Academy Award Winners: The First 50 Years

Every winner from the first half-century of the Oscars.

Every winner from the first half-century of the Oscars.

Every winner from the first half-century of the Oscars.

Every winner from the first half-century of the Oscars.

Every winner from the first half-century of the Oscars.

A new wave of ideas and techniques took hold of the perpetually transforming film industry.

The 50's saw a Renaissance of sorts in technological innovations, which allowed a new era of cinema never before possible. Thanks to advents in virtually all facets of production, films were capable of depictions and experiences not even imaginable before. Content and techniques were meandering into territory not yet tread, and the results were astounding to producers and consumers alike. Films impressed on both escapist entertainment levels, but now also on the critical evaluation of them as works of art, and thus this era spawned some of the most noteworthy and innovative films in American history.

In the years following the century's midpoint, Hollywood turned to make decidedly epic films.

The history of the first 50 years of Oscar winners, including Best Picture and Best Actor.

Cultural changes in art appreciation and acceptability of indecency enabled a time of pivotal transition in Hollywood, resulting in an era of challenging artistic feats with unprecedented vulgarity, lewdness, and other elements not deemed permissable prior. Audiences craved relatable depictions of real life, and accordingly studios obliged in making art that reflected that socially transformative world around them. Films were able to be as ambitious and untethered as they wished, delighting audiences with content and subjects for adult eyes only.