Films

The Artist makes a silent sweep at Oscars. The endearing French silent classic, ` The Artist made history at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood on a glittering Sunday night ( February 26 ) as it swept five Oscars . The black and white comic melodrama, was expected to win big and it did, in a dazzling manner, fetching Oscars for Jean Dujardin ( Best Actor ) and Michel Hazanvicisus ( Best Director ). It was also voted as the Best Picture and won Oscars for best costume design as well as musical score. It is the first time ever, since Oscars were introduced 83 years ago, that a silent movie, has been conferred with such high honours. Even Charlie Chaplins City Lights could not achieve that in the silent era. Indeed, the voters seem to have been swayed by nostalgia of the cinema of the yore. And the funny, yet poignant, The Artistcaptures beautifully the life and times of the silent era hero, who falls on hard times when pictures with sound take over the silver screen. It seems to have swayed the audience as well as the Academy award voters alike. `` I love this country, exulted Jean Dujardin, clearly overwhelmed by his maiden Oscar, while Hazanavicius declared I am the happiest man in the world today. The French coup came at the expense of Hugo. Meryl Streep won the third Oscar of her 29 year old illustrious career after 17 nominations in the Best Actress category for her splendid portrayal of former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, in Iron Lady. The strong-willed Thatcher, who led Britain through some turbulent

times, later began to suffer from dementia. Meryl Streep superbly essayed a difficult role to perfection. Streep had earlier won the Oscar as Best Actress for `Sophies Choice and a Best Supporting Actress award for Kramer vs Kramer. In her post award speech, she joked half the America would be saying, Oh! not her again! One felt that Streeps victory might have been close as there was another stunning performance by Viola Davis, for her role as a black maid in a Southern white home during the American Civil War in ` The Help. The Help, however, won a Best Supporting Actress award for Octavia Spencer. Christopher Plummer became the oldest award winner at 82 when he won the Best Supporting Actor honours for Beginners, where he donned the role of an elderly gay man. Woody Allen won his fourth Oscar, after 25 years, for `Original Screen Play for his fantasy Midnight in Paris. There was a touch of Asia at the Academy Awards as A Separation from Iran, was voted as the Best Foreign Film, while Pakistan received its maiden Oscar when Sharmeen Obaid Chinoys powerful documentary on acid attack victims,` Saving Face was named as the Best Documentary Film..

The Oscar winners 2012 :

Best Picture The Artist Thomas Langmann

Best Director Michel Hazanavicius The Artist

Best Actor Jean Dujardin The Artist as George Valentin

Best Actress Meryl Streep The Iron Lady as

Margaret Thatcher

Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actress

Christopher Plummer Beginners as Octavia Spencer The Help as Minny Hal Fields Jackson

Best Writing Original Screenplay Midnight in Paris Woody Allen

Best Writing Adapted Screenplay The Descendants Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash from The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings

Best Animated Feature Rango Gore Verbinski

Best Foreign Language Film A Separation (Iran) in Persian Asghar Farhadi

Best Documentary Feature

Best Documentary Short Subject

Undefeated TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay, Saving Face Sharmeen Obaidand Richard Middlemas Chinoy and Daniel Junge

Best Live Action Short Film The Shore Terry George and Oorlagh George

Best Animated Short Film The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg

Best Original Score The Artist Ludovic Bource

Best Original Song "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets Bret McKenzie

Best Sound Editing Hugo Philip Stockton and Eugene

Best Sound Mixing Hugo Tom Fleischman and John

Gearty

Midgley

Best Art Direction

Best Cinematography

Hugo Dante Ferretti and Francesca Hugo Robert Richardson Lo Schiavo

Best Makeup The Iron Lady Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Best Costume Design The Artist Mark Bridges

Best Film Editing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Best Visual Effects Hugo Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, and Alex Henning