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

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. Boyz n the Hoods John Singleton became the first African-American to be nominated for Best Director and the youngest nominee in that category. Nominated for Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively, Diane Ladd and Laura Dern became the first mother and daughter nominated in the same year.

Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface''', and indicated with a double dagger ().

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 | valign="top" width="50%" |

Jonathan Demme – The Silence of the Lambs John Singleton – Boyz n the Hood Barry Levinson – Bugsy Oliver Stone – JFK Ridley Scott – Thelma & Louise 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Session Man – Seth Winston and Rob Fried Birch Street Gym – Stephen Kessler and Thomas R. Conroy Last Breeze of Summer – David M. Massey Manipulation – Daniel Greaves Blackfly – Christopher Hinton Strings – Wendy Tilby Beauty and the Beast – Alan Menken Bugsy – Ennio Morricone The Fisher King – George Fenton JFK – John Williams The Prince of Tides – James Newton Howard "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 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 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 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 JFK – Robert Richardson Bugsy – Allen Daviau The Prince of Tides – Stephen Goldblatt Terminator 2: Judgment Day – Adam Greenberg Thelma & Louise – Adrian Biddle 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 Bugsy – Albert Wolsky The Addams Family – Ruth Myers Barton Fink – Richard Hornung Hook – Anthony Powell Madame Bovary – Corinne Jorry 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 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

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:

Nominations Film 10 Bugsy 8 JFK 7 The Prince of Tides The Silence of the Lambs 6 Beauty and the Beast Terminator 2: Judgment Day Thelma & Louise 5 The Fisher King Hook 3 Backdraft Barton Fink 2 Boyz n the Hood Cape Fear Fried Green Tomatoes Rambling Rose Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The following five films received multiple awards:

Awards Film 5 The Silence of the Lambs 4 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 2 Beauty and the Beast Bugsy JFK

Presenters and performers The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers:

Presenters (in order of appearance)