1984- BAD ASS BROTHER IS WATCHING SCI FI

So, 1984 cropped up as another one of those years during which an abundance of influential Bad Ass Sci Fi movies came out.  (And during the few moments that we have left, we want to talk, right down to earth, in a language that everybody here can easily understand)

Also, I forgot the line,  “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”, came from 1984.  I thought it was a line from a Rage Against the Machine song.

Where was I?  When?  198 f-n 4!

• The Terminator- James Cameron- Released Oct. 24, 1984- Enter, James Cameron.  This is another guy who knows how to get things done.  He's got a passion for art and wild ideas and makes them happen.  I believe he has at least a couple of spots on my list.  I can't believe I didn't include him in my previous list of C-dogs!  The Terminator was transformative; a relatively low budget, mostly independent film that created a long lasting, if uneven, franchise.  It not only had one of Arnie's most famous lines, 'I'll be back.', but one of the late Bill Paxton's first quotable lines, 'I think this guy's a couple cans short of a six pack.'  This movie took BASF to another level.  The violence, the concept, the dialogue, all coming out of nowhere.

• Ghostbusters- Ivan Reitman- Released June 8, 1984- Are you kidding me?  Genius on every level; a collaboration that comes around once in a lifetime.  Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, and William Atherton as Peck!  I thought this movie was oddly marketed and didn't really want to see it at first.  Boy, I'm glad they were wrong.  Mind and humerus blown!  This is one of the funniest and most quoted movies of all time.  How much time did you waste trying to memorize this?
•  Gozer the Traveler. He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!

• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension- W. D. Richter- Released August 15, 1984- Another example of a bonkers concept movie that took a lot of chances.  I think I admire films that try and break a mold, no matter how they're received.  I can definitely relate a great deal to this movie.  It takes an hour to fully explain, many of the concepts aren't completely realized, and it leaves numerous unanswered questions.  I'm still waiting for the promised sequel; Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League.

•  The following outstanding films all came out in 1984.  They may not have a place in my top 20, but all took a part in molding my love for the genre.
• Dune- David Lynch- Released Dec. 14, 1984- No matter what your opinion on this film, it certainly left an impression.  It holds my personal record for the movie I've fallen asleep to the most.  I did it on purpose.  This movie is like a drug.  It's also what happens if your vision gets out of control.  There's no way Dune could be fully realized at the time.  That's how I feel about Halteres (on a much smaller scale).  Just ask Alejandro Jodorowsky.
• The Last Starfighter- Nick Castle- Released July 13, 1984- This is just a nice, mellow example of easy to watch, surface level Bad Ass Sci Fi.  It's cheesy.  It's unoriginal.  But, boy howdy, it sure is entertaining.  Not Bad Ass?  What about this?

• Night of the Comet- Thom Eberhardt- Released Nov. 16, 1984- I love this little movie.  It was like a fantasy for me; to be trapped in a post-apocalyptic urban wasteland with a bunch of hot 80's chicks (I was 16 when this was released, so go figure).  Here's some koiky-dink, Catherine Mary Stewart starred in this AND The Last Starfighter!
• Repo Man- Alex Cox- Released Mar. 2, 1984- Another weird little underground flick starring a young and very puck Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton.  Another example of how weird ideas can succeed and attract a cult following.  Plus, it has one of my favorite puck bands, Fear, on the soundtrack with 'Let's Have a War'!
• Star Man (Carpenter), Gremlins (Dante), 2010 (Hyams), and Dreamscape (Ruben) also released in this awesome year!

Alright, that was fun!  Only five more years to go!  I gotta do 1985 as a separate post; too much BASF.  86-89 will be a nice capper.  Can't wait to get back to it.

Until then, happy Monday Eve, and don't bother me.  I'm digging up inspiration for a book!

Remember this?  Also 1984.  The pinnacle of Michael Crichton's career; Runaway.