Which year had the best group of Best Picture nominees? (1980s)

Cafe Society
1

1980
Coal Miner’s Daughter
The Elephant Man
Ordinary People
Raging Bull
Tess

1981
Atlantic City
Chariots of Fire
On Golden Pond
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Reds

1982
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Gandhi
Missing
Tootsie
The Verdict

1983
The Big Chill
The Dresser
The Right Stuff
Tender Mercies
Terms of Endearment

1984
Amadeus
The Killing Fields
A Passage To India
Places in the Heart
A Soldier’s Story

1985
The Color Purple
Kiss of the Spider Woman
Out of Africa
Prizzi’s Honor
Witness

1986
Children of a Lesser God
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Mission
Platoon
A Room with a View

1987
Broadcast News
Fatal Attraction
Hope and Glory
The Last Emporer
Moonstruck

1988
The Accidental Tourist
Dangerous Liasions
Mississippi Burning
Rain Man
Working Girl

1989
Born on the Fourth of July
Dead Poets Society
Driving Miss Daisy
Field of Dreams
My Left Foot

2

Poll for the 1990s

Poll for the 2000s

3

That was tough. There are so many great movies in every year. I kept wavering between 1980 and 1982, but finally chose 1982.

4

This decade is a bit tighter than the 90s, I’d say. :slight_smile:

I went back and forth between 80, 81, & 82, but ended up going for 1981. Not just for Raiders; I think all five are solid films.
mmm

5

I agree that this was a difficult choice; several years had a bunch of great movies. I ended up choosing 1984 because it has one of my favorite movies of the entire decade, “Amadeus”, plus several other very good movies.

But 1982 and 1987 were great also.

6
  1. The other years have great movies, but the class of 85 have all stood the test of time.
7

I went with '84 - The Killing Fields is probably my favorite of all the movies listed for any year.

8

'81.

Chariots of Fire and Raiders

9

Well, so far you’re the only one who thinks so. :slight_smile:

I have not seen Kiss of the Spider Woman, but I think the four others are pretty average, except Witness.
mmm

10

Raiders trumps every other year on that list by itself.

11

I went with 1982 - just a slightly better collection of movies than other years. I really wanted to vote for 1984 (Amadeus!) but couldn’t because the other movies aren’t, imho, as good as the losers of '82.

12

Harder choices, especially since there wasn’t a year with at least one so-so film on the list. I went with 1980 for Raging Bull, but 82 is close (and would have won if it wasn’t for The Verdict (submediocre Oscar bait for Paul Newman).