Movies Of The 80's - 1984

 

Introduction

As an 80's music aficionado, I've found myself interested as of late in the world of 80's soundtracks. Be it scores, or various artist albums, I'm always on the lookout for a CD to add to my collection.

Of course, there are the staples. Top Gun, Footloose, Flashdance, Ghostbusters, and the list goes on and on. These albums have been a mainstay in my collection since relatively the start of it. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and I wanted to dive deeper.

The problem I quickly found was that while searching based on films that popped into my head randomly, I wasn't necessarily delving very far. After mulling it around for a while, I finally broke down and decided that to truly find just what was out there, I first had to educate myself on what films were out there.

It took months of cataloging, which was based on limited time between work and other obligations, but finally I was able to reach the finish line. Utilizing links to Wikipedia by year denoting the List of American Films of (insert year here), I created a series of posts with each movie poster, ad, or some form of representation for made for television movies, to have a reference guide. Now I could truly begin my search into just what soundtracks were out there.

Not wanting all this work to go to waste, I decided I would take the next several weeks to present to you the Movies of the 80's! We've already looked at the freshman year of the decade, and it continues here with 1984.

I can feel it now. 1984 is going to be my year of 80's movies to finally start showing that I do actually like this era as much as I say I do. Something tells me there are going to be a lot more movies that I can check off my list.

Sadly, this first movie is not one of them. I picked up the soundtrack for 1984 unexpectedly while grabbing a few Eurythmics albums from the ninety-nine cent bin. At first, I thought it was going to be a compilation album I'd never heard of, and was really excited when I found out it was actually for a soundtrack. I never knew that the Eurythmics had done this, let alone that it was a movie until I found it.

2010 was a film I tried to watch with my dad back in the day, but it was so far over my head, and so painfully slow that I couldn't get into it.

After polishing through the VHS tapes of Friday The 13th, my next step was on to A Nightmare On Elm Street. Much like the Friday films, I got these from a local Blockbuster, where they had ordered the complete series for me, and were allowing me to pick them up weekly with my limited paycheck over a period of several months.

I tried watching Buckaroo Banzi maybe ten years ago when I got it with a triple film DVD set. Despite knowing its cult classic status, I couldn't invest myself in it long enough to care.

A film I've never seen, but which has an iconic theme song for the soundtrack I own is Against All Odds. I don't have any interest in the actual movie, but man, that Phil Collins track is solid!

I picked up the soundtrack to Amadeus a short while ago from a dollar bin, and it is one of those albums that kind of just sits on my shelf as a, "Yeah, it's an 80's soundtrack" things. I have zero interest in it or the film. Especially since it doesn't have Rock Me Amadeus on it!

Bachelor Party was a film I finally saw not too long ago. I can't say it's anywhere close to being my favorite Tom Hanks film, but I do dig the soundtrack for its featuring of Oingo Boingo!

I watched, or rather, tried to watch all three Beverly Hills Cops movies during my period of house arrest, AKA the pandemic of 2020. I got through the first two, but simply couldn't make it through the poorly produced third installment.

Yes, I have seen Body Double...That is all...

A classic 80's film through and through. Breakin' may have been cheesy to the max, but its soundtrack is amazing. Too bad it's also donkey expensive. I'd like to see the sequel, but have never gotten the chance.

When I got big into horror flicks during my late teen years, Children Of The Corn eventually got its turn to make a mark. Man, that film was stupid.

You know, even though I saw them both right after each other, I really don't remember what Conan The Barbarian was about. I mean, Conan, obviously. I think there was a woman, and an Asian guy...I don't remember.

The Corsican Brothers used to be my favorite Cheech and Chong film of the bunch, but one day, I just outgrew the jokes. I think it became one of those things that were better remembered than re-experienced.

Man, I don't know what people see in Dune. That flick was boring from start to finish.

A hidden gem of the 80's, and one of my sister's favorite films was Electric Dreams. The soundtrack is equally solid, and I highly recommend you check out both if you haven't!

I first saw Footloose on cable television while sitting in a hotel room when we moved from Oregon to Virginia. I don't think I really knew what was going on in the movie, but since then have watched it again. The premise is definitely goofy, but the soundtrack keeps you invested.

Ah, yes. Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter, AKA that one with Corey Feldman. People really thought at the time that this was truly it for the series.

Do I even need to say that I've seen Ghostbusters? I mean, it was mandatory watching in 1984.

I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again. Gremlins scared the living crap out of me as a kid. My parents took us to the movie theater to see it, and my grandmother had to come pick my brother and I up. These days, for sure, it's a classic!

Though I saw it, I was never excited about Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom. The character is a snooze fest for me. I do agree with one thing though, his opinion of snakes. I can't mess with those.

Every kid wanted to learn karate when The Karate Kid came out. I was among them. My dad took me to a sensei who before considering any student asked, "Why do you want to learn karate?" I said, "To learn how to fight!" He declined me as a student.

Video games, sci-fi, an awesome story, and a killer soundtrack. That's what you get packaged up in The Last Starfighter. Superb movie that to this day is one of my favorites!

The Muppets Take Manhattan was definitely the weakest of the three films from my childhood. Even as a kid, I could see the quality dropping with each one as they came out. I suppose part of it could have been that I was also getting older.

I never got the hype surrounding The Neverending Story. To me, it was always kind of boring. It took me several attempts to get through the whole thing.

I'm not ashamed to admit I've seen six of the seven Police Academy films on the big screen. I'm equally not ashamed to say that parts one through four are comic genius. Five and six have their moments.

Purple Rain, the film, will put to the test just how big of a Prince fan you are. I remember watching this for the first time as a kid, or rather trying to. When my mom saw Apolonia's jugs come out, that thing got turned off quick. Since then, I've actually watched it a couple time, more so for the musical experience than Prince's [cough] "acting".

Yes! Revenge Of The Nerds! One of my favorite comedies of all time. Maybe even my favorite. I've been watching this movie for decades, and even owned all four of them at one point.

Romancing The Stone, that sequel to the movie that is nowhere close in title to clue you in on that. It was definitely better than the first one, at least in my opinion, and I think this was because of Danny DeVito.

One of the films I tried watching on streaming as an adult was Sixteen Candles. I just couldn't get into it. Molly Ringwald has always been a little piggy face to me. I can't get past it.

If I've seen Splash, I couldn't tell you much about it.

What we can talk about for hours is The Search For Spock. Great film! It always baffled me how the films could....well, except for the first one, bring so much excitement. Yet the shows themselves are super boring.

When I went soundtrack hunting, George of G.I. Jigsaw frequently mentioned Streets Of Fire. Though I haven't seen the film, I did add the soundtrack to my collection, and I'm glad I did. It's not perfect, but it does have some good tracks.

What was worse? Superman IV or Supergirl? That's a tough one.

Who would have ever thought that The Terminator would go on to be as big of a franchise as it has? The first one is good, no doubt there, but the second one is epic!

If there was one thing I wished, it would be that the film This Is Spinal Tap was funnier than it actually is. Don't get me wrong, it has some hysterical scenes, but it doesn't keep you laughing.

Now Top Secret on the other hand, strap yourself in before you fall from your chair with laughter. Val Kilmer at his finest right here.

 Okay, I think I did a tad bit better with 1984. Things are on an upward slant in terms of my knowledge, and actually watching of 80's films. Things only get better from here, right? We'll find out next week when we dive into 1985!

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