Best Picture from 1986

List of films from 1986.

I absolutely loved Peggy Sue Got Married, The Money Pit, Ruthless People, Back to School, and Little Shop of Horrors.

I can watch those movies over and over again.

Blue Velvet.

Hollywood has never recovered from the effects of Coca-Cola owning a movie studio and buying up a bunch of other independent production companies during that time.

Blue Velvet for its influence.

Aliens because it remains entertaining and Sigourney Weaver's performance is iconic.

Agree with r2 about Peggy Sue Got Married and Ruthless People. I think Peggy Sue Got Married is the best in that genre of films of people going back in time (ie Back to the Future) or becoming a different age (Big). Kathleen Turner's performance was wonderful.

Star Trek IV was the best of all Star Trek movies made thus far, in my opinion.

Why not use the poll format so we could see the "winner?"

Aliens, hands down.

Followed by Hannah and Her Sisters

Little Shop of Horrors

Blue Velvet. Runner up (sorry) Little Shop of Horrors.

What a shitty year that was. I'd go with Stand By Me and then Blue Velvet.

Hannah and Her Sisters, then Color of Money.

[quote]Fievel: An American Tail.

And what was I, chopped liver?

Howard the Duck: seriously underrated

Based on the movies in the OP's list, top would be Hannah - followed (very closely) by Peggy Sue

However, based on the link @ R1, it's The Fly

Team Hannah., That's' where is was introduced to Dianne Wiest and was a forever fan thereafter

Another vote for Aliens.

[quote] Blue Velvet for its influence.

Long-term influence cannot be judged at the time of a film's release. That's something that's evidence in hindsight. See also: the 1968 Oscars. [italic]Oliver![/italic] won Best Picture, but it was one of the best and last of a dying breed, but [italic]2001: A Space Odyssey[/italic], not even nominated for the top prize, had an undeniable impact on subsequent films and on how we perceive the universe outside the planet Earth.

ALIENS!!! no contest

A Room with a View.

More good movies in that one year than in the past decade.

Agree Aliens or Blue Velvet have stood up the best and have the best long term impact. But I'd also like to give a shout out to the Hitcher which is about as perfect as a genre film can be.

Aliens illustrates the long term genre bias that exists against science fiction/action/horror films which are dismissed as entertaining but unimportant and unworthy of any recognition other than for special effects, makeup, editing or sound. The financial rewards and popularity are deemed sufficient, and artistic achievement is overlooked.

And your point is, r18? The movie came out in 1986. It's been 34 fucking years.

Hence, its influence. Blue Velvet is an influential film.

This is why the Academy should have gone ahead and created a 'popular' film category

Earnest question, how has "Blue Velvet" been influential?

A couple reasons: It updates classic film noir to the modern era, introduces symbolic and surrealistic imagery into the mainstream, Filled with taboo busting themes and also darkly funny as hell. It immerses you into a fever dream world and hopefully makes you reflect on how strange the real world is. Blade Runner does much the same.

Shanghai Surprise lol (I've still never seen it)

But my choice is Blue Velvet. Something Wild should be on the list as well.

Another Blue Velvet vote for artistic value. Though I did love Top Gun for popcorn fun.

hey George lucas how did u make such a fukiin flop like HOWARD THE DUCK????

Room with a View.....or Peggy sue....movies with heart, and durability over the decades

Not a better scene from any movie of '86

Yet another vote for Aliens.

Peggy Sue Got Married and Aliens are both wonderful movies. How did neither Kathleen Turner not Sigourney Weaver win? Performances for the ages.

Hannah or Aliens for sheer rewatchability. Once was enough for Blue Velvet, which I agree is great.

The Fly for being a great take on disease and ageing.

The Karate Kid

I loved Peggy Sue Got Married, the scene when she speaks to her grandmother on the phone always stayed with me.

hey queens, u wanna see best movie of this year? I was shocked how suspenseful 1917 was. BEST ! cute boy who plays the lead is unreal, all the shit he has to go thru to......get to the end. trust, it aint ur typical war flick which I hate

My top 3 would be:

The Fly

Aliens

Something Wild

The Name of the Rose.

by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

For some of the clunkers the OP dredged up, you might as well have submitted [italic]The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation[/italic].

