Best Drama Films of 1985
Death of a Salesman
In 1984, actor Dustin ... seminal work, Death of a Salesman (1985) won several awards, including a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Hoffman. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Arch of Triumph
Erich Maria Remarque's novel ... committing suicide. Their chance for happiness is sabotaged by Hopkins' desire to wreak vengeance on SS officer Donald Pleasence. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Plenty
Plenty boasts a cast ... East developments among them. David Hare adapted the screenplay from his successful stage play which first opened in 1978. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
St. Elmo's Fire
Post-collegiate angst, '80s style, ... "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)," which was credited to John Parr but co-written by music producer David Foster. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby is a Friend of Mine
Mary Trimble wrote this ... Friend of Nicholas Nickelby is a Friend of Mine was first telecast February 9, 1982, on PBS's American Playhouse. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Mussolini and I
The last days in ... daughter and Galeazzo's wife, Bob Hoskins is the dictator, and Barbara De Rossi is Mussolini's doomed mistress, Claretta. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
White Nights
The fancy footwork and ... during the Vietnam war. Nikolai desperately wants to get out of the country, but the Russians have other plans. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Hold the Dream
This television mini-series sequel ... over her empire to granddaughter Paula Fairley (Jenny Seagrave), much to the dismay of the rest of the family. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
An Early Frost
Originally telecast November 11, ... and John Glover as a fellow AIDS victim. Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman won Emmys for their pioneering teleplay. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Mask
This is the true ... success for director Peter Bogdanovich, though unfortunately it didn't come soon enough to stave off his declaring personal bankruptcy. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Stone Pillow
The ads for The ... Love Lucy sketch in which Ball dresses up like a tramp in order to meet Red Skelton (or somebody). [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Malice in Wonderland
When the made-for-TV The ... Hopper's actor-son William. Adapted from George Eels' waspish book Hedda and Louella, Malice in Wonderland is delightful, high-class claptrap. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Sins
In this drama, a ... the top of the fashion industry, but as she does, her past business sins come back to haunt her. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Rocky IV
The third sequel to ... the latest technology, Rocky's ascetic preparations are a low-key affair of carrying logs up hills through knee-deep Russian snow. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Fool for Love
Though there are several ... of iconoclastic playwright Sam Shepard and unconventional director Robert Altman proved a failure at the box-office and with critics. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Perfect
Based on a series ... decade's notorious cinematic misfires. Bridges had enjoyed much greater success with his previous collaboration with Travolta, Urban Cowboy (1980). [ best drama films - 1985 ]
The Trip to Bountiful
Adapted by Horton Foote ... Bountiful (incidentally, the original TV production, which still exists in kinescope form, starred Lillian Gish and Eva Marie Saint). [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Turk 182!
Timothy Hutton stars in ... Jimmy takes it upon himself to stage one final elaborate stunt to make the public aware of Terry's plight. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Miami Vice: Season 02
Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) ... once more with the vicious, self-destructive Calderone crime family, whose head man is played by a young John Leguizamo. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Agnes of God
Agnes of God is ... "divine" in her act?--but offers frustratingly few answers. The evocative photography is by longtime Ingmar Bergman associate Sven Nykvist. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Rendez-Vous
Juliette Binoche teams with ... Scrutzler casts the inexperienced Nina as Juliet -- and before long, both unhappy souls find a common emotional ground. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Deadly Justice
Made for television, Broken ... as a rape counsellor. The Rape of Richard Beck premiered on May 27, 1985, as an "ABC Theatre" presentation. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
The Burning Bed
Farrah Fawcett earned Emmy ... film into a series of more serious movies, including Extremities and Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
American Flyers
It takes a fierce ... or the impudent, driven David (David Marshall Grant) -- is likely afflicted with an inherited tendency toward cerebral aneurysms. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Wetherby
In a novel and ... raised about his motives, and viewers see the dinner party again, moment by moment, in an entirely new light. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil
The two-part TV movie ... named Putzi (shades of Cabaret's Joel Grey); and David Warner, repeating his Holocaust role as SS head man Heydrich. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Dance with a Stranger
This darkly haunting slightly ... The story is made even more poignant because of the sad life and eventual suicide of Ellis' real son. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Enemy Mine
Love means never having ... makeup work. Though a favorite on home video, the film deserves to be seen on a wide theatre screen. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
