Awards

1987 Oscars 59th Academy Awards

Posted by Joe Hummel IIIPosted 38 years ago March 30, 1987

1987 Oscars 59th Academy Awards

Winners Announced: March 30, 1987
Held at: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
Hosts: Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, Paul Hogan
Eligibility Year: 1986

Table of Contents

In-Depth Details and Trivia

Triple Hosting Power: A unique trio of Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, and Paul Hogan added a mix of humor and charm to the event.
Platoon Dominates: Oliver Stone’s Platoon was the big winner, taking home four Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.
Paul Newman Finally Wins: Paul Newman won his first Oscar for Best Actor for his role in The Color of Money, after seven previous nominations.
Marlee Matlin’s Historic Win: At 21, Marlee Matlin became the youngest and only deaf actress to win Best Actress for her role in Children of a Lesser God.
Top Tunes: Take My Breath Away from Top Gun won Best Original Song, marking a victory for pop music in the Oscars.
A Touch of Animation: The Best Animated Short Film was awarded to A Greek Tragedy.
Woody Allen Stays Strong: Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters snagged three awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Michael Caine.
Special Achievements: Ralph Bellamy received an Honorary Award for his unique artistry and distinguished service to the profession of acting.

1987 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Best Picture:
Platoon – Arnold Kopelson, producer (WINNER)
Children of a Lesser God – Burt Sugarman and Patrick J. Palmer, producers
Hannah and Her Sisters – Robert Greenhut, producer
The Mission – Fernando Ghia and David Puttnam, producers
A Room with a View – Ismail Merchant, producer

Best Director:
Oliver Stone – Platoon (WINNER)
David Lynch – Blue Velvet
Woody Allen – Hannah and Her Sisters
Roland Joffé – The Mission
James Ivory – A Room with a View

Best Actor:
Paul Newman – The Color of Money as “Fast Eddie” Felson (WINNER)
Dexter Gordon – Round Midnight as Dale Turner
Bob Hoskins – Mona Lisa as George
William Hurt – Children of a Lesser God as James Leeds
James Woods – Salvador as Richard Boyle

Best Actress:
Marlee Matlin – Children of a Lesser God as Sarah Norman (WINNER)
Jane Fonda – The Morning After as Alex Sternbergen
Sissy Spacek – Crimes of the Heart as Babe Magrath
Kathleen Turner – Peggy Sue Got Married as Peggy Sue Bodell
Sigourney Weaver – Aliens as Ellen Ripley

Best Supporting Actor:
Michael Caine – Hannah and Her Sisters as Elliott Daniels (WINNER)
Tom Berenger – Platoon as Sgt. Bob Barnes
Willem Dafoe – Platoon as Sgt. Elias Grodin
Denholm Elliott – A Room with a View as Mr. Emerson
Dennis Hopper – Hoosiers as Wilbur “Shooter” Flatch

Best Supporting Actress:
Dianne Wiest – Hannah and Her Sisters as Holly (WINNER)
Tess Harper – Crimes of the Heart as Chick Boyle
Piper Laurie – Children of a Lesser God as Mrs. Norman
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio – The Color of Money as Carmen
Maggie Smith – A Room with a View as Charlotte Bartlett

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:
Hannah and Her Sisters – Woody Allen (WINNER)
Crocodile Dundee – Screenplay by Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, and John Cornell; Story by Paul Hogan
My Beautiful Laundrette – Hanif Kureishi
Platoon – Oliver Stone
Salvador – Oliver Stone and Rick Boyle

Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium:
A Room with a View – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by E. M. Forster (WINNER)
Children of a Lesser God – Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff based on the play by Mark Medoff
The Color of Money – Richard Price based on the novel by Walter Tevis
Crimes of the Heart – Beth Henley based on the play by Beth Henley
Stand by Me – Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans based on the novella The Body by Stephen King

Best Foreign Language Film:
The Assault (The Netherlands) in Dutch and German – Fons Rademakers (WINNER)
38 (Austria) in German – Wolfgang Glück
Betty Blue (France) in French – Jean-Jacques Beineix
The Decline of the American Empire (Canada) in French – Denys Arcand
My Sweet Little Village (Czechoslovakia) in Czech – Jirí Menzel

