Siskel & Ebert - Best of 1984

1:34 Intro
3:11 Purple Rain
6:43 Commercials
8:44 The Killing Fields
11:55 Stranger Than Paradise
16:39 The Cotton Club
19:43 Commercials
21:42 Amadeus
23:50 Once Upon A Time in America
26:38 Ebert's choice
Purple Rain
Choose Me
Stranger Than Paradise
The Killing Fields
Secret Honor
The Cotton Club
Spinal Tap
Love Streams
Paris, Texas
Amadeus
27:46 Siskel's choice
The Natural
Micki & Maude
A Passage to India
Secret Honor
The Killing Fields
Purple Rain
Entre Nous
The Cotton Club
Amadeus
Once Upon a Time in America
29:25 Commercials

[@taylorlee5103]

1984 great year for movies.

[@RockyRoyale84]

And a great year for being born!

[@MrThankeesai]

@@RockyRoyale84 happy late or upcoming or current 40th birthday!

[@QUIRK1019]

They were so cool for liking Purple Rain so much

[@sethrabin833]

I saw Stranger than Paradise in film class in college. It's a great independent film that tells a great story and uses the music well.

[@softdorothy]

Ha ha, great film where nothing happens until the last 5 minutes.

[@davidellis5141]

Screaming Jay Hawkins !

[@sleuthentertainment5872]

1.984 was THE YEAR of the movies. Come on! Once Upon a Time in America, Amadeus, Terminator, Ghostbusters, Paris Texas, Dune, Bachelor Party, Broadway Danny Rose, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Killing Fields, The Cotton Club, Stranger than Paradise, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Blood Simple, Starman, Streets of Fire, Godzilla Returns, The Neverending Story, Dreamscape, A Passage to India, Karate Kid, Police Academy, Revenge of the Nerds, Beverly Hills Cop, Wheels on Meal, Gremlins, Tightrope, This is Spinal Tap, Top Secret, Romancing the Stone, 16 Candles, Love Streams, Body Double... WHAT A YEAR❗❗❗❗❗👀

[@batchagaloopytv5816]

wow the commerials bring back sooooo many memories omg 🤭🤭🤭🤭🤭

[@mahmoudibnemir8704]

Whenever I see Prince now I immediately think of Charlie Murphy's story about him and start laughing...

[@slackerman9758]

..skins vs blouses, lol

[@scottaznavourian3720]

Wow wasnt expecting to find mickey and maude on one of the lists

[@jp3813]

One of the greatest years for cinema: Ghostbusters, Terminator, Karate Kid, Gremlins, NeverEnding Story, Temple of Doom, Beverly Hills Cop, Footloose, This Is Spinal Tap, Romancing the Stone, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Splash, The Natural, Red Dawn, Last Starfighter, Sixteen Candles, Top Secret, Purple Rain, Amadeus, Once Upon a Time in America, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, etc...

[@marred2277]

It's a personal pet theory of mine that we peaked as a country in 1984.

[@jp3813]

@@marred2277 Speaking as someone who currently doesn't live in America, I feel that many countries' cultures peaked in the 80s & 90s.

[@anothermonday5664]

None of which they named!! lol (except Amadeus) I mean come on, at least the Karate Kid should have been on their lists, but yes, 1984 was the best year in film history for me.

[@jp3813]

@@anothermonday5664 1994 is also a top candidate: Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump, Lion King, Leon The Professional, Natural Born Killers, Ed Wood, Speed, True Lies, The Crow, Interview with the Vampire, Drunken Master 2, The Mask, Stargate, Legends of the Fall, Heavenly Creatures, Fist of Legend, Clear and Present Danger, Maverick, Clerks, Dumb & Dumber, etc...

[@anothermonday5664]

@@jp3813 totally was

[@thekcsugethe_kc_suge7930]

Purple Rain shows how the talent of Prince carries the film. The story is basically a simple one.

[@horrorpowerfilms9481]

Purple Rain it's one of the best films of the 80s.

[@aldenmartin623]

I was only listening at 19:42 when it switches from Mozart to a Clorox commercial and I thought that the kid's statement "Mom I need that leotard for my recital!" was a joke about the way he dresses.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

Gremlins was great fun and I dont know if it was an oversight or they just didnt think it was a top 10.

[@deckofcards87]

The director's cut of Once Upon A Time In America is a real masterpiece, so is Amadeus. My other favourite of '84 is Gremlins which is crude in comparison, but I've loved it since it scared the pants off me in theaters as a little kid.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

I never was too much into Amadeus. There were good parts but drunken antics just don't float my boat. I hated Arthur, too. I know, that's sacrilege, everybody loves that drunken idiot.

