A time machine ready to use. You press the button, travel to 1984… and all you can do is go to the movies. What did the big screen offer back then? What were the most important successes and failures of that year? Obviously, compiling a complete list is very difficult, and some important names will always be left out, but if you're interested in this hypothetical time-travel-cinematic journey, here's a humble selection to get you started…
Footloose
The critics hated it (I imagine it made some conservatives nervous), and the public made it one of the most viewed of the year. The music is excellent, and that ending... unforgettable.
Police Academy
Same as Footloose, but in comedy. Mahoney, Hightower, Tackleberry, Jones and his sound effects, Kim Cattrall at 27 years old. It didn't need more than that... although it had six sequels too many.
Firestarter
... As if Stephen King hasn't had much luck with his adaptations, right? Still, it's the closest we've come to seeing Drew Barrymore turn into a Super Saiyan.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
They accused it of being dark, perhaps too much. Spielberg said it's the one he liked least of the three. Lucas admitted that personal problems leaked into its development. India banned it for a time. In short, it had everything.
Star Trek III
In the previous one Spock dies. In this one they bring him back. "But at what cost?", asked Sarek. The Enterprise, Kirk's son, his rank, his reputation. Not as good as The Wrath of Khan (none is), but it's watchable.
Ghostbusters
229 million dollars just in the United States. Seven straight weeks as number one in theaters. It all started here, and nothing that came after managed to repeat its success. Maybe that's for the best...
Gremlins
Beware of light, don't get them wet, don't feed them after midnight. Basic rules that set the perfect breeding ground for chaos. They criticized it for being violent... but its 212 million suggest people didn't care.
The Karate Kid
Wax on, wax off... after Karate Kid, the "fad" for parents was to throw their kids into the first karate school they could find. A sleeper hit like few others.
Conan the Destroyer
Much more comedic and colorful than its predecessor, Arnold playing his role as Conan to the letter, a Grace Jones who always burns into our minds no matter what she does... basically a role-playing game turned movie. That's not a complaint.
The Last Starfighter
Every teenager's dream... and the story of the one who achieved it. From being trapped in a town, to becoming a space warrior who saves the universe. Better not ruin it with a reboot because I'll get very angry...
The NeverEnding Story
Repeat after me: "Anyone who says they got over Artax's death is a dirty liar"
The Philadelphia Experiment
In real life, the Philadelphia Experiment is just an urban legend, but the movie managed to tell a somewhat plausible story. The second part already has Nazis and all that.
Red Dawn
NATO dissolves. Russia invades Poland. Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico are on the communist side... and the only resistance is a group of students. And to think it was an anti-war film at first...
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Physicist, neurosurgeon, test pilot, rock star, natural leader... Buckaroo Banzai's only big-screen adventure is an absolute delirium that for some reason I can't stop watching, and I know I'm not alone.
The Terminator
Put Cameron on the map, confirmed that Arnold had arrived to stay, taught us the risk of a rogue artificial intelligence like no other work... I would have loved to see it in theaters.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
What more can I add? Freddy's first, Johnny Depp's big-screen debut, a solid exercise in audience manipulation. I think the world is ready for Freddy again, but they have to do a perfect job.
Missing in Action
Only nine years separated this film from the Vietnam War (eleven since the last US intervention), and the issue of missing in action was always delicate. Critics tore it apart... for the public it's a Chuck classic.
Beverly Hills Cop
Few things fit so well in '80s cinema as Eddie Murphy playing a Detroit cop taking "vacation" in Beverly Hills. The fourth premieres this year, and it seems the whole team is back...
Dune
With a bit of luck, and if the planets align correctly, maybe, maybe, David Lynch will finally agree to do a definitive Director's Cut of Dune. A lot of water has passed under the bridge.
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Yes, the trailer music confuses everyone, but don't let it fool you. It's not an easy film to watch, and I definitely recommend reading the original material... however, John Hurt and Richard Burton were perfect.
(Editor's note: Did I forget? Greystoke, Top Secret!, V: The Final Battle, Electric Dreams, Cloak & Dagger, Dreamscape, Supergirl, 2010... tell me the rest!)
