The 65th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1992 in the United States and took place on March 29, 1993, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS 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.[2][3] Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the fourth consecutive year.[4] In related events, during a ceremony held at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on March 6, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Sharon Stone.[5]
Unforgiven won four Oscars, including Best Picture.[6] Other winners included Bram Stoker's Dracula and Howards End with three awards, Aladdin with two, and The Crying Game, Death Becomes Her, Educating Peter, Indochine, The Last of the Mohicans, Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase, My Cousin Vinny, Omnibus, The Panama Deception, A River Runs Through It, and Scent of a Woman with one. The telecast garnered 45.7 million viewers in the United States.[7] As of the 96th Academy Awards, held in March 2024, this was the last to not feature an "In memoriam" section of the show.
Winners and nominees
[edit]
The nominees for the 65th Academy Awards were announced on February 17, 1993, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Robert Rehme, president of the academy, and actress Mercedes Ruehl.[A][8]Howards End and Unforgiven led all nominees with nine nominations each.[9]
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 29, 1993. Best Director winner Clint Eastwood became the seventh person nominated for lead acting and directing for the same film.[10] Best Actor winner Al Pacino was the sixth performer to receive nominations in the lead and supporting categories in the same year.[11] He also became the first person to win in the lead acting category after achieving the aforementioned feat.[12] By virtue of his second straight win in both music categories, Alan Menken became the third person to win two Oscars in two consecutive years.[13]
Awards
[edit]
Clint Eastwood, Best Picture and Best Director winner
Al Pacino, Best Actor winner
Emma Thompson, Best Actress winner
Gene Hackman, Best Supporting Actor winner
Marisa Tomei, Best Supporting Actress winner
Neil Jordan, Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen winner
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published winner
Régis Wargnier, Best Foreign Language Film winner
Alan Menken, Best Original Score winner and Best Original Song co-winner
Tim Rice, Best Original Song co-winner
Tom Woodruff Jr., Best Visual Effects co-winner
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[14]
Best Picture
Unforgiven – Clint Eastwood, producer‡
The Crying Game – Stephen Woolley, producer
A Few Good Men – David Brown, Rob Reiner and Andrew Scheinman, producers
Howards End – Ismail Merchant, producer
Scent of a Woman – Martin Brest, producer
Best Director
Clint Eastwood – Unforgiven‡
Neil Jordan – The Crying Game
James Ivory – Howards End
Robert Altman – The Player
Martin Brest – Scent of a Woman
Best Actor
Al Pacino – Scent of a Woman as Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade‡
Robert Downey Jr. – Chaplin as Charlie Chaplin
Clint Eastwood – Unforgiven as William "Will" Munny
Stephen Rea – The Crying Game as Fergus
Denzel Washington – Malcolm X as Malcolm X
Best Actress
Emma Thompson – Howards End as Margaret Schlegel‡
Catherine Deneuve – Indochine as Éliane Devries
Mary McDonnell – Passion Fish as May-Alice Culhane
Michelle Pfeiffer – Love Field as Lurene Hallett
Susan Sarandon – Lorenzo's Oil as Michaela Odone
Best Supporting Actor
Gene Hackman – Unforgiven as Little Bill Daggett‡
Jaye Davidson – The Crying Game as Dil
Jack Nicholson – A Few Good Men as Colonel Nathan R. Jessup
Al Pacino – Glengarry Glen Ross as Ricky Roma
David Paymer – Mr. Saturday Night as Stan Young
Best Supporting Actress
Marisa Tomei – My Cousin Vinny as Mona Lisa Vito‡
Judy Davis – Husbands and Wives as Sally Wainwright
Joan Plowright – Enchanted April as Mrs. Fisher
Vanessa Redgrave – Howards End as Ruth Wilcox
Miranda Richardson – Damage as Ingrid Fleming
Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
The Crying Game – Neil Jordan‡
Husbands and Wives – Woody Allen
Lorenzo's Oil – George Miller and Nick Enright
