1985 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

51 films were recognised at the 1985 Academy Awards, across 24 categories. 13 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was Amadeus, with 8 awards, ahead of The Killing Fields with 3. The categories below run from Actor in a Leading Role, Actor in a Supporting Role and Actress in a Leading Role to the smaller prizes, and in every one the winner is listed first, followed by the other nominees.

Each title links to the film's full award history at all four awards, and the links at the bottom step to the previous and next ceremony.

Last updated August 12, 2026

Actor in a Leading Role

Amadeus(1984)
F. Murray Abraham
Winner
Amadeus(1984)
Tom Hulce
Starman (John Carpenter's Starman)(1984)
Jeff Bridges
The Killing Fields(1984)
Sam Waterston
Under the Volcano(1984)
Albert Finney

Actor in a Supporting Role

The Killing Fields(1984)
Haing S. Ngor
Winner
A Soldier's Story(1984)
Adolph Caesar
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes(1984)
Ralph Richardson
Places in the Heart(1984)
John Malkovich
The Karate Kid(1984)
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita

Actress in a Leading Role

Places in the Heart(1984)
Sally Field
Winner
A Passage to India(1984)
Judy Davis
Country(1984)
Jessica Lange
The Bostonians(1984)
Vanessa Redgrave
The River(1984)
Sissy Spacek

Actress in a Supporting Role

A Passage to India(1984)
Peggy Ashcroft
Winner
Places in the Heart(1984)
Lindsay Crouse
Swing Shift(1984)
Christine Lahti
The Natural(1984)
Glenn Close
The Pope of Greenwich Village(1984)
Geraldine Page

Art Direction

Amadeus(1984)
Art Direction: Patrizia Von Brandenstein; Set Decoration: Karel Cerny
Winner
2010: The Year We Make Contact(1984)
Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Rick Simpson
A Passage to India(1984)
Art Direction: John Box, Leslie Tomkins; Set Decoration: Hugh Scaife
The Cotton Club(1984)
Art Direction: Richard Sylbert; Set Decoration: George Gaines, Les Bloom
The Natural(1984)
Art Direction: Angelo Graham, Mel Bourne, James J. Murakami, Speed Hopkins; Set Decoration: Bruce Weintraub

Best Picture

Amadeus(1984)
Saul Zaentz, Producer
Winner
A Passage to India(1984)
John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin, Producers
A Soldier's Story(1984)
Norman Jewison, Ronald L. Schwary and Patrick Palmer, Producers
Places in the Heart(1984)
Arlene Donovan, Producer
The Killing Fields(1984)
David Puttnam, Producer

Cinematography

The Killing Fields(1984)
Chris Menges
Winner
A Passage to India(1984)
Ernest Day
Amadeus(1984)
Miroslav Ondricek
The Natural(1984)
Caleb Deschanel
The River(1984)
Vilmos Zsigmond

Costume Design

Amadeus(1984)
Theodor Pistek
Winner
2010: The Year We Make Contact(1984)
Patricia Norris
A Passage to India(1984)
Judy Moorcroft
Places in the Heart(1984)
Ann Roth
The Bostonians(1984)
Jenny Beavan, John Bright

Directing

Amadeus(1984)
Milos Forman
Winner
A Passage to India(1984)
David Lean
Broadway Danny Rose(1984)
Woody Allen
Places in the Heart(1984)
Robert Benton
The Killing Fields(1984)
Roland Joffé

Documentary (Feature)

The Times of Harvey Milk(1984)
Robert Epstein and Richard Schmiechen, Producers
Winner
High Schools(1984)
Charles Guggenheim and Nancy Sloss, Producers
In the Name of the People(1985)
Alex W. Drehsler and Frank Christopher, Producers
Marlene(1984)
Karel Dirka and Zev Braun, Producers
Streetwise(1984)
Cheryl McCall, Producer

Documentary (Short Subject)

