On this day in movie history - Paris, Texas (1984):

Paris, Texas

directed by Wim Wenders,

written by L. M. Kit Carson and Sam Shepard,

was released in the United States on November 2, 1984.
Music by Ry Cooder.

Cast:

Harry Dean Stanton, Sam Berry, Bernhard Wicki, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clément, Claresie Mobley, Hunter Carson, Viva Auder, Socorro Valdez, Edward Fayton, Justin Hogg, Nastassja Kinski, Tom Farrell, John Lurie, Jeni Vici, Sally Norvell, Sharon Menzel, The Mydolls, Brandy Tipton.

On this day in music history - Bad Attitude, by Meat Loaf (1984):

Bad Attitude,

by Meat Loaf,

was released on November 2, 1984.

Recommended reading - To Live and Die in L.A. (1984):

To Live and Die in L.A.

By Gerald Petievich.

First published 1984.

Published by Pinnacle Books.

Mass Market Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0523423012

ISBN-13: 978-0523423012

Description:

The book that inspired the major motion picture.

“This is the real stuff. He’s not only a fine writer … his dialogue is pure entertainment.” – Elmore Leonard.

“A wham-bam thriller… vivid… proficient and sleek.” – Los Angeles Times.

To Live and Die in L.A. is a harrowing tale, which has become a major motion picture, of cult status, depicting the dark underside of America's "West Coast" metropolis.

Two U.S. Treasury agents, both partners and antagonists, are drawn into a matrix of violence and corruption, L.A. style, a journey through a sunlit hell. At the end, they become experts on the thin line which separates what it takes to live - and to die - in L.A.

On this day in movie history - The Terminator (1984):

The Terminator

directed by James Cameron,

written by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd,

was released in the United States on October 26, 1984.
Music by Brad Fiedel.

Cast:

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Rick Rossovich, Bess Motta, Earl Boen, Dick Miller, Shawn Schepps, Bruce M. Kerner, Franco Columbu, Bill Paxton, Brad Rearden, Brian Thompson, William Wisher, Ken Fritz, Tom Oberhaus, Ed Dogans, Ed Dogans, Joe Farago, Hettie Lynne Hurtes, Tony Mirelez, Philip Gordon, Anthony Trujillo, Stan Yale, Al Kahn, Leslie Morris, Hugh Farrington, Harriet Medin, Loree Frazier, James Ralston, Norman Friedman, Barbara Powers, Wayne Stone, David Michels, John E. Bristol, Webster Williams, Patrick Pinney, Bill W. Richmond, Chino ‘Fats’ Williams, Greg Robbins, Marianne Muellerleile, John Durban, Robin Antin, Marian Green, J. Randolph Harrison, David Kristin, Darrell Mapson, Bob Ritchie, John Stuart West.

On this day in movie history - George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey (1984):

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

documentary directed and written by George Stevens Jr.,

was released at the Deauville Film Festival in France on September 25, 1984.

Narrated by George Stevens Jr.

Music by Carl Davis.

Cast:

Fred Astaire, Warren Beatty, Pandro S. Berman, Frank Capra, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Katharine Hepburn, John Huston, Rouben Mamoulian, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Joel McCrea, Ivan Moffat, Alan J. Pakula, Hermes Pan, Millie Perkins, Hal Roach, Ginger Rogers, Irwin Shaw, Jack Sher, Yvonne Howell, Antonio Vellani, Max von Sydow, Fred Zinnemann, George Stevens Jr., Jean Arthur, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, Sam Jaffe, Alan Ladd, Fred MacMurray, Jack Palance, George Stevens, Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy, Shelley Winters, Charles Coburn, Brandon De Wilde, Joan Fontaine, Oliver Hardy, Van Heflin, Stan Laurel, Hattie McDaniel, Victor McLaglen.

On this day in movie history - The Evil That Men Do (1984):

The Evil That Men Do

directed by J. Lee Thompson,

written by John M. Crowther and David Lee Henry,

based on the novel by R. Lance Hill,

was released in the United States on September 21, 1984.
Music by Ken Thorne.

Cast:

Charles Bronson, Theresa Saldana, Joseph Maher, José Ferrer, René Enríquez, John Glover, Raymond St. Jacques, Antoinette Bower, Enrique Lucero, Jorge Luke, Mischa Hausserman, Roger Cudney, Constanza Hool, Joe Seneca, Jorge Zepeda, Conrad Hool, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Angélica Aragón, Rodrigo Puebla, Amanda Nicole Thomas, Anaís de Melo, Eduardo López Rojas, Carlos Romano, Miguel Ángel Fuentes, Richard Brodie, Alfredo Tarzan Gutiérrez, Jorge Humberto Robles, Fernando Sáenz.

On this day in movie history - Amadeus (1984):

Amadeus

directed by Miloš Forman,

written by Peter Shaffer,

based on the play by Peter Shaffer,

was released in the United States on September 19, 1984.

Music credits:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mark Adler, Laszlo Heltay, Ling Ling Li, Zdenek Mahler, Neville Marriner, John McCarthy, Simon Preston, Robert Randles, John Strauss, Jonas Thaler and Marc Grauwels.

Cast:

F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice, Simon Callow, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones, Charles Kay, Kenneth McMillan, Kenny Baker, Lisabeth Bartlett, Barbara Bryne, Martin Cavani, Roderick Cook, Milan Demjanenko, Peter DiGesu, Michele Esposito, Richard Frank, Patrick Hines, Nicholas Kepros, Philip Lenkowsky, Herman Meckler, Jonathan Moore, Cynthia Nixon, Brian Pettifer, Vincent Schiavelli, Douglas Seale, Miroslav Sekera, Cassie Stuart, John Strauss, Karl-Heinz Teuber, Rita Zohar.

Recommended reading - Dark City: The Film Noir (1984):

Dark City: The Film Noir (1984).

By Spencer Selby.

Published by McFarland Classics.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0786404787

ISBN-13: 978-0786404780

Description:

The most complete reference to the dark 40s and 50s stylistic dramas. The first section has a lengthy analytical essay as well as detailed plot descriptions and credits for 25 classics – such as The Maltese Falcon, Laura, and Detective Story. The second section is an annotated filmography including major credits and short descriptions of nearly 500 films. Also included are appendices listing every film noir by both director and chronological order, off-genre noirs, and other films bearing important relationships to the noir cycle.

San Francisco’s Spencer Selby spent over five years researching and writing Dark City. This acclaimed work was called “a first-rate reference” by Booklist, while American Reference Books Annual called the book “Brilliant … both valuable and informative.”