Passion Fish – John Sayles
Unforgiven – David Webb Peoples
Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Howards End – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by E.M. Forster‡
Enchanted April – Peter Barnes based on the novel by Elizabeth von Arnim
The Player – Michael Tolkin based on his novel
A River Runs Through It – Richard Friedenberg based upon the story by Norman Maclean
Scent of a Woman – Bo Goldman based on the previous film Profumo di donna by Ruggero Maccari and Dino Risi and the novel Il Buio E Il Miele by Giovanni Arpino
Best Foreign Language Film
Indochine (France) in French – Régis Wargnier, director‡
Close to Eden (Russia) in Russian – Nikita Mikhalkov, director
Daens (Belgium) in Dutch – Stijn Coninx, director
Schtonk! (Germany) in German – Helmut Dietl, director
Best Documentary Feature
The Panama Deception – Barbara Trent and David Kasper‡
Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker – David Haugland
Fires of Kuwait – Sally Dundas
The Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II – Bill Miles and Nina Rosenblum
Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann – Margaret Smilow and Roma Baran
Best Documentary Short Subject
Educating Peter – Thomas C. Goodwin (posthumous award) and Gerardine Wurzburg‡
At the Edge of Conquest: The Journey of Chief Wai-Wai – Geoffrey O'Connor
Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the 'Little Review' – Wendy L. Weinberg
The Colours of My Father: A Portrait of Sam Borenstein – Richard Elson and Sally Bochner
When Abortion Was Illegal: Untold Stories – Dorothy Fadiman
Best Live Action Short Film
Omnibus – Sam Karmann‡
Contact – Jonathan Darby and Jana Sue Memel
Cruise Control – Matt Palmieri
The Lady in Waiting – Christian M. Taylor
Swan Song – Kenneth Branagh and David Parfitt
Best Animated Short Film
Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase – Joan C. Gratz‡
Adam – Peter Lord
Reci, reci, reci – Michaela Pavlátová
The Sandman – Paul Berry
Screen Play – Barry Purves
Best Original Score
Aladdin – Alan Menken‡
Basic Instinct – Jerry Goldsmith
Chaplin – John Barry
Howards End – Richard Robbins
A River Runs Through It – Mark Isham
Best Original Song
"A Whole New World" from Aladdin – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Tim Rice‡
"Friend Like Me" from Aladdin – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman (posthumous nomination)
"I Have Nothing" from The Bodyguard – Music by David Foster; Lyrics by Linda Thompson
"Run to You" from The Bodyguard – Music by Jud Friedman; Lyrics by Allan Rich
"Beautiful Maria of My Soul" from The Mambo Kings – Music by Robert Kraft; Lyrics by Arne Glimcher
Best Sound Effects Editing
Bram Stoker's Dracula – David E. Stone and Tom McCarthy‡
Aladdin – Mark Mangini
Under Siege – John Leveque and Bruce Stambler
Best Sound
The Last of the Mohicans – Chris Jenkins, Doug Hemphill, Mark Smith and Simon Kaye‡
Aladdin – Terry Porter, Mel Metcalfe, David J. Hudson and Doc Kane
A Few Good Men – Kevin O'Connell, Rick Kline and Robert Eber
Under Siege – Donald O. Mitchell, Frank A. Montaño, Rick Hart and Scott D. Smith
Unforgiven – Les Fresholtz, Vern Poore, Dick Alexander and Rob Young
Best Art Direction
Howards End – Art Direction: Luciana Arrighi; Set Decoration: Ian Whittaker‡
Bram Stoker's Dracula – Art Direction: Thomas E. Sanders; Set Decoration: Garrett Lewis
Chaplin – Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Chris A. Butler
Toys – Art Direction: Ferdinando Scarfiotti; Set Decoration: Linda DeScenna
Unforgiven – Art Direction: Henry Bumstead; Set Decoration: Janice Blackie-Goodine
Best Cinematography
A River Runs Through It – Philippe Rousselot‡
Hoffa – Stephen H. Burum
Howards End – Tony Pierce-Roberts
The Lover – Robert Fraisse
Unforgiven – Jack N. Green
Best Makeup
Bram Stoker's Dracula – Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke and Matthew W. Mungle‡
Batman Returns – Ve Neill, Ronnie Specter and Stan Winston
Hoffa – Ve Neill, Greg Cannom and John Blake
Best Costume Design
Bram Stoker's Dracula – Eiko Ishioka‡
Enchanted April – Sheena Napier
Howards End – Jenny Beavan and John Bright
Malcolm X – Ruth E. Carter
Toys – Albert Wolsky
Best Film Editing
Unforgiven – Joel Cox‡
Basic Instinct – Frank J. Urioste
