventures Beyond Belief aka Neat & Tidy comedy Edie Adams, John Astin, Elke Summer, Stella Stevens, Larry Storch "In this unlikely adventure a motorcyclist helps an all-girls' school "prisoner" escape her school and together they flee across Europe, chased by the headmistress. To complicate things, the escapee is a mobster's daughter and the motorcycle man, wrongfully accused of a murder, is being chased, too" motorbiker.org - IMDb. - allmovie.com - DVDmaniacs - SleasyGrinder - Cinema Strikes Back -
1987 And Then You Die TV movie/mini-series “a 115-minute Canadian melodrama starring Ken Welsh as an above-the-border drug czar. Having amassed a fortune on the miseries of others, Welsh intends to retire. But the Mafia, notorious for its poor retirement plan, wants a piece of his riches. So does a vicious motorcycle gang. And so too do certain double-dealing members of the police squad pursuing him.” Allmovie.com 1988 Won several Gemini Awards IMDb.com
1987 Virgins From Hell (Indonesia) IMDb "A chaste all-girl biker gang vows vengeance on the drug lord that did them wrong in this kinky Asian exploitation film. The gang goes after Mr. Tiger for selling drugs to kids, but instead, he gains the upper hand and holds the biker chicks captive, using them as guinea pigs in his aphrodisiac experiments conducted with the help of his sadistic lesbian associate. But Mr. Tiger soon learns he's no match for the virginal vigilantes." Netflix.com
If you into bad acting, bad effects, but Asian girls in leather mini-skirts and high boots riding dirtbikes, then this is a guilty pleasure.
1987 Motorcycle Boy
“A young widow realizes that the memories of her deceased husband is interfering in her new relationship with a motorcycle racer.” Allmovie.com
1988 (Jul 2001 USA) Akira Japanese animation
“A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of psionics can stop” IMDb.com
For me animated cycles, futuristic too, just does not catch my interest – shut off halfway through.
1988 The Mouse and the Motorcycle
“Live-action and stop-motion animation combine to adapt Beverly Cleary's novel about a young boy's friendship with a talking rodent.” Allmovie.com
1988 Welcome to Spring Break aka Nightmare Beach “Diablo is a biker gang leader executed for the murder of a young woman. A year after his death, it's time for Spring Break. Football players Skip and Ronnie head to the beach, where Skip meets Gail, the sister of the woman who was murdered a year ago. All the fun and glory of Spring Break, however, is about to turn into a living nightmare when a mysterious person in a biker outfit begins to kill people by electrocution. Could it be that Diablo has returned from the dead?” imdb.com Actually not bad.
1988 Nam Angels
“In this low-budget actioner, a brutal biker gang heads for the Vietnam jungle to save American POWS.” Allmovie.com
1989 Crossing the Line
"A hot-shot rich kid with a bad attitude is automatically blamed when a bad motorcycle accident puts his best friend in a coma. Among his accusers is his brother who has vowed that the next cycle race his rebel sibling enters will be his last." motorbiker.org - allmovie.com - IMDb
1989 Aug Easy Wheels Paul Le Mat
“A group of leather-clad bikers are on the trail of the female bikers who are stealing babies all over the state and selling them on the black market.” Imdb.com - motorbiker.org - allmovie.com
Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. In Japan, however, he manages to escape. As they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game the Japanese way IMDB
Opens with sport bike race which sets up bike scenes later in movie
1989 The Punisher Dolph Lundgren First film version, second in 2004 with or without bike?
“This is an adaptation of a popular, violent Marvel Comics series about a character who's a frontier-style vigilante in modern-day urban America. Believed to be killed in the explosion, Castle has gone underground, building a subterranean lair in the sewer system and vengefully assassinating various criminals, wracking up an impressive body count of 125 slain in five years. Castle's former partner rightly suspects that he knows the true identity of the motorcycle-riding avenger dubbed "the Punisher." ….. Filmed in Australia, this low-budget action thriller did not get a theatrical release in the U.S., instead going directly to video.” Allmovie.com
"Across the arid Arizona wasteland roars the Reaper, riding out for bloody revenge against the undercover cop who put him in prison. En route, he grabs the cop's girl friend and soon after, brutal sex and graphic biker violence ensues." allmovie.com
"When Reaper, the leader of a murderous biker gang, is released from prison on a technicality, he swears revenge on Wade Olson..." IMDb
Nov. 1989 Race for Glory
“A member of an up and coming motorcycle racing team abandons his teamates to join a rival team. He ends up playing second fiddle to the champion of the new team. Not satisfied, and against the wishes of his new boss, he tries to beat the champion but fails. He leaves racing, eventually to return and reunite with his old friends in an attempt to win the Grand Prix” IMDb.com
