The Cannes Film Festival has a long and distinguished track record of spotlighting landmark works in the history of cinema with its highest honor, the Palme d’or.
The festival first gave out its highest honor in 1939, but the award hasn’t always been called the Palme d’or, nor has it always been given to just one film.
Originally, the award was dubbed the “Grand Prix du Festival Internationale du Film,” a mouthful of a moniker with a little less luster than “Palme d’or.”
In the decades since the award’s inception, Cannes has bounced back and forth between the two designations. The top award was called the Palme d’or in 1955, when Delbert Mann’s Marty took the honor. Then, in 1964, it became the Grand Prix again before finally settling in as the Palme d’or, which has been its name for the past 45 years.
Scroll through the photos below for a chronological gallery of all the films that have received Cannes’ highest honor.
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UNION PACIFIC, 1939
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Cecil B. DeMille
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THE LAST CHANCE, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Leopold Lindtberg
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THE TURNING POINT, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Fridrikh Ermler
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TORMENT, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Alf Sjöberg
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THE RED MEADOWS, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr.
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ROME, OPEN CITY, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Roberto Rossellini
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BRIEF ENCOUNTER, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. David Lean
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MEN WITHOUT WINGS, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Státní půjčovna filmů Dir. František Čáp
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PASTORAL SYMPHONY, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Jean Delannoy
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PORTRAIT OF MARIA, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: MGM Dir. Emilio Fernández
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LOWLY CITY, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Chetan Anand
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THE LOST WEEKEND, 1946 (one of 11 honorees)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Billy Wilder
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ZIEGFELD FOLLIES, 1947 (Best Musical Comedy)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Vincente Minnelli
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ANTOINE AND ANTOINETTE, 1947 (Best Psychological and Love Film)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Jacques Becker
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DUMBO, 1947 (Best Animation Design)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Ben Sharpsteen
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CROSSFIRE, 1947 (Best Social Film)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Edward Dmytryk
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THE DAMNED, 1947 (Best Adventure and Crime Film)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. René Clément
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THE THIRD MAN, 1949
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Carol Reed
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MISS JULIE, 1951 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Alf Sjöberg
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MIRACLE IN MILAN, 1951 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Vittorio De Sica
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THE TRAGEDY OF OTHELLO: THE MOOR OF VENICE, 1952 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Orson Welles
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TWO CENTS WORTH OF HOPE, 1952 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Renato Castellani
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THE WAGES OF FEAR, 1953
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
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GATE OF HELL, 1954
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Teinosuke Kinugasa
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MARTY, 1955
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Delbert Mann
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THE SILENT WORLD, 1956
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dirs. Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle
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FRIENDLY PERSUASION, 1956
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. William Wyler
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THE CRANES ARE FLYING, 1957
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Mikhail Kalatozov
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BLACK ORPHEUS, 1959
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Marcel Camus
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LA DOLCE VITA, 1960
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Federico Fellini
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THE LONG ABSENCE, 1961 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Henri Colpi
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VIRIDIANA, 1961 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Luis Buñuel
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KEEPER OF PROMISES, 1962
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Anselmo Duarte
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THE LEOPARD, 1963
Image Credit: 20th Century-Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection Dir. Luchino Visconti
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THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, 1964
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Jacques Demy
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THE KNACK…AND HOW TO GET IT, 1965
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Richard Lester
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A MAN AND A WOMAN, 1966 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Claude Lelouch
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THE BIRDS, THE BEES AND THE ITALIANS, 1966 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Pietro Germi
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BLOWUP, 1967
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni
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IF…, 1969
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Lindsay Anderson
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MASH, 1970
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection Dir. Robert Altman
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THE GO-BETWEEN, 1971
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Joseph Losey
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THE MATTEI AFFAIR, 1972 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Francesco Rosi
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THE WORKING CLASS GOES TO HEAVEN, 1972 (tie)
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Elio Petri
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THE HIRELING, 1973 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Alan Bridges
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SCARECROW, 1973 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Jerry Schatzberg
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THE CONVERSATION, 1974
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
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CHRONICLE OF THE YEARS OF FIRE, 1975
