Awards

1984 Oscars 56th Academy Awards

Posted by Joe Hummel IIIPosted 41 years ago April 9, 1984

1984 Oscars 56th Academy Awards

Winners Announced: April 9, 1984
Held at: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
Host: Johnny Carson
Eligibility Year: 1983

Trivia

The evening was dominated by Terms of Endearment. It won Best Picture, Best Director for James L. Brooks, and Best Actress for Shirley MacLaine.
Sally Field’s famous speech, “You like me, you really like me!” took place during this ceremony. She won Best Actress for Places in the Heart.
Flashdance…What a Feeling from Flashdance won Best Original Song. This track became an ’80s anthem.
An honorary award was presented to film industry titan Hal Roach, known for producing Laurel and Hardy films.
“The Right Stuff” bagged four technical awards—Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, Best Sound, and Best Art Direction.
Yentl, directed and starring Barbra Streisand, won Best Original Score. Streisand became the first woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director, but was overlooked in the Oscars’ director category.
Fanny and Alexander, directed by Ingmar Bergman, took home the Best Foreign Language Film, and it was Sweden’s first win in the category since 1961’s Through a Glass Darkly.
“God bless that potential that we all have for making anything possible if we think we deserve it. I deserve this.”
– Shirley MacLaine, Best Actress, Terms of Endearment

1984 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Best Picture:
Terms of Endearment – James L. Brooks, producer (WINNER)
The Big Chill – Michael Shamberg, producer
The Dresser – Peter Yates, producer
The Right Stuff – Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, producers
Tender Mercies – Philip S. Hobel, producer

Best Director:
James L. Brooks – Terms of Endearment (WINNER)
Peter Yates – The Dresser
Ingmar Bergman – Fanny and Alexander
Mike Nichols – Silkwood
Bruce Beresford – Tender Mercies

Best Actor:
Robert Duvall – Tender Mercies as Mac Sledge (WINNER)
Michael Caine – Educating Rita as Prof. Frank Bryant
Tom Conti – Reuben, Reuben as Gowan McGland
Tom Courtenay – The Dresser as Norman
Albert Finney – The Dresser as Sir

Best Actress:
Shirley MacLaine – Terms of Endearment as Aurora Greenway (WINNER)
Jane Alexander – Testament as Carol Wetherly
Meryl Streep – Silkwood as Karen Silkwood
Julie Walters – Educating Rita as Susan “Rita” White
Debra Winger – Terms of Endearment as Emma Greenway-Horton

Best Supporting Actor:
Jack Nicholson – Terms of Endearment as Garrett Breedlove (WINNER)
Charles Durning – To Be or Not to Be as S.S. Colonel Erhardt
John Lithgow – Terms of Endearment as Sam Burns
Sam Shepard – The Right Stuff as Chuck Yeager
Rip Torn – Cross Creek as Marsh Turner

Best Supporting Actress:
Linda Hunt – The Year of Living Dangerously as Billy Kwan (WINNER)
Cher – Silkwood as Dolly Pelliker
Glenn Close – The Big Chill as Sarah Cooper
Amy Irving – Yentl as Hadass Vishkower
Alfre Woodard – Cross Creek as Beatrice “Geechee”

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:
Tender Mercies – Horton Foote (WINNER)
The Big Chill – Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek
Fanny and Alexander – Ingmar Bergman
Silkwood – Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen
WarGames – Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parkes

Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium:
Terms of Endearment – James L. Brooks based on the novel by Larry McMurtry (WINNER)
Betrayal – Harold Pinter based on his play
The Dresser – Ronald Harwood based on his play
Educating Rita – Willy Russell based on his play
Reuben, Reuben – Julius J. Epstein based on the play Spofford by Herman Shumlin

Best Foreign Language Film:
Fanny and Alexander (Sweden) (WINNER)
The Ball (Algeria)
Carmen (Spain)
Entre Nous (France)
The Revolt of Job (Hungary)

Best Documentary Feature:
He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin’ – Emile Ardolino (WINNER)
Children of Darkness – Richard Kotuk and Ara Chekmayan
First Contact – Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson
The Profession of Arms – Michael Bryans and Tina Viljoen
Seeing Red – James Klein and Julia Reichert

