# 57th Academy Awards

The 57th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1984 and took place on March 25, 1985, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gregory Peck, Robert Wise, Larry Gelbart, and Gene Allen, and was directed by Marty Pasetta. Actor Jack Lemmon hosted the show for the fourth time. He first co-hosted the 30th ceremony held in 1958, and had last co-hosted the 44th ceremony in 1972.
Amadeus won eight awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included The Killing Fields with three awards, A Passage to India and Places in the Heart with two, and Charade, Dangerous Moves, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Purple Rain, The Stone Carvers, The Times of Harvey Milk, Up, and The Woman in Red with one. The telecast was watched by an audience of 38.9 million viewers.

## Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 57th Academy Awards were announced on February 6, 1985, by Academy president Gene Allen and actress Eva Marie Saint. Amadeus and A Passage to India led all nominees with eleven each. The winners were announced at the awards ceremony on March 25. Haing S. Ngor was the first Asian winner for Best Supporting Actor. At age 77, Peggy Ashcroft became the oldest Best Supporting Actress winner. Best Original Song winner Stevie Wonder was the first blind person to win an Oscar. For the first time in Oscar history, all five nominees for Best Original Song had reached the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

### Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double dagger (‡).
Table featuring winners and nominees of the 54th Academy Awards :
| Best Picture Amadeus – Saul Zaentz, producer‡ The Killing Fields – David Puttnam, producer A Passage to India – John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin, producers Places in the Heart – Arlene Donovan, producer A Soldier's Story – Norman Jewison, Ronald L. Schwary and Patrick Palmer, producers | Best Directing Miloš Forman – Amadeus‡ Woody Allen – Broadway Danny Rose Roland Joffé – The Killing Fields David Lean – A Passage to India Robert Benton – Places in the Heart |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role F. Murray Abraham – Amadeus as Antonio Salieri‡ Jeff Bridges – Starman as Starman/Scott Hayden Albert Finney – Under the Volcano as Geoffrey Firmin Tom Hulce – Amadeus as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sam Waterston – The Killing Fields as Sydney Schanberg | Best Actress in a Leading Role Sally Field – Places in the Heart as Edna Spalding‡ Judy Davis – A Passage to India as Adela Quested Jessica Lange – Country as Jewell Ivy Vanessa Redgrave – The Bostonians as Olive Chancellor Sissy Spacek – The River as Mae Garvey |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role Haing S. Ngor – The Killing Fields as Dith Pran‡ Adolph Caesar – A Soldier's Story as Sgt. Waters John Malkovich – Places in the Heart as Mr. Will Pat Morita – The Karate Kid as Kesuke Miyagi Ralph Richardson (posthumous nomination) – Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes as 6th Earl of Greystoke | Best Actress in a Supporting Role Peggy Ashcroft – A Passage to India as Mrs. Moore‡ Glenn Close – The Natural as Iris Gaines Lindsay Crouse – Places in the Heart as Margaret Lomax Christine Lahti – Swing Shift as Hazel Zanussi Geraldine Page – The Pope of Greenwich Village as Mrs. Ritter |
| Best Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) Places in the Heart – Robert Benton‡ Beverly Hills Cop – Screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr.; Story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. Broadway Danny Rose – Woody Allen The North – Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas Splash – Screenplay by Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel and Bruce Jay Friedman; Screen Story by Bruce Jay Friedman based on a story by Brian Grazer | Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium) Amadeus – Peter Shaffer based on his play‡ Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes – P. H. Vazak and Michael Austin based on the novel Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Killing Fields – Bruce Robinson based on the article "The Death and Life of Dith Pran" by Sydney Schanberg A Passage to India – David Lean based on the novel by E. M. Forster A Soldier's Story – Charles Fuller based on his play A Soldier's Play |
