[6] Dances with Wolves led the nominations with twelve total; Dick Tracy and The Godfather Part III tied for second with seven each.

[21] Two months before the awards gala, Cates selected actor and comedian Billy Crystal to host the show for the second consecutive year.

Actor Michael Caine introduced the segment live via satellite from the Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris, where the short film L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat made its debut in 1895.

[28] Despite losing eight members of her band in a plane crash, a visibly emotional Reba McEntire performed the Best Original Song nominee "I'm Checkin' Out" from the film Postcards from the Edge.

[29] At the beginning of the ceremony, wrangler Lisa Brown escorted host Crystal, and Beechnut, a horse that was prominently featured in the upcoming film City Slickers.

Only Ghost (2nd), Pretty Woman (3rd), Dances with Wolves (8th), Dick Tracy (9th), The Godfather Part III (17th), Goodfellas (30th), and Awakenings (34th) were nominated for Best Picture, directing, acting, or screenwriting.

The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Home Alone (1st), The Hunt for Red October (5th), Total Recall (6th), Days of Thunder (12th), and Edward Scissorhands (22nd).

Rick DuBrow of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "It was a long day's journey into night for Oscar, one of the most effective sleeping pills of the year."

[34] The Washington Post television critic Tom Shales noted that Crystal, "followed many gags by instantly rating the reaction of the audience, as if it were up to them to please him instead of the other way around."

Columnist Harold Schindler of The Salt Lake Tribune wrote, "Billy Crystal kept things moving Monday night in such a manner that the extra quarter-hour was scarcely noticeable."

"[37] Film critic Leonard Maltin remarked, "Emotions ran high and they gave us all a chance to feel vicariously what it might be like to win this kind of award...good guys finishing first and the part of Hollywood we like best, a happy ending.

"[25] Orlando Sentinel film critic Jay Boyar complimented Crystal for invigorating the gala, noting that his "clever remarks at the academy's 63rd annual awards presentation struck an entertaining balance between inside-Hollywood quips and general-audience jests.