It wasn't until I started compiling this list that I realised how many heavy hitters or cult films were out in 1983. Initially thought of it as a transitional period for films cementing their mark upon pop culture.
1983 was a great year for the vigilante film (10 to Midnight, Angel, Sudden Impact and Vigilante); the last hurrah for the golden age of the slasher sub-genre (before Wes Craven changed the game); two of the superior Stephen King adaptations via John Carpenter and David Cronenberg; and the time when Tom Cruise was tolerable.
Films I liked from 1983, but not revisited in ages:
Amityville 3D, A Blade in the Dark, BMX Bandits, The Final Terror, Julie Darling, Krull, Mountaintop Motel Massacre, One Dark Night, Revenge of the Ninja, Rumble Fish, Style Wars, Uncommon Valor, Wild Style and Zelig.
Films from 1983 I shamelessly haven't seen:
A Christmas Story, Bloodbath at the House of Death, Easy Money, Eyes of Fire, The Fourth Man, Liquid Sky, Olivia, Private School, The Right Stuff, Sledgehammer, Spasms, and Star 80.
Dada Debaser Bonus Feature:
Anyone including N.G. Mount's inept Gallic slasher Ogroff: The Mad Mutilator as one of their film picks from 1983 would probably be trolling, but its surreal entertainment value is undeniable: