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Best Picture Academy Awards
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Great Films Before The Academy Awards 1927-1931
2001 •
2002 •
2003 •
2004 •
2005 •
2006
| short history |
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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was created at a formal banquet at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California on 11 January 1927. Douglas Fairbanks was elected the first president of 'The Academy', and one of his first acts was to institute a program of “awards of merit for distinctive achievement”. The first awards ceremony banquet was held on 16 May 1929 at the Hotel Roosevelt on Hollywood Blvd. The Oscar statuette was designed by Cedric Gibbons in 1928. Academy librarian Margaret Herrick commented that the statuette looked like her 'Uncle Oscar' in 1931; columnist Sidney Skolsky was present for her comment, and he printed the term in his column. The name Oscar™ became official in 1939. The original 36 founders of the Academy were:
cinematographer J. Arthur Ball
actor Richard Barthelmess
Fred Beetson, Association of Motion Picture Producers
producer Charles H. Christie
lawyer George W. Cohen
director Cecil B. DeMille
actor Douglas Fairbanks
art director Cedric Gibbons
writer Joseph Farnham
writer Benjamin Glazer
exhibitor Sid Grauman
producer Milton E. Hoffman
actor Jack Holt
director Henry King
studio head Jesse L. Lasky
producer M.C. Levee
director Frank Lloyd
Harold Lloyd
lawyer Edwin Loeb
writer Jeanie MacPherson
studio head Louis B. Mayer, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
writer Bess Meredyth
actor Conrad Nagel
director Fred Niblo
actress Mary Pickford
SFX director Roy J. Pomeroy
producer Harry Rapf, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
producer Joseph M. Schenck, United Artists
actor Milton Sills
director John M. Stahl
producer Irving Thalberg, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
director Raoul Walsh
producer Harry Warner, Warner Bros. Studios
producer Jack Warner, Warner Bros. Studios
writer Carey Wilson
writer Frank E. Woods
Books About The Oscars
 | "Bringing Up Oscar: The Story of The Men and Women Who Founded The Academy" [2011] by Debra Ann Pawlak Pegasus Books 9¼x6½ hardcover [1/2011] for $18.45 out of print/used |
 | "80 Years of The Oscar: The Official History of The Academy Awards" [2008] by Robert Osborne Abbeville Press 12¼x9½ (7.2 pounds!} hardcover [11/2008] for $50.62 |
 | "The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History" [2008] by Jim Piazza & Gail Kinn Black Dog/Leventhal 5th edition 10x8¼ pb [9/2008] for $15.61 |
 | "African Americans and The Oscar®: Decades of Struggle and Achievement" [2008] by Edward Mapp Kindle Edition from Scarecrow Press [3/2013] for $13.17 Scarecrow Press 8½x5½ pb [1/2008] for $22.40 Scarecrow Press 9x5¾ hardcover [1/2008] for $60.00 |
 | "Movie Posters: 75 Years of Academy Award Winners" [2003] by Diana DiFranco Everett & Morris Everett, Jr. Schiffer Publng 8½x11 pb [3/2003] for $51.06 see also Magic Lantern's Movie Posters & Books Page |
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"75 Years of The Oscar: The Official History of The Academy Awards" [2003] by Robert Osborne Abbeville Press 12¼x9¼ (6 pounds!} hardcover [9/2003] for $47.25 |
 | "Hollywood Musicals Nominated For Best Picture, 1929-1995" [2003] by Frederick G. Vogel McFarland & Co. 10½x7 hardcover [1/2003] for $75.00 ... and lots more on Magic Lantern's Movie Musicals Film Festival Pasges |
