| 69th Academy Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | March 24, 1997 | |||
| Site | Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles, California | |||
| Host | Billy Crystal | |||
| Highlights | ||||
| Best Picture | The English Patient | |||
| Most wins | The English Patient (9) | |||
| Most nominations | The English Patient (12) | |||
| ||||
The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, which honored the best achievements in film in 1996, was held on March 24, 1997 at Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium. Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the fifth time. He first presided over the 62nd Academy Awards held in 1990 and had last hosted the 65th Academy Awards held in 1993. Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on March 1, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Helen Hunt. The English Patient won the most awards of the evening with nine including Best Picture.
Saul Zaentz became the third person to produce three Best Picture winners, having previously produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus. He also became the seventh individual to receive an Oscar and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in the same year. Best Actress winner Frances McDormand was the first person to win for a role in a film directed by his or her spouse. Best Original Musical or Comedy Score winner Rachel Portman became the first female winner for composing a musical score.
Nominees and Winners[]
The nominees for the 69th Academy Awards were announced on February 11, 1997. The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 24, 1997.
Best Picture[]
See also: Best Picture
- Winner
- The English Patient — Saul Zaentz
- Nominees
- Fargo — Ethan Coen
- Jerry Maguire — James L. Brooks, Laurence Mark, Richard Sakai, Cameron Crowe
- Secrets & Lies — Simon Channing-Williams
- Shine — Jane Scott
Best Director[]
See also: Best Director
- Winner
- The English Patient — Anthony Minghella
- Nominees
- Fargo — Joel Coen
- The People vs. Larry Flynt — Milos Forman
- Secrets & Lies — Mike Leigh
- Shine — Scott Hick
Best Actor[]
See also: Best Actor
- Winner
- Geoffrey Rush — Shine
- Nominees
- Tom Cruise — Jerry Maguire
- Ralph Fiennes — The English Patient
- Woody Harrelson — The People vs. Larry Flynt
- Billy Bob Thornton — Sling Blade
Best Actress[]
See also: Best Actress
- Winner
- Frances McDormand — Fargo
- Nominees
- Brenda Blethyn — Secrets & Lies
- Diane Keaton — Marvin's Room
- Kristin Scott Thomas — The English Patient
- Emily Watson — Breaking the Waves
Best Supporting Actor[]
See also: Best Supporting Actor
- Winner
- Cuba Gooding, Jr. — Jerry Maguire
- Nominees
- William H. Macy — Fargo
- Armin Mueller-Stahl — Shine
- Edward Norton — Primal Fear
- James Woods — Ghost of Mississippi
Best Supporting Actress[]
See also: Best Supporting Actress
- Winner
- Juliette Binoche — The English Patient
- Nominees
- Joan Allen — The Crucible
- Lauren Bacall — The Mirror Has Two Faces
- Barbara Hershey — The Portrait of a Lady
- Marianne Jean-Baptiste — Secrets & Lies
Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen[]
See also: Best Original Screenplay
- Winner
- Fargo — Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Nominees
- Jerry Maguire — Cameron Crowe
- Lone Star — John Sayles
- Secrets & Lies — Mike Leigh
- Shine — Jan Sardi, Scott Hicks
Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published[]
See also: Best Adapted Screenplay
- Winner
- Sling Blade — Billy Bob Thornton
- Nominees
- The Crucible — Arthur Miller
- The English Patient — Anthony Minghella
- Hamlet (1996) — Kenneth Branagh
- Trainspotting — John Hodge
Best Foreign Language Film[]
See also: Best Foreign Language Film
- Winner
- Kolya from Czech Republic — Jan Sverák
- Nominees
- A Chef in Love from Georgia — Nana Djordjadze
- The Other Side of Sunday from Norway — Berit Nesheim
- Prisoner of the Mountains from Russia — Sergey Bodrov
- Ridicule from France — Patrice Leconte
Best Documentary Feature[]
See also: Best Documentary Feature
- Winner
- When We Were Kings — Leon Gast, David Sonenberg
- Nominees
- The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story — Susan W. Dryfoos
- Mandela — Jo Menell, Angus Gibson
- Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse — Anne Belle, Deborah Dickson
- Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press — Rick Goldsmith
Best Documentary Short[]
