Films of 1985

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Last Updated: 3/31/25
Total Films: 79
Note: The year of each film is according to IMDb. It sometimes changes without my knowledge. When I become aware, I will make adjustments. Like the Oscars, I select the best for each category: picture, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, cinematography, editing, original screenplay, adapted screenplay, and documentary. This is based on the movies I've actually seen, and miniseries and telefilms are fair game. Each winner is named along with the next four ordered runner-ups (which may be less) and honorable mentions (if any). Any of these categories may be left blank if I feel there's no deserving winner. A ranked list of films is presented afterwards.



Best Picture
The Color Purple

2. A Room with a View
3. North and South: Book I
4. The Goonies
5.
Honorable Mentions: None


Best Actor
Sylvester Stallone (Rambo: First Blood Part II)

2. Dustin Hoffman (Death of a Salesman)
3. Eric Stoltz (Mask)
4. Jon Voight (Runaway Train)
5. Chevy Chase (Fletch)
Honorable Mentions: Charles Bronson (Death Wish 3), Griffin Dunne (After Hours), Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future), Anton Glanzelius (Mitt liv som hund), Danny Glover (The Color Purple), Matthew Modine (Vision Quest), Jack Nicholson (Prizzi's Honor), William Petersen (To Live and Die in L.A.), James Read (North and South: Book I), Mickey Rourke (Year of the Dragon), and Patrick Swayze (North and South: Book I)


Best Actress
Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)

2. Cher (Mask)
3. Helena Bonham Carter (A Room with a View)
4. Kelly McGillis (Witness)
5.
Honorable Mentions: None


Best Supporting Actor
Robert Loggia (Jagged Edge)

2. Daniel Day-Lewis (A Room with a View)
3. Sam Elliott (Mask)
4. Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future)
5. Willem Dafoe (To Live and Die in L.A.)
Honorable Mentions: Tomas von Brömssen (Mitt liv som hund), Simon Callow (A Room with a View), David Carradine (North and South: Book I), Denholm Elliott (A Room with a View), Billy Jacoby (Just One of the Guys), Stephen Lang (Death of a Salesman), John Lone (Year of the Dragon), Dolph Lundgren (Rocky IV), and John Malkovich (Death of a Salesman)


Best Supporting Actress
Kirstie Alley (North and South: Book I)

2. Terri Garber (North and South: Book I)
3. Margaret Avery (The Color Purple)
4. Maggie Smith (A Room with a View)
5. Oprah Winfrey (The Color Purple)
Honorable Mentions: Linda Fiorentino (Vision Quest) and Kate Reid (Death of a Salesman)


Best Director
Steven Spielberg (The Color Purple)

2. James Ivory (A Room with a View)
3. Richard T. Heffron (North and South: Book I)
4. Richard Donner (The Goonies)
5. Peter Bogdanovich (Mask)
Honorable Mentions: Michael Cimino (Year of the Dragon), George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part II), William Friedkin (To Live and Die in L.A.), George Miller and George Ogilvie (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), Volker Schlöndorff (Death of a Salesman), Peter Weir (Witness), Michael Winner (Death Wish 3), and Robert Zemickis (Back to the Future)


Best Cinematography
David Watkin (Out of Africa)

2. John Seale (Witness)
3. Tony Pierce-Roberts (A Room with a View)
4. Allen Daviau (The Color Purple)
5. Alex Thomson (Legend)
Honorable Mentions: Jack Cardiff (Rambo: First Blood Part II), Stevan Larner (North and South: Book I), Dean Semler (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), and Alex Thomson (Year of the Dragon)


Best Editing
Larry Bock, Mark Goldblatt, Mark Helfrich, Gib Jaffe, and Frank E. Jimenez (Rambo: First Blood Part II)

2. Humphrey Dixon (A Room with a View)
3. M. Scott Smith (To Live and Die in L.A.)
4. Sean Barton and Conrad Buff IV (Jagged Edge)
5. Jeff Jones, Frank Morriss, and Dallas Puett (American Flyers)
Honorable Mentions: Richard Francis-Bruce (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome), Harry Keramidas and Arthur Schmidt (Back to the Future), Michael Kahn (The Color Purple), Michael Kahn (The Goonies), and Henry Richardson (Runaway Train)


Best Original Screenplay
Sylvester Stallone and James Cameron (Rambo: First Blood Part II)

2. Terry Hayes and George Miller (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
3. Joe Eszterhas (Jagged Edge)
4. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale (Back to the Future)
5. Chris Columbus (The Goonies)
Honorable Mentions: Don Jakoby (Death Wish 3)


Best Adapted Screenplay
Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman)

2. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (A Room with a View)
3. Andrew Bergman (Fletch)
4. Menno Meyjes (The Color Purple)
5. Douglas Heyes, Paul F. Edwards, Patricia Green, and Kathleen A. Shelley (North and South: Book I)
Honorable Mentions: None


Films Rated '10'
  1. The Color Purple

  2. A Room with a View

  3. North and South: Book I

  4. The Goonies

  5. Death Wish 3

Films Rated '9'
  1. Rambo: First Blood Part II

  2. Back to the Future

  3. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

  4. Mask

  5. To Live and Die in L.A.

  6. Year of the Dragon

  7. Death of a Salesman

  8. Mischief

  9. Vision Quest

Films Rated '8'
  1. Jagged Edge

  2. Witness

  3. Fletch

  4. Prizzi's Honor

  5. Just One of the Guys

  6. After Hours

  7. American Flyers

  8. Murder with Mirrors

  9. Revolution

Films Rated '7'
  1. Runaway Train

  2. Rocky IV

  3. Perfect

  4. Fandango

  5. The Boys Next Door

  6. The Return of the Living Dead

Films Rated '6'
  1. Commando

  2. The Mean Season

  3. That Was Then… This Is Now

  4. Mitt liv som hund

  5. My Beautiful Laundrette

  6. Day of the Dead

  7. Fright Night

Films Rated '5'
  1. Idi i smotri

  2. The Lightship

  3. Kiss of the Spider Woman

  4. Agnes of God

  5. Gymkata

  6. Police Academy II: Their First Assignment

  7. The Breakfast Club

  8. Pale Rider

  9. Lifeforce

Films Rated '4'
  1. Rustler's Rhapsody

  2. National Lampoon's European Vacation

  3. Teen Wolf

  4. Thirteen at Dinner

  5. Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf

  6. American Ninja

  7. Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning

  8. A View to a Kill

Films Rated '3'
  1. St. Elmo's Fire

  2. Out of Africa

  3. Déjà Vu

  4. Summer Rental

  5. The Sure Thing

  6. Ladyhawke

  7. Desperately Seeking Susan

  8. Real Genius

  9. Red Sonja

  10. The Falcon and the Snowman

  11. Insignificance

  12. Avenging Angel

Films Rated '2'
  1. Spies Like Us

  2. Ran

  3. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge

  4. House

  5. Morons from Outer Space

  6. Legend

  7. The Trip to Bountiful

  8. Volunteers

  9. Remo Williams

Films Rated '1'
  1. Transylvania 6-5000

  2. The Stuff

  3. Invasion U.S.A.

  4. Re-Animator

  5. Clue