1985 in film

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The following is an overview of events in 1985 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.

Contents

Highest-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1985 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1985 [1]
RankTitleDistributorBox-office gross
1 Back to the Future Universal $210,609,762
2 Rambo: First Blood Part II TriStar / Carolco $150,415,432
3 Rocky IV MGM $127,873,716
4 The Color Purple Warner Bros. $94,175,854
5 Out of Africa Universal $87,071,205
6 Cocoon 20th Century Fox $76,113,124
7 The Jewel of the Nile $75,973,200
8 Witness Paramount $68,706,993
9 The Goonies Warner Bros. $61,389,680
10 Spies Like Us $60,088,980

Context

The year was considered an unsuccessful one for film. Despite a record number of film releases, many films failed at the box office, and ticket sales were down 17% compared with 1984. [2] [3] Industry executives believed the problem, in part, was a lack of original concepts. [4] Films about fantasy and magic failed, as audiences leaned towards science-fiction. [5] [3] Janet Maslin said the fault for this lay partly with Steven Spielberg, who had created such a successful template with films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind that many fantasy films had imitated them. [6] There was also a saturation of youth-oriented films targeted at those under 18. Executives were not fond of these films, but the financial rewards were too significant to ignore. The few films aimed at older audiences, like Cocoon, were surprise successes. [3] [7] Only Back to the Future and Rambo: First Blood Part II were successful blockbusters, earning more than double the box office of Cocoon. [3] Films offering escapism and pro-America themes like Rambo: First Blood Part II and Rocky IV had also fared well. [7]

The glut of youth-targeted films like Return to Oz and The Black Cauldron , and science-fiction comedies like Weird Science , Real Genius , and My Science Project had resulted in a string of failures. Executives said that the films were all very similar and marketed in the same way, offering no variety for audiences. [3] [5]

Events

Awards

Category/Organization 43rd Golden Globe Awards
January 24, 1986		 39th BAFTA Awards
March 16, 1986		 58th Academy Awards
March 24, 1986
DramaMusical or Comedy
Best Film Out of Africa Prizzi's Honor The Purple Rose of Cairo Out of Africa
Best Director John Huston
Prizzi's Honor 		N/A Sydney Pollack
Out of Africa
Best Actor Jon Voight
Runaway Train 		Jack Nicholson
Prizzi's Honor 		William Hurt
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Best Actress Whoopi Goldberg
The Color Purple 		Kathleen Turner
Prizzi's Honor 		Peggy Ashcroft
A Passage to India 		Geraldine Page
The Trip to Bountiful
Best Supporting Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer
Out of Africa 		Denholm Elliott
Defence of the Realm 		Don Ameche
Cocoon
Best Supporting Actress Meg Tilly
Agnes of God 		Rosanna Arquette
Desperately Seeking Susan 		Anjelica Huston
Prizzi's Honor
Best Screenplay, Adapted Woody Allen
The Purple Rose of Cairo 		Richard Condon and Janet Roach
Prizzi's Honor 		Kurt Luedtke
Out of Africa
Best Screenplay, Original Woody Allen
The Purple Rose of Cairo 		Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley and Pamela Wallace
Witness
Best Original Score John Barry
Out of Africa 		Maurice Jarre
Witness 		John Barry
Out of Africa
Best Original Song"Say You, Say Me"
White Nights 		N/A"Say You, Say Me"
White Nights
Best Foreign Language Film The Official Story Colonel Redl The Official Story

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival):

When Father Was Away on Business (Otac na službenom putu), directed by Emir Kusturica, Yugoslavia

Golden Lion (Venice Film Festival):

Vagabond (Sans toit ni loi), directed by Agnès Varda, France / U.K.

