Best Movies of 1984 by Rank
203
1
Milos Forman
F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce
Drama / Music / Biography / Comedy / Period Film
USA
English
325
2
Wim Wenders
Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Sam Berry, Bernhard Wicki
Drama
UK / France / West Germany / USA
English
396
4
Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, Fran Drescher
Comedy / Music / Cult
USA
English
485
5
James Cameron
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield
Sci-Fi / Thriller / Action / Cult / Tech-Noir
USA
English
521
6
Sergio Leone
Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams
Crime / Drama / Gangster / Period Film
Italy / USA
English
601
7
Jim Jarmusch
John Lurie, Eszter Balint
Comedy / Drama / Cult
USA / West Germany
English
630
8
Bertrand Tavernier
Sabine Azéma, Louis Ducreux, Michel Aumont, Geneviève Mnich
Drama / Period Film
France
French
671
9
Edgar Reitz
Marita Breuer, Edgar Reitz, Gudrun Landgrebe
Drama / History / Epic
West Germany
German
697
10
David Lean
Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee
Drama / Period Film
UK / USA
English
879
11
Wes Craven
Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley
Horror / Thriller
USA
English
964
12
Ivan Reitman
Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Comedy / Family / Cult
USA
English
975
13
Martin Brest
Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher
Action / Comedy / Crime / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
1034
14
Jonathan Demme
David Byrne, Alex Weir, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth
Documentary / Music
USA
English
1079
15
Alan Parker
Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage, John Harkins, Sandy Baron
Drama / War
USA
English
1239
16
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Drama / Thriller / Crime / Post-Noir / Cult
USA
English
1251
17
Robert Benton
Sally Field, Lindsay Crouse, Ed Harris, Danny Glover
Drama
USA
English
1315
18
John Cassavetes
Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Diahnne Abbott, Seymour Cassel
Drama / Cult
USA
English
1403
19
Norman Jewison
Denzel Washington, Adolph Caesar, Howard E Rollins Jr., Robert Townsend
Drama / Mystery
USA
English
1583
20
Alan Rudolph
Geneviève Bujold, Keith Carradine, Lesley Ann Warren
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
1719
21
John G. Avildsen
Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove, Randee Heller
Action / Drama / Family / Sports
USA
English
1727
22
Alex Cox
Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Olivia Barash
Comedy / Sci-Fi / Crime / Cult
USA
English
1745
23
Albert Magnoli
Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos
Drama / Musical / Romance
USA
English
1798
25
Barry Levinson
Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley
Drama / Sports / Period Film / Family
USA
English
1943
26
Woody Allen
Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte, Sandy Baron
Comedy
USA
English
2015
27
Malcolm Mowbray
Michael Palin, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, Richard Griffiths, Tony Haygarth
Comedy
UK
English
2026
28
Fred Schepisi
Timothy Hutton, Lindsay Crouse, John Lone, Josef Sommer, David Strathairn
Drama / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2026
28
Paul Mazursky
Robin Williams, Maria Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks, Alejandro Rey
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2028
29
Garry Marshall
Matt Dillon, Hector Elizondo, Molly McCarthy, Martha Gehman
Comedy / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2062
30
Márta Mészáros
Zsuzsa Czinkóczi, Anna Polony, Jan Nowicki, Mari Szemes, Pál Zolnay
Drama / Family / Sci-Fi
Hungary
Hungarian
2073
31
Steven Spielberg
Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2078
32
Carl Reiner
Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Victoria Tennant, Madolyn Smith-Osborne
Comedy / Fantasy / Romance / Family
USA
English
2086
33
Francis Ford Coppola
Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane, Lonette McKee
Crime / Musical / Drama / Gangster / Period Film
USA
English
2092
34
John Huston
Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset, Anthony Andrews
Drama
Mexico / USA
English
2145
35
Krzysztof Zanussi
Maja Komorowska, Scott Wilson, Hanna Skarzanka
Romance / Drama / War
Poland / West Germany / USA
Polish
2197
36
Richard Pearce
Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Wilford Brimley, Matt Clark
Drama
USA
English
2205
37
John Carpenter
Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel
Adventure / Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Fantasy
USA
English
2264
38
Joe Dante
Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie, Keye Luke
Comedy / Fantasy / Horror
USA
English
2276
39
Neil Jordan
Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Tusse Silberg, Micha Bergese
Horror / Fantasy / Cult
UK / USA
English
2293
40
Ron Howard
Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy
Fantasy / Family / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2341
41
Francesco Rosi
Julia Migenes, Plácido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Faith Esham
Drama / Musical / Romance
France / Italy
French
2370
42
Stephen Frears
John Hurt, Terence Stamp, Tim Roth, Laura del Sol, Bill Hunter, Fernando Rey
Comedy / Drama / Crime / Adventure / Gangster
UK
English
2453
43
Richard Dembo
Michel Piccoli, Alexandre Arbatt, Liv Ullmann
Drama / Thriller
France / Switzerland
French
2453
43
Robert Zemeckis
Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman
Action / Adventure / Family / Comedy / Romance
