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Culture

10 memorable winners of the Palme d'Or

The Cannes film festival's Palme d'Or is the most important festival prize in the world. To mark its 71st occassion, we take a look at 10 amazing films which premiered in Cannes and wrote movie history.

  • Film still from Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders with Nastassia Kinski (Photo: Imago/United Archives)

    Paris, Texas (1984)

    Volker Schlöndorff garnered Germany's first Palme d'Or with the film version of the book "The Tin Drum" in 1979. Wim Wenders followed up in 1984 with "Paris, Texas," taking the audience and jury by storm. It also brought global recognition to the "New German Film" genre. Nastassja Kinski (shown here) played, alongside Harry Dean Stanton, the role of her career.

  • Film still from Blue is the Warmest Color with Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos (Photo: picture-alliance/Alamode Film)

    Blue is the Warmest Color (2013)

    Festival audiences loved the film "Blue is the Warmest Color" four years ago. French director Abdellatif Kechiche told the love story between two young women in such an intense and expressive way that the jury awarded the Palme d'Or not only to the director, but also to the two fantastic actresses, Léa Seydoux und Adèle Exarchopoulos.

  • Scene from The White Ribbon (Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Les Film du Losange)

    The White Ribbon (2009)

    The 2009 Cannes jury quickly agreed that "The White Ribbon" was the most deserving film that year. Munich-born Austrian director Michael Haneke received the Palme d'Or for a film that managed to portray the stifling atmosphere of a small northern German town just before the outbreak of World War I. In 2012, Haneke received his second Golden Palm for his drama "Amour."

  • Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction (Photo: picture alliance/KPA)

    Pulp Fiction (1994)

    Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" from 1994 became a cult classic. The complex story, told playfully and ironically, took American cinema to a whole new level. The film would go on to have a significant influence on directors and screenplay writers.

  • Scene from The Piano with Holly Hunter (Photo: picture alliance/kpa)

    The Piano (1993)

    Just a year earlier, the Golden Palm winner had also caused a sensation – but the kind that was long overdue. Director Jane Campion of New Zealand received the top accolade for her melancholy emigration drama about a pianist who couldn't speak. Campion became the first woman to claim the prestigious award.

  • Scene from Wild at Heart with Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern (Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Mary Evans Picture Library)

    Wild at Heart (1990)

    In 1990, the Palme d'Or winner stirred up controversy. David Lynch's wild and somewhat violent road movie divided the jury – until jury president Bernardo Bertolucci of Italy got his way. The genre-bending "Wild at Heart" prepared audiences for films from the likes of Quentin Tarantino.

  • Scene from Yol with Tarik Akan (Imago/United Archives)

    Yol (1982)

    Cannes doesn't only present American and Western European films. In 1982, "Yol" became the first Turkish movie to win the Palm d'Or. Filmmaker Şerif Gören had to fill in on the project for director and screenplay writer Yılmaz Güney, who had to flee Turkey in 1981 for political reasons. Güney died of stomach cancer in 1984.

  • Scene from Apocalypse Now (Photo: picture alliance/United Archives/IFTN)

    Apocalypse Now (1979)

    The 1979 competition proved memorable because the jury, presided over by French writer Françoise Sagan, couldn't agree on a winner – so they chose two. Along with Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War film "Apocalypse Now," Volker Schlöndorff also took home a trophy for "The Tin Drum," based on the book by Günter Grass.

  • Scene from Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster (Photo: picture-alliance/United Archives/IFTN)

    Taxi Driver (1976)

    Golden Palm winners often reflect the aesthetic developments in the world of cinema. In 1970, the jury demonstrated intuition by selecting the anti-war black comedy "MASH." Six years later, Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," starring Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro, won the Palme d'Or. Both represented New Hollywood, which saw directors take more control over movie-making than production studios.

  • Scene from Viridiana (Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Mary Evans Picture Library)

    Viridiana (1961)

    Spanish-Mexico director Luis Buñuel received the Palme d'Or in 1961 for "Viridiana." Just three days after he accepted the award in Cannes, the film was banned in Spain because the Franco regime wasn't pleased with the director's anticlerical, anti-capitalistic approach. Today, "Viridiana" is considered a masterpiece of surrealist cinema.


