57th Academy Awards
The 57th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 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 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 (film)|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 and highlighted in boldface.Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing)
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.Films with multiple nominations and awards
| 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
| Name | Role |
| Announcer of the 57th Academy Awards | |
| Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony | |
| Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor | |
| Presenter of the award for Best Documentary Short | |
| Presenter of the award for Best Documentary Feature | |
Lonette McKee | Presenters of the award for Best Makeup |
Amy Irving | Presenters of the award for Best Sound |
Tom Selleck | Presenters of the award for Best Cinematography |
| Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| Presenter of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to David L. Wolper | |
| Presenter of the award for Best Art Direction | |
| Presenter of the Scientific & Technical Awards | |
William Hurt | Presenters of the award for Best Visual Effects |
| Presenter of the Honorary Award to the National Endowment for the Arts | |
Burt Lancaster | Presenters of the awards for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium |
Ann Reinking | Presenters of the award for Best Original Score |
Kathleen Turner | Presenters of the award for Best Original Song Score |
Glenn Close | Presenters of the award for Best Costume Design |
Ann Reinking | Presenters of the award for Best Animated Short Film |
Kathleen Turner | Presenters of the award for Best Live Action Short Film |
| Presenter of the award for Best Actor | |
| Presenter of the award for Best Original Song | |
William Hurt | Presenters of the award for Best Film Editing |
| Presenter of the Honorary Award to James Stewart | |
Faye Dunaway | Presenters of the award for Best Foreign Language Film |
| Presenter of the award for Best Director | |
| Presenter of the award for Best Actress | |
| Presenter of the award for Best Picture |
Ceremony information
Determined to revive interest surrounding the awards and reverse declining ratings, the Academy recruited a four-person committee in December 1984 composed 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 Lemmon, 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 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. Scott Salmon served as choreography for the ceremony. 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, A Soldier's Story, A Passage to India, and The Killing Fields.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."