1990 Oscars 62nd Academy Awards

1990 Oscars 62nd Academy Awards

  • Winners Announced: March 26, 1990
  • Held at: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, California
  • Host: Billy Crystal
  • Eligibility Year: 1989

Trivia

  • Billy’s Debut: This was the first time Billy Crystal hosted the Oscars, and he would go on to host the ceremony nine times.
  • Driving Miss Daisy Drives Home: Driving Miss Daisy won Best Picture, but its director Bruce Beresford was not even nominated for Best Director.
  • Best Actress Streak: Jessica Tandy became the oldest actress to win Best Actress at the age of 80 for her role in Driving Miss Daisy.
  • Musical Moments: Alan Menken won the Oscar for Best Original Score for The Little Mermaid, marking the beginning of a successful partnership between Disney and Menken.
  • Historical Significance: Denzel Washington won Best Supporting Actor for his role as a Civil War soldier in Glory, the first Oscar for a film focused on the Civil War since Gone with the Wind.
  • Costume Drama: Henry V took home the Oscar for Best Costume Design, a nod to the movie’s historical accuracy.
  • Foreign Entry: Italy’s Cinema Paradiso won Best Foreign Language Film, cementing its place as one of the greatest films about the love of movies.
  • Woody’s Writing: Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors received two nominations but walked away with none, continuing Allen’s mixed Oscar track record.
  • The event was named “Around the World in 3½ Hours”
  • This (62nd) Academy Awards live presentation featured segments from five other cities around the globe: Buenos Aires, Argentina – London, United Kingdom – Moscow, Soviet Union – Sydney, Australia and Tokyo, Japan

