Films of 1986

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Last Updated: 3/4/25
Total Films: 92
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
Platoon

2. 9½ Weeks
3. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
4. Salvador
5. Manhunter
Honorable Mentions: North and South: Book II, River's Edge, Cobra, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Blue Velvet, The Mission, and Top Gun


Best Actor
Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer)

2. Mickey Rourke (9½ Weeks)
3. Paul Newman (The Color of Money)
4. William Petersen (Manhunter)
5. Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)
Honorable Mentions: Tom Cruise (Top Gun), Jeff Daniels (Something Wild), Danny DeVito (Wise Guys), Harrison Ford (The Mosquito Coast), James Garner (Promise), Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa), Michael Keaton (Gung Ho), Prince (Under the Cherry Moon), James Read (North and South: Book II), Sylvester Stallone (Cobra), and James Woods (Salvador)


Best Actress
Kim Basinger (9½ Weeks)

2. Lucy Deakins (The Boy Who Could Fly)
3. Melanie Griffith (Something Wild)
4. Sigourney Weaver (Half Moon Street)
5. Sigourney Weaver (Aliens)
Honorable Mentions: None


Best Supporting Actor
James Woods (Promise)

2. Tom Berenger (Platoon)
3. Ray Liotta (Something Wild)
4. Tom Towles (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer)
5. Willem Dafoe (Platoon)
Honorable Mentions: James Belushi (About Last Night...), Jerome Benton (Under the Cherry Moon), Brian Cox (Manhunter), Tom Cruise (The Color of Money), Tony Curtis (Murder in Three Acts), Crispin Glover (River's Edge), Louis Gossett, Jr. (Iron Eagle), Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet), Jeffrey Jones (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Tom Noonan (Manhunter), Daniel Roebuck (River's Edge), James Spader (Pretty in Pink), Ben Stein (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), James Tolkan (Top Gun), and Christopher Walken (At Close Range)


Best Supporting Actress
Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet)

2. Tracy Arnold (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer)
3. Elizabeth Perkins (About Last Night...)
4. Edie McClure (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
5. Jennifer Grey (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Honorable Mentions: Kristin Scott Thomas (Under the Cherry Moon) and Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa)


Best Director
Adrian Lyne (9½ Weeks)

2. John McNaughton (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer)
3. Roland Joffé (The Mission)
4. Michael Mann (Manhunter)
5. Oliver Stone (Platoon)
Honorable Mentions: Nick Castle (The Boy Who Could Fly), John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Tim Hunter (River's Edge), David Lynch (Blue Velvet), Glenn Jordan (Promise), Prince (Under the Cherry Moon), Martin Scorsese (The Color of Money), Tony Scott (Top Gun), and Oliver Stone (Salvador)


Best Cinematography
Chris Menges (The Mission)

2. Dante Spinotti (Manhunter)
3. Jeffrey L. Kimball (Top Gun)
4. Michael Ballhaus (Under the Cherry Moon)
5. Peter Biziou (9½ Weeks)
Honorable Mentions: Adrian Biddle (Aliens), Jacques R. Marquette (North and South: Book II), Fred Murphy (Hoosiers), Robert Richardson (Platoon), and Robert Richardson (Salvador)


Best Editing
Chris Lebenzon and Billy Weber (Top Gun)

2. James R. Symons and Don Zimmerman (Cobra)
3. Dov Hoenig (Manhunter)
4. Claire Simpson (Platoon)
5. Carl Kress (Rad)
Honorable Mentions: Caroline Biggerstaff, Ed Hansen, Tom Rolfe, and Mark Winitsky (9½ Weeks), Éva Gárdos and Rebecca Ross (Under the Cherry Moon), Paul Hirsch (Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Elena Maganini (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), and Howard E. Smith and Sonya Sones (River's Edge)


Best Original Screenplay
Oliver Stone (Platoon)

2. Richard Fire and John McNaughton (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer)
3. James Carabatsos (Heartbreak Ridge)
4. Robert Bolt (The Mission)
5. John Hughes (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Honorable Mentions: Richard Friedenberg (Promise), Becky Johnston (Under the Cherry Moon), and Oliver Stone and Richard Boyle (Salvador)


Best Adapted Screenplay
Michael Mann (Manhunter)

2. Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr. (Top Gun)
3. Richard Price (The Color of Money)
4. Sylvester Stallone (Cobra)
5.
Honorable Mentions: None


Films Rated '10'
  1. Platoon

  2. 9½ Weeks

  3. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

  4. Salvador

  5. Manhunter

  6. North and South: Book II

  7. River's Edge

  8. Cobra

  9. Ferris Bueller's Day Off

  10. Blue Velvet

Films Rated '9'
  1. The Mission

  2. Top Gun

  3. Promise

  4. Aliens

  5. The Color of Money

  6. Under the Cherry Moon

  7. The Boy Who Could Fly

  8. Thrashin'

Films Rated '8'
  1. Mona Lisa

  2. Half Moon Street

  3. Something Wild

  4. Hoosiers

  5. Rad

  6. Power

  7. Beverly Hills Madam

  8. About Last Night...

  9. Iron Eagle

  10. Murder in Three Acts

  11. Brotherhood of Justice

  12. The Fly

  13. April Fool's Day

  14. Slaughter High

Films Rated '7'
  1. Gung Ho

  2. Crocodile Dundee

  3. The Mosquito Coast

  4. The Deliberate Stranger

  5. Dolls

  6. Wise Guys

  7. Back to School

  8. The Last Days of Patton

  9. Lucas

Films Rated '6'
  1. At Close Range

  2. Every Time We Say Goodbye

  3. Dead Man's Folly

  4. Extremities

  5. Breeders

  6. The Morning After

Films Rated '5'
  1. Heartbreak Ridge

  2. Peggy Sue Got Married

  3. The Karate Kid Part II

  4. Wildcats

  5. Chopping Mall

  6. SpaceCamp

  7. Vamp

  8. The George McKenna Story

  9. The Whistle Blower

Films Rated '4'
  1. Stand by Me

  2. The Murders in the Rue Morgue

  3. The Golden Child

  4. Brighton Beach Memoirs

  5. Shanghai Surprise

  6. Psycho III

  7. Sid and Nancy

  8. Pretty in Pink

  9. The Wraith

  10. Running Scared

  11. Three Amigos

  12. Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

  13. Stagecoach

Films Rated '3'
  1. Raw Deal

  2. Caravaggio

  3. Killer Party

  4. Round Midnight

  5. Howard the Duck

  6. No Mercy

  7. Deadly Friend

  8. Armed and Dangerous

  9. Quicksilver

  10. Youngblood

Films Rated '2'
  1. Hannah and Her Sisters

  2. Poltergeist II: The Other Side

  3. Children of a Lesser God

  4. Police Academy 3: Back in Training

  5. The Big Easy

Films Rated '1'
  1. Gothic

  2. The Hitcher

  3. True Stories

  4. Big Trouble in Little China

  5. Haunted Honeymoon

  6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

  7. Labyrinth

  8. One Crazy Summer