Best Movies of 1985
Here are my selections for the best movies of 1985.
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40 titles
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsMaggie SmithHelena Bonham CarterDenholm ElliottLucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) shares a brief romance with George Emerson in Florence. Yet as she tries to move on with her life and look for marriage elsewhere, can she truly forget the events of that summer?
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsSaeed JaffreyRoshan SethDaniel Day-LewisAn ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowJeff DanielsDanny AielloIn 1935 New Jersey, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
- DirectorPeter MastersonStarsGeraldine PageJohn HeardCarlin GlynnIn 1940s Texas, an elderly woman is determined to visit her childhood home one last time.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsWilliam HurtRaul JuliaSonia BragaA gay man and a political prisoner are together in a prison. The gay man narrates the stories of two fake movies and his own life.
- DirectorIstván SzabóStarsKlaus Maria BrandauerHans Christian BlechArmin Mueller-StahlSet during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the film tells of the rise and fall of Alfred Redl (Brandauer), an ambitious young officer who proceeds up the ladder to become head of the Secret Police only to become ensnared in political deception.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsMeryl StreepRobert RedfordKlaus Maria BrandauerIn 20th-century colonial Kenya, a Danish baroness/plantation owner has a passionate love affair with a free-spirited big-game hunter.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDanny GloverWhoopi GoldbergOprah WinfreyA tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordKelly McGillisLukas HaasWhile protecting an Amish boy - who is the sole witness to a brutal murder - and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life is threatened.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsCherEric StoltzSam ElliottA teenager with a massive facial skull deformity and biker gang mother attempt to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsMiranda RichardsonRupert EverettIan HolmA stormy relationship, complicated by the strictures of 1950s social class and gender roles, ends in death. Based on the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly RingwaldFive high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsJane FondaAnne BancroftMeg TillyWhen a naive novice nun is discovered with a dead newborn in her convent quarters, a court-appointed psychiatrist investigates her case.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsJack NicholsonKathleen TurnerRobert LoggiaTwo professional assassins fall in love.
- DirectorSandy WilsonStarsMargaret LangrickJohn WildmanRichard DonatAdding an intriguing Canadian twist to a universally appealing story of teenage trials, My American Cousin begins as bored 12-year-old Sandy (Margaret Langrick) is preparing for another long summer of cherry picking when suddenly her older, James Dean-cool cousin Butch (John Wildman) arrives unexpectedly from California in a red Cadillac convertible. Sandy and her pre-teen friends fall madly for Butch's rock 'n' roll swagger, but he's more interested in making time with the local girls and getting in fistfights than in playing chauffeur to Sandy. Both have a lot to learn about life and each other, but united under the strict parental rule of Sandy's dad, they vow to make this summer a truly unforgettable experience. Capturing the restlessness of youth with a fresh and funny perspective, Wilson's genuinely charming period piece is forever reaching for lost innocence as it playfully contrasts Canadian and American attitudes. My American Cousin has remained a consistent favourite for Canadians and non-Canadians.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsChristopher LambertIsabelle AdjaniRichard BohringerOn improvising a burglary at a shady tycoon's home, Fred takes refuge in the hip and surreal universe of the Paris Metro and encounters its assorted denizens, the tycoon's henchmen and his disenchanted young wife.
- DirectorGavin MillarStarsCoral BrowneIan HolmPeter GallagherIan Holm is children's author Lewis Carroll in this poignant fantasy-drama set in 1930s New York and populated by the fabulous special effects creatures of Muppet master Jim Henson.
- DirectorKarel ReiszStarsJessica LangeEd HarrisAnn WedgeworthThe story of Patsy Cline, the velvet-voiced country music singer who died in a tragic plane crash at the height of her fame.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGriffin DunneRosanna ArquetteVerna BloomAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
- DirectorDavid HareStarsVanessa RedgraveIan HolmJudi DenchThe mysterious death of an enigmatic young man newly arrived in the suburb of Wetherby releases the long-repressed, dark passions of some of its residents.
- DirectorTom HollandStarsChris SarandonWilliam RagsdaleAmanda Bearse"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.
- DirectorSusan SeidelmanStarsRosanna ArquetteMadonnaAidan QuinnA bored New Jersey suburban housewife's fascination with a free-spirited woman she has read about in the personal columns leads to her being mistaken for the woman herself.
- DirectorDonna DeitchStarsHelen ShaverPatricia CharbonneauAudra LindleyWhile waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed professor of literature is unexpectedly seduced by a carefree, spirited young lesbian.
- DirectorAndrey KonchalovskiyStarsJon VoightEric RobertsRebecca De MornayTwo escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMatthew BroderickRutger HauerMichelle PfeifferThe thief Gaston escapes the dungeon of medieval Aquila through the latrine. Soldiers are about to kill him when Navarre saves him. Navarre, traveling with his spirited hawk, plans to kill the bishop of Aquila with help from Gaston.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsPowers BootheMeg FosterYara VaneauAfter the son of engineer Bill Markham is abducted by an aboriginal tribe on the edge of the rain forest, the engineer spends the next 10 years searching for him.
- DirectorGeoff MurphyStarsBruno LawrenceAlison RoutledgePete SmithA scientist awakens to find himself alone in the world. In a desperate attempt to search for others, he finds only two who have their own agenda.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsGary BuseyTony CurtisTheresa RussellFour 1950s icons meet in the same hotel room and two of them discover more in common between them than they ever anticipated.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsDon AmecheWilford BrimleyHume CronynWhen a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.
- DirectorTed BermanRichard RichStarsGrant BardsleyFreddie JonesSusan SheridanA young boy and a group of misfit friends embark on a quest to find a dark magic item of ultimate power before a diabolical tyrant can.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsTimothy HuttonSean PennPat HingleThe true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsJeff BridgesGlenn ClosePeter CoyoteA wealthy woman is murdered in her beach house. The husband is allegedly knocked out first. He inherits all. He has a female ex criminal prosecutor represent him in court.
- DirectorDaniel AttiasStarsGary BuseyEverett McGillCorey HaimIn a small town, brutal killings start to plague the close knit community. Marty Coslaw, a paraplegic boy, is convinced the murders are the doings of a werewolf.
- DirectorAlbert BrooksStarsAlbert BrooksJulie HagertySylvia FarrelA husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsMichael DouglasTerrence MannMichael BlevinsHopefuls try out before a demanding director for a part in a new musical.
- DirectorLewis TeagueStarsMichael DouglasKathleen TurnerDanny DeVitoWhen Joan Wilder is abducted while on a trip along the Nile, her boyfriend, Jack Colton, and pal Ralph rush to rescue her and retrieve a fabled jewel.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsPaul ReubensElizabeth DailyMark HoltonWhen eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsSean AstinJosh BrolinJeff CohenA group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.