Best Movies of 1985 by Rank
50
1
Akira Kurosawa
Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryu, Mieko Harada
Drama / War / Epic / History / Period Film
Japan / France
Japanese
136
2
Claude Lanzmann
Claude Lanzmann, Simon Srebnik, Michael Podchlebnik, Motke Zaidl
Documentary / War / History
France
English
279
3
Elem Klimov
Aleksei Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Lauciavicius
Drama / War
Soviet Union
Russian
337
4
James Ivory
Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Denholm Elliott
Comedy / Drama / Romance / Period Film
UK
English
457
5
Robert Zemeckis
Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F. Wilson
Adventure / Comedy / Sci-Fi / Family
USA
English
493
6
John Huston
Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner
Comedy / Drama / Romance / Crime / Gangster
USA
English
540
7
Terry Gilliam
Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond
Comedy / Sci-Fi / Fantasy / Cult
UK
English
556
8
Peter Weir
Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Josef Sommer, Lukas Haas, Jan Rubes
Drama / Romance / Thriller / Crime
USA
English
624
9
Woody Allen
Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello, Irving Metzman
Fantasy / Comedy / Romance
USA
English
626
10
Agnès Varda
Sandrine Bonnaire, Setti Ramdane, Francis Balchère
Drama
France / UK
French
676
11
Sydney Pollack
Meryl Streep, Robert Redford
Drama / Romance / Epic / Biography / Period Film
USA
English
699
12
Juzo Itami
Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Kôji Yakusho
Comedy
Japan
Japanese
714
13
Steven Spielberg
Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg
Drama / Period Film
USA
English
726
14
Lasse Hallström
Anton Glanzelius, Tomas von Brömssen, Anki Lidén
Drama / Comedy / Family
Sweden
Swedish
729
15
Hector Babenco
William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves
Drama
Brazil / USA
English
939
17
Stephen Frears
Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke
Drama / Romance
UK
English
1152
18
Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica, Moreno D'E Bartolli
Drama / Comedy
Yugoslavia
Serbo-Croatian
1297
19
Mike Newell
Miranda Richardson, Rupert Everett, Ian Holm, Stratford Johns
Crime / Drama / Thriller / Biography
UK
English
1323
20
Susan Seidelman
Rosanna Arquette, Madonna, Aidan Quinn, Mark Blum, Robert Joy
Comedy / Romance / Drama / Adventure / History
USA
English
1324
21
Martin Scorsese
Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Tommy Chong
Comedy / Thriller
USA
English
1327
22
John Hughes
Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald
Comedy / Drama / Cult
USA
English
1500
23
Peter Masterson
Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford
Drama
USA
English
1545
24
Paul Schrader
Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya, Hiroshi Mikami, Junya Fukuda
Drama / Biography
USA
Japanese
1610
25
Hsiao-hsien Hou
T'ien Feng, Mei Fang, T'ang Ju-yun, Yu An-Shun, Hsiao Ai
Drama
Taiwan
Mandarin
1710
26
Albert Brooks
Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, Sylvia Farrel, Tina Kincaid
Comedy
USA
English
1860
27
Ron Howard
Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy
Adventure / Comedy / Sci-Fi / Drama
USA
English
1864
28
Alan Bridges
James Mason, Edward Fox, Dorothy Tutin, John Gielgud
Drama / Period Film
UK
English
1907
29
Michael Apted
Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield
Documentary / Biography
UK
English
1976
30
István Szabó
Klaus Maria Brandauer, Hans Christian Blech
Drama / Period Film / War / Spy
Hungary / Austria / West Germany
Hungarian
2047
31
Peter Bogdanovich
Cher, Sam Elliott, Eric Stoltz, Estelle Getty, Richard A. Dysart, Laura Dern
Biography / Drama
USA
English
2058
32
George Ogilvie, George Miller
Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Angelo Rossitto, Helen Buday
Action / Sci-Fi / Adventure
Australia / USA
English
2125
33
Rob Reiner
John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Anthony Edwards, Boyd Gaines, Tim Robbins
Comedy / Romance
USA
English
2179
34
Andrei Konchalovsky
Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner
Action / Adventure / Drama / Thriller
USA / Israel
English
2198
35
Stuart Gordon
Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Comedy / Horror / Sci-Fi / Cult
USA
English
2215
36
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood, Michael Moriarty, Carrie Snodgress, Chris Penn
Western
USA
English
2227
37
Norman Jewison
Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, Meg Tilly, Anne Pitoniak, Winston Rekert
Drama / Thriller / Mystery / Religion
USA
English
2235
38
Richard Donner
Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton
Adventure / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2274
39
John Schlesinger
Timothy Hutton, Sean Penn, David Suchet, Lori Singer
Drama / Thriller
USA
English
2299
40
Geoff Murphy
Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge, Pete Smith, Anzac Wallace, Norman Fletcher
Drama / Sci-Fi / Mystery
New Zealand
English
2305
41
Satyajit Ray, Dulal Dutt
Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Swatilekha Chatterjee
Drama / Romance / Period Film
India
Bengali
2305
41
Doris Dörrie
Heiner Lauterbach, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Ulrike Kriener
Comedy
West Germany
German
2314
42
Coline Serreau
Roland Giraud, Michel Boujenah, André Dussollier
Comedy
France
French
2316
43
Joel Schumacher
Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2317
44
Lawrence Kasdan
Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, Marvin J. McIntyre
Action / Comedy / Western
