The very first Academy Awards had some categories that were never used again. For instance, there was a category called 'Best Unique and Artistic Picture'.

But the very first film to win the award entitled 'Best Picture' was a 1927 silent movie called Wings. It starred Clara Bow, a very famous silent film actress, and included an appearance by Gary Cooper before he became famous.

Wings was set in World War I and was mainly a love story, about two fighter pilots who both want to marry the same girl (Clara Bow.) There were also some war scenes, depicting aerial fights, and as there were no stuntmen who could do it, they actually used real fighter pilots. Sadly one person died in the filming of these scenes.

The film has been screened again lately, amid a great deal of renewed interest in silent films after The Artist was such a huge success in the 2012 Academy Awards. In fact, until The Artist, Wings was the only silent movie ever to win the Best Picture award.