Golden Bear (Berlin Film Festival):

Die Frau und der Fremde (The Woman and the Stranger), directed by Rainer Simon, East Germany
Wetherby , directed by David Hare, United Kingdom

1985 films

By country/region

By genre/medium

Births

Deaths

MonthDateNameAgeCountryProfessionNotable films
January5 Robert Surtees 78USCinematographer
5 John Paxton 73USScreenwriter
11 Edward Buzzell 89USDirector
12 Paul Luty 52UKActor
13 Carol Wayne 42USActress
14 Jetta Goudal 93NetherlandsActress
18 Wilfrid Brambell 72IrelandActor
18 Georgie Stoll 82USComposer, Musical Director
25 Paul J. Smith 78USComposer
February4 John Wexley 77USScreenwriter
6 Neil McCarthy 52UKActor
10 Wanda Tuchock 86USScreenwriter
11 Henry Hathaway 86USDirector
11 Heinz Roemheld 83USComposer
12 Nicholas Colasanto 61USActor
19 Dorothy Black 85South AfricaActress
20 Clarence Nash 80USVoice Actor
21 Ina Claire 91USActress
21 Louis Hayward 75South AfricaActor
22 Alexander Scourby 71USActor
24 Joseph C. Wright 92USArt Director
27 J. Pat O'Malley 80UKActor
27 David Huffman 39USActor
March1 Alfred Zeisler 92USProducer, Director
3 Connie Gilchrist 89USActress
3 Noel Purcell 84IrelandActor
5 Thomas Little 98USSet Decorator
8 Edward Andrews 70USActor
19 Anthony Nelson Keys 73UKProducer
21 Michael Redgrave 77UKActor
21 Michael Trubshawe 79UKActor
April16 Scott Brady 60USActor
21 John Welsh 70IrelandActor
23 Kent Smith 78USActor
25 Richard Haydn 80UKActor
26 Albert Maltz 76USScreenwriter
May1 George Pravda 68Czech RepublicActor
4 Harry Earles 83USActor
7 Dawn Addams 54UKActress
8 Susan Morrow 53USActress
8 Dolph Sweet 64USActor
9 Edmond O'Brien 69USActor
13 Selma Diamond 64CanadaActress
13 Leatrice Joy 91USActress
14 Frank Westmore 62 ??Makeup Artist
16 Margaret Hamilton 82USActress
17 Hugh Burden 72UKActor
20 George Memmoli 46USActor
22 Wolfgang Reitherman 75GermanyAnimator, Director
22 Gerald Case 80UKActor
25 Robert Nathan 91USScreenwriter
26 Harold Hecht 77USProducer
30 Talbot Jennings 90USScreenwriter
June1 Richard Greene 66UKActor
7 Gordon Rollings 59UKActor
8 Charles LeMaire 88USCostume Designer
9 Clifford Evans 73UKActor
10 George Chandler 86USActor
12 Dominique Laffin 33FranceActress
17 John Boulting 71UKProducer, Director
17 Georgia Hale 84USActress
24 Valentine Dyall 77UKActor
28 James Craig 73USActor
July3 Nelson Leigh 80USActor
7 Ewen Solon 67New ZealandActor
8 Phil Foster 71USActor
8 Victor Rendina 68USActor
9 Rafael Campos 49Dominican RepublicActor
10 Arthur J. Ornitz 68USCinematographer
16 Elsie Wagstaff 86UKActress
17 Margo 68MexicoActress
19 Henry Mollison 80UKActor
20 Estelle Evans 78BahamasActress
21 Alvah Bessie 81USScreenwriter
23 Mickey Shaughnessy 64USActor
23 Tom Waldman 63USScreenwriter
27 Michel Audiard 65FranceScreenwriter, Director
28 Grant Williams 53USActor
August1 Al Overton 73USSound Engineer
1 Joseph Walker 92USCinematographer
2 Bob Holt 56USActor
2 Frank Faylen 79USActor
7 Grayson Hall 62USActress
8 Louise Brooks 78USActress
8 Milton H. Greene 63USProducer
10 Kenny Baker 72USSinger, Actor
12 Patrick Hines 55USActor
13 Marion Martin 77USActress
14 Gale Sondergaard 86USActress
15 Lester Cole 81USScreenwriter
24 Morrie Ryskind 89USScreenwriter
28 Ruth Gordon 88USActress, Screenwriter
29 Evelyn Ankers 67ChileActress
29 Patrick Barr 77UKActor
30 Tom Howard 75UKSpecial Effects Artist
September4 Isabel Jeans 93UKActress
4 George O'Brien 86USActor
6 Johnny Desmond 65USActor, Singer
6 Jane Frazee 67USActress, Singer
10 Alexa Kenin 23USActress
11 William Alwyn 79UKComposer
14 Julian Beck 60USActor
23 Harvey Parry 85USStuntman
24 Paul Mann 71CanadaActor
26 Frank Bracht 75USFilm Editor
27 Lloyd Nolan 83USActor
28 L. B. Abbott 77USSpecial Effects Artist
29 Arthur Krams 73USSet Decorator
30 Simone Signoret 64FranceActress
30 Floyd Crosby 85USCinematographer
October2 Rock Hudson 59USActor
6 Nelson Riddle 64USComposer
8 Theresa Harris 78USActress
10 Yul Brynner 65RussiaActor
10 Orson Welles 70USActor, Director, Screenwriter
11 Elwood Ullman 82USScreenwriter
13 Francesca Bertini 93ItalyActress
16 Franklin Milton 78USSound Engineer
21 Diane Thomas 39USScreenwriter
22 Stefano Satta Flores 48ItalyActor
24 Masaichi Nagata 79JapanProducer
28 William Bramley 57USActor
29 John Davis Lodge 82USActor
30 Kirby Grant 73USActor
30 David Oxley 64UKActor
November1 Phil Silvers 74USActor
6 Sanjeev Kumar 47IndiaActor
9 Helen Rose 81USCostume Designer
19 Jimmy Ritz 81USActor
19 Stepin Fetchit 83USActor
27 Harry Harvey Sr. 84USActor
December3 Sam Gilman 70USActor
5Howard Rodman73USScreenwriter
8 Jack H. Skirball 89USProducer
11 Kathleen Ryan 63IrelandActress
12 Anne Baxter 62USActress
12 Phil Karlson 77USDirector
14 Bruce Weintraub 33USSet Decorator
17 Harry M. Leonard 85USSound Engineer
22 Lawrence Hauben 54USScreenwriter
23 Gina Kaus 92AustriaScreenwriter
26 Margarete Schön 90GermanyActress
28 Renato Castellani 72ItalyDirector, Screenwriter
31 Ricky Nelson 45USActor, Singer
31 Sam Spiegel 84PolandProducer

