We’re trying out a new feature called The Year in Film! So much of our coverage is devoted to the here-and-now of movies, and that’s all well and good. We’re still going to be bringing you that coverage. But we also love film history, so we thought it would be good to do a weekly series where we look back at a random year and understand what made it special. That includes looking at the top-grossing movies, the Oscar winners, film history and some gems that you should put on your radar.
I’m kicking things off with 1984 since that’s the year I was born, and I’m the one writing the first installment.
Top 10 at the Box Office
1) Beverly Hills Cop - $234 million
2) Ghostbusters - $229 million
3) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - $179 million
4) Gremlins - $153 million
5) The Karate Kid - $90 million
6) Police Academy - $81 million
7) Footloose - $80 million
8) Romancing the Stone - $76.5 million
9) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock - $76.4 million
10) Splash - $69 million
Fun fact: Every single one of these movies spawned at least one sequel or reboot. Also, inflation is kind of crazy when you consider that Black Panther outgrossed Beverly Hills Cop’s entire run in just four days.
Oscar Winners
Best Picture: Amadeus
Best Director: Miloš Forman, Amadeus
Best Actor: F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus
Best Actress: Sally Field, Places in the Heart
Best Supporting Actor: Haing S. Ngor, The Killing Fields
Best Supporting Actress: Peggy Ashcroft, A Passage to India
The Academy got it right this year. Amadeus stands the test of time, and it’s a fantastic meditation on the limits of talent feeding unlimited jealousy. And in case you’re wondering, yes, this is the Oscar speech where Field famously said, “You like me! Right now, you like me!”
Film History
In terms of major history, the biggest event to come out of 1984 was the MPAA establishing the PG-13 rating, which has changed the film industry and is something that every blockbuster actively targets to the detriment of other film ratings. While the MPAA replaced “X” with NC-17, PG-13 is the last new rating since 1984, and it’s probably about time we had a new one that covered teenagers ages 13 to 17 so they wouldn’t be shut out of good movies like Boyhood that happen to use a variation of the word “fuck” more than once.
Classics
Blood Simple – The debut feature from the Coen Brothers and a masterful thriller.
C.H.U.D. – A B-movie horror cult classic that’s well worth your time.
Frankenweenie – Tim Burton’s original short film that would help establish the tones and themes he would proceed to beat to death over the next thirty years.
Johnny Dangerously – This is a very silly movie, but I like movies that allow Michael Keaton to be very silly.
The Muppets Take Manhattan – I’ll say it: Muppets Take Manhattan is better than The Muppet Movie. The wedding scene makes me tear up, and it’s got a better story overall.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind – The first feature of director Hayao Miyazaki and still one of his best movies.
A Nightmare on Elm Street – The Nightmare series had its ups and downs, but it took off for a reason, and the reason was Wes Craven’s brilliant original.
Once Upon a Time in America – Everyone should see this movie even if it doesn’t personally work as well for me as other Sergio Leone films.
Paris, Texas – This Wim Wenders classic starring Harry Dean Stanton is now on FilmStruck. Watch it!
Purple Rain – It’s Prince. ‘Nuff said.
Repo Man – This is a deeply weird movie, and one that doesn’t entirely work, but it’s too fascinating to pass up.
Stop Making Sense – Jonathan Demme’s concert film about the Talking Heads is one of the giants of the concert film genre.
The Terminator – Surprisingly, this wasn’t one of the Top 10 highest grossing films of the year, but it’s still obviously a great movie. I’ll let you debate if it’s better than Terminator 2.
This Is Spinal Tap – It goes to 11.
Next week: 1993
