Academy Awards

48th Academy Awards

March 29, 1976Dorothy Chandler PavilionFilms from 197526 categories
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Best Picture Winner

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Best Picture

Director: Milos Forman

Studio: United Artists

A criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the patients against the oppressive nurse.

From the Worthy Podcast

Mental Health in Film?

Discuss how the film challenged societal perceptions of mental health institutions and the treatment of mental illness during the 1970s. It sparked conversations about patient rights, the power dynamics within psychiatric hospitals, and the broader societal implications of diagnosis and treatment methods.

Merriam-Webster Defintion of Insane: exhibiting a severely disordered state of mind

Should we be viewing this movie as an advocate for mental health or more allegorical about the issues of societal perception?

Is this film even about mental health? Or is it about the downtrodden in society not having a voice?

People deemed powerless by the people in power

All Categories (26)

Best Picture

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest— Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, Producers
Winner
Barry Lyndon— Stanley Kubrick, Producer
Dog Day Afternoon— Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand, Producers
Jaws— Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown, Producers
Nashville— Robert Altman, Producer

Actor

Jack Nicholson— One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest {"Randle Patrick McMurphy"}
Winner
Al Pacino— Dog Day Afternoon {"Sonny"}
James Whitmore— Give 'em Hell, Harry! {"Harry S. Truman"}
Maximilian Schell— The Man in the Glass Booth {"Arthur Goldman"}
Walter Matthau— The Sunshine Boys {"Willy Clark"}

Actor In A Supporting Role

George Burns— The Sunshine Boys {"Al Lewis"}
Winner
Brad Dourif— One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest {"Billy Bibbit"}
Burgess Meredith— The Day of the Locust {"Harry"}
Chris Sarandon— Dog Day Afternoon {"Leon"}
Jack Warden— Shampoo {"Lester Carr"}

Actress

Louise Fletcher— One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest {"Nurse Mildred Ratched"}
Winner
Ann-Margret— Tommy {"Nora Walker Hobbs"}
Carol Kane— Hester Street {"Gitl"}
Glenda Jackson— Hedda {"Hedda Gabler"}
Isabelle Adjani— The Story of Adele H. {"Adele Hugo"}

Actress In A Supporting Role

Lee Grant— Shampoo {"Felicia Karpf"}
Winner
Brenda Vaccaro— Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough {"Linda"}
Lily Tomlin— Nashville {"Linnea Reese"}
Ronee Blakley— Nashville {"Barbara Jean"}
Sylvia Miles— Farewell, My Lovely {"Mrs. Florian"}

Directing

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest— Milos Forman
Winner
Amarcord— Federico Fellini
Barry Lyndon— Stanley Kubrick
Dog Day Afternoon— Sidney Lumet
Nashville— Robert Altman

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest— Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman
Winner
Barry Lyndon— Stanley Kubrick
Scent of a Woman— Ruggero Maccari, Dino Risi
The Man Who Would Be King— John Huston, Gladys Hill
The Sunshine Boys— Neil Simon

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Dog Day Afternoon— Frank Pierson
Winner
Amarcord— Federico Fellini, Tonino Guerra
And Now My Love— Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven
Lies My Father Told Me— Ted Allan
Shampoo— Robert Towne, Warren Beatty

Cinematography

Barry Lyndon— John Alcott
Winner
Funny Lady— James Wong Howe
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest— Haskell Wexler, Bill Butler
The Day of the Locust— Conrad Hall
The Hindenburg— Robert Surtees

Music (Original Score)

Jaws— John Williams
Winner
Barry Lyndon— Adaptation Score by Leonard Rosenman
Birds Do It, Bees Do It— Gerald Fried
Bite the Bullet— Alex North
Funny Lady— Adaptation Score by Peter Matz
MUSIC (Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation -or- Scoring: Adaptation)
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest— Jack Nitzsche
The Wind and the Lion— Jerry Goldsmith
Tommy— Adaptation Score by Peter Townshend

Music (Original Song)

"I'm Easy" from Nashville— Music and Lyrics by Keith Carradine
Winner
"How Lucky Can You Get" from Funny Lady— Music and Lyrics by Fred Ebb and John Kander
"Now That We're In Love" from Whiffs— Music by George Barrie; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn
"Richard's Window" from The Other Side of the Mountain— Music by Charles Fox; Lyrics by Norman Gimbel
"Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" from Mahogany— Music by Michael Masser; Lyrics by Gerry Goffin

Art Direction

Barry Lyndon— Art Direction: Ken Adam, Roy Walker; Set Decoration: Vernon Dixon
Winner
Shampoo— Art Direction: Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell; Set Decoration: George Gaines
The Hindenburg— Art Direction: Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Frank McKelvy
The Man Who Would Be King— Art Direction: Alexander Trauner, Tony Inglis; Set Decoration: Peter James
The Sunshine Boys— Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Marvin March

