The best film of 1984, John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands’ Love Streams…released by Golan and Globus’ Cannon Films!
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1. Broadway Danny Rose
Directed by Woody Allen
Nick Apollo Forte, M.I.A.
2. El Norte
Directed by Gregory Nava
A compelling journey.
3. Blame It on Rio
Directed by Stanley Donen
Michael Caine has an affair with his young daughter’s friend. So wrong, even by the standards of four decades ago.
4. Footloose
Directed by Herbert Ross
Cemented Kenny Loggins’ status as King of the ‘80s Movie Soundtracks.
5. Repo Man
Directed by Alex Cox
I’d watch Harry Dean Stanton in anything, and so would you.
6. This Is Spinal Tap
Directed by Rob Reiner
The granddaddy of mockumentaries. The music is pretty good, too.
7. Romancing the Stone
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
The glorious kickoff of the Michael Douglas-Kathleen Turner-Danny DeVito trilogy.
8. Moscow on the Hudson
Directed by Paul Mazursky
“It made me feel good to be an American.” - Roger Ebert
9. Up the Creek
Directed by Robert Butler
One of the best Animal House ripoffs actually stars Tim Matheson (Otter) and Stephen Furst (Flounder).
10. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
Directed by Joseph Zito
Notable for appearances by Crispin Glover, Lawrence Monoson (The Last American Virgin) and Bruce Mahler (Fridays, ABC’s answer to Saturday Night Live).
11. Swing Shift
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Watch for a cameo by Demme’s mentor Roger Corman (R.I.P.).
12. Love Letters
Directed by Amy Holden Jones
Jones’ follow-up to Slumber Party Massacre!
13. Breakin’
Directed by Joel Silberg
Important predecessor to Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.
14. Sixteen Candles
Directed by John Hughes
Hughes’ first effort as writer and director, and far from his best.
15. The Natural
Directed by Barry Levinson
Old dude returns to professional baseball after 16 years. Can you say “inspiring”?
16. Making the Grade
Directed by Dorian Walker
The rare ‘80s teen comedy that holds up, with a charming early performance by Andrew “Dice” Clay.
17. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Disappointing follow-up to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kate Capshaw’s performance is one of the most obnoxious in movie history. Casting couch, indeed.
18. Once Upon a Time in America
Directed by Sergio Leone
A masterpiece in its uncut form — avoid the chopped and screwed version at all costs.
19. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Directed by Leonard Nimoy
Satisfying entry in the series. Nimoy would top this with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
20. Streets of Fire
Directed by Walter Hill
Crime Neo-noir flick with Diane Lane, Willem Dafoe and…Rick Moranis?!
21. Beat Street
Directed by Stan Lathan
One of the earliest (and best) hip-hop movies.
22. Ghostbusters
Directed by Ivan Reitman
23. Gremlins
Directed by Joe Dante
The movie responsible for the introduction of the PG-13 rating.
24. Top Secret!
Directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker
Even funnier than the directors’ Airplane!, so why haven’t you seen it yet?
25. Under the Volcano
Directed by John Huston
Albert Finney received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of an alcoholic British former consul in Mexico.
26. The Karate Kid
Directed by John Avildsen
The movie that taught a generation how to wash cars.
27. The Pope of Greenwich Village
Directed by Stuart Rosenberg
“They got my thumb, Charlie!”
28. Rhinestone
Directed by Bob Clark
The best of the Dolly Parton-Sylvester Stallone movie collaborations.
29. Bachelor Party
Directed by Neal Israel
Includes a rare comedic turn by future action star Michael Dudikoff.
NOTE: I watched this recently, and boy does it hold up.
30. Cannonball Run II
Directed by Hal Needham
As home movies go…it’s still pretty terrible.
31. Conan the Destroyer
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Who can resist a cast that includes Wilt Chamberlain and Grace Jones?
32. The Last Starfighter
Directed by Nick Castle
Turns out there is a future in playing video games all day long.
33. The Muppets Take Manhattan
Directed by Frank Oz
…and now Kermit and the gang want to give it back.
34. Best Defense
Directed by Willard Huyck
Eddie Murphy admitted this movie was a bomb when he returned to host Saturday Night Live that December. “If someone offered you one million dollars, you woulda done Best Defense too.”