  • Film still from Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders with Nastassia Kinski (Photo: Imago/United Archives)

    Paris, Texas (1984)

    Volker Schlöndorff garnered Germany's first Palme d'Or with the film version of the book "The Tin Drum" in 1979. Wim Wenders followed up in 1984 with "Paris, Texas," taking the audience and jury by storm. It also brought global recognition to the "New German Film" genre. Nastassja Kinski (shown here) played, alongside Harry Dean Stanton, the role of her career.

  • Film still from Blue is the Warmest Color with Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos (Photo: picture-alliance/Alamode Film)

    Blue is the Warmest Color (2013)

    Festival audiences loved the film "Blue is the Warmest Color" four years ago. French director Abdellatif Kechiche told the love story between two young women in such an intense and expressive way that the jury awarded the Palme d'Or not only to the director, but also to the two fantastic actresses, Léa Seydoux und Adèle Exarchopoulos.

  • Scene from The White Ribbon (Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Les Film du Losange)

    The White Ribbon (2009)

    The 2009 Cannes jury quickly agreed that "The White Ribbon" was the most deserving film that year. Munich-born Austrian director Michael Haneke received the Palme d'Or for a film that managed to portray the stifling atmosphere of a small northern German town just before the outbreak of World War I. In 2012, Haneke received his second Golden Palm for his drama "Amour."

  • Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction (Photo: picture alliance/KPA)

    Pulp Fiction (1994)

    Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" from 1994 became a cult classic. The complex story, told playfully and ironically, took American cinema to a whole new level. The film would go on to have a significant influence on directors and screenplay writers.

  • Scene from The Piano with Holly Hunter (Photo: picture alliance/kpa)

    The Piano (1993)

    Just a year earlier, the Golden Palm winner had also caused a sensation – but the kind that was long overdue. Director Jane Campion of New Zealand received the top accolade for her melancholy emigration drama about a pianist who couldn't speak. Campion became the first woman to claim the prestigious award.

  • Scene from Wild at Heart with Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern (Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Mary Evans Picture Library)

    Wild at Heart (1990)

    In 1990, the Palme d'Or winner stirred up controversy. David Lynch's wild and somewhat violent road movie divided the jury – until jury president Bernardo Bertolucci of Italy got his way. The genre-bending "Wild at Heart" prepared audiences for films from the likes of Quentin Tarantino.

  • Scene from Yol with Tarik Akan (Imago/United Archives)

    Yol (1982)

    Cannes doesn't only present American and Western European films. In 1982, "Yol" became the first Turkish movie to win the Palm d'Or. Filmmaker Şerif Gören had to fill in on the project for director and screenplay writer Yılmaz Güney, who had to flee Turkey in 1981 for political reasons. Güney died of stomach cancer in 1984.

  • Scene from Apocalypse Now (Photo: picture alliance/United Archives/IFTN)

    Apocalypse Now (1979)

    The 1979 competition proved memorable because the jury, presided over by French writer Françoise Sagan, couldn't agree on a winner – so they chose two. Along with Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War film "Apocalypse Now," Volker Schlöndorff also took home a trophy for "The Tin Drum," based on the book by Günter Grass.

  • Scene from Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster (Photo: picture-alliance/United Archives/IFTN)

    Taxi Driver (1976)

    Golden Palm winners often reflect the aesthetic developments in the world of cinema. In 1970, the jury demonstrated intuition by selecting the anti-war black comedy "MASH." Six years later, Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," starring Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro, won the Palme d'Or. Both represented New Hollywood, which saw directors take more control over movie-making than production studios.

  • Scene from Viridiana (Photo: picture-alliance/dpa/Mary Evans Picture Library)

    Viridiana (1961)

    Spanish-Mexico director Luis Buñuel received the Palme d'Or in 1961 for "Viridiana." Just three days after he accepted the award in Cannes, the film was banned in Spain because the Franco regime wasn't pleased with the director's anticlerical, anti-capitalistic approach. Today, "Viridiana" is considered a masterpiece of surrealist cinema.


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