Best movies of 1984
by tinnes-04102 | created - 19 Oct 2018 | updated - 1 month ago | Publicone of the best years for movies ever
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1. The Karate Kid (1984)
PG | 126 min | Action, Drama, Family
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove
Votes: 244,672 | Gross: $90.82M
Grade: A+
2. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
R | 229 min | Crime, Drama
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams
Votes: 378,001 | Gross: $5.32M
There are many different versions of this movie I watched the longest one (that is available) at 4 hour and 11 minutes, so the extended director cut. I also watched the 3 hour 49 version, which has better color. Those extra 22 minutes really do matter and fill in gaps of the movie. However, Sergio Leone shot 8-10 hours of footage for this movie. He then cut it down to around 6 and his plan was to release two 3 hour versions. However, the studios would not let him. Apparently that 6 hour cut was completed but is lost sadly. Even at 4 hours and 11 minutes the film at times still feels incomplete, for example by watching the both cuts you see how flashes are used to show the passage of time or transition to a new scene. But there are still gaps like at 3 hour mark in the director cut- Alice talks about how she's worried about max. I bet anything there were scenes before that cause you can tell time as past. Even though there are these missing scenes this film is an masterpiece those extra 22 minutes improve a masterpiece and I think if the 6 hour cut is found and properly restored it would be my favorite movie of all time. It's still one of the best movies I've ever seen and needs to be talked about more. Reading the original screenplay which has parts that would have been in 6 hour cut I learned that " Fat Moe (Larry Rapp) is gay, and later, that the escalating craziness of Max (James Woods) is caused in part by syphillis" these things are only hinted at would have loved to see them in the film.
Grade: A+
3. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 924,867 | Gross: $38.40M
Grade: A+
4. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 450,702 | Gross: $238.63M
Grade: A+
5. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 428,378 | Gross: $51.97M
Grade: A+
6. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher
Votes: 203,530 | Gross: $234.76M
Grade: A
7. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Gerald McRaney
Votes: 157,074 | Gross: $20.16M
Grade: A-
8. The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
R | 121 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two cousins unknowingly rob the mob and face the dangerous consequences.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page
Votes: 9,826 | Gross: $6.14M
Grade: A-
9. The Cotton Club (1984)
R | 129 min | Crime, Drama, Music
Meet the jazz musicians, dancers, owner, and guests (like gangster Dutch Schultz) of The Cotton Club in 1928-1930s Harlem.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee
Votes: 19,561 | Gross: $25.93M
Director cut
Grade: A-
10. Gremlins (1984)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie
Votes: 247,989 | Gross: $148.17M
Grade: A-
11. Birdy (1984)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
After two friends return home from the Vietnam War one becomes mentally unstable and obsesses with becoming a bird.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron
Votes: 24,947 | Gross: $1.46M
Grade: A-
12. The Killing Fields (1984)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands
Votes: 59,268 | Gross: $34.70M
Grade: A-
13. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
PG | 118 min | Action, Adventure
In 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri
Votes: 535,575 | Gross: $179.87M
Grade: A-
14. The Bounty (1984)
PG | 132 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Fed up with their Captain's harsh discipline, a sailing ship's crew decides to take action.
Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox
Votes: 30,502 | Gross: $8.60M
This film has a weird reputation. It bombed at the box office, was compared not faviorly to past versions, and was dismissed by both it's stars. With Gibson being displease with his performance and the arc of the main characters- complaining there should have been a clear villain. While Hopkins was even more frustrated and said the film was a "mess and botched job". Stacked supporting cast with a young Danial Day Lewis and Liam Nesson. As well as Laurience Oliver. This film has a very good performance from Hopkins and lavish production design. Also the most accurate of the adaptions.
Grade: A-
15. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya
Votes: 182,681 | Gross: $0.50M
Grade: A-
16. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)
PG | 143 min | Adventure, Drama
A missing heir of respected Scottish family, raised in African jungles by animals, finally returns to his estate only to realize that difference between the two worlds is really significant.
