1980s
| Title | Director | Genre | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | ||||||
| Beyond Reasonable Doubt * | John Laing | docudrama | ||||
| A Woman of Good Character | David Blyth | Historical drama | AKA Lizzie. Shot on 16mm | |||
| Squeeze† | Richard Turner | (shot on 16mm) | ||||
| 1981 | ||||||
| Goodbye Pork Pie * | Geoff Murphy | comedy, road movie | ||||
| Pictures† * | Michael Black | |||||
| Race for the Yankee Zephyr | David Hemmings | action | Australia - NZ co-production | |||
| Smash Palace * | Roger Donaldson | drama | ||||
| Wildcat† | Ross Prosser, Russel Campbell, Alister Barry | (shot on 16mm) | ||||
| Dead Kids / Strange Behaviour / Shadowland† | Michael Laughlin | |||||
| Bad Blood * | Mike Newell | drama | NZ-British co-production | |||
| 1982 | ||||||
| Carry Me Back† * | John Reid | comedy | ||||
| Battletruck (reissued as Warlords of the 21st Century) |
Harley Cokliss | action | Hollywood film shot on location | |||
| The Scarecrow * | Sam Pillsbury | |||||
| 1983 | ||||||
| Hang on a Minute Mate! | Alan Lindsay | telemovie | ||||
| Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence | Nagisa Oshima | War | location shooting for British-Japanese co-production. | |||
| Wild Horses† * | Derek Morton | Drama | ||||
| It's Lizzie to Those Close† * | David Blyth | shot on 16mm | ||||
| War Years† | Pat McGuire | |||||
| Patu!† * | Merata Mita | documentary | ||||
| Strata† | Geoff Steven | |||||
| The Lost Tribe* | John Laing | |||||
| Second Time Lucky† | Michael Anderson | comedy | ||||
| Heart of the Stag† | Michael Firth | Drama | ||||
| Trespasses† | Peter Sharp | |||||
| Savage Islands (a.k.a. Nate and Hayes)† | Ferdinand Fairfax | Adventure | ||||
| Among the Cinders† * | Rolf Hädrich | Drama | ||||
| Utu * | Geoff Murphy | historical action | Screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival | |||
| 1984 | ||||||
| Other Halves | John Laing | drama | ||||
| The Silent One * | Yvonne Mackay | Drama | filmed in the Cook Islands | |||
| Iris a.k.a. Out of Time | Tony Isaac | Biography drama | Telemovie | |||
| Death Warmed Up† * | David Blyth | horror / thriller | ||||
| Vigil * | Vincent Ward | Drama | Nominated for Palme D'Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival | |||
| The Bounty | Roger Donaldson | Adventure | Location shooting for Australian/US production | |||
| 1985 | ||||||
| Came a Hot Friday * | Ian Mune | comedy | ||||
| Dangerous Orphans * | John Laing | Action | ||||
| Kingpin | Mike Walker | drama | ||||
| Mr Wrong * | Gaylene Preston | horror | ||||
| Shaker Run | Bruce Morrison | Action / Thriller | ||||
| Hot Target | Denis Lewiston | sex thriller | Location shooting for US film | |||
| Sylvia | Michael Firth | biographical film | ||||
| The Quiet Earth * | Geoff Murphy | Drama / Sci-Fi / Mystery | ||||
| Bridge to Nowhere (film) * | Ian Mune | |||||
| 1986 | ||||||
| Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale | Murray Ball | animated film | ||||
| Pallet on the Floor | Lynton Butler | |||||
| Mark II* | ||||||
| Queen City Rocker * | Bruce Morrison | |||||
| 1987 | ||||||
| Bad Taste * | Peter Jackson | Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi | ||||
| Ngati * | Barry Barclay | |||||
| Illustrious Energy * | Leon Narbey | |||||
| Mauri * | Merata Mita | |||||
| 1988 | ||||||
| Send a Gorilla * | Melanie Read | |||||
| The Grasscutter | Ian Mune | action / thriller | ||||
| The Navigator: A Mediaeval Odyssey * | Vincent Ward | fantasy | Entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival | |||
| Just Me and Mario | Greg Stitt | Comedy | ||||
| 1989 | ||||||
| Meet the Feebles* | Peter Jackson | black comedy | ||||
Read more about this topic: List Of New Zealand Films