The 64th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1991 in the United States and took place on March 30, 1992, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the third consecutive year. Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on March 7, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Tom Hanks.
The Silence of the Lambs won five awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Terminator 2: Judgment Day with four awards, Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, and JFK with two, and City Slickers, Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment, The Fisher King, In the Shadow of the Stars, Manipulation, Mediterraneo, Session Man, and Thelma & Louise with one. The telecast garnered more than 44 million viewers in the United States.
Winners and nominees
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The nominees for the 64th Academy Awards were announced on February 19, 1992, at 5:38 a.m. PST (13:38 UTC) at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Karl Malden, president of the Academy, and actress Kathleen Turner. Bugsy led all nominees with ten nominations; JFK came in second with eight.
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 30, 1992. The Silence of the Lambs became the first horror film to win Best Picture and the first film to be released on home video prior to winning that award. Moreover, it was the third film to win the "Big Five" major categories for picture, directing, lead acting performances, and screenwriting. The other two films to achieve this feat were 1934's It Happened One Night and 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture and the first film with three nominations for Best Original Song.
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- The Silence of the Lambs – Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt and Ron Bozman, producers
- Beauty and the Beast – Don Hahn, producer
- Bugsy – Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson and Warren Beatty, producers
- JFK – A. Kitman Ho and Oliver Stone, producers
- The Prince of Tides – Barbra Streisand and Andrew S. Karsch, producers
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- Jonathan Demme – The Silence of the Lambs
- John Singleton – Boyz n the Hood
- Barry Levinson – Bugsy
- Oliver Stone – JFK
- Ridley Scott – Thelma & Louise
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- Anthony Hopkins – The Silence of the Lambs as Dr. Hannibal Lecter
- Warren Beatty – Bugsy as Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel
- Robert De Niro – Cape Fear as Maximilian "Max" Cady
- Nick Nolte – The Prince of Tides as Tom Wingo
- Robin Williams – The Fisher King as Henry "Parry" Sagan
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- Jodie Foster – The Silence of the Lambs as Clarice Starling
- Geena Davis – Thelma & Louise as Thelma Dickinson
- Laura Dern – Rambling Rose as Rose
- Bette Midler – For the Boys as Dixie Leonard
- Susan Sarandon – Thelma & Louise as Louise Sawyer
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- Jack Palance – City Slickers as Curly Washburn
- Tommy Lee Jones – JFK as Clay Shaw/Clay Bertrand
- Harvey Keitel – Bugsy as Mickey Cohen
- Ben Kingsley – Bugsy as Meyer Lansky
- Michael Lerner – Barton Fink as Jack Lipnick
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- Mercedes Ruehl – The Fisher King as Anne Napolitano
- Diane Ladd – Rambling Rose as Mother
- Juliette Lewis – Cape Fear as Danielle Bowden
- Kate Nelligan – The Prince of Tides as Lila Wingo Newbury
- Jessica Tandy – Fried Green Tomatoes as Virginia "Ninny" Threadgoode
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- Thelma & Louise – Callie Khouri
- Boyz n the Hood – John Singleton
- Bugsy – James Toback
- The Fisher King – Richard LaGravenese
- Grand Canyon – Lawrence Kasdan and Meg Kasdan
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- The Silence of the Lambs – Ted Tally based on the novel by Thomas Harris
- Europa Europa – Agnieszka Holland based on the memoirs of Solomon Perel
- Fried Green Tomatoes – Fannie Flagg and Carol Sobieski (posthumous nomination) based on the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
- JFK – Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar based on the books Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy by Jim Marrs and On the Trail of the Assassins by Jim Garrison
- The Prince of Tides – Pat Conroy and Becky Johnston based on the novel by Pat Conroy
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- Mediterraneo (Italy) in Italian – Gabriele Salvatores
- Children of Nature (Iceland) in Icelandic – Friðrik Þór Friðriksson
- The Elementary School (Czechoslovakia) in Czech – Jan Svěrák
