The 2004 Oscar Ceremony wasn’t much of a surprise. After The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King had cashed in five Oscars it was clear to me it was going to get lots. And it did, making it the first film since The Last Emperor that’s received all the Oscars it was nominated for. That said, Peter Jackson’s blockbuster masterpiece finds itself in a very select list of films. Apart from The Return of the King, there where only two other films which received 11 Oscars: Ben Hur (with 12 nominations) and rubbish (sorry’ oh no: I am not sorry at all) Titanic (14 nominations). The ceremony itself wasn’t all that dazzling: hardly any emotional or shocking speeches, just a disappointed Bill Murray. A look at the winners…

Best Film ‘ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Hollywood would have turned upside down and inside out if The Lord of the Rings wasn’t credited as best film. Some people have been complaining about the over-emotional ending, but LOTR3 is a perfect mix of the emotion and magic of The Fellowship and the action of The Two Towers. It is just an amazing film and I dare anyone to say otherwise. Director Jackson was right in stating he was glad the members of the Academy looked past the trolls, wizards and hobbits. Besides the entertainment The King provides, it is a perfect mix of great characters, decent performances (still a bit amazed Sean Astin didn’t get nominated for Best Supporting Actor), amazing landscapes, sets and miniatures. Film could not possibly be any better.

Best Director ‘ Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

It goes without doubt Jackson is one of the most prolific directors around. The monster-project called The Lord of the Rings has been handled so well and with such integrity and respect towards its creator, J.R.R. Tolkien, that it could only have been done by a true Tolkien devotee. Someone like Peter Jackson. A lot of people seem to forget film is a totally different medium compared to a novel and the choices Jackson made for these films were well-thought, logical and full of respect. Kudos for this amazing project. I also have a lot of respect for Sofia Coppola, though, for making such an amazing film, Lost in Translation. With this comedy, starring Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray, she has proved herself without having to rely on her famous last name. What’s more, she was the first female director ever to be nominated for Best Director.

Best Actor in a Leading Role ‘ Sean Penn, Mystic River

Though very much deserved, Penn getting an Oscar for his Clint Eastwood film Mystic River was something the members of the Academy would have found hard to overlook. He missed an Oscar three times, being really close to one with I Am Sam last year (the other two were Dead Man Walking and Woody Allen’s amazing Sweet and Lowdown). I had the feeling the Oscar would go to Bill Murray for Lost in Translation, probably his only chance to get an Oscar because movies like Lost in Translation come up very rarely. Hence Bill’s disappointment. Jude Law’s nomination for Cold Mountain is one I don’t get; he is good but not awesome. Ben Kingsley in the excellent House of Sand and Fog was a good choice but again, as with Jude Law, nothing compared to what Penn has achieved.

Best Actress in a Leading Role ‘ Charlize Theron, Monster

Now this one is very much deserved. Theron is amazing as an abused lesbian and abusive serial killer. The little gestures she has in Monster, the credibility of her acting, the way she looks: it is all dauntingly eerie and scary. There is no one who deserved winning this Oscar but Charlize Theron. I had the pleasure of seeing Monster last weekend and she carries that movie. She IS that movie. And in her case that is something to be mighty proud of. A good second place would have been Naomi Watts for 21 Grams.

Best Actor in a Supporting Role ‘ Tim Robbins, Mystic River

Robbins has always been a bit controversial because of his strong aversion toward the Bush administration, an opinion he shares with his wife, Susan Sarandon. His speech wasn’t political at all, though he did make a reference to his part in Mystic River as a victim of child abuse. He has some amazing scenes with Sean Penn in this film. Robbins was a logical pick for the Academy. I would, however, have loved it if it had gone to Benicio del Toro for 21 Grams (but I still don’t get, however, why Del Toro was not nominated in the leading actors category).

Best Actress in a Supporting Role ‘ Ren’e Zellweger, Cold Mountain

I have never seen any actress twisting a chicken’s neck so naturally as Ren’e Zellweger. She acts titans Nicole Kidman and Jude Law right off screen in Cold Mountain. One – she is funny, at times hilarious. Two ‘ she cleverly stays between the lines of becoming a caricature. Three ‘ she is what makes Cold Mountain acceptable to watch. I would have loved Shohreh Aghdashloo to have won the Oscar for House of Sand and Fog because she is so emotionally good in that movie, having hardly any English lines at all.

Best Foreign Language Film ‘ Les Invasions Barabares, Canada

Don’t get me wrong: Les Invasions Barabares (The Barbarian Invasions) is very good. It succeeds in finding a smooth and subtle path between comedy and drama and has decent performances. I don’t want to be all nationalistic, but Dutch drama De Tweeling (Twin Sisters) would have been a better choice. It has all the elements of a good film: fine performances, a well-written script, good sets and nice camerawork. Oh well, being nominated is an honor too (but don’t tell Bill Murray I said that).

The other winners

Animated Movie
Finding Nemo
Deserved? Well, yeah… Triplets of Belleville was good too, but Nemo was to be expected.

Art Direction
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Um yes, I am not going to deny any of the Oscars they won. Girl With a Pearl Earring was good though, every frame of it looks like a Vermeer painting.

Cinematography
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Deserved? I don’t really care. Seabiscuit could have gotten this one. It is not my favorite movie, but the camerawork was amazing in Seabiscuit.

Costumes
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Yes, especially if you have seen the extras on the LOTR DVD’s. There is SO much detail in the costumes. All other nominees were pretty much plain costume-wise.

Documentary Feature
The Fog of War
Deserved? Well politics are hot. But I haven’t seen any of the nominees, so I can’t judge.

Documentary Short Subject
Chernobyl Heart
Deserved? Can’t tell; haven’t seen any of the nominees. The subject sounded interesting and emotional though.

Film Editing
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? It is admirable how much footage Peter Jackson had to cut for this movie. And if I have to choose from all nominees this one is most obvious.

Makeup
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Of course. Especially considering the other two nominees. Monster should have been nominated though.

Music (Score)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Kinda. All scores of LOTR are good. This score was a combination of the previous two with some new themes. Gabriel Yared’s score for Cold Mountain was good. I missed Girl With a Pearl Earring in the nominees list.

Music (Song)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Yes. I am gonna make some people pretty angry by saying Annie Lennox is not the best singer around (also according to the live performance on the ceremony), but she sure is charismatic and the song is very good. The two Cold Mountain songs were boring, the Triplets of Belleville song annoying.

Short Film Animated
Harvie Krumpet
Deserved? Haven’t seen any of the nominated films. The trailer for Pixar’s Boundin’ can be found here and will probably be attached to this year’s Pixar/Disney feature The Incredibles. The Disney Salvador Dali cartoon Destino (originally intended for the first Fantasia, but never finished until now) looked nice. But it is nice a clay animated movie has won.

Short Film Live Action
Two Soldiers
Deserved? Can’t tell. Story sounded nice tho’

Sound Editing
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Of course. But sound was one of the few good factors in Master and Commander.

Sound Mixing
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Yes, but again: M&C was good in sound. That was one of the first things I noticed seeing it.

Visual Effects
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (what movie else?)
Deserved? Yes, but the skeleton effects in Pirates of the Caribbean were cool too. But all in all LOTR3 has more and better visual effects.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Deserved? Turning a 1,000 page novel in three good films: certainly deserved.

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Lost in Translation
Deserved? Oh boy yes. Very much deserved!

All pictures courtesy of www.oscars.com