1990 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Best Picture:
Driving Miss Daisy – Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck, producers (WINNER)
Born on the Fourth of July – A. Kitman Ho and Oliver Stone, producers
Dead Poets Society – Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas, producers
Field of Dreams – Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon, producers
My Left Foot – Noel Pearson, producer
Best Director:
Oliver Stone – Born on the Fourth of July (WINNER)
Woody Allen – Crimes and Misdemeanors
Peter Weir – Dead Poets Society
Kenneth Branagh – Henry V
Jim Sheridan – My Left Foot
Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot as Christy Brown (WINNER)
Kenneth Branagh – Henry V as King Henry V of England
Tom Cruise – Born on the Fourth of July as Ron Kovic
Morgan Freeman – Driving Miss Daisy as Hoke Colburn
Robin Williams – Dead Poets Society as John Charles Keating
Best Actress:
Jessica Tandy – Driving Miss Daisy as Daisy Werthan (WINNER)
Isabelle Adjani – Camille Claudel as Camille Claudel
Pauline Collins – Shirley Valentine as Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw
Jessica Lange – Music Box as Ann Talbot
Michelle Pfeiffer – The Fabulous Baker Boys as Susie Diamond
Best Supporting Actor:
Denzel Washington – Glory as Pvt. Silas Trip (WINNER)
Danny Aiello – Do the Right Thing as Sal Frangione
Dan Aykroyd – Driving Miss Daisy as Boolie Werthan
Marlon Brando – A Dry White Season as Ian Mackenzie
Martin Landau – Crimes and Misdemeanors as Judah Rosenthal
Best Supporting Actress:
Brenda Fricker – My Left Foot as Bridget Fagan Brown (WINNER)
Anjelica Huston – Enemies, A Love Story as Tamara Broder
Lena Olin – Enemies, A Love Story as Masha
Julia Roberts – Steel Magnolias as Shelby Eatenton Latcherie
Dianne Wiest – Parenthood as Helen Buckman
Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:
Dead Poets Society – Tom Schulman (WINNER)
Crimes and Misdemeanors – Woody Allen
Do the Right Thing – Spike Lee
Sex, Lies, and Videotape – Steven Soderbergh
When Harry Met Sally… – Nora Ephron
Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium:
Driving Miss Daisy – Alfred Uhry based on his play (WINNER)
Born on the Fourth of July – Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic based on the autobiography by Ron Kovic
Enemies, A Love Story – Roger L. Simon and Paul Mazursky based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Field of Dreams – Phil Alden Robinson based on Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
My Left Foot – Jim Sheridan and Shane Connaughton based on the autobiography by Christy Brown
Best Foreign Language Film:
Cinema Paradiso (Italy) – Giuseppe Tornatore (WINNER)
Camille Claudel (France) – Bruno Nuytten
Jesus of Montreal (Canada) – Denys Arcand
Memories of a Marriage (Denmark) – Kaspar Rostrup
What Happened to Santiago (Puerto Rico) – Jacobo Morales
Best Documentary Feature:
Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt – Rob Epstein and Bill Couturié (WINNER)
Adam Clayton Powell – Richard Killberg and Yvonne Smith
Crack USA: County Under Siege – Vince DiPersio and Bill Guttentag
For All Mankind – Al Reinert and Betsy Broyles Breier
Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren – Judith Leonard and Bill Jersey
Best Documentary Short Subject:
The Johnstown Flood – Charles Guggenheim (WINNER)
Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9 – David Petersen
Yad Vashem: Preserving the Past to Ensure the Future – Ray Errol Fox
Best Live Action Short Film:
Work Experience – James Hendrie (WINNER)
Amazon Diary – Robert Nixon
The Childeater – Jonathan Tammuz
Best Animated Short Film:
Balance – Christoph Lauenstein and Wolfgang Lauenstein (WINNER)
The Cow – Aleksandr Petrov
The Hill Farm – Mark Baker
Best Original Score:
The Little Mermaid – Alan Menken (WINNER)
Born on the Fourth of July – John Williams
The Fabulous Baker Boys – Dave Grusin
Field of Dreams – James Horner
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – John Williams
Best Original Song:
“Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman (WINNER)
“After All” from Chances Are – Music by Tom Snow; Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
“The Girl Who Used to Be Me” from Shirley Valentine – Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
“I Love To See You Smile” from Parenthood – Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
“Kiss the Girl” from The Little Mermaid – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman
Best Sound Effects Editing:
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Richard Hymns and Ben Burtt (WINNER)
Black Rain – Milton Burrow and William Manger
Lethal Weapon 2 – Robert G. Henderson and Alan Robert Murray
Best Sound:
Glory – Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson and Russell Williams II (WINNER)
The Abyss – Don Bassman, Kevin F. Cleary, Richard Overton and Lee Orloff
Black Rain – Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester
Born on the Fourth of July – Michael Minkler, Gregory H. Watkins, Wylie Stateman and Tod A. Maitland
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Ben Burtt, Gary Summers, Shawn Murphy and Tony Dawe
Best Art Direction:
Batman – Art Direction: Anton Furst; Set Decoration: Peter Young (WINNER)
The Abyss – Art Direction: Leslie Dilley; Set Decoration: Anne Kuljian
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Driving Miss Daisy – Art Direction: Bruno Rubeo; Set Decoration: Crispian Sallis
Glory – Art Direction: Norman Garwood; Set Decoration: Garrett Lewis
Best Cinematography:
Glory – Freddie Francis (WINNER)
The Abyss – Mikael Salomon
Blaze – Haskell Wexler
Born on the Fourth of July – Robert Richardson
The Fabulous Baker Boys – Michael Ballhaus
Best Makeup:
Driving Miss Daisy – Manlio Rocchetti, Lynn Barber and Kevin Haney (WINNER)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Maggie Weston and Fabrizio Sforza
Dad – Dick Smith, Ken Diaz and Greg Nelson
Best Costume Design:
Henry V – Phyllis Dalton (WINNER)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Gabriella Pescucci
Driving Miss Daisy – Elizabeth McBride
Harlem Nights – Joe Tompkins
Valmont – Theodor Pištek
Best Film Editing:
Born on the Fourth of July – David Brenner and Joe Hutshing (WINNER)
The Bear – Noëlle Boisson
Driving Miss Daisy – Mark Warner
The Fabulous Baker Boys – William Steinkamp
Glory – Steven Rosenblum
Best Visual Effects:
The Abyss – Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman, John Bruno and Dennis Skotak (WINNER)
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Richard Conway and Kent Houston
Back to the Future Part II – Ken Ralston, Michael Lantieri, John Bell and Steve Gawley
Academy Honorary Award:
Akira Kurosawa
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
Howard W. Koch