30 Most Memorable Oscar Moments From The Last 30 Years

27. The Silence Of The Lambs Is The Third (And Final) Film To Win The "Big Five" (1992)

The Silence Of The Lambs Hannibal Lecter Anthony Hopkins
Orion Pictures

Silence of the Lambs was a most improbable Best Picture winner when it beat out Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK and The Prince of Tides to scoop the award in 1992.

For starters, it was the first ever horror film to win the award and also the first ever film to be released on home video prior to winning Best Picture, having hit cinemas in February 1991, a few weeks before the previous year's Oscar ceremony had even taken place.

Not only did Jonathan Demme's masterpiece maintain awards momentum for an insane 13 months after its release, but it pulled the near-unprecedented feat of winning the "Big Five" - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best (Adapted) Screenplay.

This made it only the third film in history to scoop the Big Five - behind 1934's It Happened One Night and 1975's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - and it's a feat that's never been repeated since.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.