1985 Film Year: Oscar Winners & Nominees
The AwardWentTo archive contains 105 Academy Award records for the 1985 film year, covering 48 films and including 23 wins.
Years follow the source film eligibility/dataset year, which may differ from the ceremony calendar year. Counts describe film-linked archive records, including historical and special-award context where supplied.
Best Picture result
- ★ Out of AfricaSydney Pollack, Producer
5 Best Picture award records for this film year. See the full result · Best Picture history
Acting category results
Leading winning films
Ranked by winning records in this film-year selection.
- Out of Africa
7 wins from 11 award records
- Witness
2 wins from 8 award records
- Cocoon
2 wins from 2 award records
- Prizzi's Honor
1 win from 8 award records
- Back to the Future
1 win from 4 award records
- Kiss of the Spider Woman
1 win from 4 award records
Category winners
Select a category to explore its history, or jump to this year's full records.
- ★ Kiss of the Spider Woman — Luis Molina
- ★ Cocoon — Art Selwyn
- ★ The Trip to Bountiful — Mrs. Watts
- ★ Prizzi's Honor — Maerose Prizzi
- ★ Ran
- ★ Witness
- ★ Mask
- ★ White Nights — Say You, Say Me
- ★ Cocoon
- ★ Witness
Nominations and award records by category
Showing 105 of 105 archive records. Gold stars mark winning records.
Best Picture
- ★ Out of Africa IMDB — Sydney Pollack, Producer
- The Color Purple IMDB — Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Quincy Jones, Producers
- Kiss of the Spider Woman IMDB — David Weisman, Producer
- Prizzi's Honor IMDB — John Foreman, Producer
- Witness IMDB — Edward S. Feldman, Producer
Best Actor
- ★ Kiss of the Spider Woman IMDB — William HurtLuis Molina
- Witness IMDB — Harrison FordJohn Book
- Murphy's Romance IMDB — James GarnerMurphy Jones
- Prizzi's Honor IMDB — Jack NicholsonCharley Partanna
- Runaway Train IMDB — Jon VoightManny
Best Supporting Actor
- ★ Cocoon IMDB — Don AmecheArt Selwyn
- Out of Africa IMDB — Klaus Maria BrandauerBror
- Prizzi's Honor IMDB — William HickeyDon Corrado Prizzi
- Jagged Edge IMDB — Robert LoggiaSam Ransom
- Runaway Train IMDB — Eric RobertsBuck
Best Actress
- ★ The Trip to Bountiful IMDB — Geraldine PageMrs. Watts
- Agnes of God IMDB — Anne BancroftSister Miriam Ruth
- The Color Purple IMDB — Whoopi GoldbergCelie
- Sweet Dreams IMDB — Jessica LangePatsy Cline
- Out of Africa IMDB — Meryl StreepKaren
Best Supporting Actress
- ★ Prizzi's Honor IMDB — Anjelica HustonMaerose Prizzi
- The Color Purple IMDB — Margaret AveryShug Avery
- Twice in a Lifetime IMDB — Amy MadiganSunny Sobel
- Agnes of God IMDB — Meg TillySister Agnes
- The Color Purple IMDB — Oprah WinfreySofia
Art Direction
- ★ Out of Africa IMDB — Art Direction: Stephen Grimes; Set Decoration: Josie MacAvin
- Brazil IMDB — Art Direction: Norman Garwood; Set Decoration: Maggie Gray
- The Color Purple IMDB — Art Direction: J. Michael Riva, Robert W. Welch; Set Decoration: Linda DeScenna
- Ran IMDB — Art Direction: Yoshiro Muraki, Shinobu Muraki
- Witness IMDB — Art Direction: Stan Jolley; Set Decoration: John Anderson
Cinematography
- ★ Out of Africa IMDB — David Watkin
- The Color Purple IMDB — Allen Daviau
- Murphy's Romance IMDB — William A. Fraker
- Ran IMDB — Takao Saito, Masaharu Ueda, Asakazu Nakai
- Witness IMDB — John Seale
Costume Design
Best Director
Documentary Feature
- ★ Broken Rainbow IMDB — Maria Florio and Victoria Mudd, Producers
- Las Madres--The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo IMDB — Susana Muñoz and Lourdes Portillo, Producers
- Soldiers in Hiding IMDB — Japhet Asher, Producer
- The Statue of Liberty IMDB — Ken Burns and Buddy Squires, Producers
- Unfinished Business IMDB — Steven Okazaki, Producer
Documentary Short Subject
- ★ Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements IMDB — David Goodman, Producer
- The Courage to Care IMDB — Robert Gardner, Producer
- Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date IMDB — Michael Crowley and James Wolpaw, Producers
- Making Overtures--The Story of a Community Orchestra IMDB — Barbara Willis Sweete, Producer
- The Wizard of the Strings IMDB — Alan Edelstein, Producer
Film Editing
- ★ Witness IMDB — Thom Noble
- A Chorus Line IMDB — John Bloom
- Out of Africa IMDB — Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp, Pembroke Herring, Sheldon Kahn
- Prizzi's Honor IMDB — Rudi Fehr, Kaja Fehr
- Runaway Train IMDB — Henry Richardson
International Feature Film
- ★ The Official Story IMDB — Argentina
- Angry Harvest IMDB — Federal Republic of Germany
- Colonel Redl IMDB — Hungary
- Three Men and a Cradle IMDB — France
- When Father Was Away on Business IMDB — Yugoslavia
Makeup and Hairstyling
- ★ Mask IMDB — Michael Westmore, Zoltan Elek
- The Color Purple IMDB — Ken Chase
- Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins IMDB — Carl Fullerton
Original Score
- ★ Out of Africa IMDB — John Barry
- Agnes of God IMDB — Georges Delerue
