1984: Best Year for Movies (besides 1939)? If not, what year?

Yep: that's more like it.

 

I've always found Amadeus to be unintentionally hilarious - who knew that the Emperor Joseph ll (along with most of his court) came from Brooklyn?

 

1989 was another remarkable year:

Batman
Casualties of War
Do the Right Thing
Driving Miss Daisy
Drugstore Cowboy
The Fabulous Baker Boys
Field of Dreams
Glory
My Left Foot
Say Anything...
Sex, Lies and Videotape
When Harry Met Sally...

 

These would be my film highlights from 1984 at a quick glance in no order except for Paris, Texas which would be my fav:

Paris, Texas - Wenders
Amadeus - Forman
Blood Simple - Coen
Stop Making Sense - Talking Heads
Stranger than Paradise - Jarmusch
Love Streams - Cassavetes
Meantime - Leigh
Element of Crime - von Trier
Temple of Doom - Spielberg

 

Wow, I didn't realize there were that many great films released that year. I just regressed back to my childhood reading that list.

 

1999 was a pretty incredible year for movies, if I remember correctly...

 

it was incredible! I liked most all of them.

 

It's missing Night Patrol. Not legit.

 

In the 80s, I would give it to 1982 in terms of iconic commercial films. But if you dig richer, more personal films backed by major studios, I think a far stronger year would be either 1972 or 73. If you look back at the thread we did a few years ago covering that decade year by year, you'll see how those two years were really the peak of production for New Hollywood. This cycle started in the late sixties and was burning out by 1977/78, but from 72-73, everyone was hitting their stride. So many young filmmakers were doing their first great work, and others their best work ever.

The Best Films of the 70s: A year by year discussion thread

 

I agree, except I find 74-75 every bit as good as 72-73.

 

I saw that in 1984 and likewise thought it was very well done. It seems to be largely forgotten now. I keep intending to revisit it, as I haven't seen it since my original viewing.

 

Another vote for 1982.

 

I'll agree 1984 was a solid year in movies. The Company of Wolves and Dune are the only movies on the list that I have not seen.

 

1955 was also a good year....

Lady and the Tramp
All that Heaven Allows
To Catch a Thief
The Court Jester (released December 24, 1955 in Japan, Jan. 1956 for US)
Bad Day at Black Rock
East of Eden
Oklahoma!
Kiss Me Deadly
Richard III
The Man From Laramie
Not as a Stranger
Artists and Models
Night of the Hunter
Picnic
The Cobweb
House of Bamboo
The Trouble with Harry
Daddy Long Legs
The Kentuckian
Summertime
Lucy Gallant
Illegal
This Island Earth
Smiles of a Summer Night
The Desperate Hours
We're No Angels
Guys and Dolls
Violent Saturday
Kismet
Love Me or Leave Me
Rebel Without a Cause
Battle Cry
The Far Country
The Seven Year Itch
Marty
Blackboard Jungle
Mister Roberts
It's Always Fair Weather
etc., etc.

 

Gandhi, Rain Man, Raging Bull, A Soldier's Story, Diner come to mind.

And The Compleat Beatles.

 

I think "Gandhi" and "Rain Man" aren't good films - especially the cloying "Rain Man"! Ugh!

"Raging Bull" is good - if overrated, IMO - and I never saw "Diner". Don't recall what I thought of "Soldier's Story"...

 

1974 gets my vote: The Godfather Part II, Chinatown, The Conversation, Young Frankenstein, The Parallax View, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, The Last Detail, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, California Split, Lacombe Lucien, Hearts and Minds, A Woman Under the Influence, etc.

Even the lower-brow fare from that year was wildly entertaining and often influential: Blazing Saddles, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Street Fighter, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Death Wish, Freebie and the Bean, The Groove Tube, The Longest Yard, etc.

 

Dude, you have to see Diner! One of my favorite '80s movies -- and not one I would describe as "serious," btw.

 

I'll add a favorite of mine to that fine list: De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise.

EDIT: Also Harry & Tonto and Juggernaut.

 

Yeah, I admit "Diner" is an omission from my film knowledge. I also admit I kinda hate Barry Levinson, and that has been a factor in my avoidance of it!

 

Being a kid, I saw 7 of those in the theaters. None of the rated R ones, though. Others would go on to become favorites on HBO or home video!

 

No guarantees this means you'll like it, but Diner aside I'm not a Levinson fan either.

 

Not a big fan of Gandhi or Rain Man either, loved Raging Bull though.

Agree with you for the most part about there not being a lot truly great & serious films in the decade(not that a film needs to be serious to be great or anything). Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, The Elephant Man, Blade Runner, Blue Velvet are some exceptions imo. I suppose I should check out Diner as well.

 

1984 was definitely not the "best" year for movies in my book, even though I watched quite a lot of them, and was where I in fact jumped ship a few years ago when the forum did this 1980s film thread:
The Best Films of the 80s: A year by year discussion thread

That said, here are a few I can recall from '84 (in no particular order, and with brief commentary):

This Is Spinal Tap
One of the most quotable movies of all time (too many to list). I don't think Rob Reiner has ever actually topped this, even if subsequent efforts might have been more popular. Those songs are really good, and I'd say stronger than some "official" work by the bands being parodied.

