“Hearts and Minds,” the 1974 anti-war film that caused a furor at the Academy Awards when it won the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, has been named recipient of the 2025 Legacy Award at the Cinema Eye Honors.
The doc from director and producer Peter Davis and producer Bert Schneider was made in the final years of the Vietnam War, which it presented as an unwinnable and criminal enterprise by the United States.
“Peter Davis’ film debunked the lies surrounding the then-still ongoing Vietnam War,” Cinema Eye founding director AJ Schnack said in a Tuesday statement to TheWrap. “’Hearts and Minds’ stands as one of the greatest films about war in the history of film and reminds us that attacks on unarmed civilians are neither new nor acceptable. We are honored to celebrate this film and to present Peter Davis with our 2025 Legacy Award.”’
In response, Davis added, “The Legacy Award honoring my work is as welcome as it was unexpected. On this 50th anniversary of my film about the Vietnam War … I’m delighted for the recognition. I also happily share this award with my brilliant colleagues on the film — (cinematographer) Richard Pearce, (associate producer) Tom Cohen, (editors) Lynzee Klingman and Susan Martin.”
“Hearts and Minds” was an influential but polarizing documentary that struggled to find distribution after Columbia Pictures refused to release it. When it won the Academy Award, co-producer Schneider used his acceptance speech to read a telegram from the Viet Cong ambassador to the Paris Peace Accords, resulting in Oscar co-host Frank Sinatra reading a letter onstage that said the Academy was not responsible for political references on the show and was “sorry they had to take place this evening.” Backstage, another co-host, Shirley MacLaine, berated Sinatra for reading the letter, which was reportedly written by Bob Hope.
Other films that have received the Legacy Award in the past include “Grey Gardens,” “Eyes on the Prize,” “American Movie,” “Koyaanisqatsi,” “Paris is Burning,” “The War Room,” “Crumb” and “Titicut Follies.”
The Cinema Eye Honors also announced the nominees in its Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking category:
“Contractions”
Directed by Lynne Sachs / NY Times Op-Docs
“I Am Ready, Warden”
Directed by Smriti Mundhra / MTV Documentary Films
“Incident”
Directed by Bill Morrison / New Yorker
“Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World”
Directed by Julio Palacio / Netflix
“A Move”
Directed by Elahe Esmaili / NY Times Op-Docs
“A Swim Lesson”
Directed by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack / POV
The Cinema Eye Honors were launched in 2007 in New York City to honor all aspects of nonfiction filmmaking. Its 18th annual awards ceremony will take place on Jan. 9, 2025, at the New York Academy of Medicine in East Harlem.