USA
English
2320
45
John Boorman
Powers Boothe, Meg Foster, Yara Vaneau, William Rodriguez, Estee Chandler
Action / Adventure / Drama
UK
English
2326
46
David Hare
Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Holm, Judi Dench, Stuart Wilson, Tim McInnerny
Drama / Mystery
UK
English
2356
47
Fred Schepisi
Meryl Streep, Charles Dance, Tracey Ullman, John Gielgud, Sting, Ian McKellen
Drama
UK / USA
English
2412
48
Richard Attenborough
Michael Douglas, Terrence Mann, Alyson Reed, Cameron English
Musical / Drama / Comedy
USA
English
2426
49
George A. Romero
Lori Cardille, Terry Alexander, Joseph Pilato, Jarlath Conroy
Horror / Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller
USA
English
2494
50
Michael Ritchie
Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Richard Libertini, Tim Matheson
Comedy / Crime / Mystery / Thriller
USA
English
2502
51
Richard Marquand
Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Robert Loggia, Peter Coyote, Leigh Taylor-Young
Crime / Thriller / Mystery / Romance / Drama
USA
English
2528
52
Jirí Menzel
János Bán, Marián Labuda
Comedy / Drama
Czechoslovakia
Czech
2578
53
Ken Burns
Huey Long, David McCullough, Russell Long
Documentary / History / Biography
USA
English
2599
54
Marion Hänsel
Jane Birkin, Trevor Howard, John Matshikiza, Nadine Uwampa
Drama
Belgium / France
English
2605
55
Claude Chabrol
Jean Poiret, Stéphane Audran, Michel Bouquet, Jean Topart, Lucas Belvaux
Crime / Romance / Comedy / Mystery / Detective / Post-Noir
France
French
2605
55
David Drury
Gabriel Byrne, Greta Scacchi, Denholm Elliott, Ian Bannen, Fulton Mackay
Thriller
UK
English
2605
55
Nicolas Roeg
Michael Emil, Theresa Russell, Tony Curtis, Gary Busey, Will Sampson
Drama / Comedy
UK
English
2605
55
Giles Foster
Ben Kingsley, Jenny Agutter, Patrick Ryecart, Freddie Jones, Jonathan Coy
Drama
UK
English
2661
56
William Friedkin
William L. Petersen, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Debra Feuer, John Turturro
Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller / Detective
USA
English
2667
57
Alan Rudolph
Kris Kristofferson, Keith Carradine, Lori Singer
Crime / Drama / Post-Noir / Romance
USA
English
2681
58
Rick King
Gary McCleery, John Seitz, John Sayles, John Snyder, Martin Donovan
Crime / Drama
USA
English
2688
59
Savage Steve Holland
John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Demian Slade, Scooter Stevens
Comedy / Romance / Cult
USA
English
2688
59
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Kwok-Hung Lam, Bill Tung, Yuen Chor
Action / Comedy / Thriller / Crime / Detective / Gangster
Hong Kong
Cantonese
2689
60
Jonathan Lynn
Eileen Brennan, Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean
Comedy / Crime / Mystery / Thriller
USA
English
2689
60
Wolfgang Petersen
Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr., Brion James, Richard Marcus, Carolyn McCormick
Action / Adventure / Drama / Sci-Fi
USA / West Germany / UK
English
2689
60
Tom Holland
Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall, Stephen Geoffreys
Fantasy / Horror / Thriller
USA
English
2689
60
Richard Donner
Matthew Broderick, Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Leo McKern, John Wood
Adventure / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy / Romance
USA / Italy
English
2689
60
Chris Bernard
Alfred Molina, Peter Firth, Tracy Marshak-Nash, Alexandra Pigg, Margi Clarke
Comedy / Drama / Romance / History
UK
English
2689
60
Tim Burton
Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger, Judd Omen
Adventure / Comedy / Family
USA
English
2689
60
George P. Cosmatos
Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Charles Napier, Steven Berkoff
Action / Thriller / Adventure / War / Cult / Comic
USA
English
2689
60
John Landis
Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Forrest, Donna Dixon, Bruce Davison, Bernie Casey
Adventure / Comedy / Spy / Action
USA
English
2689
60
John Glen
Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones, Patrick Macnee
Action / Adventure / Thriller / Spy / Family / Cult
UK / USA
English
2689
60
Barry Levinson
Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cox, Sophie Ward, Anthony Higgins, Susan Fleetwood
Adventure / Fantasy / Mystery / Thriller / Action / Detective / Drama
USA
English
2691
61
Jean-Luc Godard
Myriem Roussel, Thierry Rode, Philippe Lacoste, Manon Andersen
Drama / Fantasy / Experimental / Religion
France / Switzerland / UK
French
2691
61
Gus Van Sant
Tim Streeter, Doug Cooeyate, Ray Monge, Sam Downey, Robert Lee Pitchlynn
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2709
62
Agnieszka Holland
Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Wojciech Pszoniak
Drama / War
West Germany
German
2726
63
Joyce Chopra
Treat Williams, Laura Dern, Mary Kay Place, Margaret Welsh
Drama / Romance
UK / USA
English
2738
64
Edward Yang
Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Wu Nien-Chen, Mei Fang, Tsai Chin, Su-Yun Ko
Drama / Romance
Taiwan
Taiwanese
2740
65
Gavin Millar
Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Peter Gallagher, Nicola Cowper
Fantasy / Drama / Biography
UK
English
2741
66
Wayne Wang
Laureen Chew, Kim Chew, Victor Wong, Ida F.O. Chung, Cora Miao
Comedy / Drama
USA
English
2741
66
Luc Besson
Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, Richard Bohringer, Michel Galabru
Crime / Drama / Romance / Thriller / Comedy
France
French
2783
67
John Binder
Cindy Williams, Harry Dean Stanton, Fred Ward, Beverly Hope Atkinson
Comedy / Sci-Fi
USA
English
2792
68
Béla Tarr
Hédi Temessy, Erika Bodnár, Miklós Székely B.
