1991 Oscars 63rd Academy Awards

Winners Announced: March 21, 1991
Held at: Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California
Host: Billy Crystal
Eligibility Year: 1990

Trivia

Comedy Streak Continues: Billy Crystal continued to add a touch of humor as the host for the evening.
Dances with Wolves Dominance: The film Dances with Wolves was the star of the night, winning seven Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for Kevin Costner.
Pioneer for Female Directors: Although not a winner, Jane Campion’s An Angel at My Table brought attention to female directors during a time when they were greatly underrepresented.
Memorable Speech: Joe Pesci’s acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor was one of the shortest ever. He simply said, “It’s my privilege, thank you,” after winning for his role in Goodfellas.
Unique Achievement: A rather rare feat, Misery saw Kathy Bates take home the Best Actress award, a category often not won by actresses in thriller films.
Music and Movies: The Little Mermaid was acknowledged with Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for “Under the Sea,” mirroring its Grammy success.
Advocacy and Awards: Whoopi Goldberg won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ghost, becoming the second black woman to win an acting Oscar.
Vintage Style: Cinematography honors went to Dean Semler for Dances with Wolves, evoking the grandeur of classic Westerns.

1991 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Best Picture:
Dances with Wolves – Jim Wilson and Kevin Costner, producers (WINNER)
Awakenings – Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker, producers
Ghost – Lisa Weinstein, producer
The Godfather Part III – Francis Ford Coppola, producer
Goodfellas – Irwin Winkler, producer

Best Director:
Kevin Costner – Dances with Wolves (WINNER)
Francis Ford Coppola – The Godfather Part III
Martin Scorsese – Goodfellas
Stephen Frears – The Grifters
Barbet Schroeder – Reversal of Fortune

Best Actor:
Jeremy Irons – Reversal of Fortune as Claus von Bülow (WINNER)
Kevin Costner – Dances with Wolves as Lieutenant John J. Dunbar
Robert De Niro – Awakenings as Leonard Lowe
Gérard Depardieu – Cyrano de Bergerac as Cyrano de Bergerac
Richard Harris – The Field as “Bull” McCabe

Best Actress:
Kathy Bates – Misery as Annie Wilkes (WINNER)
Anjelica Huston – The Grifters as Lilly Dillon
Julia Roberts – Pretty Woman as Vivian Ward
Meryl Streep – Postcards from the Edge as Suzanne Vale
Joanne Woodward – Mr. and Mrs. Bridge as India Bridge

Best Supporting Actor:
Joe Pesci – Goodfellas as Tommy DeVito (WINNER)
Bruce Davison – Longtime Companion as David
Andy García – The Godfather Part III as Vincent Corleone
Graham Greene – Dances with Wolves as Kicking Bird
Al Pacino – Dick Tracy as Alphonse “Big Boy” Caprice

Best Supporting Actress:
Whoopi Goldberg – Ghost as Oda Mae Brown (WINNER)
Annette Bening – The Grifters as Myra Langtry
Lorraine Bracco – Goodfellas as Karen Friedman Hill
Diane Ladd – Wild at Heart as Marietta Fortune
Mary McDonnell – Dances with Wolves as Stands with a Fist

Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:
Ghost – Bruce Joel Rubin (WINNER)
Alice – Woody Allen
Avalon – Barry Levinson
Green Card – Peter Weir
Metropolitan – Whit Stillman

Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium:
Dances with Wolves – Michael Blake based on his novel (WINNER)
Awakenings – Steven Zaillian from the book by Oliver Sacks
Goodfellas – Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese from Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi
The Grifters – Donald E. Westlake based on the book by Jim Thompson
Reversal of Fortune – Nicholas Kazan based on the book by Alan M. Dershowitz

Best Foreign Language Film:
Journey of Hope (Switzerland) in German – Xavier Koller (WINNER)
Cyrano de Bergerac (France) in French – Jean-Paul Rappeneau
Ju Dou (China) in Mandarin Chinese – Zhang Yimou and Yang Fengliang
The Nasty Girl (Germany) in German – Michael Verhoeven
Open Doors (Italy) in Italian – Gianni Amelio

Best Documentary Feature:
American Dream – Barbara Kopple and Arthur Cohn (WINNER)
Berkeley in the Sixties – Mark Kitchell
Building Bombs – Mark Mori and Susan Robinson
Forever Activists: Stories from the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade – Judith Montell
Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter’s Journey – Robert Hillmann and Eugene Corr