| Best Foreign Language Film Dangerous Moves (Switzerland) in French – directed by Richard Dembo‡ Beyond the Walls (Israel) in Hebrew – directed by Uri Barbash Camila (Argentina) in Spanish – directed by María Luisa Bemberg Double Feature (Spain) in Spanish – directed by José Luis Garci Wartime Romance (USSR) in Russian – directed by Pyotr Todorovsky | Best Documentary (Feature) The Times of Harvey Milk – Robert Epstein and Richard Schmiechen‡ High Schools – Charles Guggenheim and Nancy Sloss In the Name of the People – Alex W. Drehsler and Frank Christopher Marlene – Karel Dirka and Zev Braun Streetwise – Cheryl McCall |
| Best Documentary (Short Subject) The Stone Carvers – Marjorie Hunt and Paul Wagner‡ The Children of Soong Ching Ling – Gary Bush and Paul T.K. Lin Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing – Ben Achtenberg and Joan Sawyer The Garden of Eden – Lawrence R. Hott and Roger M. Sherman Recollections of Pavlovsk – Irina Kalinina | Best Short Film (Live Action) Up – Mike Hoover‡ The Painted Door – Michael MacMillan, Janice L. Platt and Robert Verrall Tales of Meeting and Parting – Sharon Oreck and Lesli Linka Glatter |
| Best Short Film (Animated) Charade – Jon Minnis‡ Doctor DeSoto – Morton Schindel and Michael Sporn Paradise – Ishu Patel | Best Music (Original Score) A Passage to India – Maurice Jarre‡ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – John Williams The Natural – Randy Newman The River – John Williams Under the Volcano – Alex North |
| Best Music (Original Song Score) Purple Rain – Prince‡ The Muppets Take Manhattan – Jeff Moss Songwriter – Kris Kristofferson | Best Music (Original Song) "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red – Music and Lyrics by Stevie Wonder‡ "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" from Against All Odds – Music and Lyrics by Phil Collins "Footloose" from Footloose – Music and Lyrics by Kenny Loggins and Dean Pitchford "Let's Hear It for the Boy" from Footloose – Music and Lyrics by Dean Pitchford and Tom Snow "Ghostbusters" from Ghostbusters – Music and Lyrics by Ray Parker Jr. |
| Best Sound Amadeus – Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Todd Boekelheide and Chris Newman‡ 2010 –Michael J. Kohut, Aaron Rochin, Carlos Delarios and Gene Cantamessa Dune – Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Kevin O'Connell and Nelson Stoll A Passage to India – Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter and John W. Mitchell The River – Nick Alphin, Robert Thirlwell, Richard Portman and David M. Ronne | Best Art Direction Amadeus – Art Direction: Patrizia von Brandenstein; Set Decoration: Karel Černý‡ 2010 – Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Rick Simpson The Cotton Club – Art Direction: Richard Sylbert; Set Decoration: George Gaines and Leslie Bloom The Natural – Art Direction: Mel Bourne, Angelo P. Graham, James J. Murakami and Speed Hopkins; Set Decoration: Bruce Weintraub A Passage to India – Art Direction: John Box and Leslie Tomkins; Set Decoration: Hugh Scaife |
| Best Cinematography The Killing Fields – Chris Menges‡ Amadeus – Miroslav Ondříček The Natural – Caleb Deschanel A Passage to India – Ernest Day The River – Vilmos Zsigmond | Best Makeup Amadeus – Dick Smith and Paul LeBlanc‡ 2010 – Michael Westmore Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes – Rick Baker and Paul Engelen |
| Best Costume Design Amadeus – Theodor Pištěk‡ 2010 – Patricia Norris The Bostonians – Jenny Beavan and John Bright A Passage to India – Judy Moorcroft Places in the Heart – Ann Roth | Best Film Editing The Killing Fields – Jim Clark‡ Amadeus – Nena Danevic and Michael Chandler The Cotton Club – Barry Malkin and Robert Q. Lovett A Passage to India – David Lean Romancing the Stone – Donn Cambern and Frank Morriss |
| Best Visual Effects Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Lorne Peterson and George Gibbs‡ 2010 – Richard Edlund, Neil Krepela, George Jenson and Mark Stetson Ghostbusters – Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Mark Vargo and Chuck Gaspar ||

### Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing)

* The River – Kay Rose.

### Honorary Awards

* To James Stewart, for his fifty years of memorable performances. For his high ideals both on and off the screen. With the respect and affection of his colleagues.
* To the National Endowment for the Arts, in recognition of its 20th anniversary and its dedicated commitment to fostering artistic and creative activity and excellence in every area of the arts.

### Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

The award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the motion picture industry.
* David L. Wolper

### Films with multiple nominations and awards

Films with multiple nominations :
| Nominations | Film |
| 11 | Amadeus |
| 11 | A Passage to India |
| 7 | The Killing Fields |
| 7 | Places in the Heart |
| 5 | 2010: The Year We Make Contact |
| 5 | The River |
| 4 | The Natural |
| 3 | Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes |
| 3 | A Soldier's Story |
| 2 | The Bostonians |
| 2 | Broadway Danny Rose |
| 2 | The Cotton Club |
| 2 | Footloose |
| 2 | Ghostbusters |
| 2 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom |
| 2 | Under the Volcano |
Films with multiple wins :
| Awards | Film |
| 8 | Amadeus |
| 3 | The Killing Fields |
| 2 | A Passage to India |
| 2 | Places in the Heart |

## Presenters and performers

The following persons, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.

### Presenters

Table featuring presenters for the 53rd Academy Awards :
| Name(s) | Role |
| Hank Simms | Announcer of the 57th Academy Awards |
| Gene Allen (AMPAS President) | Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony |
| Linda Hunt | Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor |
| Michael Douglas | Presenter of the award for Best Documentary Short |
| Kathleen Turner | Presenter of the award for Best Documentary Feature |
| Kelly LeBrock Lonette McKee | Presenters of the award for Best Makeup |
| Gregory Hines Amy Irving | Presenters of the award for Best Sound |
| Diana Ross Tom Selleck | Presenters of the award for Best Cinematography |
| Ryan O'Neal | Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress |
| Gene Kelly | Presenter of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to David L. Wolper |
| Steve Martin | Presenter of the award for Best Art Direction |
| Janet Leigh | Presenter of the Scientific & Technical Awards |
| Candice Bergen William Hurt | Presenters of the award for Best Visual Effects |
| Glenn Close | Presenter of the Honorary Award to the National Endowment for the Arts |
| Kirk Douglas Burt Lancaster | Presenters of the awards for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium |
| Jeff Bridges Ann Reinking | Presenters of the award for Best Original Score |
| Michael Douglas Kathleen Turner | Presenters of the award for Best Original Song Score |
| Jennifer Beals Glenn Close | Presenters of the award for Best Costume Design |
| Jeff Bridges Ann Reinking | Presenters of the award for Best Animated Short Film |
| Tom Selleck Kathleen Turner | Presenters of the award for Best Live Action Short Film |
| Shirley MacLaine | Presenter of the award for Best Actor |
| Gregory Hines | Presenter of the award for Best Original Song |
| Geneviève Bujold William Hurt | Presenters of the award for Best Film Editing |
| Cary Grant | Presenter of the Honorary Award to James Stewart |
| Plácido Domingo Faye Dunaway | Presenters of the award for Best Foreign Language Film |
| Steven Spielberg | Presenter of the award for Best Director |
| Robert Duvall | Presenter of the award for Best Actress |
| Laurence Olivier | Presenter of the award for Best Picture |

### Performers

Table featuring performers for the 53rd Academy Awards :
| Name | Role | Performed |
| Bill Conti | Musical director conductor | Orchestral |
| Ray Parker Jr. Dom DeLuise | Performers | "Ghostbusters" from Ghostbusters |
| Deniece Williams | Performer | "Let's Hear It for the Boy" from Footloose |
| Ann Reinking | Performer | "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" from Against All Odds |
| Lonette McKee Willie Nelson Kris Kristofferson | Performers | "How Do You Feel about Foolin' Around?", "On the Road Again" "Amazing Grace" |
| Debbie Allen | Performer | "Footloose" from Footloose |
| Diana Ross | Performer | "I Just Called to Say I Love You" from The Woman in Red |
| Academy Awards Orchestra | Performers | "They Say It's Wonderful" (orchestral) from Annie Get Your Gun during the closing credits |