[@johnreese3797]

Haing S Ngor was a real survivor of the killing fields.

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup. It's tragic that he was murdered by gangbangers here in the U.S.

[@joeski734]

Yeah they could have mentioned his name while they were praising the film for its respect for the Cambodian character. Ironic eh?

[@reneedennis2011]

Thank you for uploading this!

[@Jbaxter85]

Welcome👋

[@ilovebrandnewcarpets]

I'm sorry, but if you don't giggle when you hear "Pipin' Hot Loaf" we probably wouldn't get along lolll

[@suzycreamcheesez4371]

too bad aloha

[@boomieboo]

Thanks for this upload! It looks like some of the reviews that were in the recap were left out of your recording. But I love that you kept some of the commercials which made the experience feel even more like you were back in the 80s.

[@flaccidusminimus2170]

I don't think they were left out of the recording. In each of these annual shows, the boys only had time to review selected titles. At the end of the program, the entire lists are presented. In a 30 minute episode, you can only discuss so many movies in-depth.

[@vincentwilliams5271]

Wow I was in the 11th grade when this came out.

[@paleo704]

Best time to be in 11th grade

[@newwavepop]

i was 12, what a let down the future has been.

[@pandaeyes42]

The full version of Once Upon A Time In America was my best of 1984.

[@ezequielgomez7083]

Gremlins was my number 1 All-Time Favorite Movie of the year 1984

[@utube9000]

I like how the thumbnail for this video was taken from the "Green Giant" commercial which played during the show

[@reneedennis2011]

Yup.

[@jessecoffey4737]

Gene's other favorite films of 1984 were Woody Allen's "Broadway Danny Rose," Rob Reiner's "This Is Spinal Tap," the 1983 French film "L' Argent," the 1983 Japanese film "The Ballad of Narayama," "Strangers Kiss," "Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense" (which was also one of his listed runners-up for 1985), Taylor Hackford's "Against All Odds," John Carpenter's "Starman," the black and white "Stranger Than Paradise," "Sugar Cane Alley," the 1983 Spanish remake of "Bizet's Carmen," the Scottish comedy "Comfort & Joy," "Romancing the Stone," "A Soldier's Story" and "Places in the Heart." (SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, December 23, 1984)

[@RC19786]

one of the best lists from these 2....

[@michaelhouser4778]

My favorite films of 1984: 1. Broadway Danny Rose 2. Sixteen Candles 3. Paris Texas 4. Amadeus 5. Country 6. Moscow on the Hudson 7. The Natural 8. Ghostbusters 9. Under the Volcano 10. Tightrope So there.

[@d.martin7692]

Broadway Danny Rose cracked me up.

[@theunitedstatesofspace]

Ebert & Siskel? Is this some alternate universe?

[@Mickey-1994]

They wanted to go in the more pretentious direction but The Karate Kid, Nightmare on Elm Street, Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop and Revenge of the Nerds are classic movies.

[@freemangriffin4953]

Sorry, but Amadeus was NOT the best film of 1984. So many of the best movies aren't on their lists. My best friend worked on The Cotton Club! So sad about Ngor's death, murdered here in the U.S.

[@Jim_Wolf]

My Top 10 from 1984, plus 5 honorable mentions: 1) The NeverEnding Story (1984) 2) The Terminator (1984) 3) Ghostbusters (1984) 4) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) 5) The Last Starfighter (1984) 6) Starman (1984) 7) Amadeus (1984) 8) Paris, Texas (1984) 9) The Company of Wolves (1984) 10) Blood Simple (1984) ----------------------------------- 11) Cloak & Dagger (1984) 12) Beverly Hills Cop (1984) 13) The Killing Fields (1984) 14) A Passage to India (1984) 15) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

[@Jim_Wolf]

Yes, I do like The Karate Kid, I just like the above films more. But it would be in my top 20 from 1984, for sure.

[@brettming9015]

The natural

[@culturefan]

That's a better list than the ones they picked. :)

[@ronaldh8446]

Love Paris, Texas.

[@peterkrug4124]

@@Jim_Wolf My personal favorite ten films from '84, with five honorable mentions: 1.The Terminator 2.Ghostbusters 3.The Karate Kid 4.A Nightmare On Elm Street 5.Beverly Hills Cop 6.Gremlins 7.Police Academy 8.Revenge Of The Nerds 9.This Is Spinal Tap 10.The Never Ending Story Honorable Mentions: 1.Starman 2.The Last Starfighter 3.Splash 4.Children Of The Corn 5.Firestarter By the way I think putting (1984) after each film is a bit redundant for a list like this

[@pmafterdark]

That was a period when I actually still enjoyed going to the movies.

