Veteran Oscar Host Billy Crystal opened the 84th Academy awards ceremony Sunday with jokes about his age and attempts to attract a younger audience to the annual show.
The segment included a long pause while Crystal, who has hosted the awards show nine times previously, sat silently next to teen music sensation Justin Bieber.
The first two awards of the night went to Hugo, a visually rich 3D tribute to a French film pioneer. It won for its cinematography and art direction.
Hugo, which features British actor Sacha Baron Cohen, is one of nine movies nominated for Best Picture.
Another early winner Sunday night was The Artist, for its costumes. The highly unusual silent black-and-white film also is nominated for the top prize and is among the favorites to win. It tells the story of a struggling silent-era movie star.
第84届奥斯卡竞赛中两个最大的热门《艺术家》和《雨果》都是在表达迷影情怀,《艺术家》是法国人对好莱坞暗送秋波,《雨果》则是著名影迷导演马丁·斯科塞斯向法国电影先驱乔治·梅里爱表达崇高敬意。
与忠实仿古的《艺术家》相反,《雨果》运用了目前最先进的原生3D数字拍摄技术来重现一个世纪以前的“电影魔术师”传奇,斯科塞斯试图证明:无论在什么技术手段之下,活动影像的魅力是永恒不衰的。
影片中的小男孩雨果在巴黎火车站的时钟通道里过着不为人知的生活,他的梦想是喜好父亲遗留下的一个会写字的机器人,后来他遇到了一个古怪的玩具店老人,从此生活发生巨大的变化。原来这个老人就是电影先驱乔治·梅里爱,那个机器人正是他的精心制作。斯科塞斯带我们重温电影早期历史的辉煌与波折,对电影的爱不仅慰藉了老来寂寥的梅里爱,也改变了一个孤儿的命运。
影片中至少有三四处神来之笔足以让影迷热泪盈眶。其一是雨果将心形钥匙插入到机器人的心脏处,机器人开动了,他在一张白纸上画下《月球旅行记》的经典图案,随着秘密的逐步揭晓,熟悉梅里爱的观众理应比当时的雨果更加震惊。这个镜头的拍摄实现非常困难,剧组运用了由电脑程序控制的磁铁,在预先设计好的路线上驱动钢笔,还得注意提笔和蘸墨的动作。其二是雨果和伊莎贝尔在家中无意中打翻了梅里爱珍藏的草稿箱,无数绘制着电影创意的草图漫天飞舞,在空中构成夸张的动画效果,这种浪漫化处理非常巧妙地展现了电影的魅力。其三是雨果和伊莎贝尔在图书馆学习电影的历史,我们熟悉的经典电影画面在书中动了起来,《火车进站》《工厂大门》《月宫宝盒》《将军号》……