Academy Awards for 1978

By Patrick Mondout

The 51^st Annual Academy Awards were hosted by Johnny Carson on April 9, 1979 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion (Los Angeles) and broadcast live on ABC. The Deer Hunter was the big winner with five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. It was Carson's first time as host, and he started the show by describing it as "two hours of sparkling entertainment spread over a four-hour show."

BEST PICTURE
	An Unmarried Woman, Paul Mazursky and Tony Ray, producers
	Coming Home, Jerome Hellman, producer
	The Deer Hunter, Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall, producers
	Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty, producer
	Midnight Express, Alan Marshall and David Puttnam, producers

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
	Laurence Olivier, The Boys From Brazil
	Gary Busey, The Buddy Holly Story
	Jon Voight, Coming Home
	Robert De Niro, The Deer Hunter
	Warren Beatty, Heaven Can Wait

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
	Jill Clayburgh, An Unmarried Woman
	Ingrid Bergman, Autumn Sonata
	Jane Fonda, Coming Home
	Geraldine Page, Interiors
	Ellen Burstyn, Same Time, Next Year

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
	Richard Farnsworth, Comes a Horseman
	Bruce Dern, Coming Home
	Christopher Walken, The Deer Hunter
	Jack Warden, Heaven Can Wait
	John Hurt, Midnight Express

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
	Maggie Smith, California Suite
	Penelope Milford, Coming Home
	Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter
	Dyan Cannon, Heaven Can Wait
	Maureen Stapleton, Interiors

BEST DIRECTOR
	Hal Ashby, Coming Home
	Michael Cimino, The Deer Hunter
	Warren Beatty and Buck Henry, Heaven Can Wait
	Woody Allen, Interiors
	Alan Parker, Midnight Express

BEST WRITING (SCREENPLAY FACTUALLY BASED OR NEW MATERIAL)
	Paul Mazursky, An Unmarried Woman
	Ingmar Bergman, Autumn Sonata
	Nancy Dowd, story; Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones, screenplay, Coming Home
	Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker, story; Deric Washburn, screenplay, The Deer Hunter
	Woody Allen, Interiors

BEST WRITING (SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM)
	Walter Newman, Bloodbrothers
	Neil Simon, California Suite
	Elaine May and Warren Beatty, Heaven Can Wait
	Oliver Stone, Midnight Express
	Bernard Slade, Same Time, Next Year

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
	Nestor Almendros, Days of Heaven
	Vilmos Zsigmond, The Deer Hunter
	William A. Fraker, Heaven Can Wait
	Robert Surtees, Same Time, Next Year
	Oswald Morris, The Wiz

BEST FILM EDITING
	Robert E. Swink, The Boys From Brazil
	Don Zimmerman, Coming Home
	Peter Zinner, The Deer Hunter
	Gerry Hambling, Midnight Express
	Stuart Baird, Superman

BEST ART DIRECTION/SET DIRECTION
	Dean Tavoularis and Angelo Graham, art direction; George R. Nelson and Bruce Kay, set decoration, The Brink's Job
	Albert Brenner, art direction; Marvin March, set decoration, California Suite
	Paul Sylbert and Edwin O'Donovan, art direction; George Gaines, set decoration, Heaven Can Wait
	Mel Bourne, art direction; Daniel Robert, set decoration, Interiors
	Tony Walton and Philip Rosenberg, art direction; Edward Stewart and Robert Drumheller, set decoration, The Wiz

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
	Renie Conley, Caravans
	Anthony Powell, Death on the Nile
	Patricia Norris, Days of Heaven
	Paul Zastupnevich, The Swarm
	Tony Walton, The Wiz

BEST SOUND
	Tex Rudloff, Joel Fein, Curly Thirlwell and Willie Burton, The Buddy Holly Story
	John K. Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass, Jr., John T. Reitz and Barry Thomas, Days of Heaven
	Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin and Darin Knight, The Deer Hunter
	Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Don MacDougall and Jack Solomon, Hooper
	Gordon K. McCallum, Graham Hartstone, Nicholas Le Messurier and Roy Charman, Superman

