'The Artist' takes top prize at 84th Academy Awards

By Adnan Tezer Feb 27, 2012, 20:20 GMT

The Weinstein Co.'s silent, black-and-white film "The Artist" was the big winner at the 84th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night, winning five Oscars: best picture, best director for Michel Hazanivicius, best actor for Jean Dujardin, best costume design and best score.

It was the first silent film to win best picture since "Wings" in 1929, which was the first year of the Oscar ceremony.

Meryl Streep won best actress for "The Iron Lady," bringing her career Oscar win total to three.

The win was somewhat of a surprise as Viola Davis had been considered to be the favorite to win for her role in "The Help."

Christopher Plummer won supporting actor for "Beginners," while Octavia Spencer won supporting actress for "The Help."

Both were considered locks to win.

At 82 years old, Plummer is the oldest winner in an acting category in Academy history.

The full list of nominees (winners in bold):

Best Picture
"War Horse"
"The Artist"
"Moneyball"
"The Descendants"
"The Tree of Life"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Actress
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Director
Michel Hazanivicius, "The Artist"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"

Best Original Screenplay
Michel Hazanivicius, "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, "Bridesmaids"
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
J.C. Chandor, "Margin Call"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Beau Willimon and Grant Heslov, "The Ides of March"
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio," Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett

Music (Original Score)
John Williams, "The Adventures of Tintin"
Ludovic Bource, "The Artist"
Howard Shore, "Hugo"
Alberto Iglesias, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
John Williams, "War Horse"

Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday"
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore"
"La Luna"
"A Morning Stroll"
"Wild Life"

Documentary Short Subject
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement"
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
"Incident in New Baghdad"
"Saving Face"
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon"

Best Animated Feature
"A Cat in Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Documentary Feature
"Hell and Back Again"
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
"Pina"
"Undefeated"

Sound Mixing
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Sound Editing
"Drive"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Film Editing
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Foreign Feature
"Bullhead"
"Footnote"
"In Darkness"
"Monsieur Lazhar"
"A Separation"

Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"The Iron Lady"

Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

Art Direction
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"