# The Greatest Year for Movies: 1984? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870 "2009-07-31T14:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/1 "2009-07-31T14:43:19Z")
According to [this article on EW.com,](http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/07/25/was-1984-the-greatest-year-in-movies-ever/) 1984 could possibly be the best year ever in terms of movies released that are now considered classics. Hard to disagree… Here are a bunch from the list, but they have even more listed in the article. Ghostbusters Red Dawn Sixteen Candles Bachelor Party Beverly Hills Cop Amadeus The Killing Fields Blood Simple A Nightmare on Elm Street The Terminator Purple Rain Muppets Take Manhattan The Karate Kid Gremlins The Natural Splash Footloose Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/2 "2009-07-31T14:50:26Z")
I’ll still take '39 over '84 (not that there might not be a better year than '39, but it’s the most familiar typical answer). My guess? '84 is just the year most of the movies the presumably 30-something author grew up with and remembers nostaligically came out. In 10 years a new 30-something will be making the case for what a great year for movies '94 was (Shawshank Redemption! Pulp Fiction! Usual Suspects! Forrest Gump! The Lion King!). ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/3 "2009-07-31T15:17:30Z")
Of course I can disagree; that list includes Red Dawn and Bachelor Party! Purple Rain, as a movie, is no great shakes either. Gremlins, while fun, isn’t really a “classic”. I’d argue the same thing for Karate Kid, Muppets Take Manhattan, Buckaroo Banzai, and Beverly Hills Cop. Movies like Blood Simple, Amadeus, and Killing Fields are good movies, but they’re no more classic than Oscar nominated movies from any other year. ETA: You left _This Is Spinal Tap_ off your list! That probably was the most classic movie released that year! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/4 "2009-07-31T16:14:25Z")
I’d argue that 1984 wasn’t even the best year for movies in the first half of the 1980s. Take a look at this list from 1980. The Blues Brothers Breaker Morant Brubaker Coal Miner’s Daughter The Elephant Man The Empire Strikes Back Fame The Great Santini 9 to 5 Ordinary People Private Benjamin Raging Bull Superman II I chose 1980 randomly. I’ll let advocates of 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1985 chime in. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/5 "2009-07-31T16:25:12Z")
I think 1999 could give 1984 a run for its money: American Beauty Being John Malkovich The Matrix Office Space Magnolia Election Fight Club The Sixth Sense American Pie South Park: Bigger Longer and Uncut The Insider Man on the Moon Run Lola Run Eyes Wide Shut (a vastly underrated movie, if you ask me) Hell, that list could probably give the entire decade of the 2000s a run for its money. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/6 "2009-07-31T16:37:06Z")
How about 1982? ``` 48 Hours Blade Runner Conan the Barbarian The Dark Crystal Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid Diner E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Fast Times at Ridgemont High First Blood Frances Gandhi Missing My Favorite Year An Officer and a Gentleman Pink Floyd The Wall Poltergeist Rocky III The Secret of NIMH Sophie's Choice Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan The Thing Tootsie Tron The Verdict Victor/Victoria Volver a empezar The Year of Living Dangerously ``` Good year, especially for SF/fantasy classics! ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/7 "2009-07-31T18:19:03Z")
Yeah, I’m going to have to add my vote for 1982. /old man voice They just don’t make years like that any more. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/8 "2009-07-31T18:53:00Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > How about 1982? > > ``` > 48 Hours > Blade Runner > Conan the Barbarian > The Dark Crystal > Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid > Diner > E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial > Fast Times at Ridgemont High > First Blood > Frances > Gandhi > Missing > My Favorite Year > An Officer and a Gentleman > Pink Floyd The Wall > Poltergeist > Rocky III > The Secret of NIMH > Sophie's Choice > Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan > The Thing > Tootsie > Tron > The Verdict > Victor/Victoria > Volver a empezar > The Year of Living Dangerously > > ``` > > Good year, especially for SF/fantasy classics! I’d remove the Stallone (ugh!) but add _Burden of Dreams, Yol, Fitzcarraldo, Veronika Voss, Night of the Shooting Stars, The Draughtman’s Contract, White Dog, Shoot the Moon_ and _Querelle_. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/9 "2009-07-31T19:14:21Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I’d remove the Stallone (ugh!) but add _Burden of Dreams, Yol, Fitzcarraldo, Veronika Voss, Night of the Shooting Stars, The Draughtman’s Contract, White Dog, Shoot the Moon_ and _Querelle_. Not that I completely disagree, but First Blood and Rocky III were both very good for their genres. All the movies you listed were high-quality independent movies (except Shoot The Moon, which was a major release), but there are several of those released every year. The OP had no indies on his/her list, so I somewhat kept to that same format (Volver a empezar won the foreign film Oscar, so I included it.) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/10 "2009-07-31T19:26:30Z")
