The 1979 Academy Awards were presented April 14, 1980 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles.
| Best Picture | All That Jazz, Robert Alan Aurthur, producer (Twentieth Century-Fox) |
| Apocalypse Now, Francis Coppola, producer; Fred Roos, Gray Frederickson and Tom Sternberg, co-producers (United Artists) |
| Breaking Away, Peter Yates, producer (Twentieth Century-Fox) |
| Kramer vs. Kramer, Stanley R. Jaffe, producer (Columbia) |
| Norma Rae, Tamara Asseyev and Alex Rose, producers (Twentieth Century-Fox) |
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 Kramer vs. Kramer Archive Photos |
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| Actor in a Leading Role | Dustin Hoffman, Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Jack Lemmon, The China Syndrome |
| Al Pacino, …And Justice for All |
| Roy Scheider, All That Jazz |
| Peter Sellers, Being There |
| Actress in a Leading Role | Jill Clayburgh, Starting Over |
| Sally Field, Norma Rae |
| Jane Fonda, The China Syndrome |
| Marsha Mason, Chapter Two |
| Bette Midler, The Rose |
| Actor in a Supporting Role | Melvyn Douglas, Being There |
| Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now |
| Frederic Forrest, The Rose |
| Justin Henry, Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Mickey Rooney, The Black Stallion |
| Actress in a Supporting Role | Jane Alexander, Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Barbara Barrie, Breaking Away |
| Candice Bergen, Starting Over |
| Mariel Hemingway, Manhattan |
| Meryl Streep, Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Directing | Robert Benton, Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Francis Coppola, Apocalypse Now |
| Bob Fosse, All That Jazz |
| Edouard Molinaro, La Cage aux Folles |
| Peter Yates, Breaking Away |
| Writing | | Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman, Manhattan | | Robert Alan Aurthur and Bob Fosse, All That Jazz | | Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson, …And Justice for All | | Mike Gray, T.S. Cook and James Bridges, The China Syndrome | | Steve Tesich, Breaking Away | | Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium | Robert Benton, Kramer vs. Kramer | | Allan Burns, A Little Romance | | John Milius and Francis Coppola, Apocalypse Now | | Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., Norma Rae | | Francis Veber, Edouard Molinaro, Marcello Danon and Jean Poiret, La Cage Aux Folles |
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| Cinematography | Nestor Almendros, Kramer vs. Kramer |
| William A. Fraker, 1941 |
| Frank Phillips, The Black Hole |
| Giuseppe Rotunno, All That Jazz |
| Vittorio Storaro, Apocalypse Now |
| Art Direction | George Jenkins, art direction; Arthur Jeph Parker, set decoration, The China Syndrome |
| Harold Michelson, Joe Jennings, Leon Harris and John Vallone, art direction; Linda DeScenna, set decoration, Star Trek—The Motion Picture |
| Philip Rosenberg and Tony Walton, art direction; Edward Stewart and Gary Brink, set decoration, All That Jazz |
| Michael Seymour, Les Dilley and Roger Christian, art direction; lan Whittaker, set decoration, Alien |
| Dean Tavoularis and Angelo Graham, art direction; George R. Nelson, set decoration, Apocalypse Now |
| Sound | Robert Knudson, Robert J. Glass, Don MacDougall and Gene S. Cantamessa, 1941 |
| William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin, Michael J. Kohut and Jack Solomon, Meteor |
| Walter Murch, Mark Berger, Richard Beggs and Nat Boxer, Apocalypse Now |
| Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Michael Minkler and Al Overton, The Electric Horseman |
| Theodore Soderberg, Douglas Williams, Paul Wells and Jim Webb, The Rose |