 | "The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History" [2002] by Jim Piazza & Gail Kinn Black Dog/Leventhal 10x8¾ 4th edition pb [5/2006] out of print/many used Black Dog/Leventhal 13x10¾ 3rd edition hardcover [10/2004] out of print/used |
 | "Best Pictures' Movie Posters" [1999] by Bruce Hershenson & Richard Allen self-published 11x8¾ pb [4/99] for $17.49 self-published hardcover [4/99] out of print/used see also Magic Lantern's Movie Posters & Books Page |
 | "Academy Award Winners' Movie Posters" [1995] by Bruce Hershenson & Richard Allen self-published 11x9 pb [8/95] for $14.00 |
 | "Hollywood Sings!: An Inside Look at Sixty Years of Academy Award-Nominated Songs" [1995] by Susan Sackett, with Marcia Rovins
Diane Publng 9x7 pb [11/95] for $22.00 Publrs Overstock 9x7 pb [4/95] out of print/used |
Best Picture Movie Collections
official collections here on DVD from
Columbia •
Fox •
Miramax •
Paramount •
Warner
other collections of Oscar winners
Best Picture Academy Award Winners Collection
from Columbia Pictures
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"Columbia Pictures: The Best Picture Collection - 11 Movies, 64 Academay Awards" [2008] 11 feature films on 14 disks: "It Happened One Night" [1934] directed by Frank Capra, starring Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert; "You Can't Take It with You" [1938] directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart & Jean Arthur; "All The King's Men" [1949] directed by Robert Rossen, starring Broderick Crawford; "From Here To Eternity" [1953] directed by Fred Zinnemann; "On The Waterfront" [1954] directed by Elia Kazan, script by Budd Schulberg, starring Marlon Brando; 2-disk "The Bridge On The River Kwai" [1957] directed by David Lean; 2-disk "Lawrence of Arabia" [1962] directed by David Lean, starring Peter O'Toole; "A Man For All Seasons" [1966] directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw & Orson Welles; "Oliver!" musical [1968]; "Kramer vs. Kramer" [1979] starring Dustin Hoffman & Meryl Streep; and 2-disk "Gandhi" [1982] directed by Richard Attenborough, starring Ben Kingsley; extras include radio shows, trailers, commentary, "Making of ..." featurettes Sony widescreen color DVD set [11/2008] 14 disks for $92.99 |
Academy Award Winning Movies Collections
from Miramax Films
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Volume One: Miramax color DVD [2/2004] 3 disks for $49.99
the 3 films are: "Chicago" [2002], "Frida" [2002], and "La Vita è Bella" [Italy 1997] Volume Two: Miramax color DVD [2/2004] 3 disks - out of prodn/used the 3 films are: "Good Will Hunting" [1997], "Sling Blade" [1996], and "The Cider House Rules" [1999] Volume Three: Miramax color DVD [2/2004] 3 disks - out of prodn/used the 3 films are: "Il Postino" [Italy 1995], "The English Patient" [1996], and "Shakespeare In Love" [1998] |
Best Picture Academy Award Winners Collection
from Paramount Pictures & DreamWorks
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Paramount color DVD box set [2/2007] 8 disks for $61.49
the 7 films are: "American Beauty" [1999], "Braveheart" [1995], 2-disk "Forrest Gump" [1994], "Gladiator" [2000], "The Godfather" [1972] from Francis Ford Coppola, "Terms of Endearment" [1983], and "Titanic" [1997] |
Best Actor/Actress Academy Award Winners Collections
from Twentieth Century Fox
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Fox widescreen color DVD set [1/2008] 5 disks for $35.99