[@sonicgrub]

Amadeus is a masterpiece.

[@Trisket]

Best film of all time for me.

[@kellymiller1891]

@@Trisket My Top Ten Favorite Movies of 1984 are. 10. Blame it on Rio. 9. Footloose. 8. A Streetcar Named Desire. 7. Children of the Corn. 6. Splash. 5. Police Academy. 4. Romancing the Stone. 3. Sixteen Candles. 2. The Muppets Take Manhattan. 1. The NEVERENDING Story. Here's my Honorable Mentions. 1. GHOSTBUSTERS. 2. Gremlins. 3. Sheena. 4. Amadeus. 5. Supergirl. 6. An EWOK Adventure: Caravan of Courage.

[@kevinmcdonald6477]

Now I know where Jerry stole the Puffy Shirt from!

[@ezequielgomez7083]

My Favorite Flims of 1984 was Ghostbusters, 16 Candles, Nightmare of Elm Streets, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Cloak and Dagger, Firestarter and especially Gremlins

[@Wildcock23]

I can’t take any 1984 list seriously if “The Terminator” is not on it 😉

[@linkbiff1054]

Roger revealed like 25 years later that they never actually got around to seeing the movie, but we’re obligated to review it on the show. It is pretty telling the way Gene talked about it on the show.

[@kencoakley3959]

My top 10 for 1984 10) Repo Man 9) Suburbia 8) This Is Spinal Tap 7) Grandview USA 6) The Flamingo Kid 5) The Brother From Another Planet 4) Racing With The Moon 3) Roadhouse 66 2) The Pope Of Greenwich Village 1) Once upon A Time In America Honorable mentions Making The Grade The Wild Life Body Double Children Of The Corn A Nightmare On Elm Street Friday The 13th : The Final Chapter Savage Streets C.H.U.D Silent Night, Deadly Night Stop Making Sense Teachers The Terminator Exterminator 2

[@Marbella125]

No 84 list is complete without Karate Kid or Bachelor Party

[@thekingofmovies193]

​@@Marbella125 or Ghostbusters

[@kevinlang9792]

1. Broadway Danny Rose 2. Amadeus 3. This is Spinal Tap 4. A Christmas Story 5. The Terminator 6. The Natural 7. The Razor's Edge 8. The Bostonians 9. Paris, Texas 10.Dune

[@drumtum]

Where is the Terminator?

[@acholl980]

George Orwell was wrong. 1984 was a great year.

[@raymondm.9954]

Of their selections, I saw only "The Natural" in a theater and "This Is Spinal Tap" on video.

[@09rja]

I never got why Amadeus didn't make their best of decade list. (Since it was Roger's choice for the best of '84.)

[@linkbiff1054]

Me either. I can see them calling Raging Bull and Do The Right Thing as contenders for the best, but why the hell not Amadeus for one of the best?!

[@deckofcards87]

​​​​@@linkbiff1054Ebert did change his mind about his favourites, though. And it would've been on his top 15 or 20. He included Amadeus is in his "Great movies" list. Personally I think it deserved to be in there in place of Mississippi Burning which was good but definitely not that impressive.

[@flaccidusminimus2170]

My list (based on North American release dates): 1. Paris, Texas 2. Amadeus 3. Stop Making Sense 4. The Killing Fields 5. Secret Honor 6. Streetwise 7. L'Argent 8. A Sunday in the Country 9. The Terminator 10. The Bounty

[@patrickshields5251]

What about Gho... oh that's right, you don't like summer blockbusters. That's why Ghostbusters is not on your list.

[@derreckpressley1165]

no sixteen candles, no ghostbusters, footloose, BH Cop I, Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Dune, Karate Kid, Romancing the Stone or Terminator....how could you not have Terminator on a best of 1984 list!

[@sleuthentertainment5872]

Totally agree👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@Mickey-1994]

Also, Nightmare on Elm Street.

[@doddsino]

No Repo Man?

[@suzycreamcheesez4371]

RIP

[@zetetick395]

19:45 in 1984 even the detergents were getting sequels!

[@calql8er]

Filled with boring movies that only Siskel & Ebert could love.

[@spider-mantobeymaguirefanc9469]

where Nightmare on Elm Street

[@willyboyw.5771]

Micki and Maude funnier than This is Spinal Tap? Siskel was nuts.

[@maziebunny2]

quite the contrary. I thought Siskel was spot on for a change...then again, I had just turned 9 and my mom wouldn't let me see Spinal Tap at the time.

[@davidthieroff9452]

I was surprised by that. I seem to remember Micki and Maude getting panned like pretty much all of Blake Edwards movies in the 1980s. I do like it a lot but yea, it's no Spinal Tap.

