# What was the first movie in home release to win an Oscar? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 15, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731 "2011-01-15T19:01:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/1 "2011-01-15T19:01:33Z")
A somewhat confusing question I admit. I’m looking for what was the first movie to win a Best Picture Oscar that was available in mainstream home release (presumedly back in VHS format) at the time it won its Oscar. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/2 "2011-01-15T20:19:48Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A somewhat confusing question I admit. I’m looking for what was the first movie to win a Best Picture Oscar that was available in mainstream home release (presumedly back in VHS format) at the time it won its Oscar. I know Silence of the Lambs is one of the few that had been out on tape well before its award, but I’m not sure if it is the first. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/3 "2011-01-16T07:31:26Z")
I am pretty sure **Silence of the Lambs** was the first movie that was on VHS release at the time it won Best Picture. It was also the earliest film released to have won, opening Feb 14, 1991 and winning in March 1992. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/4 "2011-01-17T02:43:50Z")
I can’t get an exact date, but the laserdisk version of _Ordinary People_ (Best Picture 1980) was released in 1981. Whether or not this was before the 1981 Academy Awards broadcast (March 31) I can’t yet say. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/5 "2011-01-17T02:48:49Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I can’t get an exact date, but the laserdisk version of _Ordinary People_ (Best Picture 1980) was released in 1981. Whether or not this was before the 1981 Academy Awards broadcast (March 31) I can’t yet say. Doubtful, as according to [imdb.com](http://imdb.com) the film came out in Sept 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/6 "2011-01-17T13:39:16Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I am pretty sure **Silence of the Lambs** was the first movie that was on VHS release at the time it won Best Picture. It was also the earliest film released to have won, opening Feb 14, 1991 and winning in March 1992. Yep, and that is the main reason it was on tape already. Follow up quesiton: What is the next “earliest release” to win? My bet is Gladiator, which was a summer release. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2011, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/7 "2011-01-17T13:52:59Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Doubtful, as according to [imdb.com](http://imdb.com) the film came out in Sept 1980. I realize. I searched for people selling the disk to get a look at the cover art, in case it had “Academy Award for Best Picture!” blazoned across it. No dice. It’s highly unlikely to meet the OP’s conditions but worth mentioning anyway, I figure, at least until more detail comes to light. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/8 "2011-01-19T14:55:27Z")
I have to admit, I thought we’d get a definitive answer on this one. Is there a web site that contains original VHS release dates for movies? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/9 "2011-01-19T15:53:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I have to admit, I thought we’d get a definitive answer on this one. Is there a web site that contains original VHS release dates for movies? \*\*Silence of the Lambs \*\*_is_ the definitive answer. I used to be obsessed with that movie and read every piece of trivia on it I could find. I remember reading a magazine article written after it won the Oscars stating that at the time it was the \*only \*film released on home video before winning the award. So the only thing to do would be to check the dates of home releases for films that won afterwards. The next film to be on home video when it won was **Gladiator** , which was released on DVD Nov 11, 2000. (It opened May 5, 2000.) \*\*Crash \*\*was released on DVD Sept 6, 2005 and opened in theaters May 6, 2005. \*\*The Departed \*\*came out on DVD Feb 13, 2007, two weeks before the Oscars on Feb 25, 2007. And lastly \*\*The Hurt Locker \*\*was released on DVD Jan 10, 2010 and then won the award March 7. > **[The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - Trivia - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/trivia/?tr0781276=)** > > The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - Trivia on IMDb: Cameos, Mistakes, Spoilers and more... > **[Academy Awards Best Pictures - Facts & Trivia](https://www.filmsite.org/bestpics1.html)** ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/10 "2011-01-19T16:43:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What is the next “earliest release” to win? My bet is Gladiator, which was a summer release. Not even close. The one to beat is **It Happened One Night** , which was released in February 1934, and won the Oscar over a year later. The longest to win any award is clearly **Limelight** , which won Best Original Score 20 years after its first release. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/11 "2011-01-19T16:47:52Z")
Yeah, but I bet those weren’t out on VHS at the time. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2011, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-in-home-release-to-win-an-oscar/567731/12 "2011-01-19T18:19:21Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not even close. The one to beat is **It Happened One Night** , which was released in February 1934, and won the Oscar over a year later. _Casablanca_ had its US premiere in Nov. 1942 and didn’t win its Oscars until March 1944.