"Ghostbusters" was one of the smash hits of the 1980s. Even though some criticized the weak storyline of the film, the team made up of Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson became cult. With their proton pack weapons, the ghost-catching specialists dealt with eerie creatures called Gozer, Zuul and Vinz Clortho. The film's visual effects even garnered an Oscar nomination.

Based on fast-paced referential humor, "The Naked Gun" series introduced a new genre in slapstick comedy. Written by the trio of comedians ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker), the films lampooned the old clichés of cop shows and disaster movies. Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen, who died in 2010, remains unmistakably associated with the character of the overwhelmed Lt. Frank Drebin.

At a meeting at the world's biggest industrial fair in Hanover in 2016, Angela Merkel surprised Barack Obama by admitting she did not know the sci-fi comedy "Back to the Future." The US president promised to send her a DVD of the cult trilogy. The German chancellor can now compare her in-depth knowledge of physics with the way Marty McFly and "Doc" Emmett Brown alter the space-time continuum.

The hilariously over-the-top road movie "Blues Brothers" (1980) was directed by John Landis. It featured stars, music and action. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd expanded on their "Saturday Night Live" characters, Jake and Elwood Blues. The movie became a cult classic, though the 1998 sequel, "Blues Brothers 2000," was a flop.

Two famous big names worked on the first Indiana Jones movie in 1981: Steven Spielberg was the director, and George Lucas wrote the story. This collaboration led to "Raiders of the Lost Ark," an elaborately produced action movie starring Harrison Ford as a bold archeologist. The character is still legendary and a fifth sequel is planned for 2019. Ford will be 77 years old by then.

The Terminator, played by the then bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, only needed 17 sentences to leave an indelible impression in film history. The action-thriller featuring a cyborg assassin could be dismissed as a B-movie, yet the Library of Congress declared that the movie directed by James Cameron should be preserved as a "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" film.

"Dirty Dancing" was not only about how the shy Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) hooked up with Johnny (Patrick Swayze), the hot dance instructor at a summer resort; the 1987 top hit turned into a pop cultural phenomenon. A whole generation owned the Oscar-winning soundtrack - and quotes such as "I carried a watermelon" and "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" are still remembered to this day.

Speaking of memorable quotes, this line by the homesick extraterrestrial remains one of the world's most famous. Directed by Steven Spielberg, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" is the highest-grossing film of the 1980s. Normally, such a success story would lead to a sequel. Spielberg had even started writing one, but then decided against it, feeling it would "rob the original of its virginity."

In 1986, Paul Hogan became world famous as the foolhardy bushman "Crocodile" Dundee in the eponymous film, which he wrote himself. The fish-out-of-water comedy tells the story of a crocodile hunter from the Australian Outback who lands in New York City and deals with urban challenges his own way - and falls in love with the city girl. Hogan won a Golden Globe for his role.

Unlike other cult films of the 80s, Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" initially underperformed in theaters before finding its massive following. Depicting a "retrofitted future" based on the sci-fi novel by Philip K. Dick, it has become an object of academic fascination for the questions it asks on humanity. The "Blade Runner 2" shoot is set to begin in July, starring Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling.

In 1984, theaters worldwide welcomed a sweet furry creature called a mogwai. It spawned troublemaking monsters, the gremlins, who wreaked massive chaos throughout a picture-perfect town. The only thing that kept them quiet for a while was watching "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." "Gremlins" gave thousands of kids nightmares and was so unconventionally berserk that it remains cult to this day.

After his breakthrough with "Rocky" in the 70s, Sylvester Stallone's second most iconic role was as traumatized war veteran John Rambo in "First Blood" (1982) and later Rambo films. Injuries the actor went through for the physical role include broken ribs and a broken nose. The authentic pain was well worth it, as the action film revisiting the Vietnam War was hailed for its serious subtext.

Originally started as a TV series, the movie "Das Boot" by Wolfgang Petersen was a huge Hollywood hit in 1981. The director of "The Neverending Story" picked up this war drama depicting a submarine crew during World War II, and it became a German blockbuster in the US. It obtained six Oscar nominations including Best Director. The series is set to return to screens in 2018 as a TV mini-series.