| 65th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Date | March 29, 1993 |
| Site | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Billy Crystal |
| Produced by | Gil Cates |
| Directed by | Jeff Margolis |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Unforgiven |
| Most awards | Unforgiven (4) |
| Most nominations | Howards End andUnforgiven (9) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | ABC |
| Duration | 3 hours, 33 minutes[1] |
| Ratings | 45.7 million 31.2% (Nielsen ratings) |
The65th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honoredfilms released in 1992 in the United States and took place on March 29, 1993, at theDorothy Chandler Pavilion inLos 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 byABC, was produced byGil Cates and directed byJeff Margolis.[2][3] ActorBilly Crystal hosted the show for the fourth consecutive year.[4] In related events, during a ceremony held at theCentury Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on March 6, theAcademy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by hostSharon Stone.[5]
Unforgiven won four Oscars, includingBest Picture.[6] Other winners includedBram Stoker's Dracula andHowards End with three awards,Aladdin with two, andThe 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, andScent of a Woman with one. The telecast garnered 45.7 million viewers in the United States.[7] As of the96th Academy Awards, held in March 2024, this was the last to not feature an "In memoriam" section of the show.
The nominees for the 65th Academy Awards were announced on February 17, 1993, at theSamuel Goldwyn Theater inBeverly Hills, California, byRobert Rehme, president of the academy, and actressMercedes Ruehl.[8]Howards End andUnforgiven led all nominees with nine nominations each.[9]
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 29, 1993. Best Director winnerClint Eastwood became the seventh person nominated for lead acting and directing for the same film.[10] Best Actor winnerAl Pacino was the sixth performer to receivenominations 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]
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Winners are listed first, highlighted inboldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[14]
The award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the motion picture industry.[16]
| Awards | Film |
|---|---|
| 4 | Unforgiven |
| 3 | |
| Bram Stoker's Dracula | |
| Howards End | |
| 2 | Aladdin |
The following individuals (in order of appearance) presented awards or performed musical numbers:[18]
| 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" byPeggy Lee), Howards End (to the tune of "Hooray for Hollywood" fromHollywood Hotel), A Few Good Men (to the tune of "Sound Off!"), The Crying Game (to the tune of "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" fromThe Tender Trap) and Unforgiven to the tune of ("Unforgettable" byNat King Cole)[19] |
| Brad Kane Lea Salonga | Performers | "A Whole New World" fromAladdin |
| Plácido Domingo Sheila E. | Performers | "Beautiful Maria of My Soul" fromThe Mambo Kings |
| Natalie Cole | Performer | "I Have Nothing" and "Run to You" fromThe Bodyguard |
| Liza Minnelli | Performer | "Ladies' Day" during the musical tribute to women in the film |
| Nell Carter | Performer | "Friend Like Me" fromAladdin |
After the success of theprevious year's ceremony which won severalEmmys and critical acclaim, the academy rehired producerGil Cates for the fourth consecutive year.[20] In February 1993, actor and comedianBilly 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 byArmy Archerd published inVariety, Crystal initially declined to host again citing his busy film schedule that includedMr. Saturday Night andCity 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 filmThe Godfather, Crystal accepted the role as emcee.[24]
As with previous ceremonies he produced, Cates centered the show around a theme. Inspired by theYear of the Woman in which a record four women were elected to theUnited 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 singerLiza Minnelli performed "Ladies' Day", a song written byFred Ebb andJohn Kander specifically for the broadcast.[27] Oscar-winning documentarianLynne 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] ChoreographerDebbie 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]
| 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 byUnforgiven ($75.2 million),Scent of a Woman ($34.1 million),The Crying Game ($14 million), and finallyHowards End ($8.7 million).[32]
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 38 nominations went to 13 films on the list. OnlyA Few Good Men (6th),Unforgiven (17th),Malcolm X (30th) andScent of a Woman (38th) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, or Best Picture.[33] The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations wereAladdin (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), andAlien3 (26th).[33]
The show received a negative reception from most media publications.Associated Press television criticFrazier 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 thePittsburgh Post-Gazette derided Allen's musical production numbers, comparing them to the disastrous opening number at the61st ceremony held in 1989.[35] Columnist Matt Roush ofUSA 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 flopMr. Saturday Night were out of an improv amateur night."[36]
The telecast also received unfavorable reaction from various public feminist figures. In an interview withLos Angeles Daily News author and activistBetty 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 theNational Organization for Women's Los Angeles chapterTammy 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 formerU.S. First LadyEleanor 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 theprevious year's ceremony.[7] The show also drew higherNielsen 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]
