29th Academy Awards
| 29th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 27, 1957 |
| Site |
RKO Pantages Theatre Hollywood, California NBC Century Theatre New York City, New York |
| Hosted by |
Jerry Lewis Celeste Holm |
| Produced by | Valentine Davies |
| Directed by |
Bill Bennington Max Miller |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Around the World in 80 Days |
| Most awards | Around the World in 80 Days and The King and I (5) |
| Most nominations | Giant (10) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | NBC |
During the 29th Academy Awards, the regular competitive category of Best Foreign Language Film was introduced, instead of only being recognized as a Special Achievement Award or as a Best Picture nominee (as in 1938). The first winner in this new category was Federico Fellini's La strada with Anthony Quinn and a second nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Its win would help spur an interest in foreign-language films. Another Fellini film, Nights of Cabiria would win the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in the following year.
This was also the first year that all of the five Best Picture nominees were in color. It was also the first Oscar telecast to be videotaped for later broadcast, especially for those network affiliates that didn't want to broadcast the event live.
All of the major awards winners were large-scale epics – Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 Days, The King and I, Anastasia, Giant, Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (the highest-grossing film of the year), King Vidor's War and Peace, and William Wyler's Friendly Persuasion. And the trend toward blockbusters and colorful spectaculars was established for years to come, with The Bridge on the River Kwai, Gigi, and Ben-Hur being subsequent Best Picture champions.
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