the 5 films are: "Anastasia" [1956] starring Ingrid Bergman {Oscar}, Yul Brynner & Helen Hayes; "The Three Faces of Eve" [1957] starring Joanne Woodward {Oscar} & Lee J. Cobb; "Norma Rae" [1979] directed by Martin Ritt, starring Sally Field {Oscar}; "Boys Don't Cry" [1999] starring Hilary Swank {Oscar}; and "Walk The Line" [2005] starring Reese Witherspoon {Oscar} & Joaquin Phoenix; extra features include deleted scenes, theatrical trailers, TV ads, featurettes, commentaries, newsreels, plus documentaries "Backstory: Norma Rae" & "Anastasia: Her True Story" |
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Fox widescreen color/b&w DVD box set [1/2008] 5 disks for $35.99
the 5 films are: "In Old Arizona" [1929 silent] starring Warner Baxter {Oscar} as the Cisco Kid; "The King and I" [1956 musical] starring Yul Brynner {Oscar} & Deborah Kerr; "Patton" [1970] directed by Franklin J. Schaffner {Oscar}, starring George C. Scott {Oscar} & Karl Malden; "Harry and Tonto" [1974] directed by Paul Mazursky, starring Art Carney {Oscar}; "Wall Street" [1987] directed by Oliver Stone, starring Michael Douglas {Oscar} & Charlie Sheen; extra features include commentaries, theatri-cal trailers, TV ads, newsreels, singalon shorts, featurettes |
Best Picture Oscar Collections
from Warner Home Video
 | "Best Picture Oscar Collection" 18-film, 28 disk box set [2005]
Warner Home Video DVD box set [2/2005] 28 disks - out of prodn/used (orig $189.99) the 18 films are: "Amadeus" [1984] (2 disks), "An American In Paris" [1951], "Around The World In 80 Days" [1956] (2 disks), M.G.M.'s "Ben-Hur" [1959], "The Broadway Melody" [1929], "Casablanca" [1942] (2 disks), "Chariots of Fire" [1981] (2 disks), "Driving Miss Daisy" [1989], "Gigi" [1958], "Gone With The Wind" [1939] (4 disks), "Grand Hotel" [1932], "The Great Ziegfeld" [1936], "The Life of Emile Zola" [1937], "Mrs. Miniver" [1942], "Mutiny On The Bounty" [1935], "My Fair Lady" [1964] (2 disks), "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" [1975] (2 disks), and "Unforgiven" [1992] (2 disks) |
NOTE: the three Warner Home Video 5-disk sets below omit "Chariots of Fire",
"Gone With The Wind" & "Grand Hotel", and all are single disk versions
 | "Best Picture Oscar Collection: Drama" [2005]
Warner Home Video DVD set [2/2005] 5 disks for $57.99 the 5 films are: "Amadeus" [1984], "Casablanca" [1942], "Driving Miss Daisy" [1989], "The Life of Emile Zola" [1937], and "Mrs. Miniver" [1942] |
 | "Best Picture Oscar Collection: Musicals" [2005] Warner Home Video DVD set [2/2005] 5 disks for $57.99 the 5 films are: "An American In Paris" [1951], "The Broadway Melody" [1929], "Gigi" [1958], "The Great Ziegfeld" [1936], and "My Fair Lady" [1964] |
 | "Best Picture Oscar Collection: Adventures" [2005] Warner Home Video DVD set [2/2005] 5 disks for $57.99 the 5 films are: "Around The World In 80 Days" [1956], M.G.M.'s "Ben-Hur" [1959], "Mutiny On The Bounty" [1935], "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" [1975], and "Unforgiven" [1992] |
Other Collections of Oscar Winners
 | "Studio Classics - Best Picture Collection" [2003]
Fox DVD [10/2003] 4 disks for $23.99 the four films are: F.W. Murnau's "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" [1927 silent], John Ford's "How Green Was My Valley" [1941], Elia Kazan's "Gentleman's Agreement" [1947], and "All About Eve" [1950] |
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"Academy Awards Animation Collection" [2008]