Repo Man
The recent loss of Harry Dean Stanton (RIP) hit me harder than I thought it would, probably because he was such a fixture in movies for so very long, and IMHO, this was one of his finest, most memorable performances. While Fox Harris was also good as Dr. J. Frank Parnell, I could really see Stanton's pal Jack Nicholson in that role driving the Chevy Malibu, and suspect this film might be better known today if he'd been cast as such. Emilio Estévez was actually pretty good here too, and the whole flick has a surreal "alt-cinema" quality to it that I like, which seems to pre-date the "independent" filmmaker phenomenon of the 90's.

Top Secret!
One of the only '84 titles I currently own on DVD, like Airplane!, you almost have to be a film buff to get all the jokes crammed into here. Sort of an acquired taste, but it consistently elicits laughs from me. "It all sounds like some bad movie!"

The Terminator
This is the other '84 title I currently own on DVD, which I finally purchased cheap after years of re-watching it on television. Probably the best film James Cameron has ever made, and stands as the "2" in the one-two punch for Arnold Schwarzenegger (the "1" being Conan the Barbarian).

Footloose
Kevin Bacon is an interesting figure in cinema. What appeared to be the big breakout "1" for him, and should have displaced Risky Business era Tom Cruise as Hollywood's "A"-list hot young stud superstar (Legend nearly ended his career!), was never followed up by the necessary "2" punch, during which time Cruise delivered the goods with Top Gun in '86. Bacon, on the other hand, has made a career in so many "B"-type movies and roles that there is now a drinking game based on his ubiquity paraphrased from The Six Degrees of Separation ("The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon"). Hey, it's more fun playing that than watching the Flashdance wanna-be Footloose again. I haven't bothered with the remake.

Purple Rain
The anticipation for this was huge, and I remember the hype surrounding its release with all those videos being shown on MTV. It didn't hurt that Prince was arguably at the top of his game music-wise at this time (I'd say his hot streak, or "purple patch" if you will, lasted throughout the entirety of the 80's), and it has been admittedly bittersweet to finally see a "deluxe edition" of the album released earlier this year long after it had been announced in 2014 for its 30th anniversary. While the original vinyl remains the true keeper, this movie still entertains enough for me to recommend it both as a period piece and a visual document of the classic album.

Ghostbusters
Unlike Purple Rain, here I'd say the film has aged better than the song. It amazes me that this movie now often gets a four-star rating, when I've pretty much always seen it as yet another entry in the continuing series of films featuring the ex-not-ready-for-prime-time-players.

Beverly Hills Cop
Speaking of SNL, it almost cannot be overstated how important Eddie Murphy was to that show, and his popularity carried over into movies for a fairly long time. I see this as being mainly a vehicle for showcasing his comedic talents, but think that 48 Hours has stood the test of time better.

Splash
I liked Daryl Hannah more in Blade Runner, and Tom Hanks has, of course, gone on to be a major player. This works as a fairly light rom-com, especially if you've never seen it, though it wouldn't make my list of most re-watchable films.

Dune
I remember the main tag for this at the time was casting Sting in a minor role (the Police were very popular then!), and while he was OK here, it is really Kyle MacLachlan who carries the film, even if the final cut wasn't quite what David Lynch had wanted. Too bad, because the subsequent TV edit was such a mess that Lynch disowned it as "Alan Smithee"; not a great film in either version, but better than its reputation as a flop suggests.

Body Double
Pretty sure I first saw this after-the-fact on cable, and it had a sort of sleazy "forbidden" atmosphere overall, like it was made for The Playboy Channel or something. A decent suspense thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock, but with a definite 80's sensibility.

Romancing the Stone
This one I absolutely did see on the big screen, and it worked in that setting as a popcorn flick, but I tend to agree with reviews I've read calling it "Raiders-lite," so I'm afraid it doesn't have much staying power for me aside from Danny Devito's performance, and well, I prefer Kathleen Turner in Body Heat.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Speaking of Raiders, the official sequel lived up to the expectations subsequent franchise films usually have. In other words, I thought it sucked!

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Speaking of film franchises, the comparatively surprising success of The Wrath of Khan probably green-lighted this (or green-blooded it in the case of Spock! ) for Leonard Nimoy to step into the directorial chair. The results, I'd say, were mixed, but certainly better than having William Shatner at the "helm" for Star Trek V (good captain, lousy director!).

Sixteen Candles
My personal favorite of all those John Hughes teen flicks, which I find more enjoyable than The Breakfast Club, especially Anthony Michael Hall who steals the show every time he's on screen. Very funny stuff, and all the performances are top notch.

Revenge of the Nerds
While I liked this well enough at the time, it's just too much like Animal House for me to have any real staying power. Still, it has its moments, and I do find myself watching some or even most of it when it comes on television.

1984
Orwell was just as relevant in '84 as he was in '48, and remains even more so today. Despite some good performances here from Richard Burton and John Hurt, plus a decent soundtrack courtesy of Eurythmics, I'd recommend reading the book instead.

Amadeus
One of those "best picture" films that oddly has not stood the test of time that well, which seems to have been a major problem with the 80's in general.

So..., in answer to the OP's question, which year other than '39 might qualify as "best" for movies, I'm afraid my answer at this time is that I don't really know. Although this is technically cheating, I'm very tempted to say "the 70's" as a whole per another thread here:
The Best Films of the 70s: A year by year discussion thread

Cheers!

 

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