1985 (58th Annual Awards)
Nominations and Winners

Listed below are the Academy Award nominations and winners for the year 1985. The symbol appears next to the winner in each category. Click on the name of a film, person or song in the list to display more information about that film, person or song. Or, click on a year in the column on the right to display the nominations and winners from that year.

Best Picture

The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Quincy Jones, Producers.

Kiss of the Spider Woman, H.B. Filmes Production in association with Sugarloaf Films; Island Alive. (Brazil, USA) David Weisman, Producer.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) Sydney Pollack, Producer.

Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox. John Foreman, Producer.

Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount. Edward S. Feldman, Producer.

Actor in a Leading Role

Harrison Ford in Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount.

James Garner in Murphy’s Romance, Fogwood Films Production; Columbia.

William Hurt in Kiss of the Spider Woman, H.B. Filmes Production in association with Sugarloaf Films; Island Alive. (Brazil, USA)

Jack Nicholson in Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox.

Jon Voight in Runaway Train, Cannon Films Production; Cannon Releasing.

Actress in a Leading Role

Anne Bancroft in Agnes of God, Columbia Pictures Production; Columbia. (USA, Canada)

Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros.

Jessica Lange in Sweet Dreams, HBO Pictures Production in association with Silver Screen Partners; Tri-Star.

Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful, Bountiful Production; Island Pictures.

Meryl Streep in Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK)

Actor in a Supporting Role

Don Ameche in Cocoon, Fox-Zanuck/Brown Production; 20th Century Fox.

Klaus Maria Brandauer in Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK)

William Hickey in Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox.

Robert Loggia in Jagged Edge, Columbia Pictures Production; Columbia.

Eric Roberts in Runaway Train, Cannon Films Production; Cannon Releasing.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Margaret Avery in The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros.

Anjelica Huston in Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox.

Amy Madigan in Twice in a Lifetime, Yorkin Company Production; Bud Yorkin Productions.

Meg Tilly in Agnes of God, Columbia Pictures Production; Columbia. (USA, Canada)

Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros.

Directing

Kiss of the Spider Woman, H.B. Filmes Production in association with Sugarloaf Films; Island Alive. (Brazil, USA) Hector Babenco.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) Sydney Pollack.

Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox. John Huston.

Ran, Greenwich Film/Nippon Herald Films/Herald Ace Production; Orion Classics. (Japan, France) Akira Kurosawa.

Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount. Peter Weir.

Art Direction-Set Decoration

Brazil, Embassy International Pictures Production; Universal. (UK, USA) Art direction by Norman Garwood; set decoration by Maggie Gray.

The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Art direction by J. Michael Riva and Robert W. Welch; set decoration by Linda DeScenna.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) Art direction by Stephen Grimes; set decoration by Josie MacAvin.

Ran, Greenwich Film/Nippon Herald Films/Herald Ace Production; Orion Classics. (Japan, France) Yoshiro Muraki and Shinobu Muraki.

Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount. Art direction by Stan Jolley; set decoration by John Anderson.

Cinematography

The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Allen Daviau.

Murphy’s Romance, Fogwood Films Production; Columbia. William A. Fraker.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) David Watkin.

Ran, Greenwich Film/Nippon Herald Films/Herald Ace Production; Orion Classics. (Japan, France) Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda and Asakazu Nakai.

Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount. John Seale.

Costume Design

The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Aggie Guerard Rodgers.

The Journey of Natty Gann, Walt Disney Pictures and Silver Screen Partners II Production; Buena Vista. Albert Wolsky.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) Milena Canonero.

Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox. Donfeld.

Ran, Greenwich Film/Nippon Herald Films/Herald Ace Production; Orion Classics. (Japan, France) Emi Wada.

Documentary

(Feature)

Broken Rainbow, Earthworks Films Production. Maria Florio and Victoria Mudd, Producers.

