The 1984 Movie Draft and the Power of ‘Nomadland’

The Terminator 1984

Sean's first overall pick. James Cameron's debut, slower than modern action fare but, he argues, the announcement of a major visionary.

Ghostbusters 1984

Sean apologizes to Chris before taking it, calling it the movie that permeated 80s pop culture wholesale.

Blood Simple 1984

The Coen brothers' debut, a Texas noir loosely indebted to Dashiell Hammett, with Frances McDormand's first film role and John Getz as its lead.

This Is Spinal Tap 1984

Rob Reiner's mockumentary, which Sean calls the movie every future comedy writer went off and studied.

Gremlins 1984

Joe Dante's horror-comedy; Sean says it's really a beautiful film about small-town American life, gremlins aside.

The Karate Kid 1984

Sean's Long Island pride pick (Ralph Macchio grew up near him), with a nod to its Cobra Kai revival.

Amadeus 1984

Milos Forman's Best Picture winner, which her father sat her down to watch as a kid alongside her piano lessons.

The Muppets Take Manhattan 1984

Picked the same weekend Donald Trump Jr. called the Muppets "canceled" over a Disney+ content disclaimer.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984

Amanda, a self-described horror novice, texted New York Times critic Gilbert Cruz for backup before picking Wes Craven's original.

Romancing the Stone 1984

Robert Zemeckis's Michael Douglas/Kathleen Turner romantic-adventure comedy, which Amanda didn't discover until her 20s.

Ghostbusters 1984

Purple Rain 1984

Amanda's Prince pick, made $68 million at the box office; the group calls it strange and formative.

Beverly Hills Cop 1984

Chris grew up on Eddie Murphy's stand-up before this; he says he can still recite most of the dialogue.

Paris, Texas 1984

Wim Wenders's Harry Dean Stanton drama, taken early; Chris calls it the movie that made him think about film as art.

Repo Man 1984

Alex Cox's L.A. punk odyssey with Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton, Chris's gateway into punk culture as a teenager.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984

Chris calls it problematic and colonialist but also part horror movie, part musical, part buddy comedy, and still excellent.

Children of the Corn 1984

The Stephen King adaptation that permanently soured Chris on kids standing by the side of the road.

The Natural 1984

Barry Levinson's Robert Redford baseball fable, singled out for Randy Newman's score and the closing home-run sequence.