Mexico / USA
English
2496
44
Jonathan Demme
Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti, Fred Ward
Drama / Romance / Comedy / Period Film / War
USA
English
2509
45
Brian De Palma
Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton, Guy Boyd
Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2509
45
John Sayles
Joe Morton, Rosanna Carter, Ray Ramirez, Yves Rene, Peter Richardson, Ginny Yang
Comedy / Drama / Sci-Fi / Fantasy
USA
English
2553
46
Jim Brown
Woody Guthrie, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Hoyt Axton, Judy Collins
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
2557
47
Mike Leigh
Marion Bailey, Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Pam Ferris, Jeff Robert
Drama / Comedy
UK
English
2597
48
Rob Epstein
Harvey Milk, Harvey Fierstein, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann, Tom Ammiano
Documentary / Biography / History / Crime
USA
English
2611
49
Masahiro Shinoda
Takaya Yamauchi, Yoshiyuki Omori, Shiori Sakura, Masako Natsume, Hideji Otaki
Comedy / Drama / War
Japan
Japanese
2611
49
Christopher Cain
Robert Duvall, Jason Presson, Glenn Close, Susan Rinell, Dean Cain
Drama
USA
English
2611
49
Steve Binder, Larry Peerce, David Winters
Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles
Documentary / Music / Biography
USA
English
2611
49
Heinz Schirk
Robert Atzorn, Friedrich G. Beckhaus, Gerd Böckmann, Jochen Busse
Drama / War / History
Austria / West Germany
German
2611
49
John Hanson
Lisa Eichhorn, Tom Bower, James Cada, Cinda Jackson, Dan Nemanick
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2633
50
Blake Edwards
Dudley Moore, Amy Irving, Ann Reinking, Richard Mulligan
Comedy
USA
English
2639
51
Mick Jackson
Karen Meagher, Reece Dinsdale, David Brierly, Rita May, Nicholas Lane
Drama / Sci-Fi / War
UK / Australia / USA
English
2665
52
Michael Radford
John Hurt, Richard Burton, Suzanna Hamilton, Cyril Cusack
Drama / Sci-Fi
UK
English
2672
53
Atom Egoyan
Patrick Tierney, Sirvant Fazlian, Arsinée Khanjian
Comedy / Drama
Canada
English
2682
54
Martin Bell
Kim, Lulu, Dewayne, Lillie, Munchkin, Patti, Rat, Shadow, Shellie
Documentary
USA
English
2688
56
David Lynch
Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, José Ferrer
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Cult
USA
English
2694
57
W.D. Richter
Peter Weller, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Ito, James Keane, John Lithgow
Adventure / Romance / Comedy / Sci-Fi / Cult / Action
USA
English
2694
57
Michael Apted
John Albasiny, Abigail Cruttenden, Maurice Dee, Alison Steadman, Mark Brailsford
Comedy / Romance
UK
English
2695
58
Hugh Hudson
Christopher Lambert, Andie MacDowell, Ralph Richardson, Ian Holm, James Fox
Adventure / Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK
English
2695
58
Maximilian Schell
Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Annie Albers, Bernard Hall, Marta Rakosnik
Documentary / Biography
West Germany
English
2695
58
Frank Oz
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt
Comedy / Family / Musical / Romance
USA
English
2695
58
Wolfgang Petersen
Noah Hathaway, Barret Oliver, Tami Stronach, Gerald McRaney, Chris Eastman
Adventure / Drama / Family / Fantasy / Epic
West Germany / USA
English
2695
58
Hugh Wilson
Steve Guttenberg, G.W. Bailey, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith, Donovan Scott
Comedy / Crime
USA
English
2695
58
Stuart Rosenberg
Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Daryl Hannah, Geraldine Page, Kenneth McMillan
Action / Comedy / Crime / Drama / Gangster
USA
English
2695
58
John Milius
Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen, Darren Dalton
Action / Adventure / Drama / Thriller / War
USA
English
2695
58
Jeff Kanew
Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Andrew Cassese
Comedy
USA
English
2695
58
Mark Rydell
Mel Gibson, Sissy Spacek, Shane Bailey, Becky Jo Lynch, Scott Glenn
Drama
USA
English
2695
58
Leonard Nimoy
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig
Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi / Cult
USA
English
2695
58
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder, Kelly LeBrock, Charles Grodin, Joseph Bologna, Judith Ivey
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2697
59
Paul Cox
John Hargreaves, Wendy Hughes, Lucy Angwin, David Cameron, Anna Maria Monticelli
Drama
Australia
English
2697
59
Carlos Diegues
Jonas Bloch, Zózimo Bulbul, Emmanuel Cavalcanti, Arduíno Colassanti
Drama / History / Epic
Brazil / France
Portuguese
2703
60
Billy Woodberry
Nate Hardman, Kaycee Moore, Angela Burnett, Ronald Burnett, Kimberly Burnett
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2715
61
María Luisa Bemberg
Susú Pecoraro, Imanol Arias, Héctor Alterio
Drama / Romance
Argentina / Spain
Spanish
2715
61
José Luis Garci
Adolfo Marsillach, Jesús Puente, María Casanova
Drama
Spain
Spanish
2745
62
Fabio Carpi
Héctor Alterio, Omero Antonutti, Pierre Malet
Drama
Italy / France
Italian
2745
62
Glenn Jordan
Jack Lemmon, Zeljko Ivanek, Charles Durning, Louise Latham
Drama / Religion
USA
English
2746
63
Volker Schlöndorff
Jeremy Irons, Ornella Muti, Alain Delon, Fanny Ardant, Marie-Christine Barrault
Drama / Period Film / Romance
France / West Germany
French
2761
64
Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg
Rita Mae Brown, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Bruce Nugent, Harry Otis, Donna Smith
Documentary / History
USA
English
2761
64
Ayoka Chenzira
Carol Jean Lewis
Short / Animation
USA
English
2761
64
Victor Masayesva Jr.