Film Editing

Jaws— Verna Fields
Winner
Dog Day Afternoon— Dede Allen
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest— Richard Chew, Lynzee Klingman, Sheldon Kahn
The Man Who Would Be King— Russell Lloyd
Three Days of the Condor— Fredric Steinkamp, Don Guidice

Sound

Jaws— Robert L. Hoyt, Roger Heman, Earl Madery, John Carter
Winner
Bite the Bullet— Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Richard Tyler, Al Overton, Jr.
Funny Lady— Richard Portman, Don MacDougall, Curly Thirlwell, Jack Solomon
The Hindenburg— Leonard Peterson, John A. Bolger, Jr., John Mack, Don K. Sharpless
The Wind and the Lion— Harry W. Tetrick, Aaron Rochin, William McCaughey, Roy Charman

Costume Design

Barry Lyndon— Ulla-Britt Soderlund, Milena Canonero
Winner
Funny Lady— Ray Aghayan, Bob Mackie
The Four Musketeers— Yvonne Blake, Ron Talsky
The Magic Flute— Henny Noremark, Karin Erskine
The Man Who Would Be King— Edith Head

Documentary (Feature)

The Man Who Skied down Everest— F. R. Crawley, James Hager and Dale Hartleben, Producers
Winner
Fighting for Our Lives— Glen Pearcy, Producer
The California Reich— Walter F. Parkes and Keith F. Critchlow, Producers
The Incredible Machine— Irwin Rosten, Producer
The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir— Shirley MacLaine, Producer

Documentary (Short Subject)

The End of the Game— Claire Wilbur and Robin Lehman, Producers
Winner
Arthur and Lillie— Jon Else, Steven Kovacs and Kristine Samuelson, Producers
Millions of Years Ahead of Man— Manfred Baier, Producer
Probes in Space— George V. Casey, Producer
Whistling Smith— Barrie Howells and Michael Scott, Producers

Short Film (Animated)

Great— Bob Godfrey, Producer
Winner
Kick Me— Robert Swarthe, Producer
Monsieur Pointu— René Jodoin, Bernard Longpré and André Leduc, Producers
Sisyphus— Marcell Jankovics, Producer

Short Film (Live Action)

Angel and Big Joe— Bert Salzman, Producer
Winner
A Day in the Life of Bonnie Consolo— Barry Spinello, Producer
Conquest of Light— Louis Marcus, Producer
Dawn Flight— Lawrence M. Lansburgh and Brian Lansburgh, Producers
Doubletalk— Alan Beattie, Producer

Foreign Language Film

Dersu Uzala— Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Winner
Land of Promise— Poland
Letters from Marusia— Mexico
Sandakan No. 8— Japan
Scent of a Woman— Italy

Honorary Award

To Mary Pickford in recognition of her unique contributions to the film industry and the development of film as an artistic medium.
Winner
IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD
Mervyn LeRoy

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Dr. Jules C. Stein
Winner

Scientific Or Technical Award (Class II)

To CHADWELL O'CONNOR of the O'Connor Engineering Laboratories for the concept and engineering of a fluid-damped camera-head for motion picture photography. [Stage Operations]
Winner
To WILLIAM F. MINER of Universal City Studios, Inc. and the WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION for the development and engineering of a solid-state, 500 kilowatt, direct-current static rectifier for motion picture lighting. [Lighting]

Scientific Or Technical Award (Class III)

To LAWRENCE W. BUTLER and ROGER BANKS for the concept of applying low inertia and stepping electric motors to film transport systems and optical printers for motion picture production. [Special Photographic]
Winner
To BELL & HOWELL for the engineering and manufacture of a computerized tape punching system for programming laboratory printing machines. [Laboratory]
To CARTER EQUIPMENT COMPANY, INC. and RAMTRONICS for the engineering and manufacture of a computerized tape punching system for programming laboratory printing machines. [Laboratory]
To DAVID J. DEGENKOLB and FRED SCOBEY of Deluxe General Incorporated and JOHN C. DOLAN and RICHARD DUBOIS of the Akwaklame Company for the development of a technique for silver recovery from photographic wash-waters by ion exchange. [Laboratory]
To FREDRIK SCHLYTER for the engineering and manufacture of a computerized tape punching system for programming laboratory printing machines. [Laboratory]
To HOLLYWOOD FILM COMPANY for the engineering and manufacture of a computerized tape punching system for programming laboratory printing machines. [Laboratory]
To JOSEPH WESTHEIMER for the development of a device to obtain shadowed titles on motion picture films. [Special Photographic]

Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects)

The Hindenburg— Peter Berkos
Winner

Special Achievement Award (Visual Effects)

The Hindenburg— Albert Whitlock, Glen Robinson
Winner
WorthyWorthy

The breakdown of every Best Picture winner from past to present.

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