Yeah I’d have to second the vote for 1999. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/11 "2009-07-31T19:28:35Z")
No love for _Repo Man_? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/12 "2009-07-31T19:32:46Z")
I think the movies that the OP listed are very entertaining but I wouldn’t class any as great works. The same way _Gilligan’s Island_ is an entertaining way to kill a half hour but it is hardly great art ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/13 "2009-07-31T19:40:23Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > I’ll still take '39 over '84 (not that there might not be a better year than '39, but it’s the most familiar typical answer). My guess? '84 is just the year most of the movies the presumably 30-something author grew up with and remembers nostaligically came out. In 10 years a new 30-something will be making the case for what a great year for movies '94 was (Shawshank Redemption! Pulp Fiction! Usual Suspects! Forrest Gump! The Lion King!). The top films from 1939 are still watched and still widely regarded as classics. Will those from 1984 be as highly regarded after 70 years? If so, perhaps the author has a point. But I think most of them will be forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/14 "2009-07-31T19:41:13Z")
More cherry-picking 2000 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Requiem for a Dream Traffic Billy Elliot Gladiator Meet the Parents Timecode What Lies Beneath Castaway Nurse Betty American Psycho High Fidelity Best in Show Chicken Run Erin Brockovich My Dog Skip X-Men State and Main M:I-2 The Opportunists Sunshine Almost Famous See that’s so easy! ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/15 "2009-07-31T20:21:40Z")
Holy Crap! The only thing this thread has done for me is illustrate how much of my life has been spent watching movies instead of doing something productive. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/16 "2009-07-31T22:37:27Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > I think 1999 could give 1984 a run for its money: > > American Beauty American Beauty is an awful, awful movie. No, seriously. I loved it when it came out but go back and watch it again if you haven’t done so in the last 10 years. It’s laughably bad. And the list in the OP is a joke. Come on. _Footloose?_ **Rodgers01** nailed it in one. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/17 "2009-07-31T22:45:19Z")
The guy uses _Cannonball Run II_ and _Hard to Hold_ to make his case? Seriously? (BTW, _Spinal Tap_ is mentioned in the list, just not by the OP) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/18 "2009-07-31T23:02:11Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > I’ll still take '39 over '84 (not that there might not be a better year than '39, but it’s the most familiar typical answer). My guess? '84 is just the year most of the movies the presumably 30-something author grew up with and remembers nostaligically came out. In 10 years a new 30-something will be making the case for what a great year for movies '94 was (Shawshank Redemption! Pulp Fiction! Usual Suspects! Forrest Gump! The Lion King!). I Googled the author. Assuming that he was 22 when he graduated from Connecticut College in 1991, he would be 40 now and 15 in the so-called “greatest year” of 1984. So I think you’re right that the list is based in nostalgia. And note that the list includes Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, so it’s not all gems. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/19 "2009-07-31T23:21:43Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > More cherry-picking > > 2000 > > …[list of movies]… > > See that’s so easy! Wow, such mediocrity. In think 1946 has numbers to back itself up. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870/20 "2009-07-31T23:47:49Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > In think 1946 has numbers to back itself up. I think 1946 and 1972 make very strong cases, for as stupid as the 1984 argument is, I personally think 1939 is still an excessively knee-jerk veneration for a host of movies that are more well-known than genuinely amazing. The cream of the crop: 1939 _Destry Rides Again Le Jour se Lève Ninotchka Of Mice and Men Only Angels Have Wings The Rules of the Game Stagecoach The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums The Wizard of Oz Young Mr. Lincoln_ 1946 _La Belle et la Bête The Best Years of Our Lives The Big Sleep Great Expectations It’s a Wonderful Life A Matter of Life and Death My Darling Clementine Notorious Paisan Shoeshine_ 1972 _Aguirre: The Wrath of God Cabaret Chloe in the Afternoon Cries and Whispers The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie The Godfather The Heartbreak Kid Junior Bonner Solaris Sounder_ For my money, that first list though formidable (primarily because of the foreign entries) still pales compared to the other two. Yes, there are lots of well-known titles (_GWTW, Mr. Smith, Mr. Chips_, etc.) missing from the '39 list, but I’d argue they’re fondly remembered but still terribly overrated, especially the high-profile lit. adaptations (_Hunchback, Geste, Wuthering_). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-year-for-movies-1984/504870.md?page=2)