- The Ox (Sweden) in Swedish – Sven Nykvist
- Raise the Red Lantern (Hong Kong) in Mandarin – Zhang Yimou
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- In the Shadow of the Stars – Allie Light and Irving Saraf, producers
- Death on the Job – Vince DiPersio and William Guttentag, producers
- Doing Time: Life Inside the Big House – Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond, producers
- The Restless Conscience: Resistance to Hitler Within Germany 1933–1945 – Hava Kohav Beller, producer
- Wild by Law – Lawrence Hott and Diane Garey, producers
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- Deadly Deception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and Our Environment – Debra Chasnoff, producer
- Birdnesters of Thailand aka Shadowhunters – Éric Valli and Alain Majani, producers
- A Little Vicious – Immy Humes, producer
- The Mark of the Maker – David McGowan, producer
- Memorial: Letters from American Soldiers – Bill Couturié and Bernard Edelman, producers
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- Session Man – Seth Winston and Rob Fried
- Birch Street Gym – Stephen Kessler and Thomas R. Conroy
- Last Breeze of Summer – David M. Massey
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- Manipulation – Daniel Greaves
- Blackfly – Christopher Hinton
- Strings – Wendy Tilby
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- Beauty and the Beast – Alan Menken
- Bugsy – Ennio Morricone
- The Fisher King – George Fenton
- JFK – John Williams
- The Prince of Tides – James Newton Howard
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- "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman (posthumous award)
- "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman (posthumous nomination)
- "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman (posthumous nomination)
- "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves – Music by Michael Kamen; Lyrics by Bryan Adams and Robert John "Mutt" Lange
- "When You're Alone" from Hook – Music by John Williams; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
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- Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Gary Summers and Lee Orloff
- Backdraft – Gary Rydstrom, Randy Thom, Gary Summers and Glenn Williams
- Beauty and the Beast – Terry Porter, Mel Metcalfe, David J. Hudson and Doc Kane
- JFK – Michael Minkler, Gregg Landaker and Tod A. Maitland
- The Silence of the Lambs – Tom Fleischman and Christopher Newman
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- Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Gary Rydstrom and Gloria S. Borders
- Backdraft – Gary Rydstrom and Richard Hymns
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – George Watters II and F. Hudson Miller
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- Bugsy – Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
- Barton Fink – Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
- The Fisher King – Art Direction: Mel Bourne; Set Decoration: Cindy Carr
- Hook – Art Direction: Norman Garwood; Set Decoration: Garrett Lewis
- The Prince of Tides – Art Direction: Paul Sylbert; Set Decoration: Caryl Heller
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- JFK – Robert Richardson
- Bugsy – Allen Daviau
- The Prince of Tides – Stephen Goldblatt
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Adam Greenberg
- Thelma & Louise – Adrian Biddle
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- Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Stan Winston and Jeff Dawn
- Hook – Christina Smith, Monty Westmore and Greg Cannom
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – Michael Mills, Edward French and Richard Snell
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- Bugsy – Albert Wolsky
- The Addams Family – Ruth Myers
- Barton Fink – Richard Hornung
- Hook – Anthony Powell
- Madame Bovary – Corinne Jorry
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- JFK – Pietro Scalia and Joe Hutshing
- The Commitments – Gerry Hambling
- The Silence of the Lambs – Craig McKay
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Conrad Buff, Mark Goldblatt and Richard A. Harris
- Thelma & Louise – Thom Noble
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- Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Dennis Muren, Stan Winston, Gene Warren Jr. and Robert Skotak
- Backdraft – Mikael Salomon, Allen Hall, Clay Pinney and Scott Farrar
- Hook – Eric Brevig, Harley Jessup, Mark Sullivan and Michael Lantieri
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Honorary Award
- To Satyajit Ray, in recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures, and of his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world.
