Logan's Run, the futuristic sci-fi flick starring Michael York and Jenny Agutter in a utopian 23rd century, took home six Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror at the 4th annual ceremony held January 15, 1977.
It won Best Science Fiction Film, Best Art Direction for Dale Hennesy, Best Cinematography for Ernst Laszio, Best Costumes for Bill Thomas, Best Makeup for William Tuttle, and Best Set Direction for Robert De Vestel.
The haunted house movie Burnt Offerings won three awards. It won Best Horror Film, Best Director for Dan Curtis (of Dark Shadows fame), and Best Supporting Actress for Bette Davis. Burnt Offerings beat Carrie and The Omen for Best Horror Film.
Ben-Hur, the epic religious-based film, won a record 11 Academy Awards at the 32nd annual ceremony, held April 4, 1960. It won Best Motion Picture for producer Sam Zimbalist, who passed away suddenly during the filming of Ben-Hur in 1958. He is the only person to ever posthumously receive a Best Picture Award. His wife, Mary, accepted the award and made a speech in honor of her late husband.
William Wyler won Best Director. Charlton Heston won Best Actor for his portrayal as Judah Ben-Hur. Hugh Griffith won Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Sheik Ildermin. The film won Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture for Miklos Rozsa and Best Sound for Frank Milton.
William A. Horning was awarded Best Art Direction, Color with Edward Carfagno and Hugh Hunt. Like Zimbalist, Horning died during the filming of Ben-Hur and was awarded the Oscar posthumously.
Robert Surtees won Best Cinemtaography, Color. Elizabeth Haffenden won Best Costume Design, Color. Ralph E. Winters and John D. Dunning were awarded Best Film Editing. Ben-Hur won Best Special Effects for Arnold Gillesie, Robert MacDonald and Milo Lory.
The only category for which Ben-Hur received a nomination but did not win was Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. That award went to Room at the Top.
Gone With the Wind, Victor Fleming's epic and now iconic WWII film, set several records at the 12th Academy Awards ceremony February 27, 1940. Some of the records have been broken but at the time, they were significant.
Gone With the Wind was nominated for 13 awards and won 8 of them. The biggest win was Hattie McDaniel for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy. She is the first African American actor to receive an Oscar, beating the likes of Olivia de Havilland and Geraldine Fitzgerald.
Gone With the Wind won Outstanding Production (Best Picture) and Best Director for Victor Fleming. Vivien Leigh won Best Actress, beating Bette Davis, Great Garbo, and Greer Garson. Sidney Howard was posthumously awarded Best Screenplay. Lyle R. Wheeler won Best Art Direction. Best Film Editing went to Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom. Best Cinematography, Color went to Ernest Haller and Rennahan. It was the first year the cinematography category had been split into Color and Black and White.
The film was nominated for Best Actor for Clark Gable. Olivia de Havilland was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Max Steiner was nominated for Best Original Score. This was the first year an award for Best Special Effects was given, and Gone With the Wind was nominated for that Category but lost to The Rains Came.
William Cameron Menzies was given an honorary award for his outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone With the Wind.
The Wizard of Oz came up with 6 nominations and took home only two. Herbert Stothart won for Best Original Score. Over the Rainbow, written by Yip Harburg and music by Harold Arlen, won Best Song.
It was nominated for Outstanding Production, Best Art Direction and Best Special Effects. Judy Garland was given the Academy Juvenile Award.
George Miller's post-apocalyptic epic Mad Max: Fury Road took home 9 Critics' Choice Awards at the 21st annual ceremony held January 17, 2016. It received 13 total nominations.
It was nominated for Best Picture and Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie but won for Best Action Movie. George Miller won Best Director. Charlize Theron was nominated for Best Actress but won for Best Actress in an Action Movie. Tom Hardy was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for The Revenant, but won Best Actor in an Action Movie.
Colin Gibson and Lisa Thompson won Best Art Direction. Jenny Beavan won for Best Costume Design, and Margaret Sixel won Best Editing. Mad Max also won Best Hair and Makeup and Best Visual Effects. It was nominated for Best Cinematography but lost to The Revenant.
Jurassic World received 5 nominations but got beat by Mad Max every time.
The fourth Academy Awards ceremony was held November 10, 1931, and Cimarron became the first western to win Best Picture, a distinction it would hold until 1990. It also received a then-record seven nominations and won three.
It took home Outstanding Production, Best Adaption (based on the novel by Edna Ferber), and Best Art Direction.
Jackie Cooper was nine years old when he was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Skippy. He remains the only Best Actor nominee under the age of eighteen.
Lionel Barrymore won Best Actor for his role in A Free Soul. He had previously been nominated for Best Director at the 2nd Academy Awards for Madame X.
Disney's science-fiction masterpiece 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea won two Academy Awards at the 27th ceremony March 30, 1955. It won Best Art Direction, Color for John Meehan (Art Direction) and Emile Kuri (Set Decoration). It also won Best Special Effects.
It was nominated for Best Film Editing for Elmo Williams.
I think it is great that a horror favorite of mine Them! was also nominated for Best Special Effects.
Shin Godzilla premiered July 25, 2016 in Tokyo before being released to the rest of the country on July 29. It is the first Toho Company production of Godzilla since Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004. Also, it is considered a 'reboot' of the series since it is not a sequel to any of the previous movies.
It was released in the US in October starting with Los Angeles on Oct 3, New York City on Oct 5 and Columbus, Ohio on October 7. Then it had a limited release on October 11.
At the Awards of the Japanese Academy, it won Best Film, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Lighting, Best Editing, Best Sound and Best Art Direction. It was nominated for four more awards.
Raiders of the Lost Ark, the mega-hit from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas that turned the movie industry on its head, won 4 Academy Awards plus a Special Achievement Academy Award March 29, 1982. It had been nominated for eight.
It won Oscars for Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects. It received the Special Achievement Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing.
It had also received nominations for Best Picture, Best Director (Spielberg), Best Original Score (John Williams), and Best Cinematography.
Amadeus, the 1984 movie about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his rivalry with fellow composer Antonio Salieri, won 8 Academy Awards at the 57th awards ceremony March 25, 1985.
It won Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role for F. Murray Abraham, Best Director for Milos Forman, Best Writng, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Art Direction-Set Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound and Best Makeup.
Tom Hulce, who played Mozart, received a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, making Amadeus one of the very few movies to have two actors nominated for Best Actor.
Curse of the Golden Flower, released January 12, 2007, is a tale of ancient China, the Tang Dynasty in the 10th century. It's one of the best foreign films I've seen. It stars Chow Yun-Fat as the Emperor and Jay Chou as Prince Jai. It wasdirected by Yimou Zhang who directed House of Flying Daggers.
It was nominated for an Academy Award for Costume Design but won the Saturn Award for Best Costume. It also won four Hong Kong Film Awards (out of 14 nominations) in 2007: Best Actress for Gong Li; Best Art Direction, Best Costume and Make-up Design and Best Original Song.
Tim Burton's Batman was released June 23, 1989. Although Michael Keaton starred in the lead role, Jack Nicholson, playing the Joker, got top billing. The movie also starred Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale and Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent. Jack Nicholson's take from the movie is rumored to be about $60 million, to date the highest single-movie take for an actor.
Batman won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration. It grossed over $400 million world-wide and broke numerous box office records.