BEST SOUND (ORIGINAL SONG)
	“Ready to Take a Chance Again,” Foul Play, Charles Fox, music; Norman Gimbel, lyrics
	“Hopelessly Devoted to You,” Grease, John Farrar, music and lyrics
	“When You're Loved,” The Magic of Lassie, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, music and lyrics
	“The Last Time I Felt Like This,” Same Time, Next Year, Marvin Hamlisch, music; Alan and Marilyn Bergman, lyrics
	“Last Dance,” Thank God It's Friday, Paul Jabara, music and lyrics

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
	Jerry Goldsmith, The Boys From Brazil
	Ennio Morricone, Days of Heaven
	Dave Grusin, Heaven Can Wait
	Giorgio Moroder, Midnight Express
	John Williams, Superman

BEST MUSIC (ADAPTATION SCORE)
	Joe Renzetti, The Buddy Holly Story
	Jerry Wexler, Pretty Baby
	Quincy Jones, The Wiz

BEST SHORT FILMS (ANIMATED)
	Oh My Darling (Nico Crama, producer; Nico Crama Productions)
	Rip Van Winkle (Will Vinton, producer; Will Vinton Productions)
	Special Delivery (Eunice Macaulay and John Weldon, producers; National Film Board of Canada)

BEST SHORT FILMS (LIVE ACTION)
	A Different Approach (Jim Belcher and Fern Field, producers; Jim Belcher/Brookfield Production)
	Mandy's Grandmother (Andrew Sugerman, producer; Illumination Films)
	Strange Fruit (Seth Pinsker, producer; American Film Institute)
	Teenage Father (Taylor Hackford, producer; New Visions Inc. for the Children's Home Society of California)

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECTS)
	An Encounter With Faces (K. K. Kapil, producer; Films Division, Government of India)
	The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey (Jerry Aronson, producer; Jerry Aronson Production)
	The Flight of the Gossamer Condor (Jacqueline Phillips Shedd and Ben Shedd, producers; Shedd Production)
	Goodnight Miss Ann (August Cinquegrana, producer; August Cinquegrana Films Production)
	Squires of San Quentin (J. Gary Mitchell, producer; J. Gary Mitchell Film Company)

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURES)
	The Lovers' Wind (Ministry of Culture and Arts of Iran)
	Mysterious Castles of Clay (Survival Anglia Ltd. Production)
	Raoni (Franco-Brazilian Production)
	Scared Straight! (Golden West Television Production)
	With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade (Women's Labor History Film Project Production)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
	Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, France
	The Glass Cell, German Federal Republic (West)
	Hungarians, Hungary
	Viva Italia!, Italy
	White Bim Black Ear, U.S.S.R.

Other Awards

A number of Honorary Awards were awarded this year. Recipients included Linwood G. Dunn, Loren L. Ryder and Waldon O. Watson "in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences", Walter Lantz "for bringing joy and laughter to every part of the world through his unique animated motion pictures", Laurence Olivier "for the full body of his work, for the unique achievements of his entire career and his lifetime of contribution to the art of film", King Vidor "for his incomparable achievements as a cinematic creator and innovator", and to the Museum of Modern Art Department of Film "for the contribution it has made to the public's perception of movies as an art form."

A Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects was given to Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings and Zoran Perisic for their work on Superman. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was given to Leo Jaffe.

Scientific Awards

Garrett Brown (Camera Cranes)
Cinema Products Corporation Engineering Staff (Camera Cranes)
John Jurgens (Camera Cranes)
John Agalsoff (Sound)
Emory M. Cohen (Sound)
John C. Dykstra (Systems)
Eastman Kodak Company (Film)
Glen Glenn Sound (Sound)
Barry K. Henley (Sound)
Hammond H. Holt (Sound)
Jerry Jeffress (Systems)
Joseph D. Kelly (Sound)
N. Paul Kenworthy Jr. (Camera)
Stefan Kudelski (Sound)
William R. Latady (Camera)
Alvah J. Miller (Systems)
Nagra Magnetic Recorders, Incorporated (Sound)
Panavision, Incorporated (Camera)
Werner Block (Lighting)
Continental Camera Systems, Incorporated, Astrovision Division (Camera)
EECO (Electronic Engineering Company of California) (Systems)
Dr. Bernhard Kuhl (Lighting)
Ernst Nettmann (Camera)
OSRAM GmbH (Lighting)
Panavision, Incorporated (Lighting)
Panavision, Incorporated (Stage Operations)
Piclear, Incorporated (Laboratory)