See also: Best Documentary Short
- Winner
- Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien — Jessica Yu
- Nominees
- Cosmic Voyage — Jeffrey Marvin, Bayley Silleck
- An Essay on Matisse — Perry Wolff
- Special Effects — Susanne Simpson, Ben Burtt
- The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage — Paul Seydor, Nick Redman
Best Live Action Short[]
See also: Best Live Action Short
- Winner
- Dear Diary — David Frankel, Barry Jossen
- Nominees
- De Tripas, Corazon — Antonio Urrutia
- Ernst & Lyset — Kim Magnusson, Anders Thomas Jensen
- Esposados — Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
- Wordless — Bernadette Carranza, Antonello De Leo
Best Animated Short[]
See also: Best Animated Short
- Winner
- Quest — Tyron Montgomery, Thomas Stellmach
- Nominees
- Canhead — Timothy Hittle, Chris Peterson
- La Salla — Richard Condie
- Wat's Pig — Peter Lord
Best Original Dramatic Score[]
See also: Best Original Score
- Winner
- The English Patient — Gabriel Yared
- Nominees
- Hamlet (1996) — Patrick Doyle
- Michael Collins — Elliot Goldenthal
- Shine — David Hirschfelder
- Sleepers — John Williams
Best Original Musical or Comedy Score[]
See also: Best Original Score
- Winner
- Emma — Rachel Portman
- Nominees
- The First Wives Club — Marc Shaiman
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame — Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz
- James and the Giant Peach — Randy Newman
- The Preacher's Wife — Hans Zimmer
Best Original Song[]
See also: Best Original Song
- Winner
- "You Must Love Me" from Evita — Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice
- Nominees
- "Because You Loved Me" from Up Close and Personal — Diane Warren
- "For the First Time" from One Fine Day — James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman, Allan Dennis Rich
- "I Finally Found Someone" from The Mirror Has Two Faces — Barbra Streisand, Marvin Hamlisch, Bryan Adams, Robert "Mutt" Lange
- "That Thing You Do!" from That Thing You Do! — Adam Schlesinger
Best Cinematography[]
See also: Best Cinematography
- Winner
- The English Patient — John Seale
- Nominees
- Evita — Darius Khondji
- Fargo — Roger Deakins
- Fly Away Home — Caleb Deschanel
- Michael Collins — Chris Menges
Best Art Direction[]
See also: Best Art Direction
- Winner
- The English Patient — Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
- Nominees
- The Birdcage — Bo Welch, Cheryl Carasik
- Evita — Brian Morris, Phillipe Turlure
- Hamlet (1996) — Tim Harvey
- William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet — Catherine Martin, Brigitte Broch
Costume Design[]
See also: Best Costume Design
- Winner
- The English Patient — Ann Roth
- Nominees
- Angels and Insects — Paul Brown
- Emma — Ruth Myers
- Hamlet (1996) — Alex Byrne
- The Portrait of a Lady — Janet Patterson
Best Makeup[]
See also: Best Makeup
- Winner
- The Nutty Professor — Rick Baker, David LeRoy Anderson
- Nominees
- Ghosts of Mississippi — Matthew W. Mungle, Deborah La Mia Denaver
- Star Trek: First Contact — Michael Westmore, Scott Wheeler, Jake Garber
Best Film Editing[]
See also: Best Film Editing
- Winner
- The English Patient — Walter Murch
- Nominees
- Evita — Gerry Hambling
- Fargo — Roderick Jaynes
- Jerry Maguire — Joe Hutshing
- Shine — Pip Karmel
Sound[]
See also: Best Sound
- Winner
- The English Patient — Walter Murch, Mark Berger, David Parker, Chris Newman
- Nominees
- Evita — Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Ken Weston
- Independence Day — Chris Carpenter, Bill W. Benton, Bob Beemer, Jeff Wexler
- The Rock — Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Keith A. Wester
- Twister — Kevin O'Connell, Gregg Landaker, Steve Maslow, Geoffrey Patterson
Best Sound Effects Editing[]
See also: Best Sound Effects Editing
- Winner
- The Ghost and the Darkness — Bruce Stambler
- Nominees
- Daylight — Richard L. Anderson, David A. Whittaker
- Eraser — Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman
Best Visual Effects[]
See also: Best Visual Effects
- Winner
- Independence Day — Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney, Joseph Viskocil
- Nominees
- Dragonheart — Scott Squires, Phil Tippett, James Straus, Kit West
- Twister — Stefen Fangmeier, John Frazier, Habib Zargarpour, Henry La Bounta
Honorary Awards[]
- Michael Kidd in recognition of his services to the art of the dance in the art of the screen.
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award[]
- Saul Zaentz