25 best 80s movies of all-time

The best 80s movies of all-time No. 19: The Outsiders

I’ve noticed a trend of calling films ‘coming of age’ far too often anymore, but when I think of one of the first coming of age movies I saw, The Outsiders is at the top of the list. The film was adapted from a popular book and was directed by one of the greatest directors of all time, Francis Ford Coppola.

I am sure Coppola had an eye for some of the talented cast in this film, but I am not sure he expected what came out of this film. From Rob Lowe to Emilio Estevez to Matt Dillon to Patrick Swayze to Tom Cruise to Ralph Macchio (hi again) to Diane Lane, The Outsiders was the spark these young actors needed to put their name on the map.

The film follows two gangs that are in a rivalry, you had the Greasers, who were on the poor side and the Socs, who were the upper-class and all go nuts when a gang member ends up dead in the hands of another.

Ralph Macchio as Johnny Cade received tons of praise and rightfully so as he was fantastic in this movie. Coppola does a great job of setting the stage of Johnny’s big moment as he goes to save Ponyboy after they were both jumped by the Socs and he kills Bob, and from this point on, Macchio steals the show.

Rewatching this recently reminded me how much I enjoyed this movie and even more seeing these young stars before they became household names.