1979 Film Year: Oscar Winners & Nominees
The AwardWentTo archive contains 107 Academy Award records for the 1979 film year, covering 54 films and including 23 wins.
Years follow the source film eligibility/dataset year, which may differ from the ceremony calendar year. Counts describe film-linked archive records, including historical and special-award context where supplied.
Best Picture result
- ★ Kramer vs. KramerStanley R. Jaffe, Producer
5 Best Picture award records for this film year. See the full result · Best Picture history
Acting category results
Leading winning films
Ranked by winning records in this film-year selection.
- Kramer vs. Kramer
5 wins from 9 award records
- All That Jazz
4 wins from 9 award records
- Apocalypse Now
2 wins from 8 award records
- Norma Rae
2 wins from 4 award records
- Breaking Away
1 win from 5 award records
- The Black Stallion
1 win from 3 award records
Category winners
Select a category to explore its history, or jump to this year's full records.
- ★ Kramer vs. Kramer — Ted Kramer
- ★ Being There — Benjamin Rand
- ★ Norma Rae — Norma Rae
- ★ Kramer vs. Kramer — Joanna Kramer
- ★ Best Boy
- ★ Norma Rae — It Goes Like It Goes
- ★ Alien
Nominations and award records by category
Showing 107 of 107 archive records. Gold stars mark winning records.
Best Picture
- ★ Kramer vs. Kramer IMDB — Stanley R. Jaffe, Producer
- All That Jazz IMDB — Robert Alan Aurthur, Producer
- Apocalypse Now IMDB — Francis Coppola, Producer; Fred Roos, Gray Frederickson and Tom Sternberg, Co-Producers
- Breaking Away IMDB — Peter Yates, Producer
- Norma Rae IMDB — Tamara Asseyev and Alex Rose, Producers
Best Actor
- ★ Kramer vs. Kramer IMDB — Dustin HoffmanTed Kramer
- The China Syndrome IMDB — Jack LemmonJack Godell
- ...And Justice for All IMDB — Al PacinoArthur Kirkland
- All That Jazz IMDB — Roy ScheiderJoe Gideon
- Being There IMDB — Peter SellersJohn Chance, the gardener (aka Chauncey Gardiner)
Best Supporting Actor
- ★ Being There IMDB — Melvyn DouglasBenjamin Rand
- Apocalypse Now IMDB — Robert DuvallLieutenant Colonel Kilgore
- The Rose IMDB — Frederic ForrestDyer
- Kramer vs. Kramer IMDB — Justin HenryBilly Kramer
- The Black Stallion IMDB — Mickey RooneyHenry Dailey
Best Actress
- ★ Norma Rae IMDB — Sally FieldNorma Rae
- Starting Over IMDB — Jill ClayburghMarilyn Homberg
- The China Syndrome IMDB — Jane FondaKimberly Wells
- Chapter Two IMDB — Marsha MasonJennie MacLaine
- The Rose IMDB — Bette MidlerRose
Best Supporting Actress
- ★ Kramer vs. Kramer IMDB — Meryl StreepJoanna Kramer
- Kramer vs. Kramer IMDB — Jane AlexanderMargaret Phelps
- Breaking Away IMDB — Barbara BarrieMrs. Stohler
- Starting Over IMDB — Candice BergenJessica Potter
- Manhattan IMDB — Mariel HemingwayTracy
Art Direction
- ★ All That Jazz IMDB — Art Direction: Philip Rosenberg, Tony Walton; Set Decoration: Edward Stewart, Gary Brink
- Alien IMDB — Art Direction: Michael Seymour, Les Dilley, Roger Christian; Set Decoration: Ian Whittaker
- Apocalypse Now IMDB — Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis, Angelo Graham; Set Decoration: George R. Nelson
- The China Syndrome IMDB — Art Direction: George Jenkins; Set Decoration: Arthur Jeph Parker
- Star Trek - The Motion Picture IMDB — Art Direction: Harold Michelson, Joe Jennings, Leon Harris, John Vallone; Set Decoration: Linda DeScenna
Cinematography
Costume Design
- ★ All That Jazz IMDB — Albert Wolsky
- Agatha IMDB — Shirley Russell
- Butch and Sundance: The Early Days IMDB — William Ware Theiss
- The Europeans IMDB — Judy Moorcroft
- La Cage aux Folles IMDB — Piero Tosi, Ambra Danon
Best Director
Documentary Feature
- ★ Best Boy IMDB — Ira Wohl, Producer
- Generation on the Wind IMDB — David A. Vassar, Producer
- Going the Distance IMDB — Paul Cowan and Jacques Bobet, Producers
- The Killing Ground IMDB — Steve Singer and Tom Priestley, Producers
- The War at Home IMDB — Glenn Silber and Barry Alexander Brown, Producers
Documentary Short Subject
- ★ Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist IMDB — Saul J. Turell, Producer
- Dae IMDB — Risto Teofilovski, Producer
- Koryo Celadon IMDB — Donald A. Connolly and James R. Messenger, Producers
- Nails IMDB — Phillip Borsos, Producer
- Remember Me IMDB — Dick Young, Producer
Film Editing
- ★ All That Jazz IMDB — Alan Heim
- Apocalypse Now IMDB — Richard Marks, Walter Murch, Gerald B. Greenberg, Lisa Fruchtman
- The Black Stallion IMDB — Robert Dalva
- Kramer vs. Kramer IMDB — Jerry Greenberg
- The Rose IMDB — Robert L. Wolfe, C. Timothy O'Meara
International Feature Film
- ★ The Tin Drum IMDB — Federal Republic of Germany
- The Maids of Wilko IMDB — Poland
- Mama Turns a Hundred IMDB — Spain
- A Simple Story IMDB — France
- To Forget Venice IMDB — Italy
Original Score
Original Song
- ★ Norma Rae IMDB — Music by David Shire; Lyric by Norman GimbelIt Goes Like It Goes
- The Promise IMDB — Music by David Shire; Lyric by Alan Bergman and Marilyn BergmanI'll Never Say 'Goodbye'