Drama
Hungary
Hungarian
2792
68
Yvonne Rainer
Jacquie Raynal, William Joseph Raymond, Larry Loonin
Experimental / Drama
USA
English
2792
68
Raoul Ruiz
Aurélie Chazelle
Family / Drama
France / Portugal
French
2801
69
Ted Berman, Richard Rich
Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Arthur Malet
Animation / Adventure / Drama / Family / Fantasy / Action
USA
English
2801
69
Andrew Davis
Chuck Norris, Henry Silva, Bert Remsen, Mike Genovese, Nathan Davis, Ralph Foody
Action / Drama / Thriller / Detective / Gangster
USA
English
2801
69
Mike Newell
Anthony Hopkins, Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter, Frances Viner, Simon Callow
Drama
UK
English
2801
69
Rob Nilsson
Bruce Dern, Pam Grier, Bill Bailey, Jim Haynie, John Marley, Marty Liquori
Drama / Sports
USA
English
2801
69
George Butler
Bev Francis, Rachel McLish, Lori Bowen, Carla Dunlap, George Plimpton
Documentary / Sports / Biography / Drama / Cult
USA
English
2801
69
Martha Coolidge
Val Kilmer, Gabriel Jarret, Michelle Meyrink, William Atherton, Jon Gries
Comedy / Cult
USA
English
2801
69
John Irvin
Glenda Jackson, Ben Kingsley, Richard Johnson, Michael Gambon
Drama / Romance / Comedy
UK / USA
English
2801
69
Bud Yorkin
Gene Hackman, Ann-Margret, Ellen Burstyn, Amy Madigan, Ally Sheedy, Stephen Lang
Drama / Romance
USA
English
2801
69
Harold Becker
Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Schoeffling, Ronny Cox
Drama / Romance / Sports
USA
English
2807
70
Donald Brittain
Sean McCann, R.H. Thomson, Maury Chaykin, Donald Brittain, Peter Boretski
Drama / Biography / Crime / Gangster
Canada
English
2807
70
John Erman
Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, Sylvia Sidney, Aidan Quinn, D.W. Moffett
Drama
USA
English
2807
70
Sandy Wilson
Margaret Langrick, John Wildman, Richard Donat, Jane Mortifee, T.J. Scott
Biography / Drama / Comedy / Period Film
Canada
English
2807
70
Peter Smith
Bernard Hill, Joanne Whalley, Elvis Costello, Linus Roache, Michael Angelis
Comedy
UK / Canada
English
2840
71
Christian Blackwood
Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, John Malkovich, Stephen Lang, Charles Durning
Documentary
USA
English
2850
72
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Grazyna Szapolowska, Maria Pakulnis, Aleksander Bardini
Drama / Fantasy
Poland
Polish
2855
73
Aleksey German
Andrei Boltnev, Andrey Mironov, Nina Ruslanova, Aleksey Zharkov, Aleksandr Filippen
Drama / Period Film / Crime / Detective
Soviet Union
Russian
2860
74
Teguh Karya
Alex Komang, Rina Hassim, Sylvia Widiantono, Ray Sahetapy
Drama
Indonesia
Indonesian
2860
74
Suzana Amaral
Marcelia Cartaxo, José Dumont, Tamara Taxman
Comedy
Brazil
Portuguese
NR
-
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Brigitte Nielsen
Action / Drama / Sports
USA
English
NR
-
Jack Haley Jr.
Liza Minnelli, Shirley Temple, Gene Kelly, Mikhail Baryshnikov, John Travolta
Documentary / Musical
USA
English