Warner Brothers Home Ent. color DVD [2/2008] 3 disks for $37.99 15 Oscar-winners & 26 Oscar-nominated cartoons; Disk 1 features the 15 winners: "The Milky Way" [MGM 1940] directed by Rudolf Ising; "Tweetie Pie" [W.B. 1947] directed by Friz Freleng; "For Scent-Imental Reasons" [W.B. 1949] directed by Chuck Jones; "So Much For So Little [W.B. 1949] directed by Chuck Jones, won Oscar for Best Documentary Short; "Speedy Gonzales" [W.B. 1955] directed by Friz Freleng; "Birds Anonymous" [W.B. 1957] directed by Friz Freleng; "Knighty-Knight Bugs" [W.B. 1958] directed by Friz Freleng; "The Dot and The Line" [M.G.M. 1965] directed by Chuck Jones; winning Tom & Jerry cartoons directed by Bill Hanna & Joseph Barbera: "Yankee Doodle Mouse" [M.G.M. 1943]; "Mouse Trouble" [M.G.M. 1944]; "Quiet Please" [M.G.M. 1945]; "The Cat Concerto" [M.G.M. 1946]; "The Little Orphan" [M.G.M. 1948]; "Two Mouseketeers" [M.G.M. 1951]; "Johann Mouse" [M.G.M. 1952]; also includes "Drawn For Glory: Animation's Triumph At The Oscars®" the 15 winners only [2008] Warner Brothers Home Ent. DVD [2/2008] for $16.99 |
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"Docurama Academy Awards Collection DVD Set" [2005]
New Video Group/Docurama DVD set [2/2005] 13 disks for $179.99 box set includes Oscar®-winners for Best Documentary Feature: "Best Boy" [1979]; "From Mao To Mozart: Isaac Stern In China" [1981]; "Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision" [1994]; "Murder On A Sunday Morning" aka "Un coupable Idéal" [2001]; "Scared Straight!" [1980]; and Oscar®-nominated "Children Underground" [2001]; "Genghis Blues" [1999]; "Nadja Salerno-Sonneberg: Speaking In Strings" [1999]; "Paul Taylor: Dancemaker" [1998]; "Regret To Inform" [1998]; "Sound and Fury" [2000]; "The Weather Underground" [2002]; plus "Best Man" [1997], the sequel to "Best Boy" |
 | "Docurama Academy Awards Collection DVD Set - Volume 2" [2006]
New Video Group/DocuramaDVD set [7/2006] 12 disks for $179.99 box set includes Oscar®-winners for Best Documentary Feature: "Broken Rainbow" [1985]; "I Am A Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School" [1993]; "In The Shadow of The Stars" [1991]; "Marjoe" [1972] starring Marjoe Gortner; "Sister Rose's Passion" [2004]; "Thoth" [2002]; "Who Are The DeBolts? (And Where Did They Get 19 Kids?)" [1977]; and Oscar®-nominated "A Time For Burning" [1967]; "Balseros" [2002]; "Colors Straight Up" [1997]; "Doing Time: Life Inside The Big House" [1991]; "Legacy" [2000]; "Unfinished Business" [1986] |
 | "20 Years of Original Oscar Winning Songs, 1934-1954" [2007]
audio CD [3/2007] for $2.99 [sic] 21 tracks including "Lullaby Of Broadway" sung by Dick Powell; "The Way You Look Tonight" sung by Fred Astaire; "Thanks For The Memory" sung by Bob Hope; "Over The Rainbow" sung by Judy Garland; "White Christmas" sung by Bing Crosby; "It Might As Well Be Spring" sung by Sarah Vaughn; "Mona Lisa" sung by Nat 'King' Cole; "High Noon" sung by Frankie Laine; "Three Coins In The Fountain" sung by Frank Sinatra; and "When You Wish Upon A Star" sung by Cliff Edwards (as Jiminy Crickett) |
 | "Academy Award-Winning Music From M.G.M. Classics: Motion Picture Soundtrack Anthology" [1997]
Rhino/W.E.A. soundtrack CD [2/97] out of prodn/used films include "An American In Paris", "Anchors Aweigh", "Annie Get Your Gun", "Ben-Hur" [1959], "Dr. Zhivago", "Easter Parade", "Gigi", "The Harvey Girls" [1946], "Lady Be Good", "Lili", "Neptune's Daughter", "On The Town", "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" & "The Wizard of Oz" |
more Film Music & Oscar-winning Composers
Magic Lantern's Animation Pages
Links About The Oscars
Academy Award entry at Wikipedia Academy Award index at Internet Movie Database
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