35. The NeverEnding Story
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Actually, it’s an hour and half.
36. Revenge of the Nerds
Directed by Jeff Kanew
The rapey and pervy elements haven’t aged well.
37. Purple Rain
Directed by Albert Magnoli
One of the greatest rock ’n roll movies of all time.
38. Joy of Sex
Directed by Martha Coolidge
You know a movie is bad when National Lampoon removes its name from the credits.
39. Red Dawn
Directed by John Milius
Makes you glad the Russians have cleaned up their act.
40. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Directed by W.D. Richter
“The film gives you the mildly annoying sensation of being left out of a not very good private joke.” - Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
41. The Woman in Red
Directed by Gene Wilder
Excellent soundtrack by Stevie Wonder, and he didn’t even see the film.
42. Tightrope
Directed by Richard Tuggle (But, More Likely, Clint Eastwood)
Memorable Dialogue: “I want to lick the sweat off your body."
43. Love Streams
Directed by John Cassavetes
One of Golan and Globus’ occasional forays outside the Bronson-Norris action output.
NOTE: I didn’t view this until a few months ago, and it immediately became one of my favorite movies. Only Gena Rowlands (R.I.P.) could’ve made that menagerie sequence come off.
44. Choose Me
Directed by Alan Rudolph
Robert Altman protege explores love and sex in El Lay.
45. Bolero
Directed by John Derek
Makes John and Bo’s Tarzan the Ape Man look like Casablanca.
46. C.H.U.D.
Directed by Douglas Cheek
A cult classic, God only knows why.
47. The Brother from Another Planet
Directed by John Sayles
Joe Morton doesn’t speak in the title role.
48. Secret Honor
Directed by Robert Altman
A bravura one-man show with the great Philip Baker Hall as Richard M. Nixon.
49. A Soldier’s Story
Directed by Norman Jewison
Acclaimed World War II drama about a company of Black soldiers.
50. Amadeus
Directed by Milos Forman
Academy Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (F. Murray Abraham), and five more.
51. All of Me
Directed by Carl Reiner
A tour de force performance by Steve Martin, who was, of course, ignored during awards season.
52. Places in the Heart
Directed by Robert Benton
Depression-era drama earned Sally Field her second Best Actress Oscar.
53. The Wild Life
Directed by Art Linen
Shameless (and unfunny) attempt to cash in on the success of 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, also written by Cameron Crowe.
54. Eureka
Directed by Nicolas Roeg
Because Gene Hackman.
55. Teachers
Directed by Arthur Hiller
Would you want Nick Nolte teaching your kids?
56. The Burning Bed (TV)
Directed by Robert Greenwald
One of the most popular made-for-TV movies of the ‘80s. At least that’s how we remember it.
57. Comfort and Joy
Directed by Bill Forsyth
BAFTA-nominated sort-of Christmas movie.
58. Garbo Talks
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Not one of the celebrated director’s most celebrated works.
59. Songwriter
Directed by Alan Rudolph
Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson star, so at least you know the tunes are gonna be good.
60. Crimes of Passion
Directed by Ken Russell
You’ll need to take a long shower after you watch this sleazefest.
61. The Little Drummer Girl
Directed by George Roy Hill
So-so adaptation of John le Carre’s classic novel.
62. The Razor’s Edge
Directed by John Bynum
An admirable leap into drama from Bill Murray, but the movie doesn’t quite work.
63. Stop Making Sense
Directed by Jonathan Demme
Arguably the best concert film ever. Okay, I’d pick The T.A.M.I. Show.
64. Thief of Hearts
Directed by Douglas Day Stewart
In which the An Officer and a Gentleman writer expands on that film’s steamy sex scenes and not much else.
65. Body Double
Directed by Brian DePalma
One of DePalma’s porniest, even though the studio axed his choice of an actual adult film actress (Annette Haven, one of the few regrets of my self-imposed Social Media Detox) being cast in the role that eventually went to Melanie Griffith.
66. Firstborn
Directed by Michael Apted
Drug and alcohol addict stepfather wreaks havoc on your typical movie family. Fun!
67. Give My Regards to Broad Street
Directed by Peter Webb
Paul McCartney’s vanity project is all the proof you need that even a Beatle can have an off day.