On the Edge
Looking none the worse ... onetime trainer John Marley. It's Rocky for the rocking-chair set, but On the Edge is contagious in its euphoria. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Sweet Dreams
Patsy Cline was one ... independence. Rather than attempt to re-create Patsy Cline's vocals, Jessica Lange instead opted to lip-synch with Cline's original recordings. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
The Boys Next Door
The "boys next door" ... reason, until the bloody denouement. Director Penelope Spheeris later helmed Wayne's World, The Little Rascals, and The Beverly Hillbillies. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
City Limits
This bleak post-apocalyptic science ... when the fascistic Sunya Corporation attempts to take over the city with the cooperation of the DA bike gang. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Silas Marner
This TV adaptation of ... Originally taped in 1985 for the BBC, Silas Marner was first shown in the US on March 15, 1987. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Under the Biltmore Clock
In this light-weight romantic ... with straightforward cruelty. After several twists of fate, Myra has an opportunity to give as good as she got. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Lamb
Michael Lamb (Liam Neeson) ... on a novel by Bernard McLaverty, Lamb is graced with a compelling musical score by rock star Van Morrison. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Dallas: Season 09
The infamous ninth season ... action suddenly shifts to Pamela, who is aroused from her slumbers by a familiar voice emanating from her bathroom.... [ best drama films - 1985 ]
King David
Director Bruce Beresford has ... or unclear motivation may be the result of trying to cover too many events in a 114-minute running time. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Anne of Green Gables
Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel ... on American television as a 3-part presentation on PBS' Wonderworks; it aired from February 17 through March 3, 1986. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Smooth Talk
Produced for PBS' American ... based on a 1970 short story by Joyce Carol Oates entitled "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" [ best drama films - 1985 ]
That Was Then... This Is Now
Emilio Estevez adapted S.E. ... Cathy (Kim Delany). Jealous of Cathy and fearful of losing Byron, Mark becomes more and more erratic and rebellious. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Tuff Turf
This routine film catalogues ... compelling and the film is notable for one of the early performances of Robert Downey in a subsidiary role. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Vision Quest
According to high school ... Of historical value is the brief appearance by Madonna, whose voice is heard throughout on the film's music track. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Baby... Secret of the Lost Legend
Eight years before the ... next step is to recapture Mom dinosaur and get away from the army and Kiviat, not an easy feat. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
1918
Adapted by Horton Foote ... would have imagined. The film was later telecast as part of a Horton Foote trilogy on PBS' American Playhouse. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Sylvester
Melissa Gilbert acquits herself ... to make it through the formal dressage, cross-country, and jumping competitions -- and to do that in top form. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Colonel Redl
The second film in ... the absence of a score is most effective in the final shots of Redl's fellow officers awaiting his fate. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy
Lord Mountbatten: The Last ... Jinnah. Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy was first seen on Masterpiece Theatre from January 26 through March 2, 1986. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
A Chorus Line
Broadway's celebratory musical about ... returned to the theater -- not to see Zach but to audition for Zach's musical. She needs the work. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
My Beautiful Laundrette
After the death of ... was originally filmed for BBC television. Kureishi collaborated again with director Stephen Frears on Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
The Twilight Zone [TV Series] [1985]
Twenty-one years after its ... its syndicated run, Twilight Zone was narrated by Robin Ward, whose voice was also dubbed over the network reruns. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Desert Hearts
Director Donna Deitch makes ... all Vivian needs is the love of another woman, and soon enough the two are in each other's arms. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
American Commandos
A former Green Beret ... break up a major drug ring. Much of the film, including the LA sequences, were shot in the Philippines [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Bittere Ernte
This West German film ... been lensed in director Agnieszka Holland's native Poland; upon the imposition of martial law, production was switched to Sweden. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Cut and Run
In this Italian adventure, ... a notorious, corrupt colonel is still alive. While in the jungles, they encounter hostile natives and other typical dangers. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
The Emerald Forest
The Emerald Forest is ... and abduct all of the women in the Invisible People tribe, Tomme seeks his dad's help in rescuing them. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
The Official Story
This is an emotionally ... also learns the identity of the girl's grandmother. Her next decision will determine what to do with this information. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