| Music | | Original Song | “I'll Never Say `Goodbye',” The Promise, David Shire, music; Alan and Marilyn Bergman, lyrics | | “It Goes Like It Goes,” Norma Rae, music by David Shire; lyrics by Norman Gimbel | | “It's Easy to Say,” 10, Henry Mancini, music; Robert Wells, lyrics | | “The Rainbow Connection,” The Muppet Movie, Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher, music and lyrics | | “Through the Eyes of Love,” Ice Castles, Marvin Hamlisch, music; Carole Bayer Sager, lyrics | | Original Score | Georges Delerue, A Little Romance | | Jerry Goldsmith, Star Trek—The Motion Picture | | Dave Grusin, The Champ | | Henry Mancini, 10 | | Lalo Schifrin, The Amityville Horror | | Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score | Ralph Burns, All That Jazz | | Patrick Williams, Breaking Away | | Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher, song; Paul Williams, adaptation, The Muppet Movie |
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| Film Editing | Robert Dalva, The Black Stallion |
| Jerry Greenberg, Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Alan Heim, All That Jazz |
| Richard Marks, Walter Murch, Gerald B. Greenberg and Lisa Fruchtman, Apocalypse Now |
| Robert L. Wolfe and C. Timothy O'Meara, The Rose |
| Costume Design | Judy Moorcroft, The Europeans |
| Shirley Russell, Agatha |
| William Ware Theiss, Butch and Sundance: The Early Days |
| Piero Tosi and Ambra Danon, La Cage aux Folles |
| Albert Wolsky, All That Jazz |
| Visual Effects | Peter Ellenshaw, Art Cruickshank, Eustace Lycett, Danny Lee, Harrison Ellenshaw and Joe Hale, The Black Hole |
| William A. Fraker, A. D. Flowers and Gregory Jein, 1941 |
| H.R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Denys Ayling, Alien |
| Derek Meddings, Paul Wilson and John Evans, Moonraker |
| Douglas Trumbull, John Dykstra, Richard Yuricich, Robert Swarthe, Dave Stewart and Grant McCune, Star Trek—The Motion Picture |
| Short Films | | Animated | Dream Doll (Bob Godfrey Films/Zagreb Films/Halas and Batchelor; FilmWright) | | Every Child (Derek Lamb, producer; National Film Board of Canada) | | It's So Nice to Have a Wolf Around the House (Paul Fierlinger, producer; AR&T Productions for Learning Corporation of America) | | Live Action | Board and Care (Sarah Pillsbury and Ron Ellis, producers; Ron Ellis Films) | | Bravery in the Field (Roman Kroitor and Stefan Wodoslawsky, producers; National Film Board of Canada) | | Oh Brother, My Brother (Carol Lowell and Ross Lowell, producers; Pyramid Films, Inc.) | | The Solar Film (Saul Bass and Michael Britton, producers; Wildwood Enterprises Inc.) | | Solly's Diner (Harry Mathias, Jay Zukerman and Larry Hankin, producers; Mathias/Zukerman/Hankin Productions) |
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| Documentary | | Short Subject | Dae (Risto Teofilovski, producer; Vardar Film/Skopje) | | Koryo Celadon (Donald A. Connolly and James R. Messenger, producers; Charlie/Papa Productions, Inc.) | | Nails (Phillip Borsos, producer; National Film Board of Canada) | | Paul Robeson: Tribute to an Artist (Saul J. Turell, producer; Janus Films, Inc.) | | Remember Me (Dick Young, producer; Dick Young Productions, Ltd.) | | Feature | Best Boy (Ira Wohl, producer; Only Child Motion Pictures, Inc.) | | Generation on the Wind (David A. Vassar, producer; More Than One Medium) | | Going the Distance (Paul Cowan and Jacques Bobet, producers; National Film Board of Canada) | | The Killing Ground (Steve Singer and Tom Priestley, producers; ABC News Closeup Unit) | | The War at Home (Glenn Silber and Barry Alexander Brown, producers; Catalyst Films/Madison Film Production Co.) |
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| Foreign Language Film | The Maids of Wilko, Poland |
| Mama Turns a Hundred, Spain |
| A Simple Story, France |
| The Tin Drum, Federal Republic of Germany—West |
| To Forget Venice, Italy |
| Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award | Ray Stark |
| Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award | Robert Benjamin |
| Honorary Awards | To Hal Elias for his dedication and distinguished service to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
| To Alec Guinness for advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances |
| John O. Aalberg, Charles G. Clarke and John G. Frayne in appreciation for outstanding service and dedication in upholding the high standards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
| Special Achievement Award | | Sound Editing | Alan Splet, The Black Stallion |
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