Film - Top 10(ish) Favourite Films from 1984(ish)

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Susan Omand blames Twitter for a massive side-track as she looks back at some of the films of 1984(ish)…

So, there I was, scrolling merrily through my Twitter timeline, catching up on what had been happening in the four hours I was asleep (it was longer than that but it felt like four) when I came across this tweet.



What is your favourite movie, from the year in which you turned 16 years old? “Ha,” I thought. “This should be easy,” I thought. Challenge accepted. But then I realised something. I turned 16 in 1984. There were sooo many excellent movies out that year! How could I choose just one? So I thought I might stretch the remit a bit and do a top ten.

As I started scrolling through the lists of films released for the year, I found I could pick one that I enjoyed in the A’s, one in the B’s, one in the C’s… you see where I’m going with this.

Here then, is my (nearly complete*) Alphabet of Favourite Films from when I was 16.

A – Amadeus

"Well, there it is."
B – Beverley Hills Cop

"This is the cleanest and nicest police car I've ever been in in my life. This thing's nicer than my apartment."
C – City Heat

Lt. Speer: "It wouldn't break my heart at all to scrape the street clean of your ilk. You know what an 'ilk' is, don't ya Dub?"
Dub Slack: "A big deer?"
D – Dune

"We must totally destroy all spice production on Arrakis. The Guild and the entire Universe depends on spice. He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing."
E – The Evil That Men Do

"Nancy and me, we come from a small town up in Nebraska. And we always have to go someplace else for excitement and variety, you know?"
F – Footloose

"Ecclesiastes assures us... that there is a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to laugh... and a time to weep. A time to mourn... and there is a time to dance. And there was a time for this law, but not anymore."
G – Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (yes, even though Gremlins and Ghostbusters are on the list too)

"Half of me is the Earl of Greystoke... the other half is WILD!"
H – Hotel New Hampshire

"Keep passing the open windows."
I – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Willie: "Oh my God. Oh my God, is he nuts?"
Short Round: "He no nuts, he's crazy!"
J – Johnny Dangerously

"...that Roman Troy Maronie was responsible for: the Mother's Day Massacre, The Christmas Day Slaughter, The Lincoln's Birthday Mutilations, and The Groundhog's Day Be-headings!"
K – The Karate Kid

"Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important."
L – The Last Star Fighter

"Greetings, Starfighter. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan armada."
M – Missing in Action

"The misfortunes of war!"
N – Nightmare on Elm Street (or Neverending Story, depending on how I’m feeling at the time)

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you. / Three, four, better lock your door. / Five, six, grab your crucifix. / Seven, eight, gonna stay up late. / Nine, ten, never sleep again."
O – Once Upon a Time in America

"There's an exit back this way. Noodles, go through it. Keep walking. Don't turn around. Please, Noodles, I'm begging you, please."
P – Police Academy

"Of all the guys who I thought were gonna make it, Hightower was the one."
Q – Who the hell releases a film beginning with Q?
R – Romancing the Stone

"There are schedules to be maintained, even in Colombia."
S – Splash

"What you looking at? You never seen a guy who slept with a fish before?"
T – The Terminator

"The machines rose from the ashes of the nuclear fire. Their war to exterminate mankind had raged for decades, but the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here, in our present. Tonight..."
U – Under the Volcano

"How, unless you drink as I do, can you hope to understand the beauty of an old indian woman playing dominoes with a chicken?"


And then I got a little stuck. Until I tweaked the question a bit. I was still 16 until October 1985 so that gets me:



V – A View to a Kill

"Captain to all units: Intercept murder suspect in a stolen fire truck. He MAY be armed... and he's SURE dangerous!"
W – Witness

"Well, them Ohio Amish must be... different. Around here, the brethren don't have any of that kinda fight in 'em!"
X – As if I would watch an X film at only 16… (shut up)
Y – Year of the Dragon

"The first time I saw you, I hated your guts. I think I even hated you before I met you. I hated you on TV. I hated you in Vietnam. You want to know what's destroying this country? It's not booze. It's not drugs. It's TV."
Z – A Zed and Two Noughts.

"Imagine that, the body - in all its delicious detail - fading away leaving a skeleton with iron legs."



* If you can find a film that I’ve heard of that begins with either Q or X and released in 1984 or 1985 (before October) then we can complete the list. And, for the record, I still can’t pick one favourite!

Images - IMDb & Pixabay

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