Quiz: Which film won Best Picture at the Oscars the year you were born?

The evolution of film

Films today look – and sound – very different to how they did in the early 20th century. The world’s oldest moving picture, shot in Leeds in 1888, was silent and lasted just over two seconds.

Cinema as we know it was born in 1895 in Paris, when the Lumière brothers held the first commercial film screening for paying audiences. They had invented the Cinématographe, which was a portable camera, printer and projector all in one.

It wasn’t until 1927 that ‘Talkies’ took centre stage and ushered in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Before this, films were silent, with stars like Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford becoming international celebrities.

The industry has changed a lot since then – from huge blockbusters and special effects to the rise of television and streaming services. Here, BBC Bitesize takes a look at how film has evolved and how audience tastes have changed in the last century through the lens of the Best Picture award at the Oscars.

Want to know which film won the year you were born? Take our IYKYK quiz!

A black and white photograph of Mary Pickford, who is sat with her legs drawn up to her chest and her arms around them. She is gazing at the camera with a faint smile. She has long light-coloured hair. — Image caption,
Mary Pickford was a star of the silent film era. Known as 'America's Sweetheart' and the 'Queen of Movies', she was Hollywood's first millionaire.

Which film won Best Picture the year you were born?

A brief history of the Oscars

An image of the Oscar statuette that cuts off at the waist. It is a gold-coloured statue of a knight holding a sword, stood atop a film reel. — Image caption,
Today's Oscar stands 13.5 inches tall, weighs 8.5 pounds and has a gold-plated bronze exterior over a Britannia metal core.

It’s the biggest night of the year in the film world. Usually held in February or March, the biggest stars in the world descend on Los Angeles, California to celebrate the previous year’s achievements. But how did it all start?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded in 1927, the same year the first ‘talkie’ – The Jazz Singer – was released. At a dinner at a Los Angeles hotel shortly afterwards, its members decided they wanted a way of recognising outstanding achievements in film. And so the Academy Awards were born.

The statuette we now associate with the awards – a knight holding a sword, standing on top of a reel of film with five spokes – was designed by art director Cedric Gibbons and sculpted by artist George Stanley. The five spokes symbolise actors, directors, producers, technicians and writers.

The first awards banquet was held on 16 May 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and since then, more than 3,000 statuettes have been awarded. They’re more commonly known by their nickname, Oscar, though the origins of this aren’t clear.

One theory is that an Academy librarian called Margaret Herrick, who went on to become the executive director, thought it looked like her uncle Oscar. The name caught on, and by 1934 journalists were using it in their columns, though the Academy itself didn’t officially adopt the name until 1939.

Which film won Best Picture in 1929?

It was actually a silent film that won the first ever Best Picture award – then known as ‘Best Picture, Production’.

Wings, released in 1927, is the only completely silent film to have ever won this award. It tells the story of two rivals, mechanic Jack and wealthy David, who fall in love with the same woman. While serving as fighter pilots during the First World War, they become close friends.

The film was directed by First World War fighter pilot, William A. Wellman, and hundreds of other pilots were used for the fight scenes. It starred Richard Arlen, a former pilot with the Royal Canadian Flying Corps, and Charles ‘Buddy’ Rogers, who learnt to fly for the film. It was the first time cameras had been strapped directly to planes to capture airborne shots.

The Academy actually gave out two main prizes that year, with the 1927 silent romantic drama Sunrise winning Most Unique and Artistic Picture. These two prizes were combined from the following year onwards into the Best Picture category, and the Academy retroactively declared Wings the previous year’s winner.