- 10 IMDB — Music by Henry Mancini; Lyric by Robert WellsIt's Easy To Say
- The Muppet Movie IMDB — Music and Lyric by Paul Williams and Kenny AscherThe Rainbow Connection
- Ice Castles IMDB — Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyric by Carole Bayer SagerThrough The Eyes Of Love
Music (Original Song Score or Adaptation Score)
- ★ All That Jazz IMDB — Adaptation Score by Ralph Burns
- Breaking Away IMDB — Adaptation Score by Patrick Williams
- The Muppet Movie IMDB — Song Score by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher; Adaptation Score by Paul Williams
Animated Short Film
- ★ Every Child IMDB — Derek Lamb, Producer
- Dream Doll IMDB — Bob Godfrey and Zlatko Grgic, Producers
- It's So Nice to Have a Wolf around the House IMDB — Paul Fierlinger, Producer
Live Action Short Film
- ★ Board and Care IMDB — Sarah Pillsbury and Ron Ellis, Producers
- Bravery in the Field IMDB — Roman Kroitor and Stefan Wodoslawsky, Producers
- Oh Brother, My Brother IMDB — Carol Lowell and Ross Lowell, Producers
- The Solar Film IMDB — Saul Bass and Michael Britton, Producers
- Solly's Diner IMDB — Harry Mathias, Jay Zukerman and Larry Hankin, Producers
Sound Mixing
- ★ Apocalypse Now IMDB — Walter Murch, Mark Berger, Richard Beggs, Nat Boxer
- The Electric Horseman IMDB — Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Michael Minkler, Al Overton
- Meteor IMDB — William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin, Michael J. Kohut, Jack Solomon
- 1941 IMDB — Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Don MacDougall, Gene S. Cantamessa
- The Rose IMDB — Theodore Soderberg, Douglas Williams, Paul Wells, Jim Webb
Special Achievement Award (Sound Editing)
Visual Effects
- ★ Alien IMDB — H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder, Denys Ayling
- The Black Hole IMDB — Peter Ellenshaw, Art Cruickshank, Eustace Lycett, Danny Lee, Harrison Ellenshaw, Joe Hale
- Moonraker IMDB — Derek Meddings, Paul Wilson, John Evans
- 1941 IMDB — William A. Fraker, A. D. Flowers, Gregory Jein
- Star Trek - The Motion Picture IMDB — Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Richard Yuricich, Robert Swarthe, Dave Stewart, Grant McCune
Adapted Screenplay
- ★ Kramer vs. Kramer IMDB — Robert Benton
- Apocalypse Now IMDB — John Milius, Francis Coppola
- La Cage aux Folles IMDB — Francis Veber, Edouard Molinaro, Marcello Danon, Jean Poiret
- A Little Romance IMDB — Allan Burns
- Norma Rae IMDB — Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank, Jr.
Original Screenplay
- ★ Breaking Away IMDB — Steve Tesich
- All That Jazz IMDB — Robert Alan Aurthur, Bob Fosse
- ...And Justice for All IMDB — Valerie Curtin, Barry Levinson
- The China Syndrome IMDB — Mike Gray, T.S. Cook, James Bridges
- Manhattan IMDB — Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman
Nominated films and other recorded entries
54 films represented in the 1979 archive selection.
- ...And Justice for All
- 10
- 1941
- A Little Romance
- A Simple Story
- Agatha
- Alien
- All That Jazz
- Apocalypse Now
- Being There
- Best Boy
- Board and Care
- Bravery in the Field
- Breaking Away
- Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
- Chapter Two
- Dae
- Dream Doll
- Every Child
- Generation on the Wind
- Going the Distance
- Ice Castles
- It's So Nice to Have a Wolf around the House
- Koryo Celadon
- Kramer vs. Kramer
- La Cage aux Folles
- Mama Turns a Hundred
- Manhattan
- Meteor
- Moonraker
- Nails
- Norma Rae
- Oh Brother, My Brother
- Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist
- Remember Me
- Solly's Diner
- Star Trek - The Motion Picture
- Starting Over
- The Amityville Horror
- The Black Hole
- The Black Stallion
- The Champ
- The China Syndrome
- The Electric Horseman
- The Europeans
- The Killing Ground
- The Maids of Wilko
- The Muppet Movie
- The Promise
- The Rose
- The Solar Film
- The Tin Drum
- The War at Home
- To Forget Venice
About these award records
This independent archive groups film-linked award records by film, credited name, category and eligibility year. The film year can differ from the year the ceremony took place. Ceremony numbers are shown where supplied by the records.
Each distinct performance, song or award credit remains a separate record, even when it belongs to the same film. Shared credits stay together. A person's page covers the name shown, without combining aliases or shared credits into a complete career total.
Totals can include honorary, special and historical awards alongside competitive nominations. Awards without a linked film are outside these page totals. Source notes and uncertain records are retained; category comparisons omit groups with unresolved notes, ties or conflicting identities.
For the official record, search the Academy Awards Database (opens in a new tab). Award Went To is an independent exploration tool and is not affiliated with the Academy.