- The Color Purple IMDB — Quincy Jones, Jeremy Lubbock, Rod Temperton, Caiphus Semenya, Andrae Crouch, Chris Boardman, Jorge Calandrelli, Joel Rosenbaum, Fred Steiner, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, Randy Kerber
- Silverado IMDB — Bruce Broughton
- Witness IMDB — Maurice Jarre
Original Song
- ★ White Nights IMDB — Music and Lyric by Lionel RichieSay You, Say Me
- The Color Purple IMDB — Music by Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton; Lyric by Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton and Lionel RichieMiss Celie's Blues (Sister)
- Back to the Future IMDB — Music by Chris Hayes and Johnny Colla; Lyric by Huey LewisThe Power Of Love
- White Nights IMDB — Music and Lyric by Stephen BishopSeparate Lives (Love Theme From 'White Nights')
- A Chorus Line IMDB — Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyric by Edward KlebanSurprise, Surprise
Animated Short Film
- ★ Anna & Bella IMDB — Cilia Van Dijk, Producer
- The Big Snit IMDB — Richard Condie and Michael Scott, Producers
- Second Class Mail IMDB — Alison Snowden, Producer
Live Action Short Film
- ★ Molly's Pilgrim IMDB — Jeff Brown and Chris Pelzer, Producers
- Graffiti IMDB — Dianna Costello, Producer
- Rainbow War IMDB — Bob Rogers, Producer
Sound Editing
- ★ Back to the Future IMDB — Charles L. Campbell, Robert Rutledge
- Ladyhawke IMDB — Bob Henderson, Alan Murray
- Rambo: First Blood Part II IMDB — Frederick J. Brown
Sound Mixing
- ★ Out of Africa IMDB — Chris Jenkins, Gary Alexander, Larry Stensvold, Peter Handford
- Back to the Future IMDB — Bill Varney, B. Tennyson Sebastian II, Robert Thirlwell, William B. Kaplan
- A Chorus Line IMDB — Donald O. Mitchell, Michael Minkler, Gerry Humphreys, Chris Newman
- Ladyhawke IMDB — Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, Bud Alper
- Silverado IMDB — Donald O. Mitchell, Rick Kline, Kevin O'Connell, David Ronne
Visual Effects
- ★ Cocoon IMDB — Ken Ralston, Ralph McQuarrie, Scott Farrar, David Berry
- Return to Oz IMDB — Will Vinton, Ian Wingrove, Zoran Perisic, Michael Lloyd
- Young Sherlock Holmes IMDB — Dennis Muren, Kit West, John Ellis, David Allen
Adapted Screenplay
- ★ Out of Africa IMDB — Kurt Luedtke
- The Color Purple IMDB — Menno Meyjes
- Kiss of the Spider Woman IMDB — Leonard Schrader
- Prizzi's Honor IMDB — Richard Condon, Janet Roach
- The Trip to Bountiful IMDB — Horton Foote
Original Screenplay
- ★ Witness IMDB — Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley; Story by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, Earl W. Wallace
- Back to the Future IMDB — Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
- Brazil IMDB — Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, Charles McKeown
- The Official Story IMDB — Luis Puenzo, Aida Bortnik
- The Purple Rose of Cairo IMDB — Woody Allen
Nominated films and other recorded entries
48 films represented in the 1985 archive selection.
- A Chorus Line
- Agnes of God
- Angry Harvest
- Anna & Bella
- Back to the Future
- Brazil
- Broken Rainbow
- Cocoon
- Colonel Redl
- Graffiti
- Jagged Edge
- Keats and His Nightingale: A Blind Date
- Kiss of the Spider Woman
- Ladyhawke
- Las Madres--The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
- Making Overtures--The Story of a Community Orchestra
- Mask
- Molly's Pilgrim
- Murphy's Romance
- Out of Africa
- Prizzi's Honor
- Rainbow War
- Rambo: First Blood Part II
- Ran
- Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
- Return to Oz
- Runaway Train
- Second Class Mail
- Silverado
- Soldiers in Hiding
- Sweet Dreams
- The Big Snit
- The Color Purple
- The Courage to Care
- The Journey of Natty Gann
- The Official Story
- The Purple Rose of Cairo
- The Statue of Liberty
- The Trip to Bountiful
- The Wizard of the Strings
- Three Men and a Cradle
- Twice in a Lifetime
- Unfinished Business
- When Father Was Away on Business
- White Nights
- Witness
- Witness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements
- Young Sherlock Holmes
About these award records
This independent archive groups film-linked award records by film, credited name, category and eligibility year. The film year can differ from the year the ceremony took place. Ceremony numbers are shown where supplied by the records.
Each distinct performance, song or award credit remains a separate record, even when it belongs to the same film. Shared credits stay together. A person's page covers the name shown, without combining aliases or shared credits into a complete career total.
Totals can include honorary, special and historical awards alongside competitive nominations. Awards without a linked film are outside these page totals. Source notes and uncertain records are retained; category comparisons omit groups with unresolved notes, ties or conflicting identities.
For the official record, search the Academy Awards Database (opens in a new tab). Award Went To is an independent exploration tool and is not affiliated with the Academy.