What movie won Best Picture 40 years ago? It’s doubtful you can remember off the top of your head, but upon hearing its iconic electronic score, a vision of British Olympic athletes running on the beach would likely spring to mind and the answer would be obvious: “Chariots of Fire.”
Coming into the 54th ceremony on March 29, 1982, this British biopic had seven nominations compared to 12 for Warren Beatty‘s epic biopic “Reds.” Johnny Carson hosted as these two films slugged it out among stiff competition (it was a rare year in which all the Best Picture and Best Director nominees lined up), the older acting generation was honored, a “divine” presence put on quite the show and a new category was introduced.
This marked the second, and to date last, time three films were nominated for the “Big Five.” It looked to be a big night for Beatty, who was nominated himself in four of those categories for “Reds”: Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. The fifth “Big” nomination went to his co-star Diane Keaton for Best Actress. “Reds” is also one of only 15 films in Academy history to receive at least one nomination in each acting category, with Jack Nicholson and Maureen Stapleton receiving bids in the supporting categories. Surprisingly, “Reds” ended up with just three wins that night, with Beatty claiming a Best Director victory, Stapleton winning Best Supporting Actress and Vittorio Storaro winning Best Cinematography.
The second film to claim the “Big Five” nominations was “On Golden Pond,” which came into the night with the second most nominations at 10. It only won three, losing Best Picture and Best Director for Mark Rydell, but won the other big ones, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Ernest Thompson. A year after receiving an Honorary Award, Henry Fonda won his first competitive Oscar – 40 years after receiving his only other acting nomination (for “The Grapes of Wrath”). His co-star, Katharine Hepburn, made Oscar history by becoming the first and only performer to win four competitive acting awards. With their wins for Best Actor and Best Actress, this is one of only six films to win both lead acting awards.
Unfortunately, the third film to accomplish the rare feat of “Big Five” nominations lost all five of its bids. The crime drama “Atlantic City” lost Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay to “Chariots of Fire.” Louis Malle, Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon all lost their bids for director and lead actor and actress.
With these strong contenders, it’s surprising that a film that had only one acting nomination – that didn’t even win – won the top award. Ian Holm was nominated for Supporting Actor for “Chariots of Fire,” but lost to John Gielgud for his comic turn in “Arthur.” In addition to Best Picture and Original Screenplay, “Chariots” claimed Best Costume Design and (unsurprisingly) Best Original Score. At the end of the night, it tied with another Best Picture nominee for most wins at four.
The final Best Picture nominee may not have won any of the top prizes, but it has gone on to become one of the most beloved pictures of all time, with many looking back and claiming that “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and director Steven Spielberg should have claimed victory that night. It walked away with four technical awards – Best Sound, Art Direction, Editing and Visual Effects – as well as a Special Achievement Award for its Sound Effects Editing.
While Fonda finally received a long overdue acting Oscar, another legendary figure who never won a competitive award was bestowed an honorary one. Four-time nominee Barbara Stanwyck was honored for her “superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting.” After receiving the only standing ovation for the evening, she gave an emotional speech, remembering her good friend William Holden, who had passed away just a few months before.
On a lighter note, the “Divine Miss M,” Bette Midler, presented the award for Best Original Song, giving a hilarious monologue about each nominee that would do any Oscar host proud – and it was a fantastic year for this category. Randy Newman began his long road to Oscar victory (it would take 20 years and 16 nominations for him to win) with his first two bids, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “One More Hour,” both from “Ragtime.” Also up for Best Song were Lionel Richie‘s “Endless Love” and the James Bond theme “For Your Eyes Only,” both from films of the same name, and “The First Time It Happens” from “The Great Muppet Caper.” But the winner reminds us of what happens “when you get caught between the moon and New York City. . .” Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager, Peter Allen and Christopher Cross won for “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do).”
This was the inaugural year for Best Makeup, with legendary special make-up effects creator Rick Baker winning for “An American Werewolf in London.” Over the next 20 years, he would go on to win a record seven times out of 11 nominations.
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