Ross Macaya
Documentary / History / Experimental
USA
Hopi
2766
65
Eduardo Coutinho
Eduardo Coutinho, Elizabeth Teixeira, Ferreira Gullar, Tite de Lemos
Documentary / History
Brazil
Portuguese
2780
66
Peter Hyams
Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea, Douglas Rain
Mystery / Sci-Fi / Thriller / Adventure
USA
English
2788
67
Ingmar Bergman
Erland Josephson, Ingrid Thulin, Lena Olin, Nadja Palmstjerna-Weiss, Bertil Guve
Drama / Fantasy / Romance
Sweden
Swedish
2788
67
Roger Donaldson
Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox, Daniel Day-Lewis
Adventure / Drama / History
UK / USA
English
2797
68
Luc Moullet
Luc Moullet, Jean Abeillé, Yann Lardeau, Jacques Robiolles
Short / Experimental
France
French
2797
68
Juzo Itami
Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kin Sugai, Hideji Otaki
Comedy / Drama
Japan
Japanese
2806
69
Bill Forsyth
Bill Paterson, Eleanor David, Clare Grogan, Alex Norton, Patrick Malahide
Comedy
UK
English
2806
69
Steve Barron
Lenny von Dohlen, Virginia Madsen, Maxwell Caulfield, Bud Cort, Don Fellows
Comedy / Drama / Romance / Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Cult
USA / UK
English
2806
69
George Stevens Jr.
Jean Arthur, Fred Astaire, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Documentary / Biography
USA
English
2806
69
Bobby Roth
Peter Coyote, Nick Mancuso, Carole Laure, Max Gail, James Laurenson, Carol Wayne
Drama
USA
English
2806
69
Charles Shyer
Ryan O'Neal, Shelley Long, Drew Barrymore, Sam Wanamaker, Allen Garfield
Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2806
69
Amy Holden Jones
Jamie Lee Curtis, Bonnie Bartlett, Matt Clark, James Keach, Amy Madigan
Thriller / Drama / Romance
USA
English
2806
69
Richard Benjamin
Sean Penn, Elizabeth McGovern, Nicolas Cage, John Karlen, Rutanya Alda
Comedy / Drama / Romance / Period Film
USA
English
2806
69
Alan Rudolph
Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Melinda Dillon, Rip Torn, Lesley Ann Warren
Drama / Music
USA
English
2806
69
Richard Tuggle
Clint Eastwood, Geneviève Bujold, Dan Hedaya, Alison Eastwood, Jenny Beck
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2806
69
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Peter Cushing, Jeremy Kemp, Christopher Villiers
Action / Comedy / Spy
UK
English
2812
70
Tim Burton
Shelley Duvall, Daniel Stern, Barret Oliver, Joseph Maher, Roz Braverman
Short / Comedy / Drama / Sci-Fi / Fantasy
USA
English
2812
70
Léa Pool
Paule Baillargeon, Serge Dupire, Louise Marleau, Marthe Turgeon
Drama
Canada
French
2812
70
Gordon Parks
Avery Brooks, Rhetta Greene, Mason Adams, Lee Bryant, Art Evans
Drama / History / Biography / Period Film
USA
English
2850
71
Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub
Christian Heinisch, Nazzareno Bianconi, Mario Adorf, Laura Betti, Harun Farocki
Drama
West Germany / France
German
2856
72
Eric Rohmer
Pascale Ogier, Tchéky Karyo, Fabrice Luchini, Virginie Thévenet
Drama / Comedy / Romance
France
French
2865
73
Jane Campion
Gabrielle Shornegg, Geraldine Haywood, Marina Knight, John Godden
Short / Drama / Music / Fantasy
Australia
English
