The Artist wins Oscar for Best Film Score

Silent film finds its voice in the modern age. Plus, see the complete list of Academy Award winners.

The Artist has won the Oscar for Best Original Score in the 84th Academy Awards at yesterday's glitzy Hollywood ceremony. The composer Ludovic Bource, until recently little-known outside his native France, had collaborated with the film's director Michel Hanazavicius on previous films but The Artist, a "silent" film with no dialogue, marked a significant departure for both and has catapulted them to international stardom.

Bource, a pianist with no formal training in composition, worked with a team of orchestrators to create The Artist's lush, classic sound world. Beating out Hollywood heavyweights John Williams (The Adventures of Tintin) and Howard Shore (Hugo) to claim the prize, the score was the favourite contender following its BAFTA and Golden Globe triumphs.

In an interview with Limelight, Bource acknowledged it was a "risky" undertaking in today's filmmaking climate – as in the golden age of silent films, it placed a huge amount of pressure on the music to carry the action and emotional drama. He said he relished "the opportunity to express truly the emotional state of the principal characters. It was a real challenge and a great, great adventure – just what a composer needs.”

The nominations shone a spotlight on large-scale orchestral writing following last year's surprise win for electronic music wizard and alternative rock icon Trent Reznor's score for The Social Network. This year, his music for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was not included in the category.

The Artist was the overall favourite in 2012: of its 10 nominations it was awarded half, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Male Actor. It is the first silent film to win Best Picture since the early days of the Oscars in 1929; a loving tribute to the golden age of cinema is certainly something the Academy can appreciate.

The 84th Academy Awards: Winners and Nominees

Best Original Score: The Artist

The Adventures of Tintin
Hugo
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
War Horse

Best Picture: The Artist

The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Hugo
Midnight In Paris
The Help
Moneyball
War Horse
The Tree of Life

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist 

Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball 

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady 

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn 

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo 

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Max Von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close 

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs 

Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris 

JC Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, Bridesmaids 

Best Adapted Screenplay:

 Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants 

John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, The Ides of March
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, Moneyball
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy 

Best Animated Feature: Rango 

A Cat In Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots 

Best Foreign Feature: A Separation (Iran) 

Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsiuer Lazhar (Canada) 

Best Art Direction: Hugo 

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Midnight in Paris
War Horse 

Best Cinematography: Hugo 

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

Best Costume Design: The Artist

Anonymous
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E. 

Best Documentary Feature: Undefeated 

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

Best Documentary Short: Saving Face 

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom 

Best Film Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 

The Artist
The Descendants
Hugo
Moneyball 

Best Make-Up: The Iron Lady

Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Best Original Song 

Man or Muppet from The Muppets Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie

Real in Rio from Rio Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett 

Best Animated Short Film

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore 

Dimanche/Sunday
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life 

Best Live-Action Short Film

The Shore 

Pentecost
Raju
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic 

Best Sound Editing: Hugo 

Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse 

Best Sound Mixing: Hugo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse 

Best Visual Effects: Hugo 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

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