Best Picture Winner
Rocky
Best Picture
Director: John G. Avildsen
Studio: United Artists
A small-time boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight a heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance.
From the Worthy Podcast
A sports film is a genre of movies that focuses on sports as a central theme. Here’s the play-by-play of what typically makes up a sports film:
Central Theme: The narrative is built around a particular sport or athletic competition, ranging from popular sports like football or basketball to more individual pursuits like boxing or golf.
Character Development: These films often highlight personal growth, resilience, and the triumphs and challenges of the athletes involved. Characters may face physical, emotional, and social hurdles on their way to victory—or sometimes, poignant defeat.
Inspirational Messages: Sports films frequently promote themes of teamwork, perseverance, and integrity, offering motivational messages that resonate with audiences beyond just sports fans.
Dramatic Tension: The competition element introduces natural tension and excitement, often culminating in a high-stakes game or event that decides the outcome of the story.
The First Sports Films
All Categories (24)
Best Picture
Rocky— Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, Producers
Winner
All the President's Men— Walter Coblenz, Producer
Bound for Glory— Robert F. Blumofe and Harold Leventhal, Producers
Network— Howard Gottfried, Producer
Taxi Driver— Michael Phillips and Julia Phillips, Producers
Actor In A Leading Role
Giancarlo Giannini— Seven Beauties {"Pasqualino Frafuso"}
Robert De Niro— Taxi Driver {"Travis Bickle"}
Sylvester Stallone— Rocky {"Rocky Balboa"}
William Holden— Network {"Max Schumacher"}
Actor In A Supporting Role
Burgess Meredith— Rocky {"Mickey"}
Burt Young— Rocky {"Paulie"}
Laurence Olivier— Marathon Man {"Szell"}
Ned Beatty— Network {"Arthur Jensen"}
Actress In A Leading Role
Liv Ullmann— Face to Face {"Dr. Jenny Isaksson"}
Marie-Christine Barrault— Cousin, Cousine {"Marthe"}
Sissy Spacek— Carrie {"Carrie White"}
Talia Shire— Rocky {"Adrian"}
Actress In A Supporting Role
Jane Alexander— All the President's Men {"The Bookkeeper"}
Jodie Foster— Taxi Driver {"Iris"}
Lee Grant— Voyage of the Damned {"Lilian Rosen"}
Piper Laurie— Carrie {"Margaret White"}
Directing
All the President's Men— Alan J. Pakula
Face to Face— Ingmar Bergman
Network— Sidney Lumet
Seven Beauties— Lina Wertmüller
Writing (Screenplay Based On Material From Another Medium)
All the President's Men— William Goldman
Winner
Bound for Glory— Robert Getchell
Fellini's Casanova— Federico Fellini, Bernardino Zapponi
The Seven-per-cent Solution— Nicholas Meyer
Voyage of the Damned— Steve Shagan, David Butler
Writing (Screenplay Written Directly For The Screen)
Network— Paddy Chayefsky
Winner
Cousin, Cousine— Story and Screenplay by Jean-Charles Tacchella; Adaptation by Daniele Thompson
Rocky— Sylvester Stallone
Seven Beauties— Lina Wertmüller
The Front— Walter Bernstein
Cinematography
Bound for Glory— Haskell Wexler
Winner
A Star Is Born— Robert Surtees
King Kong— Richard H. Kline
Logan's Run— Ernest Laszlo
Network— Owen Roizman
Music (Original Score)
The Omen— Jerry Goldsmith
Winner
Obsession— Bernard Herrmann
Taxi Driver— Bernard Herrmann
The Outlaw Josey Wales— Jerry Fielding
Voyage of the Damned— Lalo Schifrin
Music (Original Song)
"Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born)" from A Star Is Born— Music by Barbra Streisand; Lyrics by Paul Williams
Winner
"A World That Never Was" from Half a House— Music by Sammy Fain; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
"Ave Satani" from The Omen— Music and Lyrics by Jerry Goldsmith
"Come To Me" from The Pink Panther Strikes Again— Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Don Black
"Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky— Music by Bill Conti; Lyrics by Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins
Art Direction
All the President's Men— Art Direction: George Jenkins; Set Decoration: George Gaines
Winner
Logan's Run— Art Direction: Dale Hennesy; Set Decoration: Robert de Vestel
