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A Look Back at the 1989 Academy Awards: Surprises and Upsets

© Nicholas Moreau

In thinking about our most recent Oscars, when there was a difference between the choice for Best Director and Best Picture, it made us think back to the last time something like that happened, almost ten years ago, at the 1989 Oscars, celebrated in March of 1990.  Looking  back on those Oscars, it was indeed a very surprising and interesting year, when a lot of the sure things were not so sure.

The two films fighting for Best Picture honors at the 1989 Oscars couldn't be more different from each other, Oliver Stone's Vietnam war drama Born on the Fourth of July and Bruce Beresford's quiet drama Driving Miss Daisy.

The telecast was a memorable one for several reasons. This was Billy Crystal's first hosting opportunity, and right from the start, he was magnificent.
 

• Denzel Washington walked off with the first Oscar of the evening, Supporting Actor for Glory, one of the few predicted wins that came true.
• But Brenda Fricker came out of left field winning Supporting Actress a short time later for her performance in My Left Foot, winning out over other favorites such as Julia Roberts for Steel Magnolias or even Angelica Huston for Enemies, A Love Story.

One of the great Oscar experiments occurred on this telecast, setting up live remotes from six different countries, and even presenting Oscars from those remote countries. The first remote came from Moscow, with Jack Lemmon presenting. Other remotes throughout the evening brought stars presenting Oscars from Australia, London, and others. They all came off without a hitch.

A very memorable moment came when Steven Spielberg and George Lucas presented an honorary Lifetime Achievement Oscar to one of the greatest film artists of all time, Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa. Family and friends wished him well live via remote from Japan. And just seeing the clips from his magnificent films was an incredible reminder of what a genius Kurosawa was.

Jessica Tandy's win for Best Leading Actress for Driving Miss Daisy was the biggest sure thing to predict that year, and she received a much deserved standing ovation.

But the big upsets started coming when Driving Miss Daisy won the Screenplay Oscar over Born on the Fourth of July.

And then it came to Best Actor, which was considered a lock for Tom Cruise for his performance in Born on the Fourth of July. But what a surprise when the name of Daniel Day Lewis was read for his performance in My Left Foot. He received a rousing standing ovation.

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