Netflix Goes ’80s with ‘Footloose,’ Freddy Krueger, and Other 1984 ‘Milestone Movies’
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Netflix is continuing to roll out its celebration of iconic films, this time turning the page to 1984.
As part of the streaming platform’s “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection,” Netflix has unveiled the 1984 films celebrating their 40-year anniversary in 2024 with classics like “Footloose” and “Sixteen Candles” alongside Oscar contenders “Amadeus” and “Iceman.”
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The Milestone Movies hail from Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.
Starting today, April 1, 2024, Netflix subscribers can revisit Brian de Palma’s erotic noir “Body Double” and Kevin Bacon’s breakout performance in “Footloose.” How about a double feature? There’s also “Repo Man” and “Beverly Hills Cop,” streaming just in time for franchise reboot “Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F” out this summer.
In addition to the cinematic celebrations in your Netflix queue, in-person special screenings of select films will continue at the Paris Theater in New York and Los Angeles’ Egyptian and Bay theaters throughout the year.
The curated collection continues in July with films from 1994 (turning 30) and in October for 2004 features (turning 20).
Below are the titles, loglines, and credits from Netflix’s 1984 anniversary collection, now available.
“2010: THE YEAR WE MAKE CONTACT”
On a mission to investigate an abandoned spacecraft orbiting Jupiter, an international crew encounters strange phenomena and a sentient computer.
DIRECTOR: Peter Hyams
WRITERS: Arthur C. Clarke, Peter Hyams
PRODUCER: Peter Hyams
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Roy Scheider
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: December 7, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Warner Bros. Discovery
Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.
“A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET”
Wielding a bladed glove and a gruesome sense of humor, a supernatural serial killer torments teenagers in their dreams.
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WRITER: Wes Craven
PRODUCERS: Robert Shaye, John H. Burrows
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: November 16, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Warner Bros. Discovery
“AGAINST ALL ODDS (1984)”
An ex-football player agrees to track down a sleazy nightclub owner’s mistress — but when he finds the elusive woman in Mexico, he falls in love.
DIRECTOR: Taylor Hackford, Robert Garofalo
WRITER: Eric Hughes, Daniel Mainwaring
PRODUCER: William S. Gilmore, Taylor Hackford
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Jeff Bridges, Pat Corley, Alex Karras, Rachel Ward, Richard Widmark, James Woods
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: March 2, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
“AMADEUS“
When composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s brilliant work captures the attention of the Viennese court, his jealous rival Antonio Salieri plots revenge.
DIRECTOR: Miloš Forman
WRITER: Peter Shaffer
PRODUCER: Saul Zaentz
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: September 19, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Warner Bros. Discovery
Milos Forman’s lavish period drama starring F. Murray Abraham won eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.
“BEVERLY HILLS COP”
When freewheeling Detroit detective Axel Foley tracks his friend’s killer to sunny Beverly Hills, his street-smart attitude clashes with LA culture.
DIRECTOR: Martin Brest
WRITER: Daniel Petrie Jr.
PRODUCER: Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Lisa Eilbacher, Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: December 5, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Paramount
“BIRDY“
A young Vietnam War veteran with PTSD escapes into a world where he thinks he’s a bird, but a childhood friend tries to help him reconnect with reality.
DIRECTOR: Alan Parker
WRITER: Sandy Kroopf, Jack Behr
BASED ON THE NOVEL BY: William Wharton
PRODUCER: Alan Marshall
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Nicolas Cage, Sandy Baron, John Harkins, Bruno Kirby, Matthew Modine
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: December 21, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
“BODY DOUBLE”
Struggling actor Jake witnesses a murder in a neighbor’s apartment. When a young porn actress befriends Jake, the two join forces to find the killer.
DIRECTOR: Brian De Palma
WRITER: Robert J. Avrech, Brian De Palma
PRODUCER: Brian De Palma
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Melanie Griffith; Craig Wasson; Gregg Henry
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: October 26, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
“CONAN THE DESTROYER”
On a quest to retrieve a magic gem, mighty warrior Conan vanquishes hostile armies and supernatural foes with help from a band of colorful sidekicks.
DIRECTOR: Richard Fleischer
WRITER: Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway
PRODUCER: Raffaella De Laurentiis
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Olivia d’Abo, Grace Jones, Arnold Schwarzenegger
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: June 29, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: NBCU
“FALLING IN LOVE”
A chance encounter between two married strangers leads to a clandestine love affair that has profound consequences on their lives.
DIRECTOR: Ulu Grosbard
WRITER: Michael Cristofer
PRODUCER: Marvin Worth
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: November 21, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: PARAMOUNT
“FIRESTARTER”
Eight-year-old Charlie has the terrifying ability to ignite fires with her mind, and a sinister organization will stop at nothing to control her power.
DIRECTOR: Mark L. Lester
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Drew Barrymore, David Keith, Martin Sheen, George C. Scott
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: May 11,1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: NBCU
“FIRSTBORN”
When their mother invites her new boyfriend home to live with them, two teens uncover dark secrets about him that put everyone in danger.
DIRECTOR: Michael Apted
WRITER: Stanley Mann, Stephen King
PRODUCER: Frank Capra Jr.