[@scotthamman2653]

Great music, sure - but Purple Rain has no business anywhere near these lists.

[@linkbiff1054]

Best of 1984 is either Amadeus or Once Upon A Time In America. No other film that year surpassed those two.

[@mjgyrosdude484]

The Killing Fields

[@RD2564]

The story is about a country that has turned into a death factory and the yellow man has been given equal time with the white man in the telling of the story (11:30), isn't that special, Gene ... This crep from almost 40 years ago, oh man times have changed.

[@Jbaxter85]

Purple Rain Terminator Ghostbusters Grelims Amadeus Micki & Maude Paris, Texas Blood Simple Secret Honor A Passage to India The Killing Fields The Cotton Club Stranger Than Paradise Choose Me Comfort & Joy Karate Kid Sixteen Candles The Breakfast Club The Never-ending Story Nightmare on Elm Street

[@oobrocks]

What's up w the first 2 mins??

[@jessecoffey4737]

This is a production reel that was submitted to each of the stations that carried the show. The promos for the following week's program were intended to be seen during program breaks of other series.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I'm trying to find their review of The Natural, but it's not on here. Funny that the opening from "stinkers of the year" is spliced together with "best of the year."

[@The3rdGunman]

Thank you for keeping in the ads...There was a time when ads weren't so annoying.

[@paleo704]

Not woke

[@googleruinedyoutube4707]

Advertisers of any era are the enemy of humanity.

[@aceventuraify]

These guys were James Cameron haters, Didn’t have The Terminator or Aliens on their lists.

[@63002]

The natural

[@davidowen74]

even the commercials were better

[@danlove12k]

Funny how these so called critics don’t like the “real” classics of 1984: ghostbusters, the karate kid, Beverly Hills cop, Indiana Jones and temple of doom, terminator, nightmare on elm street, romancing the stone, gremlins. Half of the films I never heard or bombed so badly 🤣🤣

[@Fiveash-Art]

That 'piping hot Pillsbury' ..Oooooh, Ahhhhh ..commercial 😂😂😂 White Loaf !

[@boobio1]

Purple Rain is not a good film.

[@MIKESMOVIECORNERANDMORE]

Ur crazy.

[@olaoluwaafolayan6554]

That was a bit of a bait and switch. First you show clips from their _Worst Of_ show for that year and then awkwardly segue into the _Best Of_ show lol.

[@jessecoffey4737]

To be fair, Tribune often used space on their 2" reels to promote the next week's episode for a few minutes before the main program started.

[@culturefan]

I'm surprised they both liked Purple Rain. I didn't care for it or Prince.

[@Jbaxter85]

Y dislike Purple rain or Prince?

[@culturefan]

@@Jbaxter85 Both

[@Jbaxter85]

@@culturefan Why?

[@culturefan]

Because taste is subjective. I liked a few of his hits, like Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret, but never liked the synth drums or production of his sound. His ego was always a turn off to me too.

[@Jbaxter85]

@@culturefan Title to your opinion

[@saymynameice-zen-berg511]

Some of my favourite movies 🍿 of 1984 include: -Ghostbusters -The Neverending Story -The Terminator -Places In The Heart -The Bounty -This Is Spinal Tap -The Last Starfighter -Gremlins -Night Of The Comet 💫 -Star Trek III The Search For Spock -Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom -The Killing Fields -C.H.U.D -Revenge Of The Nerds -Batchelor Party -Amadeus -The Razors Edge -Paris Texas -Philadelphia Experiment -Beverly Hills Cop -Police Academy -Firestarter

[@peterkrug4124]

Have you ever seen STARMAN?

[@saymynameice-zen-berg511]

@@peterkrug4124 WOW! I can’t believe I forgot that one. And I’m a huge Carpenter fan too, that’s embarrassing. Thank you 🙏 my friend.

[@billythese_2250]

19:08

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

Cotton Club? Those guys were high when they picked that.

[@adamgrimsley2900]

That bread looks terrible

[@LannieLord]

Purple Rain is a piece of CRAP with incredibly BAD acting , lame "story" , etc.

[@Mickey-1994]

The Cotton Club was awful.

[@branagain]

Purple Rain is not a good film.

[@Jbaxter85]

Disagree

[@horrorpowerfilms9481]

It's actually a brilliant film with innovated editing, impeccable cinematography (ever heard of Michael Mann's DP?) and a over the top performance by Prince, plus it's a very important film in history of black cinema.

[@Wildcock23]

I agree-it is not a good movie… mediocre at best… and I’m from Minneapolis!

[@TheRedScareIsAlive]

Art is subjective