# 50th Academy Awards
The 50th Academy Awards honored the films released in 1977 and were presented on Monday, April 3, 1978, at the [Dorothy Chandler Pavilion](https://www.edgepedia.org/dorothy-chandler-pavilion) of the Los Angeles Music Center, telecast live by ABC.[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A) • [2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/02/22/the-golden-race-for-the-oscars/23348296-9424-4ea5-a270-9a1b36310288/) The ceremony is best remembered for two results that divided the evening's attention: [Woody Allen](https://www.edgepedia.org/woody-allen)'s small romantic comedy *Annie Hall* won Best Picture over [George Lucas](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-lucas)'s *Star Wars*, and Vanessa Redgrave's acceptance speech turned an entertainment event into the scene of a public political dispute.[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-3/annie-hall-beats-out-star-wars-for-best-picture) • [4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date and venue | Monday, April 3, 1978, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles; live ABC telecast[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A) |
| Films honored | Movies released in 1977[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A) |
| Best Picture | *Annie Hall* (producer Charles H. Joffe), beating *Star Wars*, *The Goodbye Girl*, *Julia*, and *The Turning Point*[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A) |
| Top nominees | *Julia* and *The Turning Point* with 11 nominations each; *Star Wars* with 10[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/02/22/the-golden-race-for-the-oscars/23348296-9424-4ea5-a270-9a1b36310288/) |
| *Annie Hall* total | Four Oscars: Picture, Actress (Diane Keaton), Directing and Original Screenplay (Woody Allen, the screenplay with Marshall Brickman)[4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments) |
| *Star Wars* total | Six competitive awards, plus a Special Achievement Award to Benjamin Burtt Jr. for the film's alien, creature, and robot voices[4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments) |
| Master of ceremonies | Bob Hope, in his final appearance in that role until 1980[4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments) |
| Audience | The largest television audience for any Oscar show until 1980[4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments) |
## The nomination race
When the finalists were announced in February 1978, *Julia* and *The Turning Point* led all contenders with 11 nominations each, and *Star Wars* narrowly trailed with 10. All three pictures were produced by 20th Century Fox, which consequently held a commanding position in the race. The remaining Best Picture nominees were *Annie Hall* and [Neil Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-simon)'s romantic comedy *The Goodbye Girl*. *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*, the year's second science-fiction blockbuster, was a somewhat surprising omission from the Best Picture category but did receive eight other nominations.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/02/22/the-golden-race-for-the-oscars/23348296-9424-4ea5-a270-9a1b36310288/)
Woody Allen earned separate nominations as actor, director, and screenwriter for *Annie Hall*, becoming the first triple nominee since [Orson Welles](https://www.edgepedia.org/orson-welles) for *Citizen Kane* 36 years earlier. He declined to attend the ceremony, saying from New York, where he was working on his next film, that he did not believe in competition for artistic achievement.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/02/22/the-golden-race-for-the-oscars/23348296-9424-4ea5-a270-9a1b36310288/) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-3/annie-hall-beats-out-star-wars-for-best-picture)
The Best Actress field was unusually strong. [Jane Fonda](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-fonda), who starred as playwright [Lillian Hellman](https://www.edgepedia.org/lillian-hellman) in *Julia*, contended against *The Turning Point* co-stars [Anne Bancroft](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-bancroft) and Shirley MacLaine, Diane Keaton in *Annie Hall*, and Marsha Mason in *The Goodbye Girl*. Both *Julia* and *The Turning Point* qualified four performers each for acting awards.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/02/22/the-golden-race-for-the-oscars/23348296-9424-4ea5-a270-9a1b36310288/)
## Winners
*Annie Hall* took Best Picture, Best Actress for Diane Keaton, Best Director for Woody Allen, and Original Screenplay for Allen and Marshall Brickman. [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) collected the most statuettes, six in all, concentrated in the technical categories where it competed head-to-head with *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*: [John Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-williams) won Original Score (with his *Close Encounters* score also nominated in the same category), John Mollo won Costume Design, and the film's art-direction team took that award as well.[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A) • [5](https://www.digitalhit.com/academy-awards/50th/winners/)
[Richard Dreyfuss](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-dreyfuss) won Best Actor for *The Goodbye Girl*, and [Jason Robards](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-robards) won Best Supporting Actor for *Julia*, making it two wins in a row after *All the President's Men*. [Vanessa Redgrave](https://www.edgepedia.org/vanessa-redgrave) won Best Supporting Actress for *Julia*. Alvin Sargent won the screenplay based on material from another medium for *Julia*, and Joseph Brooks's title song of the small-budget film *You Light Up My Life* won Best Original Song.[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A) • [6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/04/05/annie-hall-and-star-wars-are-top-oscar-winners/49449bd1-9fef-41f4-88c3-b76a49019ecc/) Vilmos Zsigmond won Cinematography for *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*, and the Foreign Language Film award went to *Madame Rosa* from France.[1](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A)