68. Paris, Texas
Directed by Wim Wenders
Neo-Western with Harry Dean Stanton. Music by Ry Cooder.
69. The Terminator
Directed by James Cameron
Cameron’s disappointing follow-up to Piranha II: The Spawning.
70. Terror in the Aisles
Directed by Andrew J. Kuehn
I don’t remember this one, but Donald Pleasance and Nancy Allen are in it.
71. The Times of Harvey Milk
Directed by Rob Epstein
Acclaimed documentary was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2012.
72. The Killing Fields
Directed by Roland Joffe
Notable for first-time actor Haing S. Ngor’s Best Supporting Oscar.
73. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Directed by Wes Craven
Compared to the crappy sequels, the first Freddy Krueger flick looks like Citizen Kane.
74. No Small Affair
Directed by Jerry Schatzberg
On-screen debuts of Jon Cryer, Jennifer Tilly and Tim Robbins.
75. Oh, God! You Devil
Directed by Paul Bogart
George Burns doubles up as the Almighty and the Prince of Darkness in this not-bad sequel.
76. Missing in Action
Directed by Joseph Zito
The first of Chuck Norris’ Vietnam trilogy.
77. Night Patrol
Directed by Jackie Kong
Abysmal “comedy”… not even Pat Paulsen can save this one.
78. Fatal Vision (TV)
Directed by David Greene
The made-for-TV movie that convicted ex-Green Beret Jeffrey R. MacDonald in the eyes of all viewers.
79. Falling in Love
Directed by Ulu Grosbard
Finally. A Robert DeNiro-Meryl Streep movie we can’t remember.
80. Supergirl
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
Even worse than Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Actually, I love Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
81. Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure (TV)
Directed by John Forty
Yeah, we don’t remember this one either.
82. Beverly Hills Cop
Directed by Martin Brest
The movie that cemented Eddie Murphy’s status as a superstar. And then…Beverly Hills Cop 2 (yecch). And Beverly Hills Cop 3 (even worse). Happily, this summer’s straight-to-Netflix installment delivered the goods.
83. 2010: The Year We Make Contact
Directed by Peter Yams
Of course it can’t compare to Kubrick’s 2001, because it makes sense and you don’t have to be stoned to watch it.
84. City Heat
Directed by Richard Benjamin
The Clint Eastwood-Burt Reynolds team-up that nobody asked for.
85. The Cotton Club
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Richard Gere learned to play the cornet for this picture because he’s not a very good actor.
86. Dune
Directed by David Lynch
Music by Toto!
87. 1984
Directed by Michael Radford
Because timing is everything.
1984’s 1984, based on the George Orwell novel 1984.
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88. A Passage to India
Directed by David Lean
The celebrated filmmaker’s last gasp.
89. Runaway
Directed by Michael Crichton
There was a time when best-selling author Crichton directed a bunch of movies, most of them instantly forgettable.
90. Starman
Directed by John Carpenter
Earned Jeff Bridges an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
91. The Ratings Game (TV)
Directed by Danny DeVito
Very funny made-for-cable movie about a wannabe TV star’s scheme to futz with the TV ratings system.
92. A Christmas Carol (TV)
Directed by Clive Donner
The one with George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge.
93. The River
Directed by Mark Rydell
A farm family struggles in the Tennessee Valley. Fun!
94. Birdy
Directed by Alan Parker
Excellent post-Vietnam film, with stellar turns by Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. And music by Peter Gabriel.
95. Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo
Directed by Sam Firstenberg
Even the movie’s champions would be hard pressed to explain what an electric boogaloo is.
96. The Flamingo Kid
Directed by Garry Marshall
Pretty Woman aside, Marshall made some pretty lousy flicks. This is one of them.
97. Johnny Dangerously
Directed by Amy Heckerling
Sure to be rediscovered when Joe Piscopo is presented with the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
98. Micki & Maude
Directed by Blake Edwards
a/k/a Three’s Company: The Movie.
99. Protocol
Directed by Herbert Ross
A D.C. cocktail waitress thwarts an assassination plot. Yes, this actually got the green light.
100. Mrs. Soffel
Directed by Gillian Armstrong
A warden’s wife coddles prisoners, and helps a couple of them escape. Now, that’s what I call prison reform.