Best Documentary Feature:
Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got – Brigitte Berman (WINNER/TIE)
Down and Out in America – Joseph Feury and Milton Justice (WINNER/TIE)
Chile: Hasta Cuando? – David Bradbury
Isaac in America: A Journey with Isaac Bashevis Singer – Kirk Simon and Amram Nowak
Witness to Apartheid – Sharon I. Sopher

Best Documentary Short Subject:
Women – for America, for the World – Vivienne Verdon-Roe (WINNER)
Debonair Dancers – Alison Nigh-Strelich
The Masters of Disaster – Sonya Friedman
Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse – Thomas L. Neff and Madeline Bell
Sam – Aaron D. Weisblatt

Best Live Action Short Film:
Precious Images – Chuck Workman (WINNER)
Exit – Stefano Reali and Pino Quartullo
Love Struck – Fredda Weiss

Best Animated Short Film:
Greek Tragedy – Nicole van Goethem (WINNER)
The Frog, the Dog and the Devil – Bob Stenhouse
Luxo Jr. – John Lasseter and William Reeves

Best Original Score:
Round Midnight – Herbie Hancock (WINNER)
Aliens – James Horner
Hoosiers – Jerry Goldsmith
The Mission – Ennio Morricone
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Leonard Rosenman

Best Original Song:
“Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun – Music and Lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock (WINNER)
“Glory of Love” from The Karate Kid Part II – Music by Peter Cetera and David Foster; Lyrics by Peter Cetera and Diane Nini
“Life in a Looking Glass” from That’s Life! – Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
“Mean Green Mother from Outer Space” from Little Shop of Horrors – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman
“Somewhere Out There” from An American Tail – Music by James Horner and Barry Mann; Lyrics by Cynthia Weil

Best Sound Effects Editing:
Aliens – Don Sharpe (WINNER)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Mark Mangini
Top Gun – Cecelia Hall and George Watters II

Best Sound:
Platoon – John K. Wilkinson, Richard Rogers, Charles “Bud” Grenzbach, and Simon Kaye (WINNER)
Aliens – Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter, and Roy Charman
Heartbreak Ridge – Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, and William Nelson
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Terry Porter, Dave Hudson, Mel Metcalfe, and Gene S. Cantamessa
Top Gun – Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O’Connell, Rick Kline, and William B. Kaplan

Best Art Direction:
A Room with a View – Art Direction: Gianni Quaranta and Brian Ackland-Snow; Set Decoration: Brian Savegar and Elio Altramura (WINNER)
Aliens – Art Direction: Peter Lamont; Set Decoration: Crispian Sallis
The Color of Money – Art Direction: Boris Leven (posthumous nomination) ; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
Hannah and Her Sisters – Art Direction: Stuart Wurtzel; Set Decoration: Carol Joffe
The Mission – Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Jack Stephens

Best Cinematography:
The Mission – Chris Menges (WINNER)
Peggy Sue Got Married – Jordan Cronenweth
Platoon – Robert Richardson
A Room with a View – Tony Pierce-Roberts
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Donald Peterman

Best Makeup:
The Fly – Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis (WINNER)
The Clan of the Cave Bear – Michael Westmore and Michèle Burke
Legend – Rob Bottin and Peter Robb-King

Best Costume Design:
A Room with a View – Jenny Beavan and John Bright (WINNER)
The Mission – Enrico Sabbatini
Otello – Anna Anni and Maurizio Millenotti
Peggy Sue Got Married – Theadora Van Runkle
Pirates – Anthony Powell

Best Film Editing:
Platoon – Claire Simpson (WINNER)
Aliens – Ray Lovejoy
Hannah and Her Sisters – Susan E. Morse
The Mission – Jim Clark
Top Gun – Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon

Best Visual Effects:
Aliens – Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, and Suzanne M. Benson (WINNER)
Little Shop of Horrors – Lyle Conway, Bran Ferren, and Martin Gutteridge
Poltergeist II: The Other Side – Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Garry Waller, and William Neil

Honorary Academy Award:
Ralph Bellamy

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award:
Steven Spielberg