Silence of the Lambs: 1991 Best Picture

Although “Bugsy” had 10 nominations at the 64th Academy Awards, it was “Silence of the Lambs” that took home the most Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally).

Jack Palance beat out two stars of “Bugsy” (Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley) for his role as Curly Washburn in “City Slickers.” The 73-year-old astonished and tickled the audience and viewers by doing some one-armed pushups during his acceptance speech.

Mercedes Ruehl won the Best Supporting Actress for “The Fisher King” (Anne Napolitano). The top box office hit of the year, “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” won Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. The second biggest winner at the box office, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, only had one nomination for the song “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”, but lost to “Beauty and the Beast” from the Disney hit of the same name, the third biggest box office hit.

Rounding out the 10 Top hits of the year were: “Hook”, “The Silence of the Lambs”, “JFK”, “The Addams Family”, “Cape Fear”, “Hot Shots!” and “City Slickers”.

“Boyz n the Hood”, “Barton Fink”, “Delicatessen”, “The Commitments”, “Dead Again”, “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “The Doors.” Remakes of “Cape Fear” and “Father of the Bride” also did well.

Jeopardy! clues on “Silence of the Lambs”
THE ACADEMY AWARDS: 1 of the 2 movies in the last 30 years, one a drama & one a comedy, to win Oscars for Best Actor & Best Actress (FJ in BOTD Match #1 of Finals)
ANTHONY HOPKINS FILMS $800: Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for his role in this 1991 film
’90s BEST PICTURE PLOT POINTS $2000: Gal seeks/kills Buffalo Bill
OSCAR-WINNING MOVIES: Its final scene includes the line “I do wish we could chat longer, but I’m having an old friend for dinner”
THE JONATHAN CLUB $1600: He directed “The Silence of the Lambs” & “Philadelphia”
MOVIE QUOTES $1600: “I tell you things, you tell me things, not about this case, though, about yourself. Quid pro quo… yes or no, Clarice?”
WHO WON THE OSCAR? $200: Robert De Niro, for “Cape Fear”; Anthony Hopkins, for “The Silence of the Lambs”; Warren Beatty, for “Bugsy”
MOVIE SEQUELS $200: “Hannibal” (2001)

