51st Academy Awards

51st
Date	Monday, April 9, 1979
Site	Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
Hosted by	Johnny Carson
Preshow hosts	Regis Philbin
Produced by	Jack Haley, Jr.
Directed by	Marty Pasetta
Highlights
Best Picture	The Deer Hunter
Television coverage
Network	ABC
Duration	3 hours, 25 minutes

The 51st Academy Awards were presented April 9, 1979 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Johnny Carson.

Notably, the two "front-runners" for Best Picture this year - Coming Home and The Deer Hunter - were anti-war films that reflected the nation's growing resentment over the Vietnam War. John Wayne, who would die of stomach cancer two months later, made his final public appearance to present the Oscar to the producers of The Deer Hunter.

This was the first of several consecutive ceremonies presided over by talk show host Carson; introducing him on this broadcast, the announcer identified him as "John Carson".

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Picture	Best Director
The Deer Hunter Coming Home Heaven Can Wait Midnight Express An Unmarried Woman	Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter Hal Ashby – Coming Home Warren Beatty and Buck Henry – Heaven Can Wait Woody Allen – Interiors Alan Parker – Midnight Express
Best Actor	Best Actress
Jon Voight – Coming Home Laurence Olivier – The Boys from Brazil Gary Busey – The Buddy Holly Story Robert De Niro – The Deer Hunter Warren Beatty – Heaven Can Wait	Jane Fonda – Coming Home Ingrid Bergman – Autumn Sonata Geraldine Page – Interiors Ellen Burstyn – Same Time, Next Year Jill Clayburgh – An Unmarried Woman
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Christopher Walken – The Deer Hunter Richard Farnsworth – Comes a Horseman Bruce Dern – Coming Home Jack Warden – Heaven Can Wait John Hurt – Midnight Express	Maggie Smith – California Suite Penelope Milford – Coming Home Meryl Streep – The Deer Hunter Dyan Cannon – Heaven Can Wait Maureen Stapleton – Interiors
Best Original Screenplay	Best Adapted Screenplay
Coming Home – Nancy Dowd, Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones Autumn Sonata – Ingmar Bergman The Deer Hunter – Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker Interiors – Woody Allen An Unmarried Woman – Paul Mazursky	Midnight Express – Oliver Stone Bloodbrothers – Walter Newman California Suite – Neil Simon Heaven Can Wait – Elaine May and Warren Beatty Same Time, Next Year – Bernard Slade
Best Foreign Language Film	Best Costume Design
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (France) The Glass Cell (German Federal Republic) Hungarians (Hungary) Viva Italia! (Italy) White Bim Black Ear (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)	Death on the Nile – Anthony Powell Caravans – Renie Conley Days of Heaven – Patricia Norris The Swarm – Paul Zastupnevich The Wiz – Tony Walton
Best Documentary Feature	Best Documentary Short
Scared Straight! The Lovers' Wind Mysterious Castles of Clay Raoni With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade	The Flight of the Gossamer Condor The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey An Encounter with Faces Goodnight Miss Ann Squires of San Quentin
Best Live Action Short	Best Animated Short
Teenage Father A Different Approach Mandy's Grandmother Strange Fruit	Special Delivery Oh My Darling Rip Van Winkle
Best Original Score	Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score
Midnight Express – Giorgio Moroder The Boys from Brazil – Jerry Goldsmith Days of Heaven – Ennio Morricone Heaven Can Wait – Dave Grusin Superman – John Williams	The Buddy Holly Story – Joe Renzetti The Wiz – Quincy Jones Pretty Baby – Jerry Wexler
Best Original Song	Best Sound Mixing
"Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday – Music and Lyric by Paul Jabara "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from Grease – Music and Lyric by John Farrar "The Last Time I Felt Like This" from Same Time, Next Year – Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyric by Alan and Marilyn Bergman "Ready to Take a Chance Again" from Foul Play – Music by Charles Fox; Lyric by Norman Gimbel "When You're Loved" from The Magic of Lassie – Music and Lyric by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman	The Deer Hunter – Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin and Darin Knight Hooper – Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Don MacDougall and Jack Solomon Superman – Gordon K. McCallum, Graham Hartstone, Nicholas Le Messurier and Roy Charman The Buddy Holly Story – Tex Rudloff, Joel Fein, Curly Thirlwell and Willie Burton Days of Heaven – John K. Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass, Jr., John T. Reitz and Barry Thomas
Best Art Direction	Best Cinematography
Heaven Can Wait – Art Direction: Paul Sylbert and Edwin O'Donovan; Set Decoration: George Gaines The Brink's Job – Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis and Angelo Graham; Set Decoration: George R. Nelson and Bruce Kay California Suite– Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Marvin March Interiors – Art Direction: Mel Bourne; Set Decoration: Daniel Robert The Wiz – Art Direction: Tony Walton and Philip Rosenberg; Set Decoration: Edward Stewart and Robert Drumheller	Days of Heaven – Nestor Almendros The Deer Hunter – Vilmos Zsigmond Heaven Can Wait – William A. Fraker Same Time, Next Year – Robert Surtees The Wiz – Oswald Morris
Best Film Editing	Best Visual Effects
The Deer Hunter – Peter Zinner Superman – Stuart Baird Midnight Express – Gerry Hambling The Boys From Brazil – Robert E. Swink Coming Home – Don Zimmerman	Superman – Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings and Zoran Perisic

Academy Honorary Awards

• Lord Laurence Olivier
• Walter Lantz
• King Vidor
• Museum of Modern Art Department of Film
• Linwood G. Dunn, Loren L. Ryder and Waldon O. Watson

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

• Leo Jaffe