# 5th Saturn Awards

The 5th Saturn Awards were awarded to media properties and personalities deemed by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films to be the best in science fiction, fantasy and horror released in 1977. It was held on January 14, 1978, and taped for television broadcast under the title Science Fiction Film Awards, which aired on January 21, 1978. This was the first ceremony in which the nominees for the acting categories were more than just a single individual while the category Best Editing was introduced. The event was hosted by Karen Black and William Shatner.
Star Wars won the most awards with eight, including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Director (George Lucas) and Best Writing (Lucas). Additionally, the Academy gave it five special non-competitive awards to reward the film's art direction, cinematography, editing, set decoration, and sound. Other winners included Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, and Oh, God! with two wins each.
This ceremony is also notable for Shatner performing a spoken word rendition of "Rocket Man", introduced by Bernie Taupin.

## Winners and nominees

Below is a complete list of nominees and winners. Winners are highlighted in boldface.
| Best Science Fiction Film | Best Fantasy Film |
| Star Wars Close Encounters of the Third Kind Demon Seed The Island of Dr. Moreau Twilight's Last Gleaming | Oh, God! Pete's Dragon Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella Wizards |
| Best Horror Film | |
| The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Dogs Kingdom of the Spiders The Sentinel | |
| Best Actor | Best Actress |
| George Burns – Oh, God! as God Richard Dreyfuss – Close Encounters of the Third Kind as Roy Neary Harrison Ford – Star Wars as Han Solo Mark Hamill – Star Wars as Luke Skywalker William Shatner – Kingdom of the Spiders as Dr. Robert "Rack" Hansen Michael York – The Island of Dr. Moreau as Andrew Braddock | Jodie Foster – The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane as Rynn Jacobs Julie Christie – Demon Seed as Susan Harris Joan Collins – Empire of the Ants as Marilyn Fryser Melinda Dillon – Close Encounters of the Third Kind as Jillian Guiler Carrie Fisher – Star Wars as Princess Leia Organa |
| Best Supporting Actor | Best Supporting Actress |
| Alec Guinness – Star Wars as Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi Red Buttons – Pete's Dragon as Hoagy Peter Cushing – Star Wars as Grand Moff Tarkin Burgess Meredith – The Sentinel as Charles Chazen Woody Strode – Kingdom of the Spiders as Walter Colby | Susan Tyrrell – Bad as Mary Aiken Joan Bennett – Suspiria as Madame Blanc Teri Garr – Close Encounters of the Third Kind as Veronica Neary Alexis Smith – The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane as Cora Hallet Margaret Whiting – Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger as Zenobia |
| Best Director | Best Writing |
| George Lucas – Star Wars (TIE) Steven Spielberg – Close Encounters of the Third Kind (TIE) Nicolas Gessner – The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Carl Reiner – Oh, God! Don Taylor – The Island of Dr. Moreau | George Lucas – Star Wars Larry Gelbart – Oh, God! Laird Koenig – The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Jeffrey Konvitz and Michael Winner – The Sentinel Steven Spielberg – Close Encounters of the Third Kind |
| Best Music | Best Costumes |
| John Williams – Star Wars / John Williams – Close Encounters of the Third Kind (TIE) | John Mollo – Star Wars Julie Harris – The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella Chuck Keehne and Emily Sundby – Pete's Dragon Richard La Motte – The Island of Dr. Moreau Cynthia Tingey – Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger |
| Best Make-up | Best Special Effects |
| Rick Baker and Stuart Freeborn – Star Wars Thomas R. Burman – Demon Seed John Chambers – The Island of Dr. Moreau Dick Smith – The Sentinel Bob Westmoreland, Thomas R. Burman, and Carlo Rambaldi – Close Encounters of the Third Kind | John Dykstra and John Stears – Star Wars Ray Harryhausen – Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger Douglas Trumbull – Close Encounters of the Third Kind Albert Whitlock and Chuck Gaspar (Van der Veer Photo Effects) – Exorcist II: The Heretic |
| Special awards ||
| Outstanding Art Direction | Outstanding Cinematographer |
| Norman Reynolds and Leslie Dilley – Star Wars | Gilbert Taylor – Star Wars |
| Outstanding Editing | Outstanding Recording |
| Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, and Richard Chew – Star Wars | Caedmon Records |
| Outstanding Set Decoration | Outstanding Sound |
| Roger Christian – Star Wars | Ben Burtt, Don MacDougall, and Sam F. Shaw – Star Wars |
| Outstanding Stop Motion Animated Film | Outstanding Television Performance |
| Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger | Jonathan Harris |
| Outstanding Executive Achievement | Outstanding Publicist |
| Richard Albain Jr. | Charley Lippincott |
| Life Career Award | Honorary Award |
| Carl Laemmle Jr. | Donald A. Reed |
| Hall of Fame Award ||
| George Pal / The War of the Worlds (for its 25th anniversary) ||