The Best Movies of 1984, Ranked by Tomatometer
From movie titles like Wonder Woman 1984, Class of 1984, and Summer of 84, and back to George Orwell’s dystopian book Nineteen Eighty-Four, this is a number that’s done wonders, invoking terror and nostalgia in one draw. But what’s the allure of 1984? Let’s find out, Doubleplus-in-Boots, as we put on our proton packs and break it for the best movies of 1984, ranked by Tomatometer.
We start with Certified Fresh movies, including 100%-rated Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads’ riotous concert experience) and The Terminator, a B-movie synthesized with A-level filmmaking that launched a franchise, as well as the careers of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Combine Sense and Terminator with No. 3 movie Repo Man, and that’s one anxious, blitzed-out road trip through Los Angeles.
More featured Certified Fresh movies are like a Strangers Things-reference starter pack, including Ghostbusters (also the highest-grossing movie of the year with $229 million, unadjusted), Gremlins, The Karate Kid, The Neverending Story, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, The Last Starfighter, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the Steven Spielberg film that would inspire the PG-13 rating.
John Hughes made his directorial debut (Sixteen Candles) the same year Sergio Leone released his final film (Once Upon a Time in America). Comedy showed up strong with Val Kilmer’s starring introduction Top Secret!, Eddie Murphy taking over the mainstream (Beverly Hills Cop), and Rob Reiner launching his directing career (and a whole new genre) with This Is Spinal Tap.
The Best Picture Oscar went to Amadeus, a movie so operatic and influential that it turned the name Salieri into a whole archetype and mood. Amadeus won over The Killing Fields, A Passage to India, Places in the Heart, and A Soldier’s Story.
Next on the list are Fresh films, movies that are either rated lower than 75% or don’t have the 40 reviews necessary to be considered Certified Fresh. These include Studio Ghibli debut Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 1984 (yes, they were able to adapt this one on time), Prince’s Purple Rain, and cult films Streets of Fire and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai. Still waiting on that sequel teased at the end of Banzai.
We round out the list with films with Rotten scores. Popular favorites among them include raunchy comedy Police Academy, David Lynch‘s adaptation of Dune, prepper fantasia Red Dawn, and Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo and Footloose, which use dance as a way to stick it to the man.
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