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina
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TAXI DRIVER, 1976
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Martin Scorsese
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PADRE PADRONE, 1977
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dirs. Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
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TREE OF WOODEN CLOGS, 1978
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Ermanno Olmi
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APOCALYPSE NOW, 1979 (tie)
Image Credit: United Artists/Everett Collection Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
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THE TIN DRUM, 1979 (tie)
Image Credit: New World Pictures/Everett Collection Dir. Volker Schlöndorff
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ALL THAT JAZZ, 1980 (tie)
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp/Everett Collection Dir. Bob Fosse
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KAGEMUSHA, 1980 (tie)
Image Credit: Toho Company/Everett Collection Dir. Akira Kurosawa
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MAN OF IRON, 1981
Image Credit: United Artists Classics/Everett Collection Dir. Andrzej Wajda
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MISSING, 1982 (tie)
Image Credit: Universal/Everett Collection Dir. Costa-Gravras
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THE WAY, 1982 (tie)
Image Credit: Triumph Films/Everett Collection Dirs. Yılmaz Güney and Şerif Gören
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THE BALLAD OF NARAYAMA, 1983
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Shohei Imamura
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PARIS, TEXAS, 1984
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp. Dir. Wim Wenders
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WHEN FATHER WAS AWAY ON BUSINESS, 1985
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Emir Kusturica
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THE MISSION, 1986
Image Credit: Warner Bros./Everett Collection Dir. Roland Joffé
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UNDER THE SUN OF SATAN, 1987
Image Credit: Alive Films/Everett Collection Dir. Maurice Pialat
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PELLE THE CONQUEROR, 1988
Image Credit: Miramax/Everett Collection Dir. Bille August
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SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE, 1989
Image Credit: Miramax/Everett Collection Dir. Steven Soderbergh
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WILD AT HEART, 1990
Image Credit: Samuel Goldwyn/Everett Collection Dir. David Lynch
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BARTON FINK, 1991
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection Dirs. Joel and Ethan Coen
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THE BEST INTENTIONS, 1992
Image Credit: Samuel Goldwyn/Everett Collection Dir. Bille August
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FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, 1993 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Chen Kaige
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THE PIANO, 1993 (tie)
Image Credit: Miramax/Everett Collection Dir. Jane Campion
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PULP FICTION, 1994
Image Credit: Miramax/Everett Collection Dir. Quentin Tarantino
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UNDERGROUND, 1995
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Emir Kusturica
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SECRETS & LIES, 1996
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Mike Leigh
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TASTE OF CHERRY, 1997 (tie)
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
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THE EEL, 1997 (tie)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Shohei Imamura
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ETERNITY AND A DAY, 1998
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Theodoros Angelopoulos
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ROSETTA, 1999
Image Credit: USA Films/Everett Collection Dirs. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
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DANCER IN THE DARK, 2000
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Lars von Trier
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THE SON’S ROOM, 2001
Image Credit: Miramax/Everett Collection Dir. Nanni Moretti
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THE PIANIST, 2002
Image Credit: Focus Features/Everett Collection Dir. Roman Polanski
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ELEPHANT, 2003
Image Credit: Fine Line/Everett Collection Dir. Gus Van Sant
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FAHRENHEIT 9/11, 2004
Image Credit: Lions Gate/Everett Collection Dir. Michael Moore
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THE CHILD, 2005
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dirs. Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne
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THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, 2006
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Ken Loach
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4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS, 2007
Image Credit: IFC First Take/Everett Collection Dir. Cristian Mungiu
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THE CLASS, 2008
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Classics/Everett Collection Dir. Laurent Cantet
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THE WHITE RIBBON, 2009
Image Credit: Sony Classics/Everett Collection Dir. Michael Haneke
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UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES, 2010
Image Credit: Strand Releasing/Everett Collection Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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THE TREE OF LIFE, 2011
Image Credit: Merie Wallace/Fox Searchlight/Everett Collection Dir. Terrence Malick
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LOVE, 2012
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Classics/Everett Collection Dir. Michael Haneke
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BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, 2013
Image Credit: Sundance Selects/Everett Collection Dir. Abdellatif Kechiche
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WINTER SLEEP, 2014
Image Credit: Adopt Films/Everett Collection Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
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DHEEPAN, 2015
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dir. Jacques Audiard
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I, DANIEL BLAKE, 2016
Image Credit: Cannes Film Festival Dir. Ken Loach
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THE SQUARE, 2017
Image Credit: Magnolia Pictures/Everett Collection Dir. Ruben Östlund
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SHOPLIFTERS, 2018
Image Credit: Magnolia Pictures/Everett Collection Dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
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PARASITE, 2019
Image Credit: Neon/Everett Collection Dir. Bong Joon-ho
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TITANE, 2021
Image Credit: Carole Bethuel/Cannes Film Festival Dir. Julia Ducournau
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TRIANGLE OF SADNESS, 2022
Image Credit: Neon Dir. Ruben Ostlund
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ANATOMY OF A FALL, 2023
Image Credit: MK2. Sandra Hüller in Anatomy of a Fall
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