The Crying Game – Kant Pan
A Few Good Men – Robert Leighton
The Player – Geraldine Peroni
Best Visual Effects
Death Becomes Her – Ken Ralston, Doug Chiang, Douglas Smythe and Tom Woodruff Jr.‡
Alien³ – Richard Edlund, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr. and George Gibbs
Batman Returns – Michael L. Fink, Craig Barron, John Bruno and Dennis Skotak
Academy Honorary Award
Federico Fellini — In recognition of his place as one of the screen's master storytellers.[15]
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards
The award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the motion picture industry.[16]
The following individuals (in order of appearance) presented awards or performed musical numbers:[18]
Presenters
[edit]
Name(s)
Role
Randy Thomas
Announcer for the 65th annual Academy Awards
Robert Rehme (AMPAS president)
Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony
Geena Davis
Presenter of the "Women in the Movies" Montage
Jack Palance
Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress
Anjelica Huston
Presenter of the film Unforgiven during the Best Picture segment
Tim Robbins Susan Sarandon
Presenters of the award for Best Film Editing
Mercedes Ruehl
Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor
Joe Pesci Marisa Tomei
Presenters of the award for Best Makeup
Gregory Peck
Presenter of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Audrey Hepburn
Sarah Jessica Parker David Paymer
Presenters of the award for Best Live Action Short Film
Snow White
Presenter of the award for Best Animated Short Film
Kathy Bates
Presenter of the film A Few Good Men on the Best Picture segment
Jack Valenti
Introducer of presenter Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Presenter of the award for Best Foreign Language Film
Sharon Stone
Presenter of the segment of the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award
Richard Gere
Presenter of the award for Best Art Direction
Whoopi Goldberg
Presenter of the film Howards End on the Best Picture segment
Andie MacDowell
Presenter of the award for Best Visual Effects
Jon Lovitz
Presenter of the award for Best Sound Effects Editing
Tom Hanks Denzel Washington
Presenters of the awards for Best Documentary Short Subject and Best Documentary Feature
Sophia Loren Marcello Mastroianni
Presenters of the Academy Honorary Award to Federico Fellini
Raúl Juliá
Presenter of the award for Best Original Score
Anne Bancroft Dustin Hoffman
Presenters of the awards for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Diane Keaton
Presenter of the film The Crying Game on the Best Picture segment
Robert Downey Jr. Alfre Woodard
Presenters of the award for Best Sound
Lena Horne Quincy Jones
Presenters of the award for Best Original Song
Anthony Hopkins
Presenter of the award for Best Actress
Morgan Freeman Gene Hackman
Presenters of the award for Best Cinematography
Catherine Deneuve
Presenter of the award Best Costume Design
Angela Lansbury
Presenter of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Elizabeth Taylor
Jodie Foster
Presenter of the award for Best Actor
Jane Fonda
Presenter of the film Scent of a Woman on the Best Picture segment
Barbra Streisand
Presenter of the award for Best Director
Jack Nicholson
Presenter of the award for Best Picture
Performers
[edit]
Name(s)
Role
Performed
Bill Conti
Musical arranger
Orchestral
Billy Crystal
Performer
Opening number: Scent of a Woman (to the tune of "I'm a Woman" by Peggy Lee), Howards End (to the tune of "Hooray for Hollywood" from Hollywood Hotel), A Few Good Men (to the tune of "Sound Off!"), The Crying Game (to the tune of "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" from The Tender Trap) and Unforgiven to the tune of ("Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole)[19]
Brad Kane Lea Salonga
Performers
"A Whole New World" from Aladdin
Plácido Domingo Sheila E.
Performers
"Beautiful Maria of My Soul" from The Mambo Kings
Natalie Cole
Performer
"I Have Nothing" and "Run to You" from The Bodyguard
Liza Minnelli
Performer
"Ladies' Day" during the musical tribute to women in the film
Nell Carter
Performer
"Friend Like Me" from Aladdin
Ceremony information
[edit]
Billy Crystal hosted the 65th Academy Awards.
