Only 3 Movies Have Ever Won the Big Five Oscars (None of Them Are From XXI Century)

Every filmmaker and actor, and literally every other person somehow related to the world of cinema is getting extremely nervous when the Oscars season comes around. While there are definitely several movies that are considered to be chosen as best pictures in advance, still the hope is something that can’t be taken away from anybody.

Winning an Academy Award is very prestigious and is literally the highest honor for work done in the movie industry. But can you imagine the happiness and overall excitement that an Oscar sweep can bring to a team?

Winning 5 major nominations is probably every creative team's dream, but there were only three films that managed to make the dream come true. Let's take a look at the movies that took home Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Screenplay all at once.

It Happened One Night (1934)

Frank Capra's film was the one that, if not invented the romantic comedy genre, certainly popularized it. It was then that the now cliched rom com tropes were still young and intriguing, and the framework lasts till now.

The main characters were played by Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. They portrayed the two lovers who ran into each other on a perfect time to be together, despite the many flaws they both have and the despise they show to each other at the start of their relationship. Robert Riskin took the award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is Miloš Forman's masterpiece. Although it was met with many reservations due to its edgy portrayal of mental hospital patients, it was nevertheless highly acclaimed as a groundbreaking piece of cinema.

Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher ended up winning the two most important acting awards for their mesmerizing performances. Nicholson portrayed the incarcerated criminal McMurphy, who claimed he was insane just to be kept out of jail, and Fletcher played the role of the most horrible woman in the hospital – Nurse Ratched. She was the true evil of the place as she gained so much power through the weaknesses of those kept in the institution.

Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Another iconic film that swept the Oscars by winning 5 major awards is Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs. With Sir Anthony Hopkins as the legendary character Hannibal Lecter, a criminal mastermind aka serial cannibal killer, who is the only hope of a young and determined FBI cadet played by Jodie Foster to solve another series of brutal murders. But in order to win, she must indulge in a deep game of manipulation.