Top 30 Films of 1984
by bwolskin-9 | created - 23 Jan 2011 | updated - 02 Jan 2017 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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: 59,178 | Gross: $34.70M
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2. Blood Simple (1984)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 105,265 | Gross: $2.15M
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3. The Stone Boy (1984)
PG | 91 min | Drama
A Midwestern farm family faces major emotional adjustment after a tragedy results in the death of an older brother.
Director: Christopher Cain | Stars: Robert Duvall, Jason Presson, Glenn Close, Susan Rinell
Votes: 839
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4. Iceman (1984)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A prehistoric Neanderthal man found frozen in ice is revived by an arctic exploration team, who then attempt to use him for their own scientific means.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Timothy Hutton, Lindsay Crouse, John Lone, Josef Sommer
Votes: 6,052 | Gross: $7.34M
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5. Paris, Texas (1984)
R | 145 min | Drama
Travis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Sam Berry
Votes: 118,948 | Gross: $2.18M
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6. 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: 52,459 | Gross: $47.95M
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7. 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: 377,732 | Gross: $5.32M
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8. Marlene (1984)
Unrated | 94 min | Documentary, Biography
Retrospective on the career of enigmatic screen diva Marlene Dietrich.
Director: Maximilian Schell | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Annie Albers, Bernhard Hall
Votes: 842 | Gross: $0.85M
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9. Die Wannseekonferenz (1984 TV Movie)
87 min | Drama, History
At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" can be best implemented.
Director: Heinz Schirk | Stars: Dietrich Mattausch, Gerd Böckmann, Friedrich G. Beckhaus, Robert Atzorn
Votes: 1,268
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10. Streetwise (1984)
91 min | Documentary, Drama
Gritty documentary that looks at the lives of teenagers living on the streets of Seattle.
Director: Martin Bell | Stars: Annie, Eddie, Antoine, Erica
Votes: 2,962 | Gross: $0.01M
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11. 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: 21,259 | Gross: $45.90M
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12. 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: 83,418 | Gross: $62.10M
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13. 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: 19,185 | Gross: $48.14M
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14. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Music
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer
Votes: 147,365 | Gross: $4.74M
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15. Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
PG | 84 min | Comedy
In his attempts to reconcile a lounge singer with his mistress, a hapless talent agent is mistaken as her lover by a jealous gangster.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Sandy Baron
Votes: 26,947 | Gross: $10.60M
8
16. Choose Me (1984)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Love doctor radio host Nancy, bar owner Eve, Pearl, drifter Mickey et al meet in LA.
Director: Alan Rudolph | Stars: Geneviève Bujold, Keith Carradine, Lesley Ann Warren, Patrick Bauchau
Votes: 3,088 | Gross: $2.49M
8
17. 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: 428,070 | Gross: $51.97M
8
18. Cal (1984)
R | 102 min | Drama, Thriller, Romance
A young man fraught with guilt longs to defect from the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He is drawn to the widow of a slain Protestant policeman but must hide his secret that he was involved in her husband's murder and evade the authorities.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Helen Mirren, John Lynch, Donal McCann, John Kavanagh
Votes: 1,633
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19. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Drama
A New Yorker's life is thrown into a tailspin when his younger cousin surprise-visits him, starting a strange, unpredictable adventure.
Director: Jim Jarmusch | Stars: John Lurie, Eszter Balint, Richard Edson, Cecillia Stark
Votes: 40,655 | Gross: $2.44M
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20. The Burning Bed (1984 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 95 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An abused battered wife has had enough of her husband beating up on her. Everywhere she turns for help, there's not much anyone will do. After he rapes her one night, she sets the bed on fire with him in it asleep.
Director: Robert Greenwald | Stars: Farrah Fawcett, Paul Le Mat, Richard Masur, Grace Zabriskie
Votes: 3,434
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21. Irreconcilable Differences (1984)
PG | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Alternating between the past and the present, a precocious little girl sues her selfish, career-driven parents for emancipation, surprising them both.
Director: Charles Shyer | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, Drew Barrymore, Sam Wanamaker
Votes: 3,400 | Gross: $12.41M
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22. Places in the Heart (1984)
PG | 111 min | Drama
In central Texas in the 1930s, a widow with two small children tries to save her small 40-acre farm with the help of a blind boarder and an itinerant black handyman.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan
Votes: 13,581 | Gross: $34.90M
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23. The Funeral (1984)
Not Rated | 124 min | Comedy
When Wabisuke's father-in-law unexpectedly dies, the family goes through a series of events and occurrences as the funeral unfolds over three days in their home.
Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kin Sugai, Hideji Ôtaki
Votes: 1,853
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24. Country (1984)
PG | 105 min | Drama
Gilbert Ivy and his wife Jewell are farmers. They seem to be working against the odds, producing no financial surplus. Gilbert has lost hope of ever becoming prosperous, but his wife ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Pearce | Stars: Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Wilford Brimley, Matt Clark
Votes: 2,238 | Gross: $9.64M
8
25. The Brother from Another Planet (1984)
R | 108 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: Joe Morton, Daryl Edwards, Rosanna Carter, Ray Ramirez
Votes: 6,565 | Gross: $3.70M
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26. Where's Picone? (1984)
122 min | Comedy
During a debate in Naples' town hall in the early 1980s, Pasquale Picone, a former steel-worker who has recently lost his job, sets himself on fire in front of the Municipal Council.
Director: Nanni Loy | Stars: Giancarlo Giannini, Lina Sastri, Aldo Giuffrè, Clelia Rondinella
Votes: 319
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27. 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: 5,248 | Gross: $6.05M
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28. Full Moon in Paris (1984)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Louise is a suburban young interior decorator divided between a boyfriend, a lover (who is married) and the wish of having some fulfillment and some balance in her life. A change to reach ... See full summary »
Director: Éric Rohmer | Stars: Pascale Ogier, Tchéky Karyo, Fabrice Luchini, Virginie Thévenet
Votes: 5,392 | Gross: $0.01M
8
29. 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: 924,206 | Gross: $38.40M
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30. 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: 244,484 | Gross: $90.82M
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