What Movie Won Best Picture in 1975
'Godfather, Part II' Wins 7 Oscars
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April 9, 1975
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LOS ANGELES, April 8—"The Godfather, Part 11," the sequel to the Oscar‐winning Mafia film of two years ago, "The Godfather," continued the family tradition tonight by sweeping seven top honors at the 47th annual Academy Awards presentations.
The film, which continued the underworld saga of the Vito Corleone family, was named best picture and won the directing award for Francis Ford Coppola, the bearded wunderkind of Hollywood who in a few short years has become one of the few dominant figures in the film industry. It was the first time in the history of the awards that a sequel to a major film won the next picture honor.
Carney and Miss Burstyn
Best acting awards went to Art Carney for his porttrayal of an aging widower in a transcontinental search in "Harry and Tonto," and to Ellen Burstyn for her role in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," a film that is seen as part of a trend toward greater realism in the Hollywood depiction of women.
In keeping with the trend for using the Oscar ceremony as a political platform, the winners of the best achievement in documentary production, Peter Davis and Bert Schneider for the film "Hearts and Minds," a controversial report on the Vietnam war, read "greetings of friendship" from a North Vietnamese Communist leader to the star‐studded audience and 65 million television viewers.
The local outlet for the National Broadcasting Company, which carried the national telecast, was "swamped with, outraged calls" from hundreds of local viewers who strongly objected to the use of the airwaves "for Communist propaganda," an NBC spokesman reported.
Before the end of the telecast, Frank Sinatra one of the hosts read a statement that sought to disassociate the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from the views of Mr. Davis and Mr. Schneider. "We are not responsible for any political statements made on this program and it does not reflect the attitude of the academy," said the statement, which academy officials said had been dictated by Bob Hope, another host.
Mr. Hope and Mr. Sinatra. had been closely associated with support of the policies of former President Nixon, and, their statement evoked a mixed sprinkling of mild applause and catcalls from the audience at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Los Angeles Music Center. The brief expressions made by Mr. Davis and Mr. Schneider while they were accepting the award before the television cameras had been politely applauded.
Surprise on 'Chinatown'
Aside from the political fireworks, the Oscar show produced a number of surprises in the usually predictable awards. Most notable was the paucity of honors for "Chinatown," unsentimental study of power and corruption in the nineteen‐thirties, which had been considered a frontrunner in several major categories. It captured the award for best original screenplay for Robert Towne, but nothing else, another disappointment for Jack Nicholson, who played the hardbitten detective, J. J. Gettis, in the film. It was the actor's‐ third nomination for best actor without a victory.
Robert De Niro, who portrayed the brooding young Mafia chieftain Vito Corleone in The Goodfather, Part II," won the Academy Award for best supporting actor.
It was the same underworld character role for which Marlon Brando won the award for best acting two years ago in "The Godfather." an award that Mr. Brando refused to accept personally in a protest over the treatment of American Indians.
Ingrid Bergman won the Oscar as the best supporting actress of 1974 for her work as one of the suspects in "Murder On the Orient. Express." Miss Bergman won the best actress awards in 1944 for "Gaslight" and in 1956 for "Anastasia." She joins Helen Hayes as the only actress to have won Oscars in both the best actress and best supporting actress categories.
"The Godfather" film, the sequel to the annals of a crime dynasty written by Mr. Coppola and Mario Puzo, won the Oscar for the hest script adapted from other material.
"Amarcord," the Italian comedy‐drama that evoked a year in the life of an Italian town in the nineteen‐thirties, was named the best foreignlanguage film. The import previously won the New York Film Critics prize as the year's best movie.
Hollywood's élite gathered for the ceremonies under threatening, rainy skies, the product of an unseasonal cold spell. Stars, starlets, producers and other film industry royalty stood gathered in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilian before show time.
Four Special Awards
In addition to the competitive awards, the academy gave four special awards during the evening.
Jean Renoir, the veteran French director, was honored for his achievements over the years; the film "Earthquake" received a visual effects award; the director Howard Hawks received an honorary award for his outstanding work, and Arthur B. Krim, chairman of United Artist, was given the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his charitable work.
Other awards follow:
Documentary feature: "Hearts and Minds," Touchstone‐Audjeff‐BBS Prods. Howard Zucker/ Henry Jaglom‐Rainbow Pictures presentation. Peter Davis and Bert Schneider, producers.
Documentary short subject: "Don't," R. A. Films, Robin Lehman, producer.
Short subjects—live: "OneEyed Men Are Kings, CAPAC Prods. (Paris). Produced by Paul Claudon and Edmond Sechan.
Short subjects — animated: "Closed Mondays," Lighthouse Prods, Will Vinton and Bob Gardiner, producers.
Song: "We May Never Love Like This Again" from "The Towering Inferno." Music and lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirshhorn.
Sound: "Earthquake," by Ronald Pierce and Melvin Metcalfe Sr.
Original dramatic score: "The Godfather, Part II," by Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola.
Film editing: "The Towering Inferno," Harold F. Kress, Carl Kress. 20th Century‐ Fox and Warner Bros.
Cinematography: "The Towering ‐Inferno," Fred Koenekamp, Joseph Biroc. 20th Century‐Fox and Warner Bros.
Costume: "The Great Gatsby," Theoni V. Aldredge. Paramount.
Scoring: "The Great Gatsby," Nelson Riddle.
Art direction and set decoration: "The Godfather, Part II," a Coppola‐Paramount production; Dean Tavoularis and Angelo Graham, art direction; George R. Nelson, set direction.
What Movie Won Best Picture in 1975
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/09/archives/godfather-part-ii-wins-7-oscars.html