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Christopher Collet, Robert Downey Jr., Teri Garr, Corey Haim, Sarah Jessica Parker, Peter Weller
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: October 26, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: PARAMOUNT
“FOOTLOOSE (1984)”
In a rural town where dancing is outlawed, a big-city teen rebels against authority in hopes of inspiring his new friends to kick off their Sunday shoes.
DIRECTOR: Herbert Ross
WRITER: Dean Pitchford
PRODUCER: Lewis J. Rachmil, Craig Zadan
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Dianne Wiest, John Lithgow
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: June 6, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: PARAMOUNT
“ICEMAN”
When a frozen Neanderthal is thawed from an Arctic glacier and brought back to life, an anthropologist clashes with other scientists over his fate.
DIRECTOR: Fred Schepisi
WRITER: Chip Proser, John Drimmer
PRODUCER: Norman Jewison
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Danny Glover, Timothy Hutton, David Strathairn, Lindsay Crouse
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: April 13, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: NBCU
Sissy Spacek received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in this drama.
“JOY OF SEX”
Wrongly convinced she has only weeks to live, a high schooler goes on a quest to have sex for the first time but runs into one obstacle after another.
DIRECTOR: Martha Coolidge
WRITER: Kathleen Rowell, J.J. Salter
PRODUCER: Frank Konigsberg
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Colleen Camp, Cameron Dye, Ernie Hudson, Lisa Langlois, Michelle Meyrink
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: August 3, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: PARAMOUNT
“MICKI & MAUDE”
As his marriage to a lawyer unravels, a two-timing TV reporter learns not only is his new cellist girlfriend pregnant, but so is his soon-to-be ex-wife.
DIRECTOR: Blake Edwards
WRITER: Jonathan Reynolds
PRODUCER: Tony Adams
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): George Gaynes; Amy Irving; Dudley Moore; Ann Reinking
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: December 21, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
“MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON”
A Russian saxophonist (Robin Williams) defects while performing in New York City but finds life in America far more challenging than he’d expected.
DIRECTOR: Paul Mazursky
WRITER: Paul Mazursky, Leon Capetanos
PRODUCER: Paul Mazursky
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks, Robin Williams
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: April 6, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
“A PASSAGE TO INDIA”
Tensions rise in 1920s India when an adventurous young British woman traveling with her future mother-in-law accuses a local doctor of sexual assault.
DIRECTOR: David Lean
WRITER: E.M. Foster (by & based on the the novel by), Santha Rama Rau (based on the play by); David Lean (screenplay)
PRODUCER: John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Peggy Ashcroft, Victor Banerjee, Judy Davis, James Fox, Alec Guinness, Nigel Navers
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: December 14, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
David Lean’s epic earned 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, with Peggy Ashcroft winning Best Supporting Actress.
“PLACES IN THE HEART”
After her husband’s death, a woman in Depression-era Texas strives to turn her land into a cotton farm with the help of some unlikely new friends.
DIRECTOR: Robert Benton
WRITER: Robert Benton
PRODUCER: Arlene Donovan
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Lindsay Crouse, Sally Field, Danny Glover, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, John Malkovich, Bascom Newman
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: October 5, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
“REPO MAN”
A young LA punk learns the intense business of car repossession amid the hunt for a mysteriously glowing Chevy Malibu in Alex Cox’s cult classic.
DIRECTOR: Alex Cox
WRITER: Alex Cox
PRODUCER: Peter McCarthy, Jonathan Wacks
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Olivia Barash, Tracey Walter
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: March 2,1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: NBCU
“THE RIVER”
A hardworking Tennessee farming family makes a valiant stand to save their home from devastating floods and bank foreclosures.
DIRECTOR: Mark Rydell
WRITER: Robert Dillon, Julian Barry
PRODUCER: Robert Cortes, Edward Lewis
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek, Shane Bailey, Scott Glenn
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: December 19, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: NBCU
Sissy Spacek received a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance in this drama.
“SIXTEEN CANDLES”
Her family forgot her birthday, her high school crush doesn’t know she exists and the class clown won’t leave her alone. Happy Sweet 16, Samantha!
DIRECTOR: John Hughes
WRITER: John Hughes
PRODUCER: Hilton A. Green
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, John Cusack, Justin Henry, Joan Cusack, Edward Andrews
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: May 4, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: NBCU
“STARMAN (1984)”
After crashing on Earth, an alien takes the form of a woman’s recently deceased husband and asks her to help him rendezvous with his returning spaceship.
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITER: Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon, Dean Riesner
PRODUCER: Larry Franco
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Karen Allen; Jeff Bridges; Richard Jaeckel; Charles Martin Smith; Ted White
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: December 14, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: Sony Pictures
“TOP SECRET!”
An American rock ‘n’ roll singer becomes entangled in a web of international intrigue in this zany spy spoof from the creators of “Airplane!”
DIRECTOR: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
WRITER: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
PRODUCER: Jon Davison, Hunt Lowry
KEY CAST (ALPHABETICAL): Lucy Gutteridge, Val Kilmer
INITIAL RELEASE DATE: June 8, 1984
DISTRIBUTED BY: PARAMOUNT
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