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51st Academy Awards (1979)
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Oscars 1979 Winners & Nominees

The 51st Academy Awards (1979) took place on April 9, 1979. The Deer Hunter won Best Picture and 4 more awards. Every winner and nominee in all 17 categories is below.

All 17 categories Most wins
categories
17
nominations
67
films nominated
20
winners
15
Held on
Best Picture
The Deer Hunter
Headline winners

Oscars 1979: The Winners

The Deer Hunter won Best Picture against 4 other nominees. Michael Cimino (Best Director), Jon Voight (Best Actor) and Jane Fonda (Best Actress) took the main individual prizes.

The Deer Hunter (1978) movie poster Best Picture

Best Picture

The Deer Hunter

1978 · Drama, War · $49.1M worldwide

5 wins from 9 nominations at the 51st Academy Awards (1979)

  • Best Supporting Actor
  • Best Director
  • Best Film Editing
  • Best Sound

A close group of steelworkers in Pennsylvania share a final hunting trip before some are drafted to fight in Vietnam. The experience foreshadows the intense challenges and traumas they will face in the war. Their friendships and bravery are pushed to their limits amidst the violence and hardship, exploring the profound impact of conflict on their lives and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

About The Deer Hunter
Scoreboard

Oscars 1979: Which Films Won the Most

The Deer Hunter won 5 awards from 9 nominations. 8 films won at least once, while Interiors went home empty-handed from 5 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. The Deer Hunter (1978) movie poster
    The Deer Hunter 5 / 9
    1978 · Drama, War · 5 wins from 9 nominations
  2. Coming Home (1978) movie poster
    Coming Home 3 / 8
    1978 · Drama, Romance · 3 wins from 8 nominations
  3. Midnight Express (1978) movie poster
    Midnight Express 2 / 6
    1978 · Biography, Drama · 2 wins from 6 nominations
  4. Heaven Can Wait (1978) movie poster
    Heaven Can Wait 1 / 9
    1978 · Sport, Fantasy · 1 win from 9 nominations
  5. Days of Heaven (1978) movie poster
    Days of Heaven 1 / 4
    1978 · Drama, Romance · 1 win from 4 nominations
  6. Superman (1978) movie poster
    Superman 1 / 4
    1978 · Action, Adventure · 1 win from 4 nominations
  7. The Buddy Holly Story (1978) movie poster
    The Buddy Holly Story 1 / 3
    1978 · Biography, Drama · 1 win from 3 nominations
  8. Death on the Nile (1978) movie poster
    Death on the Nile 1 / 1
    1978 · Drama, Mystery · 1 win from 1 nomination
  9. Interiors (1978) movie poster
    Interiors 0 / 5
    1978 · Drama · 0 wins from 5 nominations
  10. The Wiz (1978) movie poster
    The Wiz 0 / 4
    1978 · Adventure, Fantasy · 0 wins from 4 nominations
Full results

All 17 Oscars 1979 Categories: Winners & Nominees

17 categories and 67 nominations. The winner of each comes first, on a green row. Search for a film or a person, show only the winners, or jump straight to a category.

17 categories · 67 nominations

Jump to a category

Oscars 1979 Best Original Song

Official name: Music (Original Song)

2 nominees

No winner is recorded for this category.

Oscars 1979 Special Achievement Award (Visual Effects)

1 nominee
Movie marathon

The Oscars 1979 Best Picture Marathon

All 5 Best Picture nominees at the 51st Academy Awards (1979), back to back: 10 hours 55 minutes.

Total running time 10h 55m 10 hours 55 minutes All 5 films
Longest
The Deer Hunter 3h 2m
Shortest
Heaven Can Wait 1h 41m
By genre

The Genres Behind the Oscars 1979 Winners

Drama led with 46 nominations across 13 films and won 13. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 13 wins · 46 nominations · 28%
  2. Romance 5 wins · 26 nominations · 19%
  3. War 8 wins · 17 nominations · 47%
  4. Thriller 3 wins · 15 nominations · 20%
  5. Comedy 1 win · 15 nominations · 7%
  6. Fantasy 1 win · 13 nominations · 8%
  7. Biography 3 wins · 9 nominations · 33%
  8. Sport 1 win · 9 nominations · 11%
  9. Crime 3 wins · 8 nominations · 38%
  10. Adventure 1 win · 8 nominations · 13%
1979 season

How the Rest of the 1979 Awards Season Voted

The other 4 ceremonies of 1979, with the winner of each top prize. The Deer Hunter also won the top prize at one of them.

All 1979 awards
Earlier years

Previous Oscars Ceremonies

The 6 ceremonies before this one, with the winner of each top prize. The Oscars page has every year back to 1929.

Every Oscars ceremony

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FAQ

Oscars 1979: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 51st Academy Awards (1979), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Picture at the 51st Academy Awards (1979)?

The Deer Hunter (1978) won Best Picture. The other nominees were Coming Home, Heaven Can Wait, Midnight Express and An Unmarried Woman.

About The Deer Hunter

Which film won the most awards at the 51st Academy Awards (1979)?

The Deer Hunter (1978) won the most: 5 awards from 9 nominations. Coming Home was next with 3 wins.

Which film had the most nominations at the 51st Academy Awards (1979)?

The Deer Hunter (1978) and Heaven Can Wait (1978) led with 9 nominations each.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 51st Academy Awards (1979)?

Best Director: Michael Cimino for The Deer Hunter. Best Actor: Jon Voight for Coming Home. Best Actress: Jane Fonda for Coming Home. Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Walken for The Deer Hunter.

When was the 51st Academy Awards (1979)?

The 51st Academy Awards (1979) took place on April 9, 1979. The database has 17 categories and 67 nominations for it.