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
- George Lucas
Films with multiple nominations and awards
The following 16 films had multiple nominations:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
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! scope="col" width="55" | Nominations
! scope="col" align="center" | Film
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| style="text-align: center;" | 10
| Bugsy
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| style="text-align: center;" | 8
| JFK
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| rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" | 7
| The Prince of Tides
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| The Silence of the Lambs
|-
| rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 6
| Beauty and the Beast
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| Terminator 2: Judgment Day
|-
| Thelma & Louise
|-
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" | 5
| The Fisher King
|-
| Hook
|-
|rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" | 3
| Backdraft
|-
| Barton Fink
|-
|rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | 2
| Boyz n the Hood
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| Cape Fear
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| Fried Green Tomatoes
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| Rambling Rose
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| Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
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The following five films received multiple awards:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
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! scope="col" width="55" | Awards
! scope="col" align="center" | Film
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| style="text-align: center;" | 5
| The Silence of the Lambs
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| style="text-align: center;" | 4
| Terminator 2: Judgment Day
|-
|rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 2
| Beauty and the Beast
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| Bugsy
|-
| JFK
|}
Presenters and performers
The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers:
Presenters (in order of appearance)
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! Name(s) !! Role
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| || Announcer for the 64th annual Academy Awards
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| (AMPAS President) || Giver of opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony
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| || Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor
|- Hosted
| || Presenter of the film Bugsy on the Best Picture segment
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| <br />Christopher Lloyd || Presenters of the award for Best Makeup
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| || Introducer of the performances of the Best Original Song nominees "Belle" and "Be Our Guest"
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| || Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress
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| || Presenter of the award for Best Art Direction
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| || Presenter of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to George Lucas
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| || Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)"
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| <br />Sharon Stone || Presenters of the award for Best Sound Effects Editing
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| || Presenter of the film JFK on the Best Picture segment
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| <br />Susan Sarandon || Presenters of the award for Best Film Editing
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| <br />Mike Myers || Presenters of the award for Best Live Action Short Film and introduced Belle and Beast
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| (Paige O'Hara) <br />Beast (Robby Benson) <br />Chip (Bradley Pearce)|| Presentations of the award for Best Animated Short Film
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| || Presenter of the award for Best Costume Design
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| || Presenter of the award for Best Foreign Language Film
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| <br />Edward James Olmos || Presenters of the award for Best Sound
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| || Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "When You're Alone"
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| || Presenter of the segment of the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award
|-
| <br />John Singleton || Presenters of the awards for Best Documentary Short Subject and Best Documentary Feature
|-
| || Presenter of the film Beauty and the Beast on the Best Picture segment
|-
| || Presenter of the award for Best Cinematography
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| <br />Diane Ladd || Presenters of the award for Best Visual Effects
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| || Introducer of the special dance number to the tune of the Best Original Score nominees and presenter of the award for Best Original Score
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| || Introducer of presenter, Audrey Hepburn
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| || Presenter of the Honorary Academy Award to Satyajit Ray
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| || Presenter of the film The Silence of the Lambs on the Best Picture segment
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| <br />Anjelica Huston || Presenters of the awards for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
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| || Presenter of the award for Best Actor
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| <br />Liza Minnelli || Presenters of the award for Best Original Song
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| || Presenter of the award for Best Actress
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| || Presenter of the film The Prince of Tides on the Best Picture segment
|-
| || Presenter of the award for Best Director
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| <br />Elizabeth Taylor || Presenters of the award for Best Picture
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Performers (in order of appearance)
{| class="wikitable sortable"
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! Name(s) !! Role !! Performed
|-
| || Musical arranger || Orchestral
|-
| || Performer || Opening number: <br />Beauty and the Beast (to the tune of the theme song from The Patty Duke Show), <br />The Silence of the Lambs (to the tune of "The Shadow of Your Smile" from The Sandpiper), <br />Bugsy (to the tune of "Toot Toot Tootsie Goo' Bye" from The Jazz Singer),<br />JFK (to the tune of "Three Coins in the Fountain" from Three Coins in the Fountain), and <br />The Prince of Tides (to the tune of "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl)
|-
| <br />Richard White || Performers || "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast
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| || Performer || "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast
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| || Performer || "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
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| || Performer || "When You're Alone" from Hook
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| <br />Celine Dion<br />Angela Lansbury || Performers || "Beauty and the Beast" from Beauty and the Beast
|}
Ceremony information
thumb|upright|[[Billy Crystal hosted the 64th Academy Awards.|alt=Photo of Billy Crystal in 2012.]]