## Ceremony information

Determined to revive interest surrounding the awards and reverse declining ratings, the Academy recruited a four-person committee in December 1984 comprised of actor Gregory Peck, director Robert Wise, screenwriter Larry Gelbart, and AMPAS president Gene Allen to oversee producing duties. The following month, it was announced that actor Jack Lemmon would preside over emceeing duties for the 1985 ceremony. Allen explained the decision to hire Carson, saying, "Jack's untiring energy, zest for living, and imaginative talents have won respect and approval of everyone in the film community."
In an effort to shorten the ceremony, ten actors (Candice Bergen, Jeff Bridges, Glenn Close, Michael Douglas, Gregory Hines, Amy Irving, William Hurt, Diana Ross, Tom Selleck, and Kathleen Turner) were announced as "co-hosts" and served as either presenters announcing two awards each or introducing other presenters and musical numbers. In addition, producers warned nominees prior to the ceremony that winners would have 45 seconds to finish their speeches before a blinking red light would flash and the orchestra would begin playing them off.
Marty Pasetta directed the telecast; Bill Conti served as conductor and musical director. Oscar winner Theoni V. Aldredge served as costume designer for the ceremony which featured a segment showcasing the Best Costume Design nominees that included an elephant wearing costumes from A Passage to India. In view of the Academy nominating movies reflecting life in the American heartland such as Places in the Heart, The River, and Songwriter, singers Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, and Lonette McKee performed a medley of country songs.

### Box office performance of Best Picture nominees

At the time of the nominations announcement on February 6, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $103 million. Places in the Heart was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees, with $31.2 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Amadeus ($25.7 million), A Soldier's Story ($21.4 million), A Passage to India ($13.5 million), and The Killing Fields ($11.7 million).

### Critical reviews

Television critic Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The Oscar telecast was born to bore. It's unethical to tamper with failure. It's unholy. It's criminal. Now look what's happened. The Oscar telecast is good." He also noted that shortened acceptance speeches and well-disciplined production numbers made for a brisk-paced ceremony. Jerry Coffey of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram commented, "Monday night's Academy Awards show was the best in recent memory, a snappy, disciplined event that sacrificed nothing of value and trimmed off much of the obligatory baggage and extraneous clutter." He also commended Lemmon's performance as host while also singling out James Stewart's Honorary Oscar acceptance speech as one of the emotional highlights of the night. The Sacramento Bee's George Williams said, "It was a classy show all the way, a pure Hollywood production. Jack Lemmon, a two-time Oscar winner himself, was at the helm with his consummate timing and irresistible likableness."
Chicago Tribune television columnist Jon Anderson wrote, "Like a whale on a diet, Monday night's 57th Academy Awards ceremony on ABC-TV Channel 7 was leaner and trimmer than past shows, but seemed to have lost something. The show, still fat, lacked spirit." He reserved praise particularly for the Best Costume Design presentation and presenter Steve Martin, but compared host Lemmon's hosting performance as "luncheon-club amiability" to previous year's host Johnny Carson's "Las Vegas sharpness." Michael Dougan of the San Francisco Examiner remarked, "Last night's extravaganza was more than 30 minutes shorter than the 1984 event, but not because the audience got less to look at." He criticized the decision to cut off various winners' speeches and several technical production errors such as flashing the Amadeus logo when The Killing Fields won Best Cinematography. Harold Schindler, writing for The Salt Lake Tribune, said despite the ceremony's shorter runtime, "It wasn't noticeably better, but it did provide plenty a copy for a TV bloopers and outtakes or a segment in 'Life's Most Embarrassing Moments' if ABC cares to use it someday."

### Ratings and reception

The American telecast on ABC drew in an audience of 38.9 million, which was a smaller figure compared to last year's audience. The show also garnered lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony, with 27.7% of households watching with a 45% share. Nevertheless, the ceremony presentation received two nominations at the 37th Primetime Emmy Awards in August 1984. The following month, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety Program (Rene Lagler and Jeremy Railton).