The 69th Academy Awards were held on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, honoring the films of 1996. Billy Crystal hosted for the fifth time; he had first hosted in 1990 and had last hosted in 1993. Four of the five Best Picture nominees were independent films, The English Patient, Fargo, Shine and Secrets & Lies; only Jerry Maguire came from a major Hollywood studio.

The English Patient, a romantic war epic, led with 12 nominations and won nine, including Best Picture, Best Director for Anthony Minghella, cinematography for John Seale, art direction, costume design, film editing for Walter Murch and original score for Gabriel Yared. It was the first film to win nine Oscars since The Last Emperor at the 60th Academy Awards. Its producer, Saul Zaentz, also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

Juliette Binoche won Best Supporting Actress for The English Patient in an upset over Lauren Bacall, nominated for The…