Riding on the success of the previous year's ceremony which won several Emmys, AMPAS rehired Gil Cates for the third consecutive year. He christened the 1992 ceremony with the theme "Pure Joy of the Movies," explaining that "Motion pictures provide us with laughter, romance, adventure and a deeper understanding of ourselves. With all the extraordinary events that are taking place today, it's wonderful that we can still get away to see a film."
A month before the festivities, Cates recruited actor and comedian Billy Crystal to host the ceremony for the third straight year. Shortly before the ceremony, Crystal got the flu, so Cates asked Tom Hanks for a possible replacement. Hanks agreed, but ultimately Crystal informed the producers that he would be able to host. According to Variety columnist Army Archerd, Crystal planned to perform a bungee jump stunt as part of his entrance at the beginning of the ceremony. However, the act was scrapped due to high insurance costs for the AMPAS and Crystal coming down with the flu. Instead, Crystal, who was wearing Hannibal Lecter's mask from The Silence of the Lambs, was hauled onto the stage by two men. Film composer and musician Bill Conti served as musical director of the ceremony. In tandem with the theme of the ceremony, Chuck Workman produced a montage highlighting famous comedy movie scenes from past and present. The Silence of the Lambs was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees, with $130.7 million in domestic box office receipts.
LGBT in film protest
Several days before the ceremony, LGBT activist groups such as Queer Nation and Out in Film announced plans to stage a protest outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. The organizations were voicing their complaints regarding derogatory and unflattering portrayals of homosexuals in film such as The Silence of the Lambs, JFK, and the upcoming film Basic Instinct. Queer Nation spokesman Rick Wilson said that the demonstrators "would stop cars from getting to the Oscars. It'll be a stall-in". Wilson also announced plans to disrupt the proceedings inside the theater. In response, producer Gil Cates stated, "Anyone can protest about anything they want outside the show." But he said that the standard, "generic response" to something happening during the ceremony on camera, "would be to cut to a commercial." One man who had purchased tickets to the ceremony yelled statistics regarding AIDS in protest as John Candy was introducing a Best Song performance. Without making any arrests or having his comments heard during the broadcast, security immediately escorted the protester out. Columnist Scott Williams of the Associated Press wrote that "Crystal was charming from the moment he was wheeled onstage and strolled into the audience wearing the face mask of the demonic Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs, which was named best picture." Ray Richmond from the Orange County Register commented that Crystal "is such a magnificent Oscar host that the job should be his as long as he wants it."
Ratings and reception
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 44.44 million people over its length, which was a 5% increase from the previous year's ceremony. The show also drew higher Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony, with 29.84% of households watching over a 50.26 share. In addition, it also drew a higher 18–49 demo rating with a 20.71 rating over a 39.51 share among viewers in that demographic. The following month, the ceremony won three of those nominations for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Program (Hal Kanter, Buz Kohan, Billy Crystal, Marc Shaiman, David Steinberg, Robert Wuhl, Bruce Vilanch), Outstanding Music Direction (Bill Conti, Jack Eskew, Julie Giroux, Ashley Irwin, and Hummie Mann), and Outstanding Costume Design for a Variety or Music Program (Raymond Aghayan).
See also
- 12th Golden Raspberry Awards
- 34th Grammy Awards
- 44th Primetime Emmy Awards
- 45th British Academy Film Awards
- 46th Tony Awards
- 49th Golden Globe Awards
- List of submissions to the 64th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- 1991 in film
References
Bibliography
External links
;Official websites
- Academy Awards Official website
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Official website
;Analysis
- 1991 Academy Awards Winners and History Filmsite
- Academy Awards, USA: 1992 Internet Movie Database
;Other resources