Best Adapted Screenplay:
1980: Ordinary People (Alvin Sargent)
Oscar winner: Ordinary People (Alvin Sargent)
1981: Prince of the City (Jay Presson Allen and Sidney Lumet)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1982: Blade Runner (Hampton Fancher and David Webb Peoples)
Oscar winner: Missing (Costa-Gavras and Donald Stewart)
Was this nominated?: No
1983: Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks)
Oscar winner: Terms of Endearment (James L. Brooks)
1984: Once Upon a Time in America (Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli, Franco Ferrini, and Sergio Leone)
Oscar winner: Amadeus (Peter Shaffer)
Was this nominated?: No
1985: Kiss of the Spider Woman (Leonard Schrader)
Oscar winner: Out of Africa (Kurt Luedtke)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1986: Betty Blue (Jean-Jacques Beineix)
Oscar winner: A Room with a View (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala)
Was this nominated?: No
Was this nominated?: No
1987: The Dead (Tony Huston)
Oscar winner: The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci and Mark Peploe)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1988: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Jean-Claude Carriere and Philip Kaufman)
Oscar winner: Dangerous Liaisons (Christopher Hampton)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1989: Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant and Daniel Yost)
Oscar winner: Driving Miss Daisy (Alfred Uhry)
Was this nominated?: No
Best Original Screenplay:
1980: The Big Red One [The Reconstruction] (Samuel Fuller)
Oscar winner: Melvin and Howard (Bo Goldman)
Was this nominated?: No
1981: Lola (Pea Fröhlich, Peter Märthesheimer, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Oscar winner: Chariots of Fire (Colin Welland)
Was this nominated?: No
1982: Diner (Barry Levinson)
Oscar winner: Gandhi (John Briley)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1983: The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek)
Oscar winner: Tender Mercies (Horton Foote)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1984: Broadway Danny Rose (Woody Allen)
Oscar winner: Places in the Heart (Robert Benton)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1985: The Purple Rose of Cairo (Woody Allen)
Oscar winner: Witness (William Kelley, Earl Wallace, and Pamela Wallace)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1986: Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
Oscar winner: Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
1987: Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson)
Oscar winner: Moonstruck (John Patrick Shanley)
Was this nominated?: No
1988: A Fish Called Wanda (John Cleese and Charles Crichton)
Oscar winner: Rain Man (Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow)
Was this nominated?: Yes
1989: Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee)
Oscar winner: Dead Poets Society (Tom Schulman)
Was this nominated?: Yes
Updated: 4/22/15
Updated: 4/22/15
I'm fairly strong in 80s film, many of my favorites are from then, even though it's usually regarded as a weaker cinematic decade than the 70s.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Prince of the City, got to look that up.
Withnail & I is indeed a very good screenplay, that ought to have been nominated, maybe it was too dark for the academy.
Ooh, Prince of the City is an interesting Lumet film. Just watched it recently, and it's a very underrated crime drama dealing with police corruption.
DeleteMaybe Withnail & I was too British for the Academy? (Doesn't really make sense though, given A Fish Called Wanda's nod.) Not sure why it was overlooked, but I'm glad you like it.
Awesome to see so much Allen love here. A Fish Called Wanda deserved the win even just for the Yorkie bit - I felt dirty for laughing at that. 3 times it happened :)
ReplyDeleteAllen rocks! Haha. LOVE A Fish Called Wanda. :)
DeleteI love Dead Poets Society (one of my faves growing up) so I'm glad it won. A Fish Called Wanda is a hoot, I need to rewatch that one soon. Wow, Woody Allen dominated the 80s in this category, but I do like The Purple Rose of Cairo!
ReplyDeleteI like Dead Poets Society, but I prefer Spike Lee's screenplay.
DeleteA Fish Called Wanda always makes me laugh, and Woody Allen couldn't be denied! Haha.
So many great movies here! I would definitely choose Kiss of the Spider Woman over Out of Africa ... I'm with you on that. :-) And I loved both Full Metal Jacket and The Last Emperor. I don't know how I'd call that one.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see The Verdict again -- I haven't watched it since it first came out. And I still need to see The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
A Fish Called Wanda is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. "Interesting ... you're quite the vulgarian."
Another fantastic post, Josh!
Thanks so much!
DeleteYay! Glad we agree on Kiss of the Spider Woman. I like The Last Emperor, but I think Full Metal Jacket is on another level.
Love The Verdict, and a win for Mamet is a bonus. Be interested to hear your thoughts on The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
A Fish Called Wanda? Why so guilty? It's a beloved, award-winning British comedy, after all. ;)
Ahah, true Josh, no need to feel guilty for loving a comedic gem that is A Fish Called Wanda :)
DeleteGreat lists man. I was very disappointed with Do the Right Thing, although I'm fully aware that I'm in the minority.
ReplyDeleteThanks man. Ha, fair enough. There are plenty of films I'm in the minority on.
DeleteSuperb picks here, as usual.
ReplyDeleteWoody reigns supreme! Love it.
I love that you chose the The Big Chill as your favorite of '83. That is as fine a screenplay that has ever been written. Ever. I think I'd place it in my Top 10 scripts of all time. Really. Just flawless.
"Are we the first ones up?"
Thanks! If it were up to me, Woody would have 8 Oscars. :)
DeleteHa! That line gets me every time. Love the script, so I had to recognize it. Fanny and Alexander gets Picture and Director wins that year, but I had to give this win to The Big Chill.