49th British Academy Film Awards
Date	23 April 1996
Site	Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
Hosted by	Angus Deayton
Highlights
Best Film	Sense and Sensibility
Best British Film	The Madness of King George
Best Actor	Nigel Hawthorne The Madness of King George
Best Actress	Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility
Most awards	Braveheart, The Madness of King George, The Postman and Sense and Sensibility (3)
Most nominations	The Madness of King George (14)
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The 49th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on 23 April 1996 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1995. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 1995.^[1]

Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility won the award for Best Film. The film also won awards for Best Actress (Emma Thompson) and Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet).^[2] Il postino (The Postman), directed by Michael Radford, won the awards for Best Director, Film Not in the English Language, and Original Music. Nigel Hawthorne won Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in The Madness of King George; the same film was voted Outstanding British Film of the Year. Additionally, Tim Roth won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Archibald Cunningham in Rob Roy.

The ceremony was hosted by Angus Deayton, who was reportedly paid £50,000 for hosting.^[3]

Winners and nominees

BAFTA Fellowship

Main article: BAFTA Fellowship

Jeanne Moreau, Ronald Neame, John Schlesinger and Maggie Smith

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

Main article: BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award

Mike Leigh

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Film Sense and Sensibility – Lindsay Doran and Ang Lee Babe – George Miller, Doug Mitchell, Bill Miller and Chris Noonan The Madness of King George – Stephen Evans, David Parfitt and Nicholas Hytner The Usual Suspects – Bryan Singer and Michael McDonnell	Best Direction Michael Radford – Il Postino: The Postman Ang Lee – Sense and Sensibility Mel Gibson – Braveheart Nicholas Hytner – The Madness of King George
Best Actor in a Leading Role *Nigel Hawthorne – The Madness of King George* as King George III** Jonathan Pryce – Carrington as Lytton Strachey Massimo Troisi – Il Postino: The Postman as Mario Ruoppolo Nicolas Cage – Leaving Las Vegas as Ben Sanderson	Best Actress in a Leading Role *Emma Thompson – Sense and Sensibility* as Elinor Dashwood** Elisabeth Shue – Leaving Las Vegas as Sera Helen Mirren – The Madness of King George as Queen Charlotte Nicole Kidman – To Die For as Suzanne Stone-Maretto
Best Actor in a Supporting Role *Tim Roth – Rob Roy* as Archibald Cunningham** Alan Rickman – Sense and Sensibility as Colonel Brandon Ian Holm – The Madness of King George as Francis Willis Martin Landau – Ed Wood as Bela Lugosi	Best Actress in a Supporting Role *Kate Winslet – Sense and Sensibility* as Marianne Dashwood** Elizabeth Spriggs – Sense and Sensibility as Mrs. Jennings Joan Allen – Nixon as Pat Nixon Mira Sorvino – Mighty Aphrodite as Linda Ash
Best Original Screenplay The Usual Suspects – Christopher McQuarrie Bullets Over Broadway – Woody Allen and Douglas McGrath Muriel's Wedding – P. J. Hogan Seven – Andrew Kevin Walker	Best Adapted Screenplay Trainspotting – John Hodge Babe – George Miller and Chris Noonan Il Postino: The Postman – Anna Pavignano, Michael Radford, Furio Scarpelli, Giacomo Scarpelli and Massimo Troisi Leaving Las Vegas – Mike Figgis The Madness of King George – Alan Bennett Sense and Sensibility – Emma Thompson
Best Cinematography Braveheart – John Toll Apollo 13 – Dean Cundey The Madness of King George – Andrew Dunn Sense and Sensibility – Michael Coulter	Best Costume Design Braveheart – Charles Knode The Madness of King George – Mark Thompson Restoration – James Acheson Sense and Sensibility – Jenny Beavan and John Bright
Best Editing The Usual Suspects – John Ottman Apollo 13 – Mike Hill and Dan Hanley Babe – Marcus D'Arcy and Jay Friedkin The Madness of King George – Tariq Anwar	Best Makeup and Hair The Madness of King George – Lisa Westcott Braveheart – Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison and Lois Burwell Ed Wood – Ve Neill, Rick Baker and Yolanda Toussieng Sense and Sensibility – Morag Ross and Jan Archibald
Best Original Music Il Postino: The Postman – Luis Bacalov Braveheart – James Horner The Madness of King George – George Fenton Sense and Sensibility – Patrick Doyle	Best Production Design Apollo 13 – Michael Corenblith Braveheart – Thomas E. Sanders The Madness of King George – Ken Adam Sense and Sensibility – Luciana Arrighi
Best Sound Braveheart – Per Hallberg, Lon Bender, Brian Simmons, Andy Nelson, Scott Millan and Anna Behlmer Apollo 13 – David MacMillan, Rick Dior, Scott Millan and Steve Pederson GoldenEye – Jim Shields, David John, Graham V. Hartstone, John Hayward and Michael A. Carter The Madness of King George – Christopher Ackland, David Crozier and Robin O'Donoghue	Best Special Visual Effects Apollo 13 – Robert Legato, Michael Kanfer, Matt Sweeney and Leslie Ekker Babe – Scott E. Anderson, Neal Scanlan, John Cox, Chris Chitty and Charles Gibson GoldenEye – Chris Corbould, Derek Meddings and Brian Smithies Waterworld – Michael J. McAlister, Brad Kuehn, Robert Spurlock and Martin Bresin
Outstanding British Film The Madness of King George – Stephen Evans, David Parfitt and Nicholas Hytner Carrington – Ronald Shedlo, John McGrath and Christopher Hampton Land and Freedom – Rebecca O'Brien and Ken Loach Trainspotting – Andrew Macdonald and Danny Boyle	Best Film Not in the English Language Il Postino: The Postman – Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, Gaetano Daniele and Michael Radford Burnt by the Sun – Nikita Mikhalkov and Michel Seydoux La Reine Margot – Pierre Grunstein and Patrice Chéreau Les Misérables – Claude Lelouch
Best Short Animation A Close Shave – Carla Shelley, Michael Rose and Nick Park Achilles – Glenn Holberton and Barry Purves Gogs Ogof – Deinial Morris and Michael Mort The Tickler Talks – Steven Harding-Hill	Best Short Film It's Not Unusual – Asmaa Pirzada and Kfir Yefet Cabbage – Noelle Pickford and David Stewart Hello, Hello, Hello – Helen Booth, James Roberts and David Thewlis The Last Post – Neris Thomas and Edward Blum

Statistics

Films that received multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
14	The Madness of King George
12	Sense and Sensibility
7	Braveheart
5	Apollo 13
5	Il Postino: The Postman
4	Babe
3	Leaving Las Vegas
3	The Usual Suspects
2	Carrington
	Ed Wood
	GoldenEye
	Trainspotting

Films that received multiple awards
Awards	Film
3	Braveheart
	Il Postino: The Postman
	The Madness of King George
	Sense and Sensibility
2	Apollo 13
2	The Usual Suspects

References

^ "Film in 1996". BAFTA.org.
^ "Emma Thompson adds Bafta to Oscar trophies". The Independent. 21 April 1996. Archived from the original on 26 January 2012.
^ "Angus defends his fee for Baftas". The Guardian. 8 May 2001. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

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