The Board of Governors voted two Special Achievement Awards, one to Benjamin Burtt Jr. for the alien, creature, and robot voices of *Star Wars* and one to Frank E. Warner for sound effects editing on *Close Encounters of the Third Kind*. Walter Mirisch received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, Charlton Heston the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and film editor Margaret Booth an Honorary Award.[4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments)
*The Turning Point*, despite its 11 nominations, went home with nothing, while *Star Wars*' technical team carried the largest haul of statuettes.[5](https://www.digitalhit.com/academy-awards/50th/winners/)
## The Redgrave controversy
The ceremony's political episode grew out of Redgrave's involvement with *The Palestinian* (1977), a documentary she financed and narrated after traveling in Lebanon and Syria and meeting [Palestinians](https://www.edgepedia.org/palestinians), including PLO chairman [Yasser Arafat](https://www.edgepedia.org/yasser-arafat). Her support for the Palestine Liberation Organization drew the ire of the Jewish Defense League and other Jewish groups; at the ceremony, JDL members picketed outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as did some PLO supporters, and the league burned an effigy of Redgrave.[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/classichollywood/la-ca-mn-classic-hollywood-oscars-html-20160207-htmlstory.html)
**The speech.** After winning Best Supporting Actress, Redgrave thanked the Academy for having "refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums," remarks that produced both applause and boos in the audience. Later in the evening, before presenting the screenplay awards, the three-time Oscar-winning writer Paddy Chayefsky denounced her for using the ceremony to promote her "personal political propaganda" and drew a large ovation.[6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/04/05/annie-hall-and-star-wars-are-top-oscar-winners/49449bd1-9fef-41f4-88c3-b76a49019ecc/) • [4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments) Contemporary and retrospective accounts agree that the dispute carried an external political conflict into a globally visible entertainment event.[8](https://nutanica.com/50th_Academy_Awards)
## The 50th-anniversary show
The program was framed as a celebration of the Academy Awards' first half-century. Performers associated with earlier Hollywood periods took part, including Janet Gaynor, the first Best Actress recipient, who presented the Best Actress award to Diane Keaton; the announced presenter list also included Fred Astaire, Bette Davis, Steve McQueen, Natalie Wood, and Mark Hamill with his *Star Wars* co-stars R2-D2 and C-3PO.[8](https://nutanica.com/50th_Academy_Awards) • [9](https://archive.newportbeachlibrary.org/NBPL/0/edoc/1235159/1978-04-03%20-%20Orange%20Coast%20Pilot.pdf) Bob Hope served as master of ceremonies for the final time in that role, and until 1980 the telecast attracted the largest television audience for any Oscar show to date.[4](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments) The documentary category, whose own awards dated to 1942, was then near its own 50th birthday, a fact the Academy would later mark separately.[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-30-ca-146-story.html)
The final ballot was voted by the Academy's full membership of about 3,000, after nominations had been determined by balloting within the branches; the Academy's membership has since grown many times over.[2](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/02/22/the-golden-race-for-the-oscars/23348296-9424-4ea5-a270-9a1b36310288/)
## References
1. [1978 Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/A)
2. [The Golden Race for the Oscars, The Washington Post, February 22, 1978](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/02/22/the-golden-race-for-the-oscars/23348296-9424-4ea5-a270-9a1b36310288/)
3. ["Annie Hall" beats out "Star Wars" for Best Picture, HISTORY](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-3/annie-hall-beats-out-star-wars-for-best-picture)
4. [The 50th Academy Awards Memorable Moments, Oscars.org](https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1978/memorable-moments)
5. [50th Annual Academy Awards Results and Commentary (1978), DigitalHit.com](https://www.digitalhit.com/academy-awards/50th/winners/)
6. ['Annie Hall' and 'Star Wars' Are Top Oscar Winners, The Washington Post, April 5, 1978](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1978/04/05/annie-hall-and-star-wars-are-top-oscar-winners/49449bd1-9fef-41f4-88c3-b76a49019ecc/)
7. [Classic Hollywood: A brief history of Academy Awards controversies, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/classichollywood/la-ca-mn-classic-hollywood-oscars-html-20160207-htmlstory.html)
8. [50th Academy Awards, Nutanica](https://nutanica.com/50th_Academy_Awards)
9. [Daily Pilot, Monday, April 3, 1978, Newport Beach Library archive](https://archive.newportbeachlibrary.org/NBPL/0/edoc/1235159/1978-04-03%20-%20Orange%20Coast%20Pilot.pdf)
10. [Oscar Watch: 50 Years of Docs, Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1992](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-03-30-ca-146-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Awards and screen reference › Academy Awards ceremonies and categories*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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