Castle in the Sky

by Hayao Miyazaki

In hindsight, Blue Velvet. On the basis of how much I enjoyed the movie at the time, Hannah and Her Sisters or Aliens.

No love for "Children of a Lesser God"?

I loved Marlee Matlin in that movie.

R32, that was amazing!

You can see how Hairspray! (2007) totally stole from that movie at R32.

R18 and R22 I totally agree with you.

[quote]On the basis of how much I enjoyed the movie at the time, Hannah and Her Sisters or Aliens.

Too bad there was not yet MAD TV to mash them up as [italic]Hannah and Her Aliens[/italic].

[quote]You can see how Hairspray! (2007) totally stole from that movie at [R32].

They also borrowed from the movie of [italic]Hello, Dolly![/italic] with everyone on the street moving in rhythm to the background music before Dolly shows up.

Marlee Matlin was really good in "Children of a Lesser God."

The whole movie was special. Didn't it get nominated for Academy Awards?

Which of these movies were actual Academy Award nominees?

[quote] Which of these movies were actual Academy Award nominees?

It's pretty easy to pick out which ones decidedly were not.

And it makes me think 1986 was kind of a lackluster year in films compared to 1982, 1985, or 1988.

1986 Academy Award Nominees:

Out of Africa (Winner)

The Color Purple

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Prizzi's Honor

Witness

Those movies were from 1985, R54.

To see the movies from 1986, you'd have to list the 1987 Academy Award nominees:

Platoon (Winner)

Children of a Lesser God

Hannah and Her Sisters

The Mission

A Room With a View

Best Actor: Paul Newman (Color of Money)

Best Actress: Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God)

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Caine (Hannah and Her Sisters)

Best Supporting Actress: Dianne Weist (Hannah and Her Sisters)

Best Director: Oliver Stone (Platoon)

Best Original Song: "Take My Breath Away" (Top Gun)

Now THAT one deserved the Academy Award.

No, R57, it did not. "Somewhere Out There" and "Glory of Love" were superior songs that have aged better. That was the weakest winner since "You Light Up My Life."

Take My Breath Away is an 80's classic, and it is still played regularly on radio stations.

Somewhere Out There and Glory of Love are obscure, and nowhere to be found, any more.

SORRY!

Radio is irrelevant in 2020. You don't have to be tied to the limited imaginations of the soulless corporate drones from iHeartMedia who pick the watered-down and basic 1980s playlists, that is, for stations that ever play anything before Kurt Cobain offed himself and the whole music industry just said "I give up." But musically speaking, "Take My Breath Away" is a pretty pedestrian and rather dull song. Even the bass line just copies the melody. What hackery! This is not even good songwriting, never mind the best of the year.

"Somewhere Out There" is a beautiful song that almost sounds like a standard by comparison. For then-current pop/rock, "Glory of Love" also is a catchier song, period, with a more memorable lyrics and melody.

"Stand By Me," one of the best coming of age movies, based on the Stephen King novella, "The Body." Great performances by young artists Will Wheaton, River Phoenix and Kiefer Sutherland. It also kick-started Rob Reiner's directorial career.

In "Little Shop Of Horrors" that whole downtown was built on a soundstage. That should have won the Best Art Direction Oscar but wasn't even nominated but "The Color Of Money", "Hannah And Her Sisters", "The Mission", "Aliens" and the winner "A Room With A View", were ridiculous.

I could not stomach "Blue Velvet." Please choose something else.

No love for [italic]Flight of the Navigator[/italic], a movie actually directed by a gay man?

A number of other good movies were left off the list.

"Legal Eagles," with Robert Redford and Deborah Winger.

"Jumpin' Jack Flash," with Whoopi Goldberg.

"Lucas," with Corey Haim and Charlie Sheen.

"The Mosquito Coast," with Harrison Ford and River Phoenix.

All of these were excellent movies, too.

Having just left the East Village in '85, I saw Hannah and Her Sisters countless times on the big screen in its first run. Still it hasn't worn as well as Blue Velvet, though I too found so much over the top Lynch difficult to digest back then.

