Let’s Talk Cinema: Raiders of the Lost Oscar

We are, like, totally in the 80s now.

I wish I could tell you that I am thrilled to be writing about the 80s for the next few weeks, but I’m really not. There are some great movies from the 80s, but when it comes to the Oscars, I think they leaned into a more conservative space and chose not to push forward movies that truly stood the test of time. Many of their choices from this decade have mostly been forgotten, which is sad because they had better options than the ones they gave us.

I was born in the 90s, so I wasn’t around to witness or be part of the decade that has now become a regular party theme. I don’t really know what it was like. I look back at many films from past decades, including the 90s, because I was so little, and I wish I could have seen some of those big films in the theater. So for those of you who got to witness some great 80s classics on the big screen, consider me jealous.

I’m sure many of you film aficionados have opinions about 80s films and what you love. Soon we will get to all of our favorites and such. But our first week of each decade is always ranking the Oscar choices.

The Academy gave us a tough row to hoe when ranking these winners, but we will embrace the challenge. Many of these films deserve a rewatch. Well, maybe I should say some do. Once was enough for a few of them. So do your best and rank the Oscar categories of Picture, Director, all the acting categories, and Screenplay. Have a totally tubular time!

Jerm’s Official Oscar Rankings of the 80s

Best Picture:

1. Terms of Endearment
2. Amadeus
3. Platoon
4. Ordinary People
5. Rain Man
6. Out of Africa
7. Chariots of Fire
8. Gandhi
9. Driving Miss Daisy
10. The Last Emperor

Best Director:

1. James L. Brooks – Terms of Endearment
2. Milos Forman – Amadeus
3. Oliver Stone – Platoon
4. Sidney Pollock – Out of Africa
5. Robert Redford – Ordinary People
6. Warren Beatty – Reds
7. Bernardo Bertolucci – The Last Emperor
8. Barry Levinson – Rain Man
9. Richard Attenborough – Gandhi
10. Oliver Stone – Born on the Fourth of July

Best Actor:

1. Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot
2. Dustin Hoffman – Rain Man
3. Robert DeNiro – Raging Bull
4. Murry Abraham – Amadeus
5. Robert Duvall – Tender Mercies
6. Ben Kingsley – Gandhi
7. Henry Fonda – On Golden Pond
8. William Hurt – Kiss of the Spider Woman
9. Paul Newman – The Color of Money
10. Michael Douglas – Wall Street

Best Actress:

1. Meryl Streep – Sophie’s Choice
2. Shirley MacLaine – Terms of Endearment
3. Cher – Moonstruck
4. Jodie Foster – The Accused
5. Sally Field – Places in the Heart
6. Geraldine Page – The Trip to Bountiful
7. Marlee Matlin – Children of a Lesser God
8. Jessica Tandy – Driving Miss Daisy
9. Sissy Spacek – Coal Miner’s Daughter
10. Katherine Hepburn – On Golden Pond

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Jack Nicholson – Terms of Endearment
2. Timothy Hutton – Ordinary People
3. Haing S. Ngor – The Killing Fields
4. Kevin Kline – A Fish Called Wanda
5. Denzel Washington – Glory
6. Sean Connery – The Untouchables
7. Michael Caine – Hannah and Her Sisters
8. Louis Gossett Jr. – An Officer and a Gentleman
9. John Gielgud – Arthur
10. Don Ameche – Cocoon

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Olympia Dukakis – Moonstruck
2. Brenda Fricker – My Left Foot
3. Jessica Lange – Tootsie
4. Diane Wiest – Hannah and Her Sisters
5. Linda Hunt – The Year of Living Dangerously
6. Geena Davis – The Accidental Tourist
7. Mary Steenburgen – Melvin and Howard
8. Maureen Stapleton – Reds
9. Peggy Ashcroft – A Passage to India
10. Anjelica Huston – Prizzi’s Honor

Original Screenplay:

1. Moonstruck
2. Dead Poets Society
3. Hannah and Her Sisters
4. Tender Mercies
5. Witness
6. Places in the Heart
7. Rain Man
8. Melvin and Howard
9. Chariots of Fire
10. Gandhi

Adapted Screenplay:

1. Terms of Endearment
2. Amadeus
3. A Room with a View
4. Dangerous Liaisons
5. Ordinary People
6. On Golden Pond
7. Out of Africa
8. The Last Emperor
9. Missing
10. Driving Miss Daisy

I would say that my top five in each of the categories I ranked are pretty set. However, the bottom five in each category can shift around from time to time. It has been many years since I watched some of these films, so my memory may be a little fuzzy.

All I know is this: Meryl gave a GOAT performance in Sophie’s Choice. Moonstruck is one of the greatest rom-coms ever made. And Terms of Endearment is one of the greatest films about life and relationships.

Like I said earlier, though, many of these films have been forgotten or simply didn’t age well. The Oscars could have done so much better, but that’s just my opinion.

Now it’s your turn, my friends. Rank the Oscar winners in the above-the-line categories.

As usual, be kind, be respectful, and of course… Let’s Talk Cinema!

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By: Jeremy Jentzen
Title: Let’s Talk Cinema: Raiders of the Lost Oscar
Sourced From: www.awardsdaily.com/2026/02/18/lets-talk-cinema-raiders-of-the-lost-oscar/
Published Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2026 04:16:53 +0000