In response to the Venice film festival, launched in 1932 but increasingly under the thumb of Mussolini and the Nazis, France's Festival du Cannes set up shop Sept. 1, 1939 in the Cote d'Azur resort town west of Nice.

A so-called "steamship of stars" set sail for Cannes, bearing everyone from Gary Cooper to Mae West to Tyrone Power. "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," among other Hollywood films set to be screened that September in Cannes, shared the roster with movies from Britain, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Belgium and France. Then, on opening day, Hitler invaded Poland. Following the "Hunchback" screening, the festival was postponed until six devastating years later. And then, after World War II, the festival began making its mark on international cinema in earnest.

Here are 10 top prize-winners from across the decades at the world's premier celebration (invitation only; it's not a public festival like Berlin or Toronto), with an emphasis on English-language titles. -- Michael Phillips