Las Madres—The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Sponsored by Film Arts Foundation. (Argentina) Susana Muñoz and Lourdes Portillo, Producers.

Soldiers in Hiding, Filmworks, Inc. Production. Japhet Asher, Producer.

The Statue of Liberty, Florentine Films Production. Ken Burns and Buddy Squires, Producers.

Unfinished Business, Mouchette Films Production. Steven Okazaki, Producer.

(Short Subject)

The Courage to Care, United Way Production. Robert Gardner, Producer.

Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date, Production of the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities. Michael Crowley and James Wolpaw, Producers.

Making Overtures—The Story of a Community Orchestra, Rhombus Media, Inc. Production. (Canada) Barbara Willis Sweete, Producer.

Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements, Skylight Picture Production. David Goodman, Producer.

The Wizard of the Strings, Seventh Hour Production. Alan Edelstein, Producer.

Film Editing

A Chorus Line, Embassy Films Associates and Polygram Pictures Production; Columbia. John Bloom.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp, Pembroke Herring and Sheldon Kahn.

Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox. Rudi Fehr and Kaja Fehr.

Runaway Train, Cannon Films Production; Cannon Releasing. Henry Richardson.

Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount. Thom Noble.

Foreign Language Film

Angry Harvest, CCC-Filmkunst GmbH/Admiral Film Production. (West Germany)

Colonel Redl, Mafilm-Objektiv Studio/Manfred Durniok/ORF/ZDF Production. (Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, West Germany)

The Official Story, Historias Cinematograficas/Cinemania and Progress Communications Production; Almi Pictures. (Argentina)

Three Men and a Cradle, Flach Film Production. (France)

When Father Was Away on Business, Forum Film Production. (Yugoslavia)

Makeup

The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Ken Chase.

Mask, Universal Pictures Production; Universal. Michael Westmore and Zoltan Elek.

Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, Dick Clark/Larry Spiegel/Mel Bergman Production; Orion. (USA, Mexico) Carl Fullerton.

Music

(Original Score)

Agnes of God, Columbia Pictures Production; Columbia. (USA, Canada) Georges Delerue.

The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Quincy Jones, Jeremy Lubbock, Rod Temperton, Caiphus Semenya, Andrae Crouch, Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Joel Rosenbaum, Fred Steiner, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey and Randy Kerber.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) John Barry.

Silverado, Columbia Pictures Production; Columbia. Bruce Broughton.

Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount. Maurice Jarre.

(Original Song)

Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister) from The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Music by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton; lyric by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton and Lionel Richie.

The Power of Love from Back to the Future, Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures Production; Universal. Music by Chris Hayes and Johnny Colla; lyric by Huey Lewis.

Say You, Say Me from White Nights, New Visions Production; Columbia. Music and lyric by Lionel Richie.

Separate Lives (Love Theme from White Nights) from White Nights, New Visions Production; Columbia. Music and lyric by Stephen Bishop.

Surprise, Surprise from A Chorus Line, Embassy Films Associates and Polygram Pictures Production; Columbia. Music by Marvin Hamlisch; lyric by Edward Kleban.

Short Films

(Animated)

Anna & Bella, The Netherlands. (Netherlands) Cilia Van Dijk, Producer.

The Big Snit, National Film Board of Canada. (Canada) Richard Condie and Michael Scott, Producers.

Second Class Mail, National Film & Television School. (UK) Alison Snowden, Producer.

(Live Action)

Graffiti, The American Film Institute. Dianna Costello, Producer.

Molly’s Pilgrim, Phoenix Films. Jeff Brown and Chris Pelzer, Producers.

Rainbow War, Bob Rogers and Company. (Canada) Bob Rogers, Producer.

Sound

Back to the Future, Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures Production; Universal. Bill Varney, B. Tennyson Sebastian II, Robert Thirlwell and William B. Kaplan.

