39th British Academy Film Awards

The 39th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on 16 March 1986 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1985. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 1985.^[1]

There are no records showing any nominations, or a winner, for the BAFTA Award for Best Direction at this ceremony.^[2]

Robert Greenhut and Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo won awards for Best Film and Original Screenplay.^[3] William Hurt and Peggy Ashcroft took home Best Actor and Actress, whilst Denholm Elliott and Rosanna Arquette won in the supporting categories.

The ceremony was hosted by Michael Aspel for the second time.

Winners and nominees

Miroslav Ondříček, Best Cinematography winner

BAFTA Fellowship

Steven Spielberg

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

Sydney Samuelson

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Film The Purple Rose of Cairo – Robert Greenhut and Woody Allen Amadeus – Saul Zaentz and Miloš Forman Back to the Future – Bob Gale, Neil Canton and Robert Zemeckis A Passage to India – John Knatchbull, Richard Goodwin and David Lean Witness – Edward S. Feldman and Peter Weir
Best Actor in a Leading Role *William Hurt – Kiss of the Spider Woman* as Luis Molina** F. Murray Abraham – Amadeus as Antonio Salieri Harrison Ford – Witness as Detective John Book Victor Banerjee – A Passage to India as Doctor Aziz Ahmed	Best Actress in a Leading Role *Peggy Ashcroft – A Passage to India* as Mrs. Moore** Alexandra Pigg – Letter to Brezhnev as Elaine Kelly McGillis – Witness as Rachel Lapp Mia Farrow – The Purple Rose of Cairo as Cecilia
Best Actor in a Supporting Role *Denholm Elliott – Defence of the Realm* as Vernon Bayliss** James Fox – A Passage to India as Richard Fielding John Gielgud – Plenty as Sir Leonard Darwin Saeed Jaffrey – My Beautiful Laundrette as Nasser Ali	Best Actress in a Supporting Role *Rosanna Arquette – Desperately Seeking Susan* as Roberta Glass** Anjelica Huston – Prizzi's Honor as Maerose Prizzi Judi Dench – Wetherby as Marcia Pilborough Tracey Ullman – Plenty as Alice Park
Best Original Screenplay The Purple Rose of Cairo – Woody Allen Back to the Future – Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale My Beautiful Laundrette – Hanif Kureishi Witness – Earl W. Wallace and William Kelley	Best Adapted Screenplay Prizzi's Honor – Richard Condon and Janet Roach Amadeus – Peter Shaffer A Passage to India – David Lean The Shooting Party – Julian Bond
Best Cinematography Amadeus – Miroslav Ondříček The Emerald Forest – Philippe Rousselot A Passage to India – Ernest Day Witness – John Seale	Best Costume Design The Cotton Club – Milena Canonero Amadeus – Theodor Pištěk Legend – Charles Knode A Passage to India – Judy Moorcroft
Best Editing Amadeus – Nena Danevic and Michael Chandler Back to the Future – Arthur Schmidt and Harry Keramidas A Chorus Line – John Bloom Witness – Thom Noble	Best Makeup and Hair Amadeus – Paul LeBlanc and Dick Smith The Emerald Forest – Peter Frampton, Paul Engelen, Anna Dryhurst, Luis Michelotti and Beth Presares Legend – Peter Robb-King and Rob Bottin Mask – Michael Westmore
Best Original Music Witness – Maurice Jarre Beverly Hills Cop – Harold Faltermeyer The Emerald Forest – Junior Homrich and Brian Gascoigne A Passage to India – Maurice Jarre	Best Production Design Brazil – Norman Garwood Amadeus – Patrizia von Brandenstein Back to the Future – Lawrence G. Paull A Passage to India – John Box
Best Sound Amadeus – John Nutt, Chris Newman and Mark Berger Carmen – Hugues Darmois, Harald Maury, Dominique Hennequin and Bernard Le Roux A Chorus Line – Jonathan Bates, Chris Newman and Gerry Humphreys The Cotton Club – Edward Beyer, Jack Jacobsen and David Carroll	Best Special Visual Effects Brazil – George Gibbs and Richard Conway Back to the Future – Kevin Pike and Ken Ralston Legend – Nick Allder and Peter Voysey The Purple Rose of Cairo – Greenberg Associates
Best Documentary Omnibus: Leonard Berstein's West Side Story – Christopher Swann Marilyn Monroe: Say Goodbye to the President – Christopher Olgiati David Lean: A Life in Film – Nigel Wattis The Frozen Ocean: Part 1 – Kingdom of the Ice Bear – Mike Salisbury and Hugh Miles	Best Film Not in the English Language Colonel Redl – Manfred Durniok and István Szabó Carmen – Patrice Ledoux and Francesco Rosi Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart – Tom Sternberg, Wayne Wang and Danny Yung Subway – Luc Besson and Francois Ruggieri
Best Short Animation Alias the Jester – Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall Danger Mouse – Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall SuperTed – David Edward and Mike Young The Wind in the Willows – Mark Hall and Brian Cosgrove	Best Short Film Careless Talk – Noella Smith One for My Baby – Chris Fallon The Woman Who Married Clark Gable – Thaddeus O'Sullivan

Statistics

Films that received multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
9	Amadeus
9	A Passage to India
7	Witness
5	Back to the Future
4	The Purple Rose of Cairo
3	The Emerald Forest
3	Legend
2	Brazil
	Carmen
	A Chorus Line
	The Cotton Club
	My Beautiful Laundrette
	Plenty
	Prizzi's Honor

Films that received multiple awards
Awards	Film
4	Amadeus
2	Brazil
2	The Purple Rose of Cairo

References

^ "Film in 1986". BAFTA. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
^ "Awards Database: Search our record of winners & nominees, Year of Presentation: 1986, Award: Film". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
^ Morgan, David (19 January 2023). "BAFTA Best Film Award Winners Since 1990 – A Photo Gallery". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 11 February 2024.