A Hora da Estrela
This is a sympathetic, ... in a wide range of viewers, and she easily carries this story based on a novel by Clarice Lispector. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
South Bronx Heroes
Filmed independently in 1983, ... to justice. So much ad-libbing occurs onscreen in Runaways that Mario Van Peebles is given an "additional dialogue" credit. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Private Passions
The initiation of young ... to vent his feelings. It is that meeting that ultimately sends Mark home more experienced than when he arrived. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Krush Groove
In-between rappin' numbers by ... But all is not lost, after more rap and rock by everyone, the clan returns with salvation at hand. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
November Moon
Homosexual love among the ... isolated. This split with reality influences other aspects of the film and may raise the objections of some viewers. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Rappin'
In Rappin', Mario Van ... the bad guys. His rappin' is so ratin' that he impresses a record company and wins his gal back. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Wuthering Heights
Jacques Rivette's version of ... treatment tends to transform most protagonists into one-dimensional models, and even transforms the heroine into a easily obnoxious persona. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
And the Children Shall Lead
In honor of Martin ... of And the Children Shall Lead, PBS offered a similarly themed adult drama, Go Tell it on the Mountain. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Bleak House
This 1985 television production ... despair. The conclusion reveals the fate of Lady Dedlock, the murderer of Tulkinghorn, and the future of Esther Summerson. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Bridge to Terabithia
Jess is determined to ... travel to Terabithia alone, and then Jess is forced to come to terms with the results of that tragedy. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Combat Shock
This violent film follows ... One gory scene follows another until the climax which is meant to be the shocker that caps it all. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Fortress
In an Australian outback ... class must band together to survive and perhaps turn the tables on the men who continue to hunt them. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Into Thin Air
In this docudrama, Ellen ... while traveling to school in Colorado. Robert Prosky portrays the detective who leads the search for the boy's whereabouts. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Massacre in Dinosaur Valley
In this adventure film, ... operation. Their challenge now is to survive, to put the slaver out of business, and to escape the jungle. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Oliver Twist
The second British miniseries ... for six half-hour episodes, Oliver Twist was later shown in the U.S. as part of the PBS anthology Wonderworks. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Oriana
In this interesting cinematic ... realizes why her aunt shut herself away. Parents should be advised that incest is a part of this story. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Las Barras Bravas
Barras Bravas is a ... film about the evil workings of a big-city drug ring. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Escape Sangriento
Escape Sangriento concerns an ... on the outside, Montes must figure out who set him up to take the fall for his wife's murder. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Girls from Nowolipki
In this Polish film, ... young Warsaw girls help each other through the trials of growing up. This movie does not contain English subtitles. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Meteor and Shadow
The eccentric life and ... politics, sex, and addictions were worn more as oddities than as an offensive against the bastions of Greek society. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Esther
In this experimental film ... Esther saving the Jews and the modern Middle East. The cast is comprised of both Arab and Jewish actors. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Private Sessions
In this drama, the ... with those of his troubled patients. Unfortunately, he tends to get equally personally involved in both and trouble ensues. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Room to Move
In this drama two ... become quite close when their parents refuse to listen. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Heart of the High Country
A woman starting a ... as a mini-series for British television, Heart of the High Country stars Valerie Gogan, David Letch, and Kenneth Cranham. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Last Images of the Shipwreck
The director of the ... personal relationship with Jesus, and seeks his advice on how to get Roberto to notice her as a woman. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Coming Through
The romantic entanglements of ... Mirren) become intertwined with the life of a man in present day who is obsessed with the noted writer. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
Vabank II Czyli Riposta
This is a sequel ... a big way. This film should not be confused with the 1986 Va Banque by director Diethard Kosher. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
No Love Juice
When 28-year-old Tomomi is ... within himself he hadn't been aware of, while Tomomi finds that her definition of love needs to be refined. [ best drama films - 1985 ]
1915
The historical anti-war drama ... by their horrific experiences fighting in the trenches and seeing up close the most inhuman behavior of fellow man. [ best drama films - 1985 ]Supplemental Navigation
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