Helena Bonham Carter, Rupert Graves, Maggie Smith, and Rosemary Leach in A Room with a View (1985)

A Room with a View is a wonderfully romantic film told with considerable humor and acute observations about the class system of early 20th century England. After a life-changing vacation in Florence, young Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) finds herself in an emotional dilemma back in England: Does she follow through with her engagement to dispassionate, snobbish, upper-class gentleman Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis) or follow her heart and accept the loving advances of George Emerson (Julian Sands), a free-spirited, eccentric young man she met while on vacation? Watching Lucy come to terms with her emotions while maneuvering within a restrictive society is what makes A Room with a View a timeless delight. Beautifully photographed by Tony Pierce-Roberts and showcasing expertly crafted period costumes by Jenny Beavan and John Bright, the film also stars Maggie Smith as chaperone Charlotte Bartlett and Denholm Elliott as Mr. Emerson. The film was nominated in eight categories, including Best Picture and Directing, and won Oscars for Art Direction, Costume Design and Adapted Screenplay.

Merchant Ivory Productions for Goldcrest/Cinecom; Cinecom Pictures (UK). 1986. 115 minutes. Shown with permission from Merchant Ivory Productions.

Academy Award nominations: Actor in a Supporting Role (Denholm Elliott), Actress in a Supporting Role (Maggie Smith), Cinematography (Tony Pierce-Roberts), Directing (James Ivory), Best Picture (Ismail Merchant, producer).

Academy Awards: Art Direction (Gianni Quaranta, Brian Ackland-Snow; Set Decoration: Brian Savegar, Elio Altamura), Costume Design (Jenny Beavan, John Bright), Writing – Screenplay based on material from another medium (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala).

Preceding the feature, the Academy will present Luxo Jr., the first computer-animated short film to receive an Academy Award nomination. Pixar Productions. 2 minutes.

Academy Award nomination: Animated Short Film (John Lasseter and William Reeves, producers).