Director: Hugh Hudson | Stars: Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm
Votes: 21,264 | Gross: $45.90M
Grade: B+
17. Repo Man (1984)
R | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
Director: Alex Cox | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash
Votes: 41,166 | Gross: $3.57M
Grade: B+
18. Romancing the Stone (1984)
PG | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman
Votes: 103,395 | Gross: $76.57M
Grade: B+
19. Splash (1983)
PG | 111 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A young man is reunited with a mermaid he briefly encountered as a boy and falls in love with her without knowing her secret.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy
Votes: 83,452 | Gross: $62.10M
Grade: B+
20. Sixteen Candles (1984)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
A girl's "sweet" sixteenth birthday is anything but special: her family forgets about it, and she suffers from every embarrassment possible.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling
Votes: 126,472 | Gross: $23.69M
Grade: B+
21. The Hit (1984)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Ten years after ratting on his old mobster friends in exchange for personal immunity, two hit men drive a hardened criminal to Paris for his execution. However, while on the way, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Freddie Stuart, Ralph Brown, A.J. Clarke, Terence Stamp
Votes: 9,547 | Gross: $0.88M
Grade: B+
22. Racing with the Moon (1984)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In 1942 California, two young men await induction into the U.S. Marines and say goodbye to their girlfriends.
Director: Richard Benjamin | Stars: Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage, John Karlen
Votes: 5,250 | Gross: $6.05M
Grade: B+
23. The Natural (1984)
PG | 138 min | Drama, Sport
A middle-aged unknown comes seemingly out of nowhere to become a legendary baseball player with almost supernatural talent.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger
Votes: 52,486 | Gross: $47.95M
Grade: B+
24. A Soldier's Story (1984)
PG | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An African-American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, Art Evans, David Alan Grier
Votes: 11,412 | Gross: $21.82M
Grade: B+
25. 2010 (1984)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A joint USA-Soviet expedition is sent to Jupiter to learn exactly what happened to the "Discovery" and its H.A.L. 9000 computer.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban
Votes: 57,307 | Gross: $40.20M
Grade: B+
26. The Flamingo Kid (1984)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A recent high-school graduate unsure of his future gets a summer job at the Flamingo beach club, and meets the charismatic Phil Brody.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Matt Dillon, Hector Elizondo, Molly McCarthy, Martha Gehman
Votes: 6,085 | Gross: $23.86M
Grade: B+
27. The Toxic Avenger (1984)
R | 82 min | Action, Comedy, Horror
Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.
Directors: Michael Herz, Lloyd Kaufman | Stars: Andree Maranda, Mitch Cohen, Jennifer Babtist, Cindy Manion
Votes: 32,199
Grade: B
28. 1984 (1984)
R | 113 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a totalitarian future society, a man, whose daily work is re-writing history, tries to rebel by falling in love.
Director: Michael Radford | Stars: John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 79,082 | Gross: $8.40M
Grade: B
29. Tightrope (1984)
R | 114 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
New Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted.
Directors: Richard Tuggle, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood
Votes: 19,196 | Gross: $48.14M
Grade: B
30. City Heat (1984)
PG | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Slick Private Investigator Mike Murphy (Burt Reynolds) and tough Police Lieutenant Speer (Clint Eastwood), once partners, now bitter enemies, reluctantly team up to investigate a murder.
Director: Richard Benjamin | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Burt Reynolds, Jane Alexander, Madeline Kahn
Votes: 10,813 | Gross: $38.35M
Grade: B-
31. Firstborn (1984)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Thriller
A teenager must protect his family when his mother's sinister new boyfriend begins exerting his authority in their home.
Director: Michael Apted | Stars: Teri Garr, Peter Weller, Christopher Collet, Corey Haim
Votes: 2,980 | Gross: $6.25M
Grade: C+
32. Johnny Dangerously (1984)
PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy, Crime
Set in the 1930s, an honest, good-hearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's sky-rocketing medical bills.
Director: Amy Heckerling | Stars: Michael Keaton, Joe Piscopo, Marilu Henner, Maureen Stapleton
Votes: 16,414
Grade: C+
Underated Mafia spoof
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