British Academy Film Awards 1979
The 32nd British Academy Film Awards ceremony took place in London in 1979 . The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) film awards were given in 17 categories; there was also a special and an honorary award category. The awards honored films from 1978 .
For the first time, the special prize was awarded for the best contribution to British cinema . The last time the category best short film was divided into factual and fictional - the subcategory fictional was not awarded - and a prize was awarded in the category best specialized film .
| Movie | N | A. |
|---|---|---|
| Julia | 10 | 4th |
| Close encounter of the third kind | 9 | 1 |
| war of stars | 6th | 2 |
| 12 noon - Midnight Express | 6th | 3 |
| Superman | 5 | 1 |
| Death on the Nile | 4th | 1 |
| The lodger | 3 | 1 |
| The duelists | 2 | 0 |
| A wedding | 2 | 0 |
| Inner workings | 2 | 1 |
| Saturday night only | 2 | 0 |
Award winners and nominations
With ten nominations, Fred Zinnemann's Julia had led the nomination field in the run-up to the award just before Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (nine nominations). Julia won four BAFTAs and thus the most awards of the evening. With only one prize, however, Close Encounters of the Third Kind were among the losers in the award.
Best movie
Julia - Director: Fred Zinnemann
- Star Wars (Star Wars) - Director: George Lucas
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child) - Director: Steven Spielberg
- 12 at night - Midnight Express (Midnight Express) - Director: Alan Parker
Best director
Alan Parker - Midnight Express (Midnight Express)
- Robert Altman - The Wedding (A Wedding)
- Steven Spielberg - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
- Fred Zinnemann - Julia
Best Actor
Richard Dreyfuss - The Subtenant (The Goodbye Girl)
- Brad Davis - Midnight Express (Midnight Express)
- Anthony Hopkins - Magic - A sinister love story (Magic)
- Peter Ustinov - Death on the Nile (Death on the Nile)
Best main actress
- Anne Bancroft - The Turning Point (The Turning Point)
- Jill Clayburgh - An Unmarried Woman
- Marsha Mason - The Goodbye (The Goodbye Girl)
Best supporting actor
John Hurt - Midnight Express (Midnight Express)
- Gene Hackman - Superman
- Jason Robards - Julia
- François Truffaut - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
The best supporting actress
Geraldine Page - interior (Interiors)
- Angela Lansbury - Death on the Nile (Death on the Nile)
- Maggie Smith - Death on the Nile
- Mona Washbourne - Stevie
Best Young Actor
- Brad Davis - Midnight Express (Midnight Express)
- Mary Beth Hurt - inner life (Interiors)
- Melanie Mayron - Girlfriends
Best script
- Robert Altman , John Considine , Allan F. Nicholls , Patricia Resnick - The Wedding (A Wedding)
- Neil Simon - The Goodbye (The Goodbye Girl)
- Steven Spielberg - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
Best camera
- Frank Tidy - The Duellists (The Duellists)
- Geoffrey Unsworth - Superman
- Vilmos Zsigmond - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
Best production design
Joe Alves - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
- John Barry - Star Wars (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope)
- John Barry - Superman
- Gene Callahan , Carmen Dillon , Willy Holt - Julia
Best costumes
Anthony Powell - Death on the Nile (Death on the Nile)
- John Mollo - Star Wars (Star Wars)
- Tom Edge - The Duellists (The Duellists)
- Anthea Sylbert , Joan Bridge , Annalisa Nasalli-Rocca - Julia
Best film score
John Williams - Star Wars (Star Wars)
- Georges Delerue - Julia
- Barry Gibb , Maurice Gibb , Robin Gibb - Saturday Night Fever only
- John Williams - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
Best cut
Gerry Hambling - Midnight Express (Midnight Express)
- Richard Chew , Paul Hirsch , Marcia Lucas - Star Wars (Star Wars)
- Michael Kahn - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
- Walter Murch - Julia
Best tone
Derek Ball , Ben Burtt , Gene Corso, Gordon Davidson, Les Fresholtz , Don MacDougall , Bob Minkler , Michael Minkler , Richard Portman , Robert R. Rutledge , Sam F. Shaw , Ray West - Star Wars (Star Wars)
- Norman Bolland, Roy Charman , Stan Fiferman, John Foster, Pat Foster, Chris Greenham , Mike Hopkins , Chris Large, Brian Marshall, Gordon K. McCallum , Peter Pennell, Richard Raguse, Charles Schmitz - Superman
- Gene S. Cantamessa , Robert J. Glass , Stephen Katz , Robert Knudson , Don MacDougall , Richard Oswald , Frank E. Warner - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Close Encounters of the Third Child)
- Michael Colgan, Robert W. Glass Jr. , Les Lazarowitz , John T. Reitz , John Wilkinson - Saturday night only (Saturday Night Fever)
Best short film
(Short Factual Film)
Hokusai: An Animated Sketchbook - Director: Tony White
- I'll Find a Way - Director: Beverly Shaffer
- Planet Water - Director: Derek Williams
- Sunday Muddy Sunday - Director: Lindsay Dale
Best documentary
The Silent Witness - Director: David W. Rolfe
Best specialized film
Twenty Times More Likely - Director: Robert Young
- How a Man Schall Be Armyd - Director: Anthony Wilkinson
- Play Safe - Director: David Eady
- Safety Net - Director: Leonard Lewis
Special and honorary awards
Academy Fellowship
- Lew Grade - British television and film producer
- Huw Wheldon - British television producer
Outstanding British contribution to cinema
(Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema)
- Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers , Denys N. Coop , Roy Field, Derek Meddings , Zorin Perisic, Wally Veevers - special visual effects team for the movie Superman
Web links
- Winner and nominee 1979 on bafta.org
- 1979 Bafta Awards in the Internet Movie Database