The Incredible Sarah— Art Direction: Elliot Scott, Norman Reynolds; Set Decoration: Peter Howitt
The Last Tycoon— Art Direction: Gene Callahan, Jack Collis; Set Decoration: Jerry Wunderlich
The Shootist— Art Direction: Robert F. Boyle; Set Decoration: Arthur Jeph Parker
Film Editing
Rocky— Richard Halsey, Scott Conrad
Winner
All the President's Men— Robert L. Wolfe
Bound for Glory— Robert Jones, Pembroke J. Herring
Network— Alan Heim
Two-Minute Warning— Eve Newman, Walter Hannemann
Sound
All the President's Men— Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Jim Webb
Winner
A Star Is Born— Robert Knudson, Dan Wallin, Robert Glass, Tom Overton
King Kong— Harry Warren Tetrick, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin, Jack Solomon
Rocky— Harry Warren Tetrick, William McCaughey, Lyle Burbridge, Bud Alper
Silver Streak— Donald Mitchell, Douglas Williams, Richard Tyler, Hal Etherington
Costume Design
Fellini's Casanova— Danilo Donati
Winner
Bound for Glory— William Theiss
The Incredible Sarah— Anthony Mendleson
The Passover Plot— Mary Wills
The Seven-per-cent Solution— Alan Barrett
Documentary (Feature)
Harlan County, U.S.A.— Barbara Kopple, Producer
Winner
Hollywood on Trial— James Gutman and David Helpern, Jr., Producers
Off the Edge— Michael Firth, Producer
People of the Wind— Anthony Howarth and David Koff, Producers
Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry— Donald Brittain and Robert Duncan, Producers
Documentary (Short Subject)
Number Our Days— Lynne Littman, Producer
Winner
American Shoeshine— Sparky Greene, Producer
Blackwood— Tony Ianzelo and Andy Thomson, Producers
The End of the Road— John Armstrong, Producer
Universe— Lester Novros, Producer
Short Film (Animated)
Leisure— Suzanne Baker, Producer
Winner
Dedalo— Manfredo Manfredi, Producer
The Street— Caroline Leaf and Guy Glover, Producers
Short Film (Live Action)
In the Region of Ice— Andre Guttfreund and Peter Werner, Producers
Winner
Kudzu— Marjorie Anne Short, Producer
Nightlife— Claire Wilbur and Robin Lehman, Producers
Number One— Dyan Cannon and Vince Cannon, Producers
The Morning Spider— Julian Chagrin and Claude Chagrin, Producers
Foreign Language Film
Black and White in Color— Ivory Coast
Winner
Cousin, Cousine— France
Jacob, the Liar— German Democratic Republic
Nights and Days— Poland
Seven Beauties— Italy
Scientific Or Technical Award (Class II)
To CONSOLIDATED FILM INDUSTRIES and the BARNEBEY-CHENEY COMPANY for the development of a system for the recovery of film-cleaning solvent vapors in a motion picture laboratory. [Laboratory]
Winner
To WILLIAM L. GRAHAM, MANFRED G. MICHELSON, GEOFFREY F. NORMAN and SIEGFRIED SEIBERT of Technicolor for the development and engineering of a Continuous, High-Speed, Color Motion Picture Printing System. [Laboratory]
Scientific Or Technical Award (Class III)
To FRED BARTSCHER of Kollmorgen Corporation and to GLENN BERGGREN of the Schneider Corporation for the design and development of a single-lens magnifier for motion picture projection lenses. [Lenses and Filters]
Winner
To CARL ZEISS COMPANY for the design and development of super-speed lenses for motion picture photography. [Lenses and Filters]
To HIROSHI SUZUKAWA of Canon and WILTON R. HOLM of AMPTP Motion Picture and Television Research Center for the design and development of super-speed lenses for motion picture photography. [Lenses and Filters]
To PANAVISION INCORPORATED for the design and development of super-speed lenses for motion picture photography. [Lenses and Filters]
To PHOTO RESEARCH DIVISION OF THE KOLLMORGEN CORPORATION for the engineering and manufacture of the Spectra TriColor Meter. [Photography]
Music (Original Song Score And Its Adaptation Or Adaptation Score)
Bound for Glory— Adaptation Score by Leonard Rosenman
Winner
A Star Is Born— Adaptation Score by Roger Kellaway
Bugsy Malone— Song Score and Adaptation Score by Paul Williams
Special Achievement Award (Visual Effects)
King Kong— Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson, Frank Van der Veer
Winner
IRVING G. THALBERG MEMORIAL AWARD
Logan's Run— L. B. Abbott, Glen Robinson, Matthew Yuricich
Pandro S. Berman