The Stone Carvers(1984)
Marjorie Hunt and Paul Wagner, Producers
Winner
Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing(1984)
Ben Achtenberg and Joan Sawyer, Producers
Recollections of Pavlovsk(1984)
Irina Kalinina, Producer
The Children of Soong Ching Ling(1984)
Gary Bush and Paul T.K. Lin, Producers
The Garden of Eden(1984)
Lawrence R. Hott and Roger M. Sherman, Producers

Film Editing

The Killing Fields(1984)
Jim Clark
Winner
A Passage to India(1984)
David Lean
Amadeus(1984)
Nena Danevic, Michael Chandler
Romancing the Stone(1984)
Donn Cambern, Frank Morriss
The Cotton Club(1984)
Barry Malkin, Robert Q. Lovett

International Feature Film

Dangerous Moves(1984)
Switzerland
Winner
Beyond the Walls(1984)
Israel
Camila(1984)
Argentina
Double Feature(1984)
Spain
War-Time Romance(1983)
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Music (Original Score)

A Passage to India(1984)
Maurice Jarre
Winner
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(1984)
John Williams
The Natural(1984)
Randy Newman
The River(1984)
John Williams
Under the Volcano(1984)
Alex North

Music (Original Song)

The Woman in Red(1984)
I Just Called To Say I Love You in "The Woman in Red" Music and Lyric by Stevie Wonder
Winner
Against All Odds(1984)
Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) in "Against All Odds" Music and Lyric by Phil Collins
Footloose(1984)
Footloose in "Footloose" Music and Lyric by Kenny Loggins and Dean Pitchford
Footloose(1984)
Let's Hear It For The Boy in "Footloose" Music and Lyric by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford
Ghostbusters(1984)
Ghostbusters in "Ghostbusters" Music and Lyric by Ray Parker, Jr.

Sound

Amadeus(1984)
Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Todd Boekelheide, Chris Newman
Winner
2010: The Year We Make Contact(1984)
Michael J. Kohut, Aaron Rochin, Carlos De Larios, Gene S. Cantamessa
A Passage to India(1984)
Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter, John Mitchell
Dune(1984)
Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Kevin O'Connell, Nelson Stoll
The River(1984)
Nick Alphin, Robert Thirlwell, Richard Portman, David Ronne

Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)

Places in the Heart(1984)
Robert Benton
Winner
Beverly Hills Cop(1984)
Screenplay by Daniel Petrie, Jr.; Story by Danilo Bach, Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Broadway Danny Rose(1984)
Woody Allen
El Norte(1983)
Gregory Nava, Anna Thomas
Splash(1984)
Screenplay by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel, Bruce Jay Friedman; Screen Story by Bruce Jay Friedman; Based on a story by Brian Grazer

Writing (Screenplay--based on material from another medium)

Amadeus(1984)
Peter Shaffer
Winner
A Passage to India(1984)
David Lean
A Soldier's Story(1984)
Charles Fuller
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes(1984)
P.H. Vazak, Michael Austin
The Killing Fields(1984)
Bruce Robinson

Makeup

Amadeus(1984)
Paul LeBlanc, Dick Smith
Winner
2010: The Year We Make Contact(1984)
Michael Westmore
Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes(1984)
Rick Baker, Paul Engelen

Music (Original Song Score)

Purple Rain(1984)
Prince
Winner
Songwriter(1984)
Kris Kristofferson
The Muppets Take Manhattan(1984)
Jeff Moss

Short Film (Live Action)

Up(1984)
Winner
Tales of Meeting and Parting(1985)
Sharon Oreck and Lesli Linka Glatter, Producers
The Painted Door(1984)
Michael MacMillan and Janice L. Platt, Producers

Visual Effects

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(1984)
Dennis Muren, Michael McAlister, Lorne Peterson, George Gibbs
Winner
2010: The Year We Make Contact(1984)
Richard Edlund, Neil Krepela, George Jenson, Mark Stetson
Ghostbusters(1984)
Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Mark Vargo, Chuck Gaspar

Short Film (Animated)

Charade(1984)
Jon Minnis, Producer
Winner
Doctor De Soto(1984)
Morton Schindel and Michael Sporn, Producers

Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing)

The River(1984)
Kay Rose
Winner