What I'd watch on the big screen again, in no particular order:

Something Wild

My Beautiful Laundrette (not released in the US until '86)

A Room with a View

Castle in the Sky

Flight of the Navigator

Aliens

Platoon

The Hitcher

Mona Lisa

Parting Glances

The Morning After

Salvador

Heartburn

River's Edge

Down by Law

Sid and Nancy

The Color of Money

Chilldren of a Lesser God

Absolute Beginners

Cat City

The Mosquito Coast

The Mission

The Year of Enlightenment

The Hitcher was great, just for the homoeroticism between Rutger Hauer and C. Thomas Howell.

You plebs have an awful taste! 67 replies and not one mention of "Jean de Florette" and "Manon des Sources", which are hands down the best two films of 1986 (or a film, because they were like one film split in two). But at least the masterpiece that is "Something Wild" has been mentioned a few times. That was definitely Melanie Griffith's finest hour.

I think it was her second best performance--after Working Girl. "I have a head for business and a body for sin"

[quote]You plebs have an awful taste! 67 replies and not one mention of "Jean de Florette" and "Manon des Sources"

Hinky Dinky Parlez Vous.

Those came and went quickly without much stir or fanfare in San Francisco, R68, to the extent that I've never seen them, will change that by seeing them via Amazon. I'd love to see Pagnol's original Manon.

Also worth a mention is 'Round Midnight.

"Little Shop of Horrors"!

It's an absolutely superb film, a great musical with a catchy, totally singable score, mind-boggling special effects, and some hilarious comedy scenes. And real depth, as it's a musical comedy version about a man being offered a chance to sell his soul. It's one of the best musicals of all times, it has stood the test of time, it's one of the best movies of the 80s, and is IMHO the Best Picture of 1986.

Fucking AMPAS was blind to its greatness, of course.

R68 is an anti-American bigot.

[quote] Fucking AMPAS was blind to its greatness, of course.

Their decisions are always mind-boggling.

Like "Chicago" winning best picture in 2002.

They are so completely out of touch with what regular people like.

Hannah and Her Sisters

I never actually saw Platoon.

Was it a good movie?

Michael Caine was the one who introduced Woody and Mia to each other. I wonder how he feels about that now.

By today's standards, I think that the Best Picture nominees would be:

Stand By Me

Peggy Sue Got Married

Aliens

Top Gun

Ferris Beuller's Day Off

A Room with a View

Aliens

Don't tell ME I can only choose one, OP, you silly ass.

I lost all respect for James Ivory for his complicity in CMBYN.

[quote] Don't tell ME I can only choose one, OP, you silly ass

But those are the Academy rules.

As far as I can tell, there has never been a TIE for an Oscar. You MUST choose only one winner.

Au contraire, R81...

[quote]Michael Caine was the one who introduced Woody and Mia to each other. I wonder how he feels about that now.

Where did you hear that? Mia made "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy' in '82 then "Zelig' ,"Broadway Danny Rose" & "The Purple Rose of Cairo" before they all worked together in "Hannah and Her Sisters".

[quote] I think it was her second best performance--after Working Girl. "I have a head for business and a body for sin

She was great in both of them but I still think Something Wild was the best thing she ever did. And that constant throat clearing thing she did in WG (probably caused by one cocaine line too many) was slightly annoying.

Something Wild also had one of the best closing credits sequence ever:

i got really stoned and went to see Platoon...bad idea. Very intense movie.

Howard the Duck destroyed my career!!!!!

That was fucking cringe worthy at R86.

No wonder Lea disappeared from movies.

Melanie gave us a trinity of great performances in the ‘80s.

Body Double, Something Wild and Working Girl.

Blue Velvet is free on Vudu, watching it now!

Definitely Hannah and her Sisters by a country mile, then the Color of Money.

I can't even remember "Glory Of Love." "Somewhere Out There" was Lite FM secretary music. "Take My Breath Away" was a fabulous song and has become a classic. One of the few times the Academy got it right when it came to Best Original Song.

Sigourney should've won Best Actress. I recently re-watched Aliens and god does that film still hold up. Given the limited special effects technology at the time, they did an amazing job.