54th Annual Academy Awards Results and Commentary (1982)
©A.M.P.A.S.®
- Date of Ceremony: Monday, March 29, 1982
- For films released in: 1981
- Host(s): Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson once again hosted as the 54th Annual Academy Awards were presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Monday, March 29th, 1982.
The Best Picture win for Chariots of Fire was a surprise to many who thought that the heavily-nominated Reds and On Golden Pond would take home the top prize.
Henry Fonda, who was last nominated for The Grapes of Wrath 41 years earlier, won Best Actor for On Golden Pond, his only competitive Oscar. Fonda was too ill to attend the ceremony and died just over four months later.
Fonda’s co-star, Katharine Hepburn, won her fourth Best Actress. It was her twelfth nomination.
Warren Beatty won Best Director for Reds, while his co-star Maureen Stapleton went home with Best Supporting Actress.
One touch moment occurred during the acceptance speech by Honorary Award winner Barbara Stanwyck. She and the late William Holden had presented together a few years earlier and he praised her for saving his career. At the end of her speech, an emotional Stanwyck said, “A few years ago I stood on this stage with William Holden as a presenter. I loved him very much, and I miss him. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish.”
Results
Best Picture
- Chariots of Fire
David Puttnam [Producer]
Best Directing
- Reds
Warren Beatty
Best Actor in a Leading Role
- On Golden Pond
Henry Fonda
Best Actress in a Leading Role
- On Golden Pond
Katharine Hepburn
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Arthur
John Gielgud
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Reds
Maureen Stapleton
Best Foreign Language Film
- Mephisto
Best Art Direction
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Norman Reynolds [Art Direction], Leslie Dilley [Art Direction] and Michael Ford [Set Decoration]
Best Cinematography
- Reds
Vittorio Storaro
Best Costume Design
- Chariots of Fire
Milena Canonero
Best Documentary (Feature)
- Genocide
Andrew Schwartzman and Rabbi Marvin Hier
Best Documentary (Short Subject)
- Close Harmony
Nigel Noble
Best Film Editing
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Michael Kahn
Best Makeup
- An American Werewolf in London
Rick Baker
Best Music (Original Score)
- Chariots of Fire
Vangelis
Best Music (Original Song)
- Arthur "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
Burt Bacharach [Music and Lyric by], Carole Bayer Sager [Music and Lyric by], Christopher Cross [Music and Lyric by] and Peter Allen [Music and Lyric by]
Best Short Film (Animated)
- Crac
Frédéric Back
Best Short Film (Live Action)
- Violet
Paul Kemp and Shelley Levinson
Best Sound
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker and Roy Charman
Best Visual Effects
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Richard Edlund, Kit West, Bruce Nicholson and Joe Johnston
Best Writing (Screenplay - based on material from another medium)
- On Golden Pond
Ernest Thompson
Best Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen)
- Chariots of Fire
Colin Welland
Special Achievement Award (Sound Effects Editing)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Ben Burtt and Richard L. Anderson
Honorary Award
- Barbara Stanwyck
Note: …for superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting.
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
- Albert R. Broccoli
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
- Danny Kaye
Gordon E. Sawyer Award
- Joseph Walker
Scientific or Technical Award (Academy Award of Merit)
- Fuji Photo Film Company Ltd.
Note: …for the research, development and introduction of a new Ultra-high-speed color negative film for motion pictures.
Scientific or Technical Award (Scientific and Engineering Award)
- Nelson Tyler
Note: …for the progressive development and improvement of the Tyler Helicopter motion picture camera platform. - Leonard L. Sokolow and Howard T. Lazare
Note: To Leonard Sokolow for the concept and design and to Howard T. Lazare for the development of the Consolidated Film Industries' Stroboscan motion picture film viewer. - Richard Edlund and Industrial Light and Magic Incorporated
Note: …for the concept and engineering of a beam-splitter optical composite motion picture printer. - Richard Edlund and Industrial Light and Magic Incorporated
Note: …for the engineering of the Empire Motion Picture Camera System. - Edward J. Blasko [of Eastman Kodak Company] and Dr. Roderick T. Ryan [of Eastman Kodak Company]
Note: …for the application of the Prostar Microfilm Processor for motion picture title and special optical effects production.
Scientific or Technical Award (Technical Achievement Award)
- Hal Landaker and Alan D. Landaker
Note: To Hal Landaker for the concept and to Alan D. Landaker for the engineering of the Burbank Studios' Production Sound Department 24-frame color video system. - Bill Hogan [of Ruxton Ltd.], Richard J. Stumpf [of Universal City Studios' Production Sound Department] and Daniel R. Brewer [of Universal City Studios' Production Sound Department]
Note: …for the engineering of a 24-frame color video system. - John DeMuth
Note: …for the engineering of a 24-frame video system. - Ernst Nettmann [of Continental Camera Systems Inc.]
Note: …for the development of a pitching lens for motion picture photography. - Bill Taylor [of Universal City Studios Inc.]
Note: …for the concept and specifications for a Two Format, Rotating Head, Aerial Image Optical Printer. - Peter D. Parks [of Oxford Scientific Films]
Note: …for the development of the OSF microcosmic zoom device for microscopic photography. - Dr. Louis Stankiewicz and H.L. Blachford
Note: …for the development of Baryfol sound barrier materials. - Dennis Muren [of Industrial Light and Magic Incorporated] and Stuart Ziff [of Industrial Light and Magic Incorporated]
Note: …for the development of a Motion Picture Figure Mover for animation photography.