Terror lingers. For proof, look to the 64th Academy Awards, which found normally (and notoriously) forgetful Oscar voters thinking back fondly on a nightmarish thriller that had opened more than a year earlier. The Silence Of The Lambs, which hit theaters on February 14, 1991, holds one of the earliest calendar-year release dates of any Best Picture winner. The antithesis, in some respects, of the typical Oscar movie, it beat out a crop of more “respectable” nominees—Oliver Stone’s JFK, Bugsy, The Prince Of Tides, and Disney’s animated Beauty And The Beast—all of which opened in the award-friendly months of November and December. That’s probably because, more so than its competition, Silence was a phenomenon: Bolstered by strong word-of-mouth and glowing reviews, the film topped the box office for five consecutive weeks. Orion then released it on VHS in October—just in time for Halloween and for award voters to give it a second, closer look. When the big night finally arrived, Silence did more than just take the top prize; it became only the third film in Oscar history to sweep the five major awards, earning additional statuettes for Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally). To date, it’s also the only horror movie to win Best Picture. That’s not too shabby for an airport-fiction adaptation released in the frozen multiplex wasteland of February.