After the success of the previous year's ceremony which won several Emmys and critical acclaim, the academy rehired producer Gil Cates for the fourth consecutive year.[20] In February 1993, actor and comedian Billy Crystal was chosen by Cates as host also for the fourth straight time.[21] Cates justified the decision to hire him saying, "He is a major movie star with a talent for moving the evening's entertainment along."[22] According to an article by Army Archerd published in Variety, Crystal initially declined to host again citing his busy film schedule that included Mr. Saturday Night and City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold.[23] However, after Cates sent him a funeral wreath with a poem declaring "The show and I are dead without you" followed by a head of a fake dead horse similar to one featured in the film The Godfather, Crystal accepted the role as emcee.[24]
As with previous ceremonies he produced, Cates centered the show around a theme. Inspired by the Year of the Woman in which a record four women were elected to the United States Senate, Cates christened the 1993 show with the theme "Oscar Celebrates Women and the Movies".[25] In tandem with the theme, AMPAS gathered 67 female Oscar winners of every category for a photo that was later shown at the start of the telecast.[26] Actress and singer Liza Minnelli performed "Ladies' Day", a song written by Fred Ebb and John Kander specifically for the broadcast.[27] Oscar-winning documentarian Lynne Littman assembled a montage highlighting women in film.[28]
Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony. Bill Conti served as conductor and musical supervisor for the ceremony.[29] Choreographer Debbie Allen supervised the Best Song nominee performances and the "Ladies' Night" musical number.[30] Voice actress Randy Thomas served as announcer of the telecast becoming the first woman to do so.[31]
Box office performance of nominees
[edit]
North American box office gross for Best Picture nominees[32]
Film
Pre-nomination (Before Feb. 17)
Post-nomination (Feb. 17-Mar. 29)
Post-awards (After Mar. 29)
Total
A Few Good Men
$120 million
$14.3 million
$7.0 million
$141.3 million
The Crying Game
$26.6 million
$11.2 million
$4.6 million
$62.3 million
Howards End
$24.4 million
$942,668
$36,767
$25.3 million
Scent of a Woman
$34.1 million
$18.5 million
$10.5 million
$63.1 million
Unforgiven
$75.3 million
$7.6 million
$18.3 million
$102 million
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 17, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $252 million, with an average of $50.4 million per film.[32]A Few Good Men was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $120 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Unforgiven ($75.2 million), Scent of a Woman ($34.1 million), The Crying Game ($14 million), and finally Howards End ($8.7 million).[32]
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 38 nominations went to 13 films on the list. Only A Few Good Men (6th), Unforgiven (17th), Malcolm X (30th) and Scent of a Woman (38th) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, or Best Picture.[33] The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Aladdin (1st), Batman Returns (3rd), Basic Instinct (8th), The Bodyguard (9th), Under Siege (12th), Bram Stoker's Dracula (14th), The Last of the Mohicans (16th), Death Becomes Her (22nd), and Alien³ (26th).[33]
Critical reviews and ratings
[edit]
The show received a negative reception from most media publications. Associated Press television critic Frazier Moore lamented that Crystal "seemed incredibly listless". He also questioned the purpose of the "Year of the Woman" theme writing, "The Oscar show itself seemed at odds with its own feminist theme."[34] Robert Bianco from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette derided Allen's musical production numbers, comparing them to the disastrous opening number at the 61st ceremony held in 1989.[35] Columnist Matt Roush of USA Today complained, "Crystal, in a by-now-familiar performance, has, in four years, taken a plum assignment and, by repetition, reduced it to shtick." He also wrote that, "The song medley is getting old hat," and the "smug references to his flop Mr. Saturday Night were out of an improv amateur night."[36]
The telecast also received unfavorable reaction from various public feminist figures. In an interview with Los Angeles Daily News author and activist Betty Friedan condemned the "Year of the Woman" theme commenting, "It had no basis in reality. On behalf of women directors, cinematographer, and producers, I resent the travesty of calling that a tribute."[37] Likewise, President of the National Organization for Women's Los Angeles chapter Tammy Bruce chastised ceremony's feminist tribute as "one of the most hypocritical, patronizing things I saw in my whole life."[38] In response, Gil Cates responded towards the criticism of the theme stating, "The theme developed and raised consciousness in a way that I think is positive, not only for the individual in general but for individual women specifically."[37] He also quoted an ancient Chinese proverb later made famous by former U.S. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt saying, "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."[39]
Despite the adverse reception, the ABC broadcast drew in an average of 45.7 million people over its length, which was a 3% increase from the previous year's ceremony.[7] The show also drew higher Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 31.2% of households watching over a 51 share.[40][41] It also drew a higher 18–49 demo rating with a 20.1 rating among viewers in that demographic.[42]
See also
[edit]
13th Golden Raspberry Awards
35th Grammy Awards
45th Primetime Emmy Awards
46th British Academy Film Awards
47th Tony Awards
50th Golden Globe Awards
List of submissions to the 65th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
Notes
[edit]
A^ : The Academy revoked the Best Foreign Language Film nomination of Uruguay's A Place in the World after an investigation that determined the film as an Argentine production and therefore violated the Academy's rules which require that there be "substantial filmmaking input from the country that submits the film."[43]
B^ : Hepburn died on January 20, 1993, shortly after AMPAS announced the honor.[44] Her son Sean accepted the award at the ceremony on her behalf.[45]
^MacMinn, Aleene (February 10, 1993). "Morning Report: Movies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
^ abMacMinn, Aleene (January 14, 1993). "Morning Report: Movies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
^Carter, Bill (March 27, 1996). "TV Notes;Oscar Numbers Slip". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Osborne, Robert (2013). 85 Years of the Oscar: The Complete History of the Academy Awards. New York, United States: Abbeville Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7892-1142-2.
Wiley, Mason; Bona, Damien (1996). Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards (5 ed.). New York, United States: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-40053-4. OCLC 779680732.