Film debuts

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References

  1. ↑ "1985 Domestic Grosses". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  2. ↑ Canby, Vincent (December 29, 1985). "Film View; Vivid Joys Among The Vast Array Of Failures". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Harmetz, Aljean (September 2, 1985). "A Bleak Summer For Movie Makers". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 23, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  4. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (July 3, 1985). "'Pale Rider' Heads List In Theaters". The New York Times . Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Canby, Vincent (September 8, 1985). "Film: Season Preview; Even Wands Can't Create Magic At The Box Office". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  6. ↑ Maslin, Janet (July 21, 1985). "Film View; Maverick Tales Add Spice To Summer". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 25, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Harmetz, Aljean (January 15, 1986). "Christmas Film Sales Set Record". The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  8. ↑ "UPI Almanac for Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020". United Press International . January 11, 2020. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2020. …actor Aja Naomi King in 1985 (age 35)
  9. ↑ "Sidharth Malhotra turns 30, ready for 'action'". The Times of India. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  10. ↑ "Damien Chazelle | Biography, Movies, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Romain Cogitore". Télérama (in French). Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Emile Davenport Hirsch 03/13/1985". California Birth Index. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly . No. 1252. 29 March 2013. p. 30.
  14. ↑ Hooli, Shekhar H. (27 March 2018). "Ram Charan birthday: Rana, Kajal, others wish, share Rangasthalm star's rare photos". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  15. ↑ Vanessa Oswald (15 July 2019). Gal Gadot: A New Kind of Action Hero. Greenhaven Publishing LLC. p. 94. ISBN   978-1-5345-6778-8.
  16. ↑ Pulver, Andrew (4 April 2015). "A special intensity: How Carey Mulligan quietly grabbed Hollywood's attention". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  17. ↑ "Sonam Kapoor". Hindustan Times . 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  18. ↑ Hiatt, Brian (July 18, 2014). "Lana Del Rey – The Saddest, Baddest Diva in Rock". Rolling Stone . No. 1212. p. 44.
  19. ↑ "I am only 23: Asin". The Times of India . 21 April 2009. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
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