1972 Oscars: Winners and Nominees

49 films were recognised at the 1972 Academy Awards, across 22 categories. 13 of them took home at least one award.

The biggest winner of the year was The French Connection, with 5 awards, ahead of Fiddler on the Roof with 3. The categories below run from Actor, Actor in a Supporting Role and Actress to the smaller prizes, and in every one the winner is listed first, followed by the other nominees.

Each title links to the film's full award history at all four awards, and the links at the bottom step to the previous and next ceremony.

Last updated August 12, 2026

Actor

The French Connection(1971)
Gene Hackman
Winner
Fiddler on the Roof(1971)
Topol
Kotch(1971)
Walter Matthau
Sunday Bloody Sunday(1971)
Peter Finch
The Hospital(1971)
George C. Scott

Actor in a Supporting Role

The Last Picture Show(1971)
Ben Johnson
Winner
Fiddler on the Roof(1971)
Leonard Frey
Sometimes a Great Notion(1971)
Richard Jaeckel
The French Connection(1971)
Roy Scheider
The Last Picture Show(1971)
Jeff Bridges

Actress

Klute(1971)
Jane Fonda
Winner
Mary, Queen of Scots(1971)
Vanessa Redgrave
McCabe & Mrs. Miller(1971)
Julie Christie
Nicholas and Alexandra(1971)
Janet Suzman
Sunday Bloody Sunday(1971)
Glenda Jackson

Actress in a Supporting Role

The Last Picture Show(1971)
Cloris Leachman
Winner
Carnal Knowledge(1971)
Ann-Margret
The Go-Between(1971)
Margaret Leighton
The Last Picture Show(1971)
Ellen Burstyn
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?(1971)
Barbara Harris

Art Direction

Nicholas and Alexandra(1971)
Art Direction: John Box, Ernest Archer, Jack Maxsted, Gil Parrondo; Set Decoration: Vernon Dixon
Winner
Bedknobs and Broomsticks(1971)
Art Direction: John B. Mansbridge, Peter Ellenshaw; Set Decoration: Emile Kuri, Hal Gausman
Fiddler on the Roof(1971)
Art Direction: Robert Boyle, Michael Stringer; Set Decoration: Peter Lamont
Mary, Queen of Scots(1971)
Art Direction: Terence Marsh, Robert Cartwright; Set Decoration: Peter Howitt
The Andromeda Strain(1971)
Art Direction: Boris Leven, William Tuntke; Set Decoration: Ruby Levitt

Best Picture

The French Connection(1971)
Philip D'Antoni, Producer
Winner
A Clockwork Orange(1971)
Stanley Kubrick, Producer
Fiddler on the Roof(1971)
Norman Jewison, Producer
Nicholas and Alexandra(1971)
Sam Spiegel, Producer
The Last Picture Show(1971)
Stephen J. Friedman, Producer

Cinematography

Fiddler on the Roof(1971)
Oswald Morris
Winner
Nicholas and Alexandra(1971)
Freddie Young
Summer of '42(1971)
Robert Surtees
The French Connection(1971)
Owen Roizman
The Last Picture Show(1971)
Robert Surtees

Costume Design

Nicholas and Alexandra(1971)
Yvonne Blake, Antonio Castillo
Winner
Bedknobs and Broomsticks(1971)
Bill Thomas
Death in Venice(1971)
Piero Tosi
Mary, Queen of Scots(1971)
Margaret Furse
What's the Matter with Helen?(1971)
Morton Haack

Directing

The French Connection(1971)
William Friedkin
Winner
A Clockwork Orange(1971)
Stanley Kubrick
Fiddler on the Roof(1971)
Norman Jewison
Sunday Bloody Sunday(1971)
John Schlesinger
The Last Picture Show(1971)
Peter Bogdanovich

Documentary (Feature)

The Hellstrom Chronicle(1971)
Walon Green, Producer
Winner
Alaska Wilderness Lake(1971)
Alan Landsburg, Producer
On Any Sunday(1971)
Bruce Brown, Producer
The Ra Expeditions(1972)
Lennart Ehrenborg and Thor Heyerdahl, Producers
The Sorrow and the Pity(1969)

Documentary (Short Subject)

Sentinels of Silence(1971)
Manuel Arango and Robert Amram, Producers
Winner
Adventures in Perception(1971)
Han van Gelder, Producer
Art Is...(1971)
Julian Krainin and DeWitt L. Sage, Jr., Producers
Somebody Waiting(1972)
Hal Riney, Dick Snider and Sherwood Omens, Producers
The Numbers Start with the River(1971)
Donald Wrye, Producer

Film Editing

The French Connection(1971)
Jerry Greenberg
Winner
A Clockwork Orange(1971)
Bill Butler
Kotch(1971)
Ralph E. Winters
Summer of '42(1971)
Folmar Blangsted
The Andromeda Strain(1971)
Stuart Gilmore, John W. Holmes

International Feature Film

The Garden of the Finzi-Continis(1970)
Italy
Winner
Dodes'ka-den(1970)
Japan
Tchaikovsky(1970)
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Emigrants(1971)
Sweden
The Policeman(1971)
Israel

Music (Original Dramatic Score)

Summer of '42(1971)
Michel Legrand
Winner
Mary, Queen of Scots(1971)
John Barry
Nicholas and Alexandra(1971)
Richard Rodney Bennett
Shaft(1971)
Isaac Hayes
Straw Dogs(1971)
Jerry Fielding

Music (Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score)

Fiddler on the Roof(1971)
Adaptation Score by John Williams
Winner
Bedknobs and Broomsticks(1971)
Song Score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman; Adaptation Score by Irwin Kostal
Tchaikovsky(1970)
Adaptation Score by Dimitri Tiomkin
The Boy Friend(1971)
Adaptation Score by Peter Maxwell Davies and Peter Greenwell
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory(1971)
Song Score by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley; Adaptation Score by Walter Scharf

Music (Song--Original for the Picture)

Shaft(1971)
Theme From Shaft in "Shaft" Music and Lyrics by Isaac Hayes
Winner
Bedknobs and Broomsticks(1971)
The Age Of Not Believing in "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Bless the Beasts & Children(1971)
Bless The Beasts & Children in "Bless the Beasts & Children" Music and Lyrics by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr.
Kotch(1971)
Life Is What You Make It in "Kotch" Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Sometimes a Great Notion(1971)
All His Children in "Sometimes a Great Notion" Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman