Using injection, powder-flash and band-flash MOCVD techniques, epitaxial thin films of Nd, Ho, Y, Tint, Dy and Lu manganites were prepared. The formation of high-pressure phase NdMn7O12 as a thin surface layer on Pnma Nd1-xMnO3+delta (x similar to0.15) in an Nd-deficient system and HoMnO3, YMnO3, TmMnO3 and LuMnO3 as perovskite phases (known in the bulk only as high-pressure phases) on a LaAlO3 substrate were observed. The remarkable reduction in the pressure needed for formation of the phases in epitaxial films in comparison with bulk samples is a manifestation of the epitaxial stabilisation discussed in the paper. The details of the crystal and domain structure of the films as observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) techniques are described.