More 1991 film clues:
NEWER WORDS & PHRASES $400: Popularized by a 1991 film, it’s an educated but purposeless young person usually working in a dead-end job
HERE COMES THE JUDGE $3,000 (Daily Double): In this 1991 film former New Orleans D.A. Jim Garrison appears as Earl Warren
SCENE & HERD $200: Billy Crystal goes on a cattle drive (& causes a stampede with his coffee grinder) in this 1991 comedy
FLICK ARRR! $800: This 1991 film retold the story of Peter Pan & was named for Peter’s pirate nemesis (Dustin Hoffman)
WAR FILMS $2000: Mark Wahlberg, George Clooney & Ice Cube starred in this film that takes place at the end of the 1991 Gulf War
ROYAL MOVIES? $600: Jeff Bridges & Robin Williams search for the Holy Grail in this 1991 film
AT THE MOVIES $400: Callie Khouri won an Oscar for her screenplay of this 1991 film with Geena & Susan on the lam
JOE RANFT: PIXAR LEGEND $400: “Be our guest” & name this enchanting 1991 Disney film that Joe co-wrote
GEOGRAPHIC FILM & TV $1600: Appropriately (unfortunately), Steve Martin gets in his car to drive next door in this 1991 film
CAMEO CAMERA $1600: Appropriately, she is the host at the past lives pavilion in Albert Brooks’ 1991 film “Defending Your Life”
LEND ME YOUR “EAR”s $600: Robert Mitchum was in both the 1962 & 1991 versions of this film
ROCKIN’ ROLE $2000: This 1991 film is about a group of young people forming a soul band in Dublin
CINEMA TRIVIA $2000: The real Jim Garrison played Earl Warren in this 1991 film
BRINGING HOME KEVIN BACON $2000: Kevin & Elizabeth Perkins share a little romance as well as opposing viewpoints in this 1991 film
OSCAR ODDITIES $1200: For 1991 3 of the 5 nominated songs, including “Belle”, were from this one film
CORNHUSKER CINEMA $1000: This “I Am Sam” actor’s directing debut was 1991’s “The Indian Runner”, filmed in Omaha & Plattsmouth
REESE’S PIECES $1600: Completes the title of Reese’s feature film debut, 1991’s “The Man in” this celestial object
A WORLD OF PIRATES $1,200 (Daily Double): The costumes for this 1991 Steven Spielberg film included 350 pirate outfits for the extras alone
NAME THAT WESTERN $800: 1991: “Hi, Curly. Killed anyone today?”
SHAKESPEARE’S FILMS $400: Peter Greenaway’s 1991 film “Prospero’s Books” drew its inspiration from this play
“BLUE” MOVIES $400: Milla Jovovich starred in the 1991 sequel to this 1980 film, called “The Definite Brooke Shields Vehicle”
4-LETTER FILMS $1000: In this 1991 film, Jason Patric & Jennifer Jason Leigh played narcotics officers who become hooked on drugs
INTELLIGENT FILMS $800: Adam Hann-Byrd plays the young title intellectual & Jodie Foster his mother in this 1991 film
MOVIE REVIEWS $200: Entertainment Weekly called this 1991 Billy Crystal film, “Dances With Cows”
CHOCK FULL O’ NUTS $800: Nick Nolte reveals horrific childhood memories to his suicidal sister’s psychiatrist in this 1991 film
CHRISTIAN SLATER $1000: As Will Scarlett, in this 1991 film Christian was in tight with Kevin Costner
THE ADDAMS FAMILY $600: Carel Struycken, who was the giant on “Twin Peaks”, took on this role in the 1991 film
MOVIES ABOUT THE MOVIES $800: John Turturro played this title screenwriter in a 1991 Coen Brothers film
DISNEY FILM VOICES $200: Jerry Orbach looked very animated when he sang “Be Our Guest” in this 1991 film
CLOWN CINEMA $600: This 1991 Bobcat Goldthwait film was hailed as “The ‘Citizen Kane’ Of Alcoholic Movies”
PLAYING DOCTOR $600: Plastic surgeon Michael J. Fox is sidetracked in a small town on his way to L.A. in this 1991 film comedy
APRIL $800: It’s the 1991 film about 4 women who share an Italian villa for a month
SINGERS ON FILM $500: Gangsta rapper Ice Cube played Doughboy, an ex-con living in south central L.A., in this 1991 film
SLEEPYHEADS $500: He played a narcoleptic drifter in the 1991 film “My Own Private Idaho”
LESSER-KNOWN MOVIES $1000: The title character of this 1991 Coen Brothers film is a caricature of writer Clifford Odets
“COLOR” MOVIES $1000: This 1991 film followed John Cusack & James Spader from law school into real life
FOREIGN FILMS $400: Actress Gong Li has appeared in many films from this country, including 1991’s “Raise The Red Lantern”
IT’S THE PITT’S $800: In this 1991 film Brad played the hitchhiker who seduces Geena Davis
COLLEGE FILMS $400: Kid goes to college in the 1991 sequel to this Kid ‘N Play film
THE MOVIES $300: Kurt Russell & William Baldwin played bickering firefighting brothers in this 1991 Ron Howard film
MOVIES $200: Barbra Streisand plays a psychiatrist in this 1991 film which she also directed & co-produced
1991 FILMS $100: Comedy satire in which Sally Field played the star of a daytime drama, “The Sun Also Sets”
1991 FILMS $200: Ron Howard set the screen ablaze with this 1991 film about Chicago firefighters
1991 FILMS $300: Harrison Ford played a lawyer who lost his identity after a gunshot wound in this film
1991 FILMS $400: “Once Around” re-teamed Holly Hunter & this actor, her co-star from “Always”
1991 FILMS $500: Robert De Niro played a film director during the anti-Communist witch hunts in this 1991 drama