A Chorus Line, Embassy Films Associates and Polygram Pictures Production; Columbia. Donald O. Mitchell, Michael Minkler, Gerry Humphreys and Chris Newman.

Ladyhawke, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox Production; Warner Bros. (USA, Italy) Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore and Bud Alper.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) Chris Jenkins, Gary Alexander, Larry Stensvold and Peter Handford.

Silverado, Columbia Pictures Production; Columbia. Donald O. Mitchell, Rick Kline, Kevin O’Connell and David Ronne.

Sound Effects Editing

Back to the Future, Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures Production; Universal. Charles L. Campbell and Robert Rutledge.

Ladyhawke, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox Production; Warner Bros. (USA, Italy) Bob Henderson and Alan Murray.

Rambo: First Blood Part II, Anabasis Investments Production; Tri-Star. (USA, Mexico) Frederick J. Brown.

Visual Effects

Cocoon, Fox-Zanuck/Brown Production; 20th Century Fox. Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar and David Berry.

Return to Oz, Walt Disney Pictures and Silver Screen Partners II Production; Buena Vista. (UK, USA) Will Vinton, Ian Wingrove, Zoran Perisic and Michael Lloyd.

Young Sherlock Holmes, Amblin Entertainment Production in association with Henry Winkler/Roger Birnbaum; Paramount. Dennis Muren, Kit West, John Ellis and David Allen.

Writing

(Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium)

The Color Purple, Warner Bros. Production; Warner Bros. Menno Meyjes.

Kiss of the Spider Woman, H.B. Filmes Production in association with Sugarloaf Films; Island Alive. (Brazil, USA) Leonard Schrader.

Out of Africa, Universal Pictures Limited Production; Universal. (USA, UK) Kurt Luedtke.

Prizzi’s Honor, ABC Motion Pictures Production; 20th Century Fox. Richard Condon and Janet Roach.

The Trip to Bountiful, Bountiful Production; Island Pictures. Horton Foote.

(Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)

Back to the Future, Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures Production; Universal. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale.

Brazil, Embassy International Pictures Production; Universal. (UK, USA) Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard and Charles McKeown.

The Official Story, Historias Cinematograficas/Cinemania and Progress Communications Production; Almi Pictures. (Argentina) Luis Puenzo and Aida Bortnik.

The Purple Rose of Cairo, Jack Rollins and Charles H. Joffe Production; Orion. Woody Allen.

Witness, Edward S. Feldman Production; Paramount. Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace and William Kelley; story by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace and Earl W. Wallace.

Honorary Award

To Paul Newman in recognition of his many and memorable compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft. [ [Statuette]]

To Alex North in recognition of his brilliant artistry in the creation of memorable music for a host of distinguished motion pictures. [ [Statuette]]

To John H. Whitney, Sr., for Cinematic Pioneering. [ [Medal of Commendation]]

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Charles “Buddy” Rogers

Scientific or Technical Award

(Scientific and Engineering Award)

To Imax Systems Corporation for a method of filming and exhibiting high-fidelity, large-format, wide angle motion pictures.

To Ernst Nettmann of E. F. Nettmann & Associates for the invention, and to Edward Phillips and Carlos DeMattos of Matthews Studio Equipment, Inc. for the development of the Cam-Remote for motion picture photography.

To Myron Gordin, Joe P. Crookham, Jim Drost and David Crookham of Musco Mobile Lighting, Ltd., for the invention of a method of transporting adjustable, high-intensity luminaries and their application to the motion picture industry.

(Technical Achievement Award)

To David W. Spencer for the development of an Animation Photo Transfer (APT) process.

To Harrison & Harrison, Optical Engineers, for the invention and development of Harrison Diffusion filters for motion picture photography.

To Larry Barton of Cinematography Electronics, Inc., for a Precision Speed Crystal-Controlled Device for motion picture photography.

To Alan Landaker of The Burbank Studios for the Mark III Camera Drive for motion picture photography.