These are the 1986 Endy Awards, wherein I pretend to give out maneki-neko statues to the best in that year in film. Awards for many other years can be found in the Rankings & Awards Index. Eligibility is determined by imdb date and by whether or not I’ve seen the movie in question. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order and the winners are bolded. And the Endy goes to. . .

Best Picture:

1. Aliens
2. A Better Tomorrow
3. Big Trouble in Little China
4. Bound for the Fields, the Mountains, and the Seacoast
5. Dream Lovers
6. The Fly
7. The Green Ray
8. Manhunter
9. Peking Opera Blues
10. The Terrorizers

Best Director:

1. John Woo, A Better Tomorrow
2. Nobuhiko Obayashi, Bound for the Fields, the Mountains, and the Seacoast
3. Eric Rohmer, The Green Ray
4. Tsui Hark, Peking Opera Blues
5. Edward Yang, The Terrorizers

I’ve had each of A Better Tomorrow, The Green Ray and Peking Opera Blues in the top spot for 1986 at one time or another over the past several years. But this is Woo’s last chance at an Endy, while Rohmer and Tsui have good shots in the future. Obayashi and Yang are strong contenders as well, but I’ve only seen their movies once, whereas I’ve lived with the top three for a long time.

Best Actor:

1. Kurt Russell, Big Trouble in Little China
2. Mathew Broderick, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
3. Jeff Goldblum, The Fly
4. Yuen Biao, Righting Wrongs
5. Tom Cruise, Top Gun

A couple of brilliant movie star performances from Broderick and Cruise, career best work from a guy who lived in the shadows of Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan for too long, and fun, sophisticated work from Russell and Goldblum. Giving the edge to Russell right now, but this could easily be Goldblum’s instead.

Best Actress:

1. Sigourney Weaver, Aliens
2. Marie Rivière, The Green Ray
3. Sylvia Chang, Passion
4. Brigitte Lin, Peking Opera Blues
5. Melanie Griffith, Something Wild

Supporting Actor:

1.  Victor Wong, Big Trouble in Little China
2. Li Tien-lu, Dust in the Wind
3. Dennis Hopper, Hoosiers
4. Tom Noonan, Manhunter
5. Tom Berenger, Platoon

Supporting Actress:

1. Isabella Rossellini, Blue Velvet
2. Dianne Weist, Hannah and Her Sisters
3. Barbara Hershey, Hannah and Her Sisters
4. Sally Yeh, Peking Opera Blues
5. Cynthia Rothrock, Righting Wrongs

Original Screenplay:

1. Gary Goldman, David Z. Weinstein, and W. D. Richter, Big Trouble in Little China
2. Manfred Wong & Chiu Kang-chien, Dream Lovers
3. Wu Nien-jen and Chu T’ien-wen, Dust in the Wind
4. Raymond To, Peking Opera Blues
5. Hsiao Yeh & Edward Yang, The Terrorizers

Adapted Screenplay:

1. John Woo, Chan Hing-kai & Leung Suk-wah, A Better Tomorrow
2. Charles Edward Pogue & David Cronenberg, The Fly
3. Eric Rohmer & Marie Rivière, The Green Ray
4. Michael Mann, Manhunter
5. Andrew Birkin, Gérard Brach, Howard Franklin & Alain Godard, The Name of the Rose

Non-English Language Film:

1. A Better Tomorrow (John Woo)
2. Bound for the Fields, the Mountains and the Seacoast (Nobuhiko Obayashi)
3. The Green Ray (Eric Rohmer)
4. Peking Opera Blues (Tsui Hark)
5. The Terrorizers (Edward Yang)

Non-Fiction Film:

1. Jimi Plays Monterey (D. A. Pennebaker)
2. Sherman’s March (Ross McElwee)

Animated Film:

1. Castle in the Sky (Hayao Miyazaki)
2. The Great Mouse Detective (Ron Clements, Burny Mattinson, Dave Michener &John Musker)
3. The Transformers: the Movie (Nelson Shin)

Unseen Film:

1. The Beekeeper (Theo Angelopoulos)
2. Hibiscus Town (Xie Jin)
3. Howard the Duck (Willard Huyck)
4. Mauvais sang (Leos Carax)
5. Mélo (Alain Resnais)

Film Editing:

1. A Better Tomorrow
2. Bound for the Fields, the Mountains and the Seacoast
3. Peking Opera Blues
4. Platoon
5. The Terrorizers

Cinematography:

1. Bound for the Fields, the Mountains and the Seacoast
2. The Green Ray
3. The Horse Thief
4. Peking Opera Blues
5. The Terrorizers

Art Direction:

1. Big Trouble in Little China
2. Manhunter
3. The Name of the Rose
4. Peking Opera Blues
5. The Terrorizers

Costume Design:

1. A Better Tomorrow
2. Big Trouble in Little China
3. Peking Opera Blues
4. Three Amigos
5. Under the Cherry Moon

Make-up:

1. Aliens
2. Big Trouble in Little China
3. The Fly
4. Labyrinth
5. Peking Opera Blues

Original Score:

1. A Better Tomorrow
2. Manhunter
3. The Mission
4. Three Amigos
5. Under the Cherry Moon

Adapted Score:

1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
2. Platoon
3. Pretty in Pink
4. Stand By Me
5. Top Gun

Sound:

1. Aliens
2. A Better Tomorrow
3. The Fly
4. Manhunter
5. Platoon

Sound Editing:

1. Aliens
2. The Fly
3. Manhunter
4. Platoon
5. Top Gun

Visual Effects:

1. Aliens
2. A Better Tomorrow
3. Big Trouble in Little China
4. The Fly
5. Platoon