1978 (51st Annual Awards)
Winners Only

Listed below are the Academy Award winners for the year 1978 (non-winning nominations have been omitted from this list). Click on the name of a film, person or song in the list to display more information about that film, person or song Or, click on a year in the column on the right to display the winners from that year.

Best Picture

The Deer Hunter, EMI Films/Michael Cimino Film Production; Universal. Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall, Producers.

Actor in a Leading Role

Jon Voight in Coming Home, Jerome Hellman Enterprises Production; United Artists.

Actress in a Leading Role

Jane Fonda in Coming Home, Jerome Hellman Enterprises Production; United Artists.

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christopher Walken in The Deer Hunter, EMI Films/Michael Cimino Film Production; Universal.

Actress in a Supporting Role

Maggie Smith in California Suite, Ray Stark Production; Columbia.

Directing

The Deer Hunter, EMI Films/Michael Cimino Film Production; Universal. Michael Cimino.

Art Direction-Set Decoration

Heaven Can Wait, Dogwood Productions; Paramount. Art direction by Paul Sylbert and Edwin O’Donovan; set decoration by George Gaines.

Cinematography

Days of Heaven, OP Production; Paramount. Nestor Almendros.

Costume Design

Death on the Nile, John Brabourne-Richard Goodwin Production; Paramount. (UK) Anthony Powell.

Documentary

(Feature)

Scared Straight!, Golden West Television Production. Arnold Shapiro, Producer.

(Short Subject)

The Flight of the Gossamer Condor, Shedd Production. Jacqueline Phillips Shedd and Ben Shedd, Producers.

Film Editing

The Deer Hunter, EMI Films/Michael Cimino Film Production; Universal. Peter Zinner.

Foreign Language Film

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, Les Films Ariane-C.A.P.A.C. Production. (France, Belgium)

Music

(Adaptation Score)

The Buddy Holly Story, Innovisions-ECA Production; Columbia. Joe Renzetti.

(Original Score)

Midnight Express, Casablanca Filmworks Production; Columbia. (UK, USA) Giorgio Moroder.

(Original Song)

Last Dance from Thank God It’s Friday, Casablanca-Motown Production; Columbia. Music and lyrics by Paul Jabara.

Short Films

(Animated)

Special Delivery, National Film Board of Canada. (Canada) Eunice Macaulay and John Weldon, Producers.

(Live Action)

Teenage Father, New Visions Inc. for the Children’s Home Society of California. Taylor Hackford, Producer.

Sound

The Deer Hunter, EMI Films/Michael Cimino Film Production; Universal. Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin and Darin Knight.

Special Achievement Award

(Visual Effects)

Superman, Dovemead Ltd. Production; Alexander Salkind Presentation; Warner Bros. (USA, UK, Canada, Switzerland) Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings and Zoran Perisic.

Writing

(Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium)

Midnight Express, Casablanca Filmworks Production; Columbia. (UK, USA) Oliver Stone.

(Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)

Coming Home, Jerome Hellman Enterprises Production; United Artists. Story by Nancy Dowd; screenplay by Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones.

Honorary Award

To Walter Lantz for bringing joy and laughter to every part of the world through his unique animated motion pictures. [ [Statuette]]

To The Museum of Modern Art, Department of Film for the contributions it had made to the public’s perception of movies as an art form. [ [Statuette]]

To Laurence Olivier for the full body of his work, for the unique achievements of his entire career, and for his lifetime of contribution to the art of film. [ [Statuette]]

To King Vidor for his incomparable achievements as a cinematic creator and innovator. [ [Statuette]]

To 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. [ [Medal of Commendation]]

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Leo Jaffe

Scientific or Technical Award

(Academy Award of Merit)

To Eastman Kodak Company for the research and development of a Duplicating Color film for Motion Pictures.

To Stefan Kudelski of Nagra Magnetic Recorders, Incorporated, for the continuing research, design and development of the Nagra Production Sound Recorder for Motion Pictures.

To Panavision, Incorporated, and its engineering staff under the direction of Robert E. Gottschalk, for the concept, design and continuous development of the Panaflex Motion Picture Camera System.

(Scientific and Engineering Award)

To Ray M. Dolby, Ioan R. Allen, David P. Robinson, Stephen M. Katz and Philip S. J. Boole of Dolby Laboratories, Incorporated, for the development and implementation of an improved Sound Recording and Reproducing System for Motion Picture Production and Exhibition.

(Technical Achievement Award)

To Karl Macher and Glenn M. Berggren of Isco Optische Werke for the development and introduction of the Cinelux-ULTRA Lens for 35mm Motion Picture Projection.

To David J. Degenkolb, Arthur L. Ford and Fred J. Scobey of DeLuxe General, Incorporated, for the development of a Method to Recycle Motion Picture Laboratory Photographic Wash Waters by Ion Exchange.

To Kiichi Sekiguchi of CINE-FI International for the development of the CINE-FI Auto Radio Sound System for Drive-In Theaters.

To Leonard Chapman of Leonard Equipment Company, for the design and manufacture of a small, mobile, motion picture camera platform known as the Chapman Hustler Dolly.

To James L. Fisher of J. L. Fisher, Incorporated, for the design and manufacture of a small, mobile, motion picture camera platform known as the Fisher Model Ten Dolly.

To Robert Stindt of Production Grip Equipment Company, for the design and manufacture of a small, mobile, motion picture camera platform known as the Stindt Dolly.