Best Documentary Short Subject:
Flamenco at 5:15 – Cynthia Scott and Adam Symansky (WINNER)
In the Nuclear Shadow: What Can the Children Tell Us? – Vivienne Verdon-Roe and Eric Thiermann
Sewing Woman – Arthur Dong
Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph – Robert Eisenhardt
You Are Free (Ihr Zent Frei) – Dea Brokman and Ilene Landis

Best Live Action Short Film:
Boys and Girls – Janice L. Platt (WINNER)
Goodie-Two-Shoes – Ian Emes
Overnight Sensation – Jon N. Bloom

Best Animated Short Film:
Sundae in New York – Jimmy Picker (WINNER)
Mickey’s Christmas Carol – Burny Mattinson
Sound of Sunshine – Sound of Rain – Eda Godel Hallinan

Best Original Score:
The Right Stuff – Bill Conti (WINNER)
Cross Creek – Leonard Rosenman
Return of the Jedi – John Williams
Terms of Endearment – Michael Gore
Under Fire – Jerry Goldsmith

Best Original Song: Score or Adaptation Score
Yentl – Song Score by Michel Legrand and Alan and Marilyn Bergman (WINNER)
The Sting II – Adaptation Score by Lalo Schifrin
Trading Places – Adaptation Score by Elmer Bernstein

Best Original Song:
“Flashdance… What a Feeling” from Flashdance – Music by Giorgio Moroder; Lyrics by Keith Forsey and Irene Cara (WINNER)
“Maniac” from Flashdance – Music and Lyrics by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky
“Over You” from Tender Mercies – Music and Lyrics by Austin Roberts and Bobby Hart
“Papa, Can You Hear Me?” from Yentl – Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
“The Way He Makes Me Feel” from Yentl – Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman

Best Sound:
The Right Stuff – Mark Berger, Tom Scott, Randy Thom and David MacMillan (WINNER)
Never Cry Wolf – Alan Splet, Todd Boekelheide, Randy Thom and David Parker
Return of the Jedi – Ben Burtt, Gary Summers, Randy Thom and Tony Dawe
Terms of Endearment – Donald O. Mitchell, Rick Kline, Kevin O’Connell and James R. Alexander
WarGames – Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, Aaron Rochin and Willie D. Burton

Best Sound Effects Editing:
The Right Stuff – Jay Boekelheide (WINNER)
Return of the Jedi – Ben Burtt

Best Art Direction:
Fanny and Alexander – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Anna Asp (WINNER)
Return of the Jedi – Art Direction: Norman Reynolds, Fred Hole and James L. Schoppe; Set Decoration: Michael D. Ford
The Right Stuff – Art Direction: Geoffrey Kirkland, Richard Lawrence, W. Stewart Campbell and Peter R. Romero; Set Decoration: Jim Poynter and George R. Nelson
Terms of Endearment – Art Direction: Polly Platt and Harold Michelson; Set Decoration: Tom Pedigo and Anthony Mondello
Yentl – Art Direction: Roy Walker and Leslie Tomkins; Set Decoration: Tessa Davies

Best Costume Design:
Fanny and Alexander – Marik Vos (WINNER)
Cross Creek – Joe I. Tompkins
Heart Like a Wheel – William Ware Theiss
The Return of Martin Guerre – Anne-Marie Marchand
Zelig – Santo Loquasto

Best Cinematography:
Fanny and Alexander – Sven Nykvist (WINNER)
Flashdance – Donald Peterman
The Right Stuff – Caleb Deschanel
WarGames – William A. Fraker
Zelig – Gordon Willis

Best Film Editing:
The Right Stuff – Glenn Farr, Lisa Fruchtman, Tom Rolf, Stephen A. Rotter, and Douglas Stewart (WINNER)
Blue Thunder – Frank Morriss and Edward M. Abroms
Flashdance – Bud S. Smith and Walt Mulconery
Silkwood – Sam O’Steen
Terms of Endearment – Richard Marks

Honorary Academy Award:
Hal Roach

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
M. J. Frankovich

Special Achievement Academy Award:
Return of the Jedi – Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett for Visual Effects