The Academy Awards are the biggest celebration of film of the entire year. This year, records were set, minds were blown, and music was celebrated as the first-ever theme for any awards show. Hosted by Seth McFarlane, the 85th Academy Awards show was truly a spectacle for the senses.
“I thought Seth MacFarlane was very funny as the host,” senior Alex Cadwell said. “The jokes and gags he did were hilarious, especially the opening.”
Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” won many trophies, including the highly sought-after Best Director award. The film also managed to win Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Score.
“Ever since he made ‘Hulk,’ I haven’t been able to forgive Ang Lee,” junior Brennan Boorse said. “‘Life of Pi’ should not have won in any category, let alone Best Directing.”
“Anna Karenina,” although highly hyped, only won for Best Costume Design.
“Les Misérables” managed to do as well as anticipated, winning Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Supporting Actress to Anne Hathaway, her first-ever Oscar.
“Lincoln” and “Django Unchained” were two movies that definitely differ in taste. For instance, many students may enjoy “Django Unchained” more, while the teachers would rather sit through “Lincoln.” Regardless, ‘Lincoln’ won Best Production Design and gave Daniel Day-Lewis his third Oscar for Best Actor. “Django Unchained” took home the awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, given to Christoph Waltz.
“I’m glad Tarantino won another Oscar for his writing,” Boorse said, “but ‘Django’ was the superior Civil War movie.”
Despite the record-setting nominations of Emmanuelle Riva and Quvenzhané Wallis, Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for “Silver Linings Playbook.”
“Argo,” another film peppered with nominations, shockingly only won three categories: Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the ultimate prize, Best Picture.
“I was surprised to see that ‘Argo’ won Best Picture,” senior Couper Godleski said. “I really thought Spielberg would win for ‘Lincoln.’”
History was also made as this was the first-ever award ceremony to have a theme: music. Host Seth MacFarlane demonstrated his singing voice along with numerous other Hollywood icons.
“If you ask me, Seth MacFarlane has an awesome voice,” freshman Sam Bader said. “The musical numbers at the beginning were hilarious.”
Adele performed her song “Skyfall,” awarded the Oscar for Best Original Song shortly after. The film “Skyfall” also won the award for Best Sound Editing, in a tie with “Zero Dark Thirty.”
Some of the other lesser-known categories including Short Films and Documentaries brought interesting wins. Best Live Action Short Film went to “Curfew,” and Best Animated Short went to the visually simple, yet humorous “Paperman.” “Searching for Sugarman” won Best Documentary, while “Inocente” won Best Documentary Short’.
“Amour,” another film expected to mop up, had a surprisingly dull night. Although nominated in several categories, the film only managed to capture the award for Best Foreign Film.
Finally, Best Animated Film went to Brave, the family friendly Disney flick.
Junior Daniel Gavin said, “It was a shame ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ didn’t win.”