Best Documentary Short Subject:
Days of Waiting – Steven Okazaki (WINNER)
Burning Down Tomorrow – Kit Thomas
Chimps: So Like Us – Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
Journey into Life: The World of the Unborn – Derek Bromhall
Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember – Freida Lee Mock and Terry Sanders

Best Live Action Short Film:
The Lunch Date – Adam Davidson (WINNER)
12:01 PM – Hillary Ripps and Jonathan Heap
Bronx Cheers – Raymond De Felitta and Matthew Gross
Dear Rosie – Peter Cattaneo and Barnaby Thompson
Senzeni Na? (What Have We Done?) – Bernard Joffa and Anthony E. Nicholas

Best Animated Short Film:
Creature Comforts – Nick Park (WINNER)
A Grand Day Out – Nick Park
Grasshoppers (Cavallette) – Bruno Bozzetto

Best Original Score:
Dances with Wolves – John Barry (WINNER)
Avalon – Randy Newman
Ghost – Maurice Jarre
Havana – Dave Grusin
Home Alone – John Williams

Best Original Song:
“Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)” from Dick Tracy – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (WINNER)
“Blaze of Glory” from Young Guns II – Music and Lyrics by Jon Bon Jovi
“I’m Checkin’ Out” from Postcards from the Edge – Music and Lyrics by Shel Silverstein
“Promise Me You’ll Remember” from The Godfather Part III – Music by Carmine Coppola; Lyrics by John Bettis
“Somewhere in My Memory” from Home Alone – Music by John Williams; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse

Best Sound:
Dances with Wolves – Jeffrey Perkins, Bill W. Benton, Gregory H. Watkins, and Russell Williams II (WINNER)
Days of Thunder – Charles M. Wilborn, Donald O. Mitchell, Rick Kline, and Kevin O’Connell
Dick Tracy – Thomas Causey, Chris Jenkins, David E. Campbell, and Doug Hemphill
The Hunt for Red October – Richard Bryce Goodman, Richard Overton, Kevin F. Cleary, and Don Bassman
Total Recall – Nelson Stoll, Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, and Aaron Rochin

Best Sound Effects Editing:
The Hunt for Red October – Cecelia Hall and George Watters II (WINNER)
Flatliners – Charles L. Campbell and Richard C. Franklin
Total Recall – Stephen Hunter Flick

Best Art Direction:
Dick Tracy – Art Direction: Richard Sylbert; Set Decoration: Rick Simpson (WINNER)
Cyrano de Bergerac – Art Direction: Ezio Frigerio; Set Decoration: Jacques Rouxel
Dances with Wolves – Art Direction: Jeffrey Beecroft; Set Decoration: Lisa Dean
The Godfather Part III – Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis; Set Decoration: Gary Fettis
Hamlet – Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo

Best Makeup:
Dick Tracy – John Caglione Jr. and Doug Drexler (WINNER)
Cyrano de Bergerac – Michèle Burke and Jean-Pierre Eychenne
Edward Scissorhands – Ve Neill and Stan Winston

Best Costume Design:
Cyrano de Bergerac – Franca Squarciapino (WINNER)
Avalon – Gloria Gresham
Dances with Wolves – Elsa Zamparelli
Dick Tracy – Milena Canonero
Hamlet – Maurizio Millenotti

Best Cinematography:
Dances with Wolves – Dean Semler (WINNER)
Avalon – Allen Daviau
Dick Tracy – Vittorio Storaro
The Godfather Part III – Gordon Willis
Henry & June – Philippe Rousselot

Best Film Editing:
Dances with Wolves – Neil Travis (WINNER)
Ghost – Walter Murch
The Godfather Part III – Barry Malkin, Lisa Fruchtman, and Walter Murch
Goodfellas – Thelma Schoonmaker
The Hunt for Red October – Dennis Virkler and John Wright

Academy Honorary Awards::
Sophia Loren – “One of the genuine treasures of world cinema who, in a career rich with memorable performances, has added permanent luster to our art form.”
Myrna Loy – “In recognition of her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with appreciation for a lifetime’s worth of indelible performances.”

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award:
David Brown and Richard D. Zanuck

Academy Special Achievement Award:
Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, and Alex Funke for the visual effects of Total Recall