The year 1985 was a memorable one for cinema lovers, as it produced many popular and critically acclaimed movies across different genres. Here are some of the top 10 movies of 1985, based on IMDb ratings and box office performance:
1. Back to the Future (8.5/10, $210.61M)
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox as teenager Marty McFly, who accidentally travels back in time from 1985 to 1955, where he meets his future parents and becomes his mother's romantic interest.
Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, inventor of the time-traveling DeLorean, who helps Marty repair history and return to 1985. The film also features Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson, and Claudia Wells.
2. The Color Purple (7.7/10, $98.47M)
The Color Purple is a 1985 American historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It tells the story of a young African American woman named Celie, who faces oppression and abuse from her father, her husband, and the society she lives in. The film explores themes of racism, sexism, violence, family, and self-discovery through the lives of Celie and other characters.
The film features an ensemble cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Avery, and Adolph Caesar. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning eleven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Goldberg, and Best Supporting Actress for both Winfrey and Avery. The film also won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.
3. Witness (7.4/10, $68.71M)
Witness is a 1985 American thriller film directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, and Lukas Haas. The film tells the story of John Book, a Philadelphia detective who goes into hiding with a young Amish boy and his mother after the boy witnesses a brutal murder. The film explores the clash of cultures between the modern urban society and the traditional Amish community, as well as the themes of identity, corruption, and love.
Witness was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. It was also a commercial success, grossing over $68 million at the U.S. box office.
4. The Breakfast Club (7.8/10, $45.88M)
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American teen comedy-drama film written and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy as five high school students from different cliques who spend a Saturday in detention together and discover they have more in common than they thought.
The film is considered one of the best and most influential teen movies of all time, as well as a cultural phenomenon that captured the zeitgeist of the 1980s. The film explores themes such as identity, peer pressure, stereotypes, social class, family and friendship.
5. The Goonies (7.7/10, $61.50M)
The Goonies is a movie from 1985 that tells the story of a group of kids who go on an adventure to find a pirate treasure and save their homes from being demolished. The movie was directed by Richard Donner and written by Chris Columbus, based on a story by Steven Spielberg. The main cast includes Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, and Ke Huy Quan.
The movie was a box office success and became a cult classic. It was also selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
6. Ran (8.2/10, $4.14M)
Ran is a 1985 epic historical drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film is an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, set in feudal Japan. The story follows an aging warlord, Hidetora Ichimonji, who decides to divide his kingdom among his three sons. However, his decision leads to betrayal, war, and madness. The film explores themes of loyalty, ambition, greed, and the consequences of violence.
Ran is widely regarded as one of Kurosawa's masterpieces, and one of the greatest films of all time. It won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and was nominated for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction.
7. Brazil (7.9/10, $9.93M)
Brazil 1985 is a year that marks a significant transition in the history and culture of Brazil. In this year, Brazil ended its 21-year-long military dictatorship and restored civilian government, ushering in a new era of democracy and social reforms. Brazil 1985 is also the title of a sci-fi dystopian dark comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam, starring Jonathan Pryce and Robert De Niro. The film depicts a futuristic society that is plagued by bureaucracy, technocracy, and hyper-surveillance, where a low-level government employee named Sam Lowry tries to escape his mundane life by pursuing the woman of his dreams. The film is a satire of the industrial world and its oppressive systems, and it features a whimsical and surreal aesthetic inspired by George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Franz Kafka's works.
8. After Hours (7.6/10, $10.60M)
After Hours is a 1985 American black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Joseph Minion, and starring Griffin Dunne with an ensemble cast. The film follows Paul Hackett, a word processor who experiences a series of misadventures in SoHo, New York City, after meeting a woman in a diner at night. Along the way, he encounters various eccentric characters, dangerous situations, and unexpected twists of fate.
The film is considered one of Scorsese's most underrated and overlooked works, and has gained a cult following over the years. It is also one of the first examples of a comedy of errors in American cinema, and has influenced many filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, and the Coen brothers.
9. Police Story (7.5/10, $0.11M)
Police Story is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by and starring Jackie Chan. It is the first of the Police Story series featuring Chan as a Hong Kong police detective named "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui. The film follows Chan's character as he tries to protect a witness from a crime lord's henchmen, while also dealing with his own corrupt superiors and a vengeful ex-girlfriend.
The film is known for its spectacular stunts, comedic moments, and innovative use of props and vehicles in the action scenes. Police Story was a huge success in Hong Kong and Asia, and received critical acclaim worldwide. It is widely considered as one of the best action films of all time, and one of Chan's finest works.
10. Blood Simple (7.6/10, $2.15M)
Blood Simple is a 1984 American crime film that marked the debut of Joel and Ethan Coen as writers, directors, and producers. The film stars John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, and M. Emmet Walsh as characters involved in a complex murder plot set in Texas. The title comes from a novel by Dashiell Hammett, and refers to the state of mind of people who are exposed to violence for a long time. The film is a mix of neo-noir, pulp fiction, and horror elements, and has been praised for its tight plot, dark humor, and visual style.
These are some of the movies